Carnival Freedom 12-day Repo: Full review with 100+ pictures

[Jae_Sun]

Great review. I had fun during the cruise despite not enjoying the food much this trip.

[kybluecruiser]

Glad to see you back with carnival. Thanks for the review.

[flatman]

Another show that I enjoyed a lot was "Getaway Island". Any show that features Kenny Chesney's song "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem" is all right with me. Why wasn't this song -- which is all about taking a vacation to a beach in Mexico -- played at least 20 times a day on a 12-day cruise that finishes up with a stop in Cozumel?!?! Don't get me started. I'm saving my rant about the background music played throughout the ship... for later.

 

A musical number from the "Getaway Island" show... featuring the 1958 hit

 

This brings up something that I find interesting about the "Playlist Production" shows on Carnival. Back in my high school days, I was fascinated with sound and lighting for the theater. I volunteered on the stage technical crew of just about every theatrical production during my high school years. Sound, lighting, and set design for the theater have always been of interest to me. It's come a long way since I worked behind the scenes on stage shows during the 1970s!

 

Back in those days, they would paint a physical backdrop. The best stages had a flying loft over the stage, so that various new backgrounds could be dropped down on to the stage in between acts. If the stage didn't have a flying loft, you'd push in a physical backdrop from the wings. It was that way on Carnival stage productions for a long time, too. Then along came "Playlist Productions" and the advent of digital screens. Take a look at this shot from "Getaway Island"... where it's hard to tell where the physical set ends and the digital screen begins.

 

 

A still shot of the digital backdrop doesn't do it justice, though... as they are video screens, so the production designers are free to unleash their creativity and introduce motion in to the backdrops. Take a look at this video from "Getaway Island", which really shows how adding motion to the video backdrops can take the fun to a whole new level that we couldn't do in the old days:

 

[YOUTUBE]0QZc8EWYKAg[/YOUTUBE]

 

Please note that the flickering lines that appear on the video screens in my little video clip are NOT seen by the audience. That's a function of my video camera not being synched with their video screen. To the people in the audience, the video screens appear crystal clear.

 

Another one of the new Playlist Production shows is "Heart Of Soul". As you might guess from the title, this one features romantic R&B and soul songs. The songs in the show are from artists such as Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, and Al Green. Here are a couple of photos:

 

 

 

It's cool how they coordinated the green lasers with the green lighting and the green "Aurora Borealis" display on the video screen.

 

The fourth of the four new stage shows was "88 Keys", featuring the music of famous piano players such as Elton John, Billy Joel, and Jerry Lee Lewis. I didn't shoot any photos or videos of this particular show, as I didn't get there early enough to get a seat with a straight-on view. I like that you don't need reservations to see a show on Carnival (reservations were required for the shows on the Royal Caribbean and Norwegian ships I was on last year), but it's a good idea to arrive quite a bit early to get the best seats. "88 Keys" and "Heart Of Soul" also have a pre-show... which starts 15 minutes before the posted show time... and the pre-show really just segues right in to the main show, so you need to arrive well in advance of the pre-show to get a proper seat.

 

Since "88 Keys" is all about piano-centric artists, the pre-show features the entertainer from the ship's piano bar. He plays a roll in the main portion of "88 Keys", too. Unfortunately, the piano bar entertainer on the Carnival Freedom, Russell Blues, was the worst piano bar performer I've seen in 20+ cruises... so this was, by far, the weakest of the four shows. But I enjoyed all four of the shows... and it was especially cool that all four were new to me. My guess is that these are the shows I'll be seeing on all my Carnival cruises for the next several years!

 

It's fun to see big production shows during a cruise, as I would just never go out to see live theater at home. The one downside to seeing four Playlist Production shows during a 12-day cruise is that all four shows have the exact same cast. The songs are different, the sets are different, the costumes are different, the choreography is different... but it's all the same people each time. Imagine watching music videos on MTV, but with every music video featuring the exact same performers every time. (Of course, I am speaking of the days when MTV actually played music videos... I'm just that old!)

 

Loving your review and your knowledge of shows and sets etc. We are going on the Valor in April with one of the Carnival cruise ship dancers in our group. I'm sure that will be very entertaining to pick her brain. One of my sisters was a professional dancer traveling with the Dizzy Gillespie Jazz Band back in the 60's and 70's. We can't wait and sharing your knowledge is going to make it that much more interesting.

[kmarie10531]

Very helpful I am an amateur photographer, and always appreciate tips from others .

