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

[jam19872016]

Here are some nice pics of today's salad offerings to help those watching their calories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

Today's activities 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

[jam19872016]

 

[jam19872016]

Time for an afternoon pick me up. 

 

 

I think I'm supposed to pickup my passport next hour but that line is stupid long. Are they not going to return it to me if I don't go?

 

I hate lines so much.

[WhiteOptima]

4 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

You might want to look at HAL for AK - they're awesome.

We changed from 14 day September 2024 on Carnival Spirit to 14 day September 2025 on Holland.  More ports, same price but we now have all the drinks, shore excursion $, grats, Wi-Fi included.

[jam19872016]

Just now, WhiteOptima said:

We changed from 14 day September 2024 on Carnival Spirit to 14 day September 2025 on Holland.  More ports, same price but we now have all the drinks, shore excursion $, grats, Wi-Fi included.

I get casino rates with Carnival so that changes the price point for me. They have a form for casino matching but everytime I tried to submit a photo it says the file is too large so I gave up. It's all the same arm of Carnival running it, you'd think they would target me without needing to jump through hoops.

[jam19872016]

There are 17 people here for an unhosted knitting event. That is 16 more people than show up for the nightclub. 

 

It's still the quiest room on the ship since the music was already off when I got here.

[jam19872016]

My mom's going to wait in that line for our passports. Bless her, there ain't no way I'm doing that. It stretches out of the nightclub, down the hall all the way to the comedy club. Let's see how long it takes her. 

Edited October 29, 2023 by jam19872016

[exlondoner]

33 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

My mom's going to wait in that line for our passports. Bless her, there ain't no way I'm doing that. It stretches out of the nightclub, down the hall all the way to the comedy club. Let's see how long it takes her. 

Excellent. Mothers have their uses. 🙂

[exlondoner]

2 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

I'm gonna call the mystery dish bubble and squeak. It was excellent. Not sure why I got it, maybe they felt bad for having to tell me only one side dish. 

 

Everything on my plate was fantastic and piping hot.

 

The pork belly was the same preparation they use at jiji's which has to be the best pork belly dish anywhere.

 

I left very full and quite satisfied. 

 

Cover charge was $25. Is it worth it? With a meal already paid for, it's a tough sell for another charge but I would still do it again although not every time. It's biggest selling point for me is that it's something different to try.

 

The service was a bit disorganized. I expect a meal made to order to take longer but I had trouble getting my water refilled and as mentioned, it qas 15 minutes before a waiter stopped by.

 

I find the steakhouse on most Carnival ships to be not quite up to par with service expectations. I'm not sure why that is, but it's why I don't do the steakhouse very often unless it's a casino comp. 

 

And most importantly, there are not enough salt and pepper shakers to go around and my table was not among the chose ones.

 

TL;DR

 

Food: Yes

Value: Mixed

Service: No 

No salt and pepper at all??? Well, at least you can’t be upset by them not matching.

[exlondoner]

2 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

Here are some nice pics of today's salad offerings to help those watching their calories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those cakes do look very impressive.

[jam19872016]

15 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Excellent. Mothers have their uses. 🙂

It's been nearly an hour and she hasn't returned. I told her expect at least an hour but she said she was going to wait.

 

13 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Those cakes do look very impressive.

My only regret is I had no room to sample them today.

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, jam19872016 said:

It's been nearly an hour and she hasn't returned. I told her expect at least an hour but she said she was going to wait.

 

My only regret is I had no room to sample them today.

Why do they take your passports? Is it only for non-EU citizens? I thought we were told never to let them out of our sight.

[jam19872016]

8 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Why do they take your passports? Is it only for non-EU citizens? I thought we were told never to let them out of our sight.

Correct only non EU. Some sort of Spanish customs thing. I have never heard of that before for Spain but I guess it is so we can clear customs without needing to be present. The point was to avoid waiting in a long line, and here we are waiting in a long line to retrieve them. I must have missed that particular civics lesson but apparently yes most people were told not to let them out of their site. I took a photo ahead of time in case anything should happen.

[jam19872016]

I guess I need to go find her because she wants to attend the plat/diamond party with the rest of the ship at 445.

[exlondoner]

8 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

Correct only non EU. Some sort of Spanish customs thing. I have never heard of that before for Spain but I guess it is so we can clear customs without needing to be present. The point was to avoid waiting in a long line, and here we are waiting in a long line to retrieve them. I must have missed that particular civics lesson but apparently yes most people were told not to let them out of their site. I took a photo ahead of time in case anything should happen.

I assume you mean immigration. Customs is goods, passports are people, not the same thing at all.

[jam19872016]

Just kidding. She went to the 3:45 party by mistake. That's good she hasn't been in that lime this whole time.

 

I don't particularly care to go to the party so  heading to the sauna instead.

[jam19872016]

1 minute ago, exlondoner said:

I assume you mean immigration. Customs is goods, passports are people, not the same thing at all.

All I know is I was considered a passenger when I boarded but cargo after all I've eaten.

 

Yes immigration I'm clearly in need of a nap 😴 😆 

[jam19872016]

I found a hidden Micky.

 

[jam19872016]

Looks like I'm still not on the list for Al Fresco.

 

[jam19872016]

Checked in for dinner at 602. Nobody is really hungry yet but there is a 50-60 minute wait.

[exlondoner]

19 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

Looks like I'm still not on the list for Al Fresco.

 

Is this a special area for special people or what?

[jam19872016]

Just now, exlondoner said:

Is this a special area for special people or what?

It's an invite only pop up dinner with a special menu that happens a couple evenings on longer cruises. I'm not sure the criteria for getting an invite. I've heard Diamond guests but I haven't verified that claim.

 

Didn't get invited on the way over. Looks like I may not still. 

 

It's a nicer menu than they serve in the dining room with more personal service and outside (al fresco). I bet they get fancy salt and pepper shakers too.

[exlondoner]

9 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

It's an invite only pop up dinner with a special menu that happens a couple evenings on longer cruises. I'm not sure the criteria for getting an invite. I've heard Diamond guests but I haven't verified that claim.

 

Didn't get invited on the way over. Looks like I may not still. 

 

It's a nicer menu than they serve in the dining room with more personal service and outside (al fresco). I bet they get fancy salt and pepper shakers too.

Goodness, I wonder what you have to do to get an invitation. It certainly sounds more separatist than Cunard.