***LIVE*** From the Carnival Freedom

Dear Current and Future Shipmates:

WELL...Almost LIVE. In a few hours we will fly to Venice and join those already for the inaugural cruise of the much anticipated Carnival Freedom. While I am not a well-heeled cruiser who uses the on-board Internet facilities, I will try to write from an Internet cafe in Dubrovnik, Croatia on Wednesday and give you my first impressions.

But please...someone steal my thunder....

How did the christening go today?

How does the ship look?

Anyone up late in Venice in their hotel and can pen the first few lines on what I hope will be the most valuable thread in this roll call...

Coming VERY SOON...........***LIVE*** from the Carnival Freedom

Blackegg

Jim

We can hardly wait, We Sail on 3/26. Blackegg please keep us informed on what is going on.

Thanks

I thought you were sharing this Freedom web cam site!

http://www.kroooz-cams.com/carnivalindex.html

Thanks for the link to the web cam.Now we can keep watch and follow the progress.:cool:

Whos the cruise director??

Whos the cruise director??

John Heald...I had him on the Glory 2 yrs ago and loved him...I am on the 3/14 sailing and cannot wait...

I dont believe they gave his name, but he is British, so says the news page of CruiseCritic.com -

I can't wait to hear stories from her, and see pictures. I'm sooo excited.

John Heald Thats what I expected to hear , also we have him on The Ectasy a bunch of years ago, best cruise director sooooo funny

I keep watching the web cam-when's the ship supposed to sail today? It's already after 9PM there and it's not moving.

They don't actually sail until tomorrow afternoon, tonite is in port party etc.,

Ah ha! Thank you. I kept wondering what was going on.:)

oh please try to take some time to let us know all about the ship, do the atm's disperse us$ or E, can you get E on board, and are the slots paying off( this is very important:D ) thanks

Cannot wait to hear the details....only 104 days and counting!!!:)

Dear Future Shipmates:

The ship is BEAUTIFUL! We arrived late on Monday and there were no lines and we got right on-board. The ship is finished with no evidence of unfinished areas.

The staff on board are all trying very hard to please. I have not met anyone with an "attitude." Many of course are not new to working on a cruise ship.

I am a platinum level on Princess and this is my first "modern" Carnival cruise so everything I say is compared to Princess. The food is the best part. The same or better than Princess. I was and am pleasantly surprised. There are glitches - problems with the men's sauna and steam rooms but they were working again. During breakfast this morning in the Posh dining room, we were docking at Dubrovnik and the thrusters caused a raoringly loud noise and shking of the ship - they will need to work on that.

The decor if beautiful but clashes sometimes. The staterooms are very spacious and they have "thin" TVs and it is nice knowing you are the first ones in the sheets. This ship would be a 5 star compared to what Princess rates their 5 star ships. The shower pressure is very strong in the cabins. Toilets weren't flushing for a time but then resumed later.

Muster drill was a bit old fashioned having to line up by your boat with life jacket on.

They are skimping on the entertainment in my opinion. The first night there were no shows saying everyone had long flights, blah, blah, blah. Last night they only had one main show at 10:45 pm. They have plenty of song and dance venues but main shows and performers are lacking. Hope things will perk up??

They are skimping by not having dining rooms open for lunch and no problems for those staying on the ship.

No idea on whther the slots are tight or loose. I THINK the ATM's on board dispense euros but they have ATMs in every port.

Sorry for the peppered dialogue just writing as fast as I can. I will try to check the thread tomorrow at Olympia (Katakalon).

All around - I am very impressed and pleased thus far. I will try to answer questions but I hope othersm on the ship will help me out.

Hoping this satisfied some of the curiosities out there.

Jim

Blackegg

Thanks for spending the time to keep us informed. We are onboard next so we are pretty excited to hear all about it.

In spite of bad press Carnival has sometimes received, we have always been happy with them and I think they fare well with all the other cruise lines.

Have a great trip!

