Freedom Eastern review (finally!)

[Cruisechic470]

I was always looking for a review from this itinerary before I left, and I could never find one, so here you go... :)

We are a family of four from Florida. This is our 4th Carnival cruise and tenth cruise all together.

It was only a 15 minute drive to the port. We arrived at the terminal around 12 on Saturday to long, long, long lines. It took us about two hours to get on board, the AC and the computers were both down. But once we got on, it was smooth sailing. We got lunch at the lido, I think two of us got ruebens and two of us got fish and chips. Everything was great! We just walked around until the dreaded muster drill, which wasn't bad at all. We headed up to watch us sail away, we were supposed to leave at 4, but there was a lot of traffic in the harbor and we didn't end up leaving until 6. We had early seating in the Posh dining room, our table was already occupied when we got there, so we had to change tables. But, our waiters and waitresses were great ( Natalya and Renalto). Get the baby back ribs. They were delicious (they also had these the last night). We took some casual pictures tonight, then went to the show at 10:30. It was a welcome aboard show with comedian Michael Panzeca.

 

To be continued...:D

[dna515]

Great so far! Keep it coming! I'll be on the Freedom in a few days!!!!!! :D

[lennel]

How could your table be occupied if you had reserved seating?

[Cruisechic470]

dna515 - thanks! You'll love the freedom, its a great ship!

 

lennel - They double-booked the table, and they got there first; so we had to move. But, the Maitre'd was very apologetic and it worked out fine :)

 

I'll continue later... :D

[Cruisechic470]

Today was a sea day. We woke up early because we didn't want to miss anything, and had breakfast in the freedom restaurant on the lido deck. The food was okay, but not as good as usual. We jogged on the jogging track... the best view ever!! There was a lot more walkers then runners. After that we went and got some chairs. We got in the pool before it got to crowded and even went down the slide (several times). :-). Todd and James the cruise directors put on a morning show and it played on the big screen and it was very funny. This cruise was their last one, they're both going to the Dream. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and reading by the pool and playing a couple rounds on mini golf. We had lunch at the lido again and it was good, lunch was always good because there were so many options. We had early seating and went back to the room around 4 to get ready for dinner and the captains cocktail party at 5:15. There was plenty of free drinks to go around. Dinner was also really good tonight, lobster night :) mmmm... After dinner, we went to the international lounge and listened to music connection. The main showtime was "Big Easy". It was a production style show, but we didn't go. We went to the adults only comedy show at 10:30 with the same guy from the night before. He was very funny and I would make sure that you go. Just get there early, because it was packed!! It was in the international lounge and a lot of peple ended up standing.

[zqvol]

I was always looking for a review from this itinerary before I left, and I could never find one, so here you go... :)

We are a family of four from Florida. This is our 4th Carnival cruise and tenth cruise all together.

 

It was only a 15 minute drive to the port. We arrived at the terminal around 12 on Saturday to long, long, long lines. It took us about two hours to get on board, the AC and the computers were both down. But once we got on, it was smooth sailing. We got lunch at the lido, I think two of us got ruebens and two of us got fish and chips. Everything was great! We just walked around until the dreaded muster drill, which wasn't bad at all. We headed up to watch us sail away, we were supposed to leave at 4, but there was a lot of traffic in the harbor and we didn't end up leaving until 6. We had early seating in the Posh dining room, our table was already occupied when we got there, so we had to change tables. But, our waiters and waitresses were great ( Natalya and Renalto). Get the baby back ribs. They were delicious (they also had these the last night). We took some casual pictures tonight, then went to the show at 10:30. It was a welcome aboard show with comedian Michael Panzeca.

 

To be continued...:D

 

Today was a sea day. We woke up early because we didn't want to miss anything, and had breakfast in the freedom restaurant on the lido deck. The food was okay, but not as good as usual. We jogged on the jogging track... the best view ever!! There was a lot more walkers then runners. After that we went and got some chairs. We got in the pool before it got to crowded and even went down the slide (several times). :-). Todd and James the cruise directors put on a morning show and it played on the big screen and it was very funny. This cruise was their last one, they're both going to the Dream. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and reading by the pool and playing a couple rounds on mini golf. We had lunch at the lido again and it was good, lunch was always good because there were so many options. We had early seating and went back to the room around 4 to get ready for dinner and the captains cocktail party at 5:15. There was plenty of free drinks to go around. Dinner was also really good tonight, lobster night mmmm... After dinner, we went to the international lounge and listened to music connection. The main showtime was "Big Easy". It was a production style show, but we didn't go. We went to the adults only comedy show at 10:30 with the same guy from the night before. He was very funny and I would make sure that you go. Just get there early, because it was packed!! It was in the international lounge and a lot of peple ended up standing.

 

 

Wish I could read this. Please don't use colors in your posts. Lots of people cannot read reds, greens, etc. Stick to the standard colors.

[Disneycruisers]

Looking forward to the rest of your review. We sail her in 19 days. Give us the whole scoop.

