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

[AryMay]

We were to be back on board the ship by 5:30 and Rey dropped us off at the pier at 5:00. There was a sort of a “flea market” set up that we wandered through…but didn’t buy anything. Several were selling the same kind of coffee we had just purchased…but it was slightly more expensive. Many stands had jewelry for sale. I was tempted, but decided to wait since I was planning to make some purchases in Panama.

 

 

 

This guy was standing guard by the gangplank...

 

 

 

Overall I was very pleased with our tour with OkeyDokey…however we did miss a couple of the stops that had been mentioned in the email. I heard some people from another tour talking about visiting the beach…and describing the huge waves that were crashing into the shore. I’m sorry we missed that (although we did catch a glimpse of the waves as we drove back to the ship.) We also did not get to go to the look-out point for pictures. The canal tour seemed overly long to me and perhaps that is why we ran out of time for the other stops.

 

Sailing away from Costa Rica…on our way to Panama...

 

 

[maxamuus]

really enjoying your review. Thanks for sharing.

[pinglefty]

Great job, can't wait til the next port

[celticd1]

Thanks for posting! Loving it so far...can't wait for the next installment! :)

[xntric1]

We did this cruise in April. It is a wonderful itinerary. We fell in love with Costa Rica. We did the Coffee Plantation tour and were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed it. Best of all was the ride thru CR to and from the plantation and all of the wonderful Ticas we met.

 

Can wait for more or your review, so I can continue my trip down memory lane.

[sumgem]

This is definitely the longest review I have ever read, but I LOVE it! We are very seriously considering doing this same criteria on the Freedom in June of 2010.

[AryMay]

This is definitely the longest review I have ever read, but I LOVE it! We are very seriously considering doing this same criteria on the Freedom in June of 2010.

 

Actually...I think the reviews I did on past cruises were even longer...and you should see the review I did of our trip to Mexico two years ago! :) I really should call this a "diary" instead of a review...I do it more for myself...but just share it with you all! Besides recording all of my memories...I am also trying to cope with post-cruise letdown...and looking at my photos seem to help. Fortunately I am a high school teacher enjoying my summer off and have the time to do a "mega-review"!

[Fawn524]

This is our cruise for next March...GREAT review!! Thanks!

[chacha813]

Keep it coming! Can't wait till I hear more. Soon we'll be there.:)

[guiderchachi]

AryMay,

Your review is wonderful! Thank you for sharing. Hubby and i are doing this cruise on Aug. 29/09 and this is the best step-by-step I have seen. I can't wait for the rest.

 

I was looking through the capers you included in your link. On the Cozumel day, it said James Taylor performed. Was that THE James Taylor??? I think I would have stayed on board for that one!

Guiderchachi

[cruznjan]

Where in Costa Rica did you dock?

[guiderchachi]

Okay, I just realized (as I kept reading) that the concerts were on the big screen. I am such a dummy!

[AryMay]

Where in Costa Rica did you dock?

 

The Freedom docks at Limon, Costa Rica. Unless you take a tour there is absolutely nothing close that you can walk to...or at least that I am aware of.

 

When I saw the large, tour buses that Carnival uses, I was once again glad we had booked an independent tour. I know there is a risk of not making it back to the ship on time...but these guys depend on the tourist industry for a living...they will do everything in their power to get you back to the ship before it leaves.

 

In my experience if you do your homework you can get a much better tour, a much smaller tour group...and for about half the price if you book through an independent tour operator.

[blasta]

The Freedom docks at Limon, Costa Rica. Unless you take a tour there is absolutely nothing close that you can walk to...or at least that I am aware of.

 

When I saw the large, tour buses that Carnival uses, I was once again glad we had booked an independent tour. I know there is a risk of not making it back to the ship on time...but these guys depend on the tourist industry for a living...they will do everything in their power to get you back to the ship before it leaves.

 

In my experience if you do your homework you can get a much better tour, a much smaller tour group...and for about half the price if you book through an independent tour operator.

 

Great review so far! I actually took this cruise last April as well and had a blast! Looking forward to seeing what you did in Panama.

 

I did feel oliged here to make a comment to the other folks about the excursions in general. In Costa Rica, my wife and I did the Whitewater Rafting directly through Carnival and it was amazing! Now, to get to the river, we had to take a windy, mountainous road that was only one lane each way. On the way back, there were several accidents, and major traffic. If you remember, they ask you to be back on board by 5:30. By the time we got back onboard the ship, it was 5:50! I was sweating a little, but I knew they would wait for us for the most part. Now imagine if you had signed up for this with an independent operator! My point is that in these types of places, if you are doing an all-day excursion, please do us all a favor and book directly with Carnival. Cozumel is one thing, but in ports like Panama and Costa Rica, you wouldn't want to be left behind, even if you did have trip insurance and there were people there to help you.

 

Sorry to "hijack" your review.

 

Cheers, blasta.

[AryMay]

Great review so far! I actually took this cruise last April as well and had a blast! Looking forward to seeing what you did in Panama.

 

I did feel oliged here to make a comment to the other folks about the excursions in general. In Costa Rica, my wife and I did the Whitewater Rafting directly through Carnival and it was amazing! Now, to get to the river, we had to take a windy, mountainous road that was only one lane each way. On the way back, there were several accidents, and major traffic. If you remember, they ask you to be back on board by 5:30. By the time we got back onboard the ship, it was 5:50! I was sweating a little, but I knew they would wait for us for the most part. Now imagine if you had signed up for this with an independent operator! My point is that in these types of places, if you are doing an all-day excursion, please do us all a favor and book directly with Carnival. Cozumel is one thing, but in ports like Panama and Costa Rica, you wouldn't want to be left behind, even if you did have trip insurance and there were people there to help you.

