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Freedom July 22nd Review Lots of Food Pics


cruisewithwife
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Hello everyone this is our first cruise review. We set sail on the Carnival Freedom on July 22nd out of Galveston. The DW and I were celebrating our 10 year anniversary which was on July 7th. This is our 3rd cruise as we did one for our honeymoon, our 5 year anniversary and now this one for the 10 year. We have been on the Conquest for a 7 day trip and the Triumph on a 5 day trip previously. We had been anxiously awaiting this trip as our two girls ages 7 and 4 were staying with grandma and grandpa so we could have a trip to ourselves.

 

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We woke up Saturday morning ready to go. We live on the northeast side of Houston so getting to Galveston is a little over an hour drive. We got everything packed up and off to Galveston we go!

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We had FTTF so we wanted to be there early. We left our house around 8 o'clock and there was minimal traffic so we were pulling into Galveston about 9 o'clock. To pass the time we made a run into Target to walk around. After spending a half hour in there we decided to head to the port. I dropped DW off at the terminal with the bags in which we got a porter to take our checked luggage and he was very kind to explain since we had FTTF make sure to stay to the left and avoid the lines. I took the car to Lighthouse parking and caught the shuttle back. I would say at this point it was about 10:15 and we were making our way to the entrance.

 

FTTF was well worth the money as we walked in went through the security and we were up in the waiting area within 5 minutes relaxing.

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We were the first cruise for the Freedom in which our room keys would be in our room. This made things seem to go even faster as you did not wait in line to get your card once through security you were in the waiting room and done.

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We visited with some other people waiting in the FTTF section and then they made the announcement we all were waiting for it is time to start boarding. They started with the wedding parties which there was 2 on this cruise, then to the platinum and diamond members priority suites, then to us the FTTF crew. We started heading on and this is where you get your picture taken they had multiple lines with little hand held scanners to take your picture for your sail and sign card and scan your boarding pass. Then we took the traditional embarkation getting on board picture and up the gangway we went.

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We made it onto the ship and having FTTF we headed towards our room to drop off our carry on luggage. I had surprised DW by getting the anniversary decorations and cake package. It was a pleasant surprise coming into a room all decorated. Our room was ready and they were frantically working on all of the other rooms. Our room keys were waiting in the little box outside of our door in a sealed envelope.

 

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We were in cabin 7204 which is a 4J cabin. It is considered an interior room however it has windows facing out the front of the ship. Our hallway also leads to those hidden balcony decks off the front of the ship.

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We were located on deck 7 and the captain was right above us so we never noticed any noise above us.

 

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We got everything dropped off in the room and were off to get a burger from Guys. We headed up to Lido to check everything out.

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My original goal was to be on board dropped things off and have a burger and drink in hand by noon. We did pretty good I believe it was about 12:15 when we sat down with the burger.

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DW had a plain jane and I got the Ringer. We both thought the fries were very good. The burgers were good but not the amazing taste we had built up in our minds from all the reviews.

 

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Decided to run over to the dessert bar as well to grab us something sweet. This was very good.

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After our burger we decided to walk around the ship. The nice thing was the layout was very similar to the 2 previous ships we had been on so it wasn't too bad getting around. We headed towards the back and took a pic of the statue of liberty overlooking the buffet.

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Next was back to the aft pool. I know there had been discussion on whether they allowed kids or did not all kids back here. I will say on our cruise there was no kids and they did not allow kids in this pool and hot tubs. It was very nice.

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We had to take a picture out the back of the boat. Here is a tip if you don't have FTTF and are lugging a bunch of stuff there was many tables empty in the back here and in the shade it wasn't too bad. Also going up one floor to the open deck 10 there was plenty of seating. Everyone seemed to want to sit as close to the buffet as possible haha.

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Next on our tour was the piano bar. In the pictures you will notice they had pianos hanging from the ceiling.

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Next stop was the Punchliner Comedy Club. We spent many nights in here watching the comedians. It was a very relaxing lounge.

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Right next to these two locations is the Alchemy Bar which leads you down the long hall going the length of the ship.

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This would be the only time you never see someone on this stretch

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Next up was the Arcade which we walked through to take pics to show our girls as we are taking this same cruise over Thanksgiving and I am sure we will spend some time in there then.

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The door out the back of the arcade heads into the Red Frog Pub. This was a very nice location with entertainment and games.

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DW wanted to get a slice of carrot cake from the sweet treat and coffee shop but the couple times we were going to get it they were out. Guess that will be part of the November cruise.

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Next up was the casino which sad to say we did not win big at. We had fun though while getting to play for a good amount of time on the money we put in. We were also surprised to find many slot machines you could play that were still penny machines. The casino is only open when the ship is in international waters so we didn't start playing until the 2nd day.

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The casino connects to the Sky Box Sports bar and we decided this was a nice quiet location to have a drink. We ordered a Miami Vice which was delicious.

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We had made it towards the front of the ship on our walk and were in the atrium.

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We kept moving forward to check out the Victorian lounge where they held all the evening shows.

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We walked down a floor to check out the library which had many books and board games.

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We decided to go and see where our dining room table was located in the main dining room. Along the way we walked by a few of the kids clubs.

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We went in however we were unable to locate our exact table as they were still preparing things. We just didn't want to end up at a table with kids since we had left ours back, to have nice relaxing evenings. We lucked out and had an amazing couple joining us at dinner. It is amazing how they pair people up so well.

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After all that walking we had to go get a bite to eat at one of our favorite locations on the ship the Deli.

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We shared a pastrami and corn beef combo sandwich and it was just as good as I remember 5 years before. I am very excited to know I only have to wait a few months this time around before having another.

