Our Carnival Freedom awesome vacation, May 20-27th!!!!

[ABQrobin]

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Once we exited the cave, we returned the tubes, vests, and helmets, then went to our lockers and got our dry clothing. We took everything, changed, and then found the line for the lunch. Our food was a typical Belizean lunch of baked chicken, rice and beans, with cole slaw. Drinks were not provided but were available for purchase at a window. Ron grabbed me a Coke Zero and himself a couple beers and we sat down at one of the picnic tables to eat. The food was very good, not fancy, but filling. We went into the gift shop to enquire about the photos taken by the staff and the beginning of the river with our tubes. The clerk found our photo and it was horrible with glare and water spots on it. Yuck, no way I am paying $15 for that. We then went back out to find our tour guide who was supposed to announce our group name when it was time to board our bus....there were hundreds of people there so it is the only way to keep people together. Our group was announced, Big Bruce's Babies, and we followed him to the bus meeting spot. Two other groups were ahead of us so we had to wait, and wait. Finally a bus came and we were off back to the port.

 

 

 

Once back at port, 30 minutes later than the schedule...so be prepared for that... we had just over an hour to shop before we had to be on a tender back to the ship. We wandered in and out of all the shops, looking for something special. One particular shop had a huge selection of shirts but they also had a long line to check out. We ended up leaving and buying at a smaller shop. Then we got in line for a tender. Soon enough we were back on the Freedom, with time to spare.

...to be continued.....

[ABQrobin]

Dinner tonight was very good. I had the Ports of Call main dish, a chile relleno, and pumpkin soup for appetizer. Ron got a salad and chicken milanese. For dessert I got the chocolate panna cotta which was so rich I couldn't finish it. He got the cheesecake. The Playlist Performers show tonight was 80s Pop to the Max. We had seen the show before but I loved it so we had to see it again. It was just as good as I remembered. Afterwards, we went back to the room to download the video and photos, then load back up the dive gear for our next port, Cozumel, where we were diving again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[E@syPe@zy]

Once we exited the cave, we returned the tubes, vests, and helmets, then went to our lockers and got our dry clothing. We took everything, changed, and then found the line for the lunch. Our food was a typical Belizean lunch of baked chicken, rice and beans, with cole slaw. Drinks were not provided but were available for purchase at a window. Ron grabbed me a Coke Zero and himself a couple beers and we sat down at one of the picnic tables to eat. The food was very good, not fancy, but filling. We went into the gift shop to enquire about the photos taken by the staff and the beginning of the river with our tubes. The clerk found our photo and it was horrible with glare and water spots on it. Yuck, no way I am paying $15 for that. We then went back out to find our tour guide who was supposed to announce our group name when it was time to board our bus....there were hundreds of people there so it is the only way to keep people together. Our group was announced, Big Bruce's Babies, and we followed him to the bus meeting spot. Two other groups were ahead of us so we had to wait, and wait. Finally a bus came and we were off back to the port.

What did you think of the excursion....would you recommend it??

I understand the need to tie all of the tubes together, but it seems like it would be more fun if you weren't all tethered together. But I guess you have to keep your group together or you may never get them back as a group to leave in time.

 

[ABQrobin]

I understand the need to tie all of the tubes together, but it seems like it would be more fun if you weren't all tethered together. But I guess you have to keep your group together or you may never get them back as a group to leave in time.

 

 

Yes, I would recommend that most people do the Tubing in Belize. It is fun, but it is a walk in the jungle and hot hot hot. Some people would not be able to do it for that reason.

They have to tether the tubes together for safety. When the river is running faster, it can be an issue. The guide spends his whole time making sure we don't go too fast, and out of control. Luckily, this is the "dry" season so water level was low. He said that in rainy season (fall) the river can be too high to be safe, so they shut down and there are no tubing excursions. He showed us a few places inside the tunnel where there are no formations coming down from the ceiling - that is because of the water being so high there that it doesn't allow them to form.

So if you are thinking of doing the Cave Tubing excursion.... best time to go is dry season, Jan-early summer.

 

robin

[DebJ14]

So glad you had a good trip. We enjoyed our cruise April 29- May 6 on the Freedom, but all 3 of us are still recovering from the upper respiratory infection we picked up on the cruise. DH and DS needed 2 rounds of antibiotics as their original infections turned into pneumonia. I escaped with a nasty viral infection and got by with tons of Vitamin C, Sambucol , Oil of Oregano and Vitamin D since the doctor had nothing to offer.

