The 8-Day WHILRWIND Mystery Tour on the 8/15 Freedom. A review. With pics!

[Luke gs Daddy]

Nice pics. I like the one with you in the window. Real cool;) LOL

[remharri]

 

 

Oh my gosh! I love this...their faces are just like mine when I see all that food. That's a classic. Great review too!

[CeleBrat]

There is nothing better than being on the open deck of a cruise ship during sailaway. You have nothing but time on your hands in the form of a long, glorious week of adventure awaiting you. For us, it was even better, because we were sailing for 8 days.

 

The PILOT boat came by for an escort as we left the Ft Lauderdale port.

 

 

Despite the gloomy skies, we didn’t manage to catch any rain. Actually, I chose to think that the ship out-sailed the bad weather. Although, it was touch-and-go there for awhile…

 

Back in our cabin, the kids spent about 30 minutes sitting in their new window seat, watching the choppy waves and looking for dolphins.

 

 

We really, really loved our oceanview window seat. Not only did it afford us a super-close view of the water. It also gave me piece of mind, not having to worry that the kids were going to fall overboard while in the room. LOVE IT!

 

Speaking of the room—ours was nice. As stated earlier, there was a double bed, and upper and lower bunk. One bathroom, three closets, and many, many drawers and cabinets. That was a good thing because we needed spaces to store the 6 lifejackets that were in the room. We had to have the normal 4 adult-sized jackets for the 4-person room, but also needed to have 2 child-sized lifejackets as well, for the kids.

 

The ONE THING I didn’t like about the room was a silly thing actually. It was this picture, which hung over our bed.

 

Look at it closely. Do you see why I didn’t like it?

 

 

It was hung upside down, with the artists signature in the upper right-hand corner. I wondered, had it been hanging this way since the ship was built 2 years ago? Did all the cabins on this deck have the same upside-down picture? And—it’s a landscape for goodness sakes. DUH! The grass should clearly be on the bottom. Not that anything would be done about it, but I let Guest Services know, and put a note on our comment card. I tried to fix it myself, but that picture is screwed to the wall. It’s not coming off easily!

 

We had Early Dining on this cruise, and were assigned the Chic Dining Room, table 112. Oh yeah! Two great things about this. #1—The Chic Dining Room is the easy-to-find dining room accessible via the main lobby on deck 3. The other dining room (Posh) is also on deck 3, but can only be accessed via the secret stairs on deck 5. It took us several days to find the Posh Dining Room, and so I can only imagine that there were some really frustrated diners on that first night. #2 great thing about our dining assignment: we had a window table. FABULOUS VIEW!

 

 

Our tablemates were a family of 4 from Virginia. Lots of fun, but somehow I didn’t get any pics of them. Our servers, whose names confuse me, so shall remain fairly nameless, were a female duo from Thailand. The main server (Serita?) had a cute habit of saying “Thank you” when presenting your food. So, she would lean over as she placed the food in front of you and say, “Ceaser saladddddddd….thank youuuuuuuu”. The kids thought it was funny. “Hot dogggg…..thank youuuuuu."

 

DS ate PBJ’s the whole week for dinner. Dare I say, he’s a little picky (insert picky child eater debate here). But how fancy does these PBJs look?

 

 

Actually he had PBJs on the 6 night we ate in the dining room. We skipped dinner once, and once there was a JELLY FIASCO. What is that, you ask? Well, he ordered PBJs (2 please) and they arrived, with only peanut butter. EGAD! So, we pointed out the error to Serita. “Ah yes…..thank youuuuuuuuu.” And she ran off to the kitchen. She came back with a huge tray of food for us, but no jelly. So we asked again, “Ah yes….it is coming.” She returned a 2nd time and apologized, telling us there is no jelly tonight. According to her, “They didn’t get it out.” We were really confused, partially by the language barrier, and partially over the fact that there was no jelly to be had. Where do they store it? On another ship? On land? Anyway, DS ordered chicken nuggets instead.

 

DD was a hotdog and chocolate milk girl.

 

[CeleBrat]

I would be remiss if I didn't tell you about how much DD LOVED the butter dishes on the dining room tables. She loved that they had little lids on them, and the butter was swirly inside, as if it were made of ice cream. Every night, without fail, when we sat down she would pick up the butter dish, take the lid off, and present it to me, saying, "your dinnah is served," in a pretend English accent.

 

 

I just appreciated the fact there weren't cold, hard squares of butter on the table.

 

After dinner, we had no specific plans, but had several errands to run. First, we stopped by Camp Carnival formally check-in. We had registered on-line, but needed to turn in our medical forms. While there, they were only handing out Capers for the following day, our Nassau port stop. They too were waiting to hear where the ship was sailing before printing the Capers for the week. Interesting. I never thought about the logistics of changing a ship’s itinerary.

