Freedom 8 Day Western Cruise Report...With Photos!

[AryMay]

A couple of weeks before the cruise I had purchased a new Canon D-10 camera. This model had just been released and can be used underwater (down to 10 meters). I’m not the greatest photographer, but did have fun using it while we were snorkeling. It was a little scary putting a brand new digital camera in the water...but it worked great. Not being too familiar with the camera, I completely forgot that I can also take underwater videos. I’ll have to try that next time!

 

 

 

 

Numerous "reef balls" have been put in the water to attract fish back to the area. My DH also saw a starfish and a barracuda, but he refuses to use a camera.

 

[cjkumbaya]

I'm enjoying your review and photos. Please keep them coming! Thanks for sharing.

[AryMay]

In place of the damaged palapa that we saw on our last trip, a brand new restaurant/bar has been built…the Money Bar. What a difference!

 

Dzul Ha in 2005:

 

Dzul Ha in 2009:

 

 

We ordered a couple of diet Cokes during the morning and then later split a huge plate of nachos…even with two of us eating, we didn’t quite finish it! Our cruise was the first time that the Freedom has returned to Cozumel following the swine flu scare…and only the 3rd ship overall. I’m sure places like the Money Bar must be feeling the effects because the place was deserted. The staff at the Money Bar was very friendly…I had a lengthy conversation with one of the waiters.

 

 

 

A little after 1:30 we decided to head back to the ship. We had waited along the road for a taxi for a few minutes when a guy in a red car stopped. Using my bad Spanish to read the sign on the side of his car I figured out that he worked for the local transportation department. He called a taxi for us and it was there shortly. Another $8 fare and we were back at the port.

 

The plan was to drop off our stuff back in the cabin and then come ashore again to do some shopping. Again…the heat on that concrete dock was so intense that I decided to just stay on the ship. DH did get off but wasn’t gone long…he isn’t much of a shopper anyway.

 

After getting cleaned up, we went outside on Deck 3 and watched as the rest of the cruisers returned. Everyone was to be back onboard by 4:30 for sail away at 5:00…but there were some stragglers still coming down the dock at 5:00. They were met with a combination of cheers and boos from the folks watching from their balconies.

 

 

At one point a dock employee took one of those bicycle taxis and went ashore. He came back with a guy and three pieces of luggage. We thought perhaps it was an entertainer who had flown in to meet the ship…if it was, we didn’t see him perform.

 

John Heald announced that night that a honeymoon couple had not made it back to the ship and were left. They had rented a jeep and were on the opposite side of the island. Their family was onboard but couldn’t get in contact with them…so had to sail away without them. Apparently they had gotten confused and thought they didn’t need to be back on the ship until 7:30 (rather than 4:30). John said that Carnival has representatives at each port to help make arrangements when someone does miss the ship. According to him they were to spend the night in Cozumel, fly to Mexico City, then San Jose, Costa Rica, spend the night there and then fly to meet up with the ship in Limon, Costa Rica two days later…all at their expense.

 

Next...Costa Rica.

[AryMay]

Here are a couple of photos from the shopping area at Puerta Maya. (I tried to include them in the last post but apparently there is a limit to the number of photos you can include in one post.)

 

 

[pinglefty]

What a great review. We are on that ship in 10 days

[AryMay]

Can't wait to read more! I'm going on the Freedom August 29th. Our cruise is going to Panama, Costa Rica, and Cozumel. Is this the cruise you took? I haven't seen many Freedom reviews with these ports :\

 

Yes...this is the same route we took. I just finished posting about our day in Cozumel and hope to get to Costa Rica and Panama in the next few days.

 

Thanks for reading!

[LUV THE SEA]

Leaving on Freedom this Sunday...PLEASE tell me more---I can't wait...where there chairs up front ---we are on the 6th floor midship...Thanks

[AryMay]

Just thought of one little tidbit I forgot to include in my Cozumel section...The restrooms at the Money Bar are wonderful...new and immaculately clean! In Mexico that's kind of rare! :)

[AryMay]

Leaving on Freedom this Sunday...PLEASE tell me more---I can't wait...where there chairs up front ---we are on the 6th floor midship...Thanks

 

There are no chairs...but there was a wooden bench.

 

 

The railing is about chest high on me so if you were sitting down you couldn't see over it. You pretty much have to stand.

 

There are ocean view cabins along this open deck (and on deck 7 as well). Those people pretty much have to keep their curtains closed at all times since you are looking directly into their windows when you are there. The windows give them natural light, but I'm sure they are not able to see the ocean.

