The “better late than never, here it is for what it’s worth” Carnival Freedom review

[FloridaGram]

Okay, I'll spill the beans just for you since you are leaving in 2 days! Our CC was hacked while we were in Ft. Lauderdale. We believe it was someone from the hotel, as this is the only card we have and it was the card we used to book the hotel, which we had paid for many months before. When we checked out that morning, the bill they slipped under the door said we owed ZERO. Long story short, whoever hacked us waited until the next day (when they knew we were long gone and on a ship in the ocean) to make changes to our account ... like everything (name, my birth date, address, email address, mother's maiden name, EVERYTHING!). Things were going fine on the cruise and our use of the sail-n-sign was fine also ... and then it wasn't. After about an hour at Guest Services and about 30 minutes on the phone with Capital One, THEY CLOSED OUR ACCOUNT. Like I said, that's the only CC we have. So, the cash we brought got put on our account and they let my DM attach her credit card to our SnS account just in case we went over the cash balance. We got lucky in that we had already paid for at least one of our excursions beforehand and we aren't big drinkers ... so, we did okay. We went over about $175 from the cash we brought and paid my DM when we got home. We ate at the steakhouse one night on the ship, which is extra PP, and my BIL put this on his SnS account and we paid him back when we got home also. I hope you don't ever have to worry about something like this! I'm just glad Capital One is on top of things and they only got away with $50!

 

So how did they change EVERYTHING about your cc? Shouldn't that have been a red flag to the cc company? I thought you had to know answers to security questions if logging on from a different computer? We had discover and they catch stuff at the first charge, I don't know how. I have had to get a new card twice in the past year. Sorry your trip started out this way and glad you had family and cash! Warns me to take 2 CC when we travel just in case.

[jhnsnfamily]

So how did they change EVERYTHING about your cc? Shouldn't that have been a red flag to the cc company? I thought you had to know answers to security questions if logging on from a different computer? We had discover and they catch stuff at the first charge, I don't know how. I have had to get a new card twice in the past year. Sorry your trip started out this way and glad you had family and cash! Warns me to take 2 CC when we travel just in case.

 

I have no idea how they changed everything. I forgot to mention they added an additional authorized user as well. When I got on the phone with the Cap One rep, he asked me to verify everything and nothing matched. So, he transferred me to a fraud specialist and he was able to access all the "old" information that I could verify including five past transactions to prove I was who I said I was. NOW, we have a password for electronic access and a different password for telephone access. If I had checked my email while in Key West, I would have seen that changes were made ... an email was sent 11 minutes after the changes were made ... still makes me mad! I wasn't real clear before, Cap One closed the account immediately once all the changes were made and the charge was posted, that's why our SnS account wasn't working because charges were no longer being processed to our Cap One account. Yes, we were very lucky that we had brought some cash and had family traveling with us. Otherwise, it would have been worse with much more penny pinching.

 

As an aside, my DS1 was so sweet ... they both had been saving their allowance for vacation and my oldest brought me his money and told me to keep it. It was almost $100 ... so sweet. :p

[jhnsnfamily]

That van is tacky...but easy to find! I was shocked the flamingos are actually on the top. I am surprised they stay up.

 

Not all of them were standing up straight ... a few looked like they needed a V8! :D

[jhnsnfamily]

After the sailaway, it was getting close to dinner, so we headed back to the cabin to start unpacking and getting ready for dinner at 6 p.m.

 

First night’s dinner … We found table 337 at the back of the ship … hands down … ONE OF THE BEST TABLES ON THE SHIP! Fabulous view!

 

 

Ta Ta immediately greeted us and wanted to learn our names. She introduced her team, Joseph and PuTu.

 

Introducing Ta Ta:

 

Introducing Joseph ...

 

Introducing PuTu ...

 

 

 

They were all awesome! She explained what was on the menu, told us we could order anything from the “every day” menu or from the “today” menu. The every day menu on the left is the same every day. The today menu on the right changes each day. Here's an example of the menu you'll get ...

 

She also said you could order any of the “sides”, such as a baked potato with all the trimmings. I tried to get pictures of all the dishes that we ordered, but I cannot comment on how each one tastes, because I didn’t eat them all!

 

I ordered the chicken fingers appetizer (3.5/5 – very, very crispy—almost too crispy), the shrimp dinner (5/5) (no pic – sorry!), and the warm chocolate melting cake with extra chocolate ice cream (4/5—very, very gooey). DH ordered the chocolate cherry cake … he liked it.

 

Food porn pics promised ... and I will deliver ... stay tuned!

[jhnsnfamily]

During dinner, we had a visit from “The Magic Man”. He is an entertainer hired by the cruise line and he bounces between the dining rooms (rotates every other night) and walks around the ship. He said if he has his badge on, he’s working and if you holler at him, he’ll stop and do tricks for you. HE HAD US STUMPED.

