agp_mzk

Wondering if Red Frog Pub offers the appetizers as they have on Breeze. Anyone know??

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I'm not certain, but I believe they do. I know for sure that they give the free plantain chips and spiced nuts - both of which were delicious, by the way.

Awesome review, great pictures and glad you had a wonderful cruise!! We leave 6-1-14 on the Freedom and cannot wait. I noticed you did not mention the Piano Bar, or the Alchemy Bar, so I am guessing you bypassed those? ...that being the case, did you hear any feedback from others? ...also, is all the construction complete?

 

AGAIN, GLAD YOU HAD A GREAT TRIP!

Thank you!

I walked by the piano bar on the first evening to check it out (a "singles sing-a-long" was listed in the FunTimes for that particular time slot), but the crowd was considerably thinner/older than I was interested in, so I didn't go inside.

I stopped at the Alchemy Bar on the last evening between the race and dinner. Service there was a bit slow but friendly. The drinks were tasty and quite delicious!

Not all of the construction was complete, but nothing that was ongoing affected my cruise in any way. I think the kids club was in a temporary location during our sailing. The water slide was only open on embarkation day; they were working on it the remainder of the cruise. There were workers on the ship making minor adjustments to light fixtures, etc. most days in several different locations. They had a portion of the deck around/below one side of Serenity closed and some equipment over there; I'm not sure why or what that was. There may have been other things still being constructed as well, but those were the only ones I noticed.

I just got off the Freedom yesterday. The ramp for embarkation is VERY steep. I'm in good shape, and I was huffing by the time I drug my carry-on up to the top of it.

I know this response is too late for your question, but hopefully it will be helpful to anyone who does a search on this topic in the future...

On the Freedom last week, every woman (not just Moms - obviously, Carnival has no way to know for sure who is a mother and who isn't) received a carnation and a special desert at dinner in the MDR on Mother's Day.

Here's my review from last week's cruise. The Captain Nautica part can be found in posts 16 and 17:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2044263

I loved it, although I felt pretty much the opposite of the poster above me regarding the snorkeling stops. Turtle Cove was okay, but there's really not much to see there, other than the occasional turtle. The second spot, with the coral and tropical fish, though, was beautiful. You do have to get close to shore to see the good stuff, but it's absolutely worth the effort.

Getting into the water is a bit tricky. You have to step out onto the inflated sides of the boat, sit down, put your flippers on, and then jump in. For more coordinated people, this may be a piece of cake, but I was convinced I was going to fall into the water somewhere in that whole process. It wasn't scary - worst case scenario, I end up in the water earlier than I had planned - and I pulled it off, but it was a bit tricky. Getting back into the boat is much easier than getting out; they have a relatively stable ladder for you to climb up at that point.

Our guides, Kaylee and Max, were fantastic. They do not get in the water with you. I loved this excursion and had a blast. OP, I think you would enjoy it, since you say you are an experienced snorkeler. I would NOT recommend this excursion for weak swimmers - the currents are very strong around the shore, and the coral (most of it fire coral) is very close to the surface - it takes some strength and swimming skill to keep yourself in a safe place. This would also not be a good choice for anyone with back, knee, or motion sickness issues. The speed boat ride can be pretty rough, especially on the trip out.

Hope that helps!

Did you get to see any shows at the main theater?

I didn't go to any of the production shows; they're not really my thing. Other than the comedy, the only "shows" we saw were the hypnotist and the Love and Marriage show. The hypnotist didn't do much for me, but the Love and Marriage show was pretty funny and entertaining.

Debarkation

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end eventually. On debarkation morning, I met up with Lee for breakfast in the dining room. I had tags for Zone 1, and he had Zone 6, but we sat on the Promenade and hung out until the final call came for everyone to finish disembarking, around 10:30 am. Suzanne, another member of our group, stopped by for a little bit as well. She had such a great time that she had booked the second leg of a B2B on our ship! I wish I could have stayed on board with her; I wasn't ready for the magic to end.

My luggage was easy to find, sitting all by itself in the Zone 1 section of the terminal! It took about 45 minutes to get through the debarkation line, but we breezed right through customs. Lee and I were the last of our group to separate at this point, and I grabbed a cab to the airport. While waiting to check in for my flight, I bumped into a couple of the members of my roll call - for the first time since the day of embarkation!

