The “better late than never, here it is for what it’s worth” Carnival Freedom review

Loving your review!! Will be on the Freedom in May and can't wait. I especially loved your pictures of Grand Cayman. We will also be doing a stingray excursion and seeing your pictures/videos makes me even more excited for the excursion!!

Hey cherrycokezero! Thanks for following along! You will love your cruise ... and the stingray ... are AWESOME! Give them a kiss for me! :D

When we got back on the ship, we all headed to our cabins for showers and then to watch the sail away, and then we got ready for dinner at the Steakhouse! We also found our excursion tickets for Jamaica and a letter from Carnival about scheduled routine balcony maintenance while we were ashore in Jamaica. The letter asked us to close our blinds and remove all the items from the balcony. We also found invitations in our cabin after Savoy prepared our cabin this evening. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it there, but it was nice to be invited!

Carnival Excursion tickets for Jamaica (don't forget to take them with you on your excursion!!!):

Invitations for drinks on the house .... errrrr SHIP!

Now … the Steakhouse review: The steakhouse is like any other nice, sit down restaurant with excellent service. You order your appetizers and dinners/sides first, then dessert after dinner. We did not order more than one of anything … I’m sure they would’ve charged us extra. My DH and BIL ordered drinks from the bar, and received a separate bill for those. They came around with bread and dipping oils, but I didn’t eat much of it because I didn’t want to fill up on bread.

I had chilled tomato soup (didn't order it; compliments of the chef):

... the wedge salad for my appetizer

... the filet mignon with a baked potato

I just totally stold your pic and sent to SO, to talk him into the steak house!

... and creamed spinach (I love spinach, but not this!)

... and the chocolate sampler for dessert

Everything was good, except I didn’t care for the creamed spinach (others did). Unfortunately, the dinner overall was not spectacular, but it was good. I’ve eaten at a Cameron Mitchell’s once (the most expensive meal I've ever had!), and that was spectacular … that being said, yes, I’d consider eating there and spending the $35/pp again. My filet was a little too done. I asked for medium well … I know, I know. I should’ve asked for medium, but it came out well done. I should have sent it back, but I didn’t. It was still good, just a little dried out. The size of the baked potatoes were perfect … not too big. The dessert sampler was good … but, I’d say the tiramisu they made at the tasting event was better than the version I got this evening. To be honest, two of the desserts on the sampler I liked, and two I didn’t like … which is good really, because I was stuffed!

(Click HERE for more info on the Steakhouse and menu)

Others in my group had these items:

A different "compliments of the Chef" item

Soup "before" and "after" they poured the soup in at the table

Shrimp Cocktail

more in next post!

I have no idea what this is ... lol ... I think the mushroom appetizer?

Beefsteak tomato (instead of salad)

Spinach Salad (DM got ranch dressing instead of blue cheese though with no problem!)

Caesar's Salad

Another steak ...

Side of broccoli

Caramelized Apples

5" tall Cheesecake! :eek: OMG ... it was good! I didn't order it but snagged a bite (or two) ... side note: they will let you take it back to your cabin to much on later!

We didn't do anything else on this night ... we were pooped! This guy greeted us as we turned in ...

Next up … Jamaica!

Happy reading while I make dinner! ;)

I just totally stold your pic and sent to SO, to talk him into the steak house!

Thanks for reading deedle7544! You should definitely check it out ... it was nice! A nice change of atmosphere too ... even though we loved our MDR wait staff!

Great review & great pictures! We are going on this cruise in May...and I am really looking forward to your review about Jamaica....that is our one undecided place.

Yeah, the trick will be getting SO to agree, he sees no point in spending extra when the food in the dining room is great. But if not this cruise, I am for sure doing it on my birthday cruise! In my favor, he does love a good steak, and then there's the draw of a free bottle of wine if you go the first night....

Great review! I did the stingray excursion a year or so ago and have a scar to prove it! I was feeding one, and it latched on to my hand. I will throw in here that I had wandered away from our group, near the food bucket. I took a fish out of the bucket and put it in my fist too low for her to just get the fish! Anyway, I panicked! I was beginning to think she wasn't going to let go. Our guide said it was the worst stingray bite he had ever seen! Every time I look at my hand and see the scar, I remember my great adventure in Grand Cayman!

Yeah, the trick will be getting SO to agree, he sees no point in spending extra when the food in the dining room is great. But if not this cruise, I am for sure doing it on my birthday cruise! In my favor, he does love a good steak, and then there's the draw of a free bottle of wine if you go the first night....