Sad thing is we know exactly who gave it to us the last morning as we waited to debark. After she invaded our space, where she did not belong, she announced she would pay any amount of money to get off the ship because she was so sick. If only she had waited where she was supposed to, we would have been fine.

[redstapler7]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That looks AMAZING!!!

[ABQrobin]

So glad you had a good trip. We enjoyed our cruise April 29- May 6 on the Freedom, but all 3 of us are still recovering from the upper respiratory infection we picked up on the cruise. DH and DS needed 2 rounds of antibiotics as their original infections turned into pneumonia. I escaped with a nasty viral infection and got by with tons of Vitamin C, Sambucol , Oil of Oregano and Vitamin D since the doctor had nothing to offer.

Sad thing is we know exactly who gave it to us the last morning as we waited to debark. After she invaded our space, where she did not belong, she announced she would pay any amount of money to get off the ship because she was so sick. If only she had waited where she was supposed to, we would have been fine.

 

That stinks. Hope you are feeling better.

That happened to me last trip in March. I started coughing on the last sea day of the cruise. With so many people jammed in together on a cruise ship, it is easy to catch something. And some people get ON the ship, knowing they have something contageous. I am sure that is what happened to me. I was great the first half of the trip, then started feeling bad all of a sudden.

 

THIS trip on the Freedom, though, it was a full ship but NEVER felt like it. Short lines everywhere, seats always available at pool, etc. I think that helped. Much less kiddos running wild, too. My DH and I were just talking last night and we both agree....this was our most relaxing Caribbean cruise. We came home refreshed! Even with doing excursions at all 3 ports, we never felt rushed or stressed.

 

robin

[ABQrobin]

........Trip report continued....

 

I forgot to mention that on our bus ride in Belize, our tour guides talked about the foods we Americans eat that come from Belize. Much of the bananas come from there, as well as valencia oranges in concentrate form that are sold to a certain Florida orange juice company that claims it is all oranges from Florida.

 

They also stopped the bus once, the guide jumped out and ran over to a tree, grabbed 3 fruits off it, then got back onboard. He then asked everyone to name the fruit....nobody knew. Then he held it up again and said "Cashew". He showed us how it is the only nut that grows on the outside of the fruit, it has one single nut on the top.

He explained the local legend about them, that they are the "devil's fruit" because he couldn't make a fruit as perfect as God since he forgot to put the seed inside.

 

The fruit he passed around for everyone to see. He said the nuts are poisinous unless peeled and roasted, and the smoke from roasting can make you blind. (hate to be the people who found that out the hard way). Anyhow, he said the fruit is delicious, it smelled really good. The two guides ate them while we returned to the port.

I wish I had taken a photo... it was so interesting looking! Now I know why cashews cost so much!

 

robin

[BrickHardmeat]

Looks like you had a great time! I'll be on the Freedom starting August 19th.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[funtexascruiser]

OMG....I so agree!! They need to strip the Farcus out of all of their older ships and give the poor gals a good face lift!! I've been following a review on the NCL Dawn and I can't believe how nice that ship looks after a re-do. I love Carnival but they have got to update some of their ships. I don't know if after so many cruises I'm getting pickier, but I find myself getting let down by some of the old over the top looks of Carnival's older ships. But I also know the itinerary of the cruise is my first consideration. I think the Breeze has spoiled me. I would love to try the Vista or the Horizon or both.:)

 

You should take a cruise on the Splendor. OH MY!!! it is beyond bad. Pink Zebra circles EVERYWHERE and I mean EVERYWHERE. Black tile with lime green grout. Having said that, our cruise was great, just the ship décor is not appealing at all.

[ABQrobin]

Sorry for the delay.....back to the Trip Report....

 

 

last port: Cozumel

We arrived at Puerta Maya at 8am, right on schedule. The Glory was already docked and emptying out onto the pier. Our excursion today was to dive again. We headed down to the gangway with our dive gear bag and out onto the pier. I stopped to get my sunglasses out of my bag and must have dropped my ScubaSmurf. We didn't realize it was missing until we got into the port area and were waiting for the Dive Op group to form. Oh well. It was given to us by another diver on a different cruise. Guess I will have to find a new one on ebay.

