Carnival Freedom Review

[ussenterprise]

After reading a lot of helpful reviews here, I felt it would be nice to give back. I hope this review is helpful to both new cruisers and those sailing Freedom for the first time. I will break it up into segments as that seems to be easier to read. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

This was the fourth cruise for DW and me, third with CCL, first on Freedom. We have also sailed on her sister ship, Liberty. For those who have sailed on Liberty, the layout of Freedom is the same, just a different decor. This was a 6 day cruise leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale with ports at Key West, Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica, mon.

 

Pre-cruise:

 

We like to fly in the night before the cruise and we jetted out of cold dreary Chicago to warm dreary Ft. Lauderdale. After staying at some of Ft. Lauderdale's lousiest 0 star motels, we decided to get all swanky and stay at the Hilton Garden Inn in Dania (Non-smoking king for $93 on Travelocity.) The free hotel shuttle, which is run by a company called Ace Tours, was at the airport within 10 minutes of our call. After a couple of airport "scoop the loops" to pick up more happy travelers, the driver proceeded to break the land speed record for Ford Econoline vans in getting us back to the hotel - about a 10 minute ride. We found the hotel to be very clean and comfortable. It sported a bar/restaurant, 24 hour pantry and two pools for your swimming pleasure. There was also a mall across the street featuring such bastions of capitalism as BK, Micky D's and Taco Hell along with sit down joints and a K-Mart for those "oh crap, I forgot" items. The hotel staff was very friendly and we would stay there again.

 

Embarkation:

 

We grazed at the hearty $12/person breakfast buffet at the hotel and headed to K-mart for a case of water. The only Ace Tours shuttle to the cruise port was at 10 a.m. The cost was $8/person + tip. We had to run to the airport first to drop off some unlucky souls going back home, then it was off to Terminal 21 and Freedom. After telling the van driver how to get there, we dropped our luggage with a porter, threw him a tip (newbies, it's usually $1/bag) and headed into the building. Security said nothing about our case of water and we headed up the escalator to fill out the "have you puked this week?" questionnaire. After this, we went right up to a very friendly agent who swiped our passports and credit card and handed us our ubiquitous Sail and Sign cards. We took at seat with Zone 2 and waited roughly an hour till the let us on board. Something to be said for arriving early - no lines, no hassle.

 

We headed up to Lido for some burgers and hot dogs at the grill. About 1:20 we strolled forward to see if our cabin (8240) was ready. While waiting for the doors to open, we witnessed our first argument of the cruise, an older couple fighting over which deck their cabin was on. It was going to be a long 6 days for them. The doors finally opened at 1:30 and we met our steward, Vance from Macedonia. He unlocked the fridge for us and we removed the various libations from it in favor of our water and my insulin. He also had a sharps container for me within about 2 minutes of me requesting it. For you newbies, your fridge contains various alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages but it is locked when you first get to your cabin on embarkation day. If you want to access it for any reason, you have to have your steward unlock it. You will be charged for consuming anything in it. By the way, Vance was superb throughout the cruise. We saw him several times a day and he always called us by name, asked how we were doing and as busy as he was, would stop and chat for a couple minutes.

 

Luggage arrived about 5:30 and we unpacked and headed to our early dining time in the Posh dining room at table 404, a booth for four. We met our head server, Eka from Indonesia. She is a beautiful young woman with a smile that lit up the dining room. Our assistant, Anthony from St. Vincent really needed to work on his personality, but he kept the water glasses full as well as the bread plates. DW had Caesar salad, shrimp cocktail, Flat Iron Steak rare which came with mac and cheese and creamed peas, Creme brulee for dessert. I had Chicken Tenders, Linguine and Sausage (which could have used more sausage) and fruit plate. After dinner, we strolled the ship till bed time, anxious to see Key West for the first time.

[jenms2000]

i can't wait to read the rest of your review. we're doing the 8 day eastern caribbean in october. never been on freedom so i'm soaking in everything i can find. did you have an IS, OV, or suite? we have an OS and we're very excited!!! keep it coming........:)

[canette]

I'm also looking forward to your review as we will be going on the Freedom in June. It looks like we will be on the same deck you were but on the other side of the ship. How was it being forward? We have never stayed in a forward room before.

