Carnival Freedom Review w/ Pictures (January 2014)

[ch27088]

Subscribed and can't wait to get started!!

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Hey, OP!

 

I like your signature!!! :D

 

While you are at it, I see you are a FL Res (so jealous! this year is HORRIBLE) anyway I didn't see any DCLs on your history, but I think there are FLR specials (and short notice Guarantee sales anyway) for DCL going on about the time you are going to be in Disney. You might think about adding a 3/4 day. Wow, they are WONDERFUL! We are sandwiching 2 parks days on both weekends of our 4 day Magic in May. Its a WONDERFUL way to get that Disney feeling with nice dining, incredible shows, and the best staterooms, oh and Castaway Cay! Woohoo! That's the only way to get there, on DCL. Oh, if I were a FLR!!!! Its my dream.

Edited February 6, 2014 by TwinPrincessMermaids

[navybaby1113]

Could you post the fun times (capers) for the cruise. We are leaving in 30 days and would like to see what they have planned for us ahead of time.

Thanks,

DC

 

Our Fun Times probably won't be very helpful to you because our itinerary was an unusual one. They only sail it like once a year. I do have them though if you have any specific questions.

[navybaby1113]

Hey, OP!

 

I like your signature!!! :D

 

While you are at it, I see you are a FL Res (so jealous! this year is HORRIBLE) anyway I didn't see any DCLs on your history, but I think there are FLR specials (and short notice Guarantee sales anyway) for DCL going on about the time you are going to be in Disney. You might think about adding a 3/4 day. Wow, they are WONDERFUL! We are sandwiching 2 parks days on both weekends of our 4 day Magic in May. Its a WONDERFUL way to get that Disney feeling with nice dining, incredible shows, and the best staterooms, oh and Castaway Cay! Woohoo! That's the only way to get there, on DCL. Oh, if I were a FLR!!!! Its my dream.

 

I would love to take a Disney cruise, but they're so much more expensive than a Carnival cruise! Sadly we wouldn't be able to fit in one when we go down to DW because my husband is a teacher and it's during his spring break. I will get to take one eventually though!

[navybaby1113]

Okay, let's get some more of this review going! I'm hoping to get through day 1 today. Might not happen though.

 

Our room steward had left our copies of our Fun Times in our room, along with our free past guest drink coupons. We glanced over the Fun Times real quick before heading to lunch.

 

We went up to the Lido deck for lunch. DH had to go straight for the Mongolian (he loves that stuff!) and I just grabbed some food off of the buffet. The theme for the buffet today was Italian. I also got some beef from the carving station.

 

After we finished lunch, we decided to try out some of the desserts. I was very pleased to see they actually had real cheesecake! This was a nice change to the normal Jello crap they have at the lido buffet. They actually had real cheesecake at the buffet every single day of our cruise. I hope this change stays because I was very happy with it!

 

After lunch, we decided to head down to the room to take a nap. FTTF was highly worth it because were napping before anyone else could even get to their rooms!

 

We were woken up around 2-ish by our bags being delivered. We went ahead and unpacked before muster. There was tons of space in the room for all our stuff and we were able to fit all our empty suitcases under the bed.

 

While we were unpacking, the Steakhouse slipped a card under our door notifying us of our reservation for tonight at 7pm. I knew that the Steakhouse experience would take about 2 hours and there were some things happening around the ship at 8pm that we wanted to participate in. I called the Steakhouse and asked if they had any earlier reservations. They moved our reservations to the first one of the evening, which was 6pm.

 

Finally we heard the announcements for muster. We waited in our room for a little while because I didn't want to be stuck in the back. Well, apparently everyone else had the same idea, because we were the second row from the back. Muster took extra long this cruise because there was a large population of french speaking guests on the ship, so every announcement had to made in both english and french.

[navybaby1113]

Some of the other ships starting sailing away while we were at muster drill, so as soon as it was over, we headed down to the room to grab my camera. We got up to the deck right before we started moving.

