My review (with pics) of our recent B2B on Carnival Freedom! Long & picture intensive

[Ykgorbie]

This is my first time trying a longer review with pictures, so please bear with me.

 

PRE CRUISE:

 

We planned this cruise a long way out. This was to be our 3rd/4th cruises on Carnival. We had sailed on the Pride and Miracle before (both Spirit Class), so decided to try the Freedom, in the Conquest Class. Being that we have to travel SO far to Fort Lauderdale, approx. 8-1/2 hrs flying time, DH and myself decided to book b2b cruises. The first was a 6 day Western in cabin #7439. We had our dear friends join us on the second cruise which was an 8 day Eastern Caribbean. We booked aft cabins, #7444 and #7446 and were able to get the balcony partitions opened up between us, unlike on the Miracle.

 

We left Yellowknife (think "Ice Road Truckers" TV show) on a Thursday and flew to Edmonton, then onto Toronto. In Toronto, we stayed one night at the Doubletree by Hilton, an airport hotel. We arrived late, around midnight, and the front end staff were all ready with our reservation and warm cookie ! I had ordered a couple of brewskies to be in our room upon arrival and they were there, sitting on ice in our SUITE. I'm unsure whether all the rooms in this hotel were suites or not, and I didn't knowingly book a suite, but it was very nice. Had a great sleep - would definitely stay there again should we ever have to go through Toronto on our travels.

 

Our Westjet flight left Toronto bound for Fort Lauderdale around 11am on Friday morning as scheduled.

 

 

 

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale at 2:30pm and after collecting our luggage, headed via taxi to The Gallery One/Doubletree on East Sunrise Blvd. If I remember correctly, the taxi ride was approx. $16, but I sensed that the Friday traffic was starting to build up. The hotel was sensational. We had requested a waterview room, as high up as possible and that's exactly what we got !

 

 

 

 

The hotel had the water taxi service stopping there; it was within a block to the Galleria Mall (expensive stores, but any shopping is great for us when compared to what we have up here in the frozen North). Many restaurants close to the hotel as well. Although we didn't walk it, it looked like the walk to the beach would have been only 10 min or so. There is an outdoor pool on site and a lovely little outdoor bar near both the pool and the canal which we enjoyed. We would definitely stay there again - thoroughly enjoyed it. This was the view we had from the balcony in our room:

 

 

 

Spent the remainder of Friday snooping around the area on foot. Ate dinner at PF Chang's and although pricey, it was delicious. On Saturday, we booked a 4 hour fishing excursion trip. We felt it was ridiculously affordable at only $35 per person. The boat was 86' long and the crew ran non-stop to help everyone onboard. DH didn't catch a fish, but I did: :)

 

 

 

 

Not the monsters we are used to catching in the Great White North, but WAY prettier !

 

I'm going to stop here and post this portion, just to make sure I'm doing it right! More to come.......

[Tbay-eh]

Thank you - you are doing great and look forward to more. One question, if you caught the fish why aren't you holding it. A true northerner would be - only kidding. We are from Northern Ontario and are doing a b2b on the Freedom in February for the same reason as you - airfare is a killer for us so this is the biggest bang for our buck - we are doing an ocean view for our first leg and then interior for the second - would love to be able to afford to both ocean view but gotta watch those pennies. Husband turns 60 Jan 15th and retires Jan 31st so this is a dual celebration for us. Keep it up and look forward to reading more.

[SMSACE6]

Great start to your review, looking forward to more! I enjoyed my cruise on the Freedom last month!:)

[Ykgorbie]

EMBARKATION DAY, SAT. OCT.3RD/10

Oh ! I forgot to mention that when we were on the fishing charter trip, the Oasis of the Seas was in port and we were able to get a pic of her from the water:

 

 

 

Embarkation was a breeze. We arrived in a taxi at 11:10am and by 11:45am, we were on the Lido, drink in hand! Although the only other port we have used for comparison is Long Beach, Port Everglades has always been great, in our opinion.

