Just off Freedom (4-11 to 4-19) 8 days of FUN!

[KYWEST1]

Here's a little background....My husband and I are in our 40s and have 3 kids (13,12 & 10). We're from Chicago area and this was my 7th Carnival cruise, my husband's 5th, and our kids' 3rd. We went with 2 other families. Our neighbors, who we cruised with last year, and another family who had only been on Royal Caribbean.

We were on the Freedom last year for the Eastern route and loved it. We picked it again this year because it was 8 days (4 sea days which we all love), and 2 ports we had never been to (Costa Rica and Panama).

Went down a day early to Lauderdale and stayed at Embassy Suites. Our neighbors booked the cruise and hotel a long time ago....we joined in 8 weeks before the cruise. Probably would pick a different place next time...didn't like the location. Get closer to the water taxi or a cheaper place...whatever your preferences are. It was still nice tho.

We got to the port at 11:00 and we were on Lido before noon. Couldn't have been smoother. Already had the bathing suit on, and enjoyed the next 4 hours on Lido with the band and our friends. There were 8 kids in all from ages 10-18 so they were off and running, finding their favorite food, playing basketball, and exploring.

CD was Todd Whitmer....really liked him. Very nice guy and good at what he does. James is his sidekick (young guy from England that we've cruised with before). He's been promoted to Asst. CD and he is a blast. Pool game guy was Steve and he was really fun too....great staff!

We had late dinner in the Chic and LOVED our wait team....Rhaniere (?) and Damir. We had a lot of fun with them....learned a lot of inside stuff from Damir. (He was from Croatia and "Nia" was from Indonesia). The food was excellent. We kept saying "how do people complain? ........really???? We are easy to please, but the food was fantastic.We have been to the supper clubs in the past, and loved them....the food is a step above the DR, but we had so much fun at dinner every night, we didn't go this time. Plus it was the only time to really talk to our kids and find out what was going on in their own little cruise life.

We had adjoining cabins with our kids and our room steward "Tony" was from Costa Rica. We all loved Tony and he was just perfect for us. We tipped everyone extra at the end, and they were so grateful.

The weather every day was great. The 2nd sea day (after leaving Cozumel) was really windy tho. They closed deck 11(?). The running track, basketball court etc. The boys in our group were a little bored all day....all they do is b-ball. The treadmills were really crowded that morning too, since the track was closed. I've had windy sea days before, but never saw a deck closed.

Cozumel was a blast. I've been there 3 other times...usually we rent a jeep and go to the east (?) coast to see the big waves and cool little bar huts. This tiime we all just went to Paradise Beach. We also met our other neighbors there because they were vacationing in Riviera Maya. They took the ferry over to Cozumel. This added 3 more kids and 6 more adults!!! 'What a party. Everyone loved it. There was only 1 other ship in port, so all the water and land toys were very open for our brood. Paradise Tom (the owner) has really created quite a wonderful place for families to go to on this island. You only pay $10/kid for a wristband to use all the equipment, and they just want the adults to buy a few beers. No problem there....Buckets of Dos Equis were arriving faster than Lido deck bar waiters! No one wanted to go back to the ship, and unfortunately, we had to be back by 3:30 since we had a long way to go to Costa Rica. Sail away was fun but we lost a couple people after dinner....Cozumel was just too fun!

I'll write more later...my hands are tired. I know you want pictures, but I don't know how to do that. I'll see if my husband can help me when he gets home...if he's not too crabby!!! :) Going back to work after being gone for 10 days....not good.

 

Oh yeah...one other thing. One of our friends (Mr. Royal Carribean) won the hairy chest contest!!! We couldn't believe it....too funny!

Let's just say that when they book their next cruise, it will most definately be on Carnival!!;)

[ATLCruiseJunkie]

Thanks for the review! Only a couple more weeks until I'm on this same itinerary :D

[celticd1]

Thanks for the review!

 

Can you tell us what you did in Costa Rica and Panama? We will be on the January 16th sailing and those 2 ports have been tough to decide what to do.