 

The sailaway from Ft. Lauderdale is relatively short, but it's fun because you have all the houses and hotels there. A lot of people will go out on their balconies and cheer and wave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[navybaby1113]

 

 

 

After we got out into the open ocean, we headed back to our room to change for dinner. While in there, we noticed the pilot boat right next to our room, so we took a few pictures of him leaving our ship.

 

 

 

[winddawn]

Your pictures turned out beautifully. I'm living vicariously through your review and pictures. Thank you so much. It makes a cold winter night so much more bearable!

[navybaby1113]

Your pictures turned out beautifully. I'm living vicariously through your review and pictures. Thank you so much. It makes a cold winter night so much more bearable!

 

Aww...thank you!

[kids1stcruise]

Any idea when dry dock will be:rolleyes:

[navybaby1113]

Time for the Steakhouse and some food porn!

 

We arrived at the Steakhouse about 10 minutes before our reservation. There were a couple other couples there waiting as well. The hostess was no where to be found until 6pm. As soon as 6pm rolled around, she sat us couple by couple. We got a nice table by the window.

 

The first thing the waitress brought us was some bread with accompaniments. I don't have pictures of the bread, but the foccaccia was absolutely amazing. The tomato chutney that came with it was also really good.

 

 

Then, we were brought an amuse-bouche to start. They gave me a little tomato soup and DH a mini hamburger. I really wanted to try the mini hamburger (and don't like tomato soup), so we switch. That little mini hamburger was one of the most delicious things I have ever had.

 

 

 

Next, they brought out the appetizers. I ordered a shrimp cocktail. The shrimp were huge! The cocktail sauce tasted like the one they use in the main dining room. DH didn't really like any of the appetizers, but decided to try the Beef Carpaccio. He said it was good, but nothing special. I tried a bite and wasn't a fan. Tasted really bland to me.

 

 

 

Edited February 7, 2014 by navybaby1113

[navybaby1113]

Oh, so I forgot to mention that since we ate in the Steakhouse the first night, they gave us a choice of red or white. We chose the white. It definitely wasn't an expensive wine, but it was a nice addition.

 

After we were done with our appetizers, they brought out the salad. I ordered a Ceasar salad and it was delicious. DH ordered the tomatoes with gorgonzola. He said it was good, but huge! He was a little annoyed that they didn't just have a standard salad in the Steakhouse for picky people.

 

 

 

For our entrees, we both new we had to get steaks! I ordered the filet mignon and it was cooked perfectly. I had it with the bernaise on the side. DH ordered the NY Strip and his was actually a tad bit overcooked, but still tasted delicious. He had his with the three peppercorn sauce on the side.

 

 

 

 

We both ordered a baked potato as our side.

 

Edited February 7, 2014 by navybaby1113

[navybaby1113]

DH loves tiramisu, so he couldn't pass up the chocolate sampler. Sadly the picture of the entire thing didn't come out, but I have a couple of the individual cups. He said everything on the chocolate sampler was absolutely delicious!

 

 

 

I wanted to try the slice of cheesecake as big as my head and I'm glad I did! It was amazing! I wasn't able to eat the entire thing, so our waitress offered to cover it so I could take it back to our room.

 

 

 

Everything we ate in the Steakhouse was delicious and it was well worth the money. I'm not sure if we would do it again because DH is picky, but I'm very glad we did it once.

[cruisingmama23]

We'll be celebrating our 20th anniversary on the Freedom in September. I'm enjoying your review and pictures.:)

[SMSACE6]

Im loving your review.

 

I was on the Freedom four years ago and had an awesome cruise, and since then have had to cancel two cruises, due to family issues at home, so now I am booked on the Freedom once again for an 8 day later this year, and soooo looking forward to it.

 

Your review and photos help me bide the time while waiting. Thanks for taking the time to post.:)

[winddawn]

Everything looks delicious! The last time I went to the steakhouse, the server cut the stalks out of the center of the romaine lettuce leaves. She did this just to the side of our table where we could watch her prepare the Caesar salad for us. I loved that. To this day now when I make Caesar salad at home, I cut the stalks out of the middle of the romaine leaves just like she did. It really improves the quality of the salad. I liked too that they only used the hearts of the romaine lettuce and none of the stringy outer leaves. They made me a Caesar salad snob I guess! Lol.

