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10 hours ago, RockinRobin said:

What's the best venue for sitting and listening to live music on the Freedom?  We were on the Breeze in January and absolutely loved sitting at the Alchemy bar that was located within the Ocean Plaza which had a variety of musicians and small bands playing every evening.  I noticed that the Alchemy bar on the Freedom is not within a music venue but in sort of a hallway.  So where is a good chill kind of bar with live music that all you former Freedom cruisers could recommend?

Much appreciated!

3 weeks ago the Atrium Bar was the best place. They had a live band that was very good. They did have some live music by the casino bar and at Red Frog pub. Neither of which were very busy as the music was just ok. Actually, Red Frog was pretty dead the whole cruise with the one exception of when they had sports trivia in there.

I got to say getting off the Freedom a few weeks ago in Miami was the easiest we've ever had. We could of left with the platinum group but our son is gold so we just grabbed zone 6 luggage tags and went together. When the zone was called we never stopped except to grab our luggage (which was easy to find) and then to wait for an Uber. The facial recognition works pretty good. 

7 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Thus the question.  If the offer came from the casino, it is FunPlay and they are basically getting a free cruise...  I have three booked.  If it didn't mention the casino, it is likely OBC and again a free cruise.

That's not entirely true though. I have casino offers now that have the $200 deposit for the cruise which I get back as OBC and also have fun play with the offer. It's hard to say without knowing what they booked under.

Here's one example:

ackpot Deal: Up to a FREE* Balcony Room + $200 FunPlay^® credit + Drinks On Us! included while playing in the casino

Book by May 2, 2022

2 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Never heard of such a thing. Do you mean you paid a $200 Deposit on your cruise and are getting $200 back  in FunPlay?

I'm guessing they booked $100 per person (paid $200 for 2 people) and get that $200 back in OBC. I guess the offer could include fun play but as you know that is different than the OBC.  Either way they should spend the $200 on board.

On 4/2/2022 at 10:59 AM, illinoisfive said:

it is Free Play that I was speaking of, not OBC

I even went to Casino Cage to inquire on many of the cruises that we booked with the offers.

Maybe policy has changed now.

Honestly they have always honored our offers even though only one of us can book. 

On 4/1/2022 at 1:20 PM, 64funwhisper said:

this s what it says 

     This offer includes a complimentary stateroom plus $1,000 FunPlay and the Drinks On Us! valid for your personal use everywhere onboard the ship. 
 
Joseph will be able to redeem his Plan Now Play Later offer of $250 Fun Play and Drinks On Us valid for his personal use whilst playing in the casino. 

     so what do you think?

Joseph should get both the DOU in the casino and the $250 fun play.

20 hours ago, Thenagers said:

Buckets are not covered but I have drinks on us in the Casino so I will be buying drinks during the day. Just concerned if we split a bucket I will be counted as having the whole thing. Buckets are one of the only way to save money on a la carte drinks except for Happy Hours. 

I can say 2 weeks ago on the Freedom I bought a bucket and none of them counted against my 15 limit with Cheers. Just paid the price for the bucket. Actually bought 2 buckets as 3 of us (2 with Cheers) were drinking together. 

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

I've never had my BAC taken on a ship. I leave the driving to the crew. 🤣

I'd be quite disappointed if my BAC was ever under .08 on a cruise!

We hit it almost every day on a cruise without getting fall down foolish drunk. 

1 at breakfast, usually a spiked coffee.

Sit by pool after breakfast and will have 3-4 more until lunch time. 

Have lunch and go back to room and change, have 1 or 2 there while changing and maybe sit on balcony for a few mins. Already at 6 or 7 by 1 or 2pm. 

Casino for a bit and have a few more. 

Another with dinner.

A few at a show or watching a band and then casino again. 

Basically drinking from 10a.m. to 10p.m. 

Usually by 10 or 11pm I'm done drinking (at 15) and ready for a pizza!

I'm sure @MeganGC1983 would agree! 

20 hours ago, illinoisfive said:

on past carnival cruises, my husband booked offer and got the DOU card and the Free Play, I however only received the DOU and not my Free Play even though I had the same offer.  Only one Free Play per room as we were told.

Are you talking free play or on board credit? This would be true for OBC, not true for free play. OBC is for the booking and you wouldn't be able to combine them. Free play is for individuals based on past play. 

40 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

No matter how long (or how many legs) the cruise is - debarkation morning is coming for you...  😞

 

On our 2/26 Reflection sailing there was a couple doing TEN B2B's (7-night cruises). Their world cruise had been cancelled and they had already rented their condo out in Florida, so after they came down from Canada - it was cruise time. I saw them a couple times during our "short stay" onboard - and it appeared that they don't drink or gamble... probably a good thing!!

 

Tom

I'm always amazed at how many people cruise for 4 to 8 weeks or so during the winter months. Basically snowbirds but they cruise instead of buying or renting in warmer areas because it ends up being cheaper when you add it all up. 

