Just off Freedom...W. Caribbean 4/5-4/11

[Nanatravel]

Thanks John for the great day by day review.

 

Who did you book the Parasailing with for the girls in Key West?

 

I have a group going on the 6 night CCL Freedom 2/21/2010. As a PT agent, I may join them. I've been there and done that, so private tours are the way to go and what I recommend for my friends and family. I plan to recommend Reef, Rays & More for GC with Nativeway, too. Heard that CCL owns Mystic Mountain in Ocho Rios, so may have to recommend CCL tour to include the zipline and bobsled tour plus Dunns River. Did you hear anyone comment on the Mystic Mountain tour?

 

MitchPam, if you can sail February 21, let me know as I have a few cabins left; nanatravel at comcast dot net.

 

Bon voyage

[jbroons]

Thanks John for the great day by day review.

 

Who did you book the Parasailing with for the girls in Key West?

 

I have a group going on the 6 night CCL Freedom 2/21/2010. As a PT agent, I may join them. I've been there and done that, so private tours are the way to go and what I recommend for my friends and family. I plan to recommend Reef, Rays & More for GC with Nativeway, too. Heard that CCL owns Mystic Mountain in Ocho Rios, so may have to recommend CCL tour to include the zipline and bobsled tour plus Dunns River. Did you hear anyone comment on the Mystic Mountain tour?

 

MitchPam, if you can sail February 21, let me know as I have a few cabins left; nanatravel at comcast dot net.

 

Bon voyage

 

Thanks for reading & I'm glad that you enjoyed my review.

 

In KW we used Sebago Watersports and the girls really enjoyed them. Regarding Mystic Mountain, I have never heard of it so I cannot help you out there.

[msjaxson]

Hey Nanatravel...

I will be looking for your feedback on the freedom as we just recently booked it for next May !!!

[newbieMom]

Hey guys......I'm here, just slow with the review and the pictures. I'm putting together a slide show to link to. I will say that every time I saw the hot hard boiled eggs i thought of you Jon! Hey Annie/Bonnie, I have a funny video that I want to post to youtube and share with you guys, but before I do, I need to make sure you didn't wear a tan-ish colored bikini on Lido. LOL!

[jbroons]

Hey guys......I'm here, just slow with the review and the pictures. I'm putting together a slide show to link to. I will say that every time I saw the hot hard boiled eggs i thought of you Jon! Hey Annie/Bonnie, I have a funny video that I want to post to youtube and share with you guys, but before I do, I need to make sure you didn't wear a tan-ish colored bikini on Lido. LOL!

 

Hi Meg....so good to hear from you! Look forward to your review....AND the youtube video. What a tease!!;)

[Debster2Cruz]

Hi Meg....so good to hear from you! Look forward to your review....AND the youtube video. What a tease!!;)

Hey John, found out that our school district is giving us one week vacation at Thanksgiving instead of just Thursday and Friday. My youngest daughter will turn 21 that week so I asked her if she would like to go on a cruise to celebrate her 21st birthday since I will have a forced vacation that week. She said yes and she has always been afraid to cruise. I think it was the movie Titantic that scared her about cruising. Anyway, I have been researching cruises for that week. WhooooHooooo another cruise to go on!

[jbroons]

Hey John, found out that our school district is giving us one week vacation at Thanksgiving instead of just Thursday and Friday. My youngest daughter will turn 21 that week so I asked her if she would like to go on a cruise to celebrate her 21st birthday since I will have a forced vacation that week. She said yes and she has always been afraid to cruise. I think it was the movie Titantic that scared her about cruising. Anyway, I have been researching cruises for that week. WhooooHooooo another cruise to go on!

 

Good for you Debbie!!! That will be great quality time spent with your daughter!! Where do you want to go?

 

HA! I mentioned in my review that on our first night on Freedom my girls were tired and decided to watch a movie in our room.....they watched Titanic!!! Pretty sick I thought....I had to leave and hit the casino!!;)

[kyrisong1]

Sorry all...had a business meeting...I know that it's late but here goes.

