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

[Gater Girl]

Keep up the good work girl! I see you found my secret deck. We are booked in an IS for our cruise, way up front of deck 6, room 6204 I think. We booked it because we had found the secret decks on our Triumph cruise, courtesy of these boards. So, we booked real close and figured we could use it like our own little balcony, since we hardly ever saw anyone out there. Anyway, keep up ther eview, can't wait to read about your excursions! Got just a pinch over 3 months to wait!!!!

We were in that cabin on the Freedom...6204. It has a regular size window that looks out onto that deck. It has more space than a regular inside...but it is arranged in an odd way. It is a terrific bargin..an OS for an IS price.almost. It does not have a sofa but does have a chair and more walking space than an IS.

I did not like the room because I felt the motion and got sea sick for the first time in my lift. BUT..we had an inside..6215 on the Glory (just like the Freedom) same deck..and that was the best cruise we ever went on. I slept like a log. We had to have someone call us in the morning to get up and we are usually very early risers.

There were more people using the deck on the Freedom than on the Glory. Perhaps some of the readers of CC are there so you know they are lovely people. Enjoy your Cruise! And have one of those huge macradamia nut cookies down in the Coffee Shop on the Promenade Deck. That is one good cookie.

[Gater Girl]

What a great review! I too have reservations about taking tours with anyone but Carnival in those places. Tourists were warned of unpleasant situations, although everyone we met was gracious and pleasant. We did encounter a riot in Costa Rica, which I too fell in love with :), but it was a political demonstration against the President..who spoke about Free Trade in Limon..where the citizens are not Free Trade..and it got out of hand...some. No one was hurt but the roads were blocked and some buses were way late getting back from their tours. We went to the Garden Tour because I like gardens and flowers, and it was excellent. It was like a college course on bromiads and tropical flowers, and the young lady who taught it knew her stuff. It does require standing for about an hour and walking the maze like trail through the garden. Carnival rates it a ONE on the walk ability scale. I would put it at a two or three.

To me..once past Limon, I thought the homes in Costa Rica were the cleannest we saw anywhere in the Carribean. Most of them had flowers planted around the house..Every village had a school and children are required to attend until grade eleven...Everyone seemed to have a job or walking to school....I was very impressed. And it is beautiful. We saw a volcano!! It was smoking..and it was right above a banana plantation. We stopped at a pineapple plantation ( not popular because they are not thought to be environmentally good..don't know why) but the pineapple they gave us...was as sweet as sugar. Really good. On our Carnival tour, Our guide was of Italian heritage and he was both informed and charming. It was a fabulous tour. A fabulous country. And that time...I think Carnival waited for everyone...because it was not their fault the roads were blocked.

 

The tour that most people on the ship raved about was the Costa Rica by train, bus and boat. I wonder if anyone posting here went on that one..if we are ever there again..I would like to take it.

 

In Panama..we tood the train trip. Pricey. Something I will remember for all of my life. It was more than worth the money. For one..air conditioned. Again..an excellent guide. We went in the winter..January and the weather was perfect. But If I were going to Panama..in the spring, summer or fall...I would take a tour that is air conditioned from start to finish. The ferry ride through the Canal in June almost did us in...and we live in Florida. My DH is a native and can cut the grass in 90 degree weather and wonder about the fuss. That was the first and only time I have ever seen heat bother him. It was really hot.

 

I loved this cruise. Everyone heading that way is going to have a fabulous time..on the ship and off the ship!!! (if offered any pineapple in Costa Rica..take as much as you can get!!!)

[CruisingCamper]

Can you all tell me anything about the kids pool, or have photos. Does it have a water splash area on the ship anywhere? DS loves those...

[AryMay]

Can you all tell me anything about the kids pool, or have photos. Does it have a water splash area on the ship anywhere? DS loves those...

 

I'm sorry I can't really tell you anything about the kid's pool. I do see on the deck plans that there is a children's pool at Camp Carnival...but that is one area of the ship we didn't see at all.

 

If you are referring to the "Water Works" that have been added to some of the Fantasy ships...then "no" the Freedom does not have a water splash area. There was a "water wars" where you could launch water balloons at each other, but I didn't see anyone taking part in this either.

 

Really the only pool that I was in was the Endless Pool at the back of the ship. This was an adult's only area so it was much more peaceful (and easier to find a chair on sea days.) The pool has a "shelf" around the water that is about 5 feet across and this was a great place to sit if you wanted to be wet, but not be in the pool. (OK..."shelf" is probably a bad description, but I'm tired and can't think of how to describe it any better! :confused:)

 

The sea was a bit rough the day I was in the pool and it was so relaxing to sit on the edge of this pool and have the water slosh over you...back and forth...back and forth...