[navybaby1113]

Day 1 Continued

 

The Steakhouse took us about 2 hours. We were out around 8pm. We went to the theater to watch Game Show Mania. DH has been on it before, so it's always interesting watching other contestants. This time they played it a little different. The audience was allowed to help the contestants answer the questions. This actually made it a little interesting because some of the contestants were hard of hearing and came up with some weird answers based on what the audience said.

 

We stayed in the theater until the Welcome Aboard show. Even though we've seen this 5 times before, we still love it! It's gets us excited for the rest of the cruise. I was a little disappointed this time because Brad did not introduce all of the entertainment staff. We didn't figure out who the Assistant Cruise Director was until like the 2nd to last day on the ship!

 

We got back to our room and was sad not to see a towel animal. We glanced through the Fun Times for our sea day tomorrow and then went to bed.

Edited February 8, 2014 by navybaby1113

[navybaby1113]

Sunday, January 26th (Sea Day #1)

 

I love to actually catch up on sleep while on vacation, so we stayed in bed until about 10am. We decided to head to the SeaDay Brunch. It was held in the Posh dining room (this is the aft dining room on the Freedom). We got seated immediately at a table for 2.

 

DH loves the Huevos Rancheros that they have at the brunch, so that's what he ordered.

 

 

I decided to try something new, so I ordered the french toast encrusted with honey nut cheerios. I would not recommended it. The cheerios tasted stale and it didn't give the french toast any flavor at all. I barely ate any of it.

 

 

After brunch, we decided to play a couple trivia games. DH won our first ship on the stick for the cruise with comedy movie trivia. I was absolutely no help because I hadn't heard of most of the movies.

 

One of my favorite places to go on the ship is the deck outside of the lobby. There is rarely anyone else out there, so you can watch the ocean go by quietly. We decided to hang out there for a little while before heading to lunch.

 

 

 

[navybaby1113]

We went up to the Lido buffet for lunch. We both decided to grab a hamburger and fries from the grill. I really missed Guy's Burgers on this cruise. :( I will love the Freedom even more when she gets the upgrades because they I can have a delicious burger! My DH does love the old grill though because he can load his fries up with chili, cheese, and sour cream. :)

 

 

The second day of a cruise is always one of my favorites because they have my favorite desserts at the buffet: Napoleons and key lime pie. Both of these are so delicious! DH also grabbed some pineapple cake thing.

 

 

After lunch, we decided to come back to the room and take a nap. Can't you tell we love to sleep. :D

[navybaby1113]

We got up and got ready for dinner around 6pm. We stopped at the Taste Bar on the way, which was from the Steakhouse. It was a Short Rib Croquette and Pumpkin Bisque. Very delicious.

 

 

When we got down to the dining room around 6:15pm, there was a huge line of people waiting to get in (if I didn't mention before, we had anytime dining). We got to the front and was told there were no tables for two available, so we were given a pager. We waited in the lobby for about 40 minutes before our pager went off.

 

When we got back to the hostess station, they tried to put us at a shared table. We told them that we had requested a table for two. They told us it would be 30 more minutes and gave us another pager. We were a little annoyed at this point. Thankfully it only took about 10 more minutes for the pager to go off and for us to get a table.

 

Service was ridiculously slow tonight. The only part of our wait team we ever saw was our head waitress. She was doing everything with absolutely no help.

 

For appetizers, I ordered the spaghetti carbonara which was absolutely delicious. DH ordered the strawberry bisque.

 

 

 

In between our apps and entrees, the waiters sang a song for us.

 

 

For entrees, we both ordered the prime rib and I also ordered a lobster. DH's prime rib was fine, but mine was extremely fatty.

 

 

[navybaby1113]

We had tried the caramel apple dessert before and weren't really fans, but DH decided to try it again. He still didn't like it. I was stuffed, so I decided to just order some pineapple sorbet. This was fabulous!