 

thanks for your 1st part of the review.:)

[cawagner]

Thanks for your review, looking forward to the rest :D Question about the fridge tho...we are bringing some soda's and some waters to bring on our excursions, is there room in there to put them?

[CRUISERELAXER]

Great start. Love your humor. I'm sailing on her this coming Sunday. Love to hear what you did in KW GC and OR.

[dunkel]

Thank you for your review! We are doing this cruise in Novemeber and can't wait to hear all the do's and don't's!!!! :D

[kycruiser57]

Can't wait for you to finish your review! I will be sailing on Freedom 6/13.

[framerman]

Great start..........looking forward to MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ussenterprise]

@jenms, we had a balcony - 8C. Plenty of storage and room.

 

@canette, being forward we did have a little motion, but I must have been a sailor in a former life because it doesn't bother me a bit. It wasn't so much rolling or pitching, more like driving on a bumpy road. But it was not constant, more like the exception than the rule.

 

@cawagner, we fit 24 16.9 oz. bottles of water in the fridge with no problem. FYI, the fridge will not keep stuff as cold as your home fridge, but your cabin steward can always bring ice.

 

@ everyone else, enjoy your cruise. Freedom is a beautiful ship with a great crew.

[ussenterprise]

Key West - that frozen concoction

 

I awoke bright and early to get some sunrise shots but was thwarted by cloud cover, so I settled for some shots of the uncrowded decks and went back to the cabin to roust DW from her coma which is about as easy as waking a hibernating grizzly and equally as dangerous. Room service showed up right on time with "pre breakfast" consisting of coffee and assorted fruits which were consumed on our balcony. I got some fantastic shots of Key West from our balcony while DW began the marathon process of shower, hair and make up necessary to head to the dining room for breakfast. After impressing some southerners at our table with my yankee knowledge of grits, we headed to deck 0 to hop off the ship. We docked at a navy base known as The Outer Mole and thus, had to be shuttled into town (no cost) on trolleys as civilians are not allowed to roam freely on the base. DW and I did not have a planned excursion, we just figured we'd wing it. Conveniently, the trolley stopped near Mallory Square and lo and behold, the trolley company had a booth set up where one could purchase tickets for their tour of the island. It was almost like they'd planned it that way. The nice thing about doing this versus booking it through CCL is that you can get on and off the trolley at your leisure at any one of their 12 stops for a cost of $59 for two adults + tips. I am not sure what the price is for kids, but you can check out trolleytours.com for more info.

 

DW and I purchased tickets and hopped a trolley with a driver named Louie who was absolutely hilarious. He would ask where you were from and that became your name - thus DW and I were "Illinois." He would pull up beside sports cars and ask if they wanted to drag and try to pick up women for the single guys on the trolley.

 

My only requirement for this excursion was a photo at The Southernmost Point which is marked by a giant concrete Shriner's hat and a crowd of people. We secured our photo and headed to the butterfly conservatory about a block away. Now, before you guys out there revoke my man card for going to a place that has "butterfly" in the name, DW wanted to see it and happy wife = happy life.

 

We hopped back on the trolley and finished the loop of the island, stopping back at Mallory Square right by the aquarium. There is a small conch fritter stand there (no, I don't think they get their conch from the aquarium) and I had heard you can't go to KW and not get a conch fritter. They are quite tasty, kind of like spicy deep fried hush puppies. Well the fritters just made us hungry, so we hopped onto Louie's trolley again and went to stop #4 and Jimmy Buffets' Margaritaville. The place was jammed, but we got a table within 10 minutes. I ordered - what else - a margarita and DW settled for a Diet Coke. She then ordered peel and eat shrimp, which were tasty, but seemed like a lot of work. I got myself a Cheeseburger in Paradise, complete with lettuce and tomato, Heintz 57 and french fried potatoes. They did not have kosher pickles or draft beer, only bottled beer. I mentioned to the server that this is not official since the song specifically states "draft beer." She said she gets that complaint all the time. Well, if that was my biggest worry, I guess I was in good shape. I settled for a Landshark Lager, which is like Corona and comes complete with lime wedge.

