Just back from 6-28 freedom

[WitchyWoman14]

Not to hijack either, but if Carnival finds the camera, chances are they will mail it to you. My hubby lost his cell phone on a cruise, we called, they had not seen it... He bought a new cell phone and a couple of weeks later Carnival mailed us his phone... They had found it... :) Hopefully it will be found and returned to you soon...

 

Just a tip I have read... Take a picture of your name and address/phone number as the first pic on your camera so that if it is found by someone, they can send it to you (hopefully they would be honest)... I know that doesn't help you now, but in the future, it could be a good idea..

 

 

 

Fellow passenger. Your pictures are beautiful!

 

I don't want to hijack your thread, but I'm trying to post where I can...we came up missing a digital camera on our trip. We are fairly confident my daughter left in the terminal in the area where Group 1 waited or in the Lido buffet area prior to getting into our rooms. If anyone found it, please post. Thanks so much!

[cruzsearcher]

Not to hijack either, but if Carnival finds the camera, chances are they will mail it to you. My hubby lost his cell phone on a cruise, we called, they had not seen it... He bought a new cell phone and a couple of weeks later Carnival mailed us his phone... They had found it... :) Hopefully it will be found and returned to you soon...

 

Just a tip I have read... Take a picture of your name and address/phone number as the first pic on your camera so that if it is found by someone, they can send it to you (hopefully they would be honest)... I know that doesn't help you now, but in the future, it could be a good idea..

 

That is such a great idea!!! Sure beats an address label that ends up all nasty by trip's end from sun lotion, sanitizer residue, or DOD drippings!

[sokz]

sea day number one allowed us to just mosey round the ship and take some pics and stuff. There were a lot of events going around the ship such as the art auctions and bingos and music stuff on the lido, so we didnt get to see everything.

Sat at a roulette table for a while..lost boo...I will say that i liked the layout of the casino however there was only one low limit night and it was the first day. I think i would have played more if there was aat least another low limit night or somethin.

We played some golf which was fun..one of the better courses I think on the ships Ive been on.

 

after that we went to the adult only pool area to lunge around and swim for a bit. Saw some "chair hogging" but it wasnt that bad. We managed to find some chairs on the 10th deck above the pool that was quieter than some areas. It was really windy if you went any higher....I cant imagine how the bar waitors dont spill drinks walking around with those trays when its really windy..props to them.

 

 

It was hot out that day so we only stayed outside for like an hour or two. Proceeded inside and took some pics around the ship.

 

Heres the main atrium from deck 3

 

Scotts Piano bar..Really fun place. Josh was the main player there..on the last night he did a medley of Piano Man and Rocketman..which was really funny...

 

This is looking down at the posh diningroom from deck 5. The posh is on 4 and 3. On deck 5 there is the International lounge.

 

Looking at the lobby from deck 4. There was usually a jazz combo, or duet singers playing on the stage by the piano. Nice to relax and just listen.

 

More to come including the biggest complaint about our cruise...Wasnt really that bad, but Carnival would be making a lot more money if they changed this one thing I think.

 

Thanks for reading...

[sokz]

Here is a pick of the lido during something going on that had a lot of people out. I forgot if it was the hairy chest contest or the ice carving...Theres just a lot of people..

 

And the signature whale tail stack.

 

This is the sports bar on the ship. Walked in a few times to get a Marlins score and catch up on some tennis. They did have the Yankees and Mets on the first or second night. I know a lot of people complain that they never have anything on the tvs but there was always something on when I walked in. The back of the bar connects to the casino and the other entrance is by the shops.

 

The first sea day had the first elagant night attached to the end of it. I know a lot of people ask what to wear so ill put a pic of what we were in. As usual there were people dressed in tuxes and full gowns, and on the more casual end of a polo and khakis as well. We took some pictures before we ate and i guess its all about timing because we tried to get some in before our 8:15 dinner, but we ended up standing in a line for about 20 mins. and only got one done before dinner. Luckily they have the pictures out from 9:30-10:30 as well and that time it wasnt crowded at all and we took all of the pictures with multiple shots in less than a half hour. There were about 10 different backdrops you could do.

Might I say that Tracie looks amazing there....points for me...the beads were for New Orleans night in the dinning room.

 

After the pictures we went to the shops to play our newly formed favorite game of "How Much Does it Cost?" It's a game where you go in the jewelry store and pick out a random piece and try to guess how much it costs before the sales person tells you. who ever gets the closest wins!

