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Home from our Sept 6 Freedom 8-day

JenMJM

By JenMJM,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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JenMJM

JenMJM

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I have different information written up in my latest blog post, but here is our trip summary.

 

Embarkation:

 

Parking: Park N Go Fort Lauderdale - awesome!

 

Check-in at Port: Quick through the security check - didn't even open up our bag full of Coke and Sprite or ask about the 2 bottles of wine. Slowed way down standing in line for the actual check-in. They ran out of ice water in the waiting area. - just OK

 

Luggage - not delivered to our room until almost 6PM. We checked in around noon.

 

Dining:

 

Ate in the Steakhouse on the first night - best experience yet with both food and service BUT our reservations were at 6:30. The diners with the 7:30 and after reservations were there for 3 hours versus our comfortable and well-timed 2 hours.

 

We had YTD. First two nights in MDR in two different sections - both were sloooooow. Lucked out the 3rd night with Yatna from Indonesia in the back right section of Chic. Requested his section for the rest of the trip. No complaints about the food - overall very good every night. Almost never a line getting to dinner around 6:30.

 

I noticed that the eggs on the buffet at breakfast were never rubbery or strange. They were the best scrambled eggs consistently on Carnival so far. The tacos at Blue Iguana - wish I could find some like them close to home.

 

A disappointment - I really wanted the coconut shrimp in the Red Frog Pub, but the Freedom's RFP doesn't have a kitchen.

 

7441 Interior: AC was just fine, never had an issue with noise. Room is in great shape.

 

Entertainment:

Took advantage of the Dive-in Movies for the first time. Loved that as a night activity option.

 

Shows in main lounge were hit or miss. "88 Keys" was fantastic.

 

The comedians put me to sleep at the beginning of the cruise, and we didn't find time to go back for the second set of comedians. There were also no comedian visits during the Punchliner brunches.

 

Around the ship:

The CHOGs didn't seem to be too bad. If there were towels on chairs, you usually saw the people back and forth on them.

 

Public areas were all nice and clean. The new sanitation stations on the pool deck by Guy's were interesting. Automatic soap/water/dryer.

 

Went to the gym four times - always clean, and everyone was very respectful. Never too busy to find somewhere to lift or grab an elliptical.

 

Cruise director - Jen Baxter - just OK.

 

Debarkation:

Sloooooow with a long line at customs to look forward to. The ramp on/off the ship seemed to be causing a large back-up since there were so many wheel-chaired guests. The top of the ramp is narrow enough for only one person, so lines stop when wheel chairs are coming and going. The ramp is also quite hot with no moving air.

 

Overall:

Would definitely cruise the Freedom again out of Fort Lauderdale. We had a very relaxing trip with very few children and a lot of very nice retirees due to the time of year.

Edited by JenMJM
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JenMJM

JenMJM

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Thanks for posting, 12 days and counting! :D Any shore excursions you'd recommend? Favorite foods in MDR?

 

Check my blog for my port write-ups. The Freedom review is the one at the top and has information on what we did at our ports. I don't know what your itinerary is, but feel free to peruse more of the cruise blog posts if you are looking for ideas outside of Antigua, St. Thomas, and San Juan.

 

Favorite food in the main dining room: cheese plate as one of my apps, chateau briande (sp?), lamb, prime rib, cappuccino ice cream pie, and the grand marnier souffle on the last night. We ate a LOT more than that, but those are the ones that stick out most in my mind right now without looking at a menu.

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YB Nrml

YB Nrml

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I read your blog, good info. Our itinerary is different, Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Kitts and St. Maarten. Love the Chateaubriand ( I had to Google it to spell it correctly!) and order it whenever it's on the menu. I'll be talking to DH about the parking in Ft. Lauderdale, that price is pretty awesome.

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Ontario_Cruiser

Ontario_Cruiser

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Entertainment:

Took advantage of the Dive-in Movies for the first time. Loved that as a night activity option.

 

Shows in main lounge were hit or miss. "88 Keys" was fantastic.

