Knights on the Beach

Our home away from home! That's our timeshare to the right of the pier - we can hear the cruise ship announcements when we're sitting on the balcony. I allegedly went shopping here with friends and I bought 3 shirts (over $200) to get a free drawstring HD bag. It's a nice bag though! 🤦‍♀️🤣 Sorry, I'm way behind but trying to catch up - we were on Freedom last weekend!

We had a great time on Freedom, just got off yesterday. Embarkation was super easy - we had a 10:00 - 10:30 arrival time and our Uber had us at the port right at 10:00. We dropped off our luggage with a porter, walked into the terminal, checked in with no waiting in line and were directed upstairs to the suites/diamond/platinum waiting area. It was 10:08 when we sat down (had to check the time on the picture I took). I think it was around 10:50 when they started boarding. By 11:20, we had done our muster, picked up drinks at the atrium bar and took them out to a table by Red Frog Rum Bar on Lido. Guy's burgers were also our first meal on Freedom. There were 8 of us - our 2 sons, 2 DILs and 2 grandsons (ages 8 and 5 - first cruise for them). We all had dinner together each night, 3 times in the MDR and once in the steakhouse. All the meals I had ranged from good to excellent. My husband had one disappointing meal in the MDR (he made a bad choice lol) and the boys' French fries were sometimes undercooked but I think everything else was good. The food and service in the steakhouse were amazing; it was a great experience for all of us. Our 8 y/o GS was super impressed. Every time one of our servers came over, he told them how much he loved his fish & chips. 🙂 Four of us did the sea day brunch one day - it was just OK though I did like the flaming tomato soup. For the most part, breakfast and lunch were on Lido daily and everyone picked up their food from either Blue Iguana, Guy's, pizza or the buffet and joined us at a big round table. Four of us had lunch at the BBQ on the sea day and it was pretty good as well. We stayed on the ship in Nassau (our 4th time there during the past year) and we all spent the morning on the beach in Princess Cays. The water was so nice! I figured it would be too cold for me to go in so I didn't bring water shoes - I'll pack them from now on just in case, lots of rocks in the water. We went back to the ship for lunch; it was just easier with the boys. We didn't make it to any of the shows this time. The boys went to Camp Ocean for a couple hours each day but there was also a lot of time spent on Lido at the splash zone for the 5 y/o and water slides for the 8 y/o (and his dad, uncle & grandpa!). The arcade was the top attraction after dinner each night but after the boys went to bed we enjoyed the Freedom rock band by the atrium bar - they were awesome! We watched some football in Skybox and Red Frog Pub, both college and NFL. They need a bigger sports bar - or more TVs in RFP but we made it work. 😉 Debarkation was the best of any ship we've been on to date. We all had priority self-assist and the letter said to be in the Chic dining room by 7:15 am (diamond/platinum). The ship was cleared to start debarkation at 6:45 am! We could have walked right off then but had to wait a few minutes for our youngest son and DIL to meet us in the atrium. Meanwhile we waved goodbye to our other son, DIL and their two boys as they debarked with the suites group - they drove to the port from Orlando and they managed to get the boys to school on time yesterday! Once off the ship, we had to wait a few minutes for a taxi but even so, we were home by 7:15 am. After three recent cruises on Mardi Gras, I was afraid I'd be a bit let down - it's been a long time since we've been on that ship class (although I loved Glory and Valor years ago). I'm happy to say I loved it and wouldn't hesitate to go back on Freedom. I love the specialty dining on MG, but the MDR and steakhouse were way better on Freedom. Service and food were great. It was a very successful family cruise!

We're in the terminal waiting to board Freedom and we didn't receive the Platinum letter this time. Our DIL is Gold and our son is newly Platinum with this cruise and they both got the Gold letter.

Yep, I just tried to log in to add Cheers to our 10/6 cruise (with the last AARP gift cards I have) and can't get in. Figures! But I'm glad I didn't wait until Wednesday. 🤣

It will be refunded to the form of payment you used to buy it. If you used a CC, it will be credited back to it. If you used a gift card, you'll receive a gift card for that amount.

Was it confirmed you won't be able to return until Saturday at the earliest? Port Canaveral is still closed.

It's all 3 ports they're scheduled to visit.