 

 

 

 

As we checked into the Dive Op we realized that the same group from diving in Roatan was there. We were diving with the same people again. Unfortunately, the skies were gray and it looked like rain. Within a few minutes, everyone had assembled and our SandDollar Sports excursion was off to our boat. When we walked to the pier area for the dive boats, the Twister excursion was loading and there wasn't room for our boat. So we had to wait, and wait, uggghhh. They finally all loaded onto the boat, then they got a briefing, and we waited. Finally they pulled away and our boat came over to pick us up.

Once onboard, we went just down to their dive shop at the International pier, 5 minutes away. All the other divers got off to get rental gear, while we began setting up our gear on the tanks already waiting on the boat. We were only there for 10 minutes or so before we pulled away, heading south to our first dive site. We had mentioned to the DMs that we wanted to do something good, like Santa Rosa or Palancar. They laughed and said we didn't have time to go that far south today...but a few minutes later, after talking to the boat captain, they announced that they had changed their minds. First dive, Santa Rosa wall. Woot!

.....to be continued....

[ABQrobin]

The Twister boat that was loading while we waited to get on our dive boat....

 

 

 

Finally on our boat....our two DMs for the day Miguel (I think, was leading Group 1) and our DM (Isael).

 

 

arrival at the SandDollar Sports dive shop, at the International pier

 

and then we are off....

 

.....

[ABQrobin]

passing the Freedom and Glory....as we head south

 

 

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We were divided into two groups again, each with a Divemaster. The first group went in and a few minutes later our group followed. The current was blowing like crazy. We dropped in over the sand, as is protocol in Cozumel in case anyone has a problem. Once we were all okay, we followed the DM over to the reef and through and opening to the wall. The current was pushing us hard so we all had to kick hard to fight it to get over the wall. Once there, the current began pushing us northward.

The DM told everyone to stay in the 70' depth range, no one in front of him or below him. Of course there were a few who insisted on zooming around up and down, fighting the current. Cozumel is known for its current, and drift diving...you dont' fight it at all as it will waste your air. It is better to just stay low against the reef and relax. The DM took us through one of the many swimthroughs but the current was crazy as you exited, blowing everyone up against the reef, so he decided not to do anymore. We just stayed there along the reef.

 

Our DM asked the divers how much air they had left, and one diver, of course, had not been checking his gauges the whole dive. He signaled the DM that he was down to 700psi, so the DM led everyone back over the wall onto the sand area and we circled up to do our 3 minute safety stop at 20'. We got back onto the boat which was there waiting for us after a crazy 32 minute dive, my max depth was 73'. Back onboard, the tanks were swapped out by the crew, and sliced fruit was passed around. A jug of water and cups were there on the boat for everyone also. We moved the boat to the next site, Yucab reef, which is shallower and a strip reef with coral, not a wall.

[ABQrobin]

 

As soon as we dropped in over the sand, a nurse shark came swimming by. It was at least 5' long and Ron tried to get in my shot so we could compare length. Not quite close enough, but you can see the size better in the video as it swims by everyone. The current was mild here at Yucab. We drifted a good 30 minutes before the DM started asking about air left again.

That same guy looked at his gauge and suddenly went dashing towards the DM signaling that he was out of air. The DM grabbed his octo and handed it to the guy, then grabbed his gauges to check. He realized that the guy was not totally out, so he gave the guy back his own regulator and kept his octo handy for using with the guy on the safety stop. We got back on the boat after 46 minutes this time, with a max depth for me of 53' the water was nice, showing 82 degrees on my computer. Unfortunately, the vis wasn't great, and most of that was due to the cloudy skies.

 

 

Unfortunately, my GoPro was giving me problems, as was the fact that I had a nasty scratch on the red filter, so it looks like a smudge in the middle of the screen. Yuck. Sorry!

 

 

 

 

.....

[ABQrobin]

So here is my video of the dive.....

 

 

gray skies make lousy underwater videos.... and with the problems I had, I am happy with what I did get this time. I have not on order a new GoPro Hero5 black. Woot!

 

 

......to be continued....

[ABQrobin]

I got a notification this morning that my Roatan video had problems and needed to be reloaded....no clue why, it worked for several days.. anyhow, I just reloaded it.

 

so here it is:

 

 

 

robin

[LuvtheBeach10]

Really enjoying your review! :hearteyes:

[seamusdad]

I have done this itinerary 3 times since November 2016 but on the Breeze. Doing it again this December on the Freedom which I have not cruised on since October 2015. Thank you for a great review and pictures. Awesome job!

