My Review of Carnival Freedom 9/19-9/25 with Pics

[cuted126]

Okay I have Key West sailaway pics and serenity pics coming up soon,but while i'm thinking about I wanna add a little more text.

 

The taste of the nations on this day was carribean. I didn't try it. I eat like a child and stick to my cheeseburgers,salads,chicken tenders and fries for lunch and then I eat like an adult at night:p I didn't try the fish & chips at all,nothing on the menu looked good to me,although I don't really eat fish anyway.

 

The staff on this boat were less friendly then what I am used to. Now not all of the staff,but some. Usually all staff will speak to you when they walk by or if you walk by,but not on this cruise. It didn't ruin my cruise or bother me,just noticable. We found if we spoke we could get them to smile.

 

We finally meet our room steward this day. His name was Bammrung,I am pretty sure I am not spelling his name right :( I don't know if he was just shy,new to the job, or if he just wanted to keep a low profile and stay out the way,but he didn't talk much. I met him when I opened the door looking for someone because dh needed his shirts pressed. He walked passed me and then turned around and told me he was our room steward. It was kinda weird,different I suppose. The stewards we've had previously were a little more outgoing. He wasn't rude or anything,just very quiet. With that said,he did a great job keeping our room clean and he did speak to us and ask us how our day was for the rest of the cruise.

 

Ryan Fitzgerald was our cruise director. He was okay,kinda funny. He was noticable around the ship and always talking to guests. Sam (assitant CD),Mike and Nate were really funny. I think Nate was head of entertainment and I am not sure about Mike,but they make up the fun patrol. I enjoyed them alot.

 

The band that played in the Victoriana lounge were great. The female singer during the show was good, the male singer not so much. I hate to say that,but yeah. The dancers were excellent,they had a ton of energy! The Latin band was great and also the two man band on Lido. There was also Music Motion who played in the Habana Bar which was kinda hidden near posh dining room and promenade and deck 4.I couldn't tell you where it is if I tried lol. We could only find this place when were trying to find something else :o

 

I will be back a little later with sailaway and my favorite place on the boat serenity!

[tamirpr]

Oooh, tell me more about Music Motion. Did you go hear them at all? On previous cruises we've heard the various Music-something bands and Blood Power. They were all Asian and played Journey-type music or Guns N Roses. Do you know if it's the same thing?

 

Hubby and I love to chill in the cigar bar and listen to those bands. We aren't jazz/swing fans, so I'd be excited to hear some 80's hair bands.:)

[Megan_Strick]

Standing by the sofa

 

 

Here is our bottle of tequila waiting for us when we arrived.

 

 

 

 

After checking out our home for the next six days we were ready for sailaway!! We were so excited and couldn't wait to get underway!

 

Wow that is a big room. What catagory ir it?

[Megan_Strick]

 

We got of the boat and Carnival photogs took our pic of course. Then we walked around. Eventhough I saw Freedom in at Port Everglades,this was the first time I got to really look at her and she is a really big ship and long too! Anyway we had no specific plans besides that I wanted to see the Lighthouse and the Southernmost Point. We stopped at one of the stores in the marina at the ATM cause the one of the ship wasn't working and then we were on our way. I had done tons of research on the port boards on Key West so I knew just how to get to the Southernmost Point.

 

This pic was taken right outside the store we went in

 

We stopped and took pics of the various statues,some of which lots of people though they were real people,lol. We went into a shopping area,I forgot the name and looked for some sunglasses for Dh. We went upstairs and they was this cute toy store. I loved the decor in the store. Check out if you are visiting Key West.

 

 

 

Dh being Dh lol

 

I have all these same pics LOL

[crisperjr]

Okay I have Key West sailaway pics and serenity pics coming up soon,but while i'm thinking about I wanna add a little more text.

 

The taste of the nations on this day was carribean. I didn't try it. I eat like a child and stick to my cheeseburgers,salads,chicken tenders and fries for lunch and then I eat like an adult at night:p I didn't try the fish & chips at all,nothing on the menu looked good to me,although I don't really eat fish anyway.

 

The staff on this boat were less friendly then what I am used to. Now not all of the staff,but some. Usually all staff will speak to you when they walk by or if you walk by,but not on this cruise. It didn't ruin my cruise or bother me,just noticable. We found if we spoke we could get them to smile.