 

Errand #2 involved stopping by the Shore Excursion desk to CANCEL our shore excursion in Nassau. Originally, the cruise was supposed to stop at Nassau on the last day, from 12-7. I generally book all of our excursions independently, which sometimes offers more variety and is usually less expensive. Due to our strange 12-7 port time though, I wasn’t able to book anything because all of the private beach tours left at 9am. Oh well, Plan B involved us booking “Blackbeard’s Beach Break” through the ship for $30 and $25 each. Not a bad deal. That excursion was going to occur during the afternoon, from 1-5 (I think) which allowed us time to eat lunch on the ship before leaving. Because of the changed route, we were now getting extra time in Nassau, and stopping there from 7am-7pm, and our shore excursion time was now changed to occur from 10:30-2:30. Oh no! That would not work for lunch, and you’ve already read about my oh-so-picky son, who would starve on land. So, it was either take food off of the ship (insert food taken off ship debate here) or cancel the excursion. We opted to cancel, and head to the beach on our own.

 

At the Shore Excursion desk, I waited in a long line of people who were frantically booking their Nassau excursions. Oddly enough, I was the only one canceling. I was impressed by the Shore Excursion Staff, who were out in force both behind and in front of the desk. They were attempting to answer questions as best they could, and I even overheard one Shore Guy say to a guest when asked how long they would be open, “We will be here as long as we need to, since the route was changed. We want to make sure the passengers have every opportunity to make their plans.” WOW—that’s some good guest service!

 

As you can imagine, despite canceling our shore excursion, it was inevitable that we DID receive the tickets for it later that evening, under our cabin door. We were honest and didn't use them.

 

We spent the remainder of the day just wandering the ship, exploring. For those who are curious, the Freedom is exactly like the Carnival Glory in layout. It is also very similar to the Costa Fortuna, for those who have traveled on that line.

 

As we wandered around the ship that evening, the lovely and talented John Heald could be overheard several times making announcements about the TBD itinerary. He did it so well, and in such a comforting way. Every time, he would preface the announcement by explaining that the Captain was very concerned about the well-being and safety of every single one of the passengers onboard the Freedom, and would never, ever do anything to put the ship in harm’s way, Therefore, the itinerary was in a state of flux, etc…He did a good job of softening the “bad news”.

 

When we arrived back at our cabin later that evening, we found the Capers for the next day on the bed. Oddly enough, they were dated MONDAY (not Sunday), although we didn’t notice (until the "real" Monday) because we were on a cruise, and who keeps track of days anyway? Clearly though, the Front Desk Staff had reprinted the Capers due to the itinerary change, and had gotten the date wrong.

 

RANDOM THOUGHTS for the DAY

 

--We loved the extra wide hallways near the staterooms, so you don’t have to do that awkward dance as you pass people or housekeeping carts.

--We also loved that there were lots of elevators in many places, but didn’t understand how some passengers couldn’t figure out if they were going up or down (little red arrow that lights up people!!) Several times that night, other guests would get on our down elevator and push an “up” number. It wasn’t until the door closed and the elevator started moving down that they would say, “Oh, this one is going down.”

--I bought a DOD card. $23. Good deal.

--The kids got a kick out of the art-deco numbers that were on the carpet in each elevator lobby. This one, #3, looks like a man with a mustache. Don’t you think?

 

[peacefrog]

I saw your son's PBJ and wondered why it wasn't on toast? You see, on the Pride last week, my son ate PBJ's 4-5 times and each time it was on toast, which I thought was wierd, but standard. guess not-looks better not toasted

[gail811]

No debate from me on the "picky eater"; I think it is wonderful that you allowed him to enjoy his vacation too! 8 days of PBJ won't hurt him! Loving your review!

[Luanne21]

This review is so much fun. I can't wait to see where we end up.:eek:

[snookymom]

Celebrat- this is the 3rd review I have read of yours & your kids just keep getting cuter & cuter. Am enjoying every word & can't wait for the rest.:D

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

Celebrat,

 

I am really enjoying your review. I hope to sail the Freedom one day.

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

Celebrat,

 

Loving your review. I can't wait to sail the Freedom one day.

[Jevsy]

More soon? Pretty please???

[CeleBrat]

I saw your son's PBJ and wondered why it wasn't on toast? You see, on the Pride last week, my son ate PBJ's 4-5 times and each time it was on toast, which I thought was wierd, but standard. guess not-looks better not toasted

 

His PBJ was toasted--just very lightly, I guess. We asked before ordering it the first time because he was looking forward to a toasted PBJ.

 

CeleBrat

[CeleBrat]

Hi guys! Thanks for all the raves. Going to try an post an update tonight--after the kids get to bed.