[LUV THE SEA]

Great review and thanks for all of your help with inof on my cabin...I am so glad with my selection...can't wait to read more...I am glad from whatI have read you had a great time...:)

[osiebosie]

I'm boarding Freedom this weekend and can't wait to see the rest of your review, but, as another poster requested, can you post it in regular blue? I love the colors, but they are difficult for my eyes. I'll still read it if you don't, though!!

 

Shay

[Cruisechic470]

Today was another sea day with a night in San Juan. We woke up around 8 and had breakfast in the dining room, which was very good. I think everyone got eggs benedict. We went upstairs to find that there were plenty of chairs, even at 9:00. We bummed around on deck for most of the morning. It was nice that they had trivia and bingo, up on the big screen so you could play while you lounged by the pool. We also watched the morning show on the big screen, and is was great as usual.We had lunch at the lido again, there was just so much good food! The taste of the nations was Mediterranean today and everything else was open (mexican, grille, deli, mongolian grille, tandoor, and fish and chips). For most of the cruise those stations had pretty limited hours. We just hung out until it was time for us to sail into San Juan. We had been to San Juan many, many times and usually love it, but this time we were a little disappointed. I guess because we were there at night. There was a lot of people begging on the street corner, which doesn't bother me until they get rude if you don't give them money. We still made the best of it and walked around, shopped and went to Starbucks. We were back on the ship by eight and had dinner on the lido. It was good and the restaurant was empty. They had open seating in the dining room tonight from 6:00 to 9:00.Make sure you go to the showtime tonight. It was comedy hypnosis with Asad Mecci. I didn't know what to expect, but it was great! Then we were off to bed, we had an early morning in St.Thomas.

[Cruisechic470]

We woke up in beautiful St.Thomas. We had booked a tour with Sunny Liston and he could either pick you up at 9, 10 or 11. We chose 9:00, so after a quick breakfast on the lido, we got off and met him. He drove us downtown to shop. We shopped down main street and at the flea market, then had lunch. He picked us up at noon for the island tour. He has 3 buses. If possible, try to get on his bus. He was great! He made the tour so much fun. He drives a little crazy, but I never felt unsafe. He played music and we danced all the way up the mountain. He stops on the caribbean side and the Atlantic side. The views are stunning! We were supposed to stop at mountain top, but it burned down the week before we were there. So, he takes you to the botanical gardens, which are beautiful. This is the new home to the famous banana daiquiri. It was a little pricey ($7.50) but I thought it was worth it. Then it was time to go down the mountain "slide" as Sunny said. He dropped you off at your beach of choice - Sapphire, Coki or Mageans bay. Everyone chose Sapphire, except us who chose Mageans (which had an additional $4 charge). The beach and water were gorgeous, but as expected it was a little crowded. He picked us up 2 hours later and took you back to the ship. We got back at 4:45ish and got right back on as we had to be back on by 5:30. For $25 a person, you can't beat Sunny's tour- especially with taxi prices in St.Thomas. He makes it so much fun, you never get bored like with other tours. When we got back on we went back to the room to shower and get ready for dinner. The main show that night was a Big Band swing show with Jamie Frasier. We didn't go, but we went and watched Slumdog milionaire on the bigscreen. Make sure you watch a movie on the bigscreen at least once during your cruise, its the best!

[crewsweeper]

Thanks for the review cruisechild...keep it coming. We're still looking at options for St Thomas for our "Dream" cruise next May, so nice to hear about Sonny's tour.

[Cruisechic470]

Thanks for the review cruisechild...keep it coming. We're still looking at options for St Thomas for our "Dream" cruise next May, so nice to hear about Sonny's tour.

 

 

Sunny is great if you wanna see the island! I highly recommend him! But I've been to St.Thomas before and theres a lot of good options. Last year we went to Water island which is almost secluded and only a short ferry ride. It's very relaxing. We also went to St.Johns one year. The beches are gorgeous, but the ferry ride is 45 minutes and pretty expensive. Or if you wanna snorkel, go with island girl. They have motorized handheld scooters that pull you around.

 

Are you going on the Carnival Dream? Thats where Todd (our CD) and James (our Assistant CD) are going after their vacation. They were great!!! :)

[Jeans*Fanatic]

Hey Cruisechic!

You picture with the three ships reminds me of my pic that I took in St Thomas last year on my cruise.

 

I am loving your review so far!

[Jeans*Fanatic]

^

I accidentally deleted the pic, when I was re-arranging my photos... But here it goes again...

[Fawn]

Wish I could read this. Please don't use colors in your posts. Lots of people cannot read reds, greens, etc. Stick to the standard colors.

 

If you highlight what you are trying to read, it makes it blue and white...easy to read! :)

[Cruisechic470]

Jeans*Fanatic- great pictures!!! :)

[scrappinannie]

So far, so good! We'll be on Freedom, same itinerary, in January. We're also doing the same tour as you on St. Thomas...glad to see there is an alternate spot to Mountain Top.

 

I am looking forward to more of your review.

