***LIVE*** From the Carnival Freedom

[ScootsMom]

Janet, have you seen the itinerary for Carnival Splendor? Bookings begin 10 May 07.:)

[jkeller527]

i saw the itinery for the Splendor today. Interesting itinery but they are only doing three sailings for the baltics and then one med then back to the states. I was surprised with that. They are bringing it back to the carribean right at hurricane season. I think I like the other Freedom sailing that is going to Barcelona as well. Was planning Africa for next year but think now the cruises look better. Even the Freedom in january doesnt price bad. Take care and talk soon.

[jolin68]

one of the carnival excursions to Florence... was just a small blip on an otherwise wonderful trip.

 

 

Queen Mimi - I am going to be on the June 30th sailing and (as of now) have a Carnival Excursion to Florence scheduled. Would you mind sharing the blip, or was it something that could be considered a one time event or out of the ordinary?

 

Thank you

[scvgirl]

Is there only one speciality restaurant? How hard was it to get reservations the first day on the ship?

[DavidandPaula]

Aren't these iPod things great. So far I have loaded 20 movies, 15 books, my Italian language lessons, about 50 CDs and a lot of photos of the family, especially my grandson.

 

Hope that will keep me going on the 23 hour flight from Oz to London.

 

Can anybody tell me if you have AV connections to the flat panel TV in the cabins on Freedom. When Paula and I go away usually we connect to the HiFi or TV where we stay and use the iPod to provide some room entertainment, even if it is just some relaxation tracks with birds and waves etc.

 

If anybody on the 12th July sailing is interested we can even show you our wedding video (just joking).

 

This thread is great for us newbies. Using the advice and ideas we have managed to organise most of our excursions plus a few more pre and post cruise activities in Rome. Really into counting down the days now, so looking forward to the cruise, last sea time was back in 1964 on the ferry from Oz mainland to the island state of Tasmania.

 

David

[lsp]

Just got home from that long plane ride and am semi-dead. I will start with the only bad spot on our cruise. We had booked the San Giamano & Sienna tour with Limos of Rome. Originally for 6 and changed to 8 around December. I had my e-mail confirmation and guess what, they had a van for 6 and we were told to decide which two weren't going or find a taxi. Their words, not ours. Apparently a mix-up on their part. After haggling we went to find a taxi for 8, found one & then the Limo' guy shows back up making a show arranging the taxi driver to help him out by driving us. We went our seperate way and had a great time. When we paid for the tour we made it clear that we were paying him, not Limos in Rome. Diego, the taxi driver, said Limo told him to bring a percentage because he sent our business to him. Of course this was in Italain between the two so we didn't hear it but had idea that something was transpiring. My DH and others were livid. We made it clear that we solicited him on our on after being dumped by Limo's & the money was definetly his. Sienna & San Giamano was absolutely fantastic. You could spend a week there just exploring.

 

As for as the cruise I can't say enough. Our cabin was decorated courtesy of Carnival, the next day a fruit basket, then the goddie bag which the past cruisers apparently all got. I have no idea about the cabin decoration and fruit basket but I was like a little kid at Christmas. I couldn't wait to get back everyday to see what we got.

 

One night I was on our balcony reading about midnight when I got drenched with a downpour from above. They were cleaning the Lido deck. I called down to the purser and was told they would do it later around 2am so I would know each day not to read past then, I am an insomniac. Guess what?

The next day we had chocolate dipped strawbwerries with a nice apology letter.

 

We aslo got to meet "Uncle Bob" and had our picture taken with him in the dinner club. During the question & answer gathering some people asked some really "stupid" questions. One was about rounding off the pointy edges on the backs of the chairs in the buffet so "short" people wouldn't bump them carrying trays.

 

We met the best people on this cruise ever. We had dinner and tours with Aussie's, Canadians and a really strange couple from Airzona. The wife was really nice but her husband was something else. It was if I had run into a double of my own DH. They were dangerous together, even having pictures made together. We are now even contemplating another cruise in the future but I don't know if Carnival is ready for another bout of the Mikey & Raymond show.

 

A word to the wise, do not get Immodium from the infirmary. I had a problem, DH would not shut up about taking something so he calls the infirmary, puts me on the phone to talk and he goes to get the Immodium. The next morning we are getting off the boat at Livorno and find out I am quaranteed to the boat. After explaining I only had a "problem" twice I was allowed to exit. If you have a "problem" 3 times you are quarunteed for 24 hours. If that had happened you would be reading about a man being hung from crow's nest on the Freedom.