This is my prized picture of the Freedom that I took in June while she was docked in Curacao.

somone once told me " You will get sick of cruising " I smiled and said

" Only when I'm dead "

[ladybugcruiser]

Enjoying your review! Awesome photos. One quick correction regarding the Conquest class ships. I love this class also for the same reasons you mentioned. However, I don't think Valor has had the 2.0 upgrades. It was scheduled but was continually postponed and they are now saying mid2016. I was scheduled for Valor out of San Juan in September but they switched ships and we got upgraded to Liberty. Yeah. Love those Guy's Burger's.

[Spaniel Lover]

I don't think Valor has had the 2.0 upgrades. It was scheduled but was continually postponed and they are now saying mid2016.

 

I was not aware of that!

 

Thanks for the correction. We sailed on the Valor years ago, and then I heard that she was going to get the upgrades and just assumed that she did. I didn't realize that it never happened!

 

It's good to set the record straight.

[Babycat]

I did notice the optical illusion in that balcony shot. I was equally amazed by the dynamic color as well.

[Kobayashi]

Solid review! You're a very knowledgeable and thorough writer. It was a pleasure reading this. I'm going back and reading some of the links you provided about photography tips. Thank you!

[sjn911]

Thank you Slim Jim...I absolutely loved this review..you are great at giving the positives and the little negatives in the best possible chance for a change way. I loved your positive but honest feel on entertainment...since many of us are not in cities and rarely have the concerts and shows we want to attend let alone the availability and overflowing budgets..this is an important part of cruising to me..and after your review I do feel I will enjoy more than Karaoke with the drop of the live bands etc., after all the discussion. I do not have to have the top notch, this is a budget cruise, but one we pay enough to have it nice....that there were special moments in many areas made me happy to hear..from a balanced knowledgeable critic. LOL, at 55 I keep forgetting I am not all modern.. You gave so many tips I have missed or were not stressed enough to get straight about the conquest class i am sure now I will like..that pool screen sounds so fun at the right times... ..your personality.,,,.duo smiles as a couple... and thorough way of covering all angles of cruising are..well refined yet relaxed, happy and amazing..thanks a million..I now know for sure i will enjoy my next Carnival cruise...Sarah

 

Photography...Awesome!!

Edited February 22, 2015 by sjn911

[Jifner]

Thanks so much for the great review, and I love your pictures! We will be sailing on Freedom twice in the next year and your review has me even more excited to sail on her.

[MommyoftwoCRNA]

Your review has been such a pleasure to find!!! We sail on the Freedom from Galveston in Nov 2015, and have really enjoyed your input. Great story telling and BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHY! Thanks so much for sharing all your experiences & knowledge .

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GalFitness19]

Great review! Thanks for all the great info. I'll be on the Freedom March 7 & plan to purchase the $99 wireless plan. One of the things I love is to listen to SiriusXM app on my iPhone during workouts. It'll be interesting to see if the wifi can hold up for that. I'll let you know!

Edited February 23, 2015 by GalFitness19

[lmares1968]

I love your detailed reviews. Great pictures! We got about 10 inches of snow this weekend, so I am so jealous! [emoji300] [emoji301] [emoji19]

[Spaniel Lover]

I got a kick out of seeing that John Heald used one of my photos from my Carnival Freedom review today as his Facebook cover photo.

 

He used this shot, which I'd have to say is the best shot I got during the entire cruise:

 

 

We had a brief chat via Facebook today and he told me that someone sent him the photo and he didn't actually realize that it was one of mine. He's used quite a few of my cruise photos as his Facebook cover photos before... one day he changed his cover photo 3 or 4 times and they were all my cruise photos!

 

It's always fun when my photos get some fame on John's page!

[springs741]

Yes, congrats on Johns use of your photo. When I saw it this morning I immediately thought of you and your wonderful review. Hubby and I were on the same cruise. Sadly our experience was not as memorable as yours.

 

While we don't have the sea days you have, the repo was number 9 in less than 4 years so we know Carnival's product. There were just so many little things that were wrong. It certainly wasn't what we have come to expect. Our next booked cruise on Carnival is a family 5 day on the Triumph. After that is the Vista. I guess the number of cruises on Carnival between the Triumph and the Vista will be determined by how the next cruise lives up to our expectation of Carnival.

[gizmo911]

Our 1st Port Of Call: St Maarten

 

From the very first time I saw YouTube videos of the planes landing above the beach at Princess Juliana airport in St Maarten... I've wanted to go there and see it for myself.

 

 

I actually made it to St Maarten last year during a cruise on the Norwegian Getaway. I chickened out about seeing the planes land at Maho Beach, however, because I would have had to venture out on my own and take a taxi all the way across the island to get there. Even though I'm an experienced cruiser, I still prefer to do a ship-sponsored shore excursion rather than heading out on my own.

 

But this year, on Carnival Freedom, I was determined to finally see Maho Beach and the famous low-flying planes. I got my courage up and took that taxi ride that I had been worrying about. It turns out that I had nothing to worry about at all. It couldn't have been much easier. All we had to do when we got off the ship was head out to the front of the terminal, where there's a taxi stand full of many other people that -- just like me -- wanted to venture off to somewhere at the other end of the island. The taxis were all lined up in a big line, just waiting for passengers. Now when you say "taxi" on St Maarten... that could mean anything from a four-person sedan all the way up to a 15-passenger van. And they don't use meters! Everything is a fixed rate, based on where you want to go. The more people that the taxi can take at one time, the lower the rate per person.

 

We were lucky enough, when we got to the front of the line, to get matched up with a bunch of other people who all wanted to go to the same place... and so we all piled in to a 15-person van and we all got the benefit of a lower per-person rate. Kellyn and I were in the far back seat of this big 15-passenger van... and I have to admit that I had a little bit of a claustrophobia panic attack when I started imagining the van getting in to an accident and I was stuck in the far back seat. But I got over it, put on my vacation smile, and soon enough we were at the world-famous Sunset Bar & Grill at Maho Beach.

 

 

We had a wonderful day at Maho Beach. The weather was absolutely perfect, and I got to swim and snorkel as well as have a lot of fun watching the planes land! It was mostly small planes in the morning, and that gave me the opportunity to practice and refine my technique. Shooting pictures of the planes landing is way harder than I imagined! Those things move fast, so it takes some practice to get the framing and the focus just right. Also, I had to experiment with finding the right location to shoot from. Would it look more dramatic if I shot from the height of the restaurant's deck... or from down at water level.

 

A test shot from beach level, with a small private plane making a fairly high and un-dramatic approach.

 

During one attempt at shooting while standing in the surf, I was paying so much attention to the planes that I stopped thinking about the surf... and promptly got knocked down by a wave, barely keeping my camera dry by holding it up above the water line as I tried to regain my composure.

 

Eventually, I figured out that it was not only safer to shoot from the restaurant's deck, but it also provided a more dramatic angle to the photos. Here's the best picture I got that day, after much practice:

 

 

There's more to a day at Maho Beach than just watching the planes land. There's food and drink at the Sunset Bar & Grill. Also, the beach itself is really nice... with warm water and nice sand. You can rent a pair of loungers under an umbrella for $20... a good way to prevent a sunburn. We saw a LOT of people get burned on that beach that day! Also, bring some snorkeling gear. There's some rocks near the restaurant and the fish hang out there.

 

But the other cool thing besides watching plane landings is watching planes takeoff! The end of the runway is right next to the beach, and the big jets sit there at the end of the runway and power up their engines before they finally take off the brakes and head down the runway. Those jet engines send a powerful blast of wind on to the beach... blowing sand everywhere, as well as blowing away all lightweight items such as hats, papers, and empty plastic bottles. It's crazy to watch! I didn't catch it on video, but I found this next video on YouTube and it shows it very well... although the beach was certainly less crowded in the video than on the day I visited!

 

[YOUTUBE]IIPIWtwef_g[/YOUTUBE]

 

I experienced something very unusual that day at Maho Beach. Kellyn and I were sitting up at the Sunset Bar & Grill having a very nice lunch and watching the planes land. It had been mostly small planes up until that point. Finally, there was a fairly large commercial jet that was ready to take off. From our perch up on the patio of the restaurant, we had a really nice view of it. It was a spectacular takeoff, with the big jet engines blowing all sorts of stuff from the crowded beach in to the water. I had seen it a whole bunch of times in YouTube videos, but seeing the real thing was so much more intense. I became overwhelmed by it all as this unusual experience unfolded in front of me... not overwhelmed by jet blast or sand or anything like that... I was way out of the line of fire. I was emotionally overwhelmed by it all. I had wanted to come to this place for so many years. It was so much more spectacular in person than it was on YouTube. I literally just started to cry. Really! It was so overwhelming. Who cries at the sight of a plane taking off?!?! So, it's confirmed... I'm officially weird!

 

After a wonderful day on on Maho Beach, we took a taxi back to the cruise ship. One of the things that worried me about venturing off on our own rather than being on a ship-sponsored shore excursion was the concern that we might get ourselves over to Maho Beach and then not be able to find a taxi to take us back to the ship. It turns out I was worried over nothing. Look at those pictures of Maho Beach, and all the people there. About half of them came from the cruise ships, and all eventually needed a ride back. There were taxis EVERYWHERE. We lucked out and found a taxi driver that was driving a nearly-new Toyota Highlander. Most comfortable taxi ride, ever... and a vacation day that I will not soon forget!

 

 

I know that there is another beach close to Maho. Did you by any chance know how close and if taxi's will pick up there. We have a few who want to see planes but the rest of us don't and just want a relaxing beach day. Thanks. PS. I love your reviews. So far my favorite contributor.

Edited February 27, 2015 by gizmo911

[LambKnuckles]

Thanks! I've actually thought of that quite a bit. Maybe I will someday. It would just take a LOT of work to do it right.

 

I can give you a few tips right now on cruise ship sunrise/sunset pictures...

 

1. Using a DSLR camera (digital single lens reflex) rather than a cell phone or a pocket-sized camera will hugely improve the shot.

 

2. If using a DSLR, adding a polarizing filter to the lens will improve the shot.

 

3. Using a tripod will improve the shot.

 

4. If the shot includes something in the foreground, such as this photo of the sunrise that features the ship in the foreground, put the camera in aperture-priority mode and set the aperture value to a fairly high number (such as f16) so that you are shooting with a very large depth of field. In other words, so that distant things (the sunrise) and nearby things (the ship) are both in focus.

 

A sunrise photo shot with a large depth of field

 

A good tutorial about depth of field can be found here.

 

5. If using a DSLR, use manual focus rather than using the camera's automatic focus system. A perfectly focused sunrise/sunset shot is the difference between a good shot and a great shot. On Canon cameras, use the Live View feature to compose the shot using the rear LCD screen and be sure to use the magnify button to look at a magnified view of the shot when you set the focus.

 

 

6. If you want to shoot a sunrise/sunset shot with a person in the foreground, turn your camera's flash on.

 

My wife and I at sunset, with the camera's flash ON

 

I hope that's helpful!

 

Tips and thoughts are always appreciated!! And it helps to be reminded about things!! This was a very helpful and thoughtful post!!!

 

Thank you!

[Spaniel Lover]

I know that there is another beach close to Maho. Did you by any chance know how close and if taxi's will pick up there. We have a few who want to see planes but the rest of us don't and just want a relaxing beach day. Thanks. PS. I love your reviews. So far my favorite contributor.

 

Mullet Bay is VERY nearby. It's the next beach over from Maho Bay. I don't know for sure that taxis are readily available, though.

 

There's no reason that the folks who just want a relaxing beach day couldn't get that at Maho Bay. It's a very nice beach... and you can rent loungers and umbrellas. There are bathrooms, and a restaurant and bar. I'd suggest you all just stick together.

[Kayloves]

Spaniel lvr, thank u so much! I loved the review, the humor n the photos! I am considering the Freedom this fall, just a lil intimidated by the whole Houston to Galveston transport.... Great review!

[gizmo911]

Mullet Bay is VERY nearby. It's the next beach over from Maho Bay. I don't know for sure that taxis are readily available, though.

 

There's no reason that the folks who just want a relaxing beach day couldn't get that at Maho Bay. It's a very nice beach... and you can rent loungers and umbrellas. There are bathrooms, and a restaurant and bar. I'd suggest you all just stick together.

 

I wanted to be somewhere quiet and thought with planes coming in and going out would make it noisy. Is this the case?

Edited February 28, 2015 by gizmo911

[KatieBug28]

Great review Jim Zim! I am actually going to send this to my parents, who are prepping for their first cruise (we're going too!). You have so much great information that will be perfect for first timers, even if they aren't on the same ship.

 

Which brings me to a question: Have you done any reviews of Mexican Riviera itineraries or the Miracle? I did a search but didn't see anything. If you have, I'd love to send the link to my parents to get them excited!

[Spaniel Lover]

I am considering the Freedom this fall, just a lil intimidated by the whole Houston to Galveston transport....

 

I know EXACTLY what you mean. That really intimidated me, too, the first time we cruised out of Galveston. We've now done the Galveston/Houston transport thing a few times, and now I know exactly how to do it easily and with confidence that there will be no problems.

 

For getting from the airport to the cruise port, just make arrangements with a limo company called Sam's Limousine. http://samslimousine.com/

 

We just arrange to have them pick us up in a sedan, but there's only two of us. If you have a larger group, they have larger vehicles, too. They were waiting for us well in advance of when we had asked them to be there... which was great because we got in quite a bit early. The car was in great shape, and the driver was friendly. It was everything you'd want from a limo service.

 

Sure, cruising out of Miami is a lot easier because you can grab a cab at the airport without having to make a reservation in advance... and it's a cheap cab ride to the cruise port. But you just have to take a deep breath and factor the cost of the limo in as the price you have to pay to do a cruise out of Galveston. Don't stress over it. Other than the price, it's easy and convenient... at least it was the time we used Sam's. Our very first time in Galveston, we used a different company and it was a different experience. The driver was late and I had to make a couple of calls and wait around outside my hotel. That wasn't great. Sam's did a much better job, and I'll stick with them from now on.

 

Regarding getting back to the airport after the end of the cruise... I prefer to buy a transfer from Carnival for that. It's a lot cheaper than going through a limo company. The downside is that you're on a bus rather than in a car, and you have to wait for the bus to fill up before it will leave. Also, they will not let you use the Carnival transfer option if you have an early flight. We're platinum, so we can get off the ship quite early... so it's very possible to book an early flight and have plenty of time to make it. However, Carnival would not even allow us to book their airport transfer because our flight was too early for their guidelines. They don't want to get in a situation where their bus has to leave before it fills all the way up... just to get us to our flight in time. So, they won't allow people to purchase a Carnival transfer if their flight time is before a certain time. I can't remember exactly what the cut-off time was... I think it might have been 11:30 AM. Certainly, if you book a noon flight, or later, you should be able to use the Carnival transfer... and that's what I recommend.

 

A word of caution:

A limo company can ONLY operate at the Port Of Galveston if they have a special license to do so, and those licenses are very much restricted to only certain approved companies. Sam's has a license for Galveston, so there's no problem there. But beware if you deal with other limo services. I went through this long sign-up process with a well-known national brand to arrange a ride from the cruise port to the airport, including giving my credit card and all that. Only after completing the whole process did I find out that this company did not have a license to operate out of Galveston and therefore they could not accept my reservation. So, beware. I'd recommend Sam's!

Edited February 28, 2015 by Spaniel Lover

[Spaniel Lover]

I wanted to be somewhere quiet and thought with planes coming in and going out would make it noisy. Is this the case?

 

No, not really. First off, most of the planes are fairly small. You tend to only see pictures and videos posted of the big planes... because those are the most impressive. But the big planes are rare. Most of the traffic is much smaller planes.

 

Second, you can easily go 30 minutes or more between planes... especially before noon. It gets a little busier in the afternoon. So, imagine a nice quiet beach and then about twice an hour a small plane flies overhead. It's not a big disturbance to the peace and quiet.

 

I think it's just a fantastic little beach, and lots of fun!

[Spaniel Lover]

Have you done any reviews of Mexican Riviera itineraries or the Miracle? I did a search but didn't see anything. If you have, I'd love to send the link to my parents to get them excited!

 

I have not sailed on the Miracle... but I've certainly done the Mexican Riviera a whole bunch of times. If you take a look at my Carnival Spirit review, I think you'll find what you're looking for. It's a sister ship to the Miracle. We sailed on the Carnival Spirit to the Mexican Riviera quite a few times.

 

Another review with some good Mexican Riviera information is my Carnival Splendor review.

 

I'll include my Cruise Critic "signature" at the bottom of this post... which has links to all my other reviews, too. The January 2008 Carnival Elation and April 2008 Norwegian Star cruises were both to the Mexican Riviera, so they may be of some interest, too. But start with my Carnival Spirit review, as that will be most applicable to anyone considering sailing on the Carnival Miracle to the Mexican Riviera.

 

Enjoy!

[KatieBug28]

I have not sailed on the Miracle... but I've certainly done the Mexican Riviera a whole bunch of times. If you take a look at my Carnival Spirit review, I think you'll find what you're looking for. It's a sister ship to the Miracle. We sailed on the Carnival Spirit to the Mexican Riviera quite a few times.

 

Another review with some good Mexican Riviera information is my Carnival Splendor review.

 

I'll include my Cruise Critic "signature" at the bottom of this post... which has links to all my other reviews, too. The January 2008 Carnival Elation and April 2008 Norwegian Star cruises were both to the Mexican Riviera, so they may be of some interest, too. But start with my Carnival Spirit review, as that will be most applicable to anyone considering sailing on the Carnival Miracle to the Mexican Riviera.

 

Enjoy!

 

Wonderful! Thank you! We did the Mexican Riviera a couple of years ago and absolutely LOVED it, so we decided to do a repeat with the whole family. We'll have ages 2 (my youngest DD) to 88 (my grandmother)! So it should be a blast. Excited to check out your other reviews. Thank you!