 

We decided to stretch our legs a bit and walk back to Mallory Square for the shuttle back to the ship. We had plenty of time, so stopped at The Blond Giraffe for frozen chocolate dipped key lime pie on a stick. We strolled through a few shops and DW picked up some jewelry which I am assured is cute. We boarded our shuttle with our buddy Louie and headed back to our floating home to meet friends up on the Serenity Deck and get some parting shots of Key West as Freedom pulled away from the pier. More on Serenity Deck later.

 

We headed down to The Posh for dinner and Eka was there to greet us with that smile of hers and was eager to hear about our day. We learned she had never been to KW and we urged her to go if she got a chance. For dinner, DW had sushi, hand cut field greens, braised short ribs and the ever popular Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. I had sushi, caesar salad, pasta with shrimp, calamari and scallops in a creamy tomato sauce, and strawberry cheesecake which, interestingly enough had no crust.

 

We spent the rest of the evening strolling the ship stopping at the shops and casino where DW won $33 - cha ching!! We also headed to Serenity for a nightcap before retiring. We had a full day at sea coming up and needed our rest to battle the chair hogs.

[suebart112]

Love the review, hubby and I are taking this cruise in August.

 

BTW, I see you're from Chicago. We're going there Friday for the long weekend! Besides Navy Pier and Hancock Building, any places you'd recommend?

[Talli]

Thanks for the review! It is great so far! We are doing the same itinierary on Freedom on Nov 14th. Can't wait for the rest of the review!

[ussenterprise]

suebart, Michigan Ave. is fun for shopping. You have to get some Chicago style pizza, so try Uno's or Giordanno's. Rush Street has all kinds of clubs. You can also take an architectural tour on the river. Be aware the Blackhawks are in the Stanley cup, so traffic may be rough(er). Enjoy!

[ussenterprise]

Sea Day #1 - hot tub cowboy

 

Sea days are great because you have a whole day to just wing it. I got up before the sun again and this time was rewarded with some great sunrise shots on an uncrowded deck. A friend of ours decided to take advantage of the empty hot tub on Lido and jumped in. He too was rewarded - by a member of the Carnival Fun Staff with a bottle of champaign for being the first one in a hot tub (hint hint if you want a free bottle of champers) and since he was wearing his cowboy hat, he was dubbed the "Hot Tub Cowboy." Our day was off to a good start.

 

I returned to the cabin to find DW and pre-breakfast waiting on the balcony. We drank our coffee and watched the ocean go by. A couple quick showers and off to Lido to try breakfast buffet. They have the usual fare - eggs, bacon, sausage, french toast, waffles, hot and cold cereals etc. After breakfast, DW went back to try her luck at the casino and the "Win a BMW" slot machine. Needless to say, I'm still driving my Trailblazer, she her Impala.

 

I decided to take the camera up to Serenity and see if there was anything photo worthy. Serenity is a great place to go and relax without little kids running around or having your eardrums assaulted by the constant loud music being played on Lido. This concept however has elevated chair hogging to a new level. Now you can look forward to cabana hogging, couch hogging and hammock hogging. A cruise is what you make of it though and you can't let things like this ruin the fun.

 

Right about noon, I met up with DW again and she announced that she would like to attend the cooking demo in the steakhouse. I recommend this to anyone who likes to cook or is looking to sample the dishes in the steakhouse. The chefs cooked a full meal with soup, salad, entree' and dessert and there were samples for all. It was kind of like being in the audience of one of those Food Network shows. The food was excellent and there is a wine tasting immediately following for a cost of $15/person. It starts at noon and I would suggest getting there about 15 minutes ahead of time.

 

The food samples served to make us hungry and we headed to Lido to find very long lines at the buffet as apparently everyone else had the same idea. If you would like to avoid this and you like fish, take my advice. Find the Statue of Liberty by the buffet, go up the stairs, and you will see the Statue of Liberty is actually facing the fish and chips joint. Either no one else knew of this gem or didn't feel like climbing the stairs because it was deserted. The guys working the counter seemed shocked that we were there. I had calamari fritter and a basket of fish and chips. Both were good, not too greasy. DW had a seafood salad and fish and chips. After lunch at fish and chips, you can descend the stairs and immediately hit the dessert buffet.

 

After lunch, we strolled the shops again and got latte's from the Viennese Cafe. About the same as you'd pay at Starbucks and IMO, a bit tastier. FYI, if you buy drink coupons you can use them there. After quick naps (despite the caffeine) we decided to try the sushi joint down on deck 5. You can get a sampler plate or just order a few of one thing. I'm not the sushi expert that DW is, but it was all pretty tasty.

