FREEDOM REVIEW - 8 Day Western

Carnival Freedom

Feb 14 – Feb 22, 2009

8 Day Western Caribbean

Cozumel – Costa Rica – Panama

First – a little background. I (Liza) am a 41 y.o. single mom with 4 kids. I have cruised as the single adult with kids, with a BF and also solo. The Freedom was my 6th Carnival cruise. This particular cruise was a vacation for myself and my 2 oldest daughters – Rachel,19 and Emma, 16. This was my oldest daughters 3rd cruise and the 16 year olds 4th.

All in all this was a fantastic cruise! We had a wonderful time and I know that this experience with my daughters was priceless!! I am fortunate enough to have gone with my 2 older girls on the Freedom and will be sailing on the Liberty in April with my 2 younger children and my mother.

Pre-Cruise

We arrived in FLL at around 7:00PM on Friday. I had made reservations at the Hyatt Place. I got this as a bid on Priceline after doing some research on CC and better bidding. I was very happy and would definitely recommend this hotel as well as stay there again pre-cruise.

The hotel had a shuttle from the airport as well as one to the pier for no fee. Continental breakfast was also included.

The hotel was very nice. All of the staff we encountered were friendly and helpful. The hotel was full and there were many, many cruisers there for the night. The room was great for the 3 of us with a suite set-up having a king size bed and pull out couch. It was also located very well. We settled in and then went for a walk around which ended in a liquor store to purchase a couple of bottles for the cruise. We ate a late dinner at Outback and walked back to the hotel to settle in.

The hotel offers a free shuttle to the pier which is nice. However, had 2 issues which I thought would be a problem for us. One, they said that the shuttle did not even begin running until 11AM and two, the hotel was full of people inquiring about the shuttle service and talking about what time they would be down for it. We decided that it would be best to get a cab to the port at around 10:15 before the hoards of people congregated in the lobby.

We went down at around 9:45 with our bags for a 2nd cup of coffee. I should mention that there is a continental breakfast included as well. None of us were hungry so I can’t comment on what was offered but we did enjoy the coffee which was Starbucks and they even offered a choice of strong or mild blend in the carafes. Anyway, I went outside to have a cigarette and the shuttle driver was there. He asked if we wanted to go to the port and said if we hopped on now he would take us before it got crazy. So of course we took him up on that! There was 1 other couple on the bus which were dropped off at a Celebrity ship before us.

When we made it over to where the Freedom was docked the luggage carts were just being moved over and set up for drop offs….it was very early! The shuttle driver was fantastic. He had to stop across the way since there were still several Carnival transport busses loading up with people who had just disembarked so he walked over and got us porter and made sure we were good to go.

Embarkation

Incredibly quick and not just painless but FUN!! We were there at just a few minutes after 10 so I was not sure we would be able to get inside but We were able to go right into the terminal. I think there were only about 10 people already there…No lines for us to check in at all and we were handed Zone 1 boarding card. We sat in the waiting area and chatted with fellow cruisers, which is always fun! Many people arrived as we waited. A few of the people we would continue to see throughout the trip and talk with. The Carnival staff was also very friendly and helpful.

Boarding started at 11:15 and off we went! Through the larger check in area and then quick embarkation photo, Sign & Sail photo and then up the very steep gangway. It really is steep! (There was someone in a wheelchair next to us and two people were working on pushing it up.) We were so excited! There is really nothing like those first glimpses of the ship! We were handed a Capers and a map as we entered on Deck 3.

We took a quick glance around. We all thought the ship was beautiful! Very antsy to get up to the Lido Deck so we decided we would head there and explore the ship more later.

Since we were among the first people to board the Lido Deck had plenty of lounge chairs…..we grabbed three near the pool and settled in to chat, laugh, and enjoy. By 11:35 I had my first Fun Ship Special and was in full cruise mode!

More to come!!! I came home to sick kids so stick with me...this might take a bit of time to complete!!

Feel free to ask any questions in the meantime.....

A great Start, I am on the Freedom in 39 days and can't wait. Hope the kids get better....

Hi Lisa, looking forward to more of your review. We'll be on the Freedom March 14!

Can't wait to hear more - we are cruising on April 11th. Do you have copies of the Capers - We are traveling with a large group and we are all curious about the activities for this cruise.

Please more, we are leaving in April on a 6 day western. Will be waiting for more to come

We just booked on the June 28th, I would also love to see the capers. We'll have kids 11, 13, 14 and 15 with us.

Yay! I've been waiting for another review of this itinerary - I'm booked in May. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

more more more!!!

ahha 24 days til freedom for MEEEEEEEEE

Lisa -

Hope your kids are feeling better! Did they pick up sickness from the cruise?

I'm sailing on April 5th for 6 days - CANNOT WAIT!!!

I have two daughters 15 & 12. Please tell me everything you can about the ship and camps for the kids. My oldest insists she is NOT doing it. But...from what I've read on these board, I will check it out with her on the first night and hopefully she'll want to participate in something. Any and all info will help.

Can't wait to hear more!

I am sorry to say that I do not have all the Capers. I had intended to save them and post them but at some point mid-cruise a bunch of them got thrown away (not by me but I think the Cabin Steward during cleaning). I have a couple but not sure what days.....I have yet to unpack!!!

