Carnival Freedom Review w/ Pics - May 18th

[thechandlers99]

Our next stop was Tortola. I had done a lot of research about this island and it seemed like the only things to do were Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke or head to the beach. Since we were only in port until 2 pm we chose to make it a beach day. Our choice was Cane Garden Bay and it did not disappoint. The water was nice, clear and very calm. There were plenty of chairs and umbrellas to rent. It was not very crowded at all. It was a perfect, relaxing beach day.

 

The taxi ride there and back was hair raising as it is on the other side of the mountain so it requires driving on winding, narrow roads. The stress is worth it though when you see the picture perfect beach waiting for you.

 

Cost of the taxi was $10 pp each way. 2 chairs and an umbrella cost $13. There was a little bar on the beach with great specials. a bucket of 6 beers was $15.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back to the ship we made some friends and go a beautiful picture of the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

[thechandlers99]

Our last port on this cruise was Nassau. This stop was the day before we were to get off the ship. Since DH and I had been to Nassau several times already, we decided to stay onboard and enjoy having the ship to ourselves. We layed out on the Lido deck and watched The Help. There were only about 6 other people with us. It was amazing!

 

The rest of our group decided to go to Ardastra Gardens, which is a small zoo. They really enjoyed it and said it was not crowded at all. The ship does offer an excursion here but they did it on their own for a fraction of the cost. I think they said it was $2 pp each way for the taxi and $16 pp for admission. The ship was charging $50 pp.

 

Pics of Nassau...

 

 

 

 

 

[thechandlers99]

You can feed the birds and they will land on you

 

 

There is a flamingo show and they get audience members to join in the fun

 

 

 

Hello Mr. Peacock

[FloridaGram]

We were on the Freedom last August! Steve was there then also. I think Brad may have been but Steve is who we saw most. He does seem to enjoy his job and make things fun.

 

Congrats on your graduation, now where will you work?

[thechandlers99]

We opted to dine in the SunKing Steakhouse on the second elegant night. The food was AMAZING!!! It was definately worth the $35 pp charge. There is no way you could eat like this at a fine restaurant on land for that price. We ate escargot, tuna tartar, crab cakes, lobster ravoli, lamb, filet mignon, lobster, and more. It was DELISH and certainly a dining highlight.

 

 

 

Escargot, Anyone? It was everyone's first time but mine.

 

 

 

 

[thechandlers99]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[thechandlers99]

We were on the Freedom last August! Steve was there then also. I think Brad may have been but Steve is who we saw most. He does seem to enjoy his job and make things fun.

 

Congrats on your graduation, now where will you work?

 

Steve was great and very approachable too. We loved both of them.

 

Thanks for the congratulations. I have no idea where I will work. More than likely it will be for Emory Healthcare.

[thechandlers99]

So that's about all I have to review. We had the most amazing time on the trip - it was certainly what I needed after nursing school and breast cancer. I am so thankful we were able to take this trip together. I'm not sure when everyone's schedules will coordinate again.

 

If you have any questions, please let me know. Sorry I didn't have more pics of things around the ship. We were always busy taking pics of or with each other to capture those memories.

 

Thanks for reading!

[h_blond2]

The CD for this sailing was Brad Calabrese. We LOVED him. We met him the second night we were on the ship and hit it off immediately. I found him very entertaining and approachable. He also has some great dance moves. He surprised each of us with a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries one night. That was special and totally unexpected. His Assistant, Steve, was also great. They really added to our experience. After the deck party we asked if we could take a picture with them. We had four different cameras so we needed four pictures. Brad said we had to do a different pose for each picture. Here are the results...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awesome pictures! I love them!

[thechandlers99]

Awesome pictures! I love them!

 

Thanks!

[ash&geoff]

Weird question :). Was the pomegranate lemonade an alcoholic drink? It sounds delish :)

 

 

~~Ashley~~

 

PARROTHEAD AND JIMMY BUFFET LOVER - HE'S MY HERO - WHO BETTER TO ADMIRE?

 

 

Eastern Caribbean on the Freedom - December 14, 2013

 

Western Caribbean on the Liberty - December 15, 2012

 

Western Caribbean on the Glory - December 11, 2011

 

Western Caribbean on the Valor - December 12, 2010

[Rockee4055]

Thank you for the congratulations.

 

It may have taken 9 hours. I really don't remember.

