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My Freedom Review - Kinda "Live" but not really with lots of pics

sayvan

By sayvan,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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sayvan

sayvan

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Hey... I am back... Sorry about the delay but you know...life and of course the Olympics.....Go Canada Go!

 

So we had just finished off our sailaway day and we were now nicely tucked in our beds.... this one in case you forgot... for a long nights cruising sleep...

 

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I never like to sleep in when I am on vacation... I can do that at home when I have to get up for work! So I always set my alarm so I can get up and have an early start to the day and hopefully get some nice shots around the ship with my camera before the crowds hit the Lido deck!

 

Now, on this day we would have our first Sea day. So up I got (very quietly so as not to wake my lovely wife, who would not be so lovely in attitude if I woke her, vacation or not!) to head up three decks (we were on deck 7) to see the sun crawl up out of the ocean and set up for the day.... So up to deck 10 I went.

 

When I arrived out on deck, I realized that I was a tad late and the sun had already started to make its way up into the sky so I quickly set up and positioned myself at the railing and this is what I was greeted with...

 

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What a gorgeous way to start the day!

 

I walked around a bit enjoying the view and the warm air on my skin and then I proceeded into the Lido to grab a bite to eat. Now I haven't said much about the food but the Lido Breakfast Buffett was pretty good with your regular selections. I tried the scrambled eggs but I just have to tell ya... don't try the scrambled eggs! So after that I would usually get some porridge, a hard boiled egg and some cereal ...grapefruit as well. Sorry no pictures of this stuff..

 

After filling me belly I headed back down to see what Vanda was up to and she was getting herself ready to come up on deck. So up on deck we went and found ourselves a nice little spot on Deck 10. We usually like to hang out on deck most of the day on the port side just to left of the big screen.... There were no chair hogs on this cruise. We never had a hard time finding a place to lounge around and we found our fellow cruisers to be very very friendly.

 

Well there was one chair hog and I managed to get a picture of this particular hog.. I heard the hog was from Miami... use to work for the vice or something...

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sayvan

sayvan

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hmmm... a Miami Vice... turned out there where no chair hogs on this cruise after all....

 

So the day continued and we spent most of it doing pretty much nothing... for these two Canadians we just wanted to enjoy the warmth we were feeling. Now I have to admit the sunrise I had earlier didn't seem to last that long as the clouds quickly moved in and for the most part of the day it seemed we were chasing the clouds...even had a few rain drops for a very short period of time. Overall tho, it was all good!

 

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Earlier in the day they had a couple of the crew come out and do one of their Ice Carving demonstrations... I always find that kind of "cool" to watch.

 

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and of course the finished Indian Sculpture

 

 

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After a full day outside we then headed back to our room to get ready for the night and dinner at the Posh dining room. This would be our first of two formal nights.

 

After dinner Vanda was feeling tired so she headed back to the room (or did she.... I am pretty sure I saw her head in the direction of the Casino) and I made my way to the Theatre to see the evenings show. Now we don't always head for the theatre when cruising. It really depends. However, on this cruise this would be the only one I made it to. Tonight's show featured the Freedom dancers and the live band. It was pretty good but I cant recall what it was called...sorry about that folks...

 

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sayvan

sayvan

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With that the show came to an end... I headed back to the room... Vanda was already tucked into her slumber for the night and this was waiting for us on the edge of the bed..

 

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and so another day came to an end... tomorrow we would wake up in Grand Turk...

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sayvan

sayvan

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After a good nights rest it was time to get up and head for the upper decks for some breakfast and of course the sunrise. We were just making our way into port as I made way upstairs.

 

Walking out onto the deck the weather was beautiful. The sun wasn't quite all the way up yet but the warm air felt so nice. It was time to snap a few shots of us making our way to the dock.

 

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Freedom looked great as she made her way into port as the sun climbed into the sky.

 

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I loved the colour of the water in and around Grand Turk

 

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The last time we were in Grand Turk I don't recall this ship just off the shore that had run aground but nonetheless it did make for a good photo op. A quick Google search indicates that this was a victim of Hurricane Sandy.

 

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sayvan

sayvan

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Now this was our second trip into Grand Turk. The first time we basically spent our day at the beach and Margaritaville. This time we decided we should see a little more of the Island so we booked the 'Coast to Coast Grand Turk Safari'.

