Freedom Review 11/22/2008

[wayne_trisha]

Yes, we need our heads examined.

 

We drove the 999.7 miles straight through. 16 1/2 hours!!!

 

We got home around midnight .... I am currently doing my 9,000th load of laundry.

 

I kinda feel bad. We only had 165 miles and we couldn't make it without stopping for lunch. Yeah, a 2 hour drive and we stopped halfway home for food. Actually it was Subway and we ordered footlongs, half for lunch and then later half for dinner. No way either of us was cooking Sunday night. Trisha took Monday off and I'm back to work this evening. We did get all unpacked, laundry done, and suitcases put away today though.

[nothomeonacruise]

I heard people booing when they switched from the football to bingo on the big screen. This happened when we walked across the deck and saw the big screen change. The pursers desk was rude. I wrote about it in my review, although didn't go into detail. We mentioned it in our comment card.

[CCLgoddess]

wayne_trisha -- do you remember who the lido deck band was and if they were any good??

[dclark]

What nght did they serve beef wellington?

[wayne_trisha]

wayne_trisha -- do you remember who the lido deck band was and if they were any good??

 

I have no idea the name of the band but it was three asian guys. The few times I heard them they were pretty good. They came out as the Beatles during the let it be show.

[sunlover5]

I sure hope they (the 3 Asian men) I can't remember their names either, on still on the Freedom in Feb. They were on the Liberty last time I was on that ship. They were great!! They definitely need more exposure. We found them in the back lounge and every night the crowd got bigger and bigger as the word got around how good they were!!!

[dclark]

I sure hope they (the 3 Asian men) I can't remember their names either, on still on the Freedom in Feb. They were on the Liberty last time I was on that ship. They were great!! They definitely need more exposure.

 

Sounds like Music Boardwalk to me. I too, saw them on the Liberty and they were great. What really stood out was how well they could imitate a variety of bands. One guy did a great imitation of Eric Clapton, then after that, the band did "Sweet Home Alabama" so well, you'd think Lynard Skynard was on deck.

[kelligirl]

I was on this cruise 11/22 also. I actually enjoyed Cozumel the best (Nachi Cocom) and Panama as well (Portobelo Pirates & Gatun Locks tour). To me, Costa Rica was filthy and disgusting. I've heard the Pacific side is much better and I would like to visit there. I thought the adventure canals and banana plantation tour was hokey as well.

 

As for the ship, well this is only my 3rd Carnival cruise. The first, well what can you say it was my first and a wonderful time. The 2nd on the Conquest was fantastic so I don't know if my expectations were high but this one was not near my expectations. I thought much of the staff (except our room steward) needed lessons on attitude. Anyone remember when they used to be very attentive and keep your water glasses full, not reach over you and clean up your crumbs with that little stick? LOL okay well I could have done without that but I get better service at Red Lobster! Also, my group was very disappointed in the THanksgiving dinner....it was pathetic. I wish we would have visited the supper club but I hear they didn't even have turkey on turkey day!

 

Embarkation and debarkation to me were very orderly and quick.

 

We thought bingo on the Lido deck was a last ditch attempt to reel in as many bingo players as they could. When winds are howling at 40mph, its a challenge to hold on to your card.

 

Room service was always on time.

 

I agree with WayneTrisha about the casino dealers, NO PERSONALITY!!! i played a lot of caribbean poker and only had 1 dealer I liked (by the way, I gambled a little every day and walked away a winner!). Sladjean (sp?) is very sweet!

 

I didn't do a lot of the clubs at night, although my 18 and 21 yo did and they had a lot of fun! They were out til 2 every night. Lots of dancing, karaoke and they enjoyed the shows. My oldest REALLY enjoyed the Beatles show which we missed.

 

All in all with a rating of 1-10 (10 being the highest) I would have rated this cruise about a 6.

[LHP]

Sounds like Music Boardwalk to me. I too, saw them on the Liberty and they were great. What really stood out was how well they could imitate a variety of bands. One guy did a great imitation of Eric Clapton, then after that, the band did "Sweet Home Alabama" so well, you'd think Lynard Skynard was on deck.

 

Lifeline was the Asian band onboard.

 

Ricardo (lead guitar), Ricardo (bass player - really good) and Benjamin (drummer). They usually have a keyboardist....but he got booted for not being able to handle the booze.

 

There was also a Caribbean band that played on Lido.

[DGP1111]

CD was Todd Whitmer. I have no idea how long he'll be on the Freedom. I thought he was good. Not too many announcements and none early except debarkation day.

 

I'm onboard right now (the week after the OP reviewer), and Todd is still Cruise Director, but will be exiting after this sailing to spend the Christmas holidays with his family. "Big Sexy" joined on this week as Assistant CD, and seems like a really personable dude. He and Todd had never prior to this week, so it's an interesting mix when trying to work together (such as the live TV broadcasts). I'll try to research who will be coming on next week as CD, and post here on CC.

Lots of unfortunate issues going on computerwise, and all passengers are on their third issued S&S cards. Something bad apparently happened at embarkation after all the check-in computers crashed for a while. Some of the first day purchases may or may not ever appear for some, which would be quite a 'bonus' fer sure. We'll see how that plays out. Food and entertainment has been excellent so far.

Oh, LHP. . . . . guess I'm sorta zero for four. :p :p :p

[DGP1111]

I apologize in advance for the misspelling, but I just checked with Todd, and he advised that the new Cruise Director coming aboard will be either Lenny Halliday or Lenny Holiday. Apparently he's been w/ CCL for about 15 years.

Sorry, but one too many whiskey sours at the Captain's Cocktail Party affected my hearing. :p :p :p

[CarribbeanTina271]

Thanks for the review and glad Linda you had fun!! Will be doing the Freedom in Feb and can't wait...

