Live From The Carnival Freedom: Crossing the Atlantic for a New Whale Tail

[Von & John]

For future reference - one great way to ensure your battery is functional, after a longggg trip is to disconnect the battery b/4 leaving 🙂 
My first & only dead battery was jumped & replaced, in Orlando, after my first 6 months in Alaska...

I didn't know better then - since then any planned trip over 30 days & I disconnect the battery.

Edited November 8, 2023 by Von & John

[Gizmo88]

hey I as on the Freedom sailing back to Florida. I was one of the Not in the majority age demographic of the sailing. I usually sat in the same spot in the Adult comedy shows (I Usually got heckled).

 

Also good to see your view. 

 

I also noticed this sailing was a bit quiet (as said in other post it is the go to bed early crowd) and heard on the last day the ship isn't full (approx 1500 guest on board (not every bed filled). 

[jam19872016]

22 hours ago, techteach said:

@jam19872016 Start drinking water immediately. You’ll drop several pounds quickly. It usually takes me a week to drop the weight I gain from a cruise. Too many cocktails in the Commodore Club and a full breakfast every morning. Have a good day back at work. Think of all of the great stories you’ll share! You really should think about writing a comical book about your adventures. Good Night from Seattle.

I would be over the moon if I lost that much in one week 🙂

 

I am back on track even if for just a few days but I'm going to get as much off as I can before my next trip.

 

16 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Perhaps the dearth of cabs was because you were practically last off the ship, and they had all been used up and then gone somewhere else. I know at the local station there are usually loads waiting to meet the trains from London, but sometimes, if you are last through the barrier, they have all gone.

That makes sense, but shouldn't there have been available cabs from all the people coming to board the new cruise? Port Canaveral claims to be the busiest cruise port in the world (and I'm sure there is some fuzzy math being used to reach that number, but they are certainly among the busiest) one would think there would be a lot more cabs readily availble. 

 

Miami and Barcelona both have a constant stream of cabs even for the late comers. Oh well, I know to adjust my strategy next time.

[jam19872016]

16 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Did your mother gain weight - or is she not telling?

Somewhere between 14 and 15 lbs. I would have been happy with that number.

 

15 hours ago, pe4all said:

A lot of that is probably from all the sodium from the cruise food.  No doubt you will see a drop in a few days. (well - maybe not if you are eating pizza and Popeyes - lol!).  Loved reading your review, and looking forward to your future adventures.

I'm back on track now and hope to lose enough to be able to enjoy my next cruise without worriying about putting it all back on.

 

And then there is Thanksgiving...oof.

[jam19872016]

15 hours ago, exlondoner said:

 

Thank you and eeeeeeeek.

 

14 hours ago, NE John said:

Good luck getting that weight off. It’s tough but you’ll do it. 
Enjoy that Popeye’s now as that’ll be the last visit for a while! I love Popeye’s!! 

The worst part is, Popeye's isn't even my vice. I'm a burger and pizza kind of guy, not chicken. But it was there, and it was paid for, so I gave in.

[jam19872016]

14 hours ago, princess76021 said:

Yay!! You're here for my coffee time!!!

have a safe trip home!! Going to miss our daily meeting!

hugs from Texas

 

12 hours ago, techteach said:

@jam19872016 About to start coffee #2 after catching up with posts from last night. Thanks for the music update and have a good day at work. I will be listening to, catching up with, The Voice from last night.

I've switched back to energy drinks 🙂

 

Today's was drank on the road, but tomorrow it will be enjoyed catching up on CC before work.

[jam19872016]

8 hours ago, Petersonfcu said:

Wow.  Total suck.  My wife and I have been AAA members for 40 years.  Our past experiences (and yours) will keep me paying that annual membership fee.

I was a member for a few years. I didn't renew last year. I'm rethinking that choice!

 

5 hours ago, Von & John said:

For future reference - one great way to ensure your battery is functional, after a longggg trip is to disconnect the battery b/4 leaving 🙂 
My first & only dead battery was jumped & replaced, in Orlando, after my first 6 months in Alaska...

I didn't know better then - since then any planned trip over 30 days & I disconnect the battery.

Genius! That seems so simple and I never would have thought of it. I know nothing about cars, is it a pretty easy thing to Google and figure out how to do?

[jam19872016]

4 hours ago, Gizmo88 said:

hey I as on the Freedom sailing back to Florida. I was one of the Not in the majority age demographic of the sailing. I usually sat in the same spot in the Adult comedy shows (I Usually got heckled).

 

Also good to see your view. 

 

I also noticed this sailing was a bit quiet (as said in other post it is the go to bed early crowd) and heard on the last day the ship isn't full (approx 1500 guest on board (not every bed filled). 

Very early to bed crowd 😄

 

The number I heard was 2800 which is too even of a number to necessarily be accurate. That would put us around 94% which is very low since cruises these days are sailing at 110-120% of capacity. It could have been lower as there were definitely rooms still available for sale right up until the end, but I am sure there were more than 1500. That would be 50%. I did these cruises at 50% right after Covid, and it was much quieter than this. Just not a very lively bunch 🙂

 

[jam19872016]

Busy first day back, and tomorrow will be even busier, but I will get the loose ends tied up just as quickly as possible 🙂

 

I returned to logging calories today. I did very good at eating sensibly, and only eating when I was hungry and within my eight hour window. My total calories for the day were 634. I won't probably do that good tomorrow, but it was nice to do so well today. Hopefully my weight will reflect that since I seem to weigh more here than when weighing at my mom's.

