Cruise Review: Carnival FREEDOM Feb 8 - 16, 2014 8 Night Eastern

[beansatw]

Hi Gang –

 

Well, finally! Here it is – my completely original, 100% authentic, and completely hi-lariously official review of the Carnival Freedom from last week, Feb 8 – 16. As always, these opinions are mine and mine only; your mileage may (and probably will) vary. Ready to sail away? C’mon!

 

Oh – and by the way: I do have a TON of photos to upload, along with a full set of Fun Times. So if you have questions, please fire away. Enjoy!

 

* * * * *

 

About Us: DW and I (both age 48) sailed on the Carnival Freedom’s 8-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary February 8 – 16, 2014. This was the third cruise for both of us; all previously on Carnival.

 

The Ship: Despite what you may read online, the Freedom really isn’t in that bad of shape. Yes, she’s about to go in for a two-week rehab. And yes, she really could use a coat of paint, especially on Deck 9. But overall the ship was very clean and well maintained. We did not notice any bad sewer smells or other noxious odors, and we constantly saw staff members working to keep the ship clean. All of the public areas that we saw were clean, as was our cabin and balcony.

 

The passengers: If I was to guess, I’d say that 60% of the passengers on board this cruise were retired (65+), with the rest spread out among the other age brackets. We saw only a few (maybe 20?) kids on board, and about the same number of teens, so either they were well hidden or that was it. We met a lot of people from Canada (especially from the Toronto area) on this cruise, and the muster drill was presented in both English and French. We didn’t see many “cruise rookies” this time; a majority of the people we spoke with were Gold or Platinum cruisers with Carnival, with one couple approaching their 50th cruise later this year.

 

Our Cabin: We were in cabin 7336, located mid-ship on the Empress deck. This was a great location, as we were close to the stairs and elevators (up two floors to the Lido, or down two floors to Deck 5). The self-serve laundry facilities on this floor are just around the corner on the odd-numbered room side – just about 50 yards away. With the exception of the guests in the room next to us, who felt that slamming their balcony door at full strength was the best way to close it, the room was fairly quiet. We could occasionally hear people talking in the hallway as they walked by, but overall it wasn’t noisy at all.

 

This is also a balcony cabin, which was a great perk to have. We spent a lot of time on our balcony enjoying the sea views and ports of call. We had smokers on either side of us, but when the ship was moving we really couldn’t smell the smoke that strongly.

 

The bed, furnishings, and bath facilities were all in top shape, and other than a power failure one night (a breaker had been somehow tripped so we had no lights for about 15 minutes), there were no problems at all. Our room steward was Prapa from the Thailand, and she did an excellent job of maintaining everything. (She did miss us one evening somehow, but other than that she did an outstanding job.) She was very friendly and professional, and remembered our names every time we passed her in the hallway.

 

The Staff: The staff on board the Freedom was primarily Eastern European or Filipino, with a few other nationalities thrown in. A large number of the dancers were from the UK, and the entertainment hosts were mostly Canadian. All were very friendly and outgoing , however I did notice on several occasions that some of the crew members spoke only marginal English at best. As a result, when I asked questions I frequently received a blank stare (or an incorrect answer) in return. However you could tell that they were trying to be helpful, and I know how difficult it can be to have to communicate in a second language, so I’ll cut them some slack.

 

Embarking: Embarkation was as smooth as it can be when you’ve got 3,000 people dying to get on board. We totally ignored the “please don’t show up before 1:30” email, and were there at 11:20. The security check and registration processes were a breeze – I was even a little bit pleased to see that the ordinary lines were moving much faster than the priority lines. Boarding started at around 11:30, and we were able to board at 12:20 (Group #19). We headed up to the Lido for a casual lunch, then went to our cabin at 1:00 PM. Our suitcases were outside our cabin door before muster.

 

Lido Food: We ate breakfast and lunch most days on the Lido. The Lido food was hit or miss – some was very good, some was downright awful. They didn’t seem to be able to make eggs benedict without completely hard boiling the egg, however the omelet station was outstanding every time. The menu offerings got repetitive real quick – the same ol’ potato salad, the same ol’ breakfast potatoes… but we always managed to find something to eat.

 

We both really enjoyed the fish & chips station on Deck 10; the fish was always very hot & fresh tasting, and DW liked the ceviche. My only issue was most days they only had one guy working there, who was cooking, serving, and dishing it out. This made the lines really long. He tried his best to keep up, but he really could’ve used an extra pair of hands.

