Live From the Carnival Freedom

[mojo2rusty]

Enjoying your review. Can't wait for photo's. My friends and I will be on the Freedom in December. We all love St Thomas, we always end the day at Paradise Point, overlooking the pier. Awesome site!

[mississauga]

I don't know if it is Carnival's fault that there is so much trouble with the internet. All the cruise lines seem to have this problem with the satellite service at sea. Like you said, it is quite aggravating to have to spend so much per minute just to send your post.

 

Have you tried getting on the internet from different parts of the ship? It seems to me that reception is sometimes better in certain areas of the ship than others.

 

When I was on a Princess ship earlier this year, a friend and I both had cabins on the same deck, she in a midship one and I in an aft cabin. She always had poor reception and I always had very good to excellent. We were both using our netbooks. She was doing Lives from the ship so she took to doing them from the Lido Deck aft as she could get better reception from there. If you haven't done so, try different areas of the ship to see where the best reception is.

 

Also, if you are having this problem every time or often, go and see the internet manager and perhaps he will adjust your usage time.

 

Glad the grin is back:)

[aprilmay85]

ALL I HAVE RIGHT NOW IS a BGBGBGBGBG :D We will be on the freedom is 24 DAYS with 34 family & friends for our wedding!! We went on the freedom last january and loved it....reading your posts makes me miss her ohhhh soooo much!!!!! jan 29th can not get here soon enough :eek:

[sandyj55]

I can't wait to get on the Freedom and I appreciate all the news you are bringing us "almost" live!!! I was going to bring my netbook because I love the idea of writing a daily journal but maybe I'll skip the internet. Thanks for your reviews and keep them coming!!!!

[bela47911]

Okay firstly THANK YOU FOR YOUR HONESTY :p I am loving your review and we will be on Freedom in December doing the same itinerary that you are doing so I appreciate the review. I was concerned about a 5pm arrival at San Juan, what to see and do and I really enjoy my sit down dinner, so does everyone get to have the any time dinner on that day?

Thanks again!

Looking forward to reading your next post!

[WooWooGirl]

I'm back from a day at St. Thomas... and I've got my smile back.*

 

This is my second visit to St. Thomas. It's a bit different than a lot of the Caribbean islands that cruise ships go to. Two tourist trips here do not make me a St. Thomas expert, but my impression is that this is not your poor Caribbean island. The houses and the streets... even the cars and people seem to indicate that the people here are comparatively well off.

 

All of the houses, even off the main drags where the tourists go, are "high end" houses. (Again I'm comparing to other Caribbean places like *Cozumel, Antigua, Roatan, and even Aruba. *There are a lot of the typical caribbean pastel color buildings but more often as not, the houses are large white structures with large arching windows; large porches and wrap around balconies; and first rate cars parked outside.

 

In the harbor there are hundreds of sail boats anchored all over the place. At the docks are thirty or forty luxury yachts. These are not just yachts, they are like the boats owned by the *"Statens" (Played by Goldie Hawn) in the movie "Overboard". These boats have crews manning them for their owners... definitely not for paupers. (But of course I came to the island in a billion dollar yacht.)

 

The dive master that took out my scuba group told me everything is expensive here except fish, jewelry and tobacco (no taxes). He explained that are no cattle of any kind on the island, so milk and beef have to be brought in by boat... 73% hamburger goes for about $8.00 per pound... milk for $6.00 per gallon.... and gasoline about $5.75 per gallon. He also said the cost of a low end home is about 800K... and that he rents a 1600 square foot house (with two others) for $2400 per month.*

 

Right off the boat there is an area with all of the typical cruise ship shops... Diamonds International (of course), and several jewelry stores... 10,001 t-shirts and at least that many hats... colorful skirts and blouses. All of the things any self respecting tourist has to have.

 

There's also a CVS pharmacy type drug store there that is much more than a drug store. You can get cheap booze, and five cartons of American made cigarettes for $100. (I'm told that's a very good price... god I'm glad I don't smoke any more.) A lot of people are in there buying sodas and water to take back to the boat... they've figured out that $2.24 per soda really starts adding up... especially when a case costs about six bucks (or less) at a Walmart at home.

 

Speaking of Walmart reminds me... there is a K-Mart here. A lot of the ships workers get off the ship and go to K-Mart. I noticed that as they were all getting back on the boat, almost everyone had a K-Mart bag. There's also a Radio shack that you can see from the boat while it's docked in case you need to pick up some electronic support stuff. Right next to Radio Shack there's a Subway.