 

And ugh--I just saw that I transposed the R and L in WHIRLWIND in the title.

 

Gah! Can't fix it now!

 

CeleBrat

[kcparrothead]

Can't wait to hear more!! We'll be on her in 3 weeks, same itinerary!

[Mrs. Chernabog]

Are the kids in bed....are the kids in bed?????? :D

[CeleBrat]

So, we woke up to the vibrating that occurs when a ship parallel parks. It is at once annoying, but comforting, because the only place you’ll ever experience it is on a cruise. And hey—we’re on a cruise. YAHOO!

 

We threw open the curtain on our window to find that we were parked right next to the Carnival Glory. Hi GLORY!

 

 

 

It’s always neat to encounter other ships you had once traveled on. Oddly enough, the Glory had parked nose first, while we had backed-in to the port. Wonder why? Perhaps the way you park is dictated by the order in which the ships leave later in the day? Anyone know?

 

We got dressed and headed up to the LIDO buffet for breakfast. I think the official name of the buffet is “Freedom Restaurant”, but we called it the buffet. Anyway. Knowing that this ship is similar to the Carnival Glory, we headed straight up to the “secret” 2nd floor of the buffet, aft. Don’t tell anyone, but no one is ever up there. Most people enter the buffet and make a mad dash to find food and a table right away. We have learned over many years of cruising that you shouldn’t “settle” for the food by the door. Rather, walk to the back of the restaurant and it’s usually much less crowded. We chose a table among the hundred that we’re empty, and claimed it as ours for the whole week. Not-to-worry, we never had to fight anyone off the whole week because like I said earlier, no one was ever up there!

 

DH could not wait to get an omelet, which is one of his cruise-food FAVS. With bacon and cheese, and butter on the toast, it’s more like a heart attack on a plate. EEK!

 

 

The kids both discovered chocolate muffins on the buffet, and were in heaven.

 

 

While we were at breakfast, the FABULOUS John Heald gave us a “still no update to the itinerary yet, but safety is our #1 concern, so we probably won’t know where we’re going until after we set sail from Nassau later today” update. This struck FEAR into my heart! Were they waiting to tell us where we were going because we were getting stuck on a lovely Eastern Coast of US cruise, with stops at Savannah and Newport? Oh no!!!!! I tried to remain positive, and crossed my fingers hoping for Panama, which was the alternate route the Freedom sailed on. Even Key West would be acceptable. Anything really, other than US stops.

 

DH thought I was crazy for obsessing.

 

Since we had such a long day in Nassau, we decided that we would head onshore twice, with a break for lunch between the two trips. DD and I headed off the ship after breakfast to do a little shopping, while DH and DS stayed onboard poolside. I know, I know, Nassau is not really a shopping port. But, I am one of the few people that actually gets a kick out of going to the straw market. It such a silly place, what with all the vendors selling the same thing. I usually buy some sort of USABLE straw item for the house. Last time it was placemats. This time, it is a straw bowl. After buying just one thing, we leave the market, as that’s all you can really take of that place.

 

 

DD and I also wandered down through the shopping area, and I made the mistake of stopping into the Del Sol store where DD discovered color-changing nail polish. It’s cool but it’s $10 a bottle. OUCH!!!!!! Of course we bought some (one bottle), and of course we had to stop right-then-and-there to let DD paint her nails. She’s a little 6 year old fashionista.

 

 

For the record, the polish went on the fingers as an orangey-pink, then changed to purple in the sun. Sheepishly, I will admit it was kind-of cool, and before the week was over my toes were also painted in this polish.

 

[TakeMeAway1001]

What a great review! I love your sense of humor and the pics really make it fun to read :)

[CeleBrat]

We also couldn’t resist taking this cheesy photo, taken by DD, who is an awesome photog if you don't mind a slightly crooked picture. Don’t I look beautiful?

 

 

Back onboard the Freedom, we meet up with the guys and head to our secret 2nd floor table in the buffet for lunch. Same table, still no one around! DH checks out the Fish-n-Chips. It’s too much fish to eat in one sitting!

 

 

The kids eat fries. And an apple. Gotta have something healthy otherwise I'm totally failing at being a Mom while on a cruise.

 

 

Of note, today’s “Taste of Nations” buffet is Spanish, which does not interest us. But, in reality, it ended up being Mediterranean. Another little typo due to the itinerary change. I don’t know if Spanish goes with Nassau, or Mediterranean does. Either way, something was changed and the Caper re-type couldn’t keep up.

 

After lunch, we change into our suits and head ashore again. We opt to be a little adventurous and take the water taxi to Paradise Island. The official water taxi ticket booth makes us laugh.

