A Carnival guy on Freedom OTS, The WOW factor: A pictorial review

[cruisinmomster]

What a wonderful job you do.....beautiful,clear pictures. There is no people in most of your pictures so I guess you must have gotten up very early or stayed up very late. We were on the Freedom in 10/07 looking at your pics was a trip down memory lane. Had alot of fun. Can't wait for Oasis!!!!

[DarthGrady]

What a wonderful job you do.....beautiful,clear pictures. There is no people in most of your pictures so I guess you must have gotten up very early or stayed up very late. We were on the Freedom in 10/07 looking at your pics was a trip down memory lane. Had alot of fun. Can't wait for Oasis!!!!

 

Thank you! Most of those Promenade shots were right when we got on and everyone else was at mach 4 heading for the Windjammer. The rest I just try and time right to get as few people in as possible to give the best view of the area.

[gooselover]

Darth, we were on Glory there in your picture coming into Port Canaveral. We had an aft cabin - HIGHLY recommend it. Weird feeling to know that we were on that ship as you were snapping that picture. Jeri

[DarthGrady]

Darth, we were on Glory there in your picture coming into Port Canaveral. We had an aft cabin - HIGHLY recommend it. Weird feeling to know that we were on that ship as you were snapping that picture. Jeri

 

We had some friends on that ship with you guys as well, it was fun getting to go out there and wave bye to them!

[Texas Teen]

Thank you so much for the pictures!!! I have never seen pictures of some of the areas your pictures showed! I'm so excited to see more pictures!

[boxerdoglady]

Sorry you are right. i don't don't drink coffee so to me coffee is coffee.:rolleyes:

 

The stuff that I know are pay extra:

 

Chops

Portofinos

Ben and Jerrys

Seattles Best Coffee

The "fresh squeezed" OJ

 

The sandwiches and cookies in the Cafe Promenade are free, and very good! As an added bonus they are open 24/7.

 

Awesome, thanks. I hadn't thought about doing RCI for our next cruise, but maybe I rethink it after this review. ;)

[Parkay]

Great review. Can't imagine the time it must take you to put all of this together.

 

FYI, the hook-ups on the backs of the TV's are disabled by the cruise line, so you would not have been able to hook up your x-box.

[micro yaya]

Your pics are amazing, and i really enjoyed them. I dumb question, did you have a frig........we have always had a frig in our rooms, always book inside, but on our last cruise on the monarch (no frig), so i was really surprised. We are on the freedom in december so is there or not........thanks so much

[CruiseLover15]

Your pics are amazing, and i really enjoyed them. I dumb question, did you have a frig........we have always had a frig in our rooms, always book inside, but on our last cruise on the monarch (no frig), so i was really surprised. We are on the freedom in december so is there or not........thanks so much

 

You will have a frig in your cabin on the Freedom.

[DarthGrady]

Ok, here we go with round two:

 

We briefly met for an unofficial meet and mingle with our Cruise Critic roll call members in the Olive or Twist area in the Viking Crown Lounge. This was one of my favorite areas on the Monarch of the Seas, and on Freedom they really enhanced it. There is a stage for live music and a full bar. The views are just a nice as on the Monarch, but thankfully no more crowded.

Olive or Twist in the Viking Crown Lounge

 

 

 

 

 

The view

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

After the Meet and Mingle we continued exploring the ship. It seemed that everything was on a much larger scale than every other ship I had been on. The ship’s lido area has two large overflow type pools, as well as a large water park area for the kids. They have two bars in that area, one next to the pool, and one up higher called the Sky Bar. The ship also has a wonderful adults-only pool area called the Solarium. It is the home of the two cantilevered whirlpools, a feature only found on the Freedom Class ships. Getting to soak in a hot tub that hangs off the side of a ship over a hundred feet above the water is pretty awesome. The pool in the Solarium is no less impressive with a bridge crossing over it in the middle, and the only “deep end” (7 feet) that I have seen on a ship.

Under the glass bridge, on deck 4

 

Boleros

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Later we visited the aft sports area where the ship’s Flow Rider is located. The winds and cold temperatures of this day apparently were not enough to keep several kids from enjoying it. It did look like a lot of fun, and I planned on trying it myself at some point during the week. The mini golf course was nearby, and there were a lot of folks playing. I liked that they leave the clubs, score cards and pencils right near the first hole. This is more convenient than having to check them out from the staff, as I have had to do on other cruises. Located near the golf course is the rock climbing wall, golf simulator and the full sized basketball court.

Back inside the ship we headed down to decks 3 and 4 to see what we had missed earlier while we were exploring the Royal Promenade. The Latin themed Boleros Lounge and the nautical themed Schooner Bar, both RCI institutions, are found on deck 4. In Boleros, they really went out of there way to decorate the lounge nicely. Beautiful multi colored blown-glass sculptures line the walls. Although neither of us gamble, we did check out the Casino Royale. It is very large and seemed to have a wide variety of gaming. The ships main dance club, The Crypt, was closed for a private party.

 

The Schooner Bar

 

 

 

At night, it doubles as the piano bar

[DarthGrady]

Casino Royale

 

 

 

 

 

[cooncat]

Looking at those great pictures brings back wonderful memories of my first seven day cruise. I was on her on May 6th and then it was sailing out of Miami. We were on the first official eastern caribbean cruise, so it was rather special. I really loved her. I will be on the Oasis of the Seas in May.

[DarthGrady]

The Crypt nightclub

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

More of The Crypt

 

 

The staircase looked like shattered glass

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

The Photo Shop

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

We visited the On Air lounge, which features several TV and projection screens showing many different sporting events. There are also two self production Karaoke booths there. I didn’t see anyone using them, but it’s a neat idea and goes along with the lounges radio theme. The Studio B ice rink, which is right next door, was closed for rehearsal.

The Art Gallery

 

RCTV

 

On Air

 

Karaoke Booth

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Studio B

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

The Arcadia Theater

 

 

 

From the Stage

 

 

[DarthGrady]

The Screening Room movie theater

 

 

 

The Conference Center

 

 

[DarthGrady]

The Pharaoh's Palace

 

(I think these guys escaped from the Carnival Spirit, the Pharaoh must have palaces on both ships;))

 

 

 

Connoisseur Club cigar lounge

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

The Crown and Anchor lounge

 

 

The Library

 

The internet cafe

[Aussiegrlfl]

Grady you are doing a great job......really enjoying it so far, hope Beth went into Bull and Bear and had a "strongbow" for me....

 

Lee

[DarthGrady]

Grady you are doing a great job......really enjoying it so far, hope Beth went into Bull and Bear and had a "strongbow" for me....

 

Lee

 

Thanks Lee! I thought of you and Mike everytime we hit the pub! :D:D