Carnival Freedom 12 Day Repo Cruise with tons of pictures

My husband and I were on the Freedom's repo cruise from Feb. 2-14. What an amazing cruise! The ports were breathtaking and although my husband and I could have done without so many sea days, we had a blast. I think near the end we were getting a little homesick. Who knew how hard it would be to make it home...you'll read about that nightmare at the end of my review.

A couple of points before I start. I was a little disappointed with the MDR menu, but I'm picky. Although hubby was disappointed too. There really wasn't a lot of different chicken or pasta choices which is what I like and there was the same type of meat over and over, which is what DH likes. Perhaps this was because the cruise was so long. We ended up eating on the Lido buffet for quite a few nights. Even there I didn't see much chicken, so I ended up eating salad, potato salad, a roll and cheese. Lol. But that saved room for dessert!

Another point is that the crew on the Freedom is awesome! One time I was trying to pick up a bowl, cup and mug all at the same time and a crew member who was working the buffet noticed my struggle and helped me by taking one of the cups to my table. I noticed this happen to another lady as well. So thoughtful and really going that extra mile.

Okay, just wanted to put those two points out there. Now onto the good stuff: The pictures!

We flew from MHT to FLL with a connection in Tampa. We called for a shuttle to the Rodeway Inn which took about 25 minutes. The check in line at the hotel was really long and slow. We signed up for a 9:15 a.m. shuttle to the port for just $2 per person. There was a complimentary shuttle at 10:30 a.m., but we like to get to the port early. We ate supper at Marina 84, the restaurant connected to the hotel. They were having a Super Bowl buffet party for $30 per person, but we just wanted to eat so they had an option of us being able to order food in the breakfast area. DH had a marina burger and I had a chicken sandwich. We watched the Super Bowl on the hotel's old boxy, fuzzy TV. Lol! Patriots WON!

The hotel had two queens (it was cheaper than a king) so DH and I each got our own beds. Lol!

We were on the second floor and this was our view. Just an FYI: There are no elevators for the second floor. They asked us upon check-in if that was okay and I said yes.

I had some toast for breakfast while DH stayed in the room. We went to the lobby at 8:45 a.m. to check out the $2 shuttle that was supposed to leave at 9:15 a.m. To check out I just had to hand in my room key and the shuttle was actually already loading! They collected our money once we were on the shuttle bus and we left at 8:58 a.m. Like DH said "They don't mess around" when it comes to the shuttles. It took about 20 minutes to get to the port. The porters got our luggage out of the trailer behind the shuttle bus. I wanted to wait until I saw them load it into the crate, but DH said it was fine. I'm so paranoid about luggage! Lol!

We zipped through security and got Zone 1 to embark! They do it by stamping your boarding pass now instead of handing out those placards. We waited for awhile and were finally able to board at 12:30 p.m.

We had to board on Deck 0 and DH decided to take the stairs to the Lido on Deck 9! Boy, am I out of shape! Lol! I ate chicken tacos and DH had a Guy's burger.

We checked out Serenity and I saw them craning some stuff onto the ship. Come to find out, it was the staging equipment for the Martina McBride concert they had for military and their families on Feb. 14, the day we debarked.

Hot tub on Serenity deck (second level).

Great start :)

We headed down to Deck 5 to check out the new Red Frog Pub. Also took some pictures of the Deck 5 areas.

Looking down at the atrium lobby.

Sports bar:

Great start :)

Thanks! It might take awhile to complete since it was a 12 day cruise!

Was waiting for you to come back!!!

Awesome start to your review.

Cannot wait for more!!!:D:D

Was waiting for you to come back!!!

Awesome start to your review.

Cannot wait for more!!!:D:D

Aw, thanks! I would have started this review yesterday, but traveling home proved difficult to say the least. I'm using a different photo host this review, so hopefully none of my pictures will disappear.

Ah, miss the Freedom. Love that ship. I'll be on Liberty though next month!

I'll be looking forward to reading your review. Thanks for your efforts :-)

Brenda

Oops, forgot to post this pic from the Lido buffet area:

Aw, thanks! I would have started this review yesterday, but traveling home proved difficult to say the least. I'm using a different photo host this review, so hopefully none of my pictures will disappear.

