Live From the Carnival Freedom

[Kokomo_Man]

Dinner Update

 

Originally I had not planned to write any more tonight. But I've come back from dinner and I just have to tell you guys... the service was night and day. The Maitre D' did more than his job. The service our table received was as good as any we have had on any cruise line. Which means that it was very, very good. Same waiter and assistant, but they were just on top of everything.

 

I also noted that the service "upgrade" was not just for our table. All of the tables served by these two got the same level of service we did. Our food was prompt, hot, and very tasty. If I didn't know different, I would have thought we had different waiters. And to top it off, there was a bottle of champaign, compliments of the Maitre D', waiting for us when we got there. I wasn't after any free stuff... just good service and that's what we got and more. All of us at the table were besides ourself at our new found level of service.

 

That's all for now... I've got my dancin' shoes on. Ok, the truth... I've got my jammies on.

 

Bob

Memories of Naked Fanny

[Prairie_Gal]

In the Serenity area, I also noticed some young couples enjoying the "built for two" round chairs. One couple were checking each other for tonsillitis... and another thoughtful guy was examining his mate for breast cancer... I hope she's OK.*

 

 

 

:D ROFL! You are a great writer. Thanks for doing this live report. I am enjoying it very much.

 

I'm glad the dinner service has improved. The waiters must have gotten a much needed refresher course.

[Kokomo_Man]

Our last day has begun. You can tell that we've been sailing north for *about the last 40 hours... the outside temperature has dropped considerably. It's not "cold", but as we have our morning coffee up on deck, I would say the temperature is about 15 degrees lower than it was a couple of days ago. Some folks have "broken out" their "hoodies". I scurried back down to my cabin for some long pants. It's a sure sign that we're heading back to winter.

 

We don't normally eat breakfast inside the buffet area, but this morning I noticed something that I had not seen before. There is a person going around with a cart with coffee and juices for refills. The cart also has a selection of pastries and breads. I don't know if this is something I haven't noticed on previous cruises or not, but in any case, it's a nice touch.

 

*Today we're going to stop in Nassau. I'm really excited about this stop. This is the real place of the Pirates of the Caribbean. During the "golden age of piracy" Nassau was a haven for pirates... aarrrrggggg! It was their hang out and ultimately their downfall. Notorious pirates such as Jack Rackham, and the two female pirates Mary Reid and Anne Bonny called Nassau home... that is until the ex-pirate Captain Woods Rogers was made governor. King Charles of England offered amnesty to all who would swear off piracy. Many accepted the offer, but Woods Rogers outfitted pirate hunters to capture those who who continued their "piractical ways". They, like Jack Rackham, were captured, tried in court and unmercifully hanged... aaaaarrrrrrrgggg!

 

And thar still be pirates lurkin' in the taverns and bars... arrrrrggggg! I'll be visitin' the pirates and wenches at the pirate museum. Then "the woman to blame" and I be looking' for some booty to take back with us... arrrrgggg. But tis more than likely that to get any booty, we'll have to pay a kings ransom to the pirates still lurking' thar... arrrrrggggggggg!*

 

-- A couple of hours later

 

It's almost noon and we are just pulling into the Nassau harbor. It was mostly cloudy and cool earlier, but now the clouds have mostly departed and it has warmed up... and I'm back to my shorts.*

 

This is the place that was the cause of me getting hooked on SCUBA diving. The first time we were here, I went snorkeling in the crystal clear, warm, turquoise blue water. After that frist snorkeling experience here, I had to do more... and that ultimately led to getting SCUBA certified... and ultimately to more trips to Caribbean islands.*

 

I'm normally not one that gets impressed with scenic places, but there's something about this Nassau... it's really pretty. This is second on my list of places to run-away to... Key Largo being tied with Grand Cayman for first. Earlier I said it, but I'll repeat myself (again)... So many islands, so little time.*

 

It's nearing time to go ashore so I'll stop now and get this posted. I'll try to put up one more post tonight about our last day, but that will depend a lot on if I have enough internet minutes left.

 

Bob

The Naked Pirate... arrrrgggggg

[amready]

Quick question about your ipad - does it fit in the room safe?

