freedomcruiser891

We were never a big fan of the fish and chips. On freedom and liberty the aft eating area were a huge waste of space. Only used for late risers breakfast and for the midnight buffet it sat empty during lunch and dinner and there's a lot of potential and wasted space in leaving an eating venue empty like that

4 and 5 day cruises from Galveston on the Liberty are fantastic. Just got off one in May. Used to be triumph but now it's the liberty and the liberty is a lot nicer of a ship. Older style shows not the playlist shows which makes it a lot better entertainment wise (we like the live bands).

The liberty just looks a lot nicer than her sister ships because she has more of a classical feel to her if that makes sense. Going on as many 4 and 5 day cruises on her this year and next as we can before she moves in 2018 (or so we assume)

Watch. My OCD would prevent me from trusting my cell.

YES. Usually carry my phone, friends phone, (both set to manual time), watch, and Fitbit. Can never be too sure LOL

We've always just googled whatever port cruise ship schedule. (Ex Cozumel cruise ship schedule) and it's always showed up for each port

Mine syncs via Bluetooth

Ours sync via Bluetooth (the Fitbit charge) but it can't sync without a connection to Internet because it stores it on Fitbit's servers I guess.

It still stored the data on the Fitbit and synced fine after 6 days on our recent cruise. Wasn't sure how many days it could store without syncing. It was weird with flights of stairs on the Liberty not sure if it was the movement constantly or what but it worked well still.

Thanks everyone. Really appreciate the replies.

Can anyone comment on the massages on castaway cay? We saw one review saying it wasn't quiet at all and if this is the case I'd consider having the massage in the spa on the ship (Disney wonder) just for the peace and quiet

When we did the claim past cruise that worked. It might take some time for them to review it so maybe wait a few days and if not you can call them. If it's on your profile they can pull up that she sailed with you and credit the days.

Hope it all works out!

Triumph isn't that old I guess but definitely triumph (it's 17 years I think so that's semi old)

Very clean and well kept ship

That's how it was on our freedom cruise in 2015 to grand Cayman Jamaica and Cozumel. If it's a storm cell like ours, they will try to sail around the storm. It only rained in Cozumel fr us luckily. Don't let the rain ruin the fun especially in grand Cayman!

The only thing is storm cells can sometimes make for choppy seas so pack Dramamine if you might need it.

I seriously doubt and hope that it won't rain every day 100% of the day so happy sailings!

Texas is very stringent regarding liquor and beer taxes and a few other rules that limit quantities served per person. Carnival keeps a bunch of tax stamped liquors in stock for while in port and until they get to that 12 mile mark. Once out of range though they switch over to their preferred liquor that wasn't taxed by Texas.

 

 

 

New York does the same thing btw. Most other states have exclusionary zones that include cruise ships.

 

 

 

Beers are a little different since they aren't taxed per container and don't have individual tax stamps. What Carnival does for those is they have a segregated area in their cold storage for Texas sourced beers. These are supposed to be sold first.

 

 

 

It'll be interesting to see how they'd handle the Vista if it ever comes to Texas though seeing as how it has an actual brewery on board. On land they'd be taxed for whatever comes out of the bright tank. That's not really going to work with a mobile brewery though. They could fill all their kegs at sea.

This is correct and a lot better than I could have worded it LOL.

Beer selection is different. Cans and bottles instead of the pint aluminum cans. Also smaller selection. They also have Texas beers but they have these throughout the cruise too

Sale ends today. Not sure if that varies by time zone on the 28th or the 29th. Sale has been going on a while now

We absolutely loved the triumph. Can't speak for the sunshine but I would definitely go w a balcony on the triumph. If flights are high you could maybe stay at a hotel further from the downtown area? Never been to Nola during jazz fest so I can't speak for that but I absolutely loved the triumph and I can highly recommend it

Can't answer about a lot of the table games but there was video Texas hold 'em for sure.

Slots range from $0.01 and up but they require $0.40-$0.60 minimum to play?

We went for fun not really serious players so maybe somebody else can explain the minimums for slots better LOL.

I also know that they did have a poker tournament but I have no idea what the buy in was. Sorry!

There was roulette and craps from what I saw but never played those.

I know they also had blackjack and I think the minimum for that was $5 if I'm not mistaken

Looking to get a woman's perspective on proposing on castaway cay and also any good ideas for this? Not in front of a bunch of people as she's shy but maybe in a secluded place on the island

Googled this but cannot find any pictures of proposals on the island and I was really wanting to if the time seemed right (cruise is still 500+ days out)

Was thinking about doing the couples massage in a private cabana on castaway cay then walking down a quieter part of the beach to pop the question but any opinions/improvements/ideas would be much appreciated!!

Calling from the cabin phone is probably the easiest. Not necessarily the cheapest but a short call is nice now and then just to hear her voice and know how she's really doing [emoji4]

I believe it was $95 on the freedom and liberty earlier this year. Not 100% sure but that seems about right.

And yes must be booked at excursion desk on embarkation day. Shore excursions should be open when you board the ship. Sometimes they sell out fast sometimes not so fast just depends on the sailing.

THE SUGAR COOKIE THINGS ARE TO DIE FOR!!! (Also anything from the deli is a good choice)

On the freedom we got there 15 minutes early and it was already started...the time must have been misprinted on FunTimes LOL. Definitely worth trying. Lots of good food to sample and I agree with SadieN there's a TON of mushrooms and blue cheese and I don't like either particularly but dishes were really good nonetheless

Never heard that but makes sense. In a sense it could be a better ship. Newer people working harder and more enthusiastic and excited to be there before the end of their contracts?

On the Liberty MDR service was slower too compared to the freedom and triumph. The patience is well worth it though because the food in MDR is better than buffet any day in my opinion!

Maybe ask the entertainment director and see what they can do? I know they sometimes film those events to later show them on cabin tvs throughout the cruise like they do the love and marriage show. It's worth a shot

Haven't seen it since our triumph cruise about 4-5 years ago.

I know they didn't have it on our freedom or Liberty cruises in the past 2-3 years

I guess they think people take their own videos and just buy the photos. I liked the videos they were fun on smaller ships!

Oh okay! My grandmother brought her walker on our cruise a few months back and there wasn't an issue. If it's one of the silver ones that folds it'll fit between the bed and the wall or if it's one of the red type ones with the brakes and the seat then it should fit inside the room (hers did)

Hope this helps!

Last year our freedom cruise in 2015 had 2 members....kinda sad really. I think because it was a spring break cruise and had a younger crowd that probably doesn't post here as often I guess

Never done this as I don't have a mobility scooter but we've passed a few in the hallways before. There's not any coves or whatever areas they're taking about as far as I know other than elevator lobbies. They take up a huge part of the hallway though...there's sometimes barely enough room for two people to walk past one another without a scooter in the way.

I know you said you didn't want opinions but if you need to bring a scooter I would contact carnival and request a handicapped room or a suite or balcony bigger room etc

We've noticed that carnival doesn't always offer it but the port still might have it. We were going to do it in Belize but we couldn't tender however carnival didn't even offer the excursion so if they don't have it the port might offer it as an excursion you can book independently