[crewsweeper]

Sunny is great if you wanna see the island! I highly recommend him! But I've been to St.Thomas before and theres a lot of good options. Last year we went to Water island which is almost secluded and only a short ferry ride. It's very relaxing. We also went to St.Johns one year. The beches are gorgeous, but the ferry ride is 45 minutes and pretty expensive. Or if you wanna snorkel, go with island girl. They have motorized handheld scooters that pull you around.

 

Are you going on the Carnival Dream? Thats where Todd (our CD) and James (our Assistant CD) are going after their vacation. They were great!!! :)

 

Island girl was the other suggestion we're considering. Yes we're Dreaming in May with Todd and James. And in January we'll experience how good John Herald is as CD. Now enough about me...get on with your great review!!

[Mikel1733]

If you highlight what you are trying to read, it makes it blue and white...easy to read! :)

 

Hey thanks for the tip.........something I should know and didn't :)

[Cruisechic470]

Sorry it took so long to get this up, Enjoy!

 

We didn't rush to get off this morning as we were just going to the beach. We had breakfast on the lido again and we're off the ship by 9:30. This was our second time in Antigua and we were going to the same beach as we did last time. Dickensens bay beach is gorgeous. But, it was more crowded this time then last. It was a $12 taxi ride each way (for four people). We rented a jet ski ($45 for 30 minute) and a hobie cat ($50 for an hour). We had some issues with the people we booked the hobie cat from, they booked too many people and even though we had a pre-arranged time we had to wait. Either way, the beach is great and we had fun. We went back to the ship and had lunch on the lido which was great as always. We usually just ate at the deli, grille, mexican bar or fish and chips. But there's always the grand buffet as well. We got off to shop at the shops right by the port. There's also a flea market right there. We shopped for an hour then got back on to get ready for our bridge tour. A friend of mine is an engineer for Carnival and arranged for us to do a bridge tour it was vey nice and they let us stay on the bridge as we casted off. We had to go right to dinner from here, and dinner was good as usual. After dinner there was a carnival colors fun hop, don't miss this! The ship is divided into 3 teams - white, red and blue. Basically, you met at a lounge and lounge hopped, danced and sang karaoke. This all led up to one big deck party. Lots of fun! Then we headed to bed because we had an early day in Tortola the next day.

 

 

[anita0427]

OMG I cant wait I leave on on July 18th. Thanks to the the OP.

[Cruisechic470]

We were up at 6:30 because we had a early excursion. We booked a trip to the baths with Patouche, and I can't recommend it more! It's a little pricey, but well worth it. We had a taxi driver pick us up and drive us to the docks. Taxi fare was included on the way, but we had to pay our way back ($4 pp). We got our fins, masks and snorkels and boarded a catermaran. There was only 10 of us. Drinks were included. The ride was very scenic and they narrarated the whole way to Virgin Gorda. We beat the cruise ship excursion, which made me very happy when I saw the loads of people. We snorkeled into one beach, went througn the baths (gorgeous!), then had time at the other beach before swimming back to the boat, for drinks and snacks. We sail back, we powered there and it's so relaxing. We were back before 1:00 and had a taxi waiting. We had to pay, but he dropped us of at the flea market right outside the port. It was more expensive then most. There's no drinking age in Tortola, and no open container laws (in cars). I found that interesting! It was the best day of our vacation!! We watched us sail away then went to get ready for the past guests party in the main lounge because there was so many repeat guests, then we went to dinner. We went to the comedy show with Happy Cole tonight, it was funny but not hilarious - then karaoke. We were tired!

[AryMay]

 

The photo made me think of something I just read on John Heald's blog yesterday. (He just started back as CD of the Freedom this week.)

 

I wanted to tell you about the time I was Fun Ship Freddy. I am sorry …….. I should have put a parental guidance notice on this bit and I apologize to anyone reading this who thought that Fun ship Freddy, The Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and that RCI had better food than Carnival were actually real…………….oops.

 

Anyway, when Freddy first joined us I agreed to be the funnel headed one but only if no one knew that it was me inside……..and yes…..I can fit into the costume …. Just barely.

 

I’m obviously quite well known when I am a CD onboard so I thought that it would be novel to stroll around in front of 3,000 people and not be recognized.

 

The outfit was quite heavy and hot, with just a small slit at eye level to stop me walking into things. Before the show started, I wandered around the promenade deck and showroom, waving to the guests and having my photo taken with small children and some adults. Such is the role of the mascot.

 

For these photos, I adopted my regulation warm-hearted grin but after I’d posed for about 20 such shots, it occurred to me that this was completely unnecessary because I couldn’t be seen. I was getting a bit bored and hot by now and it was a real treat to not have to look happy and enthusiastic. Come photograph number 100 I was actually scowling ………………. But no one could tell. This was a truly liberating experience.

[BodyAndMind]

Wow, OP, I'm jealous of your Baths trip with Patouche. We booked our Baths trip through the ship and getting over there and back was no fun. It was worth it because the Baths were so cool, but even so ... yuck. I wish we'd done this trip the way you did it!