Drose716

We flew from NY to FLL in july. Landed in FLL just after 10am, gathered checked bag & too carnival shuttle to the Freedom. I just checked time stamps on my pics & we pulled up to the ship at 11:13am. Customs was easy but lines to check in & get S&S were long. We were standing in the atrium by 12:05pm.

If you're flight goes as scheduled you will be fine! FLL is so small. We stopped to go to the restroom & by thr the time we got to baggage our bags had already been removed from the carousel to the office!:eek: in NY we'd have still been waiting for the first bags to roll out.

I broke all the rules & flew in day of so I don't know about hotels, but the port is definitely quite close to the airport.

I'm just off the 7/21 sailing of this itinerary & it was Nassau night (night #2).

Thanks for the review! I board in 4 days, 10ish hours & im dying of excitement over here so I'm loving the review!

DH, DS, and I are extremely excited! Freedom here we come 9 days!!!!!

After a stressful few weeks at work I am looking for some fun in the sun. I'm packing my bags this weekend!!!!

 

 

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We're on this sailing too! Can't wait!

Thanks for the pics & the review! I leave on the same cruise July 21st & loved seeing the pics. Im even more excited now!

When it came to leaving out of FL for the first time on the 2nd cruise & needing to fly I didn't know any better & booked thru carnival. We sailed from Miami but they flew us to FILL as per a rep at the 1800# it was "probably cheaper for them". I then had to pay twice as much in shuttle fees than if I had gone into MIA. It wouldve been cheaper, to boot, had i booked my own flights to MIA thru airline or a TA site.

Our flight home was scheduled for 11:30am from FLL. Its a 45 minute ride! Cutting it waaaaay close especially considering we were set in the last debark groups. In the end, our arrival back to MIA was severely delayed by Hurricane Isaac. We missed our original flight & the one carnival rescheduled for us. We were put in a hotel for the night on carnival but so were the pax that hadn't booked thru carnival. We flew home the next day. Left FLL at 130 had a ridiculous stop in Charlotte & didn't get home until fairly late.

In the end booking through carnival did save me having to make the phone call to reschedule myself but the flights that we got were less than ideal & more expensive in our case. I booked independently last year & again for our upcoming freedom cruise.

I'm interested as well! This will be my first 2.0 ship. When do you sail? 33 days until our 7/21 sailing!

We live in Ontario and would be nice to see some of our beautiful Provinces. My sister in law did it last year and loved it. Except when they went the Government was shut down.

 

 

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If you're looking to explore Canada then I absolutely say GO!! I remember St. John visiting histoically rich sites. i wish I could remember exactly what we did in NS. I remember it was a beautiful place tho. I also remember as a NYer being impressed at how personable the locals were.

NYC is amazing. I take it fir granted. Times Square is fun. Definitely visit! Not sure who you're traveling with but there's a huge awesome toy store. Bundles of places to eat.

I had "up to $200 off past guest" when I booked. I got to choose my cabin. I dont see how that's a special deal:rolleyes:

I'm a native NYer. I did the Canada cruise as a (late) teen with my friend's family. My first cruise. Loved the cruising experience. Nova Scotia was lovely. I don't think I'd do it again now that I've done it once. I went last week of august & was chilly. I bought a sweatshirt in one of the ports. At night higher decks closed due to ice. And yet we still experienced rough seas coming home due to a hurricane coming for nova Scotia. But take my opinion with a grain of salt as I prefer warm weather cruises & vacations in general. It was still a fantastic cruise.

Airport wise I have plenty of experience with both laguardia & JFK- I'm 30-40 mins from both. Personally I choose LGA whenever possibly. Its domestic only while JFK is international. Distance wise from where I live its honestly the same except you head north for one south for the other. I suspect JFK may be closer to the port as its southern. Either airport there will be a bit if travel to times square & Manhattan.

I cannot comment on splendor as ive never5 been.

I'm heading out next month on my 4th cruise- all interiors. I've honestly never had a room complaint. I've been deck 6 midship & deck 2 midship on victory & deck 5 aft on imagination. I will be on riviera aft on freedom soon.

First cabin wasn't chosen by me & 2nd 2 were guarantees. This time I chose. I prefer aft or mid because it's nearer what I like to do. I chose riviera because there's cabins only above.

Thanks for the input everyone! I showed SO all of this & we settled on july 21st to nassau, HMC & grand turk! Thanks to another thread here today I ordered carnival e-gift cards for the 10%. So the cabin has been chosen & placed on 24 hour hold to be paid in full tomorrow as soon as the card is active. Airfare is booked & paid. We sail in 37 days!! :D I'm already dying of excitement! Expect some excursion questions to come!

My SO & I are planning a short kids free cruise for july or August. This will be my 4th (see signature) & his 1st. I've narrowed it down to two 5 day itineraries. I selected the Freedom because I want to try a 2.0 ship. I can't decide & would like input from you lucky CC folks who are more experienced than I.

July 21-26: nassau, HMC, grand turk

-I've been 2 nassau. It was okay enough & its still a beach but I have no burning desire to return. I went to Atlantis first time.

- HMC & grand turk are both new & Ive read HMC shouldn't be missed

-cheaper cabin & air but not by a lot

-it's sooner lol

-1 sea day only

Aug 11-16 ocho rios, Jamaica & Grand Cayman

-2 sea days

-I know its not popular but I've wanted to see Jamaica. Grand Cayman isnt necessarily on my bucket list

- im 2/2 on August cruises impacted by hurricanes

I'm torn. I may be leaning towards tbe July crusie but I like the 2 sea days in August... please share your pick!!!