 

 

We snooped around the ship, had lunch on the Lido and then made our way to the front desk to put cashola onto our Sail and Sign account. We had no problem using the Traveller's cheques we brought and it only took us maybe 10 minutes to get this done.

 

 

NEXT STOP: Key West !

[Tbay-eh]

Great start to your review, looking forward to more! I enjoyed my cruise on the Freedom last month!:)

 

How about you - any hints - we do a b2b in February and so looking forward to it.

[SMSACE6]

Hi Tbay-eh! I didnt attend a lot of the daytime events and games etc, so cant comment on those. I can say that I had the best service and food ever in the MDR. I did your time dining and had the same wait team every night. They just could not do enough for me. I also enjoyed the Tandoor grill for the first time. The casino was good to me:D I loved the show Ticket to Ride. Just a great cruise!:) Oh yes, the SErenity deck! A-one!

[Ykgorbie]

Oct. 4th, KEY WEST

We had never been to Key West before and found it amazing ! Very rich in history and I instantly fell in love with the gingerbread houses and quaint surroundings. We booked a last minute excursion through Carnival, The "Hop On and Off Cityview Trolley". If my memory is correct, it was approx. $25 per person. There are 8 different stops. You are given a map of them and you can choose which stop(s) you want to get off at. We lucked out and had an ex-teacher providing the narration for the tour (before we hopped off and got a different driver the second time). He was fantastic and we thought everyone really enjoyed him. DH and I chose to stop at a landmark:

 

 

There was a store nearby where we grabbed some trinkets. We walked around a bit to admire the bldgs.:

 

We eventually got back on the bus and ended up not too far from where the Freedom was docked. We found an open-air restaurant/bar near the harbour and enjoyed some Conch (which I found out it pronounced "Conk") fritters and a drink. They had a beautiful aquarium in there with some amazing fish.

 

We made our way back to the ship and went up to one of the higher decks to watch the view as we left Key West.

 

 

Next a Sea Day and then Grand Cayman !

[BayStateguppy]

I am sailing the Freedom in Dec and luving this "preview" of what I can expect. lol

 

Thx for posting this!

[jimbo5544]

Nice start to your review. Enjoying the pics as well.

[cruisinRN]

sailing the Freedom in a few weeks...looking forward to the rest of your review :)

[yogimax]

Love your photos!

 

Key West is one of our favorite ports for walking around!

[crisperjr]

Thanks for posting this! Love your pictures so far. We are sailing Freedom this Sunday!

 

Oliver

[Ykgorbie]

SEA DAY (Oct. 5th/10)

Sea Days are wonderful, aren't they ?? We ordered coffee from room service and sat on our deck. Wandered around and found the Fish n'Chips station, which is upstairs from the Lido. The Fisn n'Chips station is only open for about 3 hrs a day, but after trying it that first day, we made a point of frequenting it.

 

 

LIDO DECK FOOD : Although I noticed some cut backs, as my husband put it so well "If you can't find something here that you like, well, then, you have a problem." And I totally agree. It didn't seem to me that there were as many stations open as I remember it on the Miracle and Pride, but there was PLENTY of food nonetheless. The coffee on the Lido was, imho, terrible. But there were remedies for that: Buy one from the Specialty Coffee Shop, order room service coffee (no charge) or go to the MDR to eat your breakfast. The coffee seemed great everywhere but on the Lido.

Don't flame me, just my opinion.