[Kokomo_Man]

From Dunkin' Donuts, Nassau

 

I'm just dropping a quick note from Dunkin' Donuts in Nassau. We've about worn ourselves out exploring the streets. Amazingly enough we've been able to pass up the hundreds of jewelry stores... so far. The Dunkin' Donuts is the only place we've found that has good internet, an of course good donuts and coffee... and a place to sit down and rest our bones.

 

We spent about an hour and a half at the pirate museum... aarrrrggggg. The woman to blame would have been ready to go after about 30 minutes, but I had to take a zillion pictures.*

 

I think I've only got about 7 minutes left on my shipboard internet account, so this will probably be the last post until we get to the Ft. Lauderdale airport.*

 

There was a question about the iPad fitting in the safe... the woman to blame said that it fit on the Valor, but I'll check on the Freedom tonight.

 

Bob

Memories of Naked Fanny

[bluecruisin]

I read where you wrote there is smoking allowed in the cigar bar. Could you please tell what other areas indoors allow cigarette smoking? Thanks!

[Kokomo_Man]

--- Last day

 

It's been a really great cruise... lots of adventure... lots to do... lots to see... and people to have fun with. But now it's winding down.

 

Nassau was typical of most Caribbean ports... lots of t-shirt shops... Diamonds International (I think there were four)... lots of other jewelers... and of course refrigerator magnets and shot glasses. I think we have probably caused a shift in the earth's magnet field with all the refrigerator magnets we bought this trip.*

 

There are a couple of differences in the shopping areas in Nassau. The first one is the size of the main tourist area(s). This is by far the largest tourist trap I've seen. It is a huge area that starts before you hardly get off the dock. To exit the dock area you have to go through a L-shaped building that must have at least 100 shops. Then it's out into the town. About four or five blocks in any direction is the tourist trap area.

 

The other difference is the high end shops that are in Nassau. By high end I mean there was a Rolex store... a Cartier store and a Coach store. For most of the guys, a Coach store is a place that sells purses and hand-bags. To me they look just like purses and hand-bags... but don't look at the price tag unless you have a de-fibulator with you. YEEEEOOOOWWWWWWW!!! A tiny cloth wallet was $153! Even the Woman To Blame thought that was ridiculous.

 

We wandered through the "straw market". In particular we wanted to see if we could find another suitcase to put all the booze, souvenirs, and trinkets in.*The "straw market" is a place with "character". But, we were not going to pay $200 for a cheap suitcase. They would bargain, but this wasn't even close.

 

As you know, we spent the last little bit of our time in the Dunkin' Donuts. It had a good internet hook-up. But besides that, after all the fancy food we've been having on the ship, it sure was good to have a plane old glazed donut and regular cup of coffee.

 

-- Dinner and Last Night on board

 

The service at dinner was again very, very good as was the food. It looked like the menu was all the stuff they had not "sold" the previous seven nights... three kinds of salmon, thre kinds of chicken, Cornish Game Hens and BBQ ribs. The Cornish Game Hens were tasty. I had my last "fix" of Chocolate Melting Cake for a while and all the waiters sung good-by to us.

 

I'm starting to get a touch of a "head cold", so I held it down to one Margarita after dinner. *But after going like my hair was on fire for a week, I "turned-in" early. The Woman to Blame stayed behind to see if she could break the bank in the casino... theirs not ours. Well... she didn't break either bank. But she did get back about 50 bucks of her previous deposits.

 

-- Last morning

 

I wanted to sleep in this morning. I'm still feeling the "head cold"and didn't want to get up. But the Woman to Blame was up early... OMG it must have been 5:30, or 6:00 at the latest. She didn't "exactly" wake me up... she banged around a bit... turned on a few lights... then a few more lights... then packed up some of the carry-on stuff. So by about 6:15 I was "sort of" awake. I asked her if it was OK if I slept for another hour. She answered uuuhhhhhh. Which is her way of saying no without saying no. She was really "chomping at the bit" to get going.*So I said I'll compromise... how about another 30 minutes. In the end, I think I was able to manage another 45 minutes.

 

We waited around for our "get off the boat" number to be called for about another hour. We'll be traveling all day today to get back home, so I'll post this when I get to the airport. I'll follow up in a couple of days with some final thoughts. When I figure out where to post pictures I'll let you know that too.

