Carnival Freedom Review- Eastern Caribbean

[PaulMedik]

Britt leaving the area of the second fort and heading down toward the ocean;

 

 

We still had a good walk ahead to get to the ocean walkway;

 

 

I liked the way my shadow was with them in this photo;

 

 

So I got one of our shadows together;

 

 

 

There are walls to run on along the way to the oceanside walk as well;

 

[PaulMedik]

Karen stopped to 'smell the roses' or whatever flower it was;

 

 

Bryson again traveling on the walls;

 

 

 

Friendly felines were in abundance;

 

 

 

[PaulMedik]

 

The Gates of San Juan;

 

 

After hours of running and jumping, Bryson was ready for a sunset pose;

 

 

We passed several walking tours along the ocean side walkway (And between the two forts);

 

 

The setting sun left some beautful lights above areas of San Juan;

 

[PaulMedik]

Even though the walls were less like the forts, Bryson still had to run on them;

 

 

 

When we got back in sight of our ship the lights were dancing across the water;

 

 

 

We had a few more hours to spare so we took a tour of San Juan via horse drawn carriage;

 

 

It was a beautiful tour, but the pics didn't turn out well in the dim light with the carriage movement so there aren't many;

 

[PaulMedik]

After the carriage tour the boys got to rub down the horse;

 

 

 

We then headed back to the ship and got a few more blurry night time pics of the ship;

 

 

I don't know how many miles we covered, but it was a very active way to see San Juan;

 

 

 

When we got back to our room, the beds were all ready and the towel animals had arrived;

 

[PaulMedik]

Britt's Webkins even had a new friend in Fun Ship Freddy;

 

 

Britt spent the rest of the evening at Camp Carnival where they had face painting and a war with pirates;

 

 

 

 

It didn't take long before he was out cold;

 

 

Karen will kill me if she sees this pic, but it looks like she returned from war as well so..........;

 

 

 

We had a great time in San Juan. We got to see both forts and the area between the forts as well. Karen got to do some shopping and the boys got to see and do things they've not be able to experience in other ports. On our next two ports they were all asking whether there would be any forts to visit. Thankfully there were none! The carriage ride was also especially nice in that we were all pretty tired and thirsty, and we were still able to see more things and rest up a little as well. I think the carriage ride would have been even better in day light, but it was excellent nonetheless.

[PaulMedik]

Webshots is being contrary with uploading so I'm a little slow in getting pics online. I'll be uploading pics from the next port and will continue the review afterwards.

 

If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll answer all that I know and I'm sure others can add info as needed. I may miss a question while I'm uploading so don't worry about asking again if you don't get an answer. :)

 

I also must apologize for not following a format of providing ratings etc for each part of our cruise. I think the pics speak for themselves about whether we enjoyed ourselves or not, and while some things have been and will be mentioned along the way, I can assure you our cruise experience was not affected.

[gail811]

Great pictures of San Juan Paul! LOVE the shadow picture! I am exhausted looking at the pictures of how far you guys walked! As a mom of five sons I also appreciate what a wise excursion it was for your family! And as a mom I also was gasping at the jumps the boys made!

We may have to rethink considering a cruise that stops in San Juan, it looks beautiful....I just don't care for the port times they give you.

And your son Britt is adorable!

[pe4all]

Paul- if you don't mind me asking - how much was the carriage ride, and where did you "pick it up?" I gather it is close to the ship? We were just going to do some kite flying at the fort, but that carriage looks too good to pass up!

[Buster27]

I LOVE YOUR REVIEW. I almost feel like I'm on vacation again!!!!!!

 

Don't leave us hanging.....we must see you through till you arrive home!

[mainer208]

Great review - one of the best! I didn't think the fort stayed open for those ships coming in at 5:00 p.m. You mentioned you were off the ship at 3:50.

 

Know you did the fort on your own. Did you have a map or something to tell you where to go? What time did the fort close? Didn't realize Carnival was now doing tours to the fort? Appears that doing it on your own is a good and cheap option. How long did it take you to walk around the fort? You mentioned a couple of hours??

 

Assume you missed dinner in the dining room that night?

 

Your family is lovely and your wife is assuredly a great sport with four guys in the house!

 

We are awaiting more photos and your review!

[shortstuf1255]

Love your review of the Freedom. I am sailing on the Triumph in August. Going to many of the same places you went. I love the pictures!!!