 

Can't wait to see the pics! :)

[AryMay]

Thanks for the review! I'm anxiously awaiting more...and also pictures (please???):)

[KYWEST1]

Continuing on.....we all thought the entertainment on board was a lot better than our previous cruises. Not talking about the stage shows. Those were the same as last year, so we didn't go again. I remember the New Orleans number was really good. Our favorite band on board was the salsa band. They played at the pool on the 2nd sea day and everyone went nuts. This is another aspect that we liked. They put different musical acts on the lido for a set. Always the calypso band, but also some other musical act that was performing around the ship. It was great to hear everyone. Getting back to the salsa band.....they were so great! People were dancing around the pool...lots of fun. We also saw them in the Havana lounge, and they were fantastic. Don't miss them there. They play a little differently.....more Julio Iglasius plus fast salsa numbers. Anyway, the pool band had a guest sing with them all week and he was awesome. He wore one of those Jamaican hats with his hair tucked in it, and had a really great voice....but he was a guest.....too funny.

Vince in the piano bar is a blast too. That place was always hopping. He's really good and if you get a good seat, you don't want to leave.

The other act I want to mention is Jamie Frasier. We loved him....he's adorable. He's in the Victorian lounge (don't remember which night). A young guy from London who sings the old Brat Pack songs. He was really entertaining and the crowd loved him.

Ok, onto Costa Rica and Panama.

We can't say enough about Costa Rica.....we all had the best day of the cruise here. I strongly recommend booking a tour through Charlie Soto (Okey Dokey tours) or Oscar Brown. Our neighbors went with Oscar (loved it) and the other 10 of us went with Okey Dokey because we wanted to go ziplining. (Oscar offers ziplining too, but the neighbors booked a long time ago with him, and we just chose the other co.) We had a private tour in a little mini bus with Ray (he was awesome!), and I cant' say enough about how great our day was. The ziplining was the coolest and scariest thing we've ever done. We started the tour at a banana plantation which was much cooler than I thought it would be. You won't look at a bunch of bananas the same ever again. Ray's driver could spot a sloth or monkey in a tree like a lido deck bar waiter could spot an empty beer bucket! We had a delicious Costa Rican lunch after ziplining, and then went to Bonita beach. The water was warm and the waves crash in making it quite fun for the kids. We stayed longer than normal and told Ray we could skip the coffee store. Also got the Torugero Canal tour which was ok. Everything was included in our price...including lunch. On a side note, the 2 single guys we met in the piano bar had a horrible experience. They booked with Carnival to go ziplining....paid about $30 more per person (for ONLY ziplining...nothing else), and had to travel 2 1/2 hrs on a big greyhound to a different zipline. They only had 7 lines and ours was 13, plus their driver hardly spoke any english and the whole trip was dreadful. They hated Costa Rica.....the difference in our days was huge. Book these tours on your own...sorry Carnival, but it's one thing to charge more, but another to make the trip bad.:(

 

Ok, onto Panama. All I can say is book a tour....don't go off on your own. Those 2 single guys (one was a cop) just went off the ship to a bar, and they got hassled so badly that they just went back on board.

We booked a tour through my friend mario. Some people worry about getting back to the ship on time if they don't book with Carnival, but Mario tours are really trying for customers and they won't let you down. We had Elvis as a tour guide (again private), and went to the locks which was cool, and then to a private beach. It was very pretty and again warm water and no locals hassling us. They grilled lunch and served us drinks (all for our $50 tour fee). It was a great day, but it was nice to get back on the ship.

 

So, this was one of our greatest family vacations ever. The Freedom really delivered and I followed Todd's advice...."you can sleep when you get home". I'm exhausted and my 12 yr old daughter is gettting sick. Cruises really beat you up, but they sure are fun. The 8 day is the perfect amount of time. Having 2 sea days at the end is great. The second to last doesn't have that "ending feeling" and that night is the craziest on board. Carnival should really do more of the 8 and 6 day itineraries. My hope is a southern caribbean leaving out of Miami. We realized that Panama is further south than all of those southern itinerary islands.

Oh, I forgot debarkation. It went very smoothly....no problems. Our flight didn't leave until 5:00 so we went to the Fort Lauderdale Ritz Carlton. Our neighbors had booked a night there to fly home on Monday. What a beautiful place....right on the main strip. We all want to go back for a long weekend.