You know, my DS and her family thought the same thing as well, but BIL changed his mind after the tasting I spoke about earlier. They ended up being glad they went! You should still try to talk your SO into it ... if not on the first night, then go to the tasting, and then maybe it will be easier!

Great review! I did the stingray excursion a year or so ago and have a scar to prove it! I was feeding one, and it latched on to my hand. I will throw in here that I had wandered away from our group, near the food bucket. I took a fish out of the bucket and put it in my fist too low for her to just get the fish! Anyway, I panicked! I was beginning to think she wasn't going to let go. Our guide said it was the worst stingray bite he had ever seen! Every time I look at my hand and see the scar, I remember my great adventure in Grand Cayman!

Hey Ireallyneedavacation (love that!) ... Wow! I guess my naivety wins here! I didn't even realize those lil buggers would bite! Glad you are/were okay and still remember your excursion as a good memory!

Great review & great pictures! We are going on this cruise in May...and I am really looking forward to your review about Jamaica....that is our one undecided place.

Hey GAMOM4! Thanks for your comments! I know what you mean about Jamaica ... we were there for our honeymoon cruise and the locals are a bit much! That's why we chose the excursion we went on ... not too much interaction with the locals ... ;)

Love your review and photos! Was on the Freedom in 2010 and had an awesome cruise. Thanks for taking the time to share your review.:)

Day 5/Jamaica – Second Elegant Night (June 14): The rest of the clan decided on a different excursion for Jamaica (plantation and Dunn’s River Falls [DRF] combined tour, if you’re interested) and we chose the Cool Runnings/DRF tour. Both tours were booked through Carnival. David and I had done the falls on our honeymoon wayyyyyyyyyyyyy back in 1995, and we thought it’d be cool to take our kids up it. If it wasn't for that, I'd have been happy just staying on the ship! My memories of Jamaica include the locals being VERY aggressive. We did not chose the plantation tour, because I had no interest in dealing with Jamaicans for 6+ hours … I wanted to walk off the ship and directly onto a catamaran, and then up the falls, and back onto the catamaran and back on the ship, which is exactly what we did. It was fabulous. As an aside, “the clan” said they enjoyed their plantation tour and thought it was well worth the $$$.

That being said, they had to get up earlier than us, so we did breakfast solo at the buffet and then headed down to get off the ship. Like I said, we walked off the ship, down the pier, and onto the catamaran. We could see the catamaran from our balcony. It's not here in this picture because I took it after we got back, but here's the (long) pier and at the end of the pier was the Cool Runnings boat. ------> Happy Girl!

Here's a pic of the Freedom from the Cool Runnings boat: (SIGH ... I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I AM SEEING THIS UPSIDE DOWN!!!! GRRRRR Please tell me if it looks right side up to you ...)

The workers on the catamaran were excited and happy and dancing (some may interpret as annoying and loud). Some were dancing, some were taking pictures (that they’d try to sell you later – pushing hard), some were selling t-shirts, etc. (that they were also pushing but not as much as the photos). We had a short ride (20 minutes or so) to the falls. It was beautiful outside and we ran into a family we’d met earlier in the week and enjoyed their company and conversation during the ride. Here's a pic of the Freedom from far away ...

As we approached the falls, we dug out our water shoes and were told to secure our belongings to leave them on the catamaran. So, we buried the money and sail-n-sign cards at the bottom of our bag and tied it shut (beach bag with long handles) and hoped for the best! We did remember to put some money in a small snack size ziplock bag so we could tip our guide at the end. ;)

Here's a pic of what we saw as we docked at DRF ... tours were already underway! (THIS ONE TOO! Photobucket and I are not getting along!)

Love your review and photos! Was on the Freedom in 2010 and had an awesome cruise. Thanks for taking the time to share your review.:)

Thanks SMSACE6! It has been fun reliving it after all these months! And considering we are currently under a winter storm watch, it's been a nice deterrent from watching the ominous weather forecasts! :mad:

Love the steakhouse pics!

Hey cincyman! Pepsi was a great company for my (step)dad (I refer to him as my dad since he did the HARD part of actually raising me). He started at the Springfield plant then moved to the Dayton plant for the last 10 years or so of his career. His route was in Xenia, where I work. I used to look for his Pepsi truck at his stops and take him lunch occasionally ... his favorite was a good, juicy Rallyburger! It still tugs at my heart when I see a Pepsi truck parked at one of his "old" stops.