@MeganGC1983 Great review as always! I'm right there with you with the late night pizza after a day of maximizing CHEERS! It's like a ritual at this point!

3 hours ago, 64funwhisper said:

I had sent an email to the casino dept said I had booked offer of one gets drinks all over the ship but that me & my son were booked and you cant buy one cheers pkg they said he would be able to redeem his offer of drinks in casino and $250 free play because he had the same casino offer but I am the one that booked the cruise what do you all think would he also get his offer being in the same room ?

He should get the DOU and free play if he had the offer.

2 hours ago, carlp said:

forgot to cash out my casino account on the last day - didn't have a large amount in there -under $500

what happens to that money?

 

 

They should send you a check.

32 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

And I believe that I acknowledged that the entire $3,750 wouldn't be your money in my original post. "...of your money or of the casino's money (or combination there of, with the odds being mostly your money)"

Yes, you did. I should have been more clear in my response. Got tied up with work and didn't finish my thought. The money played through the machine was in regards to where you said "That's the equivalent of a lot of Cheers packages." A person that reaches the DOU mark never really has $3,750 in hand (unless they were to win that amount or higher) so it's not like they could just go and buy Cheers with it. 

8 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

And neither do you win on every pull. The odds are always in the house's favor in any casino and even more so on a cruise ship. 

Never said you would win on every pull. Just saying that the $3,750 you stated is money played through the machine. Not what someone has spent out of their own pocket. And of course the odds are in the casino's favor. There would be no casino's if it wasn't. 

18 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

So if I'm doing the math correctly to get free drinks you have to spend $3750 of your money or of the casino's money (or combination there of, with the odds being mostly your money). That's the equivalent of a lot of Cheers packages.

I don't think you will find very many people who go to the casino and gamble just to try an earn free drinks. If they do they are foolish! LOL. Gamblers are going to gamble and most I've talked to already have Cheers or DOU in the casino.

And while your math is correct, it isn't that simple. You don't lose on every pull of a slot machine.   

There were no tournaments on the Freedom last week. Got $25 cash.

24 minutes ago, vache said:

The same scenario on the Freedom last week. No one other than me though it was inappropriate.

I was on the Freedom last week (3/20-3/26) and had 3 hand pays I had to go up to the cage and get the cash. First two times nobody was at the cage to worry about but the third time there was a line and they tried to call the person up behind me and I stood right in the middle of the window and made them wait. Told the casino host after if they want to do 2 at a time open the other window so people could have a private transaction.

59 minutes ago, jiggs said:

once it was open were they allowing DOU at the bar or only if you ordered from a server while gambling?  Seems like a bit 'it depends'

DOU is while playing in the casino. I wouldn't count on getting bar service with it even though a few people have said in the past they did. 

On 3/1/2022 at 9:08 AM, 1kaper said:

I meant do you get money back for Cheers. 
There are DOU offers that allow you to get drinks anywhere on the ship.  Just wondering if they would bother offering if you had cheers. 
I mean, we'd probably play the extra money we got back. 

You won't get anything back on Cheers. However, we have mentioned to the casino host that the DOU was useless because we had Cheers and they have always offered us something. Usually free steakhouse for 2 but have got the Italian place a couple times.

1 minute ago, mondello said:

The negative box does not appear to be checked off, signature loops through it. Most results are emailed, thus avoiding the handwritten red flag. Your letter looks legitimate with the pharmacy stamp, look again and make sure the box is clearly marked. Did you get any email results?

That's not the box. That's the D from COVID. You can see on the right where is has the box and then says COVID-19 positive. 

The negative part is on the left cut off by the picture.

On 2/23/2022 at 1:30 PM, CruizCuz said:

I will be traveling on a 4 day Conquest cruise in 18 days. I have always gotten CHEERS in the past and will do so this particular cruise as well. My son and his wife are in another cabin. They would like, if possible, to not get CHEERS on embarkation day to see if it would be worth it. If they decide they want it, is it possible (like on RCCL) to get it on day 2 pro-rated? If not, could they get it later in the day and any drinks they purchased earlier that day be transferred to the package or would they pay for the package and the drinks they purchased? If anyone knows I would appreciate the answer. Thank you so much!!

On 2/23/2022 at 1:36 PM, Pyxie said:

You can buy Cheers on day 2, but unless you are sailing out of Galveston or New York, you will still pay for the full length of the cruise. They'll just credit back any drinks you paid for out of pocket on day 1.

This was our experience as well the first time we got Cheers. This was about 12 years ago though and could have changed. We have purchased ahead of time for the savings ever since.

22 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Totally irrelevant and a diversion, but nice try.

Right on topic to the post I quoted. 

8 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Not exactly true.

 

You are more likely to have an engine room fire than a fire from smoking on a balcony. Nice try with the scare tactics though.