 

Here is a photo that may make my description make sense. I was referring to the brown tiled area around the edge.

 

[dnj1]

Great review. You made it very interesting. Thanks

[RaMar]

Love your review and the photos brought back memories.:)

[bchbum641]

Do you know what port we go to in colon? Anne was asking if we will be coming into Colon 2000. She said that is the only port whe can get to.

[AryMay]

Do you know what port we go to in colon? Anne was asking if we will be coming into Colon 2000. She said that is the only port whe can get to.

 

If you go to the same port we went to then it will be Colon 2000. I fretted over this as well and called Carnival to verify (but really didn't get a straight answer.) By reading other reviews and asking questions I finally was confident that was where we would dock...and we did.

 

When you exit the building at the port, you will come down an escalator and that is where most of the independent tour guides will be. Anne was able to pull into the parking lot and we just climbed into her car and took off. I was a bit worried at first because Anne wasn't there waiting when we got off the ship. Another guide was able to call her cell phone and we found out she was running a bit late. Anne lives in Panama City (on the Pacific side) and had miscalculated the time to drive to Colon. A new freeway had just been opened and she thought it would take less time to get there.

 

It turned out OK and the delay didn't affect our tour at all...in fact we had enough time to visit the Panama Canal which we hadn't planned originally.

 

One suggestion...if you do the tour with Anne...rent the DVD of the movie "End of the Spear" and watch before you go. Anne's husband plays one of the main characters in the movie!! Here is a photo of Anne and Otniel on the set when they were filming the movie:

 

[AryMay]

This has been a great review! I've read through it kind of quickly though and may have missed some points.

Could you tell me what night are the Elegant nights and do many dress up or are most going more casual?

And did you do the cooking demo/class? Was it fun?

Was the ballroom/cha cha class during late seating? it seems that is usually when it is and we do late seating so we always miss them. Wish they would do them later.

We aren't doing this cruise until June 2010. Reading your review really makes me wish it was sooner. Thanks for taking the time to write it.

Kelly

 

I happened to look back on some of these posts and realized I had completely skipped your questions...so sorry. I wanted to make sure I answered any questions to "pay back" all of the good information I gleaned from these boards!

 

Elegant nights were Sunday and Friday nights (both sea days). I honestly don't pay close attention to what people are wearing, but I'm sure I would have noticed if someone really stood out. DH wore a suit and I wore a long black dress with a sparkly jacket. Our tablemates were not dressed up as much. He wore a sport coat with no tie and she wore a pair of black slacks & nice top. Now that airlines are charging so much for luggage I think DH will just go with a dress shirt and tie on our next cruise and skip the suit coat.

 

Here we are at the Captain's party on the first elegant night.

 

 

We did go to the cooking class which was held on Sunday (first sea day) at noon. It was held in the Sun King supper club and several of the chefs demonstrated how to make some of the dishes they serve in the supper club. The assistant cruise director narrated as they worked. As they finished making a dish, assistants would give everyone a small plate with a portion to sample. Right after the cooking demonstration a wine tasting was held in the supper club. There was a $15 per person fee to attend this...the cooking demonstration was free. (We didn't attend the wine tasting.)

 

 

 

The cha-cha dance class we attended was held on Saturday (the day we boarded) at 8:30 pm so you are correct...this would be during the late dinner time. We had taken some ballroom dance classes before the cruise so it was kind of fun to do the cha-cha...although the class really wasn't very long.

 

I checked my Capers and saw that other classes were held on the other sea days:

 

Groovy 60's Dance Class - 3:45 pm on Sunday

70's Dance Class - 2:00 pm on Tuesday

 

Once again I apologize for not answering your questions sooner. Hope you have a great cruise!!

[tweety33]

Is the Village that Anne takes you to in Panama the same Indian village that Carnival cruise takes its tour to?

[AryMay]

Is the Village that Anne takes you to in Panama the same Indian village that Carnival cruise takes its tour to?

 

I don't think so. There was a small group from My Friend Mario's tour that visited on the same day we did, but no one else.

 

Originally the plan was for us to visit the village where Anne's husband's family lives. However his village was further away and since the river levels were low it would have meant getting out of the canoe and walking part of the way. Anne was worried about not having enough time so took us to a different village. The village we visited was the Embera Quera village. This village was only a few years old.

 

This village was fun for us since we got to meet Marco (and others) who had been in the movie "End of the Spear". The connection to the movie was what made us interested in visiting the Embera in the first place. (I know this sounds weird since the movie was actually set in Ecuador...but it was still interesting to us!)