 

The service on the Lido buffets was 50/50 – some people were happy and smiling, others seemed to completely hate their jobs. We figured out who was who fairly early on, and avoided the grouches. The people who were bussing the tables were always very friendly however, and always took the time to stop by to see if we needed anything else.

 

As far as the beverages go, DW usually just drinks water and I like iced tea (when I can’t get my usual Diet Pepsi), so we were just fine with the Lido drink selections. We both also loved the passion fruit & guava punch in the mornings – I wished they offered that all day long, too.

 

Then there’s everyone’s favorite – the 24 hour ice cream. Yay! That’s about all I can say about that. I’m an ice cream junkie by nature, so I was thrilled to have on-demand soft serve whenever I wanted it. I was also glad to see it was still the thick, creamy mix they had before, and not that watered down ice milk garbage that so many places have switched to. I did miss the olden days of having a sundae topping bar during one afternoon at sea; still, that’s a minor gripe compared to the benefits.

 

I also have to rave about Pirate’s Pizza – I ate my fair share of this delicious pizza, and probably a good portion of yours as well. I really liked the mushroom pizza and the Quatro, but they were all good. I never had to wait more than 3 or 4 minutes for a slice or three. Again, a great benefit to have on demand whenever the mood strikes you.

 

We didn’t go to any of the late night buffets this time, so I really can’t comment on them, other than to say that they had a Mexican party one night that I saw listed in the Fun Times. (I’m afraid that my night owl days are behind me…) We also never tried the deli, the Mongolian Wok, or the Indian tandoori. I did get chicken strips & fries from the grill one day though – and those were tops.

 

Room Service: We never ordered it. Still the same selections on the menu, but being so close to the Lido, we just chose to walk up the two flights of stairs for food instead.

 

Dining Room: We had anytime seating in the lower level (Deck 3) of the Chic dining room. We only had to wait for a table for two on two occasions: once for about 30 minutes (we showed up at about 7:50, right after the evening’s show in the Victoriana Lounge had gotten out), and once for about 10 minutes. Other than that we were seated right away.

 

We ate in the Chic 7 of the 8 nights, including both formal nights, skipping night #6 for the Steakhouse (see below).

 

Like the Lido, some of the food was outstanding (farfalle with turkey, the smoked duck appetizer, the chateaubriand) while some of it was almost inedible (the still-gritty escargots, the dry, overcooked pork chops). Still, we never did come away hungry from it, and all of the servers we had were very nice and outgoing. Overall it was okay; it just didn’t resemble anything like “fine dining” – it was more of an Applebees-style dining experience, only with tablecloths and extra forks.

 

We managed to catch “Shhhhhhhowtime!” most nights, and as usual some of the servers were really into the dancing while some of them were obviously going through the motions.

 

As far as the dress code goes, well…. Let’s just say I saw a whole lot of shorts, t-shirts, sneakers, and jeans. Did it bother me? Not in the slightest. Live your own life. Some people chose to dress fancier, but I noticed that most were casual. (I’ll give people credit though – most did put in the effort for elegant nights.) I did however see one man turned away from dining there – he showed up in a tank top, cutoffs, and flip flops. He was angry about it, but I was glad to see the assistant maître D stick to her guns.

 

So the food was so-so, and if you’re really concerned about such things, you probably could’ve freaked out about the way your fellow passengers were dressed. My biggest wish for the Chic dining room, though? Someone really needs to give the maitre D a new CD to play. Seriously --- if I had to listen to “Joe Cocker’s Greatest Hits” one more time, I thought I was going to scream while stuffing hard rolls in my ears. Variety, man! Variety! Nobody should have to be tortured to 7 nights of “Up Where We Belong” over and over again. Next time I’ll bring him something from the 90’s perhaps…

 

Steakhouse: On night 6 we went to the Sun King Steakhouse, which was top notch in every aspect. Why can’t all meals be like this? I had made reservations online about 4 months out (opting for the 13th and hopefully avoiding the Valentine’s Day crowds), and we received an invitation in our cabin mailbox a day before.

 

The food and drinks were all perfect – I had the 5-seasoning steak, and DW had the sea bass – both of which were cooked exactly to our liking. The sommelier made an excellent wine suggestion for me, and the kitchen sent out their usual samples for us to try. 5 stars all the way – the Sun King was definitely worth the extra cost.