 

The piano bar was great and lot's of fun. Ron is a great guy. Mauna in the karoke was fighting a losing battle trying to get people to try out for the Legend's show so it was finally canceled. People are too tired to stay up that late I guess. We enjoyed her and the guys all did karoke to MY GUY. It was supposed to be MY GIRL but it was hilarious watching them sing to MY GUY.

 

The hot tubs were Hot! It felt good on the nights when it was cool. It's fun sitting there watching the night movies on the big screen.

 

I hope whoever goes next has as much fun as we did.

 

Linda

[Europebound]

Linda: glad you got home okay today. We did too, but our luggage is still in Frankfurt. More on that once I can get my head together. I just had to take a peek on this thread tonight before drifting off to la la land. Plan to write up some impressions for those lucky folks who still are anticipating this wonderful cruise. Hope everyone else traveling today had good flights. Talk to you soon, Marilyn and Steve

[ScootsMom]

i saw the itinery for the Splendor today. Interesting itinery but they are only doing three sailings for the baltics and then one med then back to the states. I was surprised with that. They are bringing it back to the carribean right at hurricane season. I think I like the other Freedom sailing that is going to Barcelona as well. Was planning Africa for next year but think now the cruises look better. Even the Freedom in january doesnt price bad. Take care and talk soon.

 

 

I don't have my paperwork with me but I thought I saw 5 cruises. I'm considering the first one in August. My email is jmb1143@aol.com if you want to chat sometime.

[okteach_61]

Does anyone know how you become a platinum member on carvival?

[caneguy]

I believe it is after your 10th cruise on Carnival..

[windycitymom]

Hi everyone

 

I have some questions for those who have already sailed on the Freedom, and thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer me (or email me at windycitydarling-2@yahoo.com).

 

Past-Guest Party - we have done a carnival cruise before. When is the past-guest party and how do we sign up? Do they automatically send you info on it or what?

 

Internet charge? I'm brining my laptop and hope to use it in my room. Is there a daily charge? how much?

 

Dinner seating - I was told there were 3 seatings! In reading here, it sounds like only early and late. LOL - I asked for the middle dinner time, but I've heard no one mention that. How many dinner seatings are there?

 

Alcohol? Does the Freedom have Miller Lite beer? how about non-alcoholic beer? Is alcohol and/or wine free at dinner? I remember looking at the menus and it had spirits and other alcohol - no mention of price. I assume Cappucino is free at dinner? Can I get cappucino for room service?

 

Getting to the ship? We are staying with relatives near Rome prior to the sailing. They will take us to the port. Can they drive us right to the ship? We don't need to arrange special transportation if they are taking us, right? Can they pull up right in front just like the taxi's do?

 

What didn't you pack that you wish you did?

 

Does the teen club have X-Box360? or playstation 2 or 3? How updated are the video games? How many are there?

 

How was the teen program on Freedom? Did your teens use the clubs at all? How is the basketball court and mini-golf.

 

Any other recommendations or words of wisdom is appreciated

 

THANKS TO ANY AND ALL RESPONSES!!

 

Kris

[jkeller527]

party and how do we sign up? Do they automatically send you info on it or what? They will automatically send a card to the room. The party is not that big of a deal. A free drink and a snack.

 

Internet charge? I'm brining my laptop and hope to use it in my room. Is there a daily charge? how much? You will pay the same per minute charge for laptop as using their computer. If you do not by a plan then it is 75 cents per minute and a connection charge. I checked 2 emails from the laptop and was into it for 12.00 Very slow speed. would advise using internet cafes in port when you can fine. THe plans are about 55.00 for 100 minutes.

 

Dinner seating - I was told there were 3 seatings! In reading here, it sounds like only early and late. LOL - I asked for the middle dinner time, but I've heard no one mention that. How many dinner seatings are there?

 

There are 2 seatings for each dining room . The Chic is at 530 and 8 and the Posh is at 6 and 830. They change these by 15 minutes on late port days/ We had the 830 and it was very late. dinner was over at 1030

 

Alcohol? Does the Freedom have Miller Lite beer? how about non-alcoholic beer? Is alcohol and/or wine free at dinner? I remember looking at the menus and it had spirits and other alcohol - no mention of price. I assume Cappucino is free at dinner? Can I get cappucino for room service?

Cappucino is free at dinner not room service. That comes from the bar during the day.

 

Getting to the ship? We are staying with relatives near Rome prior to the sailing. They will take us to the port. Can they drive us right to the ship? We don't need to arrange special transportation if they are taking us, right? Can they pull up right in front just like the taxi's do? they can drive in where the taxis are.

