Carnival Freedom January 28 - 8 Night Cruise Review ***With Lots of Photos***

[im4clowns]

Great well balanced review. We go on this same itiniary in march and also have Lawrence booked.

[1nurse]

February 3 - Friday - Last sea day

 

We were up at 6:00 and Kirk went up to the buffet for breakfast. Mine was delivered about 7:45 and as usual I ate on the balcony watching the big birds (not sure what they were) dive for fish, and the flying fish. It was so nice, and beautiful, with the sounds of the ocean. I read my Kindle for awhile on the balcony after breakfast. Kirk got ready for his "Behind the Fun" tour. He had to meet up with the group at 8:45 in the ship's library.

 

I just enjoyed the morning relaxing, people watching on the Promenade deck, and went to the gift shop "one last time" and bought a couple shirts since they were 2/$20, along with a palm tree necklace, and a couple of ink pens. I was sitting in a chair on the Promenade deck, and along came my husband. He really enjoyed the "Behind the Fun" tour (it lasted over 3 hours) and hopes to do it again next year when we are on the Conquest. We'll be traveling with his sister and her husband, and he thinks his brother-in-law would enjoy it too. They walked over 3-miles, and up and down a lot of narrow steps. He saw so much that most people never get to see. And he received a lot of items as souvenirs too.

 

He also received a small hand-carved soap as this is what they practice on before they graduate to the ice carvings.

 

And there was a surprise waiting for us when we got back to the stateroom, another "perk" from the tour.

 

He also received 3 nice photos, two of the group he was with, and one with him and the captain and the tiny steering wheel of the ship between them. He thought the tour was definitely worth the $95 it cost.

 

We headed up to the buffet for lunch about 1:00 and it was very busy at this time of the day. It was "American" food, and very good. We got our plates and went upstairs where, again, it was less crowded.

 

They had the "chocolate extravaganza" today too and after we finished eating Kirk went to get a plate of goodies for us to share. The line was long so it took awhile. He said they had crew members serving everything, nothing was self-serve, not even dipping the fruit in the chocolate fountain.

 

After lunch Kirk took his book up to deck 10 and found a lounger to relax in. I came back to the room to read on the balcony, then came in and took a short nap. The late nights and early mornings were starting to make this ol' gal drag a bit, ha ha!

 

The four of us went down to dinner at 6:00, it was the second "Elegant Night." For my starter I had the Delice of the Ocean. It had shrimp, smoked salmon, and tuna tar-tar and was very good.

 

I chose the Chatteaubriand with bearnaise sauce for my entree and it was delicious!

 

For dessert I had the amaretto chocolate cake, yummy!

I

Glad to hear he liked the behind the fun tour.... you will find me and DH and 2 of our friends in your group photos

[Yvonne]

Thank you so much for sharing ! We are very eager the board the Freedom on Feb 25th !!!

 

Which ports were an hour ahead ? Just need to make sure because we have booked independant excursions in Antigua and Tortola.

 

We had to turn our clocks/watches ahead one hour the very first night of the cruise. And we set them ahead on Thursday, so the ports of Antigua and Tortola we were ahead an hour. I wondered if that would affect our tour with "Lawrence of Antigua" but he was waiting for us when we got off the ship and met him at 10:00 our time. I didn't think to ask him what time it was there.

[Yvonne]

First, thanks for the great review. We will be on her in 9 days, hitting the same ports.

 

Couple of questions...

 

You said you had to set your watch back. Doesn't the ship stay on Easter time the entire trip?

 

BTW for the other poster who asked, St. Thomas, Tortola and Antigua are all on Atlantic time.

 

Also, we were planning on skipping formal nights, is that the only time to get lobster?

 

Thanks again, I really enjoyed your review.

 

We set our clocks/watches back an hour the very first night of the cruise which was Saturday, then set them ahead an hour on Thursday.

 

The only night they had lobster was the first formal night and it was only in the dining room, not the buffet. If you were thinking of skipping formal night because of not wanting to dress up, the dress code is not as "formal" as it used to be. We used to take the suit and dresses, etc. but we no longer do that. My husband just wore black dress slacks, a long sleeved dress shirt and tie. I wore black dress pants and a black and gold glittery 2-piece top and we blended in just fine. Most people were dressed similarly. I saw very few suits, only a couple of tuxes and long gowns. So if you do want the lobster, just dress nicely and you'll be fine to go to the dining room.

[Yvonne]

Glad to hear he liked the behind the fun tour.... you will find me and DH and 2 of our friends in your group photos

 

Oh, which ones are you?! :)

 

I didn't take the tour with him. I was mildly interested, not as interested as he was, and it was too early in the morning for me, ha ha! I may have reconsidered it had it been an afternoon thing.

 

I spent my $95 in the gift shop and was just as happy. :)

 

I did enjoy hearing all about it from him though. He really loved it.

 

In your group photo on deck, my husband is the one on the very left, in the green shirt and khaki shorts. Tell me where you are too. :)

[Folsom]

We set our clocks/watches back an hour the very first night of the cruise which was Saturday, then set them ahead an hour on Thursday.