 

ANYTIME DINING OPTION: Since this was a new option to us (the Miracle didn't have it on our last cruise in Jan. of 2009), DH and I decided to try it. The first evening, we requested a table for two. They gave us a table for two, but the tables for two were about 6" apart from the next one. Although our table mates were wonderful, it was not what we expected. The food was wonderful :) and we were served promptly. The second time we went to the Anytime Diningroom for dinner was a different story. It was a formal night and the lineups were large ! We probably went at the wrong / busiest time, but were given a "pager" and told it could be 45 minutes until a table was ready. We wandered around for a bit with our pager and then decided that we would do something else for dinner, so returned the pager to the restaurant. We were not upset in the least and went and had our picture taken, grabbed some food from the Lido and took it back to our balcony and had a great time. Next thing we know, we receive some fudge in our room, compliments of the Maitre'D, with a little apology regarding the wait times. How nice and totally unexpected! And what a great way to kick start the cruise weight gain program ! LOL

 

CASINO: Not many evenings go by where we don't spend at least some time in the ships Casino. I got a HUGE surprise my first visit this time. I had just plunked myself down in front of a slot machine when the hostess came up to me and identified herself to me and verified who I was. When she identified me by name, that kind of threw me for a loop. She went on to explain that I was one of the lucky people to received a card GOOD FOR THE ENTIRE 6 DAY CRUISE entitling me to FREE DRINKS in the casino. Wow ! ! I didn't contact anyone from CCL or the casino department beforehand, so I was stunned ! Apparently, they were trying this campaign "This One's On Us" on select voyages on 4 different ships for a limited time to see how it went. Well, it went fine with me !

We found the casino staff to be fantastic. Drazen, Olena, and Diana, inparticular, were wonderful. Tables were $5 minimum and slots didn't pay out too badly. DH won $600 on one and I won $180 on another.

 

SPORTS BAR: Zeljko was our bartender and he was great ! Had a few wobbly pops in there during the cruise and had some very interesting conversations with him.

 

POOL AREAS: We didn't like the "tiered" area of the Lido as much as the way the layout is on the Miracle, although it grew on us and I think it was probably more functional - I think they can fit more lounge chairs in this way. Chair Hogs were in abundance, but it seemed not too difficult to find a chair anyway. The huge TV on the Lido was a nice touch. They had the news on in the mornings and ran some teeny-bopper concerts in the evenings. Other times, they ran a beach/water themed slide show which was ok too. The water slide was fun as were the pools nice to cool off in.

 

 

 

Next Up: Grand Cayman

 

[Ykgorbie]

GRAND CAYMAN, Oct. 6/10

Unfortunately, we woke up to not the nicest of weather. There were announcements on the ship telling us that we hadn't anchored on the same side of the island that they normally anchor on.

 

 

That's the Inspiration to the left of us. Anyway, the port was nothing pretty to look at. There was a small bldg with bathrooms (clean) in it, but really, nothing else. We tendered to shore and put up with the frequent downpours (after all, a day in rainy Grand Cayman is better than any day at work) Both the stingray and submarine excursions were cancelled due to inclement weather, so we opted for a tour bus excursion that took us to the Tortuga Rum Factory, stopped at a beach for 5 minutes and then took us to the Turtle Farm.

 

 

 

Rough waters off of Grand Cayman. The tail end of "Otto" we heard....

 

 

 

Leaving Grand Cayman.....Next Up : Ocho Rios, Jamaica mon !

[BayStateguppy]

Question:

 

Is Grand Cayman always a tender port is did you tender only b/c the Freedom did not dock at its usual port?

[soulsistah007]

Loving your review so far!! We are about to head out to our cruise in just under 3 weeks and we're flying with West Jet as well. Can you tell me your thoughts about the West Jet flight and service? Thanks :)

[Ykgorbie]

Loving your review so far!! We are about to head out to our cruise in just under 3 weeks and we're flying with West Jet as well. Can you tell me your thoughts about the West Jet flight and service? Thanks :)

 

We have found Westjet to be on time more so than Air Canada. Never had any lost luggage issues with them either. Make note that Westjet, as it Air Canada, totally cashless in the cabin. If you want to purchase any snacks, drinks, etc, you have to give them a major credit card to complete the transaction. The seats weren't all that comfortable although I have back problems anyway. I have always found Westjet's service to be superior to anyone else's. Hope this helps and enjoy your cruise ! ! ! !

