Freedom Eastern Caribbean - 5/23/09 Sailing

[newlife_2010]

wow, that room is huge.

[Hollybelle]

Great start to your review... can't wait to read more :D!!

[LivetoCruise412]

Your are doing such a great job. Thanks for taking the time to put all these pictures on for everyone to see, with each one I look at my anticipation grows a little more. I am enjoying reading it soooo much.

Thank you

[falconfan]

For some reason Easter Caribbean reviews of the Freedom are very hard to find. I was ecstatic when I saw yours pop up. We leave on July 18. Looking forward to seeing the capers. Looks great! Keep it coming.

[cruiznfevr]

We loved the cabin, cruiznfevr! It really is a great location. Quiet (can't hear the community floors above or below like on some decks. Not too much ship movement, but enough gentle rock to lull you too sleep. And our steward was Jerry - great guy, always a smile on and fast, fast, fast service.

 

Thanks for the pics! I love these suites. It's cool to know that I will be in that exact room...yay! Thanks for the review. Even though we are doing the Western route, I love hearing the details.

[Astep@atime]

Hi All,

Okay, continuing on. Some of the unpacking is done. I even (inadvertantly) brought home some Caribbean sand. It was caked to the water shoes. My wife loves that! :D

I've scanned the daily capers and the Camp Carnival capers.

There is a little "pocket" paper that you rip off the side on each caper. It has the schedule at a glance and the food and drink hours. It's designed to take with you each day. I did scan one of those so you can see the hours of the dining places.

The files seem too big to upload to CC. I think I saw a site where you can post capers? Or I guess I can email to anyone interesed. There are 8 files at 3Mb each, plus the Camp Carnival. So a lot of stuff!

I'm uploading other pictures right now and will continue the rest of the review later tonight.

[MzOhioLady]

Really enjoying the Review!

[lds26]

Oh wow! Wonderful pics!!!!! I am so excited to see pics of this wonderful ship that we will be on very soon.

[Astep@atime]

Okay! Errands done, pics uploaded, capers scanned. Let's get this review going again!

 

I've decided to write it in time sequence (day by day) instead of by category (food, entertainment, etc). Its the way I best remember the great times!

 

Embarkation Day

 

I've already wrote about the process. Went very smooth. We found the room, explored the ship. Did the muster drill. It wasn't that bad - took about 30-45 minutes total. Important stuff. Then we were moving. Woohoo! Celebrations all around. We went up to Lido, got drinks of the day for everyone, and met with our CC roll call group. Really met a lot of nice people and hung with them throughout the cruise - it just made it even better.

 

Our luggage arrived about 4pm, we unpacked, chilled out a bit, then eventually went to dinner (late seating) in Posh. We had asked for a group table, but got placed at a booth for just the 3 of us. Met our waiter and learned about the whole process. You order quickly, and the food arrives in waves. It was good - not spectactular, but we have pretty high standrds since we're able to eat at nice restaurants quite a bit. Our first service problem showed up - the drink waiter couldn't get it together. Our drinks arrived about 5 minutes after main meal (and after appetizers were well gone). Happened the second night too. Oh well. We also tried the famous chocolate melting cake on the first night. Very tasty. And could be addicting if not careful! It will certainly add - to your waistline!

 

Walked around a little and then went to the show in the theatre. Todd Witmer, the cruise director, was great throughout. He enterained us for a while, then there was a comedian - William Troxler. Decent - some laughs, some misses, but we enjoyed it. We were pooped, so we headed off to bed. Slept very well, even though it was very windy and had rough seas. I had no problem with that. My wife had taken Bonine and handled it fine. A few friends of ours did get a bit seasick.

 

 

Day 2 - Sail day

 

Woke up to grey skies. Bummer. Will we ever get away from the monsoon over Florida? We had breakfast in the Posh - very good and great service.