 

Seaday Brunch: We went to the Seaday Brunch on two of the three sea days – as mentioned above, the eggs benedict were hard boiled instead of poached, but other than that it was okay. The basket of pastries & croissants delivered to the table beforehand were a hit, though.

 

Afternoon Tea: We attended the 3:00 PM afternoon tea on one of the sea days as well, just to see what it was like. In addition to the tea there were salmon on toast appetizers, mini cucumber sandwiches, macaroons, and about 4 varieties of cake to choose from. The service was kind of slow, but there were a lot of people in there, and the wait staff did their best to keep people fed. The experience was okay – not something we’d do again soon, though. Once was enough.

 

Taste Bar: On most evenings the Taste Bar offered samples of new dishes that will be included on the menu once the Freedom flips to version 2.0. Most samples were okay – some were really great. We made a point to stop by every evening early for a quick snack. Makes me look forward to trying the new menus.

 

On Board Activities: We didn’t partake in a lot of the onboard activities, with the exception of some of the trivia games and the Game Show Mania on the first night. I had fun playing the trivia games, and came home with a Ship on a Stick from playing Game Show Mania and another from Disney trivia. (I won a couple of other games, but forfeited my prizes to the player with the next highest score.) After playing Game Show Mania I had the great joy of seeing my mug on TV non-stop for the next 7 days – not really the reality TV moment I’d always hoped for (I was holding out for The Amazing Race), but a win was a win.

 

Entertainment: We only saw a couple of the shows – The Big Easy and Jump, Jive, & Wail. (We’d seen the Beatles show and the Welcome Aboard shows before, and Carnival Legends didn’t appeal to us.) Both shows that we saw were excellent however, and we really enjoyed them both.

 

Comedy Club: We went to the Punchliner one evening to see the all-ages show, which was actually a lot of fun. I’d seen the featured comedian before at our local comedy club, so it was kind of fun to watch someone I semi-knew struggle to keep from slipping out a swear word at the supposedly PG-rated show. We never did make it back for one of the late-night shows.

 

Piano Bar: We sat in the piano bar one night and listened to Larry play. Some people chose to sing along, others just sat and watched. It was a relaxing way to spend an hour.

 

Shopping: I have to admit that neither one of us are mega-shopppers. We don’t go into ports looking for outstanding deals on gems or gold-esque jewels. So all of the marketing and sales spiels for places to find hidden deals was completely wasted on us. The only shopping we did on board was DW bought some Tylenol at the shop on Deck 5, and I picked up a $20 watch/wallet/ink pen combo on the last night. That’s it. I looked for a shirt to buy in the gift shop, but couldn’t find anything I really liked, so I skipped it. We did buy photos, though – see below.

 

Photos: One of the fun parts of cruising is feeling like a celebrity being followed by the paparazzi. Okay, maybe “fun” is kind of a stretch, but you have to admit – every once in a while they manage to take a really good picture of you. I just kind of wish it was at my choice, not theirs. I really don’t need a 5 x 7 glossy print of every time I get on or off the ship, or every time I sit down to eat in the dining room. I don’t want to pose with the pirate, the Rastafarian, the female pirate, the girl dressed as Cupid, Funship Freddy, or any of the other characters every time I’m walking down the hall. (One exception: Showgirls. I’ll always stop for the Showgirls. Always.)

 

Regardless, we did meet an excellent on board photographer, who made the whole experience fun and relatively pain free. Aleieski (sorry if I’m misspelling that) from Bulgaria was a great guy – he got us to do the multiple Twister-esque poses with a smile on our faces, and he was very kind and considerate when we made special requests. Every photo we ended up buying were ones he took. If you’re on board, seek him out. He really was the best photographer there.

 

Casino: We didn’t play in the casino much – it was way too smoky in there most of the time. DW threw her usual $20 in quarters into the Flippa Winna machine, which amused her greatly, and we both played in the slot tournament. Last time around I finished absolutely dead last in the contest, so this time I was pleased to at least come in somewhere in the middle. (Both people seated on either side of me made it to the finals, though – my typical luck.) I didn’t see a lot of people winning on the slots, and the card tables always seemed to be fairly quiet when I was around. Maybe it was my timing, or maybe our fellow passengers just weren’t in a gaming mood very much.

 

Ports of Call: We had 3 sea days and four ports of call on this trip: St Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, and Nassau. DW and I had been to St. Thomas and Nassau before, but the other two stops were new to us.