There was someone from the Jan 8 Day Western who had posted them. I will find the link for that and post it here later. I can take a look and let you know what was different/same between Jan and Feb also.

OK....I just found it. Here is a link to the post with the Capers thanks to CruinBuddy:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=17958174&postcount=10

This is the direct link to webshots:

http://community.webshots.com/album/569871707BFlbbn

I'll take a look at them and let you know what I notice as far as differences after I continue my review some!

Sailing Eastern Caribbean March 28 which is not soon enough. Not many reviews on the Freedom so we need more of yours to fulfill our fix. You can get more Freedom info, including pics and capers here: http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalFreedom-Profile.html

There are some great pics.

Thanks for the links!!!

Looking forward to more of you review!!

Hi, we sail on May 23rd!!! I can't stand the wait :( I was wondering why there is so little info on the Freedom. Thanks for the link and info, we can't wait to read the rest of the review even thought we are on the exotic eastern any little bit of info is exciting to us.

AnitaMarie

OK....I just found it. Here is a link to the post with the Capers thanks to CruinBuddy:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=17958174&postcount=10

 

This is the direct link to webshots:

 

http://community.webshots.com/album/569871707BFlbbn

 

I'll take a look at them and let you know what I notice as far as differences after I continue my review some!

That's Cruisinbuddy, LOL. I hope you had as much fun as we did, except for missing Costa Rica.

That's Cruisinbuddy, LOL. I hope you had as much fun as we did, except for missing Costa Rica.

Sorry about that! I always try to give credit to the OP when I add a link to something......guess I was rushing when I typed it!!!!

We did have a fantastic cruise!

I have EIGHT LONG MONTHS before we cruise this itinerary. Please just tell us now that you made all your ports! I was so excited to read crusinbuddy's review, and then they missed Costa Rica! Hope your kids are feeling better, if only so you can write your review faster! :p

Thanks Lisa for the info so far. We are going on the same cruise

in August. Cant wait!!!!!!! 5 ports is awesome.

Did you do any excursions with the ship and on your own?

If so which ones can you recommend?? thanks in advance for your input.

Lisa, I can't wait to read about what you did at each port. Also, safety seems to be a concern in Costa Rica and Panama. Can't wait to hear any info you have on that - and if you walked around any of the shopping areas without FEAR! Thanks!

Thanks Lisa for the info so far. We are going on the same cruise

in August. Cant wait!!!!!!! 5 ports is awesome.

Did you do any excursions with the ship and on your own?

If so which ones can you recommend?? thanks in advance for your input.

I was on the Western itin. which was actually only 3 Ports (Cozumel, Costa Rica & Panama) and included 4 Days At Sea......which I LOVE!!!!

I think there were some recent reviews of the 8 day eastern though.

To continue.....

Much of that first day was spent relaxing, alternating with unpacking, Cruise Critic Meet & Greet, Muster Drill and of course exploring the ship.

We all thought the décor was pretty cool by the way! Yes…it is over the top as in not something I would decorate my home in BUT I thought it added to the whole Fun Ship experience. We actually spent time taking note of the different detail included in the various public spaces. The details are amazing!!

Take some time to check out the ceilings in each area…We really found it interesting how every final touch was thought of.

Rather than go into a day by day detail right now I am going to skip to a description of the cabin and overall Dining Room experience etc…..sorry for jumping around but with sick kids I am typing up what I can in pieces!

Cabin

We were in a balcony cabin on the Verandah Deck - #8296 – mid-ship. The cabin met our expectations as I have been in balcony cabins before. The beds were set up as 2 twins and we had a couch that was converted into a bed in the evening. This was a great cabin area as far as gaining easy access to anything and quite simple to pop back and forth between the Lido Deck during the day.

Our Steward was Perfecto and I am not sure of the assistant’s name. While I have no complaints about how our cabin was maintained at all – they did a great a job dealing with 2 teen girls and their stuff!! I did notice that the interaction was much less then on previous cruises. While I did not get to ask it was evident that Perfecto had more cabins to deal with then I noticed in the past. Although they were clearly very busy and had no time for small talk the job was done quite well and anything we needed was taken care of timely. What more could you ask for??!!??!!

amcjeep4life, logbook - I will get to full reviews of the days in port but to quickly respond....

In Cozumel I took the girls for a Royal Dolphin Swim which I booked directly through Dolphin Disoveries. We also spent time around the port area.

Costa Rica was White Water Rafting for us booked through Carnival. We loved the excursion and did have a little bit of time to walk around the shopping at the pier. We felt very safe and had no issues at all.

Panama - we did not book anything. We got off the ship and walked around the immediate pier shopping area only. Also felt quite safe.

I should mention that we did this intinerary before (actually it was Belize - Costa Rica - Panama on the Legend on '06) and we knew exactly what to expect in Costa Rica and Panama.

We are planning to do the white water rafting also. I am not sure if we are going to do the ship tour or find an independent. Did you hear of anyone doing a trip with anyone other than the ship? How was yours?

Thanks, Lisa. Looking forward to the rest of your review!