 

As we did not bring formal attire on this trip and this was the first formal night, we opted for dinner on Lido. I won't bore you with those details, but the food was good and the lines not as long. After dinner, DW announced we would be going to see the show "The Big Easy." Now, I am not one for Broadway/Vegas/theater type stuff, I prefer my entertainment include such staples as foul language, senseless violence and gratuitous sex, but as noted earlier, happy wife = happy life. I don't want to say too much and spoil it for anyone who wants to see it, but I'm not sure how The Spencer Davis Group and The Rolling Stones fit into "the music and entertainment culture of New Orleans." I will say Samantha the lead female singer is incredible and the dancers were all quite talented. There are many costume changes and lighting effects and it obviously takes a lot of good people to pull it off.

 

After the show, we headed to The International Lounge to catch the adults only comedy show, which is more up my alley. This is also the location for karaoke and the place was already half full from that. We managed to find a booth way in the back and settled in to wait for the comedian. Some of the brave souls who got up to sing were quite good and had the joint jumping. Others, not so much. As the time for the comedy show drew near, the place began to fill up, so if you want to see the comedians, get there early. Our booth was taken over by a large loud group that would not shut up once the comedian started. Rather than cause a scene, DW and I elected to sneak out and catch the show another time. We had an early excursion the next day anyway and were wanting to catch some z's.

[beemergal]

Fun review and well written!

[wfinley]

I am enjoying your review. Thanks and it is nice to read a review of a fellow smart arse who understands that Taco Hell is truly Hell and that happy wife = happy life.

[ussenterprise]

Port #2 - Grand Cayman is a scream

 

Up with the sun yet again to get an early start to Grand Cayman. We booked the Stringray City/Rum Point Beach excursion and DW swore the ticket said we had to be on the dock by 8. For you newbies, Grand Cayman is a tender port, which means the ship does not dock at a pier, but anchors out in the ocean and you hop on these little boats that take you in to shore. If you have booked an excursion, you meet in the Victoriana Theater and they will take you down to deck 0 and make you walk the plank. Kidding - it's actually a stairway and ramp. Anyway, DW and I dragged ourselves half asleep to the theater only to discover that our excursion didn't leave till 9. Back to the cabin and more photo ops from the balcony.

 

Eventually, we made our way to the tenders and onto land. We had been to GC before and I really like it there. You can stroll the streets without worrying about people trying to grab you or braid your hair. We met up with our tour group and headed for our bus and the short ride to the tour boat - the Kelley Tours "Mickey Mouse." DW and I were the last ones to board and thus had to settle for a seat on the comfy deck. The ride was a bit bumpy and took about 35 minutes to reach the stingrays. For those who have not done this, its is a popular attraction, so expect a lot of other boats and people. The water here is only about waist high, crystal clear and about 80 degrees. The stingrays are used to people and will swim right up to you to see if you have any food. The guides usually know them by sight and have names for them. They will let you hold one, kiss one (seven years good luck) and depending on the tour company, feed them. This tour did not include feeding. Be prepared for the screams of the squeamish as the rays brush up against their legs. You will probably also see people walk on water back to the tour boat to get away from the rays.

 

After about 1/2 an hour with the rays, it was off to Rum Point Beach. This is a beautiful white sand beach with beach chairs, palm trees and more clear warm water. You can grab a picnic table and eat some lunch, or chill on the beach or in the water. It was not crowded and the people working there (all Brits) were friendly and would stop and chat with us. FYI, lunch is not included in the excursion and the currency is GC, not American. If you pay with cash, you will get GC in change, at the time, .80 cents to the dollar and you will have to exchange it for American at a bank when you get back to town. Not to fear, there are several banks near the port as GC is the home of the offshore account. We used our credit card to pay for lunch and let Mastercard figure it out. Lunch was about what you'd find in a sports bar. Burgers, chicken sandwiches, fries, onion rings, salads etc. The food we had was tasty and served quickly. We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling the beach shutterbugging and enjoying the water. After about 2 and half hours, it was time to head back to the Mickey Mouse and the 30 minute ride to the bus. All in all, it was a fun tour and the beach was great. If you are not interested in the beach and just want to play with the rays, google Moby Dick Tours. The boats are less crowded and you can feed the rays.