 

I went SCUBA diving with the tour set up by Carnival. The dives were very good. This was a "boat dive" and the boat took us to a *tiny island about 25 minutes away from the port. This is also the same place the "Castaway Girl" catamaran sailboat takes snorkelers, so there's stuff there for everyone. (I took the Castaway Girl tour the last time I was here and it was a lot of fun.) The water there is the standard beautiful deep turquoise blue mandatory of all caribbean waters. Visibility was 60-70 feet.

 

Today's first dive was on a reef with lots of interesting stuff. The second dive was on the wreck of the Catanza Seniora... a drug smuggling ship that was abandoned when they were about to be seized. *It is now sunk in about 45 feet of water. It was a very large boat that has been broken up into three pieces by hurricanes.*

 

The water temperature was 79 degrees. We were told that it has just dropped down from the 80's so winter is officially here. It clouded up a little bit, so the air temp stayed below.

 

The crew of the dive boat were very good. They were reasonably safety conscious and had lots of head counts/roll calls. There was no fear of being left behind with these folks. It was a little bit of a "cattle boat" with about 22 on board, but that never bothers me. I usually think the more the merrier and the were enough dive masters to break us up into groups of 6 or 7. *Some of the people were on the Discover Scuba tour and everyone I talked to said they loved it. ("Discover Scuba" is a beginners opportunity to try out SCUBA diving without being required to get full certification.)*

 

All in all, if your a certified diver, or want to try out SCUBA diving, then I can recommend going with the folks Carnival uses. If you just want to go snorkeling, then I still recommend the Castaway Girl also through Carnival.*Everyone should note that the little island that these tours go does not have beaches. So if you're looking for beaches, then these tours are not for you.

 

It's gotten dark and we're back underway now. One disadvantage of cruisin' this time of year is the short days.*

 

I'm going to stop here for now and see if I can get this posted... (%^$#$^ ships internet). If I can get it posted it will be almost really "live" from the Freedom...*

 

I'll post more on the rest of the evening if the "Woman to Blame" doesn't force too many Margaritas into me.

 

BG-BG-BG

 

Bob

Memories of Naked Fanny

 

Loving reading your reviews/posts...very interesting to hear about St. Thomas..guess I won't be moving there anytime soon lol

[Chris41]

Great review...Keep it coming as I believe we will be doing a B2B on her in Aug and as you can see we have cruised her before and really love the ship

[Kokomo_Man]

Day 4 Final thought

 

Today was a good day. Even the #@%*! internet couldn't keep the smile off of my face.*We got word from our daughter at home in Lancaster Ca there is snow on the ground there... so spending the day today in the warm caribbean has to put a smile on any one's face.

 

Dinner tonight was again very good. I had salmon that was very well prepared. Of course the highlight for me once again was the Chocolate Melting Cake. I have not been to the gym for a couple of days, so I may be in trouble with the scales.*

 

One of our table-mate couples was not there tonight. They went to the "Chef's Table". (I believe that the "Chef's Table" is only available once per cruise and is only for 16 people.) We ran on to them on the promenade deck later in the evening and they were raving about how good it was. They were served a zillion course meal with all of the specialist chefs "struttin' their stuff". They said that besides fantastic food, they were given a behind the scenes tour of the kitchen and food prep area during the evening meal. I don't know how much it costs, but they said it was very well worth it and recommend it to everyone.

 

The action on the promenade deck was back on tonight. Although not as packed as the first night, all of the night club style venues were hopping. The Woman To Blame and I spent a while in the piano bar and Doug's sing-along style is keeping everyone entertained. I wimped out a little early tonight after a hard day of fun.

 

We did tour all of the venues a bit just to get a bit of the "flavor" of the other goings-on. The comedy club (the international lounge in the back of the ship on the promenade deck) seems to pack 'em in for every show... tonight was no different. The 70's disco had a fair crowd and of course the casino was very busy. (The cigar bar had no entertainment tonight.)

 

We noticed a nice touch Carnival has added. There is now a late night snack set up (no cost) in the middle of the promenade deck... about half way between the casino and the International lounge. It's not anything fancy. Just some fruits, some finger foods, some little pound cake slices, cookies, and some brownies. I think it opens up at 11:30 P.M. and stays open until 1:00 A.M. I don't know is this is now being done on all the ships or just on the Freedom as a trial. (or maybe I just never noticed it before.) In any case, a couple of little pieces of pound cake went down well... and as I say, it's a nice touch.

 

One last thing before I close for the night... The first night I bemoaned the lack of a towel animal. Well, that was only the first night. Since then, we have had a towel animal every night. These were some pretty good ones too. I'm taking pictures so when I get to a decent internet hook-up (probably after the cruise) I'll get them posted.