[Ykgorbie]

Question:

 

Is Grand Cayman always a tender port is did you tender only b/c the Freedom did not dock at its usual port?

 

Always a tender port. Tendering is quick and painless though.

[mississauga]

Nice start! Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more.:)

[nonna5]

Loving your review. Your doing a great job. We will be on the Freedom Thanksgiving week and can hardly wait.

[dst]

What a fun review - we sailed the Freedom in Jan 09 and are going back on her for the eastern round this January :)

 

 

Sorry to hear about the weather in Grand Cayman, you are lucky they stopped at all - we have missed Grand Cayman a few times due to the rough seas, it is a beautiful and friendly Island

 

Looking forward to the 2nd part of your b2b

[AryMay]

I'm looking forward to this review!! We did the 8 day western route in July of 2009 but it will be fun to read about the other routes...might be something we consider someday since we liked the Freedom.

 

Thanks for the extra effort to include the photos!

[Ykgorbie]

OCHO RIOS, JAMAICA, Oct. 7/10

We absolutely LOVED Ocho Rios. I wasn't sure what we would think of it after reading some posts. I had really wanted to try the Dunn's River Falls

excursion, which is raved about, but with my back problems, I didn't think it would be a wise choice. Instead, we did the bobsled ride. Probably not the wisest of choices either, but I managed. We were supposed to be transported to the top of Mystic Mountain by tram, but something was wrong with the tram :confused:, so we were given a bit of a refund and taken up there on an air conditioned mini-bus. The view from up there was stunning.

 

 

There was a nice little gift shop, restaurant/bar, look-out point and some outdoor exhibits to look at. We felt this excursion was well worth it.

 

 

 

We did feel like some of the vendors were quite pushy, but at the same time, we met some really nice ones. There was also no shortage of offers from the Jamaican "Pharmaceutical" street reps (lol), but we just ignored them. The excursion we booked was through Carnival and we had a great time. Wouldn't hesitate to go back to Ocho Rios. I loved the lushness of the landscape there - very pretty. The humidity was extreme, but now that I'm back home to snow :(, I would give my eye teeth for that himidity again....

[Cruzinbabe06]

Loving your review. Thanks for taking the time to share. We all know how time consuming it can be. :)

[Ykgorbie]

ANOTHER SEA DAY....THEN OUR FRIENDS JOIN US FOR THE 8 DAY EASTERN !!

We got a little rain on our last Sea Day. Knowing that we got to stay on the ship more or less erased our disappointment though. We slept late, had some brunch and a carafe of coffee....life was good ! Just puttered around the rest of the day. May have gone to the casino too. :D

Visited the shops and found a few deals.

Our friends were to board the ship the next morning, so we were really excited about that.

 

MORNING OF DISEMBARKATION (well, not for us :))

We had rec'd instructions the evening before in our "mailbox" outside our cabin. We had also discussed our "move" from cabin # 7439 to # 7446 with our room steward who was helpful. We were told to pack up our stuff and instead of putting it out the night before, keep it inside our cabins. I had printed off our new baggage tags for the second cruise, found out I didn't need it, but placed one on top of our suitcases, just in case. We were instructed to go to a meeting room which was just off of the Lobby Bar area at 10am. There were about 16 of us. Coffee and pasties were there for anyone who wanted them (we had already eaten on the Lido).

Finally, at around 10:30am, a lady showed up and proceeded to pass out our new Sail and Sign cards ! She then escorted us off of the ship and down to the Customs agent who looked at our passports and new Sail and Sign cards and waved us through. She then took us back upstairs and right into the line at the front desk - no one else was there, so it was very quick. After that, we were escorted back onto the ship. The whole ordeal probably took no more than 1/2 hr, not including the 1/2 we were kept waiting in the room. We walked around and grabbed some iced tea from the Lido. Our friends were about to join us for the 8 dayer !

And there they are ! Our best friends from southern Alberta ! Wa-hoo !