 

What didn't you pack that you wish you did? NA

 

Does the teen club have X-Box360? or playstation 2 or 3? How updated are the video games? How many are there?NA

 

How was the teen program on Freedom? Did your teens use the clubs at all? How is the basketball court and mini-golf.NA

 

 

You can email me at jkeller527@comcast.net

[scvgirl]

Did you need to bring an electrical converter for the ship or your Rome hotels? I am from California, and perhaps my electrical appliances may not work in the hotels. Someone had also posted a note that you should bring an electrical strip because the Freedom rooms only had one plug. True?

[kicia]

You will need to bring an electrical converter and a plug in adapter to use electrical appliances in your Rome hotel. The ship is 110 v. like in the US. It is a good idea to bring a power strip because there is only one plug in. If your hair dryer, curling iron or whatever has a dual voltage switch then you don't need to use the converter but you still need a plug adapter. The strength of the appliance will not be a strong as if you were using 110 v.

 

You become a Platinum Concierge member ON your 10th cruise.

 

We've never gotten a "goody bag" in our cabin nor any decorations or fruit basket so I don't think it's because you are a past passenger. We did get a nice tote bag and snacks in our cabin because we're Platinum. Maybe someone sent a gift to you. Also I've heard that if you spend a lot of time in the casino sometimes they send something to you.

 

Linda

[scvgirl]

Thank you so much kicia!!

[doodlefan]

Linda: glad you got home okay today. We did too, but our luggage is still in Frankfurt. More on that once I can get my head together. I just had to take a peek on this thread tonight before drifting off to la la land. Plan to write up some impressions for those lucky folks who still are anticipating this wonderful cruise. Hope everyone else traveling today had good flights. Talk to you soon, Marilyn and Steve

 

Hey Marilyn,

 

I'm glad you got home okay, but sad that your luggage didn't. Wasnt' that interesting in Frankfurt. After we saw you in the back of the plane, as we were getting off, we were wisked away by Lufhtansa and bussed to the terminal to passport control and then bussed out to the tarmac to get on our plane, it was quite the procedure but I was very glad they held the plane for us. Our luggage luckily arrived with us.

 

I just wanted to let you know that the Splendor itinerary and dates have been posted. They are on that SPlendor thread. If you can't find it, e-mail me and I'll send it to you. We're looking at the August 30 one. It would work out well for us.

 

I'm so happy I met you and Steve, you are such fun and we loved dining with you every night. Andy is having withdrawls from the melting chocolate cake so to make himself feel better, he took his Vulcan for a ride. :D

 

I'll talk to you soon about the Splendor, can you e-mail me though because I don't have your address but I know you have mine.

 

Tara

[Europebound]

Hey Marilyn,

 

I'm glad you got home okay, but sad that your luggage didn't. Wasnt' that interesting in Frankfurt. After we saw you in the back of the plane, as we were getting off, we were wisked away by Lufhtansa and bussed to the terminal to passport control and then bussed out to the tarmac to get on our plane, it was quite the procedure but I was very glad they held the plane for us. Our luggage luckily arrived with us.

 

I just wanted to let you know that the Splendor itinerary and dates have been posted. They are on that SPlendor thread. If you can't find it, e-mail me and I'll send it to you. We're looking at the August 30 one. It would work out well for us.

 

I'm so happy I met you and Steve, you are such fun and we loved dining with you every night. Andy is having withdrawls from the melting chocolate cake so to make himself feel better, he took his Vulcan for a ride. :D

 

I'll talk to you soon about the Splendor, can you e-mail me though because I don't have your address but I know you have mine.

 

Tara

 

Hi Tara! Will email you later today. Glad you and Andy got home too. Our "special transport" at the Frankfurt airport was a very fast walk/run for a long way to our next gate. Glad you had a bus. We had something in the mail from Carnival when we got home and saw the dates for the Splendor too. I prefer the Aug. 30th date myself; Steve wants an earlier one. We'll have to negotiate. I think if most of our new friends want the 30th, he will be fine with that. He's already spoken with our travel agent who had no information yet on the itinerary. She called Carnival, and the representative said, "Huh?", but later called back to say that Carnival will start taking reservations next week sometime, so we'll have to all see what we want to do. Steve will put an email out later today to everyone. Talk to you via email soon, Marilyn

For those anxiously waiting for your cruise to start, let me just say that you are in for a wonderful trip. Will write more about it within the week. I must agree with Tara that the friends you make on cruisecritic and on board are absolutely wonderful--just the best. Check your roll call thread for your particular sailing date and start to converse with your future shipmates if you haven't done so already. Many of us from the April 19th sailing had been conversing on our roll call thread for a solid year. When we finally actually met, it was like meeting long-time friends. A terrific experience and opportunity to make great friends. Enjoy!