 

And with that we're out of here.

 

Bob

Memories of Naked Fanny

[clearblueseas]

Hi Kokoman

 

I would like to congratulate you for your enthralling post. So much better to hear it all "first hand". We hope to do the same cruise as you, on the Freedom in April 2011 and are so grateful for all the information in your posts. Thoroughly impelling reading.:D Look forward to the pictures.

 

Best wishes.

 

clearblueocean

[DanAnna]

Thanks so much for the “Live” report Bob. The best ever! Well written, humorous, and quite informative. I will be enjoying my first cruise aboard Freedom first week of April. I’ve previously cruised on Triumph and Destiny which are very similar in size and layout. Although too young to have experienced the war in Vietnam firsthand I have much admiration for those that served and look forward to reading your book. Is it available as an e-book?

Thanks again for your service and review!

Dan

P.S. Are you a fellow parrothead?

[hobbyhrs97]

Thank you for your thoughts while on the Freedom. I leave on Sat:D with her and your report has made me much more excited. I will be doing the western. I hope you get a chance to post some of your photo's before we leave.

[Kokomo_Man]

I've got a bit more to post from the cruise over the next couple of days, and some pictures to get up... maybe tonight but I just had to answer one question for now. That question was:

 

"Are you a fellow parrothead?"

 

What kind of question is that? Without pictures maybe it's a bit hard to tell so I submit this to you... Who's the only guy on the ship who's booze is nothing but frozen concoctions to help me hang on.... ME. Who's that guy you see all over the ship with the bright orange or lime green shirts with parrots all over them... ME. Who wears a "parrot shirt" to "elegant night"... ME (Ok, it was an elegant parrot shirt.) Who's the only guy on the ship with a lime green hat with a parrot on it... and the parrot has a frozen concoction in his hand... I'm guilty. (That hat came from Key West.)

 

And there's one last piece... Who is only two places place away from completing the collection of a hat and t-shirt from every Margarittaville in the world where it doesn't snow? (I draw the line at places that snow... if it snows there, it can't possibly be Margaritaville. Besides, in Jimmy's "Tales from Margaritaville, he mentions the area that it surely must be in, and in one of the passages he talks of taking a ferry from Key West to get to Margaritaville. So I know Margaritaville can't be any place where it snows.)

 

So I think that kind of makes it clear, but just in case:

 

My name is Bob and I'm a parrot-a-holic.

 

Bob

Memories of Naked Fanny

[Crusin Hogs]

I've got a bit more to post from the cruise over the next couple of days, and some pictures to get up... maybe tonight but I just had to answer one question for now. That question was:

 

"Are you a fellow parrothead?"

 

What kind of question is that? Without pictures maybe it's a bit hard to tell so I submit this to you... Who's the only guy on the ship who's booze is nothing but frozen concoctions to help me hang on.... ME. Who's that guy you see all over the ship with the bright orange or lime green shirts with parrots all over them... ME. Who wears a "parrot shirt" to "elegant night"... ME (Ok, it was an elegant parrot shirt.) Who's the only guy on the ship with a lime green hat with a parrot on it... and the parrot has a frozen concoction in his hand... I'm guilty. (That hat came from Key West.)

 

And there's one last piece... Who is only two places place away from completing the collection of a hat and t-shirt from every Margarittaville in the world where it doesn't snow? (I draw the line at places that snow... if it snows there, it can't possibly be Margaritaville. Besides, in Jimmy's "Tales from Margaritaville, he mentions the area that it surely must be in, and in one of the passages he talks of taking a ferry from Key West to get to Margaritaville. So I know Margaritaville can't be any place where it snows.)

 

So I think that kind of makes it clear, but just in case:

 

My name is Bob and I'm a parrot-a-holic.

 

Bob

Memories of Naked Fanny

 

I'm gulity of being a Parrothead also , can't have to much of Jimmy

[DanAnna]

I've got a bit more to post from the cruise over the next couple of days, and some pictures to get up... maybe tonight but I just had to answer one question for now. That question was:

 

"Are you a fellow parrothead?"