 

Although the Embera live in villages like their ancestors have for many years, these people DO have access to the modern world. The income from tourists is what allows them to stay in the village. Although there is no electricity they did have cell phones (they must use a generator to charge them?) and I have exchanged emails with Marco since we got home.

[tweety33]

Carnival says it takes you to the Embera Indian village experience. Some who took that tour suggested that it seems to be staged for tourist, and they felt they don't actually live there when there are no tours. They also said there was a "friend of Mario" tour there. So I think it may be the same one you went to.

Thank your for the information. It does tell me there are different villages. I take it you felt that you went to an authentic Embera Inidan Village?

Thank you for all the details in your review, I completely enjoyed all the info.

[AryMay]

Carnival says it takes you to the Embera Indian village experience. Some who took that tour suggested that it seems to be staged for tourist, and they felt they don't actually live there when there are no tours. They also said there was a "friend of Mario" tour there. So I think it may be the same one you went to.

Thank your for the information. It does tell me there are different villages. I take it you felt that you went to an authentic Embera Inidan Village?

Thank you for all the details in your review, I completely enjoyed all the info.

 

Yes...I do feel that this was an authentic Embera village. It was obvious that this was "home" to them. I mentioned earlier about getting to know Marco...he had just returned to the village after being an exchange student in Kansas City for a year. It was fun hearing about all of the new experiences he had while in the U.S....but he did say he was so glad to be back in the village with his family.

 

Here is a link to a blog by "Richard in Panama" (Richard Detrich)who posts on these boards. (Click on the link "Embera" at the top of the page.) This article will give you a background into the Embera people and why they allow the tours to visit their villages. Richard is a friend of Anne (that we toured with) and talks about her connection to the Embera.

 

Garceth Cunampio [gcunampio@yahoo.com] is another tour guide that I had contacted. He is an Embera who went to college in the U.S. and then returned to Panama. He is also a friend of Anne's. You can find out more about his tours at this website: http://www.emberatourspanama.com/

 

Anne (and Garceth as well) are part of the Embera people. They are not some random guides who are doing tours as a "job". Anne was friends with the Embera in the village we visited. They greeted each other by name and were genuinely pleased to have her bring us to the village. Although we were on a private tour with Anne, she took the time to share with the group from the Mario tour and tell them about the customs and traditions of the Embera people.

 

The clothing that the Embera wore...the dances that they did...the nature walk to see medicinal plants...these were all things that were for "show"...to entertain us as visitors. BUT...it was still truly amazing to see this village and spend time with these hospitable people.

[tdsmare]

Ok...this is weird. When I re-posted the photos they now show up in the earlier post as well. :confused:

 

Oh well...I had gotten mad and given up on writing anymore on this review when I had the trouble with the photos...but guess I should have tried a little harder.

 

This review has gotten pretty long winded...so instead of me writing pages and pages more...here are the topics I had on my list to cover.

 

• Cooking Demonstration in the Sun King Supper Club
  
• Ballroom Dance instruction...Cha-Cha
  
• Late night "bites" on Promenade Deck
  
• Evening movies on big screen TV
  
• Future Cruise Vouchers
  
• Tea Time
  
• Our hangouts...the adult pool and deck 3 under the lifeboats
  
• Our interesting dinner companions!
  

If anyone wants anymore information on any of these...just ask! :)

I love your review! You wouldn't believe the notes I've taken so that I get the most out of our cruise. We go Dec 19. Since you asked...I would love your take/info on the cooking class, any dance instruction (cost?/value?), late night bites as we COMPLETELY missed that on our cruise May 2008, definitely the future cruise vouchers, tea time, and your hangouts...secret and all...this is wonderful...I will so be ready for this cruise!

Thanks.

Mary

[reyesj226]

One suggestion...if you do the tour with Anne...rent the DVD of the movie "End of the Spear" and watch before you go. Anne's husband plays one of the main characters in the movie!! Here is a photo of Anne and Otniel on the set when they were filming the movie:

 

 

Oh my goodness!!!

We just watched “End of the Spear” the other night!! The family and I really loved this movie!

I would love to go on a cruise to Panama, but that will have to wait a couple of years before we can.

We are currently booked for a Western Caribbean on Conquest for this year and already looking to book an Eastern Caribbean on Liberty for next year.

[AryMay]

For us having the connection to "End of the Spear" made the tour to the Embera Village so awesome! I had to re-watch the movie when we came home just to see Marco! Here is his picture from the movie:

 

 

And here we are with Marco and his brother. (DH has his shirt sleeve rolled up to let his "tattoo" dry!):

 

 

I am actually facebook friends with Marco now and other than the fact that he lives in a hut in the jungle, he is a typical teenager!