Freedom PHOTO Trip Review to ARUBA, GRAND TURK, DR, & CURACAO

[jacksmom09]

Beautiful underwater pics! What camera did you use??

[tulipcityfamily]

I do have both schedules. It may take a couple of days before I can scan them and post. My son is very shy and did not attend many Circle C events, but my daughter visited Camp Carnival every sea day. One activity that the Freedom lacks from other Carnival ship is Laser Tag. We really missed it on this ship, as it make a great family activity.

 

Thank you for posting them. I can't believe they stopped Laser Tag, as there were always long lines. My kids loved it.

[wrigley80]

After the tour we headed back to Fort Lauderdale to our hotel. I had landed a great deal through Hotwire on a 4-star hotel for $69. The hotel was the Fort Lauderdale Westin. I had tried to find deals through Hotwire weeks in advanced, but found nothing less than $160 for 4-star, until 2 days before the stay. So, if you can wait until the last minute to book, you can snag a real great deal. We had no problem canceling our booked hotel and switching to our Hotwire hotel. It was a very nice hotel, not on the beach, but very nice nonetheless. Here’s a picture of the kids playing in the pool:

 

 

Picture taken with cell phone from our hotel room:

 

 

 

 

Saturday morning before the cruise we ventured down to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. What a great walkable area! There were many cafes and shops with a nice beach access. I had not researched this before the trip, and we just happened to stumble upon it driving around looking for breakfast. Here’s a cell phone picture of my daughter trying to push over a palm tree.

 

 

 

Up next, the Carnival Freedom.

 

I am cruising out of Fort Lauderdale on March 3rd. We are flying in a day early and I have already reserved the Ramada hotel on SR 84 Marina Mile BLVD for $150.00 for 1 night.

I got looking at Hotwire tonight and I can get a hotel in the same area for about $70.00......that is a big difference. :)

I have a couple questions because I have never used one of those bidding websites

• There are 2 of us traveling....we would need 2 full/queen size beds. After I am awarded with the hotel do I call the hotel and tell them I need a room with 2 beds???
  
• Do I call to confirm with the hotel after I would make the reservation through Hotwire??
  
• Would we still be able to use the hotel shuttle if they have one to the cruise port??
  

Thanks in Advance :)

[sweetcurves]

Great review! I have a soft spot for the Freedom as she was my first.

[auburngirl]

Love reading your reviews!! Leaving for ths same cruise in 47 days with a 14 yr old girl. Please give any advise!! Thanks!

[auburngirl]

I have a question regarding the La Romana Tour. Looked on their website and it looks like the tour is $65 and then the taxi is an additional $15. So, it appears that the total cost per person is $80. Is that correct?

[mpcaruth]

I have a question regarding the La Romana Tour. Looked on their website and it looks like the tour is $65 and then the taxi is an additional $15. So, it appears that the total cost per person is $80. Is that correct?

 

 

Yes, that is correct. You pay the $80 at one time at the Seavis hut. Chidren 12 and under have a reduced rate.

[auburngirl]

Can't wait to hear about Aruba. We are in the planning stages and are leaving in 46 days. Need to finalize plans. Thanks!!

[mpcaruth]

Love reading your reviews!! Leaving for ths same cruise in 47 days with a 14 yr old girl. Please give any advise!! Thanks!

 

 

Thanks! Advice for a 14 year old girl... A glass of wine for Mom and a baseball bat for Dad? Seriously, I recommend that you get her involved with Circle C early on. There is a welcome aboard party/event on the first night. She can make new friends and have fun while being somewhat independent.

[mpcaruth]

I am cruising out of Fort Lauderdale on March 3rd. We are flying in a day early and I have already reserved the Ramada hotel on SR 84 Marina Mile BLVD for $150.00 for 1 night.

I got looking at Hotwire tonight and I can get a hotel in the same area for about $70.00......that is a big difference. :)

 

 

 

I have a couple questions because I have never used one of those bidding websites

• There are 2 of us traveling....we would need 2 full/queen size beds. After I am awarded with the hotel do I call the hotel and tell them I need a room with 2 beds???
  
• Do I call to confirm with the hotel after I would make the reservation through Hotwire??
  
• Would we still be able to use the hotel shuttle if they have one to the cruise port??
  

Thanks in Advance :)

 

 

 

If you need two double beds, I suggest you refine your search on Hotwire to include 4 persons. You will probably get the same results, but you will ensure there are two beds. I typically call the hotel directly after booking to confirm. I even have had the room typed changed by calling. I cannot answer the hotel shuttle question, as each hotel is different. I was able to use Priceline in Port Canaveral and was able to pay out of pocket to the hotel for shuttle to the port.