FYI for those who fly Allegiant: The weight limit for checked bags is 40 lbs, not 50 like most airlines...I was definitely "that girl" who had to transfer clothes from my checked bag to my carry on at the ticket counter. :rolleyes: The plane boarded on time, but we sat on the runway for over an hour before taking off. The pilot was having some kind of problem communicating with the air traffic control officer. Finally, we took off for an uneventful flight home, and I was back in my own house for the first time in ten days around 7 pm.

I have to say that taking this solo trip was the best thing I have ever done for myself. The increased confidence and sense of empowerment that I gained were much needed after what had been a pretty rough few weeks leading up to the cruise. The people I met this week have made a permanent impact on me. The only word that I can use to sum up the experience is "magical". I don't think I'll ever be able to top this week, but we're sure going to try!

Thank you all for your compliments on the review! I hope at least a little of the fun we had comes through in the words and pictures I've shared with you guys.

Half Moon Cay

Our new family met up at the lobby bar at 10 am to head to the tender line. By this time, tickets weren't needed for the tenders; we just walked down to the line. It rained off and on all day long, but Half Moon Cay was every bit as beautiful as always. We hung out on the beach, enjoyed the delicious barbecue lunch, and played in the water like kids. None of us wanted to leave, but we finally and reluctantly made our way over to the final tender. Once we were back on board, we played around in the pool under the water slide for a bit, until the cold breeze finally drove us out of the water.

I got cleaned up for dinner early this night and then made my way to the sports bar. I wanted to watch the Preakness Stakes and was hoping they'd be showing it on at least one television. To my delight, it was the main event of the evening, featured on almost every screen in the bar. Naturally, California Chrome romped to an easy and impressive victory - on a week like this, he was guaranteed to be triumphant. I celebrated the win with a drink at the Alchemy bar, along with Lee, another of my new friends.

Rob and I met up at the Steakhouse at 8 pm. The food was absolutely amazing! Although I wasn't able to eat it all, my ribeye was the best prepared steak I have ever eaten - and I'm a steak snob. After we finished, we made our way down to the dining room to catch up with our crew, who were just finishing dinner. We all picked up our bathrobes (it was "wear your bathrobe" night at the Red Frog Pub) and tried one more time to snag a win in the adult trivia. Sadly, it was not meant to be for us on this trip, but we still had a blast.

We made one last trip to the comedy club that night. The bathrobes attracted a lot of attention from our fellow cruisers. :D This next picture pretty well sums up the entire week with this crazy gang.

Next up: Debarkation and Final Thoughts

Final Day at Sea

I don't have a lot of photos of this day. It was our last chance to do a whole lot of nothing before our final island and journey home. After a very late night, I stayed in bed until almost 1:30 pm. I grabbed a quick lunch from the Mongolian Wok before I met up with my dinner companions. We had a cabin crawl scheduled for 3 pm. We spent the afternoon visiting the different cabin categories our group members (almost all of us were traveling solo) had booked. It was a nice, low key way to fill the time before getting dressed for dinner and our second formal night. The rain was moving in by now; this was a hint at how the last day of the cruise would go.

This was my last night at the dinner table; Rob and I had reservations at the Sun King Steakhouse for the final night. Once again, we laughed and had a fantastic time at dinner. I have to take a minute now to mention how amazing our wait staff was on this cruise. Our assistant waiter, Dusan (on the right in the picture below) was incredibly funny and managed to handle our crazy group with grace and a wit. We all made sure he got lots of extra tips at the end of the week.

We all headed to the comedy club after dinner and met up with several other people we had adopted into our group throughout the week. We planned to meet up the next day to enjoy a group beach adventure and then a few of us grabbed some late night pizza before bed.

Next up: Half Moon Cay

San Juan: Part 2

We did A LOT of walking this day! I think we calculated that it was about 6 miles total. Visiting El Morro also required climbing some very steep and very high sets of stairs. I certainly felt like I earned my dinner that night!

One thing we discovered is that San Juan is apparently the stray cat capital of the world. They were literally EVERYWHERE as we walked back down into Old San Juan from El Morro. It was a little bit creepy feeling, but most of them were very friendly, especially the one we ran into inside the fort.

We then did a little more shopping and stopped at Barrachina for pina coladas. It was packed, but a couple of very nice girls from Boston graciously offered to let us join their table. The waiter warned us to stir the drinks thoroughly, and he wasn't kidding! I thought I had stirred mine pretty well, but my first sip was nearly straight rum. Once I got the drink fully mixed, it was delicious - and I'm not even a big fan of coconut normally.