 

St. Thomas / St. John: There were 5 ships in port the day we were there, and all of the private tours I tried to find were already sold out by the time I started looking last winter. We’d talked about going to Sapphire Beach for the day, since we’d enjoyed it so much on our last cruise, but after reading about the closure of the facilities there we decided we should probably skip it and try somewhere else. So instead we caught a cab over to the Red Hook ferry port ($20 for the two of us), then caught the ferry over to St. John ($14 ea for round trip tickets). In St. John we then caught another cab to Cinnamon Bay ($7 each).

 

Cinnamon Bay was BEAUTIFUL – there’s just no other word to describe it. We had a great time snorkeling in the sea and laying on the beach, soaking it all in. If Heaven is half as pretty as this beach is, I’ll be a happy man. It was never crowded, and we were never approached by any vendors. We did have lunch at the nearby restaurant, and while it was pricey ($28 for two cheeseburgers and drinks), it was really pretty good. We stayed until 3:00 PM, then caught another cab back to the ferry dock and made our way back to St. Thomas and Havensight with plenty of time to kill.

 

Antigua: As wonderful as Cinnamon Bay was, both DW and I agreed that Antigua was our favorite stop of them all. I had booked ahead of time with Antigua Adventures for their all-day ECO tour. There were about 30 of us on the tour (about half from the Freedom and the other half from the neighboring Celebrity ship), but it never felt crowded or overwhelmed. The crew took excellent care of us, and took us around by sea to see the islands, mangroves, bays, and the stunningly awesome water. It rained on us briefly for about 2 minutes (tops), then the sun came out and the day was perfect. We had a couple of different snorkeling stops, and climbed to the top of one hill to get a great view of the islands. Plus, a delicious lunch of barbecued chicken, pasta salad, green salad, and fried plantains was served. I can’t recommend Antigua Adventures enough – they were spot-on perfect. Back in port we stopped to look in some of the shops for a few minutes, then made our way back to the ship.

 

Tortola: We hadn’t been to Tortola before, and were kind of surprised at how “empty” the dock area felt – all of the shops & stuff are further out. For Tortola we’d booked the Treasure Island Snorkel trip through Carnival. Normally I prefer to book my own tours away from Carnivals, as they’re usually much better experiences at lower prices. But I was having a hard time finding a decent tour that I liked on my own, so we sucked it up and booked it through Carnival’s website before we left home.

 

This was the one excursion that didn’t live up to the hype. First off, they didn’t take us to the snorkel spots listed in the advertisement. They blamed it on “construction noise” or something, so instead we went somewhere else. While the snorkeling at the alternative was really very good, we weren’t there that long. It felt like shortly after getting in the water it was time to leave. Then, instead of going to a second snorkeling location, they skipped it and took us on a long boat ride to Cooper Island, which was pretty much a shopping and dining location. No snorkeling there. Also, we had to circle the bay and wait about 30 minutes before we were able to moor at a pier, so our time in the area was cut dramatically.

 

We never did get our third promised stop – instead, it was another hour long boat ride back to the ship. I’d give the first snorkeling spot an A+ for the fish & water quality, but the rest of the tour gets a D.

 

The moral of this story? Always book something on your own.

 

Nassau: I know that a lot of people don’t particularly care for Nassau, but we really like it. DW and I spent a week in Nassau about a year ago, staying at the Atlantis Resort. We absolutely loved it there, so we were excited to go back.

 

There were 5 or 6 ships in port this day, and we were the last to arrive (1:00 PM), but I wasn’t worried about it. Before we left I’d arranged to have our favorite local cab driver (Cheryl from Cheryl’s Taxi & Tours) meet us and take us somewhere good to snorkel. Cheryl wasn’t able to personally pick us up – she had over 100 passengers booked that day – but she sent her sister Sheila to take us. We ended up on Goodman Bay, where we practically had the beach to ourselves for most of the day.

 

Unfortunately the wind was really blowing hard, so the snorkeling quality was bad – too much silt being stirred up. So instead we laid out on the beach and relaxed. We watched a large group of local girls play soccer on the sandy beach, and had snacks from a nearby vendor. Nobody bothered or harassed us here – it was just a beautiful day.

 

Sheila picked us up right on time, and Cheryl stopped by for a quick second to say hello. If you’re ever in Nassau, Cheryl’s Taxi & Tours is definitely the way to go if you want to escape the crowds.