 

Sorry to "hijack" your review.

 

Cheers, blasta.

 

Blasta, thanks for taking time to read my review.

 

Yes...to be honest I did worry a little about not getting back to the ship on time in Panama and Cost Rica...however it was a risk I was willing to take to get the kind of tours we had. We don't gamble in the casino...but we do gamble on the tours!

 

We did carry our passports off the ship..."just in case".

[AryMay]

Okay, I just realized (as I kept reading) that the concerts were on the big screen. I am such a dummy!

 

I agree with you...I would have stayed on the ship to see James Taylor in concert too! ;)

 

We didn't hang out around the pool during the day, but do know from reading the Capers that they showed concerts most days. Also on sea days, John Heald's "Morning Show" was broadcast on the big tv (and on the cabin tvs as well.)

 

At night movies were shown on the big screen. It usually wasn't too crowded and chairs seemed to be available. We did watch one movie..."The Day the Earth Stood Still" on Friday night. Not my kind of movie, but it was interesting just to think we were watching it on a moving ship!

[gwilli]

Mary,

Great review & pictures! That was such a fun cruise! It was nice to meet you & DH at the Meet & Greet.

 

There is also a "secret space" at the front of deck 9 - the Lido deck. We went there a few times. The cabins at the end of the hallway have a window -- but looked out onto the huge deck -- almost like having a balcony room! It was nice being on deck 9, too!

 

Smooth sailing ~~~~~~~

Gail

[AryMay]

Mary,

Great review & pictures! That was such a fun cruise! It was nice to meet you & DH at the Meet & Greet.

 

There is also a "secret space" at the front of deck 9 - the Lido deck. We went there a few times. The cabins at the end of the hallway have a window -- but looked out onto the huge deck -- almost like having a balcony room! It was nice being on deck 9, too!

 

Smooth sailing ~~~~~~~

Gail

 

Funny you should mention that...I was just looking at the photo I took of the front of the ship and wondering if there were other decks that had access to the front. We should have done more exploring!

 

The week went by so fast...I wondered about a cruise with 4 sea days, but at the end of the week I still had things on "my list" that I didn't get to do on board. This just turned into a very relaxing cruise...which we needed.

 

Thanks so much for putting together the meet & greet. It was nice to run into the Cruise Critic people during the week and say "hi"!

[guiderchachi]

Okay, you guys keep talking about "secret places and decks" How do you get to them? I know that if you tell everyone, they won't be secret anymore but I would love to find one of these spots for our August cruise.

Guiderchachi

[deloris15]

Beautiful pictures thanks for the review we are going on her 8/29 hoping to enjoy myself I have not been on a Carnival ship in years I left in the early 2000's because the quality had dropped although I loved their ships. I have been experimenting with RCCL & Princess so I will see how things go my TA said things have gotten alot better., I really hope he is right I am in a bad need for a vac...................35 days and counting.

 

:eek:

[celticd1]

Eagerly awaiting the next port and pics! :D

[AryMay]

Okay, you guys keep talking about "secret places and decks" How do you get to them? I know that if you tell everyone, they won't be secret anymore but I would love to find one of these spots for our August cruise.

Guiderchachi

 

Shhhhh...not so loud. ;)

 

If you go to decks 6 or 7...and from the looks of the deck plans possibly 9 or 10 as well...go down the cabin hallways as far as you can go and there will be a door with a small porthole window. It leads to an outer deck at the very front of the ship.

 

Thiese photos show Deck 6, 7 and 9 on the Freedom and you can see the open deck at the front. There is also a set of stairs going from Deck 6 to Deck 7 without going back inside the ship.

 

 

All of these cabins across the front of the ship are a category 4G (inside)...except they DO have windows. According to John Heald, these were reclassified from an ocean view since the railing blocks the view. The bad thing is that when people are out on these decks, they can look right into the cabin windows so I'm sure most people must keep their curtains pulled for privacy (hence the reclassifacation to "inside".)

[AryMay]

Eagerly awaiting the next port and pics! :D

 

I had hoped to get the Panama portion done today...but ended up helping a friend do some painting. Tomorrow we are off to an air show...so most likely it will be Monday before I get it written. :(

 

Do check back though...Panama was the highlight of the whole cruise for us!

[AryMay]

Beautiful pictures thanks for the review we are going on her 8/29 hoping to enjoy myself I have not been on a Carnival ship in years I left in the early 2000's because the quality had dropped although I loved their ships. I have been experimenting with RCCL & Princess so I will see how things go my TA said things have gotten alot better., I really hope he is right I am in a bad need for a vac...................35 days and counting.

 

:eek:

 

Having only sailed Carnival I'm always interested in hearing comparisons between the different cruise lines...I hope you write a report when you get back.

 

Until our plans changed (due to friend's health problems) we were planning to cruise on RCCL. I was looking forward to the trip...but hated to think an inside cabin would cost as much as a balcony on Carnival. Our Carnival cruise PLUS airfare was about the same as we would have paid for the cruise only with RCCL.

[ADATL]

Thanks for your great review! We too are going on the 8/29 cruise and we've been struggling to figure out what to do in Costa Rica. Although you all missed the beach, we're thinking the zip-line portion of your tour would be just fantastic! Thanks for all the great pictures. Glad you enjoyed your trip - so far. ;) Looking forward to reading the rest of your review!