 

What kind of question is that? Without pictures maybe it's a bit hard to tell so I submit this to you... Who's the only guy on the ship who's booze is nothing but frozen concoctions to help me hang on.... ME. Who's that guy you see all over the ship with the bright orange or lime green shirts with parrots all over them... ME. Who wears a "parrot shirt" to "elegant night"... ME (Ok, it was an elegant parrot shirt.) Who's the only guy on the ship with a lime green hat with a parrot on it... and the parrot has a frozen concoction in his hand... I'm guilty. (That hat came from Key West.)

 

And there's one last piece... Who is only two places place away from completing the collection of a hat and t-shirt from every Margarittaville in the world where it doesn't snow? (I draw the line at places that snow... if it snows there, it can't possibly be Margaritaville. Besides, in Jimmy's "Tales from Margaritaville, he mentions the area that it surely must be in, and in one of the passages he talks of taking a ferry from Key West to get to Margaritaville. So I know Margaritaville can't be any place where it snows.)

 

So I think that kind of makes it clear, but just in case:

 

My name is Bob and I'm a parrot-a-holic.

 

Bob

Memories of Naked Fanny

 

LOL! I figured so! The "Woman to Blame" was a dead give-a-way. That and your writing style. We just caught Jimmy's show and tailgate back in October. I've got a pretty good T-shirt collection myself. Can you believe there's now a Margaritaville in Canada! Any suggestions on what to do when we're in Key West this April? :)

 

Dan

Can't wait to see pics!

[dst]

Bob - Again, thanks so much for your wonderful review.....

 

Another Parrothead fan here as well - they have opened one up in the Peninsula (Florida) and we may have to just do a weekend of Jimmy....now wouldn't that be a rough weekend :)

 

Looking forward to seeing some photos - welcome home

[jimjamxx]

I've got a bit more to post from the cruise over the next couple of days, and some pictures to get up... maybe tonight but I just had to answer one question for now. That question was:

 

"Are you a fellow parrothead?"

 

What kind of question is that? Without pictures maybe it's a bit hard to tell so I submit this to you... Who's the only guy on the ship who's booze is nothing but frozen concoctions to help me hang on.... ME. Who's that guy you see all over the ship with the bright orange or lime green shirts with parrots all over them... ME. Who wears a "parrot shirt" to "elegant night"... ME (Ok, it was an elegant parrot shirt.) Who's the only guy on the ship with a lime green hat with a parrot on it... and the parrot has a frozen concoction in his hand... I'm guilty. (That hat came from Key West.)

 

And there's one last piece... Who is only two places place away from completing the collection of a hat and t-shirt from every Margarittaville in the world where it doesn't snow? (I draw the line at places that snow... if it snows there, it can't possibly be Margaritaville. Besides, in Jimmy's "Tales from Margaritaville, he mentions the area that it surely must be in, and in one of the passages he talks of taking a ferry from Key West to get to Margaritaville. So I know Margaritaville can't be any place where it snows.)

 

So I think that kind of makes it clear, but just in case:

 

My name is Bob and I'm a parrot-a-holic.

 

Bob

Memories of Naked Fanny

 

JimmyJames here(Fellow Viet Nam Vet)

I am also on your quest to visit all snow-less Margaritas villes.

 

To date: Key West, Panama City Beach(Florida),Mo-Bay Jamaica,Cayman Islands, Cozumel and of course our

"Home Port": New Orleans, Only 35 miles away.

 

I have a 'locals' discount card that gives us 10% off food and 20% off in the gift shops. I have used it in Panama City beach, Key West and of course in New Orleans.

 

JimmyJames

 

Not trying to "Hi-jack your wonderful review, But, here is picture from my Man Cave(Garage, clubhouse):

 

 

[Kokomo_Man]

This will be mainly a post of the stuff I wrote yesterday as the cruise came to an end and we flew back home. But first I'll take up a little bit of space responding to a couple of your posts. It will make this kind-of a long post, but... oh well.

 

First, "unknotted" (Brenda) asked if I might be on the NCL Pearl next fall. It's a good looking cruise, so the answer is that it's possible. But, and this is a big but... I'm not sure what I'll be doing two months from now, let alone all the way to the fall. We will likely take a cruise in the fall, but my crystal ball is far too cloudy right now.