 

This was the day we became oriented to the cut throat competitive sport known as "looking for a deck chair". Yes, it was bad. Crowded, crowded. But in fairness, some of it was due to the top level decks being closed because of high winds. So they lost a lot of space for additional chairs, forcing everyone to fit into a much smaller space.

 

By mid-day, the sun was poking out and everyone was starting to sizzle on deck. We basically hung out for a while, watched events (hairy chest, a blast). Then I went to the art auction. That was fun. Almost, but not quite went for a big buy, but somehow found restraint.

 

This was elegant night, and we looked forward to getting dressed up to the nines! It was a blast to hang out and watch everyone parade up and down the Promenade. Here's a pic of us, so you know who you're reading from

 

 

And one of my son and I....you can dress us up, but we'll still be boys

 

 

 

After dinner (same service problem, good food though), we checked him into Camp Carnival, changed clothes, and had a fun evening. We went to the showmade the rounds of several bars. Ended up dancing late into the evening at the disco. Lots of laughs and new friends.

 

Day 3 - Sea and San Juan

 

We had a full day at Sea as we didn't arrive into San Juan until 5pm. More of the hard life - eating and eating, then fighting for a deck chair. The upper decks were still closed, so it was tight. But we won the lotter and got a couple of prime spots. The clouds had cleared, so it was just a great day in the sun.

 

Then, our first port! San Juan is spectacular to arrive at. You come up on El Morro, and it is stunning. See for yourself:

 

 

San Juan was the one port we didn't plan anything for. Figured we'd explore around and have a short evening. I know some of our new friends were hitting the casino and some of the nightlife.

 

Well, as soon as you get off ship, we were given the full sales pitch by many tour guides. We succumbed, and picked one that had a good bus and was easy to understand. We paid $20 each for a tour that took us past the capitol building, the hotel district, up to Fort San Cristobal. It continued on to El Morro and back to Old San Juan, but we stayed off at Fort San Cristobal and spent an hour and a half touring it. That was fantastic. We picked this fort (instead of El Morro) because our guide said it'd be better (even though El Morro is better known). Really enjoyed learning about the history and seeing the restoration. Here is one shot from Fort San Cristobal, looking along the wall with El Morro in the distance.

 

 

I've got a lot more pictures, but won't bore you with all of them. But here's one last one of our beautiful ship in dock at San Juan.

 

 

 

We walked from the fort into Old San Juan and just strolled about for a while. Ended the day by having dinner and a pitcher of Sangria at a restaurant in one of the plazas. We of course bought some souvenirs, and then headed back onto the ship. An early evening as the next 3 days were port, port, port.

 

But for that, you'll have to wait until the next installment!!

[Astep@atime]

Your photos are amazing. I sail in January on the Freedom, I cant wait.

 

How was the Mongolian Grill? What type of sauces?

 

Did any places have HOT WINGS?

 

We have lived in a few cities that have Mongolian Grill restaurants so I was excited to see one on ship. But it is only open a few hours a day and the wait time is very long due to the fact that they cook it right there. So I never ate at it. But those lucky ones that did said it was very good.

[VernaCS]

We have lived in a few cities that have Mongolian Grill restaurants so I was excited to see one on ship. But it is only open a few hours a day and the wait time is very long due to the fact that they cook it right there. So I never ate at it. But those lucky ones that did said it was very good.

 

The Mongolian Grill was GREAT!!!! We ate there three days in a row, the best time to get in line was right when it opened at noon or right before it closed. I am glad to see that you guys made it home! Tell the family that I said hello!

[Krissta]

 

This picture gives me chills. Brings back so many good memories. All of the cruises I've taken have been out of San Juan, so I remember walking up that walkway so eager to get on the ship. Ahhh...

 

Thank you so much for your review! Can't wait to read and see the rest!

[tinetine]

Can you email me the caper and camp carnival, we are leaving on this same cruise June 20- Thanks so much

[Astep@atime]

Can you email me the caper and camp carnival, we are leaving on this same cruise June 20- Thanks so much

 

Will do tonight, tinetine. Back at work today :( I'll need an email address.