 

Day 4 April 8th 2009 Grand Cayman...YAY!

 

We woke up to (Cruise Director) Todd Wittmer's announcement "Well, the Captain (Orazio D'aita) did a fantastic job getting Freedom preferential docking in Grand Cayman as only 3 out of 5 ships were able to tender....something to do with weather and high winds". Apparently, all Carnival excursions were cancelled for this day...or most were. We, however, were booked through NativeWay Watersports for the Rays, Reef & Rum Pointe Beach excursion so we lucked-out.

 

So, breakfast buffet...again omeletts, sausage, very crispy bacon, hot bagels with cream cheese, hot hard-boiled eggs (ummm), lots of coffee;) and OJ.

 

Leaving Freedom was totally painless.....I really think that Carnival/Freedom gets special treatment in ports as it happened during our entire cruise....maybe it's just me;)...Bflow....little help here...you recall better than me!! Anyway, this was a spectacular day, including weather....82 degrees...perfect!

 

So we waited a little while next to the NativeWay sign...20 minutes or so and boarded a bus to our boat. NativeWay was great. We cruised out over beautiful open water to Stingray City. NW had only like 20 people on board while the other boats in the area were loaded with 40-50 people....and they went to the stingray sandbar away from the other boats....wonderful!!

 

We got in the pristine water and when the stingrays came my girls jumped right back onto the boat....scared beyond belief!! They had kissed dolphins before but somehow this was different;)....I loved it!! Anyway, they eventually felt bad and joined me long enough to snap a few pictures (priceless) and, when I fed the beautiful beasts squid, the Rays commenced a gentle feeding-frenzy. It was truly a "not to miss experience"...really!!

 

We then went out to a reef 15 minutes away and snorkeled for 35 minutes.....great. I got some nice pictures of some beautiful fishies....blues, yellows, reds...just great!! Then Captain Chris gave us menus and took our lunch orders to be served at Rum Pointe Beach. Well, we arrived at Rum Pointe and the food was there, hot & fresh, on picnic tables, along with iced-tea & lemonade. I had a Jamaican jerk-chicken sandwich (excellent) & my girls had a cheeseburger and some kind of veggie-wrap thing (Kyra is apparently a vegetarian these days....saw some film in school about how "meat" is cured, etc., enough!!) We then just lounged in chairs...but then Kyra, who loves sea shells, walked the beach and found this incredibly beautiful conch (I think) shell....it must weigh 15 pounds and I carried it from there back to home...YAY!! The beach is beautiful as was the entire excursion....I really recommend it.

 

I'll finish this day tomorrow as I'm exhausted but felt compelled to give you more this evening!!;)

 

Sleep well cruisers!!

Isn't Nativeway amazing? We've done the Reef, Rays and Rum Point twice because they are so awesome.

Chris is a doll and so is the rest of the crew, did you also get Soloman? he's a hottie!!!!

Great review keep it coming!!!

Carole

[jbroons]

Isn't Nativeway amazing? We've done the Reef, Rays and Rum Point twice because they are so awesome.

Chris is a doll and so is the rest of the crew, did you also get Soloman? he's a hottie!!!!

Great review keep it coming!!!

Carole

 

Yes, NativeWay is fantastic!! Chris was great but I don't know about Soloman....I don't really find guys that hot;). The best part was sitting on the boat with like 12 - 15 other people and cruising by other boats @ Stingray City with like 40 people!! They were packed in like sardines on the other tour boats.

[kyrisong1]

Yes, NativeWay is fantastic!! Chris was great but I don't know about Soloman....I don't really find guys that hot;). The best part was sitting on the boat with like 12 - 15 other people and cruising by other boats @ Stingray City with like 40 people!! They were packed in like sardines on the other tour boats.