 

We finally meet our room steward this day. His name was Bammrung,I am pretty sure I am not spelling his name right :( I don't know if he was just shy,new to the job, or if he just wanted to keep a low profile and stay out the way,but he didn't talk much. I met him when I opened the door looking for someone because dh needed his shirts pressed. He walked passed me and then turned around and told me he was our room steward. It was kinda weird,different I suppose. The stewards we've had previously were a little more outgoing. He wasn't rude or anything,just very quiet. With that said,he did a great job keeping our room clean and he did speak to us and ask us how our day was for the rest of the cruise.

 

Ryan Fitzgerald was our cruise director. He was okay,kinda funny. He was noticable around the ship and always talking to guests. Sam (assitant CD),Mike and Nate were really funny. I think Nate was head of entertainment and I am not sure about Mike,but they make up the fun patrol. I enjoyed them alot.

 

The band that played in the Victoriana lounge were great. The female singer during the show was good, the male singer not so much. I hate to say that,but yeah. The dancers were excellent,they had a ton of energy! The Latin band was great and also the two man band on Lido. There was also Music Motion who played in the Habana Bar which was kinda hidden near posh dining room and promenade and deck 4.I couldn't tell you where it is if I tried lol. We could only find this place when were trying to find something else :o

 

I will be back a little later with sailaway and my favorite place on the boat serenity!

 

 

I am enjoying your pictures! We are also Virginians (Northern VA) but have a daughter living in Richmond. (VCU Grad)

 

We sail on the Freedom Oct 31st, so your review and pics are most welcome.

 

Oliver

[Delta Dear]

I am really enjoying your review, especially all of the pictures. We have no plans for the Freedom, but it does look lovely. We were on the Legend in Feb. and will be on the Miracle in Jan. which are both the perfect size for us. We are 'mature,' OLD and both have some mobility challenges so the Spirit class works well. LOL

 

I love your chattiness. My review of the Legend it also chatty !

 

We have never sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale. Our son lives in the FLL area so we are excited that the Miracle will be sailing out of there. By the way, the drive from Orlando to Ft. Lauderdale is about 4 + hours and very DULL. Our first cruise was out of Port Canaveral so we left the ship, went to Disney World for three days, then to FLL to visit our son.

 

OOPS, this is a reply to YOUR post, not a review..LOL, sorry, told you I was a chatty one, too. Can't wait to read and SEE more.

[Techycruiser]

We live about 45 minutes west of Richmond in Cumberland County. Only 1 hour and 45 minutes, that is not bad at all. I am now more excited now after seeing your pictures. Your room was huge, was it a standard balcony? We are in a balcony room.

[Delta Dear]

OOPS, I forgot to congratulate you on your anniversary!

[JMS920]

The address is Best Western Fort Lauderdale Airport South

1900 Stirling Rd.

Dania Beach FL 33004

 

There is not much in walking distance from the hotel. I would say the walk to the shopping area maybe about one mile and even longer if you wanted to go the restuarants. They do have shuttle,but i'm not sure if it will take you certain places or not

 

Thank you so much, you are a dear! We will be driving down from NY so will have our own car to get around.

 

We love Key West also. I'm glad you got there :)

 

We are doing the Freedom 12/11 so I'm looking forward to the rest of your review and pictures!!! You're doing a wonderful job.

 

JoAnn

[soulsistah007]

Soon we headed to the Chic to see if we'd enjoy Anytime dining better then traditional. We were seated at table 608 and our waiter was Tibor and he was assited by Mustar and Yusep. They were great and Mustar had quite the sens of humor. This night I tried the Sweet and sour shrimp and dh tried the Flat Iron Steak. The sweet and sour shrimp were really good and DH raved about the Flat iron Steak the rest of the night. This will probably be a shocker but I have no food pics at all. ::GASP:: LOL All week it seems everytime I thought about taking a pic of my food I was almost done.

left to right Mustar,Yusep and Tibor

 

Great review!! You and your husband are a cute couple! How did you prefer anytime dinning over traditional? What time did you usually go to MDR so that you where able to see the staff sing and dance?

[cuted126]

Okay so after we ate lunch and all that good stuff. We waited for sailaway up on Serenity deck. i think this day was the most relaxing for me. We finally made it to Key West,the next day was gonna be a realxing day at sea and we still had a ton of vacation in fron of us! Life is good!!

 

 

Soon we started to inch away from the pier. Me and Dh chilled on Serenity with our ipods, a couple of drinks from my favorite waitress in hand and watched the open waters

 

Our prefered spot on Serenity was the upper deck righ where the Serenity sign is. Here are one of the hammocks that I was terrified of sitting on!

