Freedom to Costa Rica and Panama

[frankhouse]

Anybody take the 8 day on the Carnival Freedom to Cozumel, Costa Rica and Colon, Panama? How was it? Tell me your experience, good or bad. I'm thinking of booking it. Thanks. :)

[spencercoop]

Here are a bunch of reviews for the Freedom.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=374

[nybumpkin]

We sailed this itinerary in 2007 aboard Carnival Liberty (Costa Maya in place of Cozumel). This cruise requires more advance planning than a lot of cruises - neither Limon nor Colon are ports where you can just get off the ship and "wing it." Aside from some shopping areas, there is nothing to walk to right off the ship. Having given that "caveat," though, we loved this itinerary. We especially loved having four full sea days - one sea day, one port day, another sea day, two port days, and two sea days. In Limon, we took Carnival's "Caribbean Train, Boat and Bus Experience." In Colon, we booked My Friend Mario's Gatun Locks and Beach tour. Both were very good tours.

[4FRCruising]

Anybody take the 8 day on the Carnival Freedom to Cozumel, Costa Rica and Colon, Panama? How was it? Tell me your experience, good or bad. I'm thinking of booking it. Thanks. :)

 

I did that cruise Sept 2009...enjoyed it so much that I just booked it again for Sept 2011 :D

[Tapi]

I would do this itinerary if, instead of going to Cozumel, it went to Belize (like when the Miracle used to do this itinerary).

 

WHY does Carnival insist on sticking Cozumel in every friggin' Western Caribbean sailing???

[golfadj]

We did it this pasts Feb and great cruise.

 

Cozumel is more popular than belize

[spencercoop]

I would do this itinerary if, instead of going to Cozumel, it went to Belize (like when the Miracle used to do this itinerary).

 

WHY does Carnival insist on sticking Cozumel in every friggin' Western Caribbean sailing???

 

It's a rule at Carnival that at least 90% of the Western Caribbean cruises must include Cozumel.:D

[kelligirl]

My family did this cruise Thanksgiving '08. I have to say, even though I worried about getting off the ship in Panama, it became one of my most treasured cruising memories. And we even used a ship sponsored tour (I think it was Gatun Locks and Portobello). The canal is the absolute highlight. I could have stayed there all day watching the ships go through just watching in amazement.

 

In Costa Rica, they had torrential rains the day before we arrived so everything was quite muddy & damp. We took an excursion to a banana plantation and a journey up a river and viewed wildlife. It was just okay.

 

We absolutely LOVED Cozumel and personally, I could go there on every cruise. We spent the day @ Nachi Cocum and had a blast.

 

The food on the ship did not live up to the expectations nor the usual fare we are accustomed to with Carnival. As a matter of fact, Thanksgiving dinner was just plain awful.

 

All in all, it was a great itinerary, would I do it again, no, but your experience may be completely different. I had a better time than I thought I would given the ports.

[pnjkeith]

I would do this itinerary if, instead of going to Cozumel, it went to Belize (like when the Miracle used to do this itinerary).

 

WHY does Carnival insist on sticking Cozumel in every friggin' Western Caribbean sailing???

 

Maybe because they own the pier etc in Cozumel. I am with you, tired of Cozumel on all itinerary.

[sandybeach]

we are booked for this cruise may 2011.i liked the idea of the 4 sea days...also i have never been to panama or costa rica...i saw some excursions on tripadvisor.com that sounded good. i would prefer roatan or costa maya (not belize) if i could pick. i have been to cozomel at least 5 times. the last time we booked a beach/pub crawl that was great...this time probably just enjoying the beach since the other two stops will not be beach days

[aubreysmom]

My husband and I are considering booking this cruise for April 2011. I would like to read more comments as well! Thank you!

[AryMay]

We did this itinerary on the Freedom last summer (July 2009) and loved it. If you are interested, you can take a look at my review http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1027676. I included lots of photos of the ship, our tours and even links to a couple of videos.

 

The link to the Capers is in my signature. If you have any other questions, I would be happy to answer them if possible.

[aubreysmom]

We did this itinerary on the Freedom last summer (July 2009) and loved it. If you are interested, you can take a look at my review http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1027676. I included lots of photos of the ship, our tours and even links to a couple of videos.

 

The link to the Capers is in my signature. If you have any other questions, I would be happy to answer them if possible.

 

 

Wow! Thank you so much! I am off to read your review now!!!! :D

[frankhouse]

Thanks everybody for your posts, really good information. :D

[LHP]

We sailed the Freedom on this run Thanksgiving 2008 and had a blast.