 

The tour was $69.99 per person and at the end of the day, although over priced as most ship excursion are, it was very nice and gave you a snap shot of the Island which is what we wanted. The tour was in an open air safari type truck and the tour was pretty full. It lasted about 3 hours. This was perfect for us as we still wanted to ensure that we would be able to spend some time at the beach and Margaritaville. Our tour got under way around 8 am.

 

There would be 3 stops on the tour where you could get out and roam around and there were some very brief stops to snap a few pictures. I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.... some of these were taken as the truck was moving so my apologies in advance .....

 

Off we went with Freedom in the background....

 

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Of course Grand Turk is well known for its role as the splash down location for NASA in the early years of the space program.

 

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I always enjoy the local culture as well...horseback seemed to be a popular method of transportation.

 

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There were a lot of Donkey's on this island.

 

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The beaches were gorgeous...

 

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Bermudian style architecture...

 

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sayvan

sayvan

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A beautiful Catamaran silently sits in the waters of Grand Turk

 

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Some more buildings...

 

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The first stop was along Front Street in Grand Turk and here we were allotted some shopping time (about 15-20 minutes) and as I had no interest in that I took the opportunity to find some shots to take... My beautiful wife was walking around the beach front and I thought what a great place to start...

 

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and a selfie of the two of us...

 

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sayvan

sayvan

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We actually ended up spending a bit longer on this stop because a few people on the tour no doubt considerate of their fellow guests decided they needed longer to shop while everyone waited on the bus for them to return.... ho hum...

 

Here is some more from the stop..

 

Our Safari Truck

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The flowers/bushes were very nice as well....

 

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sayvan

sayvan

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Every Street seemed to lead toward a beach..

 

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A shopping cart sits alone and abandoned along the water front

 

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Grand Turk was at one time famous for its salt mines and here we see one of the remaining salt pools.

 

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Our second stop on this tour would be at Little Bluff and North Creek which was a mangrove area. If you like to collect shells this would be the spot for you. We were also introduced to some of the marine life that abounds along this part of the tour...

 

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sayvan

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As we strolled along the mangrove area we were treated to some fascinating sea life (don't ask what all of these are cause I have no idea for most).... oh and none of the creatures used in these photos were harmed in any way...

 

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sayvan

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This I know to be a Conch... and some harm did come to one of these as the tour guides served one up for us all...

 

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The area in and around the Mangroves was just beautiful. The Colour of the water was so blue and clear it was like walking in a pool.

 

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sayvan

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Interesting in that this little island looked to be made up of the under body of old cars... the guide told us that this was a result of different hurricanes and storms over the years... who knows really but it did look odd...

 

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A reef just off in the distance..

 

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Shell searching...

 

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sayvan

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The last stop on our tour would take us up to the Historic Lighthouse. This lighthouse was built in 1852. In February and March this is supposed to be an ideal location to watch for Whales. We were not so lucky but the views were spectacular at this spot.

 

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After our stop at the lighthouse we were on our way back to the cruise port area when we ran into some Flamingos hanging out in one of the salt pools.

 

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More from around the Island...

 

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As we approached the cruise port you can see off in the distance Freedom and another Holland America ship...

 

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The tour as I said earlier, lasted close to three hours. We were getting back to the cruise ship area just before 11 am so we still had lots of time to enjoy the beach and Margaritaville and those shenanigans will be next... Hope your enjoying this so far...

 

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Lulu01

Lulu01

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Hi , absolutely loving your review so far , we will be taking our first cruise on the Freedom on June 1st to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary , we are from the UK , but are regular visitors to Florida , really looking forward to our ports of call in the caribbean , Grand Turk loves amazing , you are giving us a fab insight to the ship & everything on offer , looking forward to the rest of your review , the pics are breathtaking , thank you .

 

 

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sayvan

sayvan

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Hi , absolutely loving your review so far , we will be taking our first cruise on the Freedom on June 1st to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary , we are from the UK , but are regular visitors to Florida , really looking forward to our ports of call in the caribbean , Grand Turk loves amazing , you are giving us a fab insight to the ship & everything on offer , looking forward to the rest of your review , the pics are breathtaking , thank you .

 

 

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Thanks.... I am glad you are enjoying the review. Oh and Happy Anniversary!

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