MdSue's: Live from CARNIVAL FREEDOM, March 23-31, 2013, Review, Pictures, and more!!!

[jacksmom09]

Sounds like your having a blast! Enjoying your review!

[picomullet]

Thanks for posting! Can't wait to read your review..We are looking at this cruise for next year just can't decide Feb-Mar-Apr...I am curious to know how it is as far as spring break.. We prefer not to travel during peak seasons.. Enjoy your cruise!!!

[spacepotatoes]

That crepe is reason enough to sail out of Fort Lauderdale for us ;)

 

Have a great cruise!

[MDSue]

And a few more:

 

 

 

view of the Bahia Mar from the beach:

 

[MDSue]

That crepe is reason enough to sail out of Fort Lauderdale for us ;)

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Yes, it is! We took the water taxi to Olas Blvd. and found the restaurant there. We had a ham, spinach, and cheese crepe first. Both were delicious!

[MDSue]

Thanks for posting! Can't wait to read your review..We are looking at this cruise for next year just can't decide Feb-Mar-Apr...I am curious to know how it is as far as spring break.. We prefer not to travel during peak seasons.. Enjoy your cruise!!!

 

I have no doubt there will be a ton of kids! Usually, they are busy doing there own thing and we don't have any problems. There are not too many young children at the late dining.

 

We've sailed Princess the past few years, and there are barely any on the 10 day cruises. I really wnated this itinerary and since I work for the school system, I have to travel this week.

 

I love kids, but I have to admit- a child-free cruise is more to my liking (especially, since I work with kids every day). We'll be fine, though!

[lovebelle]

Hi All,

 

Come join me for my second live review. This year, my sister and I are spending 8 days on the Freedom visiting Freeport, La Romana, DR, Curacao, and Aruba. Originally, we were supposed to go to Grand Turk, but they suspended stops there for awhile due to an increase in gastro-illnesses after stopping at Grand Turk. It seems as if there is a concern about the water safety on the island.

 

So first things first- I need help with ideas for Freeport! I am a compulsive planner and by the time we are ready to sail, I've explored all the options and have a plan in place. I've never been to Freeport and have no idea what to do. We were really looking forward to a beach/snorkel day. Any ideas are greatly appreciated:)

 

I love taking and sharing pictures, so I'll have tons to share. If you have any requests for ship pictures or information, just ask and I'll try post pics or answers for you.

 

I already have lots of pics from our day in Ft. Lauderdale that I'll post soon.

 

Now, I'm off to research ideas for Freeport

 

Since the Internet is pricy and the speed is slow, slow, slow, I'll post as many as I can over the next week and then when I get home, I'll do a more detailed review.

 

See you soon!

 

Susan

 

 

I did the safari snorkel on the Fantasia in Freeport and had an awesome time!!!

It leaves from Lucaya.

[MDSue]

I did the safari snorkel on the Fantasia in Freeport and had an awesome time!!!

It leaves from Lucaya.

 

Thanks, Was it easy to find to find in Lucaya? Did you book at the last minute?

[MDSue]

A few more shots from yesterday:

 

The view from our balcony:

 

 

A "pirate excursion", I'm guessing

 

 

 

 

This realistic looking guy was hanging out in front of one of the waterfront mansions:

 

 

Close-up of waterfront home:

 

[medianeh]

Hi All,

 

 

So first things first- I need help with ideas for Freeport! I am a compulsive planner and by the time we are ready to sail, I've explored all the options and have a plan in place. I've never been to Freeport and have no idea what to do. We were really looking forward to a beach/snorkel day. Any ideas are greatly appreciated:)

 

 

 

Susan

 

We will be in Freeport in a couple weeks on the Pride. I just booked Paradise Cove. www.deadmansreef.com Never been there, but all the trip advisor reviews sound great.

[TakeMeAway1001]

Great start, have a wonderful cruise~

[picomullet]

We were on the Freedom a few weeks ago and the internet is slowwwww. At times you cannot even connect. Even booking future cruise the staff was having problems with it. Other than that The Ship was great!!! Have fun!!!

[Momma Mojito]

Since we will be on the Freedom in August I'll be waiting for your reviews

We'll be watching the Port Everglades web cam as you sail tonight!!

[indygirl76]

I love live reviews! Thanks so much for the great start!!

[ciera123]

Love the live reviews. thanks! Hope you have a wonderful cruise!!! :)

[BMFL Island Hopper]

A group of 35 BMFLer's will be jumping on the Freedom April 6th. So I will be checking back often. Thanks for the Review.