 

To Gail811 I looked and looked but I found a ship that was in San Juan for 7am til 3:30pm that is why I booked this upcoming cruise. I loved all the port times

 

Looking forward to more of your review

[4kidsplusty]

how long did it take to get to fort 2 from fort 1? we ahve 6 people and ther carriage ride looks awesome if we did 3 on each side would we fit or would we need 2 carriages. loving your review can't wait to get home from work to reda more

[mitchpam]

Wonderful pics from San Juan. We did the same thing you did when we were there in 2006 on the Liberty, but it was earlier in the day. Striking out on our own allowed us to be ahead of the rest of the ship and it was nice to have that feeling of having the place to ourselves. Coming to the ship at night looks so cool with the lights...how exciting. I absolutely agree that the "shadows" photo is a favorite! All that walking was worth every step. Forts are cool.

Thanks for sharing...

[volkoff]

Great review. I'll sail Carnival Freedom in June.

Nice to look pictures and read comments.

Thank you.

[RLG1023]

Loving the review I remeber reading your review from the Glory loved it too. I am going on the Glory again in May and I cant wait. You now have convinced me to book the Frredom next. Thanks.

[PaulMedik]

Great pictures of San Juan Paul! LOVE the shadow picture! I am exhausted looking at the pictures of how far you guys walked! As a mom of five sons I also appreciate what a wise excursion it was for your family! And as a mom I also was gasping at the jumps the boys made!

We may have to rethink considering a cruise that stops in San Juan, it looks beautiful....I just don't care for the port times they give you.

And your son Britt is adorable!

 

 

Gail,

 

Our stop in San Juan on Liberty in June is from 7:00AM til 3:30PM. Until this cruise I had planned on going to a beach in San Juan, but I don't think I'll be able to keep the boys away from the forts. :)

 

 

 

pe4all,

 

They had three carriage ride options to choose from starting at $35 per carriage. We opted for the $50 option and there was also an $85 tour that included both forts and went outside of the city. Our ride included the down town area and a circle up near the first fort then over to the governors mansion and back. Our tour lasted around 25 minutes.

 

The carriages were parked in a square off to the left from the ship's pier. I don't recall the name of the square, but it is within 300 yards of so of the pier.

 

 

Buster27,

 

OK, I'll get started again soon!

 

 

 

mainer208,

 

The forts close at 6:00PM. Even though they close at that time, there's still quite a bit of 'fort' to explore. The closed areas have the exhibits and areas that would attract over night guests.

 

We didn't have a map. Growing up in WV, we have fairly good built in navigation skills so it was easy to traverse the area. You can get a good feel for where every thing is by being up on deck as you approach San Juan.

 

Each fort individually cost $6.00 for adults and together the forts cost $10. Children are free. We explored quite a bit before we actually entered the first fort and paid for both forts. As I recall, the park Ranger offered us a self guided tour map when we paid, but we declined as it was just one more thing to carry. It was fun to explore and discover areas on our own. We walked steadily for around four and a half hours before the carriage ride.

 

We did miss dinner that evening. Our dinner time was 6:00PM and we were in the second fort at that time.

 

 

shortstuf1255,

 

The Triumph was in port with us in St Thomas and I got a few nice pics of it there. They did the same itinerary will be doing on Liberty in June with Half Moon Cay & Grand Turk in place of St Martin.

 

 

4kidsplusty,

 

We spent about 20 minutes on the walk between the two forts. Interestingly the free shuttle was unloading / loading as we left fort one and we were at the second fort when it arrived. Suffices to say the shuttle is more relaxing, but I know we got to see more along the way.

 

The carriages will fit three on each seat providing your seats aren't too large. ;) In the carriage the ride between the forts should be no more than five minutes or so.

 

 

mitchpam, volkoff, RLG1023,

 

Thank you.

