8 day Eastern Carnival Freedom review, part one

Carnival Freedom sailing- 1/26/13 review

We left on Jan 24th from Des Moines; flew through Chicago O'Hare and had a 3 hour delay finally got to Fort Lauderdale around 4 p.m. We called for the shuttle from Hyatt Place and were picked up in about 10 minutes. Check in was quick. We then walked about a block to Total Wine and picked up 2 bottles of wine to take on board and 1 for Fort Lauderdale. We were tired and decided to just eat at the Hyatt Place - I had a mushroom swiss hamburger that was huge.

The next day we walked over the bridge to the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 and explored the grounds. Then back to the Harbor Shops near the Hyatt Place and made a few purchases at Publix. That night we ate at Duffy's sports bar and grill - good salads - huge portions.

The Hyatt Place offers a shuttle for $7 a person to the port but on the 26th, we decided to take a taxi and avoided the waiting for the shuttle as well as having the shuttle go through all the terminal to get to the Freedom. The taxi was about $12 plus tip so cost was similar. We arrived at the Freedom around 11 and were surprised that there was no wait to board. We breezed through the boarding process and were on board by 11:30.

To be continued.

Yay! Looking forward to your review--we'll be doing the same itinerary on Freedom in June. Keep it coming!;)

Once on board we were told our cabin would not be ready until 1:30 - I had read that fish and chips on deck 10 was a good place for lunch as it is less crowded than the lido deck so we made our way to it. While it is true that there were no lines and it was quiet the food was a disappointment to me, but we may have picked the wrong thing. We had the fish and chips - the fish was too heavily breaded for me but the french fries were good. This was the one and only time we ate at that station.

After that we checked our dining assignment - we had requested a table for 2 at the early seating - we found out our request had been granted. We then explored the ship and my husband made an appointment for a hot stone massage. Around 1 we decided to head to our room - which was 8457. This cabin was in the aft next to the wrap around cabin. We knew it was an extended balcony and discovered it was longer than most of the extended balconies! It had one chaise lounger and 3 high back chairs that also reclined and a small table with plenty of room to walk around. The cabin was the same size as any balcony cabin with plenty of storage. Almost immediately our cabin attendant, Ren, came and introduced herself. We asked her to be sure we had ice every day and gave her some extra money for this request. Ren always remembered our names and greeted us by our names each time she saw us. The cabin was always cleaned quickly and efficiently - no complaints or concerns.

At 4 p.m. we had the muster drill- no need to take the life jacket! This went fairly quickly. To avoid a lot of congestion, they let the port side of the ship go back first - we were on the starboard side. Some after that, the ship set sail. DH and I had the champagne we brought on board on our balcony and enjoyed the sailaway.

Around 5 p.m. our luggage appeared and we unpacked quickly and got ready for dinner. We were in the Posh dining room, lower level. Our head wait staff, Gil introduced himself and asked our names and always remembered them and called us by name. He introduced the 2 other wait staff but I cannot remember how their names were spelled.

The food the first night was surprisingly good (we were less than impressed the last time we cruised on Carnival).

After dinner we walked around some more - exploring the shops, bars, etc. We were both tired and headed back to the cabin and were in bed rather early.

The next 2 days were Sea Days - my favorite. We ate breakfast on the Lido deck both days and spent time in the sun on our balcony. We also spent time on the Serenity deck - it was not too hard to find a lounge chair or hammock but the clam shells were always full even as early as 7 a.m. Both of these sea days were windy and that meant it was very windy on the Serenity deck since it is on the 11th and 12th deck.

Against my better judgment we went to the shopping talk and left after a few minutes - it was so much of a sales pitch for Diamonds International!

They did through out some free things - bamboo necklaces, Del Sol rings, etc. I did pick up the maps of St. Thomas and Antigua.

The evening shows were okay - I did not care for the female singer's voice - it seemed too shrill. I enjoyed the tribute to the Beatles the best.

The first Sea Day was Elegant night and there was a wide ranch of attire.

Most men had suits on and women had long dresses on. Some men had no jackets on and some women wore street length dresses.

More to come.

Thanks for the report!

Im enjoying your review. I like the Freedom and had an awesome cruise on her two years ago. Im looking forward to more of your review. Thanks for posting it.:)

Can't wait to hear more!!!!!

Keep it coming. 10 more weeks for me!!!

I agree the female singers voice was too high for me too. However, the dance troupe actually changed in the middle of our cruise and the 2nd female singer had a better voice.