I forget what I was looking at but tracie won that round...lol..

 

Ok so now I will tell you about my complaint and I'm sure others will agree. The prices for the pictures on board are very expensive for the formal and casual pictures. 21.99 for an 8x10. You had to buy the oroginal before you could get any packages or a digital cd. Trace and I sat down the last sea day and for about an hour looked over about 250 pictures that we took and kept having to take a lot out because of the price. We ended up getting about 10-12 pictures because we liked so many and we didnt have pictures like that of the two of us. There were other pictures that were cheaper though such as the embarkation pictures and other character ones. I am not complaining about those for I think they were reasonably priced. I think if they lowered the cost of the formals more people would buy more pictures instead of just one or two. There was a couple whom I overheard saying that they only could buy one picture even though they liked a couple others because of the price. I took a picture of one of the pics to show you one of the backdrops and such. We didnt buy this one.

That was really the only complaint of this cruise and its something I really had no control over but I just thought I would state my opinion.

 

Grand Cayman later...Thanks for reading

[falconfan]

Was this difficult to book based on your ages? I read a lot of posts about people unuder 25 having problems booking rooms. Just curious.

[sokz]

Was this difficult to book based on your ages? I read a lot of posts about people unuder 25 having problems booking rooms. Just curious.

 

We used a travel agent that my grandparents use every time they cruise which is a lot. We were upgraded to level 4E I think. We also had a $25 obc which we spent within the first 15 min of being on board..yay drinks.

 

hope that helped

[KMA0455]

Keep it going pictures are great!

[WildcatCruiser99]

First - thanks for sharing your vacation and pictures. I will be sailing on Freedom March 2010. Just looking at your pictures I already have to visit some of the places on the ship to get pictures - especially in the sports bar - I will be sailing during NCAA tournament.

 

Second - I agree with you about lowering the picture prices - I think I say this on every cruise - so it's just not Carnival. I don't see many people purchasing them. All that ink and paper wasted. If I was the cruise ship I would rather get a few bucks to pay for the ink and paper than just throwing all those pictures in the trash.

 

Thanks again for sharing - can't wait to see more pictures and read more about your cruise.

 

WildcatCruiser99 :D

[WAcruisers]

Love your review and pictures. You two make a very cute couple.

[amcjeep4life]

I agree with you about lowering the picture prices - I think I say this on every cruise - so it's just not Carnival. I don't see many people purchasing them. All that ink and paper wasted. If I was the cruise ship I would rather get a few bucks to pay for the ink and paper than just throwing all those pictures in the trash.

 

WildcatCruiser99 :D

If Carnival were smart, they would implement the system that Disney has done. It's called Photopass, and basically it's a card that the photographer scans into the camera before taking pictures. When you get home, you can load all your pictures onto a CD for about $100. I think we ended up with about 250 pictures after our trip in '07. And it was worth every penny! Considering that 5 formal pictures will cost you better than $100, the CD is so worth it! Something to think about Carnival! It also avoids all the lines of looking in the photo gallery, and wasted pictures that they end up destroying! Disney still offers the option of seeing your photos in the parks and getting them printed if you choose, but the CD is definitely the way to go!

 

Sokz, you're doing an awesome job! Thanks for the review and pictures!

[CasinoQueen]

Great Review..I love the pics of the ships and the ports. thank you

[Loveland2Disney]

Thanks for the info on the price of the pictures- kinda steep IMO :eek:- Think we will just take our own and save some $$$!! They seem sorta cheesy to me anyway- Kinda like the ones you have taken at a high school prom or something :rolleyes:

[sokz]

If Carnival were smart, they would implement the system that Disney has done. It's called Photopass, and basically it's a card that the photographer scans into the camera before taking pictures. When you get home, you can load all your pictures onto a CD for about $100. I think we ended up with about 250 pictures after our trip in '07. And it was worth every penny! Considering that 5 formal pictures will cost you better than $100, the CD is so worth it! Something to think about Carnival! It also avoids all the lines of looking in the photo gallery, and wasted pictures that they end up destroying! Disney still offers the option of seeing your photos in the parks and getting them printed if you choose, but the CD is definitely the way to go!

 

Sokz, you're doing an awesome job! Thanks for the review and pictures!

 

Hey thanks...I plan on posting Grand Cayman and more later today. The photo pass would be a great addition to a cruise ship..I dont know if Disney has a block on it or anything but it would help. BTW I love disney, I consider it my second home.