 

Tomorrow we go to Antigua. I have a very special self-arranged tour that I'm very excited about. It's late so I'll tell you more about that tomorrow.

 

Bob

Memories of Naked Fanny

[JMS920]

Loving reading your review! We'll be on the Freedom Dec. 3! Can't wait!!!

[Kokomo_Man]

Live... sort of - Day 5 Morning

 

I come to you this morning from V.C. Bird international airport. I had planned on sleeping in this morning again... as all good cruise ship passengers should do... but I woke up early. I just could' sleep because I was like a kid on Christmas morning.

 

I looked out and we were just starting to pull into the Antigua harbor. This is my second trip here. The last time I just explored around the city a bit. It's a fascinating cross between old and new... British and Caribbean... rich and poor... tourist trap areas and normal shops and stores. There's also an outdoor market... not another tourist trap place. Rather it is where ordinary folks go.

 

Before I go any farther, my kids who might be reading this should skip the rest of this paragraph and go to the next one. Ok... with them gone, yesterday I tried to "butter-up" the Woman to Blame. She is still my sweetheart and the love of my life... *and I was hoping to "get lucky". Well i'm sad to report that it didn't happen. And since I'm diserting here today, it's not likely to happen tonight. Oh well...

 

OK kids... you can come back now.

 

Today I'm not going to do any of the normal tourist stuff. I'm catching a "puddle jumper" airplane to Montserrat. If you've noticed my screen name, Kokomo_Man, that has nothing to do with Kokomo, Indiana. In 1988, the Beach Boys told us about a place we want to o... way down in Kokomo. So I'v made it my quest to to all the places mentioned in the song. OK... go hum the song to yourself. Montserrat is one of those places.

 

I'll tell you a just a little bit about Montserrat now, and then you can go google it while I'm gone. Then I'll tell you more about the adventure when I get back.

 

Montserrat is known as the Emerald Isle. It has a heritage link to Ireland. In 1995 there were about 12,000 inhabitants on the island when a volcano erupted and destroyed the main city and took out the airport. The island has been recovering ever since. The volcano is still active with ongoing flows. (That's one of the things I'm going to see today... although I can't get close for obvious reasons).

 

I'm really excited about this. I've been trying to figure out a way to see Montserrat for two years and now I'm finally doing it. I'm also a bit nervous about getting back. I've ;been conservative in my arrangements for getting there and back today... but still I recognize that with a "puddle jumper" airline (Fly Montserrat), stuff happens. I am prepared for that. As I left the "Woman to Blame", I told her I love her... kissed her goodby... and told her if I don't get back on time, I'll catch up with her i Tortola or Nassau.

 

This adventure is not for the timid. More when I get back... if I get back.

 

Bob

Memories of Naked Fanny

 

P.S. By the way... the airport has very good free internet :)

[WooWooGirl]

Wow!!!!!!! You are awesome...so adventurous..can't wait to hear about this!!!!!!

[jakenjacksmom]

Awesome review! We will be sailing in about 20 days on the Freedom. Thanks for being live on board sorta!

[tctwhite]

LOVING this review. We are on the Freedom in May and can't wait. Since the holidays are gone, now we are counting down the days. Still have a lot to go though :)

[ck53]

Thanks for the daily review, will definitely hit the piano bar & the Sanctuary. Is there a limit to how many adults Carnival lets into the Sanctuary?

 

We sail 3/26 and San Juan has been dropped from our schedule, so it is another sea day.OK w/ us we have been there 3 times already.

 

Keep the BG on!

[jolyroger]

Loving your review we'll be sailing on the Freedom in 107 more days, and they can't come quick enough!

Can't wait to see pics!!!

[CHOOSE-2-CRUISE]

Thanks' for your excellent right up, my family and I (from uk) will be on the freedom in april can't wait!!

[Anyislandwilldo]

Loving your review as well. I'm one of those people out there who if freezing their a** off in the Midwest. I am SO jealous that you are in the warm Caribbean sun and beautiful blue Caribbean sea. Thanks for posting your review. Am also interested in your return from Montserrat.

[WooWooGirl]

Question...is the sports bar showing the college bowl games?

[Kokomo_Man]

My short stay in Montserrat is coming to an end. I'm sitting in the tiny Montserrat and I've only got time to tell you t;hat the place is amazing. I'll try to give more details when I get back to the ship.

 

My main reason for writing now is to point out that even the tiny Montserrat airport had a free internet hot spot... and it too works well.

 

More updates tonight.

 

Bob... from the Montserrat airport.

