Carnival Freedom Review 6/6/09 sailing...

[kbaby0313]

Hey all!! Just home from the Carnival Freedom 6/6/09 8 day sailing that stopped in Colon, Panama; Limon,Costa Rica; and Belize (in place of Cozumel, Mexico). I know everyone (including myself) enjoy reading other people's reviews so I've decided I would give writing one myself a shot if anyone is interested. Let me know and i'll do my best to be as detailed as possible about the entire ship and trip.

[tnsunshine]

Please tell more!!! What excursions did you do? How was your cabin? How was the ship?

[PinkJellyFish06]

I would love to read your review!

So you werent able to stop in Cozumel??

[kbaby0313]

This was my second cruise on the Carnival Freedom and I feel I still did not see everything that this amazing ship has to offer! We were in cabin 8257(cat 8c) and it was perfect. We got to our cabin around 1:30pm and it was clean and inviting. Our room steward was Joseph, who was perfect. He greeted us by name each time he saw us and was on top of everything. He saw me walk to our room with a beach towel in my hand and before we knew it, he had a fresh one waiting for me. He never missed a beat! The room had plenty of room for two people. A couch on the left hand side (not a pull out bed) and lots of closet space.

 

I was nervous being on deck 8,right below lido, because of noise, but we didn;t hear a thing. I think this is because our cabin was towards the front and most of the activity is more aft. The balcony was amazing. I spent a lot of time out there just in awe of the wonderful view of the ocean! My favorite thing was the last night of the cruise I snuggled up in one of carnival's robes, took my pillow out on the balcony and layed down on the lounge chair and just looked up at the stars. It was amazing!

[kbaby0313]

I'll start from the beginning. I already posted about our cabin, but I'll go back to embarkation.

 

June 6- Embarkation- Me (23) and my boyfriend (27) along with his parents sailed on this wonderful ship. His parents were renewing their wedding vows after 32 years of marriage on the ship (more details about that later). We live near Tampa, Fl so we drove to Ft. Lauderdale friday night and stayed at the Sleep Inn and Suites (about 4 miles from the port). Not an extravagant hotel, but it got the job done. The morning of embarkation we left the hotel and went to park n fly, which is located about two minutes from the port. We booked this online and prepaid for parking for the 8 days we would be gone. It was a covered lot and costs about $2 less per day then parking at the port itself. They have shuttles that run constantly to and from the port and they pick you up at your car, put all your luggage in the shuttle and drop you off right up front at the terminal. My boyfriend's parents are VIP cruisers, so we were able to go through the VIP line with them, which we are so thankful for because the line outside the terminal looked painfully long and it was 90 degrees outside!!! In less than 30 mins we were on the ship. We got in line right away to book our excursion for Panama,then off to lido deck for our first buffet meal!

 

At 1:30 we made our way to our cabin (which you can read about above) and then headed off the the muster drill around 3:45pm. This wasn't bad, we got that overwith and by time we finished and came back to our room,allof our luggage had arrived! We settled in and headed up to lido for the sailaway party.

[kimmy624]

I'm a sucker for pics. If you have any you would like to share that would be great. Particularly of your cabin, the pool and anything to do with food:D

 

Love your TR so far!

[Fawn]

More more!! We're on this cruise next March...reviews are slim, so it's great to read your TR!

[kbaby0313]

I would be more than happy to post pictures if I could figure out how to do it on here! lol. Can I upload them right to my post,or do I need to upload them to a site and then post a link??

[kbaby0313]

Our itinerary was changed due to the H1N1 (swine) flu. Our original itinerary was:

 

Sat-embarkation

Sun-Sea day

Mon-Cozumel

Tues-Sea day

Weds-Costa Rica

Thurs-Panama

Fri-Sea day

Sat-Sea day

Sun-Debarkation

 

and it was changed to:

 

Sat-embarkation

Sun-sea day

Mon-sea day

Tues-Panama

Weds-Costa Rica

Thurs-sea day

Fri-Belize

Sat-sea day

Sun-debarkation

 

We had already been to Cozumel and Belize before this trip, so either way was fine with us! Back to the review...