Regarding the fish and chips. I thought the fish was awesome. I ate there 2 or 3 times.

How long did it take you to get off the ship when we docked in FLL? We were a full 2 hours longer than we should have been.

Debarkation was the worse! We didn't get off the ship until 11:30 and the ship was in at 5:30. They announced that customs was going through all carrry on luggage and checking every passport and custom form slowly and carefully.

I agree the female singers voice was too high for me too. However, the dance troupe actually changed in the middle of our cruise and the 2nd female singer had a better voice.

 

Regarding the fish and chips. I thought the fish was awesome. I ate there 2 or 3 times.

 

How long did it take you to get off the ship when we docked in FLL? We were a full 2 hours longer than we should have been.

Our first port was St.Thomas, the ship docked at Crown Bay instead of Haversight. There were a total of 5 or 6 ships in port that day. We have been there before and weren't interested in the buying jewelry. We have also been to St. Johns and St. Croix so this time we decided to go to Coral World on our own. We took a taxi from the port to the east end of the island ($10 a person) to get to Coral World. Admission was $19 a person. Coral World has quite a few aquariums and an under water observatory. In addition to the fish, there are birds and turtles. Pretty interesting and it would be a good place for kids!

They also have dolpin encounters and helmet "dives" available.

We caught a taxi right outside the entrance and took it to downtown Charlotte Amalie - did just a little looking around with a lot of people; then back to the ship. There are a few shops at the pier but not as many as Haversight.

The next day was Antigua. Here we took a local bus to Nelson's Dockyard.

The ship offers a tour that stops at the dockyard, but we opted to spend $3.00 for 2 on the bus to get there. The downside was we had to wait about 30 minutes before the bus left. There were 4 other tourists on the bus and the rest were local people. The ride is rather long and so you get a chance to see the countryside and people. The Dockyard itself was interesting - we toured the musuem and grounds. The walk ways are very uneven - upon leaving the Bakery and down the steps, I either missed a step or tripped and fell on my knees - both were scraped and bruised and the stone steps ripped my capris in the knee. We headed for a bar and had a local beer and I felt better. After returning to town we checked out the shops.

The following day was Tortola. We had thought we would go to the Baths in Virgin Gorda but we were both so tired from the previous 2 days, we decided to skip it and spent the time walking around the city. We did make a few purchases including some at the Spice Store - lots of good things there.

A sea day was followed by a stop in Nassau. We took a taxi to Paradise Island and explored Atlantis resort. We purchased tickets to the Dig for $40 a person. While the Dig is a creative idea and the fish and artifacts were pretty and fun to see, I don't think I would pay $40 to see it again. Atlantis itself is a very well maintained beautiful resort. There is security throughout the resort and with the ticket to the Dig you are allowed to only go in parts of it. If you want to go to their beach or water park you have to pay more - I think it is around $110 for the waterpark. We did a little shopping near the ship.

We had great weather for the all the ports - it did rain in Tortola a little but only for a short period of time.

I will try to finish my review tomorrow.

In general, we enjoyed this cruise a lot. The seas were calm with only one night where I could feel the motion.

The food in the dining room at night was very good. The service seemed a little slower than other cruises, however, the wait staff had more tables to take care of than in the past.

We found the food on the lido deck to be okay, not as good as our experiences on Holland America. There is a good variety to choose from and the lines weren't too bad. The desserts were very good on both the lido and in the dining room.

As for the decor, I am in agreement with other reviewers who said it was not as glitzy as other ships. We observed staff constantly cleaning everything on the ship; the walls, railings, carpet, etc.

The staff on the ship were very attentive and friendly - using our names each time they saw us.

Now, for the only "bad" part of the cruise - debarkation. Not only did it mean our cruise can to an end, but what occured made it uncomfortable.

We got our luggage tags and according to the "program" we should be off the ship by 9:15. We waited in the lounge and waited. The staff announced the customs was checking every passport and forms very carefully and slowly and there was nothing Carnival could do about it. I am sure that is true and I think Customs must have been looking for something or someone specifcally.

We did not get called until 11:30. That was an long time to sit and wait.

Once off the ship, we asked for directions to where to go to catch the shuttle to Budget Car Rental and where given vague directions and I noticed the shuttle but we were not where it stopped so we had to wait about 25 minutes for the next shuttle. Then it was off to Quay shopping center and our rental car. We spent the night at Sheraton Suites in Plantation and flew home to on Monday afternoon. Arrived in Iowa to about 4 inches of snow on the ground.