 

The comedians put me to sleep at the beginning of the cruise, and we didn't find time to go back for the second set of comedians. There were also no comedian visits during the Punchliner brunches.

 

FYI - they have gotten rid of the comedians at the brunches over a year ago, and no longer call them Punchliner brunches. The menu is largely the same, but now it is a "Seaday" brunch. Good move, IMO, as the comedians did not add to the experience.

 

I was on the Freedom in August, and were very disappointed in the shows. We did not see '88Keys' though, which was shown on the last day, because our experience with the others was not good.

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NCTribeFan

NCTribeFan

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OK, so I found the link to your blog. No, not the same itinerary. But I did see your countdown clock for the 11/1 Splendor. I don't recall seeing you on the Roll Call. Of course, given that there's been over 2,600 posts, that wouldn't be surprising. I'm also from NE Ohio (Wickliffe) originally.

 

I had Jen Baxter as CD on a Fascination cruise and did not care for her. At all. Normally, I don't notice a CD unless they're terribly loud and obtrusive, as I don't "do" a lot of ship activities. So, let's just say that I really noticed her. The CD schedule shows her leaving on 12/1. Since we sail on 11/29, I hope that is the case that she really is leaving the ship during the cruise.

 

There was a recent thread about the CDs and I dared to post there about how much I didn't like her and was attacked for being "so mean" and had some posts deleted. LOL. How absurd!

 

Anyway, thanks for the review. I rather like the smaller ships (love the Spirit class) but I'm looking forward to seeing Freedom with all the 2.0 upgrades. Especially looking forward to the Red Frog Pub. :D I love the Fish & Chips and have lunch up there every chance I get. They have an ahi tuna and watermelon appetizer that is just delicious!

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JenMJM

JenMJM

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NC TribeFan - I don't post much on the CC roll call and have just recently started posting more on that other page. I'm from Akron originally. We did your itinerary on the Breeze. Here is that direct link: http://sunshinenwine.blogspot.com/search/label/Southern%20Caribbean%20Ports

 

I swear the Punchliner logo was still on the menu, and the menu was exactly the same as before. I didn't really enjoy the comedians at brunch, anyway, so no loss there.

 

As for "88 Key," I definitely wasn't expecting much since the other show we saw wasn't that great. Glad we went, though, because it was awesome!

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LindaJSteele

LindaJSteele

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I guess people have different expectations and opinions. We're not fans of these new Playlist shows, but the ones on Freedom were far better than any others we've seen. .with the exception of Epic Rock and perhaps Studio VIP. We were on this same cruise..we had really good service and the food was better than usual. I'm sorry she's moving to Galveston!

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

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JenMJM

JenMJM

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How was the live music on the Freedom? Who and how was the band that played in the casino? Any good guitar players in the Red Frog Pub? Did you go to the piano bar? If so, who and how was piano player? Thanks!:)

 

I don't pay attention to names much, but the guy with the guitar was pretty good. He sang on Lido and other areas around the ship. The band that played in the casino and Red Frog Pub were ok. Not bad at all, but just not super impressive.

 

We aren't piano bar people on ships so I can't comment on the talent. The piano is in a room next to Alchemy Bar. I don't recall seeing a bar area in the actual piano lounge when we wandered through.

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winddawn

winddawn

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Enjoyed your review. I was on Freedom the week before you. Another thing I noticed was how steep the ramp is for embarkation and debarkation. I saw a few passengers struggling with that, and I can imagine how difficult that must be with a wheelchair. I've never seen one that steep in my 30 cruises.

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JenMJM

JenMJM

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Enjoyed your review. I was on Freedom the week before you. Another thing I noticed was how steep the ramp is for embarkation and debarkation. I saw a few passengers struggling with that, and I can imagine how difficult that must be with a wheelchair. I've never seen one that steep in my 30 cruises.

 

Exactly! Hot, steep, and narrow.

 

We're the steakhouse up charge options available in mdr..any menu photos

 

I don't recall seeing those options.

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