lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 #1 Share Posted June 4, 2012 I just got back from the Carnival Freedom on my honeymoon cruise yesterday. I had an amazing time and will post a long review with many photos now. My DH thought it was weird that I was taking pictures of the food, but I told him I had to do it for my cruise critic people! :D We actually spent four days in the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area before the cruise. I will add a few photos of that. Feel free to ask any and all questions you may have. We took Southwest into FLL and rented a car. We stayed at the Sleep Inn in Dania. Sleep Inn PROS: 1. across the street from a Publix, Chinese food, Mexican food and Italian food 2. next to a Walgreens 3. affordable Sleep Inn CONS: 1. the tub had some dirt in it 2. our toilet was leaking a little, but someone did come to fix it Here are two pictures of the hotel: We visited the Anne Kolb Nature Center, which is right down the road from the hotel, and walked down the boardwalk (free). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #2 Share Posted June 4, 2012 The next day we drove to Miami in our rental car. We went to Miami Beach and saw the Carnival Destiny in port on the way there and leaving port on our way to the Miami Marlins game later. I was so excited to see a Carnival ship! Marlins Park: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #3 Share Posted June 4, 2012 The next day we went to Zoo Miami. Here is my favorite picture from the zoo: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #4 Share Posted June 4, 2012 The following day we had to return the rental car (Saturday, May 26) so after that we ended up hanging out in the hotel the whole day. Another pro about the hotel is that they had a free shuttle from the FLL airport and to Port Everglades. Another con that I forgot to mention before is that they didn't have any hot chocolate at the continental breakfast. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funinthesun1964 Posted June 4, 2012 #5 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Thanks for writing a review and sharing your photos! I am looking forward to Freedom in October, so I will be following along... thanks again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #6 Share Posted June 4, 2012 We signed up for the 9 a.m. shuttle to Port Everglades from the hotel. We got to the port quickly and tried to get into the building, but they weren't letting anyone in yet. At around 9:15 a.m. they allowed us to go in the building. We went through the metal detectors and bag xrays and then sat in a room until our zone was called. We had Zone 2 so we were called around 11:15 a.m. This being our second cruise, we knew to go right to the Lido deck for lunch! It wasn't too crowded yet once we got up there. I got the grilled turkey and cheese sandwich and DH got his burger, fries, pita chips and chicken tenders. The Freedom Restaurant (buffet) on the Lido deck: Very yummy chocolate chip cookies that both DH and I love! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oncruisecontrol Posted June 4, 2012 #7 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Nice start. Keep it coming. A co-worker of mine is on the Freedom right now. And I will be on the Freedom (for a second time) in October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #8 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Next I will post a bunch of photos from the Lido Deck and the other upper decks. This is the aft pool: The big screen: Front of funnel: Back of funnel: Another shot of the aft pool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #9 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Serenity area (adult only). Serenity was actually spread out on two of the upper decks near the bow of the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #10 Share Posted June 4, 2012 After wandering around the upper decks, we got hot so we decided to go into the Victoriana Lounge (the main show lounge) to wait until our rooms were ready. They mentioned that the rooms would be ready by 1:30 p.m. so we waited until then and then went to check out our room. Our luggage wasn't there when we got to our room, but did show up before dinner. Here are a couple shots of Victoriana and our Riveria Deck (Deck 1) stateroom (room number 1263 on the starboard side). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #11 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Our freebies: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poorplaya Posted June 4, 2012 #12 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Great review so far, cant wait to read the rest. Keep it coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #13 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Next I will post some pictures of the other public inner areas of the ship. Chic dining room: Circle C: Library: Lobby: The shops (and if you look closely you can see a bride coming! It was kinda funny that I chose that moment to take the picture): Casino: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOTTE Posted June 4, 2012 #14 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Great review. Please keep it coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FL Naturelover Posted June 4, 2012 #15 Share Posted June 4, 2012 What ports did you cruise to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #16 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Viennese Cafe: Sushi Bar (which doubled as a late night snack area): Arcade: 70s Dance Club: Bar Nouveau: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #17 Share Posted June 4, 2012 What ports did you cruise to? Key West, Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #18 Share Posted June 4, 2012 International Lounge (where they had the Punchliner Comedy Club): Posh Dining Room: Our table for two! Habana Cigar Bar: I'm not sure what this was called, but I'm assuming it is where that bride got married! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #19 Share Posted June 4, 2012 So I was kinda upset because after muster drill, they let one side leave and then the other side and by the time our side was called, we had missed sail away! :( I was bummed because we had wanted to wave to the webcam! Oh, well. We ate dinner in the MDR and I had heart of iceberg lettuce and DH had chicken fingers for an appetizer. Then I had grilled chicken for my entree and DH had flat iron steak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #20 Share Posted June 4, 2012 For dessert I had warm chocolate melting cake OF COURSE! :D I think DH had something boring like ice cream since he wasn't interested in the other desserts that night. We ate in the MDR 5 out of the 6 nights and I had the WCMC 4 of those times. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisinAuthor Posted June 4, 2012 #21 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Awesome so far! I'm going on this cruise in 3 weeks (went on 8 day Eastern on Freedom last June and LOVED it!) Sorry you missed sail away. Can't wait to see the rest of your review! Thanks for sharing your experience:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennLuvs2Cruise Posted June 4, 2012 #22 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Great review! Really looking forward to reading the rest & I am enjoying all the photos as well :) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #23 Share Posted June 4, 2012 For dessert we also ended up sharing a slice of cake which the waiters brought to us and sang "Happy honeymoon to you! Happy honeymoon to you!" It was funny and unexpected. Our waiters were named Panya (head waiter), Rasmudi and Arvin (assistant waiters). We liked Rasmudi the best because he was funny and always looked happy. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise19 Posted June 4, 2012 Author #24 Share Posted June 4, 2012 DH played Bingo and didn't win and then we watched the Welcome Aboard show. Our cruise director was Brad. After the Welcome Aboard show we saw a comedy show with John Rathbone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybaby1113 Posted June 4, 2012 #25 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Thank you for doing a review. Looking forward to more. We loved the Freedom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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