[bekah]

In our stateroom (1023) there were two plug ins - one was difficult to find, it was in the bathroom up above the mirror on the left hand side and only worked when the light was on in the bathroom. We had no trouble with using just those two plug ins, so it depends on how much you plan to plug in. I used the provided hair dryer (which is already plugged in using a hidden plug somewhere), my curling iron, charged my cell phone, and kept my laptop plugged in when I wasn't using a plug for one of the above listed items. So bringing a power strip is up to you, don't fret if you forget it though!

[scvgirl]

Excellent -- those were my thoughts as well. Thanks. By the way, did you like the rooms? Our cabin will be a balcony on the Upper Deck.

[ETHS1965]

We got back last night and barely slept. We kept waking up to Rome time! So, tonight we are really tired. But, I wanted to get a few thoughts out to future cruisers.

 

Jolin - The experience that we had was the Florence on your own tour from Carnival. It was advertised as 9 and a half hours with an introductory tour commentary. We left at 8:45 a.m. The bus played loud, static filled (much of it just talking in Italian) radio for the entire journey into Florence. By the time we got there, I had a terrible headache (Repeated the process on the way back to the ship). There was no commentary at all.I asked the guide how to get the the Accademia and she had no idea.

We got to Florence at 10:00. They let us off the bus and the guide walked us to spot (15 minute walk) and told us to meet her at 3:30. This would have anticipated us getting back at 5:15 p.m. In no way was this a nine and a half hour trip. I had verified all this information (length of excursion, when it left, when it would return) with Carnival in advance and had reserved tickets to the Uffizi Gallery. Because of this early return and because the Uffizi was crowded, we were not able to use our tickets that I had already paid for.

We met our guide at 3:30 and walked to the spot where the bus let us off. No bus!! We stood and waited in the hot sun for 20 minutes until the bus arrived. They said the air conditioning was on max. It was so hot on the bus that it made you feel sick. It didn't cool down.

We are driving along the autostrada when the bus stopped. We were never told what happened. We just sat in that hot bus in the sun for over one hour. After about 50 minutes, they passed out bottles of water to some of the people. They ran out before they got to us in the back. Eventually, the traffic began to move and we got back to the ship at 6:30.

I went directly to the excusion desk to complain and was joined by others. We talked to other people on the same excursion, different group that said there experience was completely different. Their guide talked to them about Italy, and Florence, etc.

I received a letter before we left the ship saying that my concerns had been noted and I would have to deal with guest relations in Miami.

We could have taken the train into Florence, but we took the excursion for convenience and efficiency. It was much more expensive to take the excursion, but we wanted to maximize our time in Florence. Unfortunately, we got neither convenience nor time. Again, this was not a major event, but for the money we paid, we at least felt that we should have gotten what was advertised by Carnival in their shore excursion description. I am not a complainer, but I felt in this instance I needed to let Carnival know that their vendor had not provided acceptable service.

[jolin68]

Queen Mimi - Wow! Thank you for the detail, that is a huge help. Carnival's excursions are pretty pricey to have to deal with that. I hope that the Miami office can refund you at least some of the price. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. I will also keep in mind that the train is an option if we choose to go it on our own. I am glad that your experiences on the rest of your cruise were wonderful. As of now we are booked on the excursion which includes the Uffizi. I am hopeful that this means we are going to bypass the lines. I can only imagine what they will look like during the second week of July.

[ETHS1965]

Here is a bit more positive information about our cruise (with a few suggestions)

 

April 17th,we spent in Rome prior to the cruise. Revisited some of the things in Rome that we had seen in october. It was much more crowded than it had been a few months ago. The Roman Forum closes at 7:00 p.m. We Went to the Capitoline museum from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. when it closes and no one was there. It was wonderful.

April 18th, had reservations for a tour of the Vatican museum at 10:00 a.m. Felt that we were experienced world travelers but met up with a cab driver more experienced than us. Asked him to leave us off at the reservation entrance to the vatican. He stopped about a block away and practically pushed us out of the cab. Told us the price was 36 euros. (the meter was never on) I was counting out the money and he just took 35 euros out of my hand and sped away. I asked another cab driver the next day at the very spot we got the first cab about how much to the Vatican. He said 11 euros. I told him what had happened and that I had made sure it was a white cab with an official seal on the car. He asked if it had a phone number on the side. It did not. He told me they were the crooked cab drivers.

