Tony & Bethany's 26th Anniversary Freedom Cruise Review 8/24-9/1 with pics

[cruisingbajan]

Nice review and pics. Looking forward to the rest of it.:)

 

Thanks for sharing.

[Crusin Karen]

I don't know how to do more than one quote at a time, but I see you and someone else are on the 12-13-14 Freedom with us. If you haven't joined the Roll Call, come on over. I can't remember who has joined.

Nice start! Thanks for sharing with us. Delta Dear, to quote more than one post, click on the "+ box that is to the right of the quote box. :)

[Singer4Him]

I LOVE this review, too. The photos are stunning. I could reach right in with my fork and dig into your food porn.

 

Thank you so much! Tony took most of the food porn pics (all of the Comfort Kitchen pics). As you can see, he does an amazing job!

 

Thanks for the Dr. Seuss Book Space photo. I know that will add a fun twist. I gather if I want photos of the children's area, I need to take those before they are open to children. I realized that after reading your post.

 

I would think so, simply because you wouldn't want to freak out any parents by taking pics of their children. LOL! Most of these were actually taken the first day when there wasn't a lot going on. Since we were FTTF, we were some of the first ones on the ship so we were able to walk around the get pics while other people were still boarding, eating, etc.

 

One non-Freedom related question. When you do your posts, do you have to change the font and color with each post, or is there a way to change your default settings. I always write a review so any tip about that will help. It makes reading so much easier when the poster's words are in a different color and font than those responding.

 

There may be a shortcut but I don't know about it if there is. LOL! I change the font, size and color each time. I agree that it does make it easier to find the OP's posts by doing it this way.

 

Keep writing. Drag it out because I can tell I am going to hate to see this one end.

 

Awww! That's so sweet! Thank you!

 

Finally, I didn't care for Jen Baxter,either. Her voice got on my nerves. She was a bit over the top. I'm excited that we will have Wee Jimmy. Our son said he's good. No matter who the CD is though, it doesn't affect my enjoyment of the cruise.

 

That's our feeling, too! We've had a couple that we didn't care for but we still had an amazing time. The cruise is what you make it. :)

 

DeltaDear, I certainly do appreciate your feedback! Thank you so much!

 

I am also going on this cruise Dec13....loving your review and the pictures of Guys Burger....definitely making my mouth water!! Thanks for sharing your vacation with us :)

 

Thank you, luvdod, for taking the time to read and reply!!

 

[Singer4Him]

Love this review! Thanks so much for all the info and beautiful photos. Congratulations on your anniversary and you and your husband are just too cute!!

 

Thank you so much, portlandpete! I'm so blessed to be married to my BFF!

 

Nice review and pics. Looking forward to the rest of it.:)

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Bajan Keith, thank you for reading and commenting!

 

 

[Singer4Him]

Nice start! Thanks for sharing with us. Delta Dear, to quote more than one post, click on the "+ box that is to the right of the quote box. :)

 

Crusin Karen, I've always heard that you learn something new every day! Thanks for telling us about the "+". I had never paid attention to it before. I would always click "quote" on one, then copy it. Then click "quote" on another and paste the first on in it, too. Talk about the LONG way around it!

 

Thanks again for the 411!

[NCTribeFan]

Delta, after the Freedom sailing, I don't have anything booked again until...

 

Splendor to Bermuda!!!

 

That's not until October 2015. Way more expensive than Glory was, and suites and balcony cabins have been sold out for a couple of months, well over a year in advance. Still, almost 3 full days in Bermuda this time and I love sailing from Norfolk! Join us!!

 

I thought I was the only one who found Jen to be extremely annoying. I personally don't like Carnival's push to make the CDs the Head Comic on Board. I think their job should be to keep things running smoothly, not to run around like a lunatic acting like a clown. And those things she wears in her hair?! :eek:

 

Although I'm perfectly happy on Fantasy-class ships, I am looking forward to another cruise with Guy's Burgers and Fish and Chips for lunch. I'm not much of a dessert person (often get the cheese plate), but I do love the Bitter-n-Blanc. No matter how often I sail, the food pics still get to me. Love them! OP, your DH is a very good photographer!