[cuted126]

 

 

Dh took this pic of me. I didn't even know! I was so totally in vacation mode!

 

This night we didn't go to the dining room. We ate on Lido at the grand buffett and they pretty much had the same selection as the MDR menu. After dinner we went to the show which Jump,Jive and Wail,it was good! Especially the ending,but i won't give it away for those of you who are sailing soon!

 

This night also was Micheal jackson Tribute hour and dance contest. The disco was packed. So if you are interested in that,you may wanna get there early. I think soon after we probably grabbed pizza and a salad and called it a night.

 

[cuted126]

Forgot to say that the drink of the day was Goombay Smash!! Which is one of my favs!

 

Our first towel animal this cruise! Fiesty the Elephant,yes I name the animals :)

[cuted126]

Day 3 Fun Day at Sea

Today I awoke to the hangers smacking together in the closet. I look outside and we had beautiful weather,the waves were kinda big though. Nothing that would make you walk funny though. I will say that we had showers everyday on the cruise except the last one I believe. It was usually for a few minutes a night. The weather held out pretty good while in port with the exception of Jamaica.

 

Our first order of business was breakfast. All the different food areas are great on sea days. One thing I missed on the Freedom were those big round hashbrown things at breakfast. I won't say that didn't have it though. We usually stuck the aft part of the restaurant in the mornings. Anyway,we went to Serenity deck and chilled until it was time fore the Master Mixology contest. The winning drink was called the Kenyatta and pretty good. It was a beautiful green color!

I love the hat they give the winner.

He got to drink his drink and another drink called the red chicken,which they are handing to him in the pic

 

Right after that was the Hairy Chest contest and boy did the winner deserve to win. Matter of fact,anytime I saw him after this day I had to laugh. He probably laughed at me too since I was on TV 24hrs a day doing the crazy dance in the welcome aboard show lol,but it's all in fun. Today there was a country line dance class and we always go to the dance classes,but that was before we sailed a ship with Serenity. I swear we could sit up there forever,we did make it to the "Real Whodunit" which was a murder mystery with the fun patrol. I love that they had lots of activites like this :)

Winner of the Hairiest Man Contest. He had hair all over his back too..

 

I love how Carnival make sure everyone gets to see everyone else making a fool out of themselves LOL

 

The judges ate these men up,lol. The guy hosting stated that there is always one inappropiate judge and the lady in the yellow was it lol. Lady in the yellow,if you are reading this You Go Girl!! :)

 

Since I speak so much of Serenity deck,pics coming up next..

[cuted126]

LOVED this place! So relaxing,comfortable and away from the crowd.

 

Yes,this is the life !

 

 

This is the downstairs area of Serenity. He had two big huge couches like these and chairs. In front of the other couch identical to this were about three tables with four chairs around them

 

Daytime view

 

 

The bar was really convenient,but they have waiters of course coming around so you don't have move.

 

There are tons of lounge chairs and four clamshells on the starboard side and five on the foward part of serenity. These are usually occupied for awhile,they are great if you manage to get one!

 

The clamshells spin ya know!

 

There are also two hot tubs on the upper deck of serenity which wraps around to the port side. Two hammocks on either side which were always occupied as well!

[cuted126]

Tonight was elegant night and this was the only night we had to wait. Well,we had about a 5 minute wait another night,but this night was close to an hour. They were really busy on elegant night. I think our wait would've been a little shorter if we hadn't requested Tibors' section.

 

Anyway,when we were finally sit we got a booth!! Yay! Can't remember if I mentioned,but the tables for two are really close together and not very intimate. However,anytime someone was sitted beside us we ended up having a wonderful conversation with them. With all that being said,I love sitting in booths versus table overall! God,I talk too much LOL

 

 

Tonight I started with a caesar salad::yum:: and I had the carbonara for my entree. Dh started with the carbonara and a salad and had is beloeved grilled flat iron steak again for his entree. The carbonara was good and dh said his flat iron steak was better on the first night,but still good. For dessert I couldn't decided between the Banana Gateau and the caramelized apples,so Mustar insisted (as he did every night) that you get two! Dh ordered some sherbert

 

By then it was showtime. I think it was around 9:21 when they started singing. This is when I realized we had been at dinner for a long time! Service was really slow this night. These guys were working hard though.