Thanks for taking the time to post Blackegg - I wondered what a first sailing would be like, and if it would have more hassel factors than worth it for a 'vacation' but sounds like things are going well so far-

It looks like it's raining today in Dubrovnik - stay dry, and have a great time!

Blackegg, thanks for posting! What time was the muster drill? We of the April 19th sailing are trying to figure out what time to have group get-together.

Thanks

Your very very kind to post while you are on vacation. I can't say I will be doing that at all. You are quelling all of the rest of our curiosity about the ship though, and I thank you so much for that.

Have a wonderful cruise and vacation, we are all watching the Cams and praying you get into drier weather soon.

It Was Very Kind Of You To Take The Time Out Of Your Day To Post For The Rest Of Us. I Too Am Platium Only On Carnival, Did They Honor Your Vip Status? I Heard That Princess Will Honor Ours , Was Just Wondering. Please Let Us Know About The Drill, As We Are Trying To Do A Meet And Greet Right After And Were Wondering If It Would Interfer With Early Seating Dinner. Again Thanks So Much For All The Info...........kathy:)

Dear Future Shipmates:

Dubrovnik started fine but the rain did hit in the afternoon. We left port late due to "heavy traffic." Then the captain said he slowed down the speed of the ship because we were heading into a very strong wind all night (for poassenger comfort). Problem was we reached this port about two hours late. They gave us until 5:30 to get back to the ship but they are determined to leave on time.

You would not sense there are a lot of glitches in the maiden voyage. There is little mentioned about it and things go on as you would expect. The muster drill was on the second day at 2:00 pm. The actual time was almost 3:00 pm which was the scheduled sailing time. One honeymoon couple didn't make it back to the ship in Venice.

Today was a beautiful sunny cool, but perfect day. I am the squeeze the blood from a rock budget traveller and my girls and I took local busses to and from Olympia for a fraction of the price of all those tour busses rolling by. There is a very nice shopping area near the ship in Katakolon. By the way, if you want to chooose a port to skip, this would be the one. Olymipia is a "been there, done that" kind of place. Just ruins and ruins... Athens tomorrow!

The first two nights had no shows. Last night was the first real show and it was exceptional production. It is a life of the Beatles review - if you like them.

They finally opened a jacuzzi yesterday - Lido deck at the back (sliding roof) but the jacuzzi was dissappointingly luke warm.

The food is still the best for me. Last night was the first formal night and I only had THREE lobsters (my record is six - same as the maitredee [sp?]) but the lobstaers were larger than expected. Everyone is still wanted to please and all the servers everywhere maintain great attitudes. The crew seem to be working well together considering it is the maiden voyage.

Well I turn my gaze to the right and the words "Carnival Freedom" is emblazoned on the side of the ship calling me to return as it is 40 minutes from another dinner feast.

I will be happy to answer simple questions if I have the time. We are walking around Athens tomorrow and will look for an Internet cafe.

Ship ahoy,

Blackegg

Again, more excellent information -- thanks so much for taking the time!

We are all cruising vicariously with you!

Katakolon is one of the ports that my husband and I had already decided to "play by ear"....neither of us feels compelled to see the ancient stadium, so we've been figuring that port to be more laid-back. Perhaps a trip to the shopping area near the ship (assuming there will be local eateries there).

I'll definitely be checking back tomorrow to see the port near Athens!

So how close did the busses take you to Olympia and were they near the port. I hated to spend the 120 for a cab that I was quoted. We have most the day there so if the bus is easy , that would be great. I will be interested to hear about Athens. It seems that everything is a long way from the port.

jkeller

Black Egg:

So glad to hear everything is great. A lot of people would have been complaining about the toilets skipping a beat and what have you. Just encourages you to get out of you cabin. I had 8 lobsters once at Papa' Seafood when they had an all you can eat. The secret is to eat only the lobster and skip all the side stuff. I was in heaven. I love seafood. Keep it coming.

Linda

How did you get into Athens???

Thanks for your information.....!!!!:D