highcorral25

I had a scenic oceanview on the Freedom (deck 9, Lido) at the center. The view is amazing and because the window is slanted out you get a little table and chairs for a nice sitting area. The guidance on closing the blinds at night is that you must close them if you turn your room lights on. We left our blinds open every night. Noise. Yes, at 6am every day (except the last day) there was a loud rhythmic, unexplainable noise that would last several seconds, stop, then continue for 2-3 minutes. Some believe it is window washing system for the bridge which was immediately below our room.

I typically fill a wine glass in my room and bring it to dinner. No issues, of course. But I have wondered about bringing the entire (uncorked) bottle to dinner.

Interesting. I did some more research. Seems like for table games (Roulette, Texas Hold'em), you earn Casino points based on how much time you spend at the table and how much your spend. No exact formula and lots of discretion. There are anecdotal posts where someone played 3-4 hours per day, playing $100-200 each time on Roulette and received Casio offers post cruise. Then others who do the same and received nothing. On the Paradise two weeks ago we met a couple who were on their second compted cruise yet they gamble "hundreds, not thousands".

I just got off the Paradise. On the last sea day I went to Serenity at 6:20am and there was exactly one lounger left (under the umbrellas). The last row, the one by the railing, has a total of 4 umbrellas and this row was full (except for the one I got). The next two rows, without umbrellas, were unoccupied for a few hours.

I am looking for first hand knowledge of how Casino points are earned while playing Texas Hold'em. On a recent cruise I played Roulette on three different days. Each session was the same: I bought $100 in chips using my Sign & Sail card (note: there is a 3% fee). The dealer took my card, handed me a receipt to sign, then gave me my chips and my card. I played for about 30 minutes. I traded my chips in so I could cash out. I cashed out (note: they give you actual cash -- it does not go back on your card). The only time my card was used was for the initial purchase of chips. The Casino points I earned each session varied (22 points the first session, 88 total points across 3 sessions). There doesn't seem to be a fixed formula for Casino points when it comes to Roulette. I didn't play Texas Hold'em and the only time I checked a table it was empty. Since the game is electronic I am assuming you can use your Sign & Sail card the same way you would use it on slots. If this is the case, how do you earn Casino points? With slots it is 1 point for every $2.50 you play (including winnings). For Texas Hold'em, is it based on the bets you make?

Nov 2022 on the Panorama. Group of 6 going on an excursion at Cabo. Ticket said to meet in the dining room (I don't recall which one -- but it was a dining room) 1 hour prior to the excursion time (or 45 minutes... not sure... but it was definitely earlier than the excursion time). I found that strange because of the time that was stamped on the excursion compared to the time the ticket said to meet in the dining room. I asked the Excursions desk and yes, the time to meet at the dining room was correct. There were many groups of people. They called out "Those on Excursion such and such" and those people got up and left. Then they called for another excursion and that group of people got up and left. And so on and so on until my group's excursion was called. From there we were in line to board the tender. It actually worked out very smoothly despite the anxiety. Bottom line: For peace of mine confirm with Excursions on time and place to meet. I am Gold -- can't speak to Platinum.

I'll start with the elevator. Inside the elevator there are NO floor buttons. The route is predetermined. Outside: There are NO UP or DOWN buttons. There is a kiosk. There you push the floor you want to go to. You push the floor once for each member of your group (four people, four pushes). This manages the load and when one elevator is deemed full it will assign the next one. You have no say in this. The kiosk will tell you which elevator to take. You wait.... and wait... and wait... for your elevator to arrive. When the floor is crowded I found it was better to just take the stairs. You have no idea how long you will be waiting. There is no feedback like the glass elevators which show what floor it is on. Now I wouldn't use this as a determining factor between one ship or another, but personally I did not like this system at all. I sailed Nov 2022.

Sailed the Panorama last November. Didn't care for the elevator "buttons".

Got off the Sunrise Thu 9/15 after 5 nights (Nassau, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk). The mini fridge in my cabin and my friend's cabin did not work (Oceanview 2259 and 2421). I brought this to the attention of our steward on day 1 but he just kinda shrugged his shoulders. Other than that I thought the ship was in good working order and would sail on her again. Edit: R-R-R-R-R-Rico was annoying.

There are two bars. One is on the pool side (Havana), and the other on the Night Club side. IIRC from my Feb 2022 Vista cruise (where I had Havana access), the Night Club bar stayed open late but the pool side did not (not that that was a problem since they are literally back to back). Only the Havana pool side area is restricted; guests can access the Havana Night Club anytime.

I almost always book OceanView. I did one balcony on the Miracle and an Aft Extended Havana balcony on the Vista ($$). I have only booked one inside cabin, on the Splendor, and swore i would never do it again. The only light is the slit under the door. A porthole cabin is a great compromise in cost between true inside and Oceanview. But... I am in an inside cabin (Havana) on the Panorama this fall. Another thing about Inside that I do not like is that there is no couch. The rooms are 185sf rather than 220sf (typical OceanView). Not the end of the world, I know, but I do like the couch. Those were some great suggestions, btw, about tuning in to the cameras to pick up the natural light.

I'll be onboard the Sunrise for the opening season MNF game between Denver and Seattle on ESPN on Monday 9/12. Looking forward to it. WILSON!!!!!!!

The distance from FPO (Freeport Grand Bahamas Intl airport) to MCO is 206 miles, so a little less to Port Canaveral.

The Freedom is still at Freeport https://www.cruisemapper.com/?imo=9333149 I am scheduled to sail on the Freedom in two days, June 11th.

Statement on Carnival Freedom https://carnival-news.com/2022/05/27/statement-on-carnival-freedom/ 5/28, 6/2 and 6/6 departures cancelled. I am on the 6/11 sailing and have heard nothing from Carnival.