REVIEW: Carnival Freedom, October 14, 2012, Western Carribbean

[sweetcurves]

More Day 4, Grand Cayman, Royal Palms

 

Pool at Royal Palms

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sweetcurves]

Tinypic HATES me and has quit again so I will too for today.

[LRene]

I have a question about Royal Palms. Do they have a lot of umbrellas down on the beach? I know you pay for chairs and umbrellas but the cabanas are booked and we prefer the beach but need a little shade. Our summer tans have faded. LOL

Edited October 22, 2012 by LRene

[JerseyGirlJen]

Can't wait to read this one, I'm doing this same trip in December :D

[jimbri]

Enjoying your review. Looking forward to the rest.

[sweetcurves]

I have a question about Royal Palms. Do they have a lot of umbrellas down on the beach? I know you pay for chairs and umbrellas but the cabanas are booked and we prefer the beach but need a little shade. Our summer tans have faded. LOL

 

 

I *think* so but to be honest I didn't pay much attention.

[sweetcurves]

Can't wait to read this one, I'm doing this same trip in December :D

 

Jealous! I want to go back on Freedom so bad...if only because of some specific eye candy. :D

[JerseyGirlJen]

Jealous! I want to go back on Freedom so bad...if only because of some specific eye candy. :D

 

 

LOL!! I'll keep an eye out for him and send him your love. :p

[sweetcurves]

LOL!! I'll keep an eye out for him and send him your love. :p

 

International Lounge, tall, gorgeous, kind of shy, mumbles and has a very thick accent.

 

:cool: :D :rolleyes:

 

[NS-Cruiser]

Aww Hamilton! I went to Mac so I actually kinda miss the hammer lol. Thanks for the hat tip! I know of a Dots in Buffalo and were heading over to shop in a few weeks so i'll see if they are still selling beach hats! Yours looks fabulous!

 

That was a great deal! We're flying from buffalo too but were flying during the holidays so cost is higher. Looked into southwest but one way was at least $350 -450! We ended up with round trip price of $600. Still way cheaper than flying from yyz.

 

We are booked on the Freedom (again) for the Exotic Southern Itinerary next April (2013) and will be flying from Halifax, through YYZ, Our flights are YHZ (Halifax) to YYZ, then YYZ to FLL... for our return we will be doing MIA to YYZ (using Carnival ground transport to MIA) and YYZ to YHZ, all for $1200.00 Canadian total for TWO of us ($600.00 each). We will be flying on Air Canada both ways.

 

There are actually lots of direct flights from YYZ to FLL, but none from YHZ to FLL, so we have to go through (Pearson) YYZ. Also, we decided to come home from MIA, cause the departure taxes from MIA are a LOT cheaper than from FLL, even with the Carnival ground transport, it cheaper to fly from MIA than from FLL.

 

Our first cruise was on this exact itinerary in Nov 2008, we loved it, and we were hooked. Weve been on two other cruises since, and have another booked for next April...

Edited October 23, 2012 by NS-Cruiser

[sweetcurves]

We are booked on the Freedom (again) for the Exotic Southern Itinerary next April (2013) and will be flying from Halifax, through YYZ, Our flights are YHZ (Halifax) to YYZ, then YYZ to FLL... for our return we will be doing MIA to YYZ (using Carnival ground transport to MIA) and YYZ to YHZ, all for 1200.00 Canadian total for TWO of us. We will be flying on Air Canada both ways.

 

There are actually lots of direct flights from YYZ to FLL, but none from YHZ to FLL, so we have to go through (Pearson) YYZ. Also, we decided to come home from MIA, cause the departure taxes from MIA are a LOT cheaper than from FLL, even with the Carnival ground transport, it cheaper to fly from MIA than from FLL.

 

Our first cruise was on this exact itinerary in Nov 2008, we loved it, and we were hooked. Weve been on two other cruises since, and have another booked for next April...

 

My father is from Truro, and my Grammie and most Aunts and Uncles still live there or nearby. It will freak me out entirely if you say you're from Truro.

[NS-Cruiser]

My father is from Truro, and my Grammie and most Aunts and Uncles still live there or nearby. It will freak me out entirely if you say you're from Truro.

 

Nope, from the Annapolis Valley.... been through Truro several times though... It's a pretty town.

[sweetcurves]

Nope, from the Annapolis Valley.... been through Truro several times though... It's a pretty town.

 

NS is so pretty! I haven't been back there in 25 years...haven't seen my Grammie in 23.

 

If someone could find a way to provide cheaper domestic Canadian airfare, I'd like to get out there and see my NS family.

[Jenna1983]

Nice review so far! I leave on the 3rd of November and am so excited. It's been a while since I've been on a "new ship" that I haven't been on (i've been repeating lol). I was actually going through my closet today since I'm off until Thursday (and work everyday until I leave on the 2nd) and was trying to decide what's too fancy/what's not. Did Freedom, on your week, have a lot of people who wore dresses every night? I'm afraid my poor mother is going to be like, "This is not a club!!!!" lol

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your review, looking forward to the rest. Thanks for the photo's too.

[soulsistah007]

We are booked on the Freedom (again) for the Exotic Southern Itinerary next April (2013) and will be flying from Halifax, through YYZ, Our flights are YHZ (Halifax) to YYZ, then YYZ to FLL... for our return we will be doing MIA to YYZ (using Carnival ground transport to MIA) and YYZ to YHZ, all for $1200.00 Canadian total for TWO of us ($600.00 each). We will be flying on Air Canada both ways.

