Just back from 6-28 freedom

[callalilly]

Great Pics & awesome review. I will be on the Freedom oct 4th 2009. woo hoo. can't wait

[sokz]

Ocho Rios, Jamaica....A.K.A Mehville, Caribbean.

 

Ok, before I start about Ocho Rios I will say that it is a beautiful place to be. When the sunshines there it is almost like a second Grand Cayman. When I visit this port again I think I would rather take a planned excusion from the ship or something though. Not to say that walking around by yourself is dangerous or anything because it isnt, you just get aproached more often when you are just walking the streets.

The review on this part is based on my experiences at this port and is in no meaning to try and get you to not visit the island. We had some great times here as well as some ok times.

 

We decided to sleep in since we knew that we wouldnt be spending a long time in Ocho Rios so we ended getting some breakfast from the buffet before heading out. I think it was about 11AM that we walked off the ship and proceeded down to be what appeared to be the endless pier that we were docked at.

 

No problem man is the saying in Jamiaca and until you are out of the port authority building it is no problem man, but once you step out of it into the parking lot for buses and taxis and stuff it became a big problem for us.

 

I have been to Ocho Rios before (on a private tour) and have read reviews of Ocho Rios so I was expecting the people to be kinda pushy. We decided to walk to the Island Village plaza and then to the Taj Mahal after that. as soon as we stepped onto the side walk it seemed like endless people wanting us to take taxis anywhere. When I kindly said no thank you and said were just going to the Island Village (about 1/4 mile from the dock) some of them realized we were walking but others kept insisting that they drive us for a mere couple of dollars. After politely saying no again we just kept walking towards the village.

 

The Island Village is one of the shopping plazas that Carnival suggests to visit for shopping, etc. Like I said before, it is not that far of a walk from the ship. the picture above is from a ramp going up to the (lightly) security guarded entrance to the plaza. It is next to a street and people were asking us if we wanted our hair braided and drugs etc. but once again just say no thanks politely and they usually move on.

 

There are many shops here....most of them looked like they sold identical items so make sure you look around before buying cause you could possibly get a better deal on a similar item at the next store. As always try to haggle your way to better price. You should be able to get the price dropped 2-5 dollars.

 

There is a pavillion and grass area that I guess is used for cocerts or some other function here aswell. It is a nice area and I enjoyed being there.

 

We stopped for a drink at Margaritaville and we both got pina coladas..yummy...I guess in Jamiaca they give you a free shot of Appleton Estate with it...Didnt like the rum but it was a free shot so whatever I guess. We then headed towards the small strip of beach that is connected to the Island Village...This is the fun part.

 

 

First, we loved the beach. Great water, not burning hot sand and not a lot of people...to start with. There were chairs placed around but we didnt use them because I had a feeling you had to pay for them. So we walk right onto the beach, and find a spot, and we went in the water for about 45 min. 2 things to say about this area.

1. There was a sign that said no soliciting, yet there were about 5 people walking around trying to sell this and that. Some of them came out into the water to try and get people to come out and look at their stuff. In the picture above, in the right side their is a restaraunt that hangs over some rocks on the beach. Some of the people that were selling stuff climbed up on the rocks and tapped people who were eating there on the leg to try and get them to buy stuff. we didnt have much of an issue with these people as when they asked we just said no and they left us alone, this was more of an observation.

2. As we were getting out of the water and drying off, a man appraoched us and said we owed him $3 each for using the beach. We were startled at first and was like "who says" and he pointed to a booth at the entrance to the beach that we happened to walk right by (no one said anything to us about paying when we first entered the beach area). We verifyed the claim by asking a couple next to us and they showed us rist bands that they had gotten so we kindly said we didnt know and that we would pay as we exited. This can be seen as a mistake that anyone can make so It wasnt a big deal to me.

The couple also told us that if you got a drink from Margaritaville you got free access to the beach. Again no one at Margaritaville told us this either and apparently the free beach is a little sliver infront of the restaraunt marked by a very faint yellow line. As we were getting ready to head towards the booth another man came up to us claiming that we owed him money and that we needed to pay him. We kindly said that we were already informed to pay at the booth and that we werent paying two people. He said ok and came back and just told us to pay at the booth and leave this time in a more agitated voice. We get up to the booth and explain the situation and they tell us that we didnt have to pay because of the mix-up but we insisted on it so we payed $5 instead of $6. Like i said earlier, we loved the beach and had a great time in the water, it was just the end that threw the rest of our experience of this port off and made us uncomfortable. If we would have known to pay before we went on the beach we probably would have had a different experience.

 

After that whole situation we cut out the Taj Mahal shopping center and just headed back to the ship.

 

Trace and I on the pier heading back to the ship.

 

 

I hope that your encounters or future encounters were/are different than ours and I do suggest you get off the ship and see the town. Your experience is what you make of it.

 

Thanks for reading and I will post more ship pictures and other info later..

[jaxstiles]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post your review. We are cruisin on the Freedom next July with lots of friends and family. I can hardly wait!!

Your review and pictures were great. Years ago we cruised on the Imagination and went to GC and Ocho Rios. I remember enjoying GC but in Ocho Rios we felt a little pressured to buy. So, we also cut our day short and just went back to the ship. We are hoping to have a better experience next year.

 

Thanks again!

[sokz]

This is the inside of the foward elevators..I just thought it was neat.