 

The other post from DanAnna said that using "the Woman to Blame" was a dead giveaway that I'm a parrothead. There is a specific reason I've been calling her that... well... ever since she became the woman to blame... here's the story.

 

For many years she tried to get me to go on a cruise. I resisted... sometimes softly and sometimes not so softly. She resorted to going on a couple of cruises with her mother, and/or one of our daughters. I thought to myself... good that they go and not me. I had always said that I don't want to be sitting down in the bowels of some ship... floating around in the middle of the ocean. My mind was made up and she couldn't "confuse" me with the facts.

 

Then a few years ago, just a few days after our wedding anniversary, I asked her what she wanted to do for the next anniversary. I said we could do anything she wanted. She replied, "Anything?"... I said, "anything". She said, "do you mean that" and since I love her dearly I said, "anything if it would make her happy". So she said, "A cruise".

 

Now I had done it... I couldn't back out now. So I said, OK... a cruise, but not too long of one... I don't know if I can get away from work. I told her pick one out that we can afford and we'll go. And so she began her devious and tricky ways.

 

She selected a 6 day cruise from New York to the Bahamas... Nassau and Grand Bahama Island. Our anniversary is in July so I knew it would be warm, and I figured I could stand 6 days, so I said fine. Then she selected one of the high end suites. She figured that if she put us in one of the low end interior, I might not like it and never cruise again. She knew that the best chance she had of a repeat was to show me what cruising can be like. A high end suite would certainly do that. (And it was NICE... we went on the NCL Spirit, and the suite had a separate bedroom, 2 bathrooms, a large whirlpool tub, a separate shower, two balconiess and a dining area with a table and four chairs.) I only sort of asked what the cost was... but we had almost a year to pay for it.

 

Her trap was set. A good cruise to the Bahamas... a cabin like that... and ummm, I got lucky! And of course as you know, her plan worked. I was hooked and have been cruising as much as I can ever since. So now you know why she is indeed the "Woman to Blame". She has the "Woman to Blame" hat and t-shirt that she proudly wears but...

 

I have the hat that says, "It's my own damn fault"... because now I'm the one booking as many cruises as we can take. I'm now succeeding at spending all of my kid's inheritance.

 

So now you know why she IS the Woman to Blame.

.........................

 

Here's the stuff I wrote as we made our way home yesterday.

 

-- Parting Thoughts --

 

Getting off of the boat was a breeze. This is one of the things Carnival has really got figured out. We hung out in our cabin until our number was called. We didn't use the "self service" off... I would have needed a mule team to carry off all the stuff we have. After they called our number, we headed for the exit and it was no muss, no fuss... we got right off the boat, through customs and out to the taxi. In all, from the time they called our number until we were sitting in the taxi couldn't have been a total of 10 minutes. So the port and the customs folks at the port have it figured out too.

 

For those who are taking a taxi, all the taxi's run "on the meter" from the port to the airport. If you have not been there, it's only about 5 or 6 miles. (You can see the ships in the harbor from the airport.) Our taxi trip was $11.40 on the meter and it only took about 10 minutes to get from the port to the airport.

 

While the port has it together, I can't say the same thing for the airport. Five cruise ships... maybe six arrived this morning. I swear that of the 15,000 people that got off the ships, all but three went to the Airport. And to make up for those three, I think at least three million came over from the Miami port... maybe more.

 

So, there we were trying to get checked in with 3,014,997 of our closest friends... and having a good time telling about our cruises and comparing notes. Of course there were a few business travelers who were heading out for tomorrow's sales calls. They were not so friendly. There was one jerk who thought that I cut in line in front of him. I don't think I did as we were both at the end of the line. But, I was too mellow after the cruise to worry about it. I invited him to go in front of me... and under my breath invited him to go some place else . There were about 200 people in line so I'm sure his getting in line in front of me helped him speed on his way.

 

After about an hour we finally got our bags checked in. (There really were at least 200 people in line.) And it took about another 45 minutes to get through security (another 200 people). Then we finally got to somewhere to get a drink or maybe a snack... and maybe a place to charge all of our electronic toys. Fat chance! That's where the other 3,014,547 people had gone. All of the electronic "plug-ins" were taken, the lines for all of the food/drink places were as long as the previous lines we had been in, and there was no place to sit. I did an impromptu questioning of a few people and found that many of them weren't leaving for another five or six hours. The airport just really couldn't comfortably handle all those people.