 

That's Amore

 

Our dessert finally came

 

Dh is covereing his eyes because this was one of many bowls/cones of ice cream he had on this trip and everytime he would get ice cream I would take a pics of him. Before the cruise he claimed he wasn't eating any ice cream this time,yeah right. If they had an ice cream king contest,he would win hands down.

 

The show tonight was The Big Easy. I really liked this and it had a nice ending as well. Right after the show,we went to the International lounge for the comedy show and it was wall to wall packed. We did score two seats at the bar,but one of the seats had a pole in the front so dh ended up standing.

 

 

The taste of the nation on this day was Mediterranean and the DOD was Carribean Breeze. I had my fair share of them :) That concludes Day 3,but I have a few more round the ship pics i'd like to post.

[jusizmyangel]

Im from Virginia also. Im like you I hate to fly and would have loved to drive, but my husband was so against that so we took the train and he is now so against that. lol Im loving your review keep it coming. :D

[cuted126]

This is The Dynasty room and it's in that hidden area with the Habana Bar and the internet cafe(The Web). Nothing goes on in there. Maybe meetings and such,but I loved the chandelier so I took the pic

 

Atrium from Deck 4

 

Atrium Lobby deck 3

 

Mongolain Wok area on the right and Grand Buffet area on left

 

Deck 3 another nice and peaceful place

 

Baby pool,so cute! Note the marshmallow chairs around the pool. They were very comfortable

[Shike]

I'm loving the pics. You're showing stuff I haven't seen before, like the gym. I'm been looking for gym pics but most people never tend to step foot in there. ;)

[disneyden]

I'm still loving this review! I've even got my Hubby reading

it with me every night! :D

Thanks for letting us be a part of your memories!

[Larkynsmommy]

Thank you so much for posting, you have been very helpful! We sail 10/31/10!!! 15 year anniversary! Cannot wait, and your pictures are making me even more excited to go! I should be working but I am reading your reviews and looking at your pictures!! LOL!:rolleyes:

[deanswife1990]

LOVED this place! So relaxing,comfortable and away from the crowd.

 

Yes,this is the life !

 

 

 

This is the downstairs area of Serenity. He had two big huge couches like these and chairs. In front of the other couch identical to this were about three tables with four chairs around them

 

 

Daytime view

 

 

The bar was really convenient,but they have waiters of course coming around so you don't have move.

 

There are tons of lounge chairs and four clamshells on the starboard side and five on the foward part of serenity. These are usually occupied for awhile,they are great if you manage to get one!

 

The clamshells spin ya know!

 

There are also two hot tubs on the upper deck of serenity which wraps around to the port side. Two hammocks on either side which were always occupied as well!

 

 

In just a few short days I hope to be spending a lot of time here!! :D:D

[DFritz]

This is really nice with all of the pics and personality thrown together. We will be sailing the Freedom in April '11 and we will drive from NE Ohio, 21 hours. Thanks for the mention of Cambria. You have an adorable personality and great vitality that shows from your presentation. So glad to have a post full of positives instead of all of the negatives we so often get bombarded with. Thank you!

[disneyden]

Thank you so much for posting, you have been very helpful! We sail 10/31/10!!! 15 year anniversary! Cannot wait, and your pictures are making me even more excited to go! I should be working but I am reading your reviews and looking at your pictures!! LOL!:rolleyes:

 

 

We will be celebrating our 22nd Anniversary on the Freedom with you!

There is a Carnival Freedom roll call thread that I pasted below for you incase you haven't already seen it. :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1146957

 

I can't wait!! I hope we have a GREAT cruise!

[cuted126]

Oooh, tell me more about Music Motion. Did you go hear them at all? On previous cruises we've heard the various Music-something bands and Blood Power. They were all Asian and played Journey-type music or Guns N Roses. Do you know if it's the same thing?

 

Hubby and I love to chill in the cigar bar and listen to those bands. We aren't jazz/swing fans, so I'd be excited to hear some 80's hair bands.:)

Well,one night we heard them singing the Electric slide and they had a huge crowd,the second time we heard them they were singing a Whitney Houston song I can't remember which one though. Those are the only times I heard them,but they were pretty good those times! They had two other bands too,Latin beat and Two Tone they song a variety of different songs and they were excellent I think my favorite was Two Tone.

 

Wow that is a big room. What catagory ir it?

It was a 6B.

 

I have all these same pics LOL

Cool!!