 

My only disappointment about Nassau? We weren’t there nearly long enough for my tastes. I wish we’d been there earlier in the day and had been able to spend more time on the beach, but what can you do? It was better than nothing.

 

Disembarking: Ah, the day of reckoning. They started early disembarking promptly at 8:00 AM, and our group (#6) was called around 9:00. We opted to wait a little bit, and finally said our last goodbyes to the Freedom around 9:30. Our bags were the last ones in the assigned waiting area, and it took about 20 minutes in line to get through Customs. We then made our way out to an awaiting cab and were on our way. No sweat.

 

Pre & Post-Cruise: We flew in the day before the cruise, as being stuck in the snow would totally stink. For our first night we stayed at the Riverside Hotel, which I’d booked through Hotwire. The Riverside is very nice for an older facility. The rooms are TINY, however it was clean and comfortable. The bathrooms have supposed to have an art-deco kind of feel to them, but they’re more dated than retro. We were on the 6th floor, right next to the storage room for the housekeepers, who were very loud early in the morning. Other than that, the room was nice & quiet, even for being next to the elevators. There was no trash can in our room; only one bucket labeled “recycle”.

 

The staff was very friendly and efficient. It did however take almost 30 min. for a taxi to arrive. There are a couple of restaurants within the hotel itself, and several others within a half-block walk, along with a lot of novelty shops. I recommend checking out the menus at the neighboring establishments as well; most had them available on the sidewalk out front. Overall I would recommend the Riverside Hotel if you’re into classic refurbished hotels, and aren’t looking for a lot of modern amenities (including floorspace).

 

Post-Cruise, we stayed on Fort Lauderdale Beach at the B Ocean Resort. The Publix Ft Lauderdale Marathon was going on that morning, so it took us a while to make our way to the hotel, but once we got there we had no trouble getting around. Cab fare from Port of the Everglades to there was $21.50.

 

When we arrived our room wasn’t ready (we weren’t expecting it to be, since we were early), but they did offer to check our bags for us and to call us when it was ready. About two hours later they called, and we were able to check in and have our bags brought up to the room without any difficulties. The staff was very friendly and helpful, and were glad to help us out in any way needed.

 

Our room featured two queen beds, a large flat-screen TV, modern bathroom amenities, including a rain-shower style shower head, and an incredibly stunning view of the ocean and neighboring area. The room was exceptionally clean, and the beds were very comfortable. There was no mini-bar, but they did have snacks available for purchase in a basket on the dresser. The room was also very quiet; we could not hear any traffic noise at all from the busy road below.

 

The resort has a small swimming pool and deck area, but we spent our time at the beach instead. The hotel also offered a small lounge/bar area and a couple of restaurants. There is no coffee maker in the room, however free coffee can be had in the mornings in the lobby of the Bistro restaurant.

 

There are several restaurants, bars, & nightclubs in the immediate area – pizza, Thai, Mediterranean, seafood, Italian, Irish, and even a Subway if you’re so inclined. There’s also a gourmet ice cream and caramel corn shop about a block behind the hotel that is definitely worth a stop. There’s also a lot of gift shops in the area, which seemed to mainly sell R-rated t-shirts and “pipes”. After dark we did notice three prostitutes and a drug dealer working the corner by these shops, however we never felt unsafe, and they never approached us or the hotel area itself.

 

The B Ocean Hotel is located right on the main drag on Fort Lauderdale Beach – A1A. The ocean is directly across the street, and has easy access from many crosswalks. Be sure to use one with a traffic light; the cars in the area tended to ignore the pedestrians if there wasn’t one. Be sure to arrive in time for the sunrise – it’s a sight you won’t want to miss.

In the end, the B Ocean Resort fully earned its 4 star rating, and is a place we will definitely consider visiting again in the future.

 

So There You Have It: Overall, it was a wonderful cruise. The staff and crew of the Carnival Freedom should be commended for their outstanding service and for showing a couple of aging adventurers a great time. We'll be back. Soon, I hope.

 

Questions? Just ask. I promise to get the photos added here shortly, and I've got Fun Times if anyone is interested in great details.

[Delta Dear]

Thank you for the review. We'll be on the Freedom on 12-13-14 so I'm reading all the reviews I can. Looking forward to your photos.

[SMSACE6]

Thanks for your great review.

 

I am hoping to cruise on the Freedom for the second time, later this year.:)

[riclop]

Thanks for the detailed review.