Ok, that's it for now....I'll see about the picture thing tomorrow...I'm tired and a little dizzy!:p

[richbum]

Thanks for the review. I can't wait to see the pix and read more!

Thanks again.:D

[AryMay]

We have the same tour booked with Charlie when we are on the Freedom in July.

 

Did you have time to actually swim at the beach? Were there changing facilities?

 

I noticed the Okeydokey website mentions the zipline has 13 platforms (as did you)...but the email I got from Charlie said "10". No big deal...just wondering which is correct.

[pab59]

We are booked on the Freedom May 9th..the same intenerary... sounds great. We have a 2-1/2 yr old with us..so we were thinking just trying to find the closest beach on each port to swim.. any recomendations? How far was the private beach you spoke of on either of the ports? We are getting so anxious to get on the plane to FL...we are in the Chicago area too.. we are in Crystal Lake... Glad you had a great time..its nice so many people you knew can coordinate vacations the same time. Its just the 3 of us this time.

 

How dressy were everyone for formal nights? Just curious.

looking forward to seeing pictures..

[KYWEST1]

We have the same tour booked with Charlie when we are on the Freedom in July.

 

Did you have time to actually swim at the beach? Were there changing facilities?

 

I noticed the Okeydokey website mentions the zipline has 13 platforms (as did you)...but the email I got from Charlie said "10". No big deal...just wondering which is correct.

 

 

I don't know why Charlie would say "10". I remember reading on the boards that one place (closer to the other side) had "7" and Jungle Breezes (closer to Limon) had 13. The guys that booked through Carnival went to the "7" and that's why it took 2 1/2 hrs to get there. Maybe Charlie forgot...email him again just to make sure. He's so nice, he doesn't care.

You probably won't spend much time at the beach if you're not on a private tour. How many are in your party? Since we had 10, we were alone and we chose to stay at the beach longer cause the kids loved the waves. At 1st Ray said 15 minutes, but then we told him we would rather stay longer and skip the supermarket to buy coffee. There are changing areas (we just wore swimsuits under clothes). There are also 2 patio restaurants there. It's all a little primitive and there's a lot of garbage surrounding the beach. We wondered why they didn't take more pride in their country....lots of garbage around.

[KYWEST1]

We are booked on the Freedom May 9th..the same intenerary... sounds great. We have a 2-1/2 yr old with us..so we were thinking just trying to find the closest beach on each port to swim.. any recomendations? How far was the private beach you spoke of on either of the ports? We are getting so anxious to get on the plane to FL...we are in the Chicago area too.. we are in Crystal Lake... Glad you had a great time..its nice so many people you knew can coordinate vacations the same time. Its just the 3 of us this time.

 

How dressy were everyone for formal nights? Just curious.

looking forward to seeing pictures..

 

 

Most people on formal night went with cocktail dresses (short) and suits. On the 2nd formal night (this is a good night to do the supper club since you're dressing up anyway), we went more casual. Hubby lost the jacket, and I went with a very dressy top and black pants. I just get tired of dressing up. Definately dressier the 1st night tho.

In Costa Rica, take a cab to "Bonita Beach". There aren't very many on this side of C.R.

In Panama, I don't know the name of the beach we went to. Go to my friend mario dot com and e-mail to ask. It required an admission fee which was included in our tour. There's also a great reef right off of this beach. We had our snorkel equipment and saw some beautiful fish. Pretty unusual for snorkeling off of a beach. Don't wander anywhere else by yourselves tho. I'm not trying to scare you, but I just wouldn't. This beach only had some tourists on it (mostly Carnival passengers) so you'll feel safe.

 

Keep the questions coming....I love answering them.

p.s. We live in Shorewood (just south of Plainfield and west of Joliet).

[dna515]

Wow...I loved your review! Got me more excited than I already am (if that's possible) I will also be doing the same itinerary in July with a group of 10. I would like to book with My Friend Mario and Okey Dokey tours as well. Since I have ten people, will we automatically get a private tour? I plan on emailing both companies later today to get prices and such.. Also, did you pay for My Friend Mario before the cruise? I've read another post that said he asked to send cash only to an address in Indiana. That sort of rubs me the wrong way. Did you have to do this?