[alreadypacked]

Eventually we were allowed to go to our cabins (around 1:30). In our past 3 cruises we have had an inside cabin, a porthole cabin, and a balcony. DH just wanted the cheapest option for this cruise although I stressed about going back to an inside after experiencing the balcony the last time. He actually loves sleeping in the dark inside rooms. By the time we booked I got one of the last 4A cabins…an inside near the front of the ship on deck 1. We have been in one of the very front cabins before so knew that we would feel the ship movement…and we did…and we loved it!

 

Our cabin (#1238) seemed much smaller than the inside that we had on the Paradise. The outside cabins across the hall were considerably larger and I was a bit sorry we hadn’t gotten one of those…but we spent very little time in our cabin and the complete darkness did make for some wonderful sleep!

 

 

 

The hallway of Deck 1...it goes on forever!

 

 

Thank you for the cabin pictures. I'm in an inside cabin too on the Freedom in Sept. Did you, by an chance, take a picture of the bathroom?:)

 

Also, did your cabin have a refrigerator? I understand that you can ask the room steward to remove the items from the mini bar so it can be used as a fridge.:confused:

[AryMay]

Thank you for the cabin pictures. I'm in an inside cabin too on the Freedom in Sept. Did you, by an chance, take a picture of the bathroom?:)

 

Also, did your cabin have a refrigerator? I understand that you can ask the room steward to remove the items from the mini bar so it can be used as a fridge.:confused:

 

Sorry...I did not take any pictures of the bathroom this time. However I did just read the following post that does show pictures of a bathroom on the Freedom...it looks just like the one in our cabin.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1027650

 

The cabin did have a refrigerator. If you look at the second picture from my post, the refrigerator is in the cabinet on the left side right behind that small table. You can see the vents cut into the side of the cabinet for ventilation. I only glanced at the refrigerator the first day and then never opened it again. I did notice it was locked on the last morning. We never had anything that we wanted to put into it so never asked to have the mini-bar stuff removed. I have read where the "fridge" really isn't very cold. Our steward was very good about keeping our ice bucket filled and that was really all we needed.

[chacha813]

Great review! Leaving 9/26/09 same ports. Can't wait to hear what you did there. Were doing the Panama city tour and the can't decide in Costa rica the aerial tram or the off road adventure. Glad i'm going through CCL for the excursions. Don't want to be left behind. Keep it coming:o

[Snorkel2Much]

Great review so far, looking forward to the rest. We're doing this routing in late September.

[Lovharvey]

If I could design my “ideal” cruise it would be one that alternates sea days and port days…this cruise almost met that requirement. With 4 sea days and only 3 ports, this cruise was much more laid back…especially if I compare it to the Southern route that we had considered doing.

 

I’ll start with port days since I know some people are looking for ideas of what to do. Our first port was Cozumel (8:00 to 5:00). It has already been mentioned that on Sunday night (the 2nd day of the cruise) we were instructed to turn our watches back one hour before going to bed. That meant when we arrived in Cozumel we were on “port time”…the same as central daylight time in the U.S.

 

Rather than diving as he has on our previous 3 trips to Cozumel, DH decided this should be a “relaxing, take-it-easy” sort of day. A couple of factors played into this decision…I’m not certified and although I have done discover dives with him a couple of times…diving is just not my thing. Also with the crazy baggage fees the airlines have imposed, bringing his scuba equipment has gotten quite costly. He could rent, but just prefers to have his own equipment.

 

Our last cruise in 2005 on the Victory was a family cruise…we brought 3 sons, a daughter-in-law, and my sister. While DH and oldest son were diving with EagleRay Divers, the rest of us took a cab to Dzul Ha Beach Club to snorkel. I had read that it had the best shore snorkeling on the island…and it wasn’t bad. We were there in August right between two major hurricanes…Emily and Wilma. Here is what Dzul Ha looked like at that time. You can see some damage from the first hurricane…after Wilma nothing was left and the storm destroyed much of the reef close to shore.

 

 

In doing some research I found that the snorkeling at Dzul Ha has not recovered to where it was pre-hurricane, but it is still one of the better places to snorkel from shore. Since we didn’t want to be tied to a schedule, we chose to take our chances. We ate a leisurely breakfast and took our time getting off the ship. Also I was not feeling 100% that day…not sick…just a little “off”. I was glad we had not planned a tour.

 

Prior to Wilma, the pier at Cozumel was a series of enclosed, air conditioned shops that you walked through to get to shore.

 

 

The hurricane completely demolished the concrete pier and all of the shops and now it is just a dock…a very long dock.

 

 

Carnival has rebuilt the shopping area at the port (Puerta Maya) back to how it was on our last visit and you must walk completely through this area to get to the spot where you can get a taxi. Ordinarily I would have loved to take my time browsing through the shops but I wasn’t feeling great and the heat seemed unbearable.