Spirit class ships. We had one booked for Hawaii - Vancouver in April 2020. Too bad Covid cancelled that one. 😞

I don't see where shof515 was insinuating anyone was being petty for complaining. My interpretation was they were asking if they are the only ones who don't use room service, not trying to poke a bear. We've used room service on cruises only three or four times ever - the last time was probably 20 years ago so it likely won't have much impact on us. I know others who love getting room service. Me saying it won't impact US doesn't mean I don't empathize with those it may affect. 🤷‍♀️

We live very close to the port so we just Uber or taxi back and forth so I can't answer your question about parking but Carnival Magic docks at terminal 6.

It was Saturday in May and it was delicious. What online menu are you referring to?

You can do it either way.

You check in on the app for Chibang and Cucina when you're ready to eat there, you don't make reservations in advance. You'll get a notification in the app when your table is ready. For Pig & Anchor, you just go to the hostess stand and you'll be seated if there's an open table, or they'll put you on a wait list.

I love New Orleans; we've been there several times and always feel safe - just be smart. However, we travel there in February, March or November - not August. We actually had a trip there booked for August last year and came to our senses and cancelled it and booked a cruise out of Port Canaveral instead. I also love Glory but it's been a lot of years since we were on that ship. I'm not a fan of Miami at all but we have been on several cruises from there and survived. My pick would be Horizon for the extra day and the itinerary - but not sure if I'd pay the price difference.

Great review, thanks Greg. We were on Magic out of Port Canaveral last August and hope to book something on it soon after it comes back. Please do - we'll be in New Orleans in November for a long weekend for the UCF @ Tulane game. We almost always stay at Bourbon Orleans and I'm always looking for new places to eat. Sounds like the same type of rumors on Mardi Gras last month. We had friends camping at Jetty Park and they texted me on a Saturday while the Mardi Gras was docked in Port Canaveral asking me what the heck was going on. We weren't on the ship, but can see it from our front door when it's in port. Apparently there were a bunch of ambulances/rescue vehicles there along with some news vans. MG came in super early around 2:00 am so they could replace a bow thruster. Sounds like there was (or may have been?) a death on the ship (older woman had a heart attack) but the rumors were flying - everything from a suicide to someone was murdered and two people arrested. So who knows what the real story was. Turns out, the media was there because there were long delays for embarkation (due to the possible death) and people may have been passing out in the parking lot while waiting to board. No idea was was true and what wasn't. My source at the port was on a cruise on another ship and didn't have the scoop for me this time - but there are always some juicy rumors. LOL

You are correct. If she's in the same cabin as you, you'll be able to check her in at the same time you check yourself in so you'll both have the same arrival time. If there's a Platinum party on your cruise, you'll be able to take her with you. If you have a port that requires a tender, you may both get priority if you choose to go early.

Did they tell you that in the steakhouse?

Note that you can only check in on the app on the day you want to eat there, not in advance. There was a large party seated near us so I assume they just pushed the tables together.

There is no coupon, it's just loaded on your S&S.

We had the drink package on Royal Caribbean and they didn't charge tax on the drinks when had while still in port.

Since you don't cruise until February, you should be able to click on the edit button and select YTD if it's available. If not, ask your PVP if they're able to change it (if you used one) or call Carnival. If you used a TA, they'll need to do it for you.Last case scenario, once you get on board see the Maitre D in the dining room as early as possible. We had to do that in May since we jumped to MG 2 days before the cruise date when Freedom caught fire. If you booked on your own, keep checking because availability can change due to cancellations or changes

Yes, but the P/D party on Mardi Gras is not the same as on other ships because the theater has no bar inside it. Instead of servers walking around with trays of drinks, they offer you a glass of wine on your way in. We've skipped it on our MG cruises but are looking forward to attending it on future cruises on other ships.

Have you actually been on Mardi Gras? Because Mardi Gras is the perfect example of how YTD should and does work.

It's actually called Your Time Dining and is definitely the best choice for US on Mardi Gras - not because we like the MDR but after 3 cruises on MG, we prefer the other options. With YTD, the MDR, Chibang, and Cucina are all options and you can select any of these at any time starting at 5:30. You will have less of a wait time if you check in on the app at 5:30 but we also didn't have terrible wait times if we waited to check in around 6:00 or 6:30 (10 minutes vs 20 minutes in most cases). Guy's Pig & Anchor is also an option but that's open for everyone, not just those on YTD.

Definitely not. We live under 2 miles from Terminal 3 (Mardi Gras) and frequently use taxi, Uber and Lyft to and from the port. We always have an early check in time. We live here now (but moved over from Orlando several years ago). I'd much rather stay in a hotel near the port instead of Orlando BUT I love that Embassy Suites near the airport. We stayed there a few years ago after evacuating our island for a hurricane.