[CJinFLA00]

Nice review, we were on the same cruise and had a great time. (Even after catching a nasty cold on day 2). Can't wait to see Freedom in Oct after the upgrades.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[ColKlink]

If you can post the Carnival fun times from your cruise it would be greatly appreciated. I will be on the Freedom on March 8 and would like to see what they have planned for us. I know it will be a different itinerary but many events should still be the same.

Thanks,

DC

[mcarney]

This was an awesome review .... My BF, dad and I will be on the Freedom for my big birthday in June ... Right after she gets out of dry dock ....

 

Could you look on the fun times and tell me if there is karaoke the first night? Our last cruise, my BF sang every chance he could and he wants to sing happy birthday to me on my actual birthday (which is the day we sail)

 

Thank you!

[LRY229]

We had a group of 10 on the same cruise and agree with everything you said about the ship & dining (both buffet & mdr). We only had one issue and that was that our cabin just would not cool off. They sent someone to check it, but they said it was cooling to "Carnival Standards". It was not cooling to our standards, it would cool off for a few hours during the night but was very warm and stuffy the remainder of the time. But that was my only complaint. Well, except that we were over the lounge where they had the karaoke with the live band - heard that every night until about midnight - I take the blame for that because I didn't check to see what was under my room -just booked near our friends. Will remember not to book 6th deck again LOL

 

If you make it back to Tortola, you need to go to the other side of the Island to Cane Garden Beach - it is beautiful. When we were there 5 years ago, there was a shopping area right by the cruise port (where all the taxis are now).

 

Had a great cruise - the Freedom is a beautiful ship. Would definately cruise her again.

Edited February 20, 2014 by LRY229

[WAHMto5]

Thank you for the review! Looking forward to the Freedom again this fall!

[Gingee]

Thanks for the review. You had our room.

[Gingee]

How was the room as far as "feeling the motion"? Did you have smooth seas?

[CdrescherRBL152]

We had a group of 10 on the same cruise and agree with everything you said about the ship & dining (both buffet & mdr). We only had one issue and that was that our cabin just would not cool off. They sent someone to check it, but they said it was cooling to "Carnival Standards". It was not cooling to our standards, it would cool off for a few hours during the night but was very warm and stuffy the remainder of the time. But that was my only complaint. Well, except that we were over the lounge where they had the karaoke with the live band - heard that every night until about midnight - I take the blame for that because I didn't check to see what was under my room -just booked near our friends. Will remember not to book 6th deck again LOL

 

If you make it back to Tortola, you need to go to the other side of the Island to Cane Garden Beach - it is beautiful. When we were there 5 years ago, there was a shopping area right by the cruise port (where all the taxis are now).

 

Had a great cruise - the Freedom is a beautiful ship. Would definately cruise her again.

 

We were on this cruise as well. Find it intresting about your cabin. Which floor were you on. Two years ago we were on deck 6 and could only get the cabin down to about 70. This time we were in 7274 and the cabin stayed right around 65.

[CdrescherRBL152]

We had a group of 10 on the same cruise and agree with everything you said about the ship & dining (both buffet & mdr). We only had one issue and that was that our cabin just would not cool off. They sent someone to check it, but they said it was cooling to "Carnival Standards". It was not cooling to our standards, it would cool off for a few hours during the night but was very warm and stuffy the remainder of the time. But that was my only complaint. Well, except that we were over the lounge where they had the karaoke with the live band - heard that every night until about midnight - I take the blame for that because I didn't check to see what was under my room -just booked near our friends. Will remember not to book 6th deck again LOL

 

If you make it back to Tortola, you need to go to the other side of the Island to Cane Garden Beach - it is beautiful. When we were there 5 years ago, there was a shopping area right by the cruise port (where all the taxis are now).

 

Had a great cruise - the Freedom is a beautiful ship. Would definately cruise her again.

 

We were on this cruise as well. Find it intresting about your cabin. floor were Two years ago we were on deck 6 and could only get the cabin down to about 70. This time we were in 7274 and the cabin stayed right around 65.

[ibcnusoon]

Thanks for the review. What was the cost for each person on the excursion in Nassau?

[beansatw]

Could you look on the fun times and tell me if there is karaoke the first night? Our last cruise, my BF sang every chance he could and he wants to sing happy birthday to me on my actual birthday (which is the day we sail)

 

Thank you!