[PaulMedik]

Our port time in St Thomas was scheduled from 8:00AM til 6:00PM. I'd love to show you pics of our arrival in St Thomas, but I was asleep and missed it! When I woke up and looked out the balcony door I saw a sea plane taking off behind us;

 

 

I then decided to try the panorama feature of my camera (The sea doesn't really have a hump in it);

 

 

And unlike this picture, the waves in the harbor at St Thomas don't really go in three different directions;

 

 

St Thomas is a beautiful port;

 

 

I took this picture knowing that soon Carnival Triumph would be entering the harbor and I'd get some great pics of it;

 

 

I don't know what this little fort looking structure is across the bay from the dock; I was just glad the boys didn't see it and insist on walking over to check it out!;

 

[PaulMedik]

I knew I'd get some great shots from my balcony of Triumph coming in and since it wasn't in sight yet, I knew I wouldn't miss it;

 

 

Another nutritious breakfast;

 

 

And another check up on the open decks for any sign of the lost chair hogs;

 

 

We prepared to toss the chair hogs a lifeline since they appeared to have been tossed overboard;

 

 

A snorkeling or scuba excursion was already leaving the port area;

 

 

Nobody anywhere;

 

[mitchpam]

It is amazing when you come upon "nobody anywhere"...

[PaulMedik]

The new style movie chairs are comfy;

 

 

We made our way up to the front of the ship. Notice the huge horn?;

 

 

 

I noticed that it looked like we had fired up our thrusters because the water was all stirred up behind us;

 

 

I then went back through my last few pics and noticed Freedom had grown an additional aft smoke stack!;

 

 

[PaulMedik]

We then walked back along the starboard side of Panorama deck to see what was up with the new aft smoke stack;

 

 

There was a huge convoy of open air taxis waiting to pick up pax;

 

 

And sure enough the new aft smoke stack belonged to Carnival Triumph. They managed to slip into port behind us while I was up on deck and I didn't get one picture of them coming in. The first three pics I got of them, I didn't even know they were in the picture!;

 

 

How can something that big slip in behind us without a sound?;

 

 

We went back down and found our two olders boys still sleeping;

 

 

I liked this reflection of Triumph in our balcony door;

 

[PaulMedik]

The reflection in our window of the port area was nice too (I guess someone dropped those glasses down from the open decks above!);

 

 

Britt was also still asleep (I guess we walked them well in San Juan);

 

 

We woke the boys up and managed to snap our own gangway port photo;

 

 

The Carnival Photogs had just snapped one of us on the other gangway;

 

 

We then ran into a friendly pirate;

 

Karen had to check out the DI;

 

[PaulMedik]

We found the taxi dispatch area and found one going to Megan's Bay. We were advised that the trip there would be $8 per person and that we'd be stopping in the downtown area to drop off pax there for $6 per person.

 

As we were being whisked away from the port, I managed to get a few pics of our ship;

 

 

 

Shortly after leaving we stopped along the road so the driver could get the 'companies money' She said some folks liked to jump out without paying once they were there so she collected prior to arrival. She also said that if we wanted any pics, we should take them now so we did;

 

 

We had a fellow pax snap this picture of us;

 

 

Our taxi ride began with our driver speaking on the PA lamenting the fact that St Thomas was a US territory and the W Bush was their President too even though they did not get to vote for or against him. She then proceded to point out low income housing that was built in the fifties and then she returned to her speech against all things US. It was obvious that this taxi driver had a cousin in Miami known as Porter 150 and it was also obvious that she hated us. I don't mean she was simply rude, you could tell she hated us. My son would ask her questions and she would ignore him. I asked about pics as we were leaving and she did not acknowledge the question. After a while my son asked me if she couldn't hear him or what. I told him that was just her way and that he could continue asking or not.

 

We stopped here briefly to let the down town riders out.;

 

 

I got a couple more quick shots of the ships;

 

[PaulMedik]

I tried to get some pics of Megans Bay as we approached, but my camera wasn't quick enough;

 

 

As we approached this sign, the driver announced, 'I need four dollars each from everyone to get in to Megan's Bay. Have your money in your hand when I stop.';

 

 

I was busy taking a picture of her political adverts;

 

 

So she had to wait for me to get the money out. She already hated us so what more harm could it do to make her wait?

 

After we entered Megan's Bay she informed us she would return at 2:30 and we were to be there waiting when she arrived. I fondly remembered the conversation I had with her cousin in Miami as we walked away from her. She did ask if we were only going to pay the company and I answered that the company is the only one that earned my money.;

 

 

There's nothing wrong with having strong political beliefs. There's nothing wrong with sharing your beliefs with others. Forcing your feelings and emotions on to others is wrong and she really needs to find a new line of work.

 

After the bitter taxi driver experience, we then sat out to explore Megan's Bay;

 

 

We opted to walk down the beach to an area less crowded;