 

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

[ABQrobin]

When the dive was done, the dive boat pulled up to our dock and let us off. We gathered up our stuff and headed back onto the ship. It was lunchtime and we were both starving. We stopped at our room, put the gear out to dry on the balcony after a quick rinse off in the shower, then changed and headed up to the Lido for food.

We decided on the Old Fashioned BBQ for lunch again, and when we got there it was deserted. We ate quickly, then grabbed our money and headed out to the port to do a little shopping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We shopped a little, listened to the Mariachi band, and then hit the bar for a few cold frosty beers. Back on board time was 3:30pm, but we were on long before the lines got crazy.

[ABQrobin]

 

 

our favorite....what you gotta have in COZUMEL....

 

 

Tonight was the 2nd Elegant night, so we decided to skip it and just eat at the Lido buffet. I got salmon, he got steak and potato, we both got salads. It was quick, we were in and out in 30 minutes.

The Playlist show "Heart of Soul" was on our agenda after we walked the decks a few laps. The show was much better than expected. The two male lead singers are just amazing! After the show, we walked a few more laps then went back to the room to download video and photos. Great day.

........to be continued....

[perfect match]

Great review, Robin! I saw your post on Mitsugirly's review, so I came over to see your dive photos and videos. I'm glad I did! I think I may have to plan a dive that stops in Roatzn, as I've never been there, and the diving looked good. The Cozumel video brought back some wonderful memories. :D Thank you for sharing them with us. I will definitely be back to hear about the rest of your trip.

[ABQrobin]

Great review, Robin! I saw your post on Mitsugirly's review, so I came over to see your dive photos and videos. I'm glad I did! I think I may have to plan a dive that stops in Roatzn, as I've never been there, and the diving looked good. The Cozumel video brought back some wonderful memories. :D Thank you for sharing them with us. I will definitely be back to hear about the rest of your trip.

 

Thanks! Roatan was definitely the better diving this trip. I wish I had gotten the eagle ray on video, it was so huge and magnificent. Just no other way to describe them, they are so beautiful.

 

I will have the rest of the Trip Report up later today...gotta head off to work.

 

robin

[ABQrobin]

FRIDAY, May 26th....Sea Day

 

Just like every day, we were up before 6am and dressed for a workout. We headed up to the track and started doing laps. After an hour, we walked back down to the room to wash up and change. Breakfast was the usual, omelette or hard boiled eggs, etc. Afterwards, we started getting the room organized to pack. Boo. Our room steward, Carter, was in the hallway aready, so we told him not to bother with our room for the day.

After awhile, we went up to the Lido deck, to walk around and take some final photos. We went to our favorite relaxing spot, by the aft pool, in the shade at a table. We grabbed sodas and sat there, enjoying our last day. You might be surprised, but we had never tried the pizza place onboard in seven cruises....but for some reason today it sounded like a good snack before lunch. I walked over to order one, and he walked over to the bar to grab a beer. To our surprise...it was good. We got the proscutto one to share..a little salad on pizza makes it healthier, right? LOL

 

 

 

 

 

 

.......

[ABQrobin]

We went for a walk around the ship again, getting our steps in for the activity trackers, yeah I know we are on vacation but we still are slaves to working out. At noon we were hungry, but not starving, so tacos at Blue Iguana sounded good. And the Chocolate buffet was out.

 

 

I was sooooo OD'ed on chocolate...had to get something else...which was hard at the chocolate buffet!

 

 

After lunch we did some more walking and then went down to the Lobby...CD Malcolm was doing the 80s Trivia game. We stopped up on the 5th floor to watch and guess the songs... Malcolm is just hysterical. Afterwards, we walked a few more laps then went back to the room to pack a little more. Dinner tonight had to be the dining room as we love seeing the waiters sing goodbye.

 

 

Neither of us was very hungry,, but we did eat a last dinner in the main dining room, salmon and pork chop. Both were actually pretty good though they look a little bland on the white plates.

 

 

......

[ABQrobin]

 

After dinner, we went down to decide where to use our free drink coupon. Ron wanted to try out the Alchemy Bar as that was our son's favorite place on our cruise last summer. He got the Fiery Tropical martini, and LOVED it.

 

 

 

 

 

I used my free drink coupon on a boring non-adult beverage.

 

Packing needed to be finished so we headed back to the room at 8:45pm...yeah, I know. How boring. It's what we do...we put our luggage out for pickup and went to bed.

......Next...... Debarkation from XXXX