 

Really looking forward to Freedom! I'm "officially" now under two months away! Good thing I have my 11/1 cruise in 30 days or else I'd just go nuts waiting! :p

[jandjtexas]

Loving your review! Trying to decide between Freedom, Magic & Triumph for next cruise and your pictures are leaning me toward Freedom. Seems to combine a lot of what I love about the Magic and the Triumph, with the Fish & Chips as a bonus. How were those Oysters? Looked yummy!

[Singer4Him]

August 27, 2014

26th Wedding Anniversary

 

Just for kicks and giggles, here's a pic from our wedding day.

August 27, 1988

 

 

Yes, we were just a couple of kids.

No, we had no idea where this journey would take us.

Would we have done it any differently? Probably not!

 

God blessed us with three amazing kids who are now young adults. We've got a 23 y/o son who graduated from university in May and will be getting married in a couple of weeks; a 20 y/o daughter who will graduate from university next May; and a 19 y/o son, who still lives at home and is working. We're extremely blessed, to say the least.

 

Okay, enough sappiness...let's get back to the review!

 

We got up this morning and had breakfast at the Marketplace buffet on the lido deck.

 

A few pics as we were coming into port

 

 

Our view of Great Bay Beach from the ship

 

We got off the ship and after having our picture taken at the iconic St. Maarten sign, we were off to Maho Beach...or so we thought!

 

 

 

[Singer4Him]

I had read on CC that you could go to Back Street which was very close to the port (I thought) and catch a cab to Maho or Airplane Beach for next to nothing. When we asked how to get to Back Street, we were told that it was a pretty good walk from the port. So, it was on to Plan B...take a taxi from the port to Maho. I heard one of the agents tell someone that it would be $6 p/p round trip. I thought this was for Maho, but, alas, it was not. This was the rate to downtown Philipsburg. When I found the line for Maho, I found out that it would be $8 p/p one way. The kicker was that, depending upon how many would be with us for the return trip, it could have been double or triple that. Since it had been my idea to go to Maho, I decided that I didn't really want to see the airplanes that badly, so we took the taxi to downtown Philipsburg.

 

The driver informed us that we would need to return to the same spot for pick up that afternoon. Once we were dropped off, we were on our way. We wandered through some little open air market-type shops. One of the neat things that I saw and regret not buying was St. Maarten license plates. They were all over in these little shops and were only $5! I think our 19-year-old would have loved one for the front of his truck. They say that hindsight is 20/20. Oh, well.

 

A church in downtown Philipsburg

 

 

We wandered on and found Front Street where there are a lot of neat little shops.

 

 

Yes, ladies! There's a Micheal Kors on Front Street in Philipsburg

 

It was crazy hot this day so we found a sign that pointed toward the beach that said free wi-fi with the purchase of ice cream. Again, it was crazy hot so we headed in that direction. We spotted a bike so Tony had to stop and get a pic with it.

 

 

[Singer4Him]

When we got to the ice cream shop, I also noticed the same free wifi sign for The Piña Bar, so I ordered a virgin piña colada. It was great!! She was using fresh cut pineapple which made it amazing. I asked for the wifi code and we were able to FaceTime with our youngest, the 19 y/o who was at home working and dog-sitting for us. It was so nice to get to chat with him for a few minutes. Don't you just love modern technology?

 

 

 

 

Virgin Piña Colada

 

 

A view of the Carnival Freedom and the RCCL Oasis of the Seas from Great Bay Beach in Philipsburg, St. Maarten

 

Simply Beautiful

 

[Singer4Him]

We walked along Great Bay Beach in front of the shops and restaurants just taking pics, enjoying our day and our anniversary.

 

This church is right on Great Bay Beach

 

 

 

One of the many restaurants on Great Bay Beach

 

 

Courthouse

 

We saw about ten of these guys during our day in Philipsburg. Not sure if this was a common occurrence or just something that happened on this particular day.

 

[Singer4Him]

Hard Rock Cafe on Great Bay Beach in Philipsburg

 

We found a place to cut back through to Front Street, the other end from where we had been.

 

Philipsburg Methodist Church on Front Street

 

 

We even found a McDonald's. We went in to use the restroom, thinking it would be a welcome break from the heat. It was still warm in the restaurant, though not as hot as outside and the bathroom had no air, whatsoever! I'm sure there are places on Great Bay Beach to use the restroom but all of the places we saw wanted to charge and, honestly, they did not look like a place that you would want to “do your business.”

