Carnival Freedom 6/19/2010 Review with Pictures!

[Meyer2]

Enjoying your review & pictures so far.

[CroosQueen]

Wow, this is great!! I am so excited to see all of the pictures and hear about your experience. i will be on that same cruise in 5 days so I can't wait!! :)

[spjcruisin]

Sure! We arrived so late at the Crowne Plaza, that we didn't get to take full advantage of the hotel. But, there was a hot tub area that overlooked the port, as well as a pool! There is a small shop that houses a starbucks, and then there is the restaurant Kiki's.

 

We were on a floor that was dedicated to being a quiet zone. In the room, they included a sleep mask, earplugs, and lavender sheet spray. According to the Crowne Plaza, no kids would be assigned to the floor, and any kind of housekeeping would not take place from 10 am-9 pm.

 

The price depends on how you book. Similar to like early saver, etc. We paid $114 for a night, but you could get it cheaper. We booked a week before we needed a room, so we cut it close!

 

As far as the transportation it is FREE and, the Crowne Plaza picks you up in a shuttle van from the airport and schedules a time to drop you off at the cruise terminal. Make sure to schedule your time in advance as many times there are lots of ships in the port! So the shuttle is in high demand!

 

Thank you! I am going to call them today! At $114 w/ free shuttles...that's hard to beat!

 

Loving your review!!!:D

[jenms2000]

Still Day 1...

 

So, we went down to deck 5 to take a few pictures of the lobby. Now, some people bash the decor of the Freedom... saying that its dark and tacky, but I liked the decor. Maybe I'm tacky? :p

 

Here's a lobby shot:

 

 

After our random photo shoot, we went up to the Empress deck (deck 7) where our stateroom 7271 was located. Of course even though it was 1:33, the room wasn't ready yet... so we just hung out for a few minutes in the hallway.

 

We were in an Ocean Suite, which was very nice and roomy!

 

 

 

This was the vanity area in our room. The air conditioning vent had a weird hissing noise coming from it, and later that night I saw that the room steward had shoved a piece of tissue in it. (I have no idea how that fixed it, but it worked!)

 

Speaking of the room stewards... on the other Carnival cruises we had taken, they always came and introduced themselves and asked for any special requests. Our room stewards were only seen once or twice and I never learned of their names. They did a good job though, and the only complaint was that they kept giving us wet towels that hadn't been dried all the way.

 

We began to unpack as it was soon time for the "safety briefing."

please, please post more pics of the room. we'll be in an OS in october. thanks for the review!!!:)

[Britbrie]

Yes, it's still Day 1... :D

 

Before I talk about the Safety Briefing, here are some more pictures of the room:

 

 

 

 

The table in the room is very large, and it's nice to eat breakfast/lunch from room service on. Our room stewards kept shoving it off in the corner to get it out of the way, so we kept having to move it. It's pretty heavy in my opinion, but I didn't mind.

 

There is also a lot of storage space! Two closets, 4 huge drawers and tons of drawers in the vanity area! We used the drawers under the couch bed to put shoes in, and had no problem putting our luggage away.

 

Around 3:20 pm, they made an announcement about the safety briefing. They put your muster station on your sail and sign card, and you no longer have to wear a life jacket! Since it was so hot, I really enjoyed that part!

 

We stood around a good while until they started. They go over the basics of what to do if you hear the alarm, play the alarm, demonstrate how to wear a life jacket, make you sweat, and then dismiss you according to muster station. It wasn't a bad experience, and we climbed the stairs back to our room.

 

It was almost time to set sail so we went out on the balcony...

[jenms2000]

Yes, it's still Day 1... :D

 

Before I talk about the Safety Briefing, here are some more pictures of the room:

 

 

 

 

The table in the room is very large, and it's nice to eat breakfast/lunch from room service on. Our room stewards kept shoving it off in the corner to get it out of the way, so we kept having to move it. It's pretty heavy in my opinion, but I didn't mind.

 

There is also a lot of storage space! Two closets, 4 huge drawers and tons of drawers in the vanity area! We used the drawers under the couch bed to put shoes in, and had no problem putting our luggage away.