 

I tell you this about the airport so you can plan accordingly. I don't know it there's always that many ships coming into port on Sundays... or other days... but you need to be aware it. If your connections are "tight", then you could have a problem. Our group was called to get off the boat right at 8:00 A.M. and we weren't through the security line at the airport until after 11:30. I'm glad our flight wasn't until 12:55.

 

Now we are winging out way back to the west coast... of the United States... not the West Coast of Florida. We are not suffering from PDS... Post Disembarkation Syndrome. Eight days was just about right to relieve the addiction for now. It will be at least two or three weeks before we start checking the internet to see what cruises might be available. And we are going on the John Heald Bloggers cruise at the end of Feb. So for now, I've got to go back to work to rest-up... and to pay for the next cruise.

 

I have a few notes that I took that were not enough for a full post. I'll put these together and post after I get home along with a link to pictures.

...............

 

I wrote "parting thoughts" while flying home yesterday... but there's one part that's already changed. I said it will be a two or three weeks before I start checking on cruises. It didn't last that long. I started checking that cruise on the NCL Pearl today... and I won't be supprised when the "Woman to Blame" reads this, she'll be checking it out and selecting a suite too. (By the way sweetheart, they've got a lot of good ones on the poop deck avilable... I Love You)

 

I've still got some loose ends and pictures to post. I'll get that posted when I figure out what to do with the pictures.

 

Bob

Memories of Naked Fanny... and "searchin' for my lost shaker of salt"

[mickiemac]

Who's that guy you see all over the ship with the bright orange or lime green shirts with parrots all over them... ME. Who wears a "parrot shirt" to "elegant night"... ME (Ok, it was an elegant parrot shirt.)

 

It is indeeed a very nice "Parrot shirt", however I wonder if you will have to do extra gym time to wear it again after all the melting cakes you had in Sept and again last week...

[jdenn4]

hehe Mickie ...he will indeed...and fast befor we sail in March lol (btw folks...I'm better known here now as "The woman to blame".)

[Kokomo_Man]

I'm at work... WORK, so I'm ignoring those last two comments.:p

 

Bob

Memories of Naked Fanny...

Aleady Dreamin' of Kokomo again.

[Normal 1]

Standing Ovation!!! Great review! Love the humor. I will now have to seek out the 'book' as I have a brother in law and cousin in law who served in 'your war'!!

[gail811]

Fellow Parrothead checking in! Again, you wrote a great review! Can't wait for the pictures! In Virginia we are lucky enough to have our very own license plates!

 

[carebear1008]

I LOVED reading your review, and cannot wait to see your pictures! My husband & I will be on the Freedom in April for our first cruise, so your review was not only entertaining, but educational!

[mickiemac]

Fellow Parrothead checking in! Again, you wrote a great review! Can't wait for the pictures! In Virginia we are lucky enough to have our very own license plates!

 

 

Love the tag!!!!

[DanAnna]

Fellow Parrothead checking in! Again, you wrote a great review! Can't wait for the pictures! In Virginia we are lucky enough to have our very own license plates!

 

I want that plate!

[Kokomo_Man]

I've got a few loose ends to pass on to you. These are not in any particular order and may seem like a bunch of disjointed thoughts... they are.

 

-- Passports

The ship doesn't always recommend that you take a passport with you when you get off the ship in the various ports. All you normally need is a picture ID. However, as I discovered on the Montserrat trip you will never go anywhere without a passport except back on the ship. This is only important if you are going to make a trip like I did... or... if for some unforeseen circumstance you miss the boat.

 

I'm pretty sure there were some who missed the boat on our cruise. In the caribbean there are ways that you could catch back up with the boat... particularly on the "Eastern Caribbean" Itenary. There are two or three "puddle jumper" airlines that go to most of the islands where the cruise ships stop. Although it might be expensive, if you have your passport with you, you stand a chance of catching back up with the ship. Otherwise, it would be days before you would get of the island. On the other hand, a few days on a good island might be just fine.