 

As someone who can't do most shore excursions (because of our son)...we enjoyed just walking around Costa Rica.

 

I found a karaoke bar downtown on the corner...so you know I was in heaven!

 

Panama...we just stuck around the port. It is not restricted, so we chatted with some locals who were grocery shopping.

 

Definately different than the usual "day at the beach" cruises but fun....

[SMSACE6]

We sailed the Freedom on this run Thanksgiving 2008 and had a blast.

 

As someone who can't do most shore excursions (because of our son)...we enjoyed just walking around Costa Rica.

 

I found a karaoke bar downtown on the corner...so you know I was in heaven!

 

Panama...we just stuck around the port. It is not restricted, so we chatted with some locals who were grocery shopping.

 

Definately different than the usual "day at the beach" cruises but fun....

 

Hi LHP, can you give me an idea of what is safe to do where the ship docks in Panama? Im not planning a tour there, because they are quite early, and I am not an "early bird". I do want to get off the ship though, just to say I had my feet on the ground in Panama. They say you should not wander far from the ship, so just wondering. Im not a shopper for big ticket items, just some local trinkets/souvenirs. Any info is appreciated.:)

[tiggerman101]

We did it this past October and enjoyed it. It is a different cruise then your typical Caribbean route. Panama and Costa Rica require some sort of planning. We used Charlie Soto in CR and had a nice day with him. In Panama we took the ferry through the canal which was really interesting. I did like having the four Sea Days and found the entire trip to be pretty relaxing. I see that you have done a lot of cruises so this might be a good one for you. It is a bit of a change of pace.

[ladyhawke1001]

Just got off Freedom with this itinerary yesterday. We are not your usual cruisers so I don't know how much help this will be..we really love time alone on the ship so at CR and Pan we stayed on and had the adult pool and whirlpool to ourselves. Loved our time off ship in Cozumel. We went to Nachi Cocum. Would we do it again, probably not. But only bec we are tired of the Caribean. If you have any questions, just ask. I hope I can help. PS Loved the Freedom.

[TheTravelista]

We did this itinerary on the Freedom last summer (July 2009) and loved it. If you are interested, you can take a look at my review http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1027676. I included lots of photos of the ship, our tours and even links to a couple of videos.

 

The link to the Capers is in my signature. If you have any other questions, I would be happy to answer them if possible.

 

I was on the same cruise lol!

 

I had a wonderful time. One of my favorite itineraries by far. I am SUCH a sea day person. It was quite relaxing and I loved Costa Rica and Panama. Would do this again in a heartbeat.

[vacruizer]

We did this itin. on the Liberty a few years ago. LOVED the four sea days. Plenty of time to relax. Costa Rica and Panama are wonderful, just make sure you have some sort of plan. They aren't your typical get off the ship and wander the shops or bars type ports. Also not a "beachy" itin. Coz. is great for a beach day but Panama and Costa Rica are better for those who are into history, nature, or cultural type excursions. Also don't let Colon, Panama sour you on the rest of the country. Colon is by far the worst slum I've ever seen. I truly felt bad for the people there - it was like a Save the Children commercial with children and dogs foraging together in the gutters, falling down buildings, and machine gun armed guards every so often. :( Once outside of Colon, the country is beautiful, the canal a wonder, and the people very friendly and gracious.

 

Would really like to do this cruise again sometime - we were booked for this summer but had to cancel. :(

[aubreysmom]

Thanks everyone! We ended up booking this one and are really looking forward to it because it is not the typical Caribbean cruise :D I don't mind doing Cozumel again - I have not gotten over to see Tulum yet and would like to do that. We were thinking of possibly a zip line thingy in Costa Rica. (We have done 1 before and really liked it.) We are also want to do a boat ride through the locks. The 4 sea days sound fabulous!!!!! Oh - we snagged an aft wrap!!!

[abacophil]

Just off the Freedom yesterday. Out 1st Carnival cruise and we had a great time. In Cozumel we did the island jeep tour with an independent. We were the only ones booked for the day so we ended up with a private tour which was great. We also did an independent tour in Costa Rica which included zipline, banana plantation tour, a short boat ride, and a stop to sample local fruits. We were supposed to have a stop at the beach and local supermarket but ran out of time. I was a bit dissapointed because I was looking forward to buying some coffee. In Panama we did the ship's Old Panama City tour. We spent time at the Gatun Locks then a bus ride into Panama City. It was just OK. Alot of time on the bus and there were many stops that were only long enough to snap a few pictures. I would not recommend venturing out on your own in Costa Rica and Panama. Enjoyed the Freedom very much.