 

Embarkation Night- After unpacking and enjoying a few drinks on lido deck, we made our way to the dining room for dinner. We were at the 6:00 seating, in the Chic dining room (which is the mid ship dining room) at table 141. We had a nice view of the ocean from our table. Our head waiter was Gusti, very nice and funny guy. He sang to us all the time and was very personable from the moment we walked in. We had a table for four, so it was just our family there, but on either side of us were tables with families of six that we enjoyed talking with at dinner each night.First night, had to have the steak!! It was cooked perfectly, and of course, the warm chocolate melting cake for dessert!! This dessert is on the menu nightly, so its a must at least once on the cruise!!!!

 

Since our whole group has cruised carnival before, we were planning on skipping the "Welcome Aboard" show since we have all seen it, but in the capers was something that caught our attention and we went. It was the normal welcome aboard song and dance, then they had a comedian finish out the show. Marvin Todd was the comedian who was wonderful. He got everyone excited about vacation and I was plesantly surprised that they put a twist on the usual welcome aboard show.

 

The last time we sailed on the Freedom, Todd Wittmer was our cruise director and James Dunn was a part of the entertainment staff. We got to know them both on our last cruise and were absolutely thrilled when we boarded this time and found that Todd would once again be our CD and James had been promoted to Assistant Cruise Director. They were excellent together and we found out that they will both be on the Carnival Dream starting in Sept. I cannot wait to sail with them again!

 

After the show, we wondered around the ship, checked out the casino, and hit the 70's Disco(which is the club on board) and no, they do not play 70's music,its just the theme, haha.

 

We got some ice cream and frozen yogurt from the 24 hour machine, then headed to our room around 1:00am and got ready for our fun day at sea!

[dna515]

I'm loving your review! I will be on the Freedom in 19 days! Can't wait for you to figure out how to post pics...I tried to figure it out as well, but sadly failed. Someone help her out!

[kbaby0313]

June 7- Sea day: Got up around 8:30, threw on our bathing suits and headed up to lido deck for breakfast. Nice selection as always, cereal, fruit, eggs, bacon, waffles, bagels and so on. I'm not a huge breakfast person, so cereal and fruit were fine for me!

 

We headed out to lido and got some seats out in the sun. There were lots of activities this day. I've got my capers here for reference so I don't leave anything out!

 

At 10:45am in the main pool on lido they had water aerobics. I've never seen this before so I decided to try it out. Steve, one of the guys on the entertainment staff, was in charge of this. Not only was he nice to look at, but made it so fun. He has an awesome sense of humor and had the whole lido deck laughing.

 

Around noon we headed in for lunch and then back out to lido for the ice carving demonstration. It was awesome to watch as usual, but during the carving, it started to get really cloudy and did not look good. Sure enough, right after the ice carving was finished, they announced that the hairy chest contest and other activities on the lido deck had been cancelled due to the weather and within minutes it was pouring out :(

We headed in and played some trivia and had some fun inside before heading to our room to get ready for the evening. Tonight was formal night (captain's cocktail party).

 

We headed to the international lounge (in the very back of the ship on deck 5) for the captain's cocktail party. On every other cruise we have been on, the CD and captain and other members of the staff are usually outside waiting in a line ready to shake your hand on your way in,but not this time. There was no one. We went in, sat down, and grabbed some complimentary drinks. After about 15 mins the CD and other staff showed up and they introduced the captain, who in turn introduced the other senior officers. It was nice, they had a band on stage that played music and invited people on stage to dance. After this was over we headed to the dining room for dinner. Lobster, yum!!! It was cooked nicely and really hit the spot!

 

Showtime was at 8:30 this night and was "The Big Easy"which was a tribute to New Orleans. We watched it, but honestly I was finding it hard to keep my eyes open. It was a good show, just not my cup of tea. The seas were rough this night, they even had barf bags on each deck all over the place for people. I didn't think it was that bad, but I guess for some people it was. I took my Bonine pill every morning and I was fine all day.

 

They had a midnight comedy show at midnight this night as well with the same comedian, Marvin Todd, from the welcome aboard show. It was held in the International Lounge. He was funny, but not what I was expecting for adult comedy,more like PG-13,lol.

 

After the comedy show, we hit the aft hot tubs (adults only) for a little bit, then off to bed to get ready for the next sea day ahead!