 

I'll continue the rest of the review tonight...

[daisy7113]

You are a very cute family! Thanks for the review. Am looking forward to reading the rest. We are trying to decide on the Freedom for a cruise in September.

[amcjeep4life]

I wish some one would post a review for Freedom with the Costa Rica/Panama intinerary.

 

Still looking forward to hearing your perspective of the ship. :)

 

 

Astep@atime, you are doing an awesome job! We will be on the Freedom in October, but doing the Western 8 day. Gone-cruisin, I will definitely be doing a review! We will be back on 11-1, so look for it to start sometime after that! Did you read LizaM's review of the Western 8 day? She did an awesome job too!

 

Anyway, I love getting all the info I can on this ship, and your pictures are wonderful! We are actually debating doing the Eastern 8 day for our cruise next year, so I am enjoying reading this! Keep up the good work! Can't wait to read the rest!

[SANJOSEGAL]

Of course I want to thank Astep@atime for your great reviews on the Freedom. Wish I knew your name? Great photo of you and the family so handsome (I'm talking about your son) :D hee hee just kidding you all look great.

 

We are also booked on this same cruise Sept 12th we have met a great group of fellow cruisers through CC. Our thread is very active with excursions planned, a list mistress (DaisyGirl55-Marylou) and a link queen (kcparrothead-Dianne) which is how I found you.

 

I'm not sure if you ever thought of being a writer, your Word Choices are specific and memorable. Good writing uses just the right words to say just the right things.Thanks for taking the time and effort involved in posting all this information. You sound like a good man we would enjoy joining you and your family on a cruise one day.

[aubreysmom]

Great Review!!!!! Keep up the good work. I am reliving the cruise all over again :) Love your pics. too. I miss you guys! xxxooo

[angelsbaby1]

Angel and I are soooo glad to have met you and your lovely family. We will have fond memories of our time together for years to come. I am loving this review! I feel like I'm on the Lido all over again. Hope we get to sail together again. I posted some pics in our sig of our sailing. Theres a really good one of Jack by the pool. Take care, I'm looking forward to the rest of your review.

AnitaMarie:cool:

[tinetine]

Thanks so much, ooops sorry I forgot to give you the email address: christinep@atmc.net- I just love this review, your doing a great job, i cant wait for June 20

[kcparrothead]

Can't wait to hear more, especially what you did at all your ports!!!

[Astep@atime]

Of course I want to thank Astep@atime for your great reviews on the Freedom. Wish I knew your name? Great photo of you and the family so handsome (I'm talking about your son) :D hee hee just kidding you all look great.

 

We are also booked on this same cruise Sept 12th we have met a great group of fellow cruisers through CC. Our thread is very active with excursions planned, a list mistress (DaisyGirl55-Marylou) and a link queen (kcparrothead-Dianne) which is how I found you.

 

I'm not sure if you ever thought of being a writer, your Word Choices are specific and memorable. Good writing uses just the right words to say just the right things.Thanks for taking the time and effort involved in posting all this information. You sound like a good man we would enjoy joining you and your family on a cruise one day.

 

Yvonne - thank you for the kind words. I do enjoy writing. Looked back at last night's post and it was full of spelling and grammar errors. Now the pressure is on! By the way, I'm Lee.

[Astep@atime]

Can't wait to hear more, especially what you did at all your ports!!!

 

Coming a little later tonight KC. I'm going to first mess with finding a way to post the capers somewhere. Glad you're enjoying it!

[CeleBrat]

YAHOOOOOOOO!!!! An Eastern review for the Freedom! You are my hero--as there is very little info about the Freedom/Eastern route.

 

And--count me in as being another fan of yours....! Anxiously awaiting the next installment of the review.

 

CeleBrat

[Astep@atime]

Alright, time to get this moving again!