Memories of Naked Fanny

[spideyfam]

Great live review! Thanks!

[crewsweeper]

Love the Live, Bob...

 

Can't wait for the pics and in depth, plus the "live" yet to come.

 

Crew

[Mary Ellen]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[colorado_flyer]

Kokomo_man,

Hope you and the woman to blame are having a blast. I must admit i am jealous as all hell. The sunshine in and of its self. *sigh* I just enjoyed 36 hours of snow fall, and a slip on the ice that just bruised the left side of my a.... well you get the idea. Any way I am shocked you made it on to the puddle jumper. I can't wait to see the pictures and hope you were able to get some durring your dive.

 

Hopefully one of these trips The woman to blame will need her own personal concierce to tote the baggage around and to navagate the lovely experience that is the air travel to get to the real fun, and i can sneek a week off work.

 

Will at least be in miami the 2nd week of feb, so i can catch a little bit of the fun.

 

Hope the next 3 days are just as fun and you keep your big grin the whole stay.

 

Your bruised half frozen popsicle "kid". :-D

P.S. give the "woman to blame" a hug for me.

[GinDon]

Kokomo Man: Really, really enjoying your review! You have a very entertaining style that sets your review apart from others. We were on the Freedom the first week of November and enjoyed it immensley.

 

A little question out of left field: I notice the line "memories of Naked Fanny" under your name, and also gathered that you served during the Vietnam Era. My husband was in Nakom Phenom in "66-"67. He always refers to it as "Naked Fanny", because at the Bob Hope USO show that he attended, Bob Hope called it that. Just curious. O.K..... Nosey. Did you by chance serve time in Nakom Phenom?

 

Off subject, I know.............

[Kokomo_Man]

This is a long report on the trip to Montserrat so I'm going to break it up into two posts... here's the first part.

 

I'll try and *tell you about my adventure to Montserrat. I say "try" because I'm not sure I've "digested" it enough. The first thing "The Woman to Blame" asked me when I got back was, "was it worth it". I wasn't sure how to answer that. It was an expensive trip and I was only on Montserrat a little over two hours. So that was far too short to really see much of the island. Things I would like to stop and get really good pictures of, I had to only point, click and hope with my camera out the window as we drove by.

 

After I had a chance to go up on deck and get a sandwich and a drink... and after I had a little chance to reflect on the day I finally answered her question... YES it was worth it. It has been a rare opportunity to go somewhere off the beaten path.*

 

The other reason I say I'll "try" to tell you about it is that Montserrat is a hard place to describe with just words. Everything is such a contradiction. But before I get ahead of myself, I want to tell you about getting there.

 

I knew the airplane I was going to be getting on was a "puddle jumper". Well, it was smaller than a "puddle jumper". While it did have room for 7 passengers, that included me in the co-pilot's seat. I'm not exaggerating. For the flight over, I was the only passenger... err co-pilot. Sitting there in the right seat, I had a full set of controls and instruments available to me should I have ever needed them. And although it would hold seven, the seating made Southwest Airlines look like an extreme rich persons first class. I am not a broad person (The Woman to Blame says I have a skinny butt.) However, I was shoulder to shoulder with the pilot, and almost hip to hip.

 

Before we took off the pilot told me that we might get a little turbulence once we got to Montserrat. *As we approached the 1600 foot runway... yea that's right it's not a typo, it's only 1600 foot... about 1/4 mile...he told me that it was getting ready to get "bumpy" and that there was some wind-shear out there. WIND_SHEAR!!!! IN THIS TINY AIRPLANE!!! Now I started to pucker-up. In the end it really wasn't that bad. We made a "high-in" approach to stay out of the wind-shear and the pilot made a very nice landing. *

 

We parked right up next to the terminal, so I just got out of the airplane, walked across the flightline to the terminal. It was a tiny terminal... I think the only thing in and out of there now is Fly Montserrat... but they did have a place where I could go clean out my pants.... ok, I said that just to try and get a laugh.*

 

The reality was, that the flight wasn't bad at all.*The flight was only 17 minutes and I video taped a lot of it. The flight back was also un-eventful... except that I was the co-pilot again. There were also 6 other passengers this time. *We flew back at 2000 feet and I did some more video taping. I think I got some real good shots of Antigua from the air. It sure is a pretty place. *The video will go *on Youtube when I get back home and do some editing.

 

I hired a tour operator to show me as much as we could see in the two plus hours I had available. Again, I had him all to myself and we got into one of the small 4x4 Japanese or Korean vehicles that were prevalent on the island. It's a good thing we were in a 4x4 because he took me some places that we needed it to get there. More about that in the next "edition".