 

I always use betterbidding dot com to research Hotwire and Priceline hotels and to see what winning prices others have paid.

[crewsweeper]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Women's locker room:

 

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing your review.

 

A group of us are looking at the Freedom for the spring of '14. So a question and a comment: Did the gym ahve a rowing machine (Concept 2)? Can't tell from the picture.

 

And I noticed that the Freedom's Women's locker room has something that neithe rthe Breeze's lockers nor the Cloud 9 Spa locker rooms have...SEATS!! That'd be a selling point for DW along with the Tandoori (yum).

[Tannison]

Thanks so much for the great review! We are doing this itinerary on the Breeze in June and are so excited. We also have Seavis booked. I love that you are focusing on the ports because most focus on the ship, so we always learn about them, but your details on the ports are great. I also love that you are sharing your kids thoughts on the ports as well. We will be traveling with our 3 kids, who are 14, 11, and 8, so it's nice to hear about a kids perspective as well.

 

Looking forward to reading the rest!

[mpcaruth]

Can't wait to hear about Aruba. We are in the planning stages and are leaving in 46 days. Need to finalize plans. Thanks!!

 

 

I will give you a heads up on Aruba: We did the North Coast Jeep Safari booked through Carnival. The tour was conducted by ABC Tours. I give this tour a 4.5 out of 5 (just because I gave the Seavis tour a 5/5). I highly recommend this tour! Check it out.

[gapearl]

Very nice review and pictures! I'm doing this itinerary on the Breeze. :D

[gelo7]

I love your pictures.

[auburngirl]

What time did you get to board? I have read that even if they tell you not to arrive until 2:00, you can board earlier....

[michelle1836]

Great review and pictures. thanks for sharing!

[MDSue]

You will love the Seavis tour!!!

 

I used the Aquapac with my point and shoot Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1. I have used this pair for over three years now. Since the cruise I have upgraded my Lumix to the DMC-Z19 - improved low light photos, better HD video, and manual camera settings. I had an older Lumix with an older Aquapac bag that I dropped forever into the deep coral in Labadee in 2009. The older Aquapac did not float, but I have confirmed the newer one does!

 

I also use a Cannon Rebel DSLR camera when the environment is good. The photo-editing software I have used for the past 8+ years is Photoscape. It is free and can be downloaded from CNET dot com. I thought about buying Lightroom, but have been satisfied with the free Photoscape editing program. And lastly, I use Photobucket to host my photos for Cruisecritic.

 

Now you know all my photo secrets!

 

 

Thanks for sharing! Still enjoyingthe review and pics!

[Tinkers70]

Wow, great review so far! Thank you for posting, looking forward to reading more :)

 

Marion x

[chosbor2]

Thanks for the review. This is the next itinerary that DH and I want to do. Makes me want to find one to book now! Look forward to reading the rest!

[mpcaruth]

What time did you get to board? I have read that even if they tell you not to arrive until 2:00, you can board earlier....

 

We received the email that stated not to arrive until 2:00... so, we arrived at 11:00. :) We were by no means the first and they were already checking passengers in. I suspect Carnival is doing this just to spread out the boarding process and keep the wait times down.

[mpcaruth]

Thanks for sharing your review.

 

A group of us are looking at the Freedom for the spring of '14. So a question and a comment: Did the gym ahve a rowing machine (Concept 2)? Can't tell from the picture.

 

And I noticed that the Freedom's Women's locker room has something that neithe rthe Breeze's lockers nor the Cloud 9 Spa locker rooms have...SEATS!! That'd be a selling point for DW along with the Tandoori (yum).

 

Sorry, I did not pay much attention to the machines. I usually only use the gym (elliptical machine) if the weather it too bad to walk on the decks. I find a power walk in the wind, smelling and hearing the vast ocean, to be intoxicating. I literally will just raise my hands in the air and take it all in!

[mpcaruth]

Curacao Continued – Porto Marie

 

 

After snorkeling we played around in the sand and found tens of tiny hermit crabs. This occupied by daughter for nearly ½ hour. She wanted so badly to bring a crab back with us, but we managed to spare all the little cute critters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we released the crabs, the sun was beginning to go down and we packed up our gear and enjoyed the serene view. We had pre-arranged to have have our taxi driver pick us up at dusk.

 

 

 

To be continued…

[Cupcrazy]

Thanks so much for posting these great pictures!

[cruises42]

I will give you a heads up on Aruba: We did the North Coast Jeep Safari booked through Carnival. The tour was conducted by ABC Tours. I give this tour a 4.5 out of 5 (just because I gave the Seavis tour a 5/5). I highly recommend this tour! Check it out.

 

We're thinking of doing that tour. I heard it's very bumpy, is it really hard on the back?