[kbaby0313]

I just wanted to mention that even though it was a disappointment that it was raining on our first sea day, the staff handled it well and tried to get everyone excited about the activities inside. By the way, I'm so jealous of everyone who is sailing soon, lol, I've been off for one day and want to plan another one asap!!! :)

 

Also, if anyone has any questions at all, feel free to ask. I really want to post pics of the ship and stuff for everyone, so if anyone can assist me on how to do so it would be greatly appreciated!!

[tsj]

Kbaby, Thank you for the review, I am enjoying it so much. We will have a balcony on the Verandah deck, rather far forward. I'm wondering which cabin you were in and if your bacony terribly windy while at sea. Thanks so much. Teri

[kbaby0313]

We were in cabin 8257. This was my first time cruising with a balcony room, so I can't say it was more or less windy than normal, but it was quite windy. Not too bad if you were just sitting out there, but if you are standing near the railing, or leaning forward,it obviously is pretty windy. We really enjoyed it though!

[tsj]

Kbaby. Thank you :) Can't wait to read more of your review!

[kbaby0313]

June 8- Sea day: This morning I got up early and went to check out the gym. I really enjoyed it, but it was quite crowded. After working out for a little bit, I went up to deck 11 and walked the track for a little while. There is nothing more relaxing than being at the top of the ship and taking in those amazing views! It's pretty windy up there, but an awesome way to start the day.

 

After that, we headed to lido for breakfast. The weather this morning was nice, but not as sunny as I would have liked it to be. After breakfast we went and watched the morning show with the cruise director Todd and the assistant cruise director James. For those of who you are not familiar with this, The morning show is a 45 min or so show that is done on every sea day. It is aired on the big screen on lido deck or on channel 16 in your cabin. Todd and James are hilarious together, so we really enjoyed watching it. On the show they talk about the days events and read letters that the guests have written and dropped off at the purser's desk the previous day. I actually wrote one for them to read on the air to let them know that this was our second time sailing with them and to ask them to congratulate my boyfriend's parents on 32 years of marriage. (His parents had no idea I did this, so when they read the letter on the air, they were shocked) After reading the letter they actually called our stateroom and talked to me live on the air. I told them that the wedding ceremony was that afternoon and they said they wanted to be there. We were really looking forward to it.

 

After the show was over we went up to lido deck to find that it was once again raining!! So, rather than get upset about it, we wondered inside and found other things to do. We played trivia, taboo, took some dance classes, and just made the best of it. I really enjoyed the entertainment staff. Steve from England, Eli from New Zealand, and Melissa from Canada were awesome and really put their heart and soul into everything that they did.

 

After all the trivia was done it was time to get ready for my boyfriend's parents wedding vow renewal ceremony. It was at 3 pm in the chic annex and was decorated beautifully. The captain (Orazio D' Aita) hosted the ceremony and sure enough Todd and James showed up. We had lots of fun and the ceremony was wonderful. His parents had their own photgrapher taking hundreds of pictures that they would later be able to purchase (by the way, each 8 x 10 was $30...crazy!!) The captain is basically in and out, he comes in, performs the ceremony and leaves. After that they serve cake and champagne. It was nice to be able to have been a part of their celebration. The whole thing lasted about an hour and a half.

 

At 5pm we participated in the ship's scavenger hunt. This was a blast!!! We split into 15 teams (the 4 of us were a team) and Eli handed out papers that had a list of 20 items to collect from around the ship. Some of the items were a completed towel animal, a picture of a baby, a slice of pineapple, an empty ice cream cone, non u.s currency, and so on. We were the first team back and won the scavenger hunt. It was so much fun. I encourage anyone who's able to participate to do so!!

 

After that was over it was dinner time again. Tonight the dining room staff performed a song and dance, it was very cute. After dinner was $650 bingo! I was obsessed with bingo as I am on every cruise, even though I never win, lol.

 

Tonight's show was a big band swing singer, which we did not see, but we heard it was good. They had a deck party on lido deck tonight as well starting at 9:30pm. From past experience the deck partys are a lot of fun with great dancing music and the traditional songs like YMCA and so on, but not this one. It was strictly a latin themed deck party. It was fun for a little bit, but after 45mins of nothing but latin music, it died down quickly out there. Not many people participated and I think a lot were disappointed with the theme. Most people we spoke with would have preferred it to be the traditional deck party music, but I can't blame them for trying something new, I just don't feel that it worked. Also, on our last two cruises, the CD was out and about at the deck party, but not at this one, which was a disappointment. After about an hour out there, we headed into the piano bar and spent the rest of the night there. Then, off to bed to be up bright and early for our Panama excursion!