 

I did my prerequisites at Perimeter but went to Emory University for nursing school.

 

Okay....Emory is an awesome school. DD is hoping to get some clinical work down there.

 

She's spent her first 2 sems at Gwinnett M.Ctr.

[Rockee4055]

Great review so far! I'll be on the Freedom in 4 days :)

Contrats on your graduation.

 

Hey, will see you onboard! :D

[thechandlers99]

Weird question :). Was the pomegranate lemonade an alcoholic drink? It sounds delish :)

 

 

~~Ashley~~

 

PARROTHEAD AND JIMMY BUFFET LOVER - HE'S MY HERO - WHO BETTER TO ADMIRE?

 

 

Eastern Caribbean on the Freedom - December 14, 2013

 

Western Caribbean on the Liberty - December 15, 2012

 

Western Caribbean on the Glory - December 11, 2011

 

Western Caribbean on the Valor - December 12, 2010

 

Yes! It was made with Bacardi Limon, I believe. It was delish!

[thechandlers99]

Okay....Emory is an awesome school. DD is hoping to get some clinical work down there.

 

She's spent her first 2 sems at Gwinnett M.Ctr.

 

I know Ga Perimeter does rotations at Emory Midtown. I'm not sure what area it's for though. Maybe general Med-Surge.

[crzynurs]

From one nurse to another, congrats to you and your friends! You made it! I hope you enjoy your new career as much as I enjoy my double digit nursing career LOL

 

Speaking of double digits....99 days until I sail the Freedom with this itinerary. Thanks for your review of the ports. We, too, are doing a tour in Antigua and beaching it in Tortola.

 

And the biggest round of applause of all for kicking breast cancer's butt! So happy for you!!

[smurfm69]

Very nice review and pics! Congrats to you all.

[thechandlers99]

From one nurse to another, congrats to you and your friends! You made it! I hope you enjoy your new career as much as I enjoy my double digit nursing career LOL

 

Speaking of double digits....99 days until I sail the Freedom with this itinerary. Thanks for your review of the ports. We, too, are doing a tour in Antigua and beaching it in Tortola.

 

And the biggest round of applause of all for kicking breast cancer's butt! So happy for you!!

 

Thank you! You will love this itinerary. I think it's my favorite one so far. Make sure you head to Cane Garden Bay in Tortola. You will not be disappointed.

[thechandlers99]

Very nice review and pics! Congrats to you all.

 

Thank you and thank you!

[proudaunt]

My family and I will be cruising on the Freedom in October! Not on the itinerary you had, but I am still more excited after reading your report!

 

Congrats on Nursing School! That is a very awesome accomplishment!

[thechandlers99]

My family and I will be cruising on the Freedom in October! Not on the itinerary you had, but I am still more excited after reading your report!

 

Congrats on Nursing School! That is a very awesome accomplishment!

 

Thank you!

 

You will enjoy this ship. Having been on the Glory 3 times before, I knew exactly what to expect on the Freedom. I find the ship very easy to navigate as long as you remember you can't walk from stern to aft on decks 3 and 4.

[MIZZ_K]

This was our first suite too. We actually had a standard balcony booked originally but then prices dropped so low we were able to upgrade to a suite for no additional fee. It was great having the extra space but I don't think I would pay extra for it. There are no perks except getting on and off the ship sooner.

 

I also had a regular balcony booked at first,but thought it would be nice to try a suite at least once, I'm cruising with my 16 yo granddaughter, she is going to be so surprised.

[MIZZ_K]

You can feed the birds and they will land on you

 

 

There is a flamingo show and they get audience members to join in the fun

 

 

 

Hello Mr. Peacock

 

 

I'm doing this excursion with my Granddaughter since she wants to do something that has animals.

[thechandlers99]

I'm doing this excursion with my Granddaughter since she wants to do something that has animals.

 

My group of friends absolutely loved it. Do it on your own though, not through the ship.

[thechandlers99]

I also had a regular balcony booked at first,but thought it would be nice to try a suite at least once, I'm cruising with my 16 yo granddaughter, she is going to be so surprised.

 

We ended up with a suite because the price dropped so low after final payment that it was cheaper for us to cancel, pay the penalty and rebook. Of course I didn't want to do this and Carnival offered to let us upgrade to the suite for no additional fee. Still not sure how she did it, since the suite was pricing at $500 more pp that what we paid but I wasn't going to complain or question. It was nice having the extra room.