ROFL I was hoping you didn't think that I was implying you'd be interested in his hotness ;) Thats just the dirty old lady in me having tourettes;)

I really loved the smallness of the boat and the ratio of staff so you could really get involved and learn about their country, they are all so knowledgeable.

One guy dived deep and showed my husband a spiny lobster, we got amazing snorkling pics there.

The individualized attention is awesome, and they don't charge an arm and a leg, we were well pleased with Nativeway.

[newbieMom]

We went with Native Way (thanks to John's thread) and were also on the Trippin Out with Chris. He was AWESOME with my kids, especially Chloe....always looking out for her and making her laugh. I think he liked her because she's only 5 but she wasn't a bit scared. She wanted to "ride" the stingrays and "kiss them on the lips!" Chris held one up to her face so she could kiss it and it spit water all over her face.....she started laughing hysterically, then Chris couldn't stop...it was awesome. I'm proud to say I caught and snuggled 2 giant rays on my own:) My husband was like, "Who ARE you?" Vacation brings out the best I tell you!;) So, Solomon....was he by chance the photographer? Very young, very cute, very nice? If so, he was great with the kids too. Native Way rocks!!!!!

[jbroons]

We went with Native Way (thanks to John's thread) and were also on the Trippin Out with Chris. He was AWESOME with my kids, especially Chloe....always looking out for her and making her laugh. I think he liked her because she's only 5 but she wasn't a bit scared. She wanted to "ride" the stingrays and "kiss them on the lips!" Chris held one up to her face so she could kiss it and it spit water all over her face.....she started laughing hysterically, then Chris couldn't stop...it was awesome. I'm proud to say I caught and snuggled 2 giant rays on my own:) My husband was like, "Who ARE you?" Vacation brings out the best I tell you!;) So, Solomon....was he by chance the photographer? Very young, very cute, very nice? If so, he was great with the kids too. Native Way rocks!!!!!

 

That is soo funny about Chloe!! I am so glad that my advice was helpful and in some small way helped to make your family's vacation enjoyable. Did you feed the rays squid, Meg? That's when they get really "playful"!!

 

NativeWay does rock!!

[newbieMom]

Catching and smooching on rays...no problem! Touching squids...no way! Ewwww! :p

[jbroons]

Catching and smooching on rays...no problem! Touching squids...no way! Ewwww! :p

 

Who ARE you?!:p

[Debster2Cruz]

Good for you Debbie!!! That will be great quality time spent with your daughter!! Where do you want to go?

 

HA! I mentioned in my review that on our first night on Freedom my girls were tired and decided to watch a movie in our room.....they watched Titanic!!! Pretty sick I thought....I had to leave and hit the casino!!;)

Since I live so close to the port in Los Angeles we will probably do the Mexican Rivera on the Splendor. I already have that ship booked for the LOOTER cruise in April but I think it will be fun two times. Daughter's never been and she will love it.

[jbroons]

Since I live so close to the port in Los Angeles we will probably do the Mexican Rivera on the Splendor. I already have that ship booked for the LOOTER cruise in April but I think it will be fun two times. Daughter's never been and she will love it.

 

Very nice being able to avoid the $500 - $1,000 flight expense....plus you'll be an expert on that cruise come the second time around!! Good for you!

[AnnieB925]

No, but I sure did see lots of bikinis on women who should not have been wearing them. My bikini days are over......post away! Can't wait to see your slide show.

 

Hey guys......I'm here, just slow with the review and the pictures. I'm putting together a slide show to link to. I will say that every time I saw the hot hard boiled eggs i thought of you Jon! Hey Annie/Bonnie, I have a funny video that I want to post to youtube and share with you guys, but before I do, I need to make sure you didn't wear a tan-ish colored bikini on Lido. LOL!

[jbroons]

No, but I sure did see lots of bikinis on women who should not have been wearing them. My bikini days are over......post away! Can't wait to see your slide show.