 

Another thing about the pictures. The place that they put them..at least on the Freedom..is on deck 4 by the atrium. Sometimes you can just mosey around and look, but on the last day its totally a frenzy and very hard to move around because there are so many people looking for their pictures. There is also no where to sit and look at your pictures either. Trace and I actually sat in a corner on the floor and took about an hour to go through the 250+ pictures we took to decide on the ones we wanted. Hopefully a better design of this area on newer ships will help.

[sokz]

4th day was our stop in Grand Cayman. Trace and I had no planned excursion here, but we knew we wanted to do some snorkeling somewhere. Our plan was to go to either Royal Palms on 7 mile beach or Eden Rock dive center.

You must tender to the port and the seas werent rough at all once you got moving. I dont think we were one of the first ones on the tender, but we did sit there for a while allowing more people to get on board. The boat kept fitting the stairs from ship so every few seconds you had to make sure you were holding on to something or else you would have gotten jolted around.

*side note about Carnivals tender system here*-I thought the way carnival did the tender was great. If you wewrent on a tour...which we werent..and if it was before 10AM they gave you a number sticker when you walked into the theater. We Ended up being number 11. Within a couple of minutes our number was called and we went down to the load place and got on the tender. No problems at all. If you were on a tour, you had to sit and wait in the theater for your tour number or something to be called which I guess was based on what time your tour was.

 

Oh, when we woke up we usually turned on the lido cam to see what it was like(we had an interior room to remind you) and we found this guy on our tv...

not expecting that but cool I guess..

 

So the water was amazing here, unlike south FL where you never know if the waters cold or warm. Here is a pic from the pier at Georgetown,

 

It seemed we lucked out in where the ship tendered to because it was right at a big terminal place with a lot of shops and a great central location. Once there we asked an information booth which of the two places we wanted to go had a better snorkeling place and she said the Eden Rock center was better because there was more to see, so we headed that way..about a 10-15 min walk from our terminal...you would pass Margaritavile and the Hard Rock so it wasnt bad at all. We didnt eat anything on the ship in the morning and we were hungry so we decided to stop at Senior Frogs for some food. I had a chicken sandwhich and trace had a taco salad. Very good.

 

I knew that this was the place to get or liquor for the cruise so I was persistant on finding the famed Big Black Discks that i have read about on these boards. They only sell it at Blackbeards Rum which has a couple locations close to the pier. They only sell a 4 pack of mini bar bottles that include vanilla, coconut, gold, and light rums. About 15.99 where I bought it. We got a free coupon for free rumcakes cause we bought something there and had to take it over to another place to get them. We got the Hurricane kind, very good.

 

We then proceeded to the dive center which wasnt a bad walk, it was just really really hot out so it probably felt like one. Heres a funny story about this place. I guess some lines do tours herein which we didnt know. When we walked up to the booth there was what looSked to be a line so we just got in it. Soon, people just started handing us snorkeling gear and a liability form. I was surprised cause we didnt pay for anything yet(also we didnt know that the line infront of us was a tour). So we almost got all this stuff for free, but I told them that we didnt pay for anything yet and that we just got handed this stuff, so we gave it back and had to pay...boo doing the right thing...lol.

Im pretty sure we could have haggled with the guy working there because he told us that the tour was $35 a person. He offered us everything for 2 people for $50. I asked cash or credit and of course he said prefered cash. Later after we were done snorkeling and changing I over heard the same person selling the same stuff that we had for $30. So if you end up going here know that its probably all up to how much you want to bargain.

The diving is nice here, there is a reef with a lot of fish, and lifeguards to help people in and out of the water. They also through bait in the water to attract more fish. There is a restaraunt/bar and a changing area as well.

 

 

More from Cayman later..thanks for reading

[cruisebie]

 

Scotts Piano bar..Really fun place. Josh was the main player there..on the last night he did a medley of Piano Man and Rocketman..which was really funny...

 

 

Hey--I thought I recognized you from the piano bar! We were there, too, when Josh did the Piano Man/Rocket Man medley. It was a hoot! We only had the chance to get in there twice, but it was great fun both times. Josh is a great piano player.

 

I agree with you about the picture prices, too. Waaaay too steep for me. And I always hate fighting the crowds around the picture displays. There has to be a better way to do this.

[rhgru]

HI sokz- I am really enjoying reading your trip report- too bad its all over now- but someday you will go on another. Keep up the great job!!!

