!*! FREEDOM !*! Southern Caribbean 6/22/14 -Heavy on photos of 2.0 upgrades & menu

A photo intensive review of the 8-Day Southern Caribbean itinerary on Carnival Freedom, June 22, 2014. I took a lot of photos (lots of food porn and 2.0 changes) and a lot of notes. :) It's my very first attempt at a review and I hope it benefits someone like other reviewers have helped me!!! Hope i can figure out this picture thing!

Quick summary, if anything interests you….read on!

Drove from Cleveland to Jacksonville, spent night at Hampton Inn, Bartram Park.

Embarkation Day: Drove last 4.5 hours Sunday morning to Port Everglades. Publix for supplies. Port Everglades. Easy embarkation with Faster To The Fun (FTTF)-worth it. (After Platinum and Diamond boarded). Red Frog Pub, Blue Iguana. Loved the 2.0 changes to Freedom. Late sail-away. Dinner in MDR. Playlist show “80’s Pop to the Max”. Piano Bar. Lido snack.

Sea Day 1: Brunch in MDR. Meet-N-Greet fun/successful, CC representative gave freebies. “Getaway Island” Playlist show, impressive LCD screens. Trivia. 24/7 Pizza.

Grand Turk: Jack’s Shack and fun with Topher. Margaritaville. Dinner in MDR. Hasbro show.

Dominican Republic: Seavis Saona tour (so great). Dinner in MDR. Love and Marriage show. Piano bar.

Curacao: Late port. Brunch in MDR. Dolphin sighting. Irie Tour (very worth it). Dinner in MDR. Hypnotist Peter Gross. Off ship for night pictures. Lido snack.

Aruba: Public bus to Palm Beach. Palapa rental. Jet pack. Jet skis. Hyatt pool. Past guest party. Playlist show “88 Keys”. Comedians Joe Marlotti and Mark Hawkins. Piano Bar.

Sea Day 2: Towel animal day. Blue Iguana breakfast. Brunch in MDR. Future Cruise talk. Family photos. Dinner in MDR. Piano bar (sensing a theme here). Lido snack/Salsa party in room.

Sea Day 3: Behind the Fun tour. Lido lunch (chocolate day). Pixel studio. Taste bar. Movie “Frozen” on Lido. Comedy show. Dinner in MDR. Playlist “80’s Pop to the Max” show. Comedy show.

Disembarkation: Zone 1; but had breakfast in MDR before leaving. Easy disembarkation (30 minutes start to finish).

June 21 Travel

We have a long drive down from Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale. Won’t bore you with the details of that fun trip (two girls sharing the back seat for 18 hours). We keep them snacked up and zoned out on movies. I have to initiate stops more than them!

We arrived in Jacksonville about 10:00 pm. Called Hampton Inn & Suites, Bartram Park, just outside of Jacksonville, about 9:00 pm to make sure they had room. We got a King Suite this time. It was nice to have the king-size bed and not a queen. The girls slept on a pull out sofa, which they said was comfy (they are young and malleable). It is a nice hotel, lots of plugs and USB outlets. Quiet room with a kitchenette near the entrance and vanity area next to bathroom.

I had a moment of EXTREME panic when I thought I left the boarding passes and our passports at home. My daughter insisted that she was stepping on them the whole way up (they were in my metal clipboard). Could not breathe properly until my husband went out to the car and brought them in. Cannot tell you how relieved I was!

I hadn’t slept at all the night before, getting stuff ready and finishing up some things, so off to bed.

GREAT!!!! looking forward to the rest of your review!

We go on the Freedom Aug 16th same 8-Day Southern Caribbean itinerary.

Thanks again for posting!!!!

.

Day 1: June 22 Embarkation

Wake up call at 5:30, and …seasoned girl scouts that we are…All four of us were at the complimentary breakfast by 6:10 and on the road by 6:30! A word about the breakfasts at Hampton Inn; I enjoy staying there and enjoy the breakfasts, they are not so pleasant for my diabetic, cheese-hating husband. And, of course, the choice that morning was cheese omelets (asked…they only came that way), french toast, potatoes, and waffles. Not a meat link or a patty in sight! They do offer hard boiled eggs. He muddled through, knowing we would be on the ship for lunch!

We arrived at Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades by 10:30; saw our first glimpse of whale tail!!!

We needed to buy some last minute things so -- off to Publix, just down the road.

Stocked up with pop, sunburn cream, etc. We tried to head back to port. Our Garmin navigator insisted we could go to the backside of Publix and be at the ship…not so, as the pleasant Sheriff told us! Those entrances were fenced off and manned by serious looking uniformed people. So close but so far….