 

 

Notice the guy with the beer? He was just sitting there, and not actually part of the water taxi team. Phew! Taxi fare is $3 pp one way. We purchase one way tickets, in case it was a “hairy” ride over.

 

[MicksMom]

Great review, can't wait for more. I love your writing style & your kids are precious!!!

[CeleBrat]

We had to “walk the plank” to get to the boat, which made DD a little nervous.

 

 

Once onboard, we sat for a very long time, until the boat was full. It was a little frustrating, as it was hot and we were anxious to go. I guess the taxi team was looking to maximize their fares. And of course, the schedule did state that the boats left on the half hour/hour. So, maybe we were a little impatient. If was funny though, every time someone would ask “How long ‘til we leave?”, one of the boat guys would say “Soon. I can see the captain coming now.” Then we would scratch our heads because there was no one in sight.

 

 

It was a short trip to Paradise Island, approximately 10 minutes. A narrator jumped onboard before we left, and regaled us with local island history, and tales of former famous Bahamians. Did you know that Paradise Island was originally named Hog Island? No one wanted to go to Hog Island, so they renamed it Paradise to help get a jumpstart on the tourists. It worked! The narrator was also not part of the taxi crew, and asked for a donation for his services. It was a little pushy, but it also made us laugh.

 

Once at Paradise Island, our goal was to visit the free beach—Cabbage Beach. There are small signs along the side of the road with arrows that say “beach.” But beware, it is a long walk. Probably over one mile, and involved crossing two streets, walking up a hill, and finding an obscure little dirt path near a wooded area. The kids were getting very hot, and cranky, and moaning, “Moooooooom, can we go back to the ship?”

 

Once we got there though, it was beautiful! We walked down a wooded path, which made an odd juxtaposition of woods and beach.

 

 

 

How blue was this water?

 

 

Notice the Carnival ship in the background, leaving? It gave us a heart attack, until we reasonably assured ourselves our sailaway wasn’t until much later in the day, It was the Glory that left.

[CeleBrat]

The waves were very strong, and fun to jump in.

 

 

It was all fun and games, until DS felt like he had gotten stung by something. His right arm and left hand both had a large red welt on it. We hadn’t seen any jellyfish. I think he had gotten scratched by one of the random prickly plants that were floating in the water. He swears otherwise. I can confirm it wasn’t a jellyfish, because the welt was gone within 2 hours. But, DS will tell you a tall tale of pain and suffering!

 

 

We stayed at the beach for a little over an hour, then decided to head back to the ship. There were several taxi drivers nearby, and they were quoting a rate of $4 pp to the port, so we jumped on that!

 

For those wanting the specifics of this beach, it is called Cabbage Beach, and is free. There are chairs for rent. There is also a funny little Beach Bar selling drinks. No bathrooms though.

 

 

I spent a lot of time researching the beaches on Nassau on this very board (ports of call board), and have seen many postings that slam Cabbage Beach as being run-down, over run with locals, dirty, etc. I can assure you it was quite the opposite. Other than there not being any bathroom facilities available, it was perfect.

 

[gillespieda]

Thank you for your great review! I can't wait to read the rest! I really want to go on a cruise soon, March is not soon enough!

[CeleBrat]

On the way back to the port, I began to obsess again over the remainder of the cruise. We still had no idea where we were going. Me, a somewhat meticulous “plan each day while on a cruise” person, was having a hard time not having port details. It was KILLING ME!!!! DH just laughed, and shook his head, and said, “relax”. I tried to explain my angst, and shared that I couldn’t relax since we had no end destination in sight. How could I relax when there is NOTHING, literally, to look forward to?

 

Please don’t let it be a cruise to Savannah….

 

Back at the port, the kids giggle over the fact that the rope holders look like Squidward from SpongeBob. What do you think?

 

 

We also found another great memory from a previous cruise. Even though the Disney Wonder was not in port, the gangway sure was! We took a moment to reflect on our past Disney cruises (DS's first cruise was on the Wonder, with a stop in Nassau) and do a quick cheer over the fact that next time we are all in Nassau we will all be walking on that very gangway off of the Wonder during our Friends/Family cruise in November.

 

 

An obligatory touch-the-ship-rope picture. We take them on every cruise. Not sure why, other than a force of habit. “Look kids! It’s the ship’s rope! Go touch it!”

 

 

All-in-all, a good day at Nassau, which is generally considered a throwaway port.

 

[CeleBrat]

Back onboard the ship, we leisurely got ready for dinner, which consequently was NOT a Captain’s Welcome Aboard Formal Night, due to the itinerary change. I break in my DOD card and indulge in a Goombay Smash. Cheers!

 

Just before dinner, the one-and-only John Heald makes the oh-so-important itinerary announcement. He reminds us that safety is the priority, and there are 