If you have any specific questions, I will try to answer them. One last thing to write: If you sail on the Freedom and bring patience and a smile, you should have a great time! No worries and safe travels!

We board her in fifteen days. Can't wait. :):p:D:cool:

Thanks for taking the time as there seems to be fewer reviews of the freedom than most ships.

Is crown bay the normal docking place in ST Thomas? I thought it was havensight?

Debarkation was a nightmare for us in FLL on our Freedom cruise this fall as well. I don't think it was unique to your cruise, our CD told us that FLL is notorious for crappy and slow Customs agents/processing. One of the main reasons we will avoid sailing out of FLL any time in the future. It was a TOTAL PITA.

Haversight is the normal place, but there were 4 ships there when we got in, so we had to use the other pier. Allure or Oasis of the Seas was also at Crown Bay

Thanks for taking the time as there seems to be fewer reviews of the freedom than most ships.

 

Is crown bay the normal docking place in ST Thomas? I thought it was havensight?

We have cruised out of FLL - Port Everglades; 6 times and never had this experience before...

Debarkation was a nightmare for us in FLL on our Freedom cruise this fall as well. I don't think it was unique to your cruise, our CD told us that FLL is notorious for crappy and slow Customs agents/processing. One of the main reasons we will avoid sailing out of FLL any time in the future. It was a TOTAL PITA.

We have cruised out of FLL - Port Everglades; 6 times and never had this experience before...

Our CD said that FLL was notorious for it. We purchased the "Luggage Express" program (meaning we pay $20 pp, set out our bags early and are supposed to be escorted through Customs in a separate line from those who just do general debarkation). Didn't happen. There was no separate line, we wound through the luggage maze with everyone else, right past where we could have just picked up our luggage, and it took us almost 2 hours to get off the ship and meet our shuttle. Nightmare city. I complained to Carnival, who said that a lot of it had to do with the way FLL ran the cruise terminal (versus POM) and refunded our money.

Now, for the only "bad" part of the cruise - debarkation. Not only did it mean our cruise can to an end, but what occured made it uncomfortable.

We got our luggage tags and according to the "program" we should be off the ship by 9:15. We waited in the lounge and waited. The staff announced the customs was checking every passport and forms very carefully and slowly and there was nothing Carnival could do about it. I am sure that is true and I think Customs must have been looking for something or someone specifcally.

This was our first Platinum Cruise, & I agree that debarkation was a nightmare. We were given zone 1 & two minutes after they called zone 1, they added zone 2 with it. We weren't even out of the dining room where we waited before they called zone 2. Got our luggage & waited in a long, long line. There were no separate lines for those with a porter so we didn't use one. Last year, we grabbed a porter & he got us through the line really, really fast.

It took us 1-1/2 hours from start to finish. Another cruiser from our rollcall posted that one of her dinner mates emailed her re. debarkation. They did self-assist & were #5 in line at customs. Right after they went through customs, the computers went down and everything came to a halt.

How much was the taxi ride to atlantis ? Thanks in advance for your response.

How much was the taxi ride to atlantis ? Thanks in advance for your response.

I'm not sure what the taxi fare would be. However, there were buses that charged $4 per pp each way.

I'm a little nervous about my 12:54 flight from fll now. We will be on the Freedom in April, have never had a problem getting off a ship early. Do you think we will be okay? Can we still just carry our own stuff off?

$4.00 per person each way

How much was the taxi ride to atlantis ? Thanks in advance for your response.

Yes you can carry off your luggage and you will be the first group to get off the ship. You should be fine! Happy travels.

I'm a little nervous about my 12:54 flight from fll now. We will be on the Freedom in April, have never had a problem getting off a ship early. Do you think we will be okay? Can we still just carry our own stuff off?

Question about your cabin, as we are considering the same one. Was it noisy being under the Lido deck? And was it rpivate enough? I see how the dividers are more open, just windering about your personal experience.

My family and I were on the Freedom cruise that followed yours, so we waited in the terminal from 130pm until almost 4pm to embark! It was sunny and hot and the line wrapped around the front of the building, down the side, back up the side and around to the front again, not to mention the multiple lines inside to reach an agent, then the lines through inspection and the lines to receive sign & sail cards!

We got onboard and dropped our bags in our room, and were the very last people able to grab a bite at the buffet before the crew started putting up the "Buffet Closed" signs, for muster!