 

Around 3:20 pm, they made an announcement about the safety briefing. They put your muster station on your sail and sign card, and you no longer have to wear a life jacket! Since it was so hot, I really enjoyed that part!

 

We stood around a good while until they started. They go over the basics of what to do if you hear the alarm, play the alarm, demonstrate how to wear a life jacket, make you sweat, and then dismiss you according to muster station. It wasn't a bad experience, and we climbed the stairs back to our room.

 

It was almost time to set sail so we went out on the balcony...

since you mentioned "balcony", how about some pics of it!!!:)

[fototaker]

you have just made my 130 days a lot harder! There are not very many photo reviews of the freedom with this itinerary! And I find myself getting really excited! cant wait for more!

[canette]

Great review so far. We were getting off the Freedom as you were getting on! I miss it already!

[Britbrie]

More of Day 1

 

Our room's balcony had 2 lounge chairs, a table, and a regular chair on it... and it still didn't feel cramped!

 

 

Around 4:17 pm (according to my cell phone :) ) we set sail and began to leave Fort Lauderdale.

 

 

We then went to explore the ship a little bit more and saw some trivia shows going on in the Victoriana Lounge.

 

Another view of the Lobby:

 

Victoriana Lounge Chandelier:

 

We decided to go to the casino, and try to win a little vacation money :D.

Of course I ended up losing money in the slot machines... Oh well it was vacation after all!

 

After the casino, we went back to the room to get ready for our late seating dinner. We were dining on the lower level of the Chic Restaurant, at a table for 4. It was nice to be able to eat alone because we didn't have to wait on other people to finish eating, and we could enjoy other activities.

[Britbrie]

Day 1

 

Our waiters were Vincent and Elena, and they did a pretty good job of serving us. For the most part Vincent was off in the galley getting everyone's meals, while Elena refilled drinks and gave out the food.

 

For the first night I had a shrimp cocktail for the appetizer:

 

 

For my entree I ate sweet and sour shrimp (which was very good!):

 

 

And for dessert the Creme Brulee with berries (it was good, but very liquidy):

 

 

After dinner, we went to the Victoriana Lounge and played the $700 dollar jackpot bingo... and saw the Welcome Aboard Show.

 

At the show they had comedian Eddie Capone who was very funny! We really enjoyed his act... and couldn't wait to see his Adult comedy show.

Some pictures of the Victoriana Lounge when it was empty:

 

 

 

After the show, we went to the room and went to sleep.

[vital1]

I think we may have spoken!! Were you by chance sitting on the floor outside the doors to the cabin halls around 1:15? We were on the "secret deck" 7 and came out of the doors and there were some girls sitting there. I think one had red hair!

[Britbrie]

I think we may have spoken!! Were you by chance sitting on the floor outside the doors to the cabin halls around 1:15? We were on the "secret deck" 7 and came out of the doors and there were some girls sitting there. I think one had red hair!

 

No, that wasn't me! :( Maybe later on in the cruise we passed each other or something? hahah.

[trevette1981]

Great review! I was on this cruise with you!

[vital1]

No, that wasn't me! :( Maybe later on in the cruise we passed each other or something? hahah.

Well, poo. :D

[Britbrie]

Day 2- Sea Day

 

We slept in until 9 am on our second day, and proceeded to breakfast on the Lido deck. I tried the chocolate muffin that everyone raves about, and I have to say... it's not for everyone... :).

 

 

We went and walked around, and visited the Fun shops. At 12 pm, there was a cooking demonstration in the Sun King steakhouse. The chefs did very good at their part, and the dishes were amazing!

 

We sampled mushroom cappuccino, baby leaf spinach and fresh mushrooms, broiled supreme of free range chicken, and tiramisu.

 

Some pictures of the steakhouse:

 

 

 

After the cooking demonstration (which lasted about thirty minutes), we went out onto the lido deck to watch the master mixologist competition. There were so many "chair hogs" out, people were holding their chairs with anything! Sail and sign cards, t-shirts, cups, glasses, etc.

 

The competition was fun and entertaining and a woman won with her drink which was featured the remainder of the cruise. After the competition, we went off to the Internet Cafe to catch up on some email...