 

There are actually lots of direct flights from YYZ to FLL, but none from YHZ to FLL, so we have to go through (Pearson) YYZ. Also, we decided to come home from MIA, cause the departure taxes from MIA are a LOT cheaper than from FLL, even with the Carnival ground transport, it cheaper to fly from MIA than from FLL.

 

Our first cruise was on this exact itinerary in Nov 2008, we loved it, and we were hooked. Weve been on two other cruises since, and have another booked for next April...

 

That's a great price! Glad you found a great deal! I should have also added that we booked our flights last week as we booked our cruise just under the 100 day mark. So we didn't have much time to search out flights. The direct flights I saw were once a day with west jet and air Canada and were priced too high! Enjoy your cruise!

 

@ sweet curves - good luck at mo-mac! :-)

[basebare]

Sweet curves, I have to say I am loving reading your review. It gets me very excited for ours in December. It will be my DD's 18th bday and a chance for the 4 of us to be a family (since she is a freshman at FSU). I can't wait to hear your review of Phil. I am waiting to book until I hear :). My DH and I have done the falls twice already but we know the "kids" will love it!

[sweetcurves]

Nice review so far! I leave on the 3rd of November and am so excited. It's been a while since I've been on a "new ship" that I haven't been on (i've been repeating lol). I was actually going through my closet today since I'm off until Thursday (and work everyday until I leave on the 2nd) and was trying to decide what's too fancy/what's not. Did Freedom, on your week, have a lot of people who wore dresses every night? I'm afraid my poor mother is going to be like, "This is not a club!!!!" lol

 

I would say it was 50/50. I dressed up every night and did wear a cocktail dress on the first formal night. Second formal night we did dress up again but not AS formal.

 

I think you could easily wear a dress every night and not feel out of place. And y'know what, who cares?! If you like wearing a dress and you feel comfortable and confident, then you should do it! I had enough to wear one every night but ended up in jeans a couple of times (black one night and white for the white party). There were people in booty SHORTS in the MDR which pissed me off but I tried not to let it ruin my night. I say wear what you like and what makes you comfortable all while trying to honor Carnival's dress code.

 

I will say this...I packed way too many casual clothes. I brought like 5 pairs of shorts and ended up only using 2 pairs. If it was daytime and I was on board the ship, I had on a swimsuit and a coverup (usually a t-shirt or tank top style dress). I wore different sets of pjs over my 9 night trip (3 nights pre-cruise), and went through 6 "dressy" outfits (not including the two denim outfits).

 

Pack for comfort and what makes you feel attractive. And seriously underpack. If you are a lie by the pool person, there is no need for a daytime outfit for every day. We would go to breakfast on Lido in our swimsuits and coverups and did not feel at all out of place.

 

The only time I felt overdressed was the last night. I wore a floor length animal print sundress (the one in the pic above--with my ship crush, Milan). Everyone else was dressed very casually that night so I did get a few looks but I prefer to think I was being looked at because I'm so beautiful. :D

[sweetcurves]

Sweet curves, I have to say I am loving reading your review. It gets me very excited for ours in December. It will be my DD's 18th bday and a chance for the 4 of us to be a family (since she is a freshman at FSU). I can't wait to hear your review of Phil. I am waiting to book until I hear :). My DH and I have done the falls twice already but we know the "kids" will love it!

 

I'm hoping to wrap it all up tomorrow but feel free to ask me whatever you want about Phil. I have nothing negative to say about him, really.

 

Jamaica on the other hand, I am not a fan.

[Jenna1983]

I'm not a huge packer but I def am not the stay in swimsuit all day esp due to being so darn pale. I end up with probably a variety- workout, pool/shorts and evening.

[iheartpoco]

Thanks for your review...it is fantastic! And can I just say you two are ADORABLE!! What fun to have a sister to go on a cruise with - just really enjoying hearing about your adventures!! :D

[sweetcurves]

Thanks for your review...it is fantastic! And can I just say you two are ADORABLE!! What fun to have a sister to go on a cruise with - just really enjoying hearing about your adventures!! :D

 

Oh hi London, Ontario! I have an Aunt that lives in London!

 

And thanks! We are best friends, live together, travel together. I love her a lot but I think I am ready to meet someone, fall in love, and travel with HIM.

 

Then maybe I'll stop developing crushes on Serbian waiters who I will likely never see again.

[cruisecrayz]

"We went up to Lido to look around and watch sail away. It was there that I nearly knocked over my soon to be favorite server, Milan. I apologized 40987 times and he just smiled *swoon*. "

 

Sweetcurves,

We were on this cruise the week before you. Milan was our bar waiter in the Chic DR. What a great guy! My husband and I really enjoyed getting to know him. His smile is definitely swoon-worthy! ;)

[sweetcurves]

"We went up to Lido to look around and watch sail away. It was there that I nearly knocked over my soon to be favorite server, Milan. I apologized 40987 times and he just smiled *swoon*. "

 

Sweetcurves,

We were on this cruise the week before you. Milan was our bar waiter in the Chic DR. What a great guy! My husband and I really enjoyed getting to know him. His smile is definitely swoon-worthy! ;)

 

 

Awww you just made me smile! I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed how beautiful his smile is and how wonderful he was!

[sweetcurves]

Awww you just made me smile! I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed how beautiful his smile is and how wonderful he was!

 

Did he talk about his family at all? I found myself wondering about his family and if he was supporting them etc. I hate that we didn't have more time to talk. He was always just so busy...damn drunks on my cruise! LOL