 

 

 

I had completely forgotten about those shops that you had to go through. We were there in March and they did a great job rebuilding the pier area. You are so right about it being a very long pier, but, not as long as the one in Progresso. They have shuttles to take you into town because it is about a 4 mile pier. Love your pictures. I read a lot of reviews and am able to take the cruise right along with the person. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this.

[AryMay]

Great review so far, looking forward to the rest. We're doing this routing in late September.

 

Thanks for reading. We have sailed on the western route on our past 3 cruises so it was fun to go to some new ports this time. I hope to get a section on Costa Rica done today. I don't mean to, but I start typing and write WAY more than what I should (or most people want to read!!)

 

I had completely forgotten about those shops that you had to go through. We were there in March and they did a great job rebuilding the pier area. You are so right about it being a very long pier, but, not as long as the one in Progresso. They have shuttles to take you into town because it is about a 4 mile pier. Love your pictures. I read a lot of reviews and am able to take the cruise right along with the person. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this.

 

It was nice walking through the AC back on the old dock! I think this dock just seemed extra long because of the heat and me not feeling so good.

[AryMay]

After a wonderful sea day on Tuesday we arrived in Costa Rica on Wednesday, July 8th. The ship wasn’t due to arrive until 10 am so we were able to sleep in a bit, have breakfast and then head up to our “private deck 7” to watch the ship dock.

 

 

The day was a bit hazy and gray and made the mountains along the coast blend in with the sky and sea…all various shades of blue. The ship maneuvered around a small island before finally docking.

 

 

 

No souvenier shops or Carlos & Charlies at this dock…just a big parking lot and lots of shipping containers. As we got closer and closer, the dock started to fill up with all sorts and sizes of tour busses.

 

 

Being in “steerage” on deck 1 is very handy on port days…no fighting for an elevator…just walk down one flight of stairs and get off the ship. Extra easy for us since our cabin was in the front of the ship where the gangplank was located.

[AryMay]

I had booked a tour with Charlie Soto of OkeyDokey tours. Here is the email I received:

 

i hope you doing well, and many thanks for e mail me , Yes i really recommend you the A-2 tour ...6 hrs , only $99 each include Bananas plantation to see the process, country side, the wonderful tortuguero canal boat ride through the jungle to see animals; nonkeys, sloths, toucans, lizaeds, iiguanas, birds a lot, Jungle Breeze canopy & rain forest to do the zip line 10 plattforms, Bonita beach , View point for pictures, and city , full air conditioned van , the $99 each include admission fee for the tortuguero canal , zip line, refreshments, fresh fruits and thipycal lunch at the rain forest or the beach , no extra charge, wear: t shirt, short pants, hat, sneakers or tennis shoes, you can pay me cash at the end of the our, i would like to be at the pier holding a sign: okeydokey & your name on it 1 hrs after arrival time to give you an perfect introduction of my beautiful country , thanks a lot, would be an honor, Blessings from Costa Rica

Although the email said to meet the tour one hour after arrival, we decided to go ahead and get off the ship shortly after it had docked. There were several guides for OkeyDokey waiting on the dock holding signs…it only took a few seconds to find our name and Rey, who would be our guide for the day.

 

He showed us to the van and we waited while the rest of our group showed up…we waited about 20 minutes or so. I think we were to have a few more in our group, but after waiting a bit more we just left. As we left the port, we passed by a large city park that Rey seemed to be proud of. He explained that the trees were painted white to protect them from bugs.

 

 

Driving through Limon reminded me of Jamaica or Roatan from past cruises…very poor. The homes all had bars on the windows although many did not have glass or screens. Most houses had a small courtyard in the front…also enclosed by bars…where kids were playing and laundry had been hung to dry.

 

 

I wasn't able to get many good photos with the van moving...this home is actually one of the "nicer" ones we saw. Notice there is a satellite dish on the roof!

 

[newfiegirl4]

Thanks so much for the review.Sounds like you've had a great time.We're so looking forward to our up coming one.It's so nice to hear great reviews.Can't wait to hear the rest of it.

We're going to be on the spa deck,hoping it's a good choice.Our last cruise we were on the on Glory 1st floor and had a horrible experience!!

[AryMay]

Our first stop was the Tortuguero Canal. After a quick visit to a very rustic bathroom, we boarded our covered boat.

 

 

 

As we sailed down the canal Rey would point out animals and the boat driver would pull over and stop so we could take pictures.

 

 

Most were so well camouflaged that taking a picture was pointless…I did try nonetheless. ;)

 

If you look closely there is a "Jesus Christ Lizard" on the rock...it got it's name because it runs on the water.