On the way back to the ship, we stopped at CVS so I could pick up a bottle of local rum. I paid about $2 less than the same bottle was selling for in the duty free shop at the port, so I was pretty pleased with my purchase. I haven't sampled it yet to see how it tastes, but the bottle will look nice decorating my kitchen if nothing else. ;)

As we sailed away from Puerto Rico, I was finally on the correct side of the ship to capture a nice sunset picture from my balcony.

During dinner, we had even more fun than usual - which I didn't think was possible before this point! One of my table mates, John, creates videos that he posts on YouTube as "crusiecrewtv". I can't wait until he gets the ones from our sailing posted! They are sure to be hilarious.

We attended the Love and Marriage show that night, which was a lot funnier than I had anticipated. We went back to the nightclub after that, where the DJ was considerably better than the night before and the crowd was larger. This was the latest night of the cruise for me; I was glad the next day was a sea day!

Next up: One Last Sea Day

San Juan: Part 1

I had plans on this day to meet up with Rob, one of my table mates, to explore Old San Juan and then walk down to El Morro. I had pretty low expectations for this port, but I LOVED Old San Juan. It was such a beautiful city, and, aside from the cars, felt very much like a step back in time. We walked around and shopped a bit before making our way over to El Morro. The fort was absolutely amazing.

To be continued...

St. Thomas: Part 2

All too soon, it was time to climb back onto the speed boat for our ride back to the pier. The way back was much smoother than our trip out. We were provided with drinks and melon slices both between stops and on the way back, along with fresh shrimp on the trip back. After getting back to the pier, I ran to my cabin to rinse off the saltwater and put on some dry clothes. Then, I made my way up to Paradise Point in the light drizzle that had returned. Due to the rain and clouds, my photos from the top weren't as impressive as some that I've seen shared here.

I ordered a burger and a rum drink from the bar at Paradise Point. They are not stingy with the liquor there! The bartender also insisted that I sample the famous Bushwacker and their key lime daquiri before I rode back down. I don't normally like shake/milky type drinks, but the Bushwacker was fantastic! The key lime daquiri was even better.

I had more Serenity time before watching the sun set from my balcony as we sailed away from St. Thomas.

After dinner, my new friends and I caught the hypnotist show (I was not impressed) and then decided to check out the disco. The DJ this night was truly terrible, and the crowd (or lack thereof) reflected that, but we hung out until the wee hours just chatting and drinking.

Next up: San Juan

St. Thomas - Part 1

This will be another two-part post. We had yet another gorgeous view sailing into St. Thomas in the morning.

For this day, I had signed up for Captain Nautica's Ultimate Snorkeling Excursion through Carnival. This isn't an excursion I've seen much information about here on CC, but I was looking for something to do that wasn't going to be packed with other cruise guests. This definitely fit that bill. There were 16 guests on our speed boat, along with our two fantastic guides, Kaylee and Max. We had a wild and bumpy 15 minute ride out to Buck Island. I loved the ride, but this is NOT an excursion for anyone with back, knee, or motion sickness issues! Our first snorkeling spot was Turtle Cove. We managed to get out there while only a couple of other excursion groups were there. It was raining lightly in the morning, and the visibility wasn't great as a result, but this was still a fun spot. I saw several large sea urchins, lots of fire choral, a few different varieties of fish, and two sea turtles (I'll share one turtle picture here - I couldn't get any good ones due to the murkiness, but this was the best I managed).

After about an hour, we climbed back on board the speed boat and moved over to Shipwreck Cove. By this time the rain had stopped, the sun was out, and the visibility had improved markedly. I didn't find the shipwreck area of the cove to be very impressive, but I swam over to the coastline and found out why people describe the snorkeling in St. Thomas as gorgeous. The water became crystal clear, the coral formations were right along the surface, and the sea life was abundant and varied. (I also ran into some interesting human "sea life" as well - the little scooter things cracked me up...)

To be continued...

St. Maarten - Part 2

This excursion was a blast! It is quite physically demanding at times, so if you're looking for a relaxing sail around the island, look elsewhere. The yachts do list pretty significantly at times; if you have back or knee problems, this may not be the excursion for you. I found it absolutely exhilarating, even when it was taking everything I had just to keep myself upright! It was almost a photo finish, but team Stars & Stripes just edged out True North for the win!