 

Here is the karaoke schedule for our cruise:

 

Day 1 (embark) - 10:00 PM - 11:15 PM (18+)

Day 2 (sea day) - 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (all ages)

Day 3 (sea day) - 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM, 7:30 - 9:00 PM (all ages), 9:00 - 10:30 PM (18+)

Day 4 (St. Thomas) - 7:30 - 9:30 PM (all ages), 9:30 PM - Late (18+)

Day 5 (Antigua) - 9:30 PM - Late (18+)

Day 6 (Tortola) - 7:30 - 9:00 PM (all ages), 9:00 - 10:30 PM (18+)

Day 7 (sea day) - 7:30 - 10:00 PM (didn't specify an age range)

Day 8 (Nassau) - None

 

Have fun! :)

[beansatw]

Thanks for the review. What was the cost for each person on the excursion in Nassau?

 

Our only cost in Nassau was the cab fare of $40.00 round trip. The beach was free.

[beansatw]

How was the room as far as "feeling the motion"? Did you have smooth seas?

 

No trouble at all in the room. You could feel movement on the lower decks, but in our stateroom it was mostly stable. The seas were a little rough on the morning we were pulling into Antigua, but it really never got that bad. I didn't see anyone dealing with "mal de mer" on board.

[LUPY48]

Thank you so much for such a comprehensive review. I will be sailing on her in April.

[LRY229]

We were on this cruise as well. Find it intresting about your cabin. floor were Two years ago we were on deck 6 and could only get the cabin down to about 70. This time we were in 7274 and the cabin stayed right around 65.

 

We were on deck 6 cabin 6475 (inside cabin). We had 3 other cabins in the same area - the other inside and the reg balcony were also warm. My brother had the aft wrap and his cabin stayed very cool. You could actually feel it get warmer in the hall as you walked from midship to the back. I have to say, that was our only complaint of the cruise - we had a wonderful time.

[CdrescherRBL152]

Hmmm wonder if it might have something to do with having public space below you. Two years ago we were on deck 6 had same problem, this time on 7 didn't. Not that had a real effect on our cruise either way. Both were great. And when you add in the fact that we were in Tortola while mu in-laws were digging out from 14 inches of snow. It was even better.

 

 

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[Gingee]

Thank you for your answer.

[chels2125]

Could you please scan in the Fun Times? We'll be going on the same itinerary March 22nd and would love to be able to plan our activities. The Fun Times John Heald has posted for the Freedom are from October 2012. I wasn't sure if things have changed since then. Thanks, I appreciate you taking your time to do this and the review!

[mcarney]

Here is the karaoke schedule for our cruise:

 

Day 1 (embark) - 10:00 PM - 11:15 PM (18+)

Day 2 (sea day) - 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (all ages)

Day 3 (sea day) - 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM, 7:30 - 9:00 PM (all ages), 9:00 - 10:30 PM (18+)

Day 4 (St. Thomas) - 7:30 - 9:30 PM (all ages), 9:30 PM - Late (18+)

Day 5 (Antigua) - 9:30 PM - Late (18+)

Day 6 (Tortola) - 7:30 - 9:00 PM (all ages), 9:00 - 10:30 PM (18+)

Day 7 (sea day) - 7:30 - 10:00 PM (didn't specify an age range)

Day 8 (Nassau) - None

 

Have fun! :)

 

Thank you so much!!!! :)

[The_ZOO]

We had a group of 10 on the same cruise and agree with everything you said about the ship & dining (both buffet & mdr). We only had one issue and that was that our cabin just would not cool off. They sent someone to check it, but they said it was cooling to "Carnival Standards". It was not cooling to our standards, it would cool off for a few hours during the night but was very warm and stuffy the remainder of the time. But that was my only complaint. Well, except that we were over the lounge where they had the karaoke with the live band - heard that every night until about midnight - I take the blame for that because I didn't check to see what was under my room -just booked near our friends. Will remember not to book 6th deck again LOL

 

We were also on this trip and the only complaint we had was the a/c in our room, it was so warm that we never used the blankets only a sheet and they said the same thing to us, it was "cool to carnival standards" we even had a maintenance person come with a thermostat and she agreed that it was too warm.

[The_ZOO]

I forgot to mention we were in cabin 8297, and both of my girls were signed up for camp carnival. We were told by the Camp Carnival staff there were less than 100 kids on board ages 0-17. The next week they said there would be around 700 kids on board!!!