 

to be continued...

[Alegeeter]

I WANT TO GO BACK!

Keep it coming- make me relive my cruise

[junebug8]

Great review and pictures so far! Keep it coming!:)

[Britbrie]

Day 2 continued

 

On every Carnival cruise, we go to the Park West art auctions. I am a studio art major at LSU, so I enjoy looking at art... which is why we go. The unfortunate thing about the art director on the Freedom, was that he was very slow to get things started. He was very knowledgeable about the artists that Park West has, but the auctions on board were not something that interested me. So, we did not bother going to them the rest of the cruise.

 

We left the auction early, and went to the Victoriana Lounge to watch the Line dancing class. It was interesting to watch, and some of the participants were pretty good at the dance. After the class, they had the murder mystery clues to present. For the remainder of the cruise, they printed scrambles in the Fun Times and each participant had their own clues to tell.

 

We then went over to the Posh dining room and had tea and dessert. The tea was nice, but due to lack of conversation with the other occupants at our table we left early. :(

 

They had a musician in the lobby, so we stopped and watched for a while.

 

 

It was formal night, so we went back to the room and started getting ready for dinner.

 

At dinner that night I had the strawberry bisque for an appetizer:

 

 

Prime Rib and baked potato for entree:

 

 

and then Cherry Jubilee for dessert (which had absolutely no cherries in it):

 

 

We concluded the night with the adult comedy show by Eddie Capone... which was very funny. Needless to say the International Lounge was packed to capacity.

 

We concluded the day, and went to go to sleep.

 

 

Coming up:

Day 3- Day at sea/San Juan

[mrs141]

What a great review so far. I LOVE the strawberry bisque.

 

I did a back to back on the Freedom and simply loved the ship and the crew. I had such a great time.

 

Thank you so much for this review. It brings back good memories

[Inklight]

I keep reading about how good the strawberry bisque is ... I can't believe I've never tried it! It's definitely on my 'to do' list for my cruise! I'm enjoying reading your review of the Freedom ... I haven't been on this ship before but I've been looking at her itinerary. Can't wait to see what's next!:)

[flyboyswife]

Great review! We're on the Freedom in September...in an OS room so I appreciated the photos! Keep up the great work!

[fee]

I'm loving your reviews, I will be on the Freedom August 14 and I can't wait. Can't wait to read and see more pictures:D

[Britbrie]

Day 3- San Juan

 

We woke up and got ready around 8 am... The live morning show with Ryan came on at 9 am, and I started watching it. He was giving out prizes to those who called in and answered questions, so I gave it a go. I won a disposable camera... which really means nothing to me because I'm a photographer. haha. But, it was a nice gesture anyways. :D

 

After breakfast, my dad and I went to the blackjack tournament. Unfortunately he played in the second round and busted out, but that was okay because he ended up doing well in blackjack later on in the cruise.

 

After the tournament, we went to the Game of Love... which is where they pick a couple that has been married a long time, then a couple that has been married 20+, and then a newlywed couple. It is always fun to hear what the elderly couple answers, compared to the others. :rolleyes:

 

After the show, they had Wipeout bingo where they cleared your sail and sign card... I lost of course... haha.

 

We were docking in San Juan, so my dad and I took our cameras and went up to deck 10.

 

This is me taking some pictures... please excuse my hair it was very windy!

 

 

Some pictures of San Juan that my mom took:

 

 

 

By the time we were cleared to go on shore it had started to rain, so we decided to go to open seating dining in the Posh restaurant.

[LindaJSteele]

I'm leaving on Friday for the Freedom, so I really want you to finish. How were the shows? Were there $5 Blackjack tables in the casino? Not the Face Up or Fun 21, though - regular BJ. Thanks!

[Britbrie]

Day 3 continued

 

For dinner this night, I had 2 shrimp cocktails (this trend continued for the remainder of the cruise :p ).

 

 

Then the New York Strip steak:

 

For dessert the Almond dough sticks (I forgot the actual name :rolleyes: )

 

After dinner, the plan was to just go out in San Juan for a few minutes to say we had been. Too bad it was raining! :(