After the race, we enjoyed a quiet sail to the excursion company's yacht club. I don't usually purchase professional photos from excursion companies, but I couldn't resist buying this one. The photographer was pretty amazing to watch as he raced alongside us driving a speed boat while simultaneously standing up to take photos. At the yacht club, we were handed cups of very potent rum punch to celebrate our victory (or, for the other team, drown out the sorrows of a loss...). ;)

The yacht club is right on the Phillipsburg waterfront, and quick and easy walk from the shops along Great Bay Beach. I wasn't impressed with the beach, but I enjoyed the shopping atmosphere as I walked along the boardwalk.

When I finished my shopping, I rode the water taxi back to the ship for lunch. I enjoyed a Blue Iguana Cantina burrito on the very quiet Serenity deck, along with a tasty drink, courtesy of a very charming Romanian bartender. The view of the island from the top of the ship was breathtaking.

I enjoyed sailaway from my balcony and then got ready for yet another wonderful dinner. One of the younger guys at our table, Andrew, had everyone around us dancing during the dinner entertainment. I haven't ever laughed so much in one week in my entire life. We were always the last table to finish dinner - we were usually there until after 10. On this night, I headed to bed right after dinner to get some sleep before my early morning snorkeling excursion.

Next up: St. Thomas

St. Maarten - Part 1

I took a ton of pictures this day, so I'll have to break this post into two parts to include all the ones I want to share.

The weather for our day in St. Maarten was absolutely perfect. I woke up in time to watch us sail into the docks on this gorgeous day.

My excursion didn't meet until later in the morning, so I had a little time to walk around the port area and the duty free shops before meeting up. We were docked next to one of the Norwegian ships, which I have to admit had a much more interesting paint job than our ship.

For this day, I had signed up for the America's Cup Regatta excursion through Carnival. Our group met up on the pier and then walked over to a nearby dock to meet our transfer boat - which consists of a flat platform with plastic lawn chairs bolted to it, but handled the water just fine, despite its appearance. ;) Our guides gave us a brief history of the America's Cup and the ships we'd be sailing before splitting us into two teams. I was on team Stars & Stripes, and we would challenge team True North in the upcoming race. We were able to watch the very close and exciting finish of the race before ours from the transfer boat while we waited to climb aboard our yachts.

I was assigned as a "winch wench", which involved winding in and releasing the rope from one portion of the sail when commanded by our captain. The captain then handed me the wheel to steer us out to the starting point while he prepared us for the race to come. Then we each got some individual instruction on how to do our jobs before the race began. The crew had water, soda, and beer available for us before and after the race as well as during the quieter moments of the race itself.

To be continued...

Sea Days 1 & 2

Unwinding was the name of the game on these two days. The last two weeks of the semester are always intense, and this year had been particularly difficult. I was in desperate need of some time away; this trip couldn't have come at a better moment!

I woke up on the first day to the sunshine flowing through my balcony window and ordered a room service BLT. It was a bit chilly and windy this day, but I was determined to finish my breakfast on the balcony before admitting defeat and heading back inside. I ran down to the Internet cafe (I had promised my mother that I'd check in on Facebook every day to confirm that I was still alive.), which proved kind of difficult to find - you have to go inside the Habana Bar to get to it. The Internet connection was decent (for a ship) for most of the cruise, but it was painfully slow on the final two days of the trip. After that, I parked myself on one of the Promenade couches outside the casino to read and people watch for a couple of hours. For lunch, I decided to check out the Fish n Chips offerings.

I thought the ceviche (left) was great, but the Ahi and watermelon (right) was a little too heavy on the watermelon. Next up, I headed to Serenity for a few hours. It was still a little chilly outside, but it was warm enough to keep me up there for a while. I ran into one of my table mates there, and we hung out chatting about our various cruising experiences.

By about 3 pm, I was ready to warm up, so I headed to my cabin for a bit. I laid down on the couch for "just a minute" and woke up to realize that it was 7:30 pm - I had 8:15 dining, and it was formal night! :eek: I don't think I've ever showered and gotten dressed so quickly! My hair wasn't completely dry and wasn't curled when I made it to dinner, but I did manage to make myself presentable. We had another fantastic dinner, and the wait staff brought a carnation and a chocolate tart to all the women on board for Mother's Day.

After dinner, about half our table headed down to the Red Frog Pub. We played foosball and shuffleboard until it was time for the "adult" trivia to begin. I am hopelessly uncoordinated, making me terrible at both of those games, but we had an absolute blast. Our trivia team, the War Kittens, finished 3rd; luckily, we befriended the winners and were invited to share in their beer tube prize. After that, it was time for bed.