[scrappinannie]

If Carnival were smart, they would implement the system that Disney has done. It's called Photopass, and basically it's a card that the photographer scans into the camera before taking pictures. When you get home, you can load all your pictures onto a CD for about $100. I think we ended up with about 250 pictures after our trip in '07. And it was worth every penny! Considering that 5 formal pictures will cost you better than $100, the CD is so worth it! Something to think about Carnival! It also avoids all the lines of looking in the photo gallery, and wasted pictures that they end up destroying! Disney still offers the option of seeing your photos in the parks and getting them printed if you choose, but the CD is definitely the way to go!

 

Sokz, you're doing an awesome job! Thanks for the review and pictures!

 

I think this is a great idea, too! Disney does this at their theme parks as well. It's so nice to be able to go home and view your pics without all the high pressure sales pitches. You simply decide what you want, add the pics to your cart, & voila! In a few days your prints are mailed right to your front door.

 

Great review so far. Keep it coming!

[Cruise4me2]

enjoying your review, we will be on the Freedom in 5 days! Anxious to hear about Jamaica.

Great pictures

Sharon

[Cruise_Q]

Nice review...keep it coming!!!:D

[pinglefty]

Great job. We are on the Freedom in 25 days. Love the pictures

[CeleBrat]

Thanks for the review and info--we too are cruising soon (8/15). Looks like you had fun!

 

CeleBrat

[sokz]

After we went snorkeling for about an hour(you could get in and out as much as you wanted at Eden Rock center) we changed and headed back towards the ship doing some shopping along the way. Stopped at Margaritaville to get a drink because it was really blazing out at this time as it was the middle of the day. I got a pina colada and Trace got a margarita. They had live entertainment and a pool with a slide. Looked like they also had some cabanas to sit at as well. Margaritaville in GC is tucked away in an outdoor shopping center with crafts and jewelry stores(Swarofski and such) as well as a Blackbeards liquors. This is where we picked up our FREE 2 pound cake as well.

 

We kept walking towards the ship, drinks in hand and took a couple more pics as well,

 

That is Margarittaville in the corner and the Hard Rock is in the corner in this next picture.

 

At the cruise terminal they had a Tortuga rum store and other stores so we stopped there and got some bottles O' Stuff. I ended up getting a liter of Parrot bay for $10 and a 750ml of Tortuga banana(I normally get the Malibu Banana but they didnt have it so I figured I would try it) for $7.50. The Tortuga place was cheaper than Blackbeards...in my opinion...so I would suggest only go to Blackbeards if your looking for the Black Dicks rum as Tortuga doesnt sell that. Trace got a liter of Green Moon(which Ive never heard of but its Vodka and Absinthe) for $12.00 and a bottle of the Tortuga Gold rum for $7.50. I dont remember if the prices reflected Cayman Island dollars or not but they took US dollars and credit cards.

 

I also bought a rum cake pack for my family. On the ship they sold the cakes and I reccomend wait till Cayman to get them, you will save a couple bucks. The ship had a 6-pack of cakes for $29.00 and the same thing was $27.00 in the Tortuga store on the Island. I ended up getting the six-pack combined with four 50ml bottles od rum for $29.00 in the store so I was happy about that.

 

Both the Tortuga and Blackbeards stores deliver the stuff to the ship as long as it is in a certain timeline of the ship leaving. You get your alcohol the last night of the cruise. In the Tortuga store they had 2 sides with bottles. One was for the Duty-free ship prices and the other side was normal and you could just take the bottles with you, but they were more expensive and you payed tax., Plus if you bought one of these and tried to take it on board they took it away from you anyways so you just payed more for something you didnt have to.

 

When we were ready to go back to the ship we got right on a tender and it took off. It took forever though to get back on the ship from the tender as they can only let so many people off at a time to go through security. We must have waited about 20 mins to get off the tender.

 

Got back on the ship, had some lunch and went up top to take more pictures of the island.

 

 

 

 

Ocho Rios or as Trace and I call it Mehville later.....Thanks for reading

[ManyMore]

Enjoying your review and pictures. It was nice to see a picture of the street in GC and see Breezes by the Bay in the picture. We have had many great days in there.

[deannasch]

Your review is awesome. I am going on the September 20th sailing... Can't wait.

[Cruise4me2]

Sotz,

Anxiously waiting the rest of your review and what you did in Jamaica since we are leaving tomorrow night to drive to FL. Hope you get the rest of it done today or tomorrow morning.

Thanks

Sharon :)