 

-- Internet Hot Spots

 

During the cruise I found a number of internet wifi "Hotspots". I used the airport while in Antigua and Montserrat and they worked well. I don't suspect many of you will be going there, but there were a number of "watering holes" in the port area of Antigua that had signs proclaiming 'Wi-Fi".

 

In Tortola, I told you about a place called "Three Sheets". To get there, after you get off the ship, turn left and follow the shoreline down to the stoplight (a couple of short blocks.) At the stoplight bear left and continue to follow the shoreline for another short block or so. It will be on the right side of the street. Right next to three sheets, there is a square that also has free internet. It happens to be right next to the police station. There is also an full "internet cafe" just a block over from the shoreline... kind of behind the police station. In this place, I think you can use their computers and print out stuff if you need to. If I remember correctly, it cost $7.00 per hour.

 

I also told you that the Dunkin' Donuts in Nassau has a good "Wi-Fi" hook-up. You can pick up some of the free maps as you go through the shopping area just off the boat. Both of the maps I had showed the Dunkin' Donuts. I also tried a place called "Tropicana" and it has a sign that proclaims "Wi-Fi". Tropicana is on Bay Street. (also shown on the map I had.) They have an upstairs area and I saw one other person using a lap top. But when I tried it, I couldn't get logged on. So I gave up. Dunkin' Donuts is clearly the best local place because there must have been 20 people in there using their electronic toys. There was also an "internet cafe" in Nassau. It was on "Woods Rogers Walk" only about a block from the port area. This was also one of those places where you can use their computers and printers. (I didn't try that one out.)

 

If you've followed along with my rants and raves, you know that the on-board internet hook-up was a sore spot for me. Cruise Critic is always such a wealth of information for cruises, so I'm going to start another Cruise Critic thread... "Cruise Ship Port Internet Hot Spots". I suppose it's going to be only for addicts like me, but I'm only going to just get it started. It's going to be up to all the "Cruise Critic Family" to post info on where all the good spots are.

 

-- Other Service

I "talked" with you about how the service was... at some length about the dining room; both the good and the bad... but I didn't mention much about other areas so I'll fill this in a bit.

 

Our room steward(s) was adequate. He did his job efficiently, and the room was always well taken care of. However... and this is only a minor "however"... on the first day, we asked for something a little extra. We do late dining. So, about 6:00 P.M. The Woman to Blame and I like to "chill out" in the cabin. We bring our own sodas and water on the ship with us. I do a little writing and she does a little snoozzn'. So, she requested our steward to bring a fresh bucket of ice each day around 6:00 P.M. She also handed him a $20 at the same time. We never saw the ice. She mentioned it again on the second day... and still never saw any ice. Keep in mind that he always set up a fresh bucket of ice while we were away at dinner... but that was all. He also never learned our habits like the exceptional stewards have in the past. As you know by now, I liked to sleep in, but almost invariably he came tappin' at the door around 7:30 A.M. (I finally took to hanging out the "snoozin'" sign and that fixed it.) At the other end, we always went out to the late dinner at about 8:15 and hung out the "Crusin' sign every time we left. Just the same he came a tappin' on the door about a quarter eight every night. I know I'm being really picky... these are very minor things and most wouldn't care. But those are the things that earn extra gratuities at the end of the cruise... he didn't get any.

 

Drink waiters "on deck" and in the lounges - These were always excellent. They were always around when you wanted them, but were not pushy or in the way. I've been on other cruises (not Carnival) where the drink waiters were too ever present and wanted to push "the drink of the day" on you. Carnival and the Freedom has this one right.

 

Every Carnival cruise I've been on (4 now) the clean-up staff on the open decks... around the pool areas, and around the Serenity area... were always keeping the areas cleaned up. The Freedom was no exception. On the sea days and the days I noted where there were hoards of people on deck, the job of keeping the place clean must have been monstrous. The Freedom staff did it well. This is another area where Carnival has it right.

 

The same can be said for the buffett staff. We didn't eat there much this cruise, but those times I was in there, the staff was hustling and keeping everything in good order. The food was good and you could always find something to eat there during the times they were open.