[MDSue]

Greetings from the Freedom! We are now sailing, not far from Freeport according to the map on tv. We will be in port from 7am to 1:30 pm- not a real long day, but better than an extra sea day. We plan to grab a taxi into Lucaya for some shopping and maybe a little beach time.

 

We arrived at Port Everglades today around 2pm and were onboard very quickly. The whole check-in process went very easy and fast. It has been quite a few years since we've sailed on Carnival. I know they go for far-our decor, and the Freedom definitely did not let us down!

 

The best decription I can think of is exploding copper tigers in a jumble confusing patterns- definitely over the top- but fun! Since there is no way to truly decribe the pattern, I'll have to post a few pics, instead.

 

We have a balcony room on the 6th floor, near the front of the ship. I was worried that we would have noise from the lounge below, but my PVP promised the noise wouldn't be an issue. However, we can hear the band just fine from our rooms. I think I would go for a higher floor next time. Otherwise, we are quite cozy.

 

We watched the Oasis depart today and that was truly a sight to see.

 

Here are a few pics from today:

 

Here we go:

 

 

Our room for the week:

 

Watching the Oasis depart

 

Picture uploads are slow, but will try and post more soon

[Rockee4055]

Love the pics! Getting excited for ours which is about 70 days away. I will tag this thread and check back often. I will be anxiously awaiting some ship pictures. I hope you have an awesome time and will look forward to your review during or when you get back.

 

I am freaking over the top excited now....thanks to you! :D

[battchief1]

Thanks, can't wait to see more and more about your cruise

[mnsawyer]

We stayed at the Bahia Mar in FLL last year pre-cruise - we were in the older building but the price was right especially since we had booked last minute - it was nice to be so close to the beach - there were quite a few things to do close by the hotel as well - thanks for the review!

[MDSue]

Love the pics! Getting excited for ours which is about 70 days away. I will tag this thread and check back often. I will be anxiously awaiting some ship pictures. I hope you have an awesome time and will look forward to your review during or when you get back.

 

I am freaking over the top excited now....thanks to you! :D

 

 

Thanks, I tried to post some ship pics yesterday, but it was slow loading. We have a sea day tomorrow and I will try to post some more. If you have any special requests let me know. We are really enjoying the ship- the food has been quite good.

 

You'll have a great time!

[MDSue]

We stayed at the Bahia Mar in FLL last year pre-cruise - we were in the older building but the price was right especially since we had booked last minute - it was nice to be so close to the beach - there were quite a few things to do close by the hotel as well - thanks for the review!

 

We've stayed at the Bahia Mar twice now, and I really like the location. The water taxi is right next door and we found that an excellent way to get around. Having a beach right across the street is nice, too!

[MDSue]

Hi All, We had a great day in Freeport today. The stop wouldn’t have been my first choice, but we were happy to get any stop over an extra sea day because of the Grand Turk closure. We were scheduled to arrive at 7am, so we put in a breakfast delivery for 7am. At 6:45, our breakfast arrived and it was still dark out- wasn’t sure I really wanted to wake up that early! - but we always like to maximize our port days and get as much port time as possible.

We dawdled a bit, and left the ship around 8am and grabbed a cab to the Port Lucaya area. The Freeport dock is in a very industrial area, so you really need and excursion or plan for this stop. Since we only had until 1:30, we decided to make today a beach and shop day. When we arrived in the shopping area in Lucaya, barely any shops were open. I was beginning to think today would be a bust since it was Sunday and the shops were closed. It turns out we were just too early. Later on in the morning pretty much all the shops and the straw market were open.

Since the stores were closed when we arrived, we walked down to the beach area. The surf was a bit rough, and the beach wasn’t the nicest beach I’ve been too, but it turned out to be fine for a few hours of lounging. I didn’t go in the water other than to get my feet wet, but plenty of others did play in the water despite the rough surf. There were jet ski rentals and banana boat rides. It was too windy for the sailboat rentals.

I walked down the beach a bit and checked out the Grand Lucayan Resort. They had a nice pool, and the beach area was nicer there.

After an hour or two, we headed back to the shopping area and bought a few souvenirs. All in all, Freeport was fine for a substitute stop. If I came again, I’d probably choose an excursion for this port.

I'm going to try and upload some pictures tonite and post some more tomorrow. So far the computer speed is not too bad. Hoping the Internet gods will be kind to me and I'll have plenty of picture to share

[MDSue]

The atrium area- Can you say psychedelic copper tigers. It's hard to see from this pic, but much of the walls has a wood grain finish that resembles tiger skin

 

[MDSue]

After a warm few hours on the beach, we decided to get an ice cold drink in the Lucaya shopping area

 

 

Will post more pics tomorrow