Back to the main road and we re-arrived at Port Everglades. We followed directions and dropped our luggage off in the appropriate area. Watched as they placed the Faster to the Fun (FTTF) stickers on all pieces. Hubby went to go park. Yes, we used port parking. I was too stressed out planning this one to do a lot of research into cheaper parking, but I know it is available, and we saw the shuttles dropping off people. We had time to watch the comings and going of eager travelers as I waited for my sister to arrive in from Tampa.

All of us are together about 11:30, we entered the Port

Was thinking I wasted money on FTTF this time as there are no tendered ports on this itinerary. There was a separate entrance for Platinum, Diamond (P/D), and FTTF. After our first security check- we split up, sister to P/D Lounge, me to the head of the line.

There was a more detailed security check then; these guys were serious. All liquid had to be checked, they busted open plastic wrapped cases of water and shook several of them. The were serious in Fort Lauderdale…no sneaking of alcohol!

The FTTF line bypassed the whole maze of winding travelers waiting to get their S&S cards! That right there made it worth it to purchase. It was chaotic and people tried to heard us to the huge line, we just kept saying FTTF and they redirected us. We probably bypassed 800 guests already in line at 11:45. (A note on FTTF: I know some people do not like that we can buy privileges, but it seemed like only about 60 people boarded with us from the FTTF waiting area-not a lot of people).

After getting our first GOLD cards (don’t laugh, we only cruise 1x/year!), we were sent to wait “under the fishes” which were hung over the grey entry doors. We waited there until they announced boarding of P&D at 12:00. They called FTTF at 12:15 and away we went.

Through grey doors, up escalator, through empty waiting area to the Bon Voyage photo and then the gangway! DING !!!

My sister was about 6 minutes behind us, she got a bit of a run around with her S&S cards not being immediately found.

While my family waited for her, I went to Excursion desk to purchase Behind the Fun tour (they did two tours on Freedom, 9:00 and 9:30, last sea day).

12:30 – we are all on board.

Heading up to rooms (1061 for us and 1063 for my sister). Fire doors are closed, but there is a laminated notice to come on through if you have FTTF or are P/D. So we did!

This was the extent of freebies; two minty toothpicks. We saved them for elegant night. A special treat!

I did not know we received pins at the gold level...but there they were!

4 People in stateroom, so one king... couch/bed... and pullman were used. The pullman stayed down the entire cruise.

Snapped some pics of room, dropped of carry-ons, and it’s off to the Lido deck.

Great pics so far! Looking forward to the rest!

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These are the touch free hand washing stations between Blue Iguana and Guys burgers.

Got lunch on Lido at Blue Iguana; delicious!

We went to eat at the aft end of lido deck (by Lady Liberty statue) on the second deck...it is never crowded on day one. Plus there is fish and chips there to try!

Went to customer service to get the holes punched in our cards; used P/D, FTTF line, another nice perk of FTTF (and the only time I used it).

2:00 – back at room, some luggage is already here. Called from stateroom about getting the sharps box we needed (and had requested on-line) and about opening up balconies; we had to have a member from each room call guest services from inside the room. They said they would take care of it. Met our room steward; Andreas, the silent ninja. Rarely saw him, but everything was always amazingly clean. Asked for ice and always had it after that.

3:30 – announced sail away would be moved from 4:00 to 7:00, some preventative maintenance on the rear thrusters was not completed yet. We knew how important rear thruster are, so we just decided to forego sail-away and get ready for dinner.

There was a storm in the area as Allure (?) pulled away from their dock.

The storm caused our hair to stand on end!

Side note: just recently saw an OLD episode of the Love Boat…they threw about 40 pounds of confetti in the water during sail-away!

I had a moment of EXTREME panic when I thought I left the boarding passes and our passports at home. My daughter insisted that she was stepping on them the whole way up (they were in my metal clipboard). Could not breathe properly until my husband went out to the car and brought them in. Cannot tell you how relieved I was!

I actually had a nightmare a couple of weeks ago that we were almost to FLL when I realized that I had left passports and boarding passes at home almost ten (10) hours away! I feel your pain!!! :eek::D

We were on that cruise too, Clevecruiser. We had a wonderful time. Really looking forward to the rest of your review!

Enjoying the review ready to read more about y'all's cruise.

Great review so far.

Loving the review, especially since we're booked for August. Somewhat different itinerary but excited to see menus and pics. Subscribing!

4:00 – Muster and then we snapped some photos.

Muster, kind of cramps the fun...but I would never consider not going. I want eyes-on that lifeboat so I know where it is!

Chic Restaurant

Chic Restaurant; dining room annex

Lido deck, jacuzzi

Lido deck, water slide and Stressless Pool

Endless Pool- which fools you, cause it does have an end; don't expect one of those fancy infinity pools! (This is the adults only aft pool with a sliding cover - which we needed for a short time on the next day.)

