Freedom March 8-15 Review

[CCLgoddess]

background info: i traveled with my family, aunt, uncle and cousins which was a total of 10 people. the kids age ranges were 13-24.

embarkation: arrived in ft lauderdale on friday and stayed at the hyatt place. weather was nice and warm but stormy late that night. saturday morning we awoke to rainy cloudy weather. got to miami around 10:15am and sat in a great VIP lounge. being a platinum member has its perks...haha. we got on the ship around 11:45-noon just in time for lunch! we met john heald at lunch. we were allowed to go to our cabins at 1:30. by the time we got on the ship the weather cleared and it was sunny and hot. the lifeboat drill was painless and wasn't that long. the sail away party was fun. we had 8:00 dinner in the posh dining room. we had george and nino as our waiters.

day 1 funday: awoke to sunny and hot weather. it was a tad windy and the upper decks were closed. we just took in the sun on the lido deck all day then got ready for formal night. the captain's party was good and not too crowded. it was lobster night in the dining room and the waiters danced that night.

day 2 funday/san juan: the weather was sunny again but not that windy. in the afternoon there was a passing shower which didn't last very long. we decided to have lunch in the dining room because baby back ribs and raviolis were on the menu. we arrived in san juan on schedule. some of our group got off the ship to go to senor frogs and then to look around in the shops. there weren’t too many people at dinner that night. the deck party was held because we left at midnight. that was fun. all the spring breakers were out dancing.

day 3 st thomas: the weather that day HOT with little breeze. i think the temp was like 86. some of our group did a little shopping in town before heading to the beach. we went back to the ship for lunch. there were little lines for lunch but they moved pretty well.

day 4 st maarten: the weather again was gorgeous with more of a breeze but you needed it. we were off the ship very early to go to the beach because this is our favorite port. we got back on the ship for lunch again and the lines were about the same as st thomas.

day 5 funday: we awoke again to another gorgeous day. there was a slight breeze; the sea was calm and not a cloud in the sky. lunch was good with everyone being on the ship. the only problem i found was that the restaurant ran out of cups and there were only coffee cups at the stations. tonight was the second formal night. we got our pics taken before dinner. dinner was filet mignon. after dinner we checked out the beatles show and it was great.

day 6 funday: awoke again to another perfect day. the weather was sooo hot. by 1 you couldn't walk around the decks because they were so hot. there was also no breeze. we had to take a break from the heat and decided to use that time to sadly pack some things. dinner was good again and all the waiters sang that sad goodbye song...lol. it was sad saying goodbye to george and nino at the end of dinner. at night we caught the legends show. it was funny seeing john dressed as dolly parton. after that we finished up packing. its always a sad sight to see suitcases out in the hall that night.

debarkation: we got up and had our last breakfast in the dining room. we took advantage of the platinum benefit of being in group 1 to disembark from the ship. the process was a little delayed because of customs. we off the ship and through customs by 9:10. we then took a cab back to ft lauderdale to catch our flight back to philly.

misc: spring breakers-there were a lot onboard mostly from univ of kentucky. they seemed to congregate all together in the casino, casino bar, piano bar, and the lido deck. although most were well behaved there were those who took the drinking and partying to extreme. food-no problems. we all thought the food was better than ever so far. they had the alternative menus at dinner which were great. the fruit cocktail was excellent. entertainment-all the shows we went to were great. john was hilarious despite the bells palsy. he really is the best cruise director. ron was good in the piano bar. that place was always hopping every night. the deck band sucked. it was just 2 guys called caribbean breeze and they were my only real disappointment. they had a lack of energy while on stage and all of their songs sounded the same. i am a fan of reggae music but a reggae version of rhinestone cowboy is not what you want to hear on a cruise ship. enough said. service-ken was the best in the posh dining room. he sang pretty much every night and would stop by the table to chat. our waiters george and nino were outstanding. the ship-was nice. the lights all changed colors throughout.

overall-this was a great cruise filled with great times and awesome weather. we even got our letter we wrote to john read on his morning show and it also made his blog! it is sad to be back home but the only thing making it better is planning our next cruise...haha. feel free to ask questions i'll do my best to answer them!