 

The only night they had lobster was the first formal night and it was only in the dining room, not the buffet. If you were thinking of skipping formal night because of not wanting to dress up, the dress code is not as "formal" as it used to be. We used to take the suit and dresses, etc. but we no longer do that. My husband just wore black dress slacks, a long sleeved dress shirt and tie. I wore black dress pants and a black and gold glittery 2-piece top and we blended in just fine. Most people were dressed similarly. I saw very few suits, only a couple of tuxes and long gowns. So if you do want the lobster, just dress nicely and you'll be fine to go to the dining room.

 

Thanks for getting back to me. I talked to DW and since we both want that lobster, I guess we will have to do the formal night.

 

What a problem to have right?

 

BTW, since we are sailing so close to you, how would you describe the amount of kids on the cruise? were the pools and hot tubs over run by them or was it more of an adult demographic?

 

Cheers

-F-

[Yvonne]

Thanks for getting back to me. I talked to DW and since we both want that lobster, I guess we will have to do the formal night.

 

What a problem to have right?

 

BTW, since we are sailing so close to you, how would you describe the amount of kids on the cruise? were the pools and hot tubs over run by them or was it more of an adult demographic?

 

Cheers

-F-

 

I was amazed at how few kids were on this cruise, really! Maybe because it was an 8-night cruise? I don't know. We only saw maybe a dozen younger kids the entire time, and they were never, ever a problem. The only time we saw any teens was when they were doing a scavenger hunt and were running around on the ship trying to find their items, and if we happened to sit on the Promenade near the teen club, but just a few even then. They were just not a problem at all. Never saw them even trying to be in the Serenity area. Can't say anything about the regular hot tubs as we didn't go in them.

[LBumb]

great review

[ibcnusoon]

And of course, the gorgeous views from the top!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great review! Boy, compared to the other ships, the Dream is H-U-G-E!!

[pcrum]

I am enjoying your review. We were on the Freedom and really enjoyed the ship (review link is in my signature). Also loved your photos from Paradise Point. It looked like you had a professional photo made there...I do not remember seeing them do that when we were there, but it was several years ago in 2008.

 

Looking forward to the rest of the review.

[Yvonne]

Great review! Boy, compared to the other ships, the Dream is H-U-G-E!!

 

Yes, it is! My husband spoke with a man who was on the Dream, he said it wasn't all that great!

 

He said all the did was add more staterooms to put more people on the ship, but didn't enlarge the public areas. He said there were lines everywhere for everything. :(

[Yvonne]

I am enjoying your review. We were on the Freedom and really enjoyed the ship (review link is in my signature). Also loved your photos from Paradise Point. It looked like you had a professional photo made there...I do not remember seeing them do that when we were there, but it was several years ago in 2008.

 

Looking forward to the rest of the review.

 

I'm not sure which photo you're talking about, but no, there were no professional photos done at Paradise Point. I took all of them myself.

[1nurse]

Oh, which ones are you?! :)

 

I didn't take the tour with him. I was mildly interested, not as interested as he was, and it was too early in the morning for me, ha ha! I may have reconsidered it had it been an afternoon thing.

 

I spent my $95 in the gift shop and was just as happy. :)

 

I did enjoy hearing all about it from him though. He really loved it.

 

In your group photo on deck, my husband is the one on the very left, in the green shirt and khaki shorts. Tell me where you are too. :)

 

We are standing next to him:)

[schultz]

Emjoying your review of the Freedom. Was it very windy in the Serenity area? We found it too windy most days on the Dream last year.

[lor74]

Thansk for taking the time for a great review!

[TheShayQueen]

Thank you SO much for this review! I'll be sailing on her in August 2012. I've been on the Valor and Liberty, so the layout I'm used too but i've read many reviews that the food is just so-so on the Freedom :(. I hope it's alot better than that by time I cruise. Great pics, by the way!

[JennyinKS]

Yvonne, thank you so much for this review! I haven't even gotten past the first page and I am really excited! We sail on her the first week of November, our first on the Freedom, and I have been looking for a detailed review...I know it's early, but I can't help myself.:D

[michiganirish]

Yvonne - thank you so much for posting this awesome :):) review - we too were on this trip and enjoyed every day - i had every intention of posting a review but we all know about good intentions.....looks like you had a great time - thank you for allowing me to walk down memory lane - it seems like a dream but was only a few short weeks ago -

[cathyoo]

Thank you for a great review. I really enjoyed reading it. Loved the pictures too.

[Yvonne]

We are standing next to him:)

 

:) I'll have to tell him!

 

Emjoying your review of the Freedom. Was it very windy in the Serenity area? We found it too windy most days on the Dream last year.

 

The only days we spent time in the Serenity Area was on port days when we were docked, so no, there wasn't any real wind on those days. :) I can't say what it was like on sea days though, sorry.

[seacat66]

in november, on the freedom, i was able to buy the disco ball glass without buying any drink at all.

[seacat66]

I don't know if you can buy the cup with no drink in it or not.

 

All I know is she wouldn't let me have the drink I wanted, she said I had to get the Bahama Mama and she did ask the other bar tender and he said the same thing. :( I think it's kind of stupid, but I wanted the cup bad enough that I just bought the dang drink too, ha ha! I took a couple of sips but could just taste too much alcohol. I like drinks that you can't taste it, like the Kiss on the Lips. :)

 

i was referencing this post. forgot to do the quote marks.

[cruzn buckeye]

thanks for the review! The pics are great!

[deener32]

Great Review ...Thanks!!

[HeidiHo]

We sailed on the Freedom Feb. 11th and Savoy was our steward also. He was wonderful.