 

Pepsi was very good to us after Bill's death. They sent a gigantic flower arrangement to the funeral home. They also sent my mom a beautiful keepsake that arrived several days after the funeral. Several drivers that my dad had worked with even came to his viewing. You are lucky to have worked for them for your entire career.

 

 

 

Regarding your flight, because we are right in the middle of three airports, I check flights to/from Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton. You just never know! Cincinnati is about an hour and 15 minutes away, Columbus is about 50 to 60 minutes away, and Dayton is about 30 minutes away. If I can save some money, I'll drive a little farther! I've even checked Indianapolis, which is over 2 hours away! I've never flown to/from there, but I have the others. We've been luckiest with Columbus. Good luck on your flights and don't forget about Airfarewatchdog dot com! That's how we scored such great prices on DIRECT flights! And have a great time on your cruise! :D

Small world. I know a lot of people that work in Springfield and the Dayton locations. Cincinnati,Dayton,Springfield and Erlanger Ky are all in the same region of Pepsico. Please keep the review coming.

Once we got off the catamaran, we were immediately put into small groups of about 20-25 people. Just a few minutes later, Archer introduced himself to us as our guide. Meet Archer: (the picture is incredibly dark ... sorry!)

I ended up being right behind him, which was fun! I had my iPhone in hand in its Lifeproof case and I was ready! I used my left hand to hold the guide’s hand and my right hand held my iPhone, so my hubby held onto my wrist. There are parts of the falls that you really don’t “need” to hold hands, but there are certainly parts where it’s helpful. Archer was an older gentleman who was very good. He immediately told us *NOT* to purchase the DVD at the end of the tour that the crazy guys in the yellow shirts were jumping all around and shouting about. Archer said they were crap. So, we tried to ignore them the rest of the climb, but it was difficult because they’d continue to heckle you and splash you (the water was VERY cold, but refreshing).

Here's some pics ... Archer was great and took pictures and video of us along the way:

So pretty!

The bridge you have to go under ... some people are claustrophobic, so I wanted to forewarn you!

Anywho … about two-thirds of the way up, a lady from my group must have been having some difficulty, so our guide went back and got her and put her right behind him and in front of me. No biggie … She seemed to do fine the rest of the way up.

This picture without people in it would be a perfect photo!

There was a pretty long line at the end for a photo opportunity beneath a sign that said something about climbing DRF ... we skipped it.

LOve it - I am looking at this for Jamaica, so...did you feel it was worth it and were the times pretty accurate?

One of the Cool Runnings boats at the beach at DFR ... there were several.

VIDEOS:

The beginning of the falls ... I don't think the boys knew what to think at this point! Click

The bridge at DRF ... so you get an idea of height ... click

Falling backward into the water ... we did this on our honeymoon, too! I lost my footing and started to fall early! Click

Last one ... :) Click

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Small world. I know a lot of people that work in Springfield and the Dayton locations. Cincinnati,Dayton,Springfield and Erlanger Ky are all in the same region of Pepsico. Please keep the review coming.

You might even know him! His name was Bill Johnson ... here's a link to a pic on my FB page of him and my mom on one of their cruises.

Michelle, I'm thoroughly enjoying your review. We'll be on the same ship in December, but not the same itinerary.

As we sit here anticipating the "white death/doom" aka snow tomorrow, I can think happy and warm thoughts. I appreciate you taking the time to post this review.

You might even know him! His name was Bill Johnson ... here's a link to a pic on my FB page of him and my mom on one of their cruises.

I'm sorry Michelle that I didn't know your dad but they looked like a beautiful couple. All I know is if he retired off that truck he must have been one hell of a man.

At the end of the falls did you go through the craft market that everyone talks about with all the pushy vendors? Were the people on the catamaran really pushy about trying to sell their merchandise? Did you feel safe leaving your stuff on the catamaran...and how much money do you think you should take along for tips....also the pictures that you have at the falls were they taken with your own camera?

Sorry for SO many questions...but our cruise is getting closer and closer and we are still so undecided about what to do when we get to Ocho Rios...did the rest of your crew that went on the plantation tour run into any problems? We have been reading reviews tonight about the tubing tour that is offered through Carnival - it is just so hard to decide.

Did you see anywhere to eat at the falls at all? Or to purchase drinks? I am just trying to see how much money we would need to take with us if we do decide on doing this trip.