[letsgocruz1]

Thanks for the review and glad Linda you had fun!! Will be doing the Freedom in Feb and can't wait...

 

Woo-Hoo!! Can't wait.

 

I hope Todd is back in February. I was looking forward to looking at him again, LOL :p

[letsgocruz1]

 

 

The harasser, overweight and had Chewbacca stuffed in her bikini bottom, went on and on about how you can’t save chairs to the lady. What a mean hairy creature she was. .

 

OMG :eek: :D

 

Thanks...I just spit Diet Dr Pepper all over my laptop! :D:D LOL

[letsgocruz1]

What time did self disembark start?? We have early flights; hoping there are no problems.

[CCLgoddess]

thanks for the info about the band! i was referring to the caribbean lido deck band but that other band sounds good too!

[Guest Mary49]

Sounds like Music Boardwalk to me. I too, saw them on the Liberty and they were great. What really stood out was how well they could imitate a variety of bands. One guy did a great imitation of Eric Clapton, then after that, the band did "Sweet Home Alabama" so well, you'd think Lynard Skynard was on deck.

 

dclark, if you were on the Liberty this year, than you definitely saw Music Boardwalk. There is usually 4 of them but Enrique (lead guitarist) lost his keyboard player and that was why they had only 3. But when they come back, hopefully in December to the Freedom, he will have his keyboard player back. I love all the music they play but the best ones are "Free Bird" and "The Wall".

 

 

Found this on youtube of "Music Boardwalk" playing on the Liberty's Lido deck. Enjoy. Mary49

[ackmom]

What time did self disembark start?? We have early flights; hoping there are no problems.

 

 

Self assist debarkation started around 6:30 AM. That was if you were carrying off your bags. It got a little delayed. I believe regular debarkation started around 8:00 or so. I know we were group 26 and we were off the ship at 10:00 AM.

 

There was one big issue with the morning of debarkation. Everyone was up at the buffet for breakfast, and it was very hard to find a plate, coffee cup, or juice cup. They couldn't keep up with the demand. You would think they would have that part figured out.

[brt49]

Do you mean the Airport La Quinta on 26th avenue?

[brt49]

Do anyone know if La Quinta offers a shuttle back to the hotel AFTER the cruise? If not how much is a taxi? Are they easy to get?

[FMZ]

Thank you all for the reviews and tips! We are taking this cruise is April. Any chance anyone is going to post the caper? Normally I dont care because it's the normal carribbean stuff but this cruise is different and I was curious.

 

Thank you again!

[FMZ]

brt49, I just read another thread that said that La Quinta will take you there but not bring you back.

[LHP]

I apologize if I have posted this before....we stayed at the Hampton Inn - Plantation.

 

We stayed there before our Splendor B2B and the night between the Splendor and the Freedom.

 

They dropped us off and picked us up and dropped us off again.

 

We left our car at the hotel.

 

They were wonderful.

 

If you stay there, say HI to JB (one of the shuttle drivers). He actually works for Carnival at the Help Desk also AND goes to college.

[letscruise18]

Yes, Todd was the CD and Noortje was the ACD. She really did not impress me all that much. I found her "smile" was an act for the passengers since I saw her true colors several times when folks were not around. Considering the number of Entertainment Staff that we know....you are bound to run into one or two that don't cut the mustard.

 

All the other staff and crew were wonderful. Saw many folks we had sailed with before. A bartender remembered me singing with Melvin on the Imagination and called me by name. I was amazed. They took fabulous care of our son with Autism. Todd did a great job at the past cruisers party by adding some new stuff we had not seen before.

 

We ate at the buffet several times at dinner (which we have not done in the past) and found a lot of the foods to be the same that were being served in the formal dining room. Now they are not going to have Chateaubriand or Filet on Lido...but some of the other selections were there.

 

I heard everyone raving about the Supper Club. Since I still have gallbladder issues and could not eat a lot....we did not indulge...but everyone we spoke to loved it.

 

 

Hi Linda,

 

It was great meeting you and your husband over Thanksgiving. We too had a great time. And thanks again for putting together the meet and greet on the first day.

 

I agree that Todd did a fabulous job, and all the other staff we ran into were always smiling and happy with the exception of several dealers in the Casino. Boy!! They must have really had a tough tansatlantic crossing or something.

 

We found the food in the dining room to be exceptional compared to other dining rooms on other Carnival ships we've been on. Our waiter went out of his way to do an outstanding job by offering recommendations for the main courses and desserts and he was right on. I was amazed if I ordered medium-rare, I actually got medium-rare. . .WOW!!

 

We went to the Supper Club on Thanksgiving evening and had a wonderful meal. YUMMY!!

 

We booked a tour in Colon off the ship with "my friend Mario" and it was so worth it. They gave us an exceptional tour with snacks and drinks, and we even got to hike about a mile in the rain forrest, and our tour guide gave us an in depth history of Colon, Panama. We were at the canal for at least an hour so we could see a ship or two go through the locks. The day was wet, but we still had a great time.

 

On our way back to the ship we dropped several people off who wanted to go to the duty free area which was about three blocks from the ship. I have never seen anything so large. Our tour guide said it would be safe and we spoke to two of the people that went later that evening and they said it was an amazing place. We noticed secruity all over the city and they said they never felt unsafe, and only wish they had had more time.

 

We're thinking about the bloggers cruise in Feb. We just might join you.

 

C&B in Washington

[aspen36]

I have a question for anyone who has been on the Freedom. Do they have a regular hairdryer or is it the old box on the wall with the big hose on it?:confused: I will be on the Freedom January 3rd and can't wait. :D

 

Anna