 

Do you mean that they should have been naked?;)

[newbieMom]

No, but I sure did see lots of bikinis on women who should not have been wearing them.

 

You said it sister!!!!!!! I'm usually very self concious about my figure, but not on that trip! LOL! I was sort of shocked/disgusted/impressed all at the same time at the confidence/apathy I saw in the bikini department. And where do you buy bikinis that size? Oh well, as long as everyone has a good time, to each his own :p

[elsplace2]

WOW! Awesome review Annie

I am cruising on the Freedom leaving on Oct 24 and doing the 8 day Western Carribean itenary. How was dinner? What did you eat? Did you like flying Southwest and how far out did you book your flight? Soutwest has not yet released their flights for November so I can see the prices for my departure date of Oct 21 or 22 but not for my return of Nov 1. They won't release these flights until the end of June and I am a little nervous about waiting. What do you think?

Thanks Laticha

 

 

Great review Jbroons and Annie! I can never read enough about the Freedom! Can't wait to write my own!! Tee Tee, we are also on Freedom Oct. 24th......join our roll call if you haven't already. (I haven't been on it for a while, due to shopping for an Alaskan cruise.) Anyway, we too are taking Southwest. I was getting a little nervous about waiting until June 23rd for the new schedule, so we went ahead and booked for our flight going down. And will book coming back home, when the new schedule comes out. It was suggested by fellow CC posters, to do it that way, because its easier to change one flight or another if you have too, where your whole reservation doesn't have to get messed up. One ways use to be NOT the way to go in the past, due to their high cost (which was ridiculous), but now I think it will be the right thing to do....if Southwest doesn't have a good flight schedule coming back, then we'll just go with another airline. Hope this helps!!

[jbroons]

Great review Jbroons and Annie! I can never read enough about the Freedom! Can't wait to write my own!! Tee Tee, we are also on Freedom Oct. 24th......join our roll call if you haven't already. (I haven't been on it for a while, due to shopping for an Alaskan cruise.) Anyway, we too are taking Southwest. I was getting a little nervous about waiting until June 23rd for the new schedule, so we went ahead and booked for our flight going down. And will book coming back home, when the new schedule comes out. It was suggested by fellow CC posters, to do it that way, because its easier to change one flight or another if you have too, where your whole reservation doesn't have to get messed up. One ways use to be NOT the way to go in the past, due to their high cost (which was ridiculous), but now I think it will be the right thing to do....if Southwest doesn't have a good flight schedule coming back, then we'll just go with another airline. Hope this helps!!

 

Thanks elsplace2!! I know, isn't it fun/informative to read true experiences and not speculations??!! I look forward to reading your review around Halloween;)....Enjoy Freedom!!

[AnnieB925]

LOL....that would have been even more gross:( No, I meant some people (men and women) should try to cover up a bit more and not let it all hang out!

 

Meg, you're right about being shocked/disgusted/impressed. Is it apathy or confidence? Interesting question. I remember on a cruise to St. Maarten where I purposely walked on the naked beach and I thought it was really amazing that people could hang out (no pun intended) at the beach bars and converse with others. I don't think I'd quite know where to put my eyes;)

 

Ahhh, the Freedom. We sure are having a hard time getting used to being home and doing all the cooking again. Where's our waiter? I want 2 entrees and 4 desserts tonight.

 

Do you mean that they should have been naked?;)

[newbieMom]

Well crap. I thought I was just feeling tired and sad from the cruise being over but nope.....101.5 fever. Uh oh.

[Stargateman]

Hello Carzyboutcarnival, will also be there on the 4th of July at this point we only have 7 cabins can't wait. Are we there yet ......:D

[jbroons]

Well crap. I thought I was just feeling tired and sad from the cruise being over but nope.....101.5 fever. Uh oh.

 

Sorry Meg...Drink lots of "familiar" water....and maybe a Big Mac or 2...not kidding.