 

By the time the bus arrived back at the tender pier, the line to get back to the ship was already around the block. DW and I ran to the Harley Davidson store about two blocks away and I grabbed a t-shirt. We headed back to the now even longer line which actually moved quickly. In less than 10 minutes, we were on a tender where I witnessed a class act by Manuel, a Carnival employee. The tender was packed and an older woman with portable oxygen was trying to get on. Manuel was in a seat right by the stairs and got up and helped the woman board and then gave up his seat for her. I went to guest services and mentioned this and they said they would notify his supervisor. For all the complaining I've read on these forums about Carnival employees, I think his actions deserve mentioning here too. OK, off my soapbox.

 

After a quick shower, I headed up to Serenity to get some parting shots of Grand Cayman. The Caribbean band that had been performing on Lido all week was at it again, this time butchering "Another Brick in The Wall." Now, in an ideal world, the these bands would stick to "Red Red Wine" and "We Jammin," and leave "Another Brick in The Wall" to Pink Floyd but in an ideal world, I would still be on the ship and have a toilet made of solid gold.

 

I headed back down to the cabin to change for the now required pre dinner stop at the sushi bar. We arrived at dinner and were immediately scolded by Eka for not showing up the previous night. We told her we did not have formal attire and thus did not feel right dining there on formal night. She told us not to worry about it and that we would be keel hauled if we skipped dinner with her again. For dinner, DW had shrimp cocktail, Caesar, Petite Duet of filet mignon and something else (sorry going off memory here) which came with roasted veggies and for dessert, Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. I had shrimp cocktail, Caesar, Linguini with clams, and diet pumpkin pie which was awful and was sent back in favor of apple pie, which was awesome.

 

After dinner, more strolling and Serenity. Tomorrow - Jamaica, Mon!

[sturderick]

This is a GREAT review! We have been on an Eastern Freedom and we are going on a Western in October. What is involved in the wine tasting? We haven't done that before. How many do you get to taste and do you have the option to buy? Also, is there a fee for the supper club cooking demo?

 

Thanks for the review!

[michelle1836]

great review so far. we are sailing on the western itinerary in July

[talento]

that was a great review and very funny...you've got a great sense of humor...it was fun to follow this. ....

My sisters and I get together once a year to cruise.....because we are scattered...and we wanted a way to keep in touch...

Having cruised several times, I suggested that we cruise together...bingo...

it took...all of them love it...

so...now ...it's only a few more months....:D

[allipooh27]

Hi ussenterprise,

 

I am really enjoying your review. You've got a great sense of humor. My dh, dd and I will be cruising the Freedom in August. I can't wait!

 

We just took our first cruise in December on the Pride and loved it. The warm chocolate melting cake was my favorite dessert, as it seems to be your wife's as well. Even though I wanted to try a different dessert, I just couldn't bring myself to do so. That ooey, gooey chocolate cake was just too irresistible!

 

Looking forward to the next installment of your review!

 

Allison

 

P.S. My husband did a stint in the U.S. Navy and the U.S.S. Enterprise was the first carrier he was on in '94. :)

[04mach18u]

Very nice review, I need the rest since we leave this Sunday for the same exact cruise!

 

Thanks for the info and you are hiliarious btw

[ussenterprise]

sturderick - the wine tasting is immediately following the cooking demo. There is no charge for the demo, but the wine tasting is $15/person. You get to sample 5-6 different wines and they discuss paring them with different foods. They also bring out little trays of the type of food you eat with your pinky sticking out.

 

allipooh27, glad you enjoyed your first cruise, welcome to the addiction. My wife does like the Melting Cake and just about anything else made of chocolate.

 

04mach18u, I'll try and have the rest tomorrow. Enjoy your cruise and wish I were going with.

[sturderick]

Haha, thanks ussenterprise. I thought I could get my husband to go if there was free food but those "pinky out" things are usually just big enough to make you mad. I'm trying to decide if you get enough wine to add up to two drinks since that's about the cost of the wine tasting.

 

Keep the updates coming. I love them!

[ski2008]

Thank you so much for your awesome review.. My 2 adult daughters and I will be sailing on Freedom on June 13th for our 1st cruise. I can't wait..