I believe I left off with San Juan. There was an important item I forgot to add about San Juan that was a big question for us: Will we have time to get to the forts before they close? The answer is...if you're lucky. We were scheduled to be in port from 5pm to 12pm. We had heard the forts close at 6, so didn't think we could make it. Fortunately, we arrived early (before 4pm), maybe those big winds paid off! And we learned that you can enter Fort San Cristobal up to 7pm, and El Morro up to 6pm. So we did have time. If those are high on your list, you may want to go directly to one of them instead of taking a tour like we did.

One more thing about the ship...the gym! I knew there were times I'd be glutinous, so I planned to work out when I could. The first two days, the track was unavailable because the upper deck was closed. So I hit the gym. It is very well equipped for a ship. I think there were about 8 treadmills, 4 ellipticals, spinning bikes, a bunch (15-20) of resistance machines, and dumbells.

I got a nice education about running on a treadmill on a rough sea day. I was cruising along, and I kept running up on the controls, or falling back on the tread (almost off). And once in a while I'd go side to side like a drunken sailor. I finally realized that it was the ship's movement. DUH! Also, I'm tall (6'3") and I had about 4 inches of head clearance to the ceiling, with incline set at 0. So if you're taller or like a lot of incline, it may be tight!

Later in the cruise the track was open and I really enjoyed early morning runs as the sun was getting up and the people weren't!

Day 4 - St. Thomas

We were really excited about this port. After much research, we had reserved a half day private sail on the Jolly Mon. The plan was to get away from the hustle and bustle for a little quiet time. We weren't disappointed! The Jolly Mon is moored right where we docked, so no time was wasted taxiing to the other side of the island. Nice! Here it is (the black beauty in front) as we arrived at port.

 

The sail was fantastic. Our captain, Sarah, was friendly and knowledgeable. Our goal for the day: snorkeling with Sea Turtles! We sailed out to Buck Island. It took us about an hour to get there. We watched catamarans and larger boats, crammed to the gills with cruisers, along the way. Nice that we had just 5 of us aboard!

 

Once we got there, we snorkeled for almost two hours. We saw plenty of turtles, a stingray, and fish galore. One underwater pic of a cool guy (don't know if his name was Crush, but we called him that) is below.

 

 

 

We also saw some vey funny looking underwater creatures. They looked part human, part sea horse. They had the body of a human, but they rode these mechanical devices under the water that fit over their heads. Quite a funny parade ;) Just another excursion that we thought were entertaining.

 

After the snorkel, we sailed back, enjoyed beverages and a snack. Once into town, we took our son back on board to Camp Carnival. We fortified ourselves for the task at hand: SHOPPING!

 

Once fueled up, we set about in search of a bargain. What, you think you can't find a bargain at a cruise port? Ha ha. St. Thomas hands out VIP discounts and "special price just for you" for anyone with a pulse. We did succeed - by picking out an anniversary gift of an ammolite pendant. Stunning! Better yet, duty free! I think we did okay - ended up with about 25% off their original price to us.

 

My next goal was to find a local watering hole in each port and get a t-shirt or cap. But we feel authenticity is important, so we wouldn't cheapen the experience without having sat at the bar and imbibed. We first went to Bumpa's - a little cafe on the upper level of a store, for a bite to eat and a Bushwacker. Tasty! Then we ended up at the Green House, just a simple island bar. A Painkiller definately lived up to its name!

 

After getting back on ship, we enjoyed another dinner at Posh. By this time, our good friends from CC, Charlotte and Dave, had gotten us relocated to their table. Yeah, baby, down to the main floor! The service here was impeccable - a big upgrade over our booth. Another nice meal and another experiment with dessert. Thus sated, we called it an early night, as an early day on Antigua awaited us.

 

Day 5 - Antigua

 

Woke up to sunshine and great expectations. For this day, our planned excursion was Eli's Circumnavigation tour. This is a high speed boat that circles the island, with stops for lunch, beach time, and snorkeling. We had read great things about this tour and they delivered. Just a wonderful day and great guides.

 

I'll continue on another post so I can add more pictures....