[kbaby0313]

Just to give a little info about the ship since I have yet to figure out how to post pictures. The main lobby on deck 3 is amazing. It goes all the way up to deck 9, so when you look up it is such a beautiful sight of lights that go all the way up and change colors constantly. There are 2 dining rooms, the Chic and Posh. The Chic is midship on decks 3 and 4, and Posh is aft on decks 3 and 4. Since I have sailed on the freedom twice, I have dined in both. They are about the same, beautiful decor. The chic is more gold decorations and the Posh is more silver. They have the same menus and each have a 6pm and 8:15pm seating. The posh is also open for open seating breakfast and lunch. The Victoriana lounge is the main show lounge. It is beautiful. It has a maroon and goldish decor and is breathtaking! It is accessible from decks 3 and 4 all the way forward. Deck 5, promenade deck is constantly filled with people. Here you will find the fun ship shops with items like jewelry, perfume, and any kind of carnival souvenier you could ever want! Also, the babylon casino is on deck 5. Its huge, decorated with a sort of egyptian theme. We spent a few nights here, and I was lucky on the Golden Monkey slot machine in the back by the cashier, lol. There is a sushi place also by the club on deck 5, which looked yummy but we didnt try it. Vienesse Cafe is a must. You must pay, but they have the BEST chocolate covered strawberries!!! Also, they sell coffee, lattes, cookies and so on. The club has a 70's theme, but they don't play 70's music. Everything is decorated with the numbers 70. It's pretty cool. Scott's piano bar is aft, and we had Josh from NY entertaining us each night. He was very good and also in a cheerful mood. The piano spins and you can sit around it as it spins. There is a huge screen on lido deck where they show movies nightly. We enjoyed sitting out there at night. On one night they showed game 7 of the Stanley Cup which was really exciting to watch out there! The ship is beautiful! I will post pics as soon as I figure out how.

Any questions let me know!

[celticd1]

Thanks for the review...can't wait for more and for pics! Hope you figure out how to post them...or you could always post them to webshots or flikr and post the link.

 

Sailing on the Freedom in January, love to read reviews about her! Looking forward to reading about the ports and what you did in each.

[daisy7113]

Enjoying your review so far. Agree. pics would be great. We on the Freedom in September so I really enjoy reading what people have to say.

[dna515]

Can you tell us what you did in Costa Rica and Panama?

[travlngrl1996]

Kbababy, I am loving the review. I am a newbie at posting pics, but I will try to help. Upload your pics to one of the free photo sites. I use Webshots, others are Photobucket and Flickers ( I think). But in Webshots, once you have uploaded all of your pics, you go back and choose the pic you want posted. From there next to the selected pic is an option that says "Link this" I pick the largest size to post a big pic vs. A thumbnail size pic. This step will generate a code that you copy and paste wherever you like in your post. I hope this helps. If not, use the search feature from this site and search "uploading pictures to posts" and you will find several posts with good instructions. I also used the "test forum" to play around with pics and it worked out good. Can't wait to see your pics.

[travlngrl1996]

My steps will instruct you to post your pics in your review. Another above poster suggested uploading and linking your pics to the photo website as I have done on my first review (see the link below in my signature) both are very good options for sharing your pics.

[kdoodle22]

Hey travlngrl1996, I just wanted to say thank you. I have never posted pictures before. So I followed all of your directions and it worked! I tried it out on the test site (which I never knew existed). Then I posted in destinations for Jamaica. I had a good shot of me ziplining at Mystic Mountain. Thanks again! I'm really excited that it worked!

 

Kim :)

[Chris and Em]

Kbaby, Thank you for the review, I am enjoying it so much. We will have a balcony on the Verandah deck, rather far forward. I'm wondering which cabin you were in and if your bacony terribly windy while at sea. Thanks so much. Teri

 

 

TSJ,

 

we are on the same sailing!!! also on the Verandah with a balcony... we're getting close.:o

[D3m3nt3dB3atz]

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