 

 

Something I've never seen in the States

 

They also have a walk up window where you can get ice cream

 

 

 

 

 

[Singer4Him]

A Rolex store on Front Street

 

Another shot of the shops on beautiful Front Street

 

 

After strolling along Front Street, we made our way back to the beach and decided we needed to cool off so we found a spot to put our stuff and got into the water. It was so incredibly refreshing!

 

In the States you have to choose between the mountains and the beach. In the Caribbean, you can have both in the same place.

 

 

Edited October 2, 2014 by Singer4Him

[Singer4Him]

We also got a chance to try out our snorkel gear that had arrived the day before we left. Neither of us have ever snorkeled but we had an excursion booked for Grand Turk and we wanted to at least play with the equipment beforehand.

 

 

Every girls needs a "toes in the sand" pic when she's cruising

 

While we were enjoying our time in the water, we were also watching the water taxi coming and going, so when it came time to return to the ship, we decided to go this route, rather than make the trek back to the drop-off point for our cab. Next time we will do the water taxi to and from if we return to Great Bay Beach and Philipsburg. The cost for the water taxi is $5 p/p one way or $7 p/p round trip.

 

On the water taxi back to the ship

 

More pics of beautiful St. Maarten

 

 

 

[Singer4Him]

Once we got back on board we went to Guy's for a late lunch and then went back to the stateroom for a nap before showtime.

 

The show tonight is Getaway Island and was another fun show.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, the seas were a little rough tonight so I went back to the room while Tony went for supper. He had potato soup for the appetizer, pork steak per Taras' recommendation (Tony said it was delicious!) and bitter & blanc for dessert. Sorry, but no pics of what he had tonight.

 

When he returned to the room, he brought me some potato soup and fried shrimp (appetizer) to eat. He had also gone by and bought one of our pics we had taken the night before and a map of the Caribbean. I would like to have the map framed and have markers for the places we have visited.

 

 

Tomorrow: St. Kitts

[Singer4Him]

Arriving in St. Kitts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Singer4Him]

 

 

 

 

 

[SenatorsFan]

I'm enjoying your review, Bethany. We were on Freedom in July for our 26th wedding anniversary (July 16), but our itinerary was different. I love your pictures from St. Maarten and hope to get back there someday. :)

Heather

[strantz1432]

You two are too cute!!

[Delta Dear]

I know you are busy, but I hope you will be back very soon. I love your review Can't wait to read more.

[Singer4Him]

How were those Oysters? Looked yummy!

 

The oysters were pretty good but nothing compared to southern fried Gulf oysters that we can usually get at home.

 

I'm enjoying your review, Bethany. We were on Freedom in July for our 26th wedding anniversary (July 16), but our itinerary was different. I love your pictures from St. Maarten and hope to get back there someday. :)

 

Thanks, SenatorsFan! Congrats on 26 years of marriage! It's quite an accomplishment. We would love to get to do the same itinerary again someday.

 

[Singer4Him]

You two are too cute!!

 

Thanks, strantz1432!!

 

I know you are busy, but I hope you will be back very soon. I love your review Can't wait to read more.

 

Thank you so much, Delta Dear! We've been out of town for a speaking engagement and also celebrating my dad's 75th birthday. Hoping to continue with the review in the next day or two.

 

[RetesGirl3]

Just found your review and am really enjoying it! I noticed it's been a while since you've posted. Hope all is well and that you will continue it soon. Jane

[belles]

what a wonderful review. I boarded the Freedom on Sept 1. It was my 2nd time on the Freedom. Love that ship

[oncruisecontrol]

 

 

 

Before the show, they were roaming through the audience with a camera. Lots of fun seeing faces on the screen along with funny captions from the 80's.

 

 

Let me take this opportunity to talk about the Playlist Productions aboard the Carnival Freedom. I know that a lot of them have gotten a bad rap and perhaps rightly so. I can't speak for all of them, simply because I haven't seen every single one on all of the Carnival ships but I did see all of them on the Freedom and we loved them! We thought that they were great! Our favorite was “80's to the Max” probably because we were both teenagers during that time. The 80's may have had bad hair (enough to make you ask yourself, “What was I thinking?” when you look at old pics) but I can say that we had some GOOD music...and that's what this show was all about!

 

 

 

I love the '80's and was a also a teen at that time. I have yet to see one of the playlist shows, but we will be on the Freedom in three weeks and I'm looking forward to seeing this show. Thanks for posting your wonderful review.