 

Good night everyone!

Edited November 9, 2023 by jam19872016

[wynkys]

Listen Mate, just take it as it comes and roll with the flow.

Once again, I have enjoyed following along and look forward

to your future adventures

[exlondoner]

6 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

Busy first day back, and tomorrow will be even busier, but I will get the loose ends tied up just as quickly as possible 🙂

 

I returned to logging calories today. I did very good at eating sensibly, and only eating when I was hungry and within my eight hour window. My total calories for the day were 634. I won't probably do that good tomorrow, but it was nice to do so well today. Hopefully my weight will reflect that since I seem to weigh more here than when weighing at my mom's.

 

Good night everyone!

A friend who went on a world cruise put on 31/2 stone, despite doing far more exercise than he ever did at home. As this was on Cunard he had sensibly taken two dinner suits with him, of increasing sizes. When he got back, the first 21/2 came off easily and fairly rapidly without doing anything in particular.  The last stone was a different matter. But, anyway, the point is simply by eating normally for home, rather than as one does on a cruise, it usually disappears quite easily. 🙂

[exlondoner]

6 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

 

 

That makes sense, but shouldn't there have been available cabs from all the people coming to board the new cruise? Port Canaveral claims to be the busiest cruise port in the world (and I'm sure there is some fuzzy math being used to reach that number, but they are certainly among the busiest) one would think there would be a lot more cabs readily availble. 

 

Miami and Barcelona both have a constant stream of cabs even for the late comers. Oh well, I know to adjust my strategy next time.

Were there people arriving that early? Not even a short hiatus?

[Von & John]

6 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

I was a member for a few years. I didn't renew last year. I'm rethinking that choice!

 

Genius! That seems so simple and I never would have thought of it. I know nothing about cars, is it a pretty easy thing to Google and figure out how to do?

Very easy to disconnect 

 

[jam19872016]

2 hours ago, wynkys said:

Listen Mate, just take it as it comes and roll with the flow.

Once again, I have enjoyed following along and look forward

to your future adventures

Thank you 😊 

 

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

A friend who went on a world cruise put on 31/2 stone, despite doing far more exercise than he ever did at home. As this was on Cunard he had sensibly taken two dinner suits with him, of increasing sizes. When he got back, the first 21/2 came off easily and fairly rapidly without doing anything in particular.  The last stone was a different matter. But, anyway, the point is simply by eating normally for home, rather than as one does on a cruise, it usually disappears quite easily. 🙂

I started in a size 36, I can't make that work now and the size 40's I own are a little big. I don't have any 38's 😆 

[jam19872016]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

Were there people arriving that early? Not even a short hiatus?

 Nope. By 10am there would be hundreds already at the terminal waiting to board. Boarding usually starts by 11, sometimes earlier.

 

 

1 hour ago, Von & John said:

Very easy to disconnect 

 

Excellent!

[exlondoner]

6 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

Thank you 😊 

 

I started in a size 36, I can't make that work now and the size 40's I own are a little big. I don't have any 38's 😆 

You’ll soon be back in the 36s. Never fear.

Edited November 9, 2023 by exlondoner

[exlondoner]

20 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

 Nope. By 10am there would be hundreds already at the terminal waiting to board. Boarding usually starts by 11, sometimes earlier.

 

Goodness me, how on earth do they get the ship ready so quickly?

[jam19872016]

1 minute ago, exlondoner said:

 

Goodness me, how on earth do they get the ship ready so quickly?

They don't open the rooms until 1:30. Everything else is business as usual.

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

They don't open the rooms until 1:30. Everything else is business as usual.

So why would you want to go on board if you can’t put your things in your stateroom. Are people wandering around with the huge amount of hand luggage many seem to have. At least on Cunard, not boarding, usually, until after about 12.30, I have always had immediate access.

[jam19872016]

-1.6 today.

 

Heading in for a 12 hour day

 

[jam19872016]

1 minute ago, exlondoner said:

So why would you want to go on board if you can’t put your things in your stateroom. Are people wandering around with the huge amount of hand luggage many seem to have. At least on Cunard, not boarding, usually, until after about 12.30, I have always had immediate access.

I have early access on Carnival. But not other lines but I travel light (usually, but not this time 😆).

 

But yes, there is hand luggage everywhere On boarding day 🤣. 

[angelsfort]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

 

Goodness me, how on earth do they get the ship ready so quickly?

 

they make everyone leave their staterooms by like 8:30 am (or so) and the stewards get started on turning them over right away...    once you're out of your stateroom, you can wander the ship - have breakfast (or whatever) until they make you leave (generally around 9:30 / 10 am they start really pushing - in my experience - but every ship could be different)

so it's not REALLY so quick...  they have several hours to get it done by 1:30, when folks are cleared to go to their cabins.

Most people check their luggage, so they don't have a bunch to carry around with them while they wait for their cabins to be ready. 

[princess76021]

Good morning @jam19872016.

You did not disappoint! 

I turned on my computer and yay!! There you were!!

Coffee time together again . 

Thanks for being here

Hugs!!!

[techteach]

@jam19872016 It only took one cup of coffee today to read through the new posts. 12 hour shift with lots of steps…I’m thinking you work in health care and you certainly will get lots of steps today. Don’t cut yourself too short of calories as you need the energy. Have a good day!

[techteach]

Good morning @princess76021. Enjoy your coffee and have a good day.