 

 

Here is a sloth sleeping in a tree. I had to use the zoom on my camera and it still just looks like a furry blob. Rey said they only come down out of the trees once a week to poo.

 

[AryMay]

Along the shore we spotted quite a few very old and run down boats. According to Rey these had been confiscated from drug dealers. It rained a bit, but the boat was covered so it wasn’t a problem.

 

 

 

Back in our van, we were offered bottled water, Cokes, or Costa Rican beer. We drove out of town and started up into the mountains headed for Brisas de la Jungla…Jungle Breezes canopy tour.

[AryMay]

Once we arrived at Jungle Breeze, we were outfitted with harnesses, helmets and heavy leather gloves. Two employees gave us a short orientation using a small section of cable strung by the equipment building.

 

 

Since we were already at the top of the mountain, we walked up just a few steps to the first platform. There are two cables between each platform and you are attached to both with webbing and a carabineer from your harness. This was the hardest part of ziplining...especially if you were short. I would have to stand on my tip-toes or jump so that the staff could get me attached to the top cable.

 

Once you reach the next platform, one line is disconnected and hooked to a cable around the tree before the second line is disconnected. At no time was there any chance of falling. After we were done I told my DH that I really should have been scared…but I was having too much fun (and if a 53 year old lady can do this…anyone can!) The youngest in our group was 11 years old. She was a bit nervous at the beginning…but was having a ball by the end.

 

 

The ziplines vary in length…if I remember correctly, the longest was about the same as a football field in length. They encouraged everyone to try…but if someone didn’t like it, there was a chance to bail out at the 5th platform...this was just before you did the longest zipline.

 

Here is a video I made of DH on the long section of the zipline. He disappears from view...but you can hear that he keeps going and going.

 

[AryMay]

The platforms were about 8 feet in diameter and built around trees…and most were VERY high.

 

 

Depending on the platform there might be as many as 4 or 5 of us waiting to be connected to the next section. We would sort of hug the tree and work our way around it. Sometimes it would be 5 or 10 minutes before it would be your turn…but the waiting gave us a chance to take in that amazing view and listen to the sounds of the jungle.

 

 

Other times you would get to a platform and immediately be connected to the next line and sent on your way. I can’t begin to tell you how exhilarating it was to fly through the air above all of the trees…I would do it again in a heartbeat!

[AryMay]

There is an open air restaurant at the start of the zipline and this is where we had lunch.

 

 

We were given a plate of rice & beans, slaw, cooked green bananas (not plantains…I asked), and chicken. When we were all finished they brought out a platter of watermelon and fresh pineapple that was delicious.

 

 

I wondered around a bit taking pictures of some of the huge bamboo plants and other colorful plants growing nearby before we got back in the van and headed to our next stop...the banana plantation.

 

 

 

 

[AryMay]

Some of the people in our group were worried it was getting late and wanted to skip the banana plantation but Rey insisted we go for a short time (and I’m glad he did).

 

On the way to the plantation...

 

 

Unfortunately we got there later in the day and the workers were all gone, but we did get to see how bananas grow and hear a bit about what happens to them from the time they are picked until they show up in the grocery store.

 

 

I don’t want to sound like an encyclopedia, but I’ll give you just a few facts. :) Each banana plant only produces one bunch of bananas and then is cut down.

 

 

The bananas are covered with a blue plastic bag that is treated with pesticides and protects the bunch. The bags have small colored tags that indicate when the bananas will be ready for picking. So for instance...on one day they harvest all bags that have a "red" tag. The banana plant "stems" are soft so to provide stability, each plant is tied with string to another plant...which is tied to another plant...and so on. It produces sort of a spider-web affect through the plantation.

 

 

Men called “mules” haul the bunches of bananas to where they are floated in a big tank of water and graded according to size. This truck was full of “reject” bananas going to be used to make baby food.

 

 

The tour was to include a stop at a look-out point where we could take pictures of the ship in the port. Again some on the tour were worried that it was getting late but didn’t want to miss stopping at a grocery store to buy coffee. Rey decided that perhaps we should “vote” to see which stop we should do and shopping won out…but just barely. I was OK with this decision since I wanted a chance to purchase some coffee.

[AryMay]

Rey went into the grocery store with us (while some chose to stay in the van) and showed us different kinds of coffee. There was also a representative from one of the coffee companies who helped me pick out some espresso beans for my daughter-in-law. I took a picture of the cash register display after buying several bags of coffee and a bottle of vanilla…converted into US money…$12. When I realized how cheap it was I ran back and got a few more bags!

 

 

Just down the street from the grocery store was a drugstore...I hadn't noticed the big sign on the front until I got home and looked at my photos!