 

He even stumped my nephew (a 19 year old med student who graduated 3rd in his HS graduating class) and his dad (who should be on Jeopardy because he knows ALL the answers before the contestants actually buzz in with them). My husband and kids always enjoy going into magic shops, like in Gatlinburg, TN, and checking out card tricks, etc. I’m telling ya … he had us stumped! We are still stumped! So, if you see him … yell at him … “hey, Magic Man!” You won’t be disappointed.

 

After dinner, we ditched the kids and explored the ship some more ...

 

We visited the shops, sampled the free liquor (we missed the martini tasting darn it!), and ended up at the Welcome Aboard Show at 10:30 p.m.

 

Kinda cheesy with the inflatable boat and mascot, but who cares! We're on vacation!

 

They only have one show on this night, so get there early for decent seats. The cruise director, Brad Calabrese, is a hoot. He’s younger than I thought he’d be, and funnier. He reminds me of Neil Patrick Harris.

 

Introducing Brad .... I've tried 3x to flip this picture ...it looks right in Photobucket but not here ... I promise, he wasn't laying flat on the stage!

[Coolcruise02]

Now off to the sail away! I grabbed the Ohio State towel (Go Bucks! O-H ….. anyone? Who is paying attention???)

 

I-O!

 

I am..................go Buckeyes!! :)

 

PS. Great review

[jhnsnfamily]

Chicken Fingers appetizer

 

WCMC with extra chocolate ice cream ... mmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

Chocolate Cherry Cake

 

Sorry folks ... that's all the food porn pics for this meal! I think I was in a "cruise fog" ... that or I was just starving because we missed lunch! I was better at taking pictures of everyone's stuff for all future dinners!

 

A pic from the Lido Deck

 

And another pic from where the photo gallery is located looking down a deck where Guest Services is located.

[jhnsnfamily]

I-O!

 

I am..................go Buckeyes!! :)

 

PS. Great review

 

Thanks Coolcruise02! Whew! I'm glad someone responded ... I didn't want to leave that O-H out there just hanging! Thanks for reading and I'm glad you like it! (I was soooooooooooo nervous to post it ...) :rolleyes:

[jhnsnfamily]

First impressions: The ship was not as gaudy as some people make it out to be. I thought it was very classy and nice. My DM is a seasoned Royal Caribbean cruiser and she even thought the ship was nice. Bright and colorful in some areas, and more subdued and polished in other areas. The pools are very small considering there are 3,000 passengers, but they were adequate. The kids LOVED ‘em. Not my kids … ALL THE KIDS ON THE SHIP … all at the same time. We have a pool at home, so my kids were kinda like, “eh, been there, done that … don’t wanna fight the crowd.”

 

The casino is right along the Promenade deck … so the smoke permeates into the pass-by areas (you have no choice but to pass by the casino). It was very difficult to go from one end of the ship to the other … sometimes you had to go up and over and then back down. Grab a Deck Plan and keep it handy! It folds up (tri-fold) and is small enough (about 4" x 3" folded up) to slide into a small purse, camera case, or even a back pocket.

 

THIS!

 

There are also deck plans on the wall at each set of elevators to help you out. The gym was outfitted with a lot up-to-date equipment, such as tread mills, ellipticals, steppers, etc. The people in there were working hard and sweating a lot! (Present company not included!!! I do Zumba at home, and love it. I actually downloaded 2 hours worth of Zumba songs to my iPhone in anticipation of working out on my own. I had good intentions. I really, really did. Oh well … next time? Yeah … next time!)

 

The Serenity area is nice … if you sit far enough away from the loudness of the Lido deck with the music and the big screen and the screaming (I mean laughing) children. :rolleyes: Just kidding ... it wasn't THAT bad. I'm just not one for chaos ... We discovered that the top deck of the ship before you get to the Serenity area (where you stand in line to go down the slide) was a good spot. Here’s a pic of the area at night … during the day, there are plenty of deck chairs. Where my family is walking is where we would lay. If you were taking the picture (like I was in this photo), the area to get on the slide would be behind me.

 

 

This was not an “adults only” area, so the kids got to hang up there with us too (at least, when they wanted to ... LOL). The adults area is through the brown wooden entrance that you see in the picture beyond where my family is walking. It’s nice and breezy up there, and it’s far enough removed from the chaos of the Lido deck that you can actually relax. Ahhhhh … it was heaven. (I’m closing my eyes right now and dreaming that I’m there again …)

 

O-kayyyyyyyy … back to reality! Onward!

[jhnsnfamily]

My "break" is definitely over here at work! I am having trouble with Photobucket ... not loving it so far. :mad: I will post more later, and my goal is to have the whole review done and posted by the end of the weekend!

 

Stay tuned and thanks for reading!