 

One not so good area was the grill stations for hamburgers and hot dogs. Carnival used to have two or more of these stations going from before lunch time until late in the afternoon. Now there are times when there is only one grill going and the line gets quite long. This seems to be especially true during times the buffet is shut down. I suspect that this is a cost cutting area... times are said to be tough for everyone... but this is an area Carnival needs to "pick it back up" on.

 

In every other area I can think of... pool attendants, the gym, the spa areas, the hallways and other common areas, the service and the maintenance was good to exceptional. As on all ships there's continual maintenance going on, but on Carnival they must have invisible elves doing most of it, because none ever seemed to get in the way. When I did see them, they were washing, or painting, or repairing some outside area.

 

I hate to rave too much, but there is a reason I've been on Carnival four times and the most for any other brand is twice. Are they perfect?... no. Will I be back beyond what is already scheduled? Yes

 

-- Smoking Areas

 

There was a question on smoking areas on the Freedom. If you want to discuss smoking rules, then go somewhere else... start another thread or some such. We've all seen the pros and conns... we've seen the flaming discussions... we've heard it over and over. Please give it a rest here. What follows are just the facts as they were during my 8 day cruise. I think they are the same for all the ships with the same floor plan/deck plan as the Freedom. I know it's the same as the Valor.

 

You can smoke in your rooms and on your balconies if you have one. You can smoke on all open decks on the right side of the boat. You can smoke in the cigar bar... duh (cigar smoking is allowed only in the cigar bar.), and you can smoke in the sports bar. (I have not figured out why smoking is allowed in the sports bar.) You can smoke in the casino. You can smoke in the piano bar, but not on the stools that surround the piano.

 

Smoking is prohibited in all restaurants, hallways, walk ways and in all other public areas of the boat.

 

Don't take this as the "gospel". Rules are evolving. The details of smoking rules are printed in the daily that you get on board each day.

 

-- Pictures

 

I keep promising to get pictures up for everyone to see. I’m still “weeding through” the over 500 pictures I took and trying to figure out a way to get them posted as soon as possible. It’s looking like I won’t get them posted before the week-end, but I’ll try to figure out a way to get a sampling posted tonight.

 

-- A couple more questions

 

DanAnna asked if the book is available as an e-book?... Not yet. I wrote the book to preserve stuff for history. Electronic formats will go the way of the 8-track tape. (Those of you who don’t know what an 8-track is… see what I mean.) So I’m debating (with myself of course) if I want the book to disappear when the next electronic format comes out.

 

DanAnna also asked what to do in Key West… The first and most obvious answer is to go have a “Cheeseburger in Paradise” at the Key West Margaritaville. The rest depends on how you are getting there. Cruise ships usually arrive there in the morning, and Key West is a night-time place. In the morning it is just a sleepy little village. A lot of stuff on Duval street doesn’t open up until late morning. So one recommendation is if you are on a cruise ship, then “sleep in” a little bit… “Sleeping in” is always a good idea. (Duval Street is the center “tourist trap”. I swear, Key West has twice as many T-Shirt shops as any other cruise ship stop I’ve been to in the Caribbean. Duval Street also has twice as many “watering holes” as any other. Besides all the T-Shirt shops and “Watering holes” the thing that distinguishes Duval Street… and all of Key West for that matter… is it has “character”.) Of course, you have to go to the Southernmost Point and take a picture of yourself and everyone standing by the marker. Yea… that’s a “grande tourista” thing to do, but let’s face it… we’re “Grande touristas”. The other recommendation I have is for your first visit to Key West, rent one of the electric cars (golf carts) that are available. Then you can explore all around the island and decide what to stop at.

 

Gail811 – I love the license plate!!!!

 

Hey Mickie – You and Jim should a look at the cruise in late October on the NCL Pearl. It’s likely that the Woman to Blame and I will be taking a fall cruise, and this one looks pretty good.

(The Woman to Blame is “listening” so… I know, I know… I’m only barely off the ship, and we’ve got another cruise in March… and I’m already looking to the fall!… but I can’t help it, and it’s your fault.)

……………

 

Thank you all so much for your kind words and encouragement about this thread. I can’t begin to tell you how good it makes me feel.

Bob

Memories of Naked Fanny