Very crowded at the Vatican but had an excellent tour guide. Never could find the door that led from the Sistine chapel to St. Peter's!

April 19th. Again spent the day walking around Rome

. We had arranged a private car to pick us up at 2:30 at our hotel. That never happened. After numerous phone calls by hotel and myself, a car with another couple in it showed up at 4:00 p.m. ( think it is the same company that ISP complained about in an earlier posting). Therefore, we missed the meet and greet that had been set up by members of cruise critic. That was too bad, since I never did get to meet a lot of them on the cruise.

We checked in about 5;30. It was very smooth and no line. We did have dinner at the late seating. When we got to dinner, we had expected to be seated with other cruise critic members but that was not to be. However, the guests with whom we were seated were absolutely delightful! Our entire table stayed the latest in the dining room every night, talking, laughing and sharing stories of our day. We all hope to stay in touch with each other, even possibly cruise together again.

The service at dinner was excellent every night. Our server was a young girl from Hungary (I think). Her name in English was Elizabeth. There could not have been one more thing that she could have done to improve the service that she gave to our entire table throughout the cruise.

April 20th was Naples. We got off the ship and took a bus to the train station (got a little lost on the way to the station, but not too bad). A single lady from the cruise spotted us and asked if she could tag along for the day. Of course, we welcomed her. We took the train to Pompeii and spent several hours there, walking everywhere with our guidebooks. When we were done, we walked back a half block to the station and took the train back to Naples, went back to the ship and had a late lunch. I used my soda card all the time on the ship because I drink a lot of Diet Coke. For me, it made sense to buy a card. Went back to our cabin, which I felt was large and restful. We had a door that adjoined the cabin next door. We could hear them sometimes (especially if they were talking on their cell phone near the door). I would make sure that we are not in a cabin with an adjoining door next time.

After resting, went to the casino, dinner and then the show (the Beatles) which was excellent. Finally, to sleep. I slept very well and barely felt the ship move. Since I do sometimes get motion sickness, I am happy to report that I never felt sick from the movement of the ship.

 

That's all for tonight. Jet lag has suddenly hit me! I will post more tomorrow. If you have any questions, just post and I will try to answer.

 

Meg

[summerdays]

Hi, Meg!

 

Wow! Thank you for your detailed posting!

 

We are sailing on 25 May, and find your sharing insightful. It'd be our first time sailing with Carnival.

 

We do have some qns :

 

=> We've booked a private excursion at Naples to pick us 8.00a.m at the

seaport. Any suggestions on any steps to take so we can get off

the ship on time?

 

=> For disbarkation day, we've also booked a private pick-up service at

9.00a.m. We understand from past cruisers that all passengers are

to get off the ship by 9.30a.m. Do you know if tts possible to inform

Carnival of our preferred disbarkation time, so we do not get called too

early?

 

Thank you once again! Have a good rest!

[jefflifetouch]

Hi Meg,

 

I also found your reviews helpful,and had a couple of questions about your Florence on your own tour.

Where did they set a drop off and meet up point in Florence for your group. Where was the bus stopped.

 

Did you get any maps or info at all? What were you able to do and enjoy on your tour?..Did you do any other tours through carnival?..

 

Thanks again for sharing!!

[dcmom]

Hi summerdays!

 

I too just returned from the Freedom and had a 9:00 pick-up time with my private driver. We had no problems staying on the ship until around 8:45 - we just didn't go when they called our number. They had our pick-up times but we were still called around 7:30 to disembark. We did choose to self-disembark (kept our luggage and took it ourselves) thinking that that may have caused a problem with our staying on board but I don't think it would have. It was very well organized and your number basically directed you to one of two tents. We just told the Carnival Crew member at the end of the gangway that we didn't need to pick up luggage but had a private pick-up and they directed us to the proper tent.

 

As far as getting off the ship on time for private excursions, we had all private excursions and had no problems whatsoever. In fact, we had an easier time than Carnival excursion booked passengers because we didn't have to wait in the long line and could just go straight to the gangway. On our first day in Naples DH saw the line and jumped right in but when I asked a crew member he said the line was for excursions booked through Carnival - what can I say - a military man alwsys jumps in line when he sees one! My best advice is to not get in the long line you will see as soon as the ship docks but make your way down to Deck 0 about 15 minutes before the ship is due to dock as we did have one of our friends stuck on deck 3 when they waited to come down until exact docking time.

 

Marilyn - have you been working on getting Steve to "compromise" with an August 30 date on the Splendor? It looks like Tara and Andy and Steve and I are all good with that date! We'd love to share dinner with you guys again!