The second sea day went much the same way as the first. I slept pretty late and decided to check out the brunch, since I've never sailed on a ship that had it before. I ordered the steak and eggs, which was delicious. The ship was really rocking and rolling this day - the barf bags were out by the elevator banks and some of the hallways. I curled up on one of the Promenade couches again for more reading; the ship was very quiet all day long. After another late afternoon nap (I set an alarm this time!) and another great dinner, our dinner group headed to the late night comedy show. I turned in after the show; I wanted to be reasonably well rested for my excursion the next day.

Next up: St. Maarten

Great photos! I can't wait to finally see some photos from the newly renovated Freedom!

 

I love 15th Street Fisheries. It's the best place to eat on the water in Fort Lauderdale IMO.

 

Looking forward to your review. I'd like to know if Freedom has the American Table menus now.

The Freedom does not have the American Table menus now, but it will beginning in June, I believe.

Embarkation Day

I had sprung for FTTF on this trip, and I have to say that, for me, it was not worth the additional money, but I'm glad that I tried it out so that I know for sure now. I took my time in the morning and caught a cab from the hotel to the port around 10:30 am. The crowd was very thin that early, and check in was a breeze. We weren't called to board until noon, though. On my previous cruises, I've arrived at the port around 1:30 or 2 pm and been able to walk right onto the ship. I think I prefer that to sitting around the cruise terminal waiting to board.

I had cabin 8-416 for this cruise. It was my first balcony, and I have to say that I am definitely hooked! I really liked the location of this cabin as well. It is right next to the aft stairs/elevators, which made it very easy to find and convenient for getting to almost everywhere I wanted to be on the ship. There was some chair dragging noise occasionally from the Lido deck above, but I barely noticed it after the first day.

After unpacking, I walked up to the Lido deck. I had to get my hands on a Guy's Burger after hearing so much about them. I have to say that, for me, the burger didn't exactly live up to the hype. It was very good, and definitely a huge improvement over what usually passes for a burger on cruise lines, but it was far from the best burger I've ever had. The best part of lunch was bumping into part of my roll call group for an impromptu meet and greet.

After lunch, I took a walk around the ship to get my bearings, and then our roll call had a meet and greet by the aft pool on the lido deck. We had a nice group of people, and I enjoyed getting to meet up with everyone. One couple and I were in the same muster group, so we spent a little more time hanging out together waiting on muster. This would end up being the only time I really spent with anyone from my roll call. For whatever reason, our schedules never matched up for the rest of the cruise I guess.

Muster was a bit delayed; we were supposed to depart at 4 pm, but muster didn't start until 4:15 or so. On my previous cruises, we've done the majority of the drill inside the ship and then walked out to our lifeboats, but on this trip, the entire drill was held out by the lifeboats. I got stuck in the back, so I couldn't see anything (I'm 5' tall), and it was hot! Near the end of the drill, people off to my right started yelling for a doctor, and someone in the crowd ran down to assist. I couldn't really see or hear what was going on; I hope it was nothing major.

I headed up to the Serenity deck to grab a lounger for sailaway and snag my first DOD.

I loved the Serenity deck on the Freedom. It was much larger and had more shade available than on the Fantasy class ships I've sailed on before, and it was much cooler, being located on the front of the ship instead of the back. A little of the Lido deck noise did filter up, but if you moved further forward on Serenity, it wasn't a problem.

We didn't sail until after 6 pm, so I got tired of being in the sun and ended up watching from my balcony instead. It was fun to see all the people who came out to see us off.

Once we were finally away, it was time to clean up and head to dinner. I was crossing my fingers that I'd have a large table of friendly people. My expectations were so far exceeded that it still feels a bit surreal. We had the most amazing, eclectic group of people that I've ever encountered in one place. I can honestly say that I now count every single one of these people among my dearest friends, and we all plan to remain in close contact. We're already contemplating a reunion cruise! :D

After dinner, our dinner group attended the late night comedy show, and then it was time to get some rest before the adventure really began.

Next up: Two Sea Days and a Whole Lot of Fun!

I just returned home last night from an 8 night Eastern Caribbean cruise on the newly renovated Carnival Freedom.

Let me start off by saying that I took 151 photographs on this trip! Obviously, I won't be including all of them in this review, but I will try to pick out the ones that best describe the adventure that was this week.

This was my third cruise and my first solo trip of any kind. Coming into it, I was excited but a little nervous about how everything would go. I'll sum up just how wrong I was in the final portion of the review, but I'll just say now that the nerves were completely unnecessary.