 

 

 

After dinner we went back to the room to change. We were greeted by an elephant and also our invites to the past guest party, which would be held tomorrow after we left Grand Turk.

 

 

We still had some time before the show that night, so we decided to stop by the Piano Bar. After we sat down, I ordered a drink. The waitress came back a couple minutes later and said my card was declined. DH gave her his. She said it still gave her an error, but she was able to push it through.

 

After I received my drink, we went down to the Guest Services to figure out what was going on. We got service immediately using the Platinum/Diamond/FTTF line. They said there was no credit card attached to our account. I was very annoyed at this point since I had tried to give it to the lady at check-in. So, we walked all the way down to our cabin, got our credit card, and they attached it to our card. It didn't take too long to figure out, but it was a little frustrating that we had to take care of that instead of relaxing in the piano bar.

 

After we got the card situation worked out, it was almost time for the show. Tonight's show was Big Easy. For some reason we never saw this on our first Freedom cruise. This was a great show and I would highly recommend checking it out if you get the chance.

 

After the show, we went back to our room to go to bed. We had to be up early for an excursion in Grand Turk.

[RLccweems]

Loving your trip report! I'm booked on this ship for March 30th -- I'm a first timer so, I'm enjoying all the details. Keep it coming ----

[navybaby1113]

Monday, January 27th (Grand Turk)

 

We had an early excursion, so we set up a wake-up cal for 6:30am (ugh...earlier than I get up for work!). Went to the lido deck for breakfast.

 

 

Ship docked at 7am. We had to meet our tour at 8am, so we decided to get off around 7:30am. All of the tour stands are in the courtyard after you walk through the shopping center. I can't remember the name of the company that ran our tour, but the name of the tour is Ultimate Snorkeling Adventure and we booked it through Carnival.

 

There were about 6 of us waiting for the tour to start when a Carnival employee came over to us. He told there was a delay because the Westerdam was docking and they had to close the pier. Finally we got to leave about 8:30am.

 

On our way out to our first stop they passed out our equipment and then gave us a safety briefing on how to get off the boat and how to snorkel. They gave us fins, snorkel masks, and inflatable life vests (they gave us the option to inflate them or not). They mentioned there were also pool noodles available for use if you wanted them.

 

Our first stop was at the drop-off. The waves were very choppy and they mentioned the undercurrent was really strong. I decided to grab a pool noodle to help myself feel a little more confident in the water.

 

The guides got in the water with us and fed the fish. A little while after we were in the water, one of the guides took a group out to the drop off. I stayed behind, but DH went out there.

 

Great stop and we saw a ton of fish!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2014 by navybaby1113

[navybaby1113]

I got back on the boat a little earlier than everyone else because I was getting tired. I wanted to make sure I had enough energy to snorkel at the next spot.

 

They blew the whistle and everyone got back on the boat. We were at the first stop for about 30 minutes. After everyone was onboard, we headed to the next stop which was a reef.

 

I was one of the first people off the boat at this stop and as soon as I jumped in the water, the first thing I saw was a shark! We had a couple nurse snarks swim with us the entire time we were out there. One of the guides even grabbed one so that we were able to touch it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[navybaby1113]

 

The current was strong at this stop too and it kept pushing us back to the boat, so it was hard to stay around the reef. I ended up getting back on the boat about 15 minutes after being there and others followed closely behind. I think we were all pretty tired at that point.

 

The coral wasn't terribly impressive at either location, but we did see a ton of fish. The excursion would have been a lot better if it wasn't for the wind and current. It just tired all of us out way too easily.

 

I had snorkeled only once before this trip and it was a horrible experience. This time was a lot better. I felt a lot safer with this crew than the excursion I had previously done (the other excursion was in Belize).

 

On our way back to the ship they gave us a small tour of the coast line and showed us some of the different sites.

 

 

 

We returned to the ship about 10:45am. Our excursion was definitely shorter than advertised, but I'm thinking it was because people got back on the boat earlier than they were required to.