[Aidansmommy2]

We were on the Freedom the week before you and had a great time too. The only thing we were really disappointed with was the food. We absolutely hated it! It was so bland and had no taste for the most part. What did you think of the food overall? I can't say I could recommend anything other than the pizza, which is always fabulous, and maybe the sushi. Sun King food was excellent though, but it should be since your paying extra for it. Anyhoo, was just wondering if we're the only ones who thought the food stunk?

Happy Sailing :)

Barb

[CCLgoddess]

We were on the Freedom the week before you and had a great time too. The only thing we were really disappointed with was the food. We absolutely hated it! It was so bland and had no taste for the most part. What did you think of the food overall? I can't say I could recommend anything other than the pizza, which is always fabulous, and maybe the sushi. Sun King food was excellent though, but it should be since your paying extra for it. Anyhoo, was just wondering if we're the only ones who thought the food stunk?

 

Happy Sailing :)

Barb

 

wow, i'm sorry to hear you thought the food wasn't good! for lunch i pretty much did a sandwich from the deli which i loooooved, had some fries and tried the chicken nuggets from the grill. the food was also great for dinner. like i said in my review my family overall thought the food was the best yet. we did not try the dining room where you had to pay the $30 for so i don't know what that was like.

[Pirate13]

Excellent review of the ship. I was on this cruise also. I thought the food was very good. I think they have improved it considerably. You mentioned the kids from Kentucky. I, too, am from Kentucky. I was pleased with most of the behaviour of the kids. You always have a couple of standouts, but, by far and large, the kids were very mannerly. I give great credit to John Heald. Bell's palsy is very uncomfortable and he showed tremendous courage in appearing as much as he did. Everything about this cruise was most pleasant with the exception of the 10 year old girl that passed away.

 

Again, thanks for the excellent review. Kept me from having to write one!:p

[LynneL]

we took advantage of the platinum benefit of being in group 1 to disembark from the ship. the process was a little delayed because of customs. we off the ship and through customs by 9:10. we then took a cab back to ft lauderdale to catch our flight back to philly.

 

Goddess - We've booked a group of 12 people for Christmas/New Year's cruise on the Freedom. Trying to get a flight home & there is one out of Ft.L. at 10:40 a.m. We are platinum too so we were tossing the idea of using that status for early disembarking, plus carrying our own luggage, may get us to the airport in time. Know it could be risky....what's your thoughts on that? Crazy notion or more than likely no problem. Later flights are really high priced (guess filled with more sensible people - lol).

[KYWEST1]

You mentioned the kids from Kentucky. I, too, am from Kentucky. I was pleased with most of the behaviour of the kids. You always have a couple of standouts, but, by far and large, the kids were very mannerly.

 

 

There sure was one "bad" group of kids from Kentucky according to John Heald's blog. They screamed at him for not showing the Kentucky/Georgia game (found out later the game had been cancelled). They really made U of K look bad. One even said he was Rick Pitino's godson and that he would have John fired.....yikes!:eek:

 

 

OP, what did you do in St. Maarten?

[marty30907]

Thank you for your review. We are having our first Friends and Family Cruise on the Freedom next year. We are looking for a great time!

[CCLgoddess]

Pirate13: no problem! i'm glad you had just as much fun as we did. we are all so depressed to be back home. :( lol

 

LynneL: we got off the ship at 8:30 and got to the customs agent at 9:00. we were on our way to the airport by 9:25 and we were at our airport gate at 11:30. we did not take our own luggage off the ship but we were apart of group 1. we did curb side check in and it took a half hour to get through that line which was shorter than the wait inside. they started letting people off the ship around 7:30 but customs at 8:00 put a 20 min hold on the line. if the freedom is in miami for your cruise it was a 45 min cab ride back to ft lauderdale. hope that helps!

 

KYWEST1:we were one of the first people off the ship in st maarten. we took a cab and went directly to orient bay kakao beach. this is our favorite stop and beach so we stayed there as long as we could which was 3:00. we also did some shopping at the pier before we got on the ship.

 

marty30907: yup...have a great time when you go on the freedom next year!

[papanh]

We were on the Freedom in Feb and had a great time .

Good ship and the best CD in John.

As far as the food our son who is an executive chef in Wash Dc was impressed with the food and the quality really surprised him.

enjoy the Freedom next year

Papanh

[yaletown605]

Any good snorkeling spot at St. Maarten? Something we can do by ourselves. I have Dawn Beach or Orient Beach. Any idea?

[CCLgoddess]

Any good snorkeling spot at St. Maarten? Something we can do by ourselves. I have Dawn Beach or Orient Beach. Any idea?

