My Review of Carnival Freedom 9/06/14 to 9/14/14

[jandjtexas]

Saw Marcus Monroe on the Magic couple of years ago. Loved him! I think that was the most I have ever laughed.

[indiaksue]

Saw Marcus Monroe on the Magic couple of years ago. Loved him! I think that was the most I have ever laughed.

 

Me too! I don't think everyone liked him but it was my kind of humor.

[indiaksue]

Port of St. Thomas

 

St. Thomas we have been to 4 times and we don’t really like it that well. It is okay, I mean we are in the Caribbean, it can't be that bad. We usually go over to St. John which is beautiful. This time we took the Ship’s Excursion to Trunk Bay. Trunk Bay has always been on my bucket list, so glad we finally went once. We would never take the ferry over to St. John ourselves; too many things could go wrong so we always do St. John with Ship Excursions. I believe this excursion is too short; by the time they get you to the beach you have about 11/2 hours to swim or snorkel. The ferry over takes about 30 minutes or so, I have not actually timed it, but it is a lovely scenic cruise. This ferry was also used for the St. John Island Tour on our ship, the Sunshine, and the Glory. Since we were at the front, it was quite a long walk to the ferry, at the back of the third ship. There was a golf cart running back and forth for people who couldn't walk well. If you have never been over to St. John I would recommend a Tour of the island, it has the most beautiful beaches.

 

The ferry was moored at the very end of this pier.

 

Driving above Cruz Bay on the way to Trunk Bay.

 

Of course this picture doesn't do it justice. When the sun hits the water it is the most brilliant shade of Turquoise. The sand is white and powdery soft.

[indiaksue]

Antigua was a new island for us, with 365 beaches to choose from it was hard to decide which one. We finally decided to try Coconut Beach Club, on Yepton Beach. This was a very small beach very close to the port. We paid $ 50 per person for chairs, lunch and all the drinks you want. This was a no brainer for my Dh but I probably didn’t get my money’s worth since I don't really drink. It was a nice day relaxing and not a crowded place, but I was not happy about all the jellyfish in the water and they had washed up on the beach. You couldn’t swim or really walk the beach very well; which is what we really wanted to do. Luckily they had a nice pool to cool off in that was well shaded. The food was pretty good but there was a set time for lunch and that was it. I think we probably would do something else next time but if you just want food and drink and don’t care so much about the beach it would be an inexpensive option. We were able to share a cab with a couple that were also going. We each paid $8 per person each way. If we had been on our own it would have been $ 20 for the two of us. It took about 15 minutes to reach the resort, it was one of the closest beaches to the port.

 

I was surprised how mountainous the island was, I thought it would be flatter. The mountains were green and lush.

 

There is a shopping village right off the ship if you don't want to do anything else.

 

It might have been a nice beach under different conditions but if you need shade, the palapas were all taken. There is plenty of shade up by the pool.

[indiaksue]

San Juan, Puerto Rico is such a lovely place. We have been There 3 times and decided to walk around the city wall this time. It was a nice walk, but very hot today and we ended up getting quite overheated. We stopped in the middle of our walk and went to Barranchina’s, the home of the Pina Colada. We had not planned on eating here but it had air conditioning and that was what we really needed. It has a beautiful courtyard and nice ambiance. The food that we chose was authentic Puerto Rican specialties and they were very tasty. This place was a pleasant surprise, I expected it to be really busy and overrun with Tourists, but it was fairly quiet. We were there early though around 11:00 am, so don’t know what happens later in the day. After eating we walked around a little more and then went back to the ship. I do love Old San Juan, the history and beauty of this place are definitely a reason to plan on something here.

 

My favorite part of San Juan is floating past the fortress, it is so beautiful. It is well worth the visit if you have not been.

 

It is a lovely walk to stroll along the city wall. There is shade and seating a long the way.

 

I have always wanted to try Mufango, so I got that at Barranchina's with Skirt Steak. It was heavenly!

[indiaksue]

Nassau was the last day of the cruise. We didn’t get off here, since we have been here 3 times also. We wanted to have a quiet day on the ship to enjoy the pool and to pack to go home. I really prefer a cruise with a sea day on the last day, but this worked out okay for us. The ship was fairly quiet.

 

I liked this picture of both the ships in port and Atlantis.

 

My Dh got this photo of the Ecstasy and the mystery room that isn't on the deck plans. Has anyone stayed in this room on a Fantasy Class Ship?

 

Sea Days were pretty good, there was always activities going on, dance classes, port talks, trivia, pool games and shopping specials. We really didn’t spend very much time up on deck, the older we get the more we want to stay indoors and do other activities. We really enjoyed the Sea Day Brunch’s, we went to all of them and the food was really better than the Lido breakfast buffet.

 

Debarkation went well, we chose Luggage Express which is always so nice. It is nice to know that you can take an excursion with luggage express. Last time we wanted to do it, we did have an excursion and they wouldn't allow you to do both. I guess that has changed. We walked off the ship around 9:30 with a very short line on the ship. The only real line was Customs, with a long winding line. It isn’t really fun but a necessary part of the process. The line went fast and we were in a taxi and on the way to the airport around 10:30.

 

We would sail the Freedom again, it was a fun trip and we love Ft. Lauderdale as a home port. The biggest complaint really is the lack of entertainment in the evening between 7:30 & 9:15, but I certainly wouldn't let that ruin my evening.

[lovestocruise19]

Do you remember what kind of dance classes there were? I love Zumba, but I know that Carnival doesn't offer it.

[indiaksue]

Do you remember what kind of dance classes there were? I love Zumba, but I know that Carnival doesn't offer it.

 

There was a 70's Disco, Thriller, & Couples dance for sure in the atrium, I can't remember any others, although I know there were a few more. As far as exercise classes I don't know for sure, I stay out of the Gym.

Edited October 2, 2014 by indiaksue

[FocusOnFunTravel]

Love this cabin and the balcony! I hate feeling cramped in my cabin. Sometimes I like to just chill in there! So it needs to be roomy.

I love reading your review my friend. You do a great job!

[wrigley80]

Very nice review. We were on the Freedom before the 2.0 upgrades. The ship still looks great