GREAT!!!! looking forward to the rest of your review!

 

We go on the Freedom Aug 16th same 8-Day Southern Caribbean itinerary.

 

Thanks again for posting!!!!

 

 

 

.

You are going to love it (the itinerary..not my review; although I hope you like that too!). This itinerary hit a lot of bucket list items for us!

Great pics so far! Looking forward to the rest!

 

 

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Thanks....I have a new respect for these reviewers! It's harder than I thought!

Yay! a Freedom review with photos! Thanks so much for posting your review, and I am enjoying it while I await my turn.:)

I actually had a nightmare a couple of weeks ago that we were almost to FLL when I realized that I had left passports and boarding passes at home almost ten (10) hours away! I feel your pain!!! :eek::D

I can tell you...I really learned the meaning the "my heart dropped". I felt like my ticker was dropping out of my body!

Glad I can laugh about it now! :)

We were on that cruise too, Clevecruiser. We had a wonderful time. Really looking forward to the rest of your review!

It was a great time...great stops, great weather, great food.... Right!?

Enjoying the review ready to read more about y'all's cruise.

bubbakirk43, you are gunna be sick of me by the end! I went CRAZY with the pictures! LOL

5:30 – all ready for Your Time Dining (YTD) in the Chic restaurant.

Popped in at the Pixels desk to arrange a photo shoot for my daughter (High School graduation). They were more than happy to arrange that (cha-ching!). There was a special, no charge for booking, perhaps this is a constant “special,” but it sounded great to me!

5:45 – dinner in Chic with headwaiter Alex and his team. Salmon was good, service good. Skipped dessert to make it to the early show. Since we had a large group..I snapped a pic of everyone’s food. (A fact you may come to regret as you make your way through this review! :)

The salmon was very good, crispy skin (which I don't eat BTW, and moist inside).

Can anyone guess what this is? (answer after picture for anyone born in the last two minutes).

Warm Chocolate Melting Cake (WCMC !)

It was a great time...great stops, great weather, great food.... Right!?

Absolutely! I think our best cruise yet. Really loved the addition of Red Frog Pub and Blue Iguana. I'd hop right back on that ship tonight if I could!

Was this all of the menu for the MDR? When we went on the Conquest last year there were two menus per night. One that changed every day and the other was the "regular" menu that was offered everyday. Just curious if the Freedom has the same thing.

7:15 – Victoriana Theater. Welcome Show. Wasn’t really a “welcome” show, just a show; 80’s Pop to the Max, but it was good. The new Playlist shows are a hot topic. In my opinion, I really liked the live band and I miss it. It is a big cut-back and cheapens the experience a bit. They have drastically cut back on the number of dancers also, only eight.

That being said, the creative use of the large screens is amazing. They incorporate the technology into the program and it really is something to see. I was really impressed with a couple of the numbers.

It is set up so the best view is right in the center of the theater, you can see the gaps in the four screens if you are not center stage, but it is not awful if you are on the side, just a bit noticeable; you can see the stagehands maneuvering equipment around. They use moving sections of the stage and treadmills very creatively to maximize the experience.

There was an impressive Michael Jackson tribute that was very enjoyable.

9:00 – Piano Party with Seth Gibson. Very good performer! He is young and talented. He appeals to young, old, men, women, teens! Everyone in our group had a bit of a crush on him! He invented a drink called the “Fabric Softener” that is unique. They will make it for you in the piano bar, ask him about it! He loves to tell the story! Handled some inebriated audience members very well. Met Ken who was on the second leg of his B2B and had been in the piano bar every night so far!

A couple members of our group headed to the “adult balloon games” and won medals in that competition.

My niece may disown me for this one...

My daughter cannot disown me, unless she never wants to cruise again!

10:30-in room. It was hot and humid, I would say about 76-78 degrees, the mirror above the cabinet was freezing (the metal edge was really cold) and fogged over, it was very, very weird. Cranked the controller down to FULL BLUE mode!

11:00 – Pizza snack on lido deck. There were no pizzas ready and it was about a 10/15 minute wait to get a couple of slices. We practically starved to death. :rolleyes: There was a noticeable problem with the A/C that night on the Lido too, but it was not noticed again during the cruise.

11:30-back in stateroom, temperature is better. Shower and bed.

And so ends day one on board the newly upgraded Carnival Freedom 2.0...

Was this all of the menu for the MDR? When we went on the Conquest last year there were two menus per night. One that changed every day and the other was the "regular" menu that was offered everyday. Just curious if the Freedom has the same thing.

You are totally right, on the left is the same menu every night; I was lax in not photographing it at least once. :(

I remember some of it....It always had for starters: fruit salad, shrimp cocktail. And for dinner: salmon, grilled chicken, steak,