Pre-Cruise: Knoxville to Fort Lauderdale

I flew down Thursday evening from Knoxville to Fort Lauderdale via Allegiant Air. For those who aren't familiar with Allegiant, it is a budget airline that focuses on short, often seasonal, itineraries. Fares are very low, but they do charge for both carry-on and checked baggage. For me, the total price still ended up being a great deal, but I did have to fly down two nights before the cruise due to Allegiant's schedule. The flight was uneventful - we had a brief delay before taking off due to a mechanical check, but we still landed on time.

Grabbing a cab was very easy, and my taxi driver even carried my checked bag all the way to the front desk of my hotel, which was much appreciated! When I arrived, there was a very unhappy guest at the desk who apparently didn't understand how hotel holds work and why you should NEVER use a debit card to pay for your room unless you maintain a significantly higher balance in your account than most of us! When she finally gave up, my check in process went very smoothly.

I stayed at the Comfort Suites Airport & Cruise Port North. The room was a good size, clean, and quiet. The location was convenient to both the airport and the cruise port, although I would have liked to have been a little closer to a water taxi stop - I walked down on Friday, but it was a bit of a hike (details coming below...).

After checking in, I asked the front desk clerk for a dinner recommendation within walking distance, and he suggested Ernie's. Ernie's is a barbeque joint (not what I expected to find in south FL, I have to admit!) and is located almost directly across the street from the hotel. However, you have to cross a very busy street to get there. The area was well lit, and I felt perfectly safe going over to eat at around 8 pm, but I wouldn't have wanted to walk over much later than that. I thought the food was good but not great (sorry, FL, but you just can't top real southern BBQ!), although the bread was amazing. By the time I was finished eating, I was ready to head back to the hotel and crash.

I spent all of Friday riding around on the water taxi. It was a great way to wind down from what was a very stressful end of the semester at work. It was very warm outside, but the breeze kept everything very comfortable.

I hopped off the water taxi at 15th Street Fisheries for lunch. The food was very good, and the margarita was STRONG! I loved the view from the dock. I did have a little trouble getting back on the water taxi - it doesn't always stop at that point - but I eventually made my way back on board and finished the loop off. By the end of the day, I was pleasantly exhausted and my feet were literally bleeding (I don't recommend multiple miles of walking in wooden-soled flip flops!), so I broke down and called a cab to take me back to the hotel from the Hilton water taxi stop. My roll call group was having a happy hour meet and greet that evening, but I didn't make it out with them. I was in bed and asleep before 9 pm.

Next up: Embarkation Day

Sure thing. I'll be down there very soon (my cruise leaves next Saturday); I'll be sure to post a full review for you.

Go to Paradise Restaurant in Grand Cayman. If you get off the ship and turn right, it's only a few blocks away. The conch fritters there are amazing, and the drinks and view of the ships are also pretty great. Just be prepared for sticker shock - Grand Cayman is expensive!

For four people, you shouldn't need a minivan or SUV, unless you are an extreme overpacker. A standard full-sized sedan should suffice. We managed to comfortably fit four adult women + luggage in a rented Ford Fusion to drive from Knoxville, TN to Tampa, FL (13+ hours!) and back last summer.

I just wanted to share the rest of the story regarding those credit vouchers from Allegiant. When I called to make our flight arrangements I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I originally thought we each would have a $250 credit. When the agent told me the final out of pocket cost, I was SHOCKED! 4 of us, flight from Knoxville to Ft. Lauderdale...and back, 3 carry on's and 5 checked bags...$7.90!!! :eek: Not bad, eh?

[/color][/size][/font]

Deb, I see that your next cruise on the Breeze is leaving Miami on May 10th and that you are flying Allegiant from Knoxville. It just so happens that I am cruising on the Freedom out of Ft. Lauderdale on the 10th and am also flying Allegiant from Knoxville! Are you guys by any chance flying out on the evening of the 8th? If so, I believe we'll be on the same flight! Small world!

I'm a 29 year old female, and I'll be taking my first solo cruise in a week and a half! I chose Carnival for the price; they've been running a lot of no solo supplement deals lately. I've cruised twice but never solo. I can't wait! My past cruises on Carnival have always had a good range of ages, and I'm hoping this one will be the same way. We'll see!

Thank you both! This is great information to have. I will be landing in Ft. Lauderdale 14 days from about an hour ago, so any information I can get will go in my mental file of options for the day.

Any "can't miss" water taxi stops for a single 20-something (for a few more months anyway...LOL) woman?