[KYWEST1]

[

Wow...I loved your review! Got me more excited than I already am (if that's possible) I will also be doing the same itinerary in July with a group of 10. I would like to book with My Friend Mario and Okey Dokey tours as well. Since I have ten people, will we automatically get a private tour? I plan on emailing both companies later today to get prices and such.. Also, did you pay for My Friend Mario before the cruise? I've read another post that said he asked to send cash only to an address in Indiana. That sort of rubs me the wrong way. Did you have to do this?

 

 

All of the tours take cash only, and you pay at the end of the tour. The Indiana thing is wrong...I read that too.

When you e-mail Charlie, just ask him if it could just be the 10 of you. Actually, I think that's about all they could fit into the van anyway, but tell him that's what you would like.

With Mario, I had forgotten that some of us got off the ship late....oops. I think that's why we got our own van. The rest of the group was sent before us. You might try gambling on that one!!!:) Just kidding. A private tour isn't really necessary in Panama. But it's perfect for Costa Rica.

Enjoy.

I'm trying to figure out this picture thing. What do you type for URL after you click insert images??? anyone???

I'll keep working on it.:)

[firefly4423]

thanks for sharing!

[dna515]

[

 

 

 

All of the tours take cash only, and you pay at the end of the tour. The Indiana thing is wrong...I read that too.

When you e-mail Charlie, just ask him if it could just be the 10 of you. Actually, I think that's about all they could fit into the van anyway, but tell him that's what you would like.

With Mario, I had forgotten that some of us got off the ship late....oops. I think that's why we got our own van. The rest of the group was sent before us. You might try gambling on that one!!!:) Just kidding. A private tour isn't really necessary in Panama. But it's perfect for Costa Rica.

Enjoy.

 

I'll keep working on it.:)

 

Thanks! Just emailed them both...

 

I wish I could help you upload your pics! I can't figure it out either! I think you need to upload them to a file sharing site- like photoshop dot com and then you will get a url for each pic. (I could be wrong, but it sounds good to me LOL )

[pink roses]

Thanks for the review.

[CruiserKatie]

My question is about the basketball court.

I am bringing two 14 yr old boys...who play basketball year round in competitive leagues.

Is the court big enough to play a 5 on 5 game? Do they have skill games?

Is is protected from the wind?

When they get off the ship..they are headed to Nationals for a Basketball tournament...and coach wanted them to shoot every day....but I know in past experiences ...wind has been a huge factor!

 

btw...I am from Illinois too...central illinois!

[bonniemari]

Thanks for the review-even tho I am doing the 6 day in August with different ports it is great to read about your onboard experiences.

 

RUT ROO tho-I just last night booked our 2 day pre cruise at the Embassy Suites-can you elaborate a little more on why you wouldn't stay there next time. I got a pretty good senior rate (pays to be married to my geezer) and I liked the idea of the 2 room suite, breakfast (I am not a breakfast eater, but DH is) and the afternoon cocktail happy reception.

[maryanne356]

Very nice review. We are sailing same intineray Aug. 1. How much did it cost to go to this beach? Did you take a taxi, because we are traveling with 7. What activities for kids to do?

Thanks, for the info

Mary Anne

[TakeMeAway1001]

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us :)

[xntric1]

We were on this cruise as well. Also had a great time. Loved Costa Rica! Did the Golden Bean Coffee tour thru Carnival. I have to say, it was the first time I ever felt I got our moneys worth on a ship sponsered tour. If you are looking for a non-adventure, non-beach tour, it it worth a look-see.

We decided not to do an excursion in Panama - just browse the shops. GRRRRR!!!!!!!! The guys hawking their 'tours' were relentless and the shops were the worst we have ever experienced. Even the magnets and shot glasses looked they were produced at least 15 years ago. There is a store there, kinda a general store with, with food, adult beverages and general mdse - if you need any supplies, the prices seemed reasonable. We did enjoy the uncrowded ship that afternoon!