 

This is the top of the Millenium bar in the lobby. the light change colors every couple of seconds. I liked the blues. Kinda reminds me of a flying saucer landing or something.

 

The 70's club was the dance club on the ship. This was taken during the day so not much action was takin place so I decided to do my own..lol

Its only called the 70's because of the decor, they play all kinds of music,including a set of Michael Jackson songs on the last sea day.

 

Swintime is the jazz club aboard and the picture is of the stage and the dance area. Of course there is a bar in the back of the club. Trace liked the draperies on the ceiling. They glowed at night purple colors. It is on deck five aft across from the International Lounge.

 

This is the Monticello library and it is on deck 4 midship by the lobby and the picture area. It is American themed and has an "actual" replica of the Declaration of Independance in it. I could never find out whats the difference between a regular replica and an "actual" replica so maybe when you go you can find out. The Declaration is in the lower corner in a glass case, though the Declaration itself is not shown in the picture.

 

The Sun King is the Supper club restaraunt and is on deck 11 aft. We did not eat here although we thought about it one night...I did well in the casino...so we went up and took some pictures to say we were there.

 

More pics and postings later.....thanks for reading

[LUV THE SEA]

THANKS ...for the time sharing all of these great pix and your great review...we are leaving on the same cruise in about 2 weeks and the pix of the ship are awesome...I can't wait!!!:o

[Byram Anne]

A great big Thank you for the fabulous review and the best pictures!!!!:)

[sokz]

The last sea day was a little rough as the ship was goin full steam ahead back to Ft. Lauderdale from Jamaica. The crew was kind enough to put out some helpful bags if people needed them. I thought it was funny so i took a picture of it.

 

Lido mid-ship. This was taken I think from deck 11 I think.

 

Last night sunset pics..Cant beat a sunset at sea.

 

 

 

Our waitor was Jr. and he was great. He gave us great suggestions and was very friendly. Whenever we saw him around the ship he always said hi to us. Our assistant waitor was Judit from Hungry. She was great too.

 

Still have a few more pics and comments..will post later...

[tnsunshine]

Sunset pictures are WONDERFUL! Thanks for the postings!

[sokz]

Just thought I would share some other tidbits and info on some aspects of our cruise. Remember, these are my opinions so please don't be posting back that I am wrong about something or whatever, ok thanks.

 

DOD Card- get this!!!. We bought one on the second day and was able to get all 6 DOD on the cruise. They were the Goombay Smash, Yellow Bird, Riviera Delight, Caribbean Breeze, and Ultimate Suntan. Of course we had the Funship Special when we got on board, so thats why we didnt get it on the first day. It was $26 total including gratuity and the drinks are regularly $6.95 a piece so you save about two drinks worth compared to buying them on your own. They sell them at most bars so you shouldnt hav trouble getting one.

 

Shows- We only got to see 2 of them, well I guess 3 if you count the late night comedy show. Some of the shows they record and put on the TV in the room so we watched them at our own time. They were the welcome aboard show and the talent show. We saw the singer/comedian show only cause we were in the theater playing bingo, (which was won in less than 10 balls..boo)

but Im glad we stayed because the singer was good..for a cruise ship....and so was the comedian. The comedian..Allen Ball...was great at the adult only show the following night. We got there with 20 min to spare and still got a bad seat in the back of the lounge (next to some very obnoxious drunk people who were talking loud the entire show so it was hard to hear him sometimes). Luckily his act was just stand-up and not a watch me comedian so we were ok.

The other show we saw was the Beatles show that was so highly acclaimed and praised pretty much and I thought it was also great..for a cruise ship...The arrangements, musicians, acting, and dancing were fun to watch and they even had audience participation. We were on the lower level on the side so we saw some behind the scenes things (which I hate cause it sometimes ruins the stage show for me), but I just let it go a bit.

I did not like the theater on this ship. I have been on others with better theaters and I hope Carnival redesigns them for future ships.

 

Food- Great! no complaints. Try the veal parmesan, French onion soup, and the fish and chips are great. We had room service once and that was ok cause it was only sandwiches. I think they need to explore some other options. THE PIZZA IS SO FAR THE BEST AT SEA. Don't eat too much of it though..lol.

 

Casino- Layout is fine, not too congested. Only 1 low limit night so meh on that. Walked out up so I was glad about that.

 

Already talked about pictures in another post so look for that if you want my opinion on that process.

 

Entertainment- There is definitely a lot to do on the ship and the days are packed with events. I don't think its possible to get to everything, but if you can props to you!! We went to a couple of things including some Karaoke, The Quest (a must do!!), the piano bar, and some trivia things. Like I said there is a lot and they do plan things for everybody so Im sure you will find something.

 

Cant think of anything else at the moment. If you have any questions please ask and I will try to help you as much as I can.

 

Thanks for reading and I will leave you with a modified quote from one of my favorite movies (Back to the Future 3)

 

Your cruise hasn't been written yet. Your cruise is what YOU make of it. Make it a good one.

[rhgru]

thanks for the great report- I enjoyed reading it

[n2qmt]

Thanks for your report! You spent a lot of time on it and it is really appreciated! We are sailing on the Freedom on 8/29 but we are going to Cozumel, Limon, and Colon. Cheers!

[chelle74]

Thanks for your fab review and pics! Loved your "action" on the dance floor, btw! LOL