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We continued on our way to look at a few more locations. We found Circle "C" along the way.

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Looking all the way up the atrium you can see the water slide through the glass.

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Then back to the open air as we headed towards the Serenity Deck.enhance

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We both were very excited to relax at Serenity however this was just a quick stop to check things out.

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There was a clam shell open so of course we had to climb in and take a picture.

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Word of advice it is extremely warm up in this area during the day.

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Going directly in the doors off of Serenity is the Camp Ocean area. Both of our girls are very excited to go here in November and I am excited that Serenity is a few steps away.

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Dr Seuss Bookville is also located up here. This is a cool place with all of the Dr. Seuss books and comfy areas to relax and read.

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We decided to head back to our room at this point and get everything unpacked before the muster drill. When we got to our door we had 2 of our 3 suitcases already. I did get a little worried about this as the one missing was the one with all of my clothes in it. Needless to say it did show up about a half hour later after we had the other two suitcases unpacked. We had made a banner for this cruise and to use on future cruises for our door so we got that hung up.

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The fun times for the day were also waiting for us. A note about that the Carnival Hub app is awesome. It has all the info of what is going on the ship for the entire week along with menus. You can mark off favorites and it will give you an alert 15 minutes before the event starts. With that being said there was a few things not on the Hub that were listed in the Fun Times.

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We had everything unpacked and were awaiting the muster drill. When they made the call they had numerous staff members going to every cabin and clearing them out. We made our way down to the muster station which was outside. They had to scan your sail and sign card to prove you were there. Then the waiting began. We were probably out there for about 30 minutes waiting for everyone to arrive and then to do the 5 minute safety briefing.

 

After the muster we headed up to the Red Frog pub to attend a small get together. It turned out to be very small as there was only 5 of us who showed up. It was nice meeting some people and having a drink. The funny thing was we all were in education for jobs and that seemed to be the trend the rest of the cruise anyone we sat with there was always a few other teachers.

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We headed off to the room to get ready for dinner. We always enjoy the 6:00 seating time. On the way down we stopped by the Taste Bar. Tonight they were featuring the Steakhouse which had a braised rib in a breading and pumpkin soup. The rib tasted amazing however neither one of us bothered to try the soup.

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Off to dinner we went and just a forewarning we love to try food and what better place to try food then on a cruise ship. This was our first time with the American Table Menu and we both thought it was just as good. Not having the tablecloths every night did not ruin anything for me. Below you will see the menu for the first night.

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DW started with the strawberry soup which she says is her favorite soup on the cruise. She says it tastes similar to a melted strawberry shake.

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She also got the cream of tomato soup. She is a fan of her soup. She was disappointed though it said it came with croutons and there was no croutons. It had a very tomato taste and she is not a fan of tomatoes but she liked it. She said it definitely is not Campbell's haha.

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I got the chicken quesadilla and chilled vietnamese roll. I thought both tasted very good. I was surprised how much I like the roll however I didn't think you needed the peanut sauce with it.

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We also asked for a cheese plate to have with our bread at the beginning of the meal. This is on the dessert menu but if you ask for it they will bring it out at the beginning which is great with the bread. After the 2nd night they had one waiting for us each night.

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Next up the entrees, I started with the sweet and sour shrimp. We both agreed this may have been one of the best items we ate on the entire cruise in the dining room. Even the fried rice had little shrimp in it delicious!

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DW had the roasted chicken. She said the dark meat was very good the white meat was a little dry but overall a great meal.

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I also had the Honey Glazed Pork Loin. This was very good the pieces that had a good amount of glaze. Some parts were a little dry and could have used a little more glaze. It had very good flavor though.

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Moving on to dessert... I guess I forgot to take a picture of the dessert menu this night. DW had their famous Melting chocolate cake. Neither one of use are huge chocolate fans so she asked to get peanut butter with it and we both agreed that was definitely a good decision. It was very gooey in the center this night.

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I had a strawberry fluff type dessert which was very good especially since it was sugar free. I also had to have some butter pecan ice cream. Not sure what it is but that is a staple for me on a carnival cruise at dinner.

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After dinner we headed to the Victorian lounge for the Welcome Aboard show. Malcom was our cruise director and you could tell from the beginning he was very outgoing and wanted to make sure everyone had a great time. They started off the show by bringing up two members to win VIP seats for the rest of the cruise at the shows. The one guy who came up known as Mr. G. They had family shirts and they were the G family. Malcom made quite the comedy routine with him.

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We finished watching the show and then made a stop by our room and to walk out on the balcony in front of our room. It was very windy out here.

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We came down to the shops and went to the liquor tasting. They had various types of liquors and you were allowed to try two of them basically getting a small shot of each type. This was a nice way to try some different things and DW found out that Molly's is delicious.

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We made our way to the Punchliner Comedy Club to watch Lowell Sanders. He put on a very good show and made fun of cruisers right away which is always comical.

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After the show we headed back to the cabin to call it a night and rest for our first official day at sea.

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Oh, yay! Thank you for sharing. Can wait to see more of your pictures. We are sailing out in a couple of weeks on the Freedom. The excitement is growing!

 

You will love it. Feel free to ask any questions and trust me we have plenty of pics so enjoy!

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I am enjoying your review tremendously. I'm seriously considering the Freedom and you're definitely pushing me in that direction.

 

Glad to hear. I know a lot of people talk about the Breeze and everything out of Galveston but we enjoyed the Freedom a lot. We felt the size of the ship was perfect and there was always room at every show and event we went to. Didn't feel overcrowded.

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