Ugh!!!

This winter in the Northeast has been nothing but BRUTAL!!!

I can imagine you hit some snags yesterday.:mad::mad:

Waiting patiently for more......:D

Ah, miss the Freedom. Love that ship. I'll be on Liberty though next month!

 

I'll be looking forward to reading your review. Thanks for your efforts :-)

 

 

Brenda

You're welcome! Doing the review helps me relive it! This was our second time on the Freedom. Our first was our honeymoon cruise in 2012. This time she had the 2.0 upgrades.

Ugh!!!

This winter in the Northeast has been nothing but BRUTAL!!!

I can imagine you hit some snags yesterday.:mad::mad:

 

Waiting patiently for more......:D

Yes, it was very frustrating. Long story short we had two flight cancellations and a really long drive home. Came back to bitter cold and three feet of snow!

Yay...I have been looking forward to your review, and remember that you were going to do the repo cruise from Port Everglades.

I loved my cruise on Freedom last November, and like you, was amazed by the great crew on this ship, no matter where, or what level of staff, they were all amazing. I had the best room steward ever, and an awesome wait staff in Your time dining MDR, and got them every night that I went. I do admit however that even though I do not cruise often, the menu has become a little "old" for me, and for the first time I did also go to the buffet for dinner three nights out of 8.

The food I had though was excellent in the MDR, buffet was just ok, but I always found what I liked, salads, breads, cheese...LOL, and thought the lido desserts were better than before.

I look forward to the rest of your review, as I know that I probably wont be seeing this ship anytime again soon. Texas/Galveston too hard for me to get to. I can imagine that you had difficulties getting home...It has been a brutal winter up here in the northeast.

After checking out Deck 5 we went down to our room, which happened to be the exact room we had for our honeymoon!

Stateroom 1263

No freebie basket. Just bar soap.

The new WiFi options:

We ended up purchasing the $25 social media plan which was nice. I usually like to unplug during a cruise, but it was nice to tease people back home with a few pictures and I even got to chat with my mom via messenger one day, which was awesome!

Yay...I have been looking forward to your review, and remember that you were going to do the repo cruise from Port Everglades.

 

I loved my cruise on Freedom last November, and like you, was amazed by the great crew on this ship, no matter where, or what level of staff, they were all amazing. I had the best room steward ever, and an awesome wait staff in Your time dining MDR, and got them every night that I went. I do admit however that even though I do not cruise often, the menu has become a little "old" for me, and for the first time I did also go to the buffet for dinner three nights out of 8.

The food I had though was excellent in the MDR, buffet was just ok, but I always found what I liked, salads, breads, cheese...LOL, and thought the lido desserts were better than before.

 

I look forward to the rest of your review, as I know that I probably wont be seeing this ship anytime again soon. Texas/Galveston too hard for me to get to. I can imagine that you had difficulties getting home...It has been a brutal winter up here in the northeast.

Yes, I was impressed with most of the desserts too and the variety of desserts between the ones at lunch and the ones on the buffet during supper.

GREAT start!!! I'm along for the ride!!

Enjoying your review :). We booked the Vista NY - MIA repo cruise, so we're pretty stoked! Looking forward to more.

We took a little nap in our room and our stateroom steward, Ronald, knocked on the door. He asked what our dining time was and if we had gotten our luggage yet. I told him we had Your Time Dining (first time trying it) and that we hadn't gotten our luggage yet, but I hoped to! He said he would check. We had muster and it was painless. Lol. Last time we were on the Freedom we missed sailaway because we got released from muster too late, but this time we actually didn't even sail away until 6:30 p.m. We left in the dark. We watched from the Deck 6 secret deck. My mom, dad and sister all saw me on the ship's webcam!

Secret Deck 6. We were originally supposed to have a room on Deck 6 (a 4J), but we switched to Deck 1 during a big sale and saved $400. I was a little nervous about being so far forward for such a long cruise, so I'm glad we switched.

One of the closets:

DH!

GREAT start!!! I'm along for the ride!!

Thanks! It was a great ride! ;)

Enjoying your review :). We booked the Vista NY - MIA repo cruise, so we're pretty stoked! Looking forward to more.

Ooh, awesome! :D