 

i'm not really sure. the only beach we ever go to is orient bay and we have never snorkled there. sorry i can't help.

[schultz]

We were on the same cruise and agree with the OP's comments. We've been on some very rowdy spring break cruises and this was the most well behaved. There are always a few exceptions. We loved John Heald. Now we know what all the rave reviews about him mean. He makes you feel like you've been friends for years. I was disappointed when on his last show he read a letter from a passenger who felt he should not have been on that cruise as they could understand him with his Bell's Palsey. We felt so bad for him and tried to call in but he was inundated with calls, so we wrote him a letter. Never once did we not understand him and could only assume that the person couldn't understand an English accent. We never heard about the death of a 10 year old on the ship. How sad. What happened, was she ill before?

[pepperfeet]

Any good snorkeling spot at St. Maarten? Something we can do by ourselves. I have Dawn Beach or Orient Beach. Any idea?

I just got off the Freedom. We went to Dawn Beach, The snorkeling was preety good, moreso at the far right hand side of the beach toward the big rock, you will see it. $15 dollar cab ride $10 to rent 2 chiars and umbrella.

[mainer208]

Nice review. We love John Heald. Didn't realize he is battling bell's palsey? When did this all happen? For some people, it is temporary, others is a debilating tragedy.

[CCLgoddess]

Nice review. We love John Heald. Didn't realize he is battling bell's palsey? When did this all happen? For some people, it is temporary, others is a debilating tragedy.

 

i wanna say a couple weeks ago but im not exactly sure. in his blog he said its been getting better.

[Hemisphere Dancer]

We were on the Freedom March 1-8 and he said he woke up Sunday, March 2 with it. It was progressively getting worse throughout the week.

[waitin4acruise]

Great review looking foward to cruising on the Freedom oneday.

[lisa702]

Thanks for sharing. We will be sailing her in 10 days!

[trvlady]

Great review!!!

One question, we will be on the Freedom in 25 days and will be flying in and out of Ft. Lauderdale. Do you recall how much the cab ride was? Thanks.

[CCLgoddess]

trvlady: we used a van service and there was 10 of us and it was $15 a head each way. have fun on the freedom!!

 

lisa702: have fun! i'm going through major withdrawal right now...haha.

[CCLgoddess]

oh i forgot to mention this in my review but there were hand sanitizers throughout the ship.

[paintwife]

A question for past Freedom cruisers. Do all cabins have a hair dryer? The Carnival website doesn't list it as one of the ships with hair dryers, but I'm assuming that a new ship would have them.

 

Also, do inside cabins have refrigerators? I think that I read something about some cabins having them, but that might just be suites or balcony cabins.

 

Thanks in advance. Sharon

[CCLgoddess]

A question for past Freedom cruisers. Do all cabins have a hair dryer? The Carnival website doesn't list it as one of the ships with hair dryers, but I'm assuming that a new ship would have them.

 

Also, do inside cabins have refrigerators? I think that I read something about some cabins having them, but that might just be suites or balcony cabins.

 

Thanks in advance. Sharon

 

 

yes, all cabins should come with hair dryers and fridges. you have to ask your room steward to unlock the fridge if you want to use it. beware with the hair dryers though. you have to be watch it because it tends to eat your hair. its little but it does the job if you're careful.

[paintwife]

Thanks CCLgoddess! That's good to know. I'm a milk drinker and like keeping some in the room. But ice buckets are a pain to mess with when you try to get containers in and out of the ice.

 

Also, now I won't have to pack a hair dryer.

 

Another question I had: I read where someone posted that the Freedom dining rooms had tables for ten people (as opposed to the usual 8 maximum). When I called my TA, they said that was wrong and that there are only tables for eight. Anyone know for sure? We have a party of 18, so two tables of eight would leave 2 people extra. Right now, we have 8, 6 and 4. But it would be nice to get the 4 and 6 together. Oh, well. It'll be fine, but I was just wondering if any past Freedom cruisers knew for sure.

 

Thanks, Sharon

[denisey]

Any good snorkeling spot at St. Maarten? Something we can do by ourselves. I have Dawn Beach or Orient Beach. Any idea?

 

I've never tried to snorkel at Oreint Beach and it really didn't strike me as a good snorkeling beach. The surf kicks up sand and there are usually a lot of people there.