[Coolcruise02]

Thanks Coolcruise02! Whew! I'm glad someone responded ... I didn't want to leave that O-H out there just hanging! Thanks for reading and I'm glad you like it! (I was soooooooooooo nervous to post it ...) :rolleyes:

 

No problem, and you have nothing to be nervous about. It is a wonderful review and pictures. The picture of your boys, in the dining room, in their ties is ADORABLE!!

 

O-H-I-O :)

[All4fun&fun4all]

This is an amazing review. Loving all the pics and your humour.

 

I have to know though, how did you get the picture of the Fun Times so crisp and readable? They never turn out that way in my reviews.

 

I probably wont ever sail on this ship but it certainly helps to pass the time while I am waiting for a Friday to end and have 220 days until my next cruise.

[TakeMeAway1001]

Great start~ I will have to go back once I am home because I cannot see the pictures from my work PC.

 

We too had our CC comprimised when we stayed in FLL before one of our cruises, and it was a PITA to rectify. We had just switched from Chase to Citi and had never actually used the card anywhere except for when I reserved the hotel online and the first and only time it left DH's hands was at check-in and low and behold $3000 worth of camera purchases from Florida. We did the whole alert deal too by telling them on this day we'll be in Florida and the next day here etc yet they let all these crazy charges go through and then tried to accuse us of buying it since "a lot of people buy cameras on vacation" :rolleyes: Glad to hear you were able to get your situation fixed. Looking forward to the rest of your review :)

[deedle7544]

Love your review, and going on this cruise in September - thank you for all the pics!

 

And I'm sorry for your family's loss

[megan87]

What a small world lol we are from Urbana Ohio, cant wait to read the rest of your review :)

[jelomu]

Really enjoying your review! We are headed on the Freedom for the July 6th cruise, so I can't wait for the rest!!:D

 

I also chose the Hampton for our night before the cruise, now I'm a bit worried! I wonder if I paid for the room on my CC, then cancelled it for a new # before I go down...:confused:

[jessiesgirl2013]

Loving the writeup and pictures. Nice seeing Port Everglades with sunshine. We were on the Freedom Oct 2011 and it stormed while loading and was very rough waters that first day and night. Will be on same cruise as jessiesgirl whom we just might actually meet.

 

Hope we can meet, Swampbaby. I think there is a meet and greet set up, I will have to double check.

[oreomaximus]

Your review is GGGRREEEATTTTT!!! :D:D:D

 

I love reading the reviews with LOTS of words (fellow fan of writing here).

 

Thorowly (just throught I'd throw in a misspelled word for kicks and giggles) enjoying it!

 

Thank you!

[cuted126]

Love the review and the pics are so crisp!!!! Love it:) You may have inspired me to finally do a review on my cruise from September!

[jhnsnfamily]

Introducing Brad .... I've tried 3x to flip this picture ...it looks right in Photobucket but not here ... I promise, he wasn't laying flat on the stage!

I guess it fixed itself! :confused:

[jhnsnfamily]

Grab a Deck Plan and keep it handy! It folds up (tri-fold) and is small enough (about 4" x 3" folded up) to slide into a small purse, camera case, or even a back pocket.

 

THIS!

 

Sorry guys ... Photobucket is giving me problems ... and a headache. Here's the pics that "disappeared" earlier. :confused:

[jhnsnfamily]

No problem, and you have nothing to be nervous about. It is a wonderful review and pictures. The picture of your boys, in the dining room, in their ties is ADORABLE!!

 

O-H-I-O :)

 

Thanks! They are handsome fellas, aren't they? Wait til you see the pics of them with their glasses on ... lol :cool:

[jhnsnfamily]

Love your review, and going on this cruise in September - thank you for all the pics!

 

And I'm sorry for your family's loss

 

Thanks for reading deedle7544! And thanks for your kind words about my dad.

 

What a small world lol we are from Urbana Ohio, cant wait to read the rest of your review :)

 

Thanks for reading Megan87 ... Go Climbers! We are Knights! :D

[jhnsnfamily]

Love the review and the pics are so crisp!!!! Love it:) You may have inspired me to finally do a review on my cruise from September!

 

Thanks cuted126! You totally should do the review ... I love reading them! I always take something away from them ... and I love seeing people's pictures! Have fun on your cruise in September!

[jhnsnfamily]

Your review is GGGRREEEATTTTT!!! :D:D:D

 

I love reading the reviews with LOTS of words (fellow fan of writing here).

 

Thorowly (just throught I'd throw in a misspelled word for kicks and giggles) enjoying it!

 

Thank you!

 

Thanks oreomaximus (love that name!!!) Do you love Oreos?? They were my dad's favorite cookie. He'd hide them from us girls! In his bedroom! Gah!

 

Thank you for that misspelled word ... it was grate. LOL! :rolleyes: