Freedom 12/26/15-01/02/16

[bradysmom]

High Seas Texan

We never made it to a full show in the main lounge, we caught a few minutes of one of the shows while we were waiting for dinner....I can't remember what it was called, something 88 keys or something like that. The few minutes we saw weren't our thing and didn't make us want to go back for more. The singing wasn't great, but probably average for that type of setting, we just weren't into it, but a lot of people seemed to like it.

We also didn't make it to the piano bar, sorry.

 

Cabin temperature ---very hit or miss, no matter what you adjusted the thermostat on the wall to it didn't seem to make any difference. The first day it was blazing hot in there and my husband called guest services because I had read on here you could get a fan sent to your room if they had them..He was told they were onot available for people with medical conditions that required them.

I spent a lot of time during the week trying to come up with a diagnosis that would qualify me for a fan, because it was way too hot to sleep comfortably 4 of the 7 nights. The other 3 nights it was like an ice box (which I preferred).

I don't remember ever having temperature issues before or even being aware there was a thermostat.

If I was going on the Freedom again I would be packing a fan.

[bradysmom]

I think a big part of the hesitation to move towels is that you get charged $22 if you lose your towel. So if you move someones towel, they can accuse you of stealing their towel, etc.

Supposedly Carnival has a policy of removing them after 40 minutes , but I have never seen this happen.

 

I think after watching the situation play out for a week, I would ask people seated in the general area if there has actually been anyone sitting in the chairs recently or if just the towels have been there. If it's just towels I would put the towels under the chairs and sit it them.

When the people come back they can take their towels and if they have an issue get an employee to make me move. Unless they are dripping wet from just getting out of the pool I wouldn't willingly move for them.

[bradysmom]

Showers-- I think this is somewhat of an issue on every ship, but if you plan to shower at common times i.e. the hour before early dinner seating starts, be prepared for very little hot water, and almost no water pressure.

There were times I think it would have been pretty effective to spit up in the air and run under it.

 

It was much much better at "off" times, but they are off times for a reason, no one wants to shower then.

 

Just a small incovenience, but something to be aware of to plan around when possible.

[bradysmom]

Guys Burgers

Finally something totally positive. This was our fist time on a ship with a Guys, and we thoughtit was great! Super fast and delicious, and zero calories because you're on vacation, perfect!

Edited January 3, 2016 by bradysmom

[High Seas Texan]

Thank yuou for continuing your comments and addressing questions. I am so ready to board the ship and get a little R&R after the holidays here. I think I know what to expect based on my past experience on this ship and with your recent comments.

[bradysmom]

Fun Shops--I didn't spend a ton of time at the shops , however I can say that the shops did seem to have a much larger /newer selection than I had seen on the other ships.

Everything also seemed to have a little more of an upscale feel.to it. I didn't notice an everything is $10 section in the shops, there weren't tables overflowing with cheap scarves, watches, bags, etc. I do think in the fun times they had a $10 accessories sale at one point as well as a clearance sale at one point. The stores themselves just felt better and not so cluttered with all of that stuff.

There was a much larger selection of Carnival logo merchandise than I have seen on the other ships as well as some ship specific ites, i.e. Carnival Freedom shirts, replicas, mugs. This was a welcome surprise!

They did have the 2 for $20 tshirts, this also was setup outside of the shops, and also had a new selection with wide size ranges (up to 3xl I think) for both men's and women's styles, as well.as some toddler size shirts.

I walked past the Bella perlina sale, also outside, and it was much more of just a normal looking sale display than the black Friday type Madness I witnessed on other ships.

I think they had the watch set sale as well but I didn't see it.

They also had some higher end sterling silver jewelry on sale 50% off which seemed like ok deals, and the Invicta watch sale.

 

The Fun shops were definitely the best on this ship compared to the others I have sailed on.

[bradysmom]

Bottomless Bubbles

We aren't big alcohol drinkers , not that we won't have a drink here or there, but we do like our sodas. So we always get Bottomless Bubbles, I think we at least break even and like the convenience of having it prepaid.

We have always bought the mugs they have that are $6.95 and come in teal, red, and orange..the say Carnival on one side and something about fun on the other. They keep the sodas nice and cool and the bartenders are happy to refill.them.

One issue we had with them last cruise and again this time was that the lettering completely smeared and eventually wore off (this time during the muster drill). I think it might have something to do with spray sunscreen getting on your hands, then the mug, I don't know but it's a little frustrating.

On this cruise I actually by a happy coincidence bought the mugs at the blue iguana cantina bar, and they only had 2 colors, but had a blue iguana Tervis tumbler for $12.95, so I got one of those. IT held 2 Oz more than the other mugs, and no fear of the lettering rubbing off. It can also be used for hot I love it.

They also I discovered much later had Red Frog Tervis tumblers available at the red frog.

 

One thing I really enjoyed this cruise was that at a lot of the bars they would fill our mugs from the bar fountain dispenser instead of the the cans sitting out baking in the sun. It just tastes so much better. Also I would say 80%of the time when they saw the bottomless bubbles sticker, they wouldn't bother running the card or making us sign.

[dhaza]

Thanks bradysmom for your answer. Our plans are to get there around 10:15 to 10:30 (we have FTTF and 10:00 checkin time) so we can check in and get our card then rest in the waiting area before boarding. During boarding I plan to be at the back of the pack of the FTTF's since I'm that slow guy walk off to one side getting in every ones way that trying to be first one on the ship - you know one.:D Thanks again.

[kennedyfamily4]

Hi! Thank you for the review! This is great information. We will be on the Freedom next year for New Year's Eve. Was there an event to bring in the New Year at midnight?

[bradysmom]

Yes there were multiple events to bring in the New Year (actually at 11pm because of the time difference with New York I guess)

There was a balloon drop in the atrium, you could watch the Dick Clark/Ryan Seacrest show in one of the theaters and there was a HUGE party on the lido deck that was packed with people.

They also gave out party hats, noisemakers, etc in the dining room at dinner.

 

One thing I found kind of odd was that on embarkation day from the time we boarded until just before the muster drill they were handing out endless glasses of free champagne...excellent right, but then for New Years if you wanted champagne they put an order forms for bottles in your room the day before.

 

Overall though plenty of fun festivities, although after a day of hot sun at an all inclusive with free drinks in Cozumel, we weren't much in the party mood, and my son needed to go to bed before midnight (or 11, and honestly so did I, lol), so we didn't get to see all of the fun, but heard stories from others who said it was great but super crowded.

[bradysmom]

I was just reading a post about the Breeze and "the smell", I don't know what the smell is they were referring to, but it reminded me of another small annoyance on the Freedom.

 

Our toilet smelled awful, no not because we ate too much at the buffet, from the first time we used it we noticed just this over powering awful smell anytime the lid was open.

It looked clean, but smelled like a cross between urine, thhe subway and hospital cleansers. Not pleasant. Also periodically there would be fine black particles in the bottom.

The first day I thought maybe someone had been smoking in there and it was Ashley leftover in the bottom of the toilet, but it would go away and come back throughout the week.

The smell however was there to stay.

 

Again, not enough to ruin our trip, but something we discussed as it was annoying and hadn't been an issue on previous ships.

[smachale]

We were also on this cruise and had a great time, some things to note.. The ship was booked solid, so lots of people making deck chairs on sea days hard to find, but we always found ones. Also I am not opposed to removing apparently abandoned towels. I'd ask a few people sitting around if anyone was sitting there and if not, then off go the old towels.

We ( family of 6, all adults) had no issues with menu choices in the dining room, I did miss the table cloths, mostly for the sweaty glasses. But we all loved the food and 'showtime'.

The crew were all amazing, everyone one of them.

Petrus our room steward (8393) amazing.

Johana at the Alchemy bar made the best drinks (peach Cosmo was my favourite)

Fernando, Don & Chongmila in the dining room did an amazing job.

I loved that they had Clamato for our Canadian Caesars, the lobby bar was the best lace to get this.

 

The weather and seas were a little rough thru the gulf, having never sailed out of Galveston I wasn't sure if this was normal or not. But weather cannot be controlled so no use complaining about it.

 

New Years celebrations were a lot of fun, from the balloon drop to the lido deck, all great.. There was free champagne on the lido, and you had the option of ordering your own bottle as well.

 

All in all we had a great trip!

[LovetheTXsun]

I think a big part of the hesitation to move towels is that you get charged $22 if you lose your towel. So if you move someones towel, they can accuse you of stealing their towel, etc.

Supposedly Carnival has a policy of removing them after 40 minutes , but I have never seen this happen.

 

I think after watching the situation play out for a week, I would ask people seated in the general area if there has actually been anyone sitting in the chairs recently or if just the towels have been there. If it's just towels I would put the towels under the chairs and sit it them.

When the people come back they can take their towels and if they have an issue get an employee to make me move. Unless they are dripping wet from just getting out of the pool I wouldn't willingly move for them.

 

 

Thanks for your reply! Ok, it makes a bit more sense now why others wouldn't move the towel as there is a type of ownership tied to it. Still, I would take your advice above ~ give them a fair chance to come back, ask around and then set the towels safely aside and lay claim ;).

I am now reassessing whether to bring our own towels. Not to save seats lol, just fear of losing $22 cruise towels on excursions or someone mistaking ours for their own while on ship.

Looking forward to more of your review!

[Tree Hugger]

We were on the 12/19 cruise and I have to agree with a few things. I didn't really care much for Jase (the CD), but there were others who seemed to enjoy his banter, just a matter of taste I guess.

 

Sometimes in the MDR I just wasn't really interested in the selections, but generally enjoyed what I had except for the Flat Iron steak, it was just flat out bad. I've had it on other cruises and just figured I got a bad cut this time.

 

We went to several of the shows, we missed 88 Keys, but the 80's show wasn't bad and the Getaway Island (I think that was the name) was OK though a little cheesy at times, the Heart and Soul show was just bad though.

 

Our cabin temp (Spa, 1109) was great and the thermostat actually seemed to do something when adjusted, that was a first. The shower didn't drain well so it would tip into the rest of the bathroom because of the ship's rocking. I showered in the Spa most of the time so I could have more room and plus it helped clear up congestion in the afternoons with a family of four in the cabin.

[dhaza]

Thanks for your reply! Ok, it makes a bit more sense now why others wouldn't move the towel as there is a type of ownership tied to it. Still, I would take your advice above ~ give them a fair chance to come back, ask around and then set the towels safely aside and lay claim ;).

I am now reassessing whether to bring our own towels. Not to save seats lol, just fear of losing $22 cruise towels on excursions or someone mistaking ours for their own while on ship.

Looking forward to more of your review!

 

It became a huge problem RCI and now they have employees that cruise the area and pick up towels and etc off the chairs and brings to the stuff to the towel stations. On the last trip on the Oasis they had signs up warning people. On board towels are not check out on our last RCI cruise only the ones you take ashore are sign for.

[catawbakru]

Just curious... Coming out of Galveston, how was the weather? I usually sail from FLL or Miami where the weather is already nice before you even set sail. Are the first and last Sea Days typically warm enough to sit around the pool on the ship, or is it too cold? I'm considering the Breeze in December and it will be out of Galveston at that point.

 

 

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[maeormaenot]

I have sailed out of Galveston 3 times. All three times had varying experiences with the roughness of the seas.

 

February 2014 ... Not really rough, but lots of fog. (Triumph). Heading out was not bad at all, but coming back was a little rough.

 

February 2015 ... Freedom. Fine heading out but terrible coming back. We hit a cold front and the waves were HUGE! They had to cancel the shows.

 

July 2015 ... Triumph. Smooth as a mill pond.

[bradysmom]

Just curious... Coming out of Galveston, how was the weather? I usually sail from FLL or Miami where the weather is already nice before you even set sail. Are the first and last Sea Days typically warm enough to sit around the pool on the ship, or is it too cold? I'm considering the Breeze in December and it will be out of Galveston at that point.

 

 

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I think it probably is hit or miss in Galveston that time of year, and we would probably think twice before sailing out of there in December again.

We went down 2 days before the cruise and 1 of the 2 days the weather was nice enough that we could walk on the beach (low 70s maybe) and go in the heated pool at our hotel for most of the day. The rest of the time it was very windy, foggy, and chilly.

Our embarkation day we were lucky it was sunny and nice enough to sit out on the lido,mid 70s, but still very windy.

By the time we woke up on our first full sea day it was much warmer, and we had great weather the rest of the cruise.......until around 11 am our last sea day, the it got rainy, cold and windy.

On debarkation day it was mid 40s.

 

We talked about it, and felt like we were pretty lucky with the weather, but would probably feel more comfortable sailing out of Florida in the future during the winter because of the potential cool weather in Texas.

[jensloser]

Guys Burgers

Finally something totally positive. This was our fist time on a ship with a Guys, and we thoughtit was great! Super fast and delicious, and zero calories because you're on vacation, perfect!

 

Have heard the Guy's burger has a Sur charge. Is this true? This will be our first time on the freedom and was delighted to here about there being a Guys on board till I read about a Sur charge

[maeormaenot]

No surcharge.

[Baylee]

Did you happen to keep the Fun Times? I'm trying to find out the Captain's name. We're sailing next month and I'm designing t-shirts for my husband and I :)

[Minkster1973]

Did you happen to keep the Fun Times? I'm trying to find out the Captain's name. We're sailing next month and I'm designing t-shirts for my husband and I :)

 

Malcolm Burn

 

http://johnhealdsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/John-Version-11.11.15.pdf

[Baylee]

Malcolm Burn

 

http://johnhealdsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/John-Version-11.11.15.pdf

 

Malcom is the cruise director ... I'm looking for the name of the Ship's Captain

[Minkster1973]

My apologies. I should pay more attention.

 

Agostino Fazio?

[Baylee]

My apologies. I should pay more attention.

 

Agostino Fazio?

 

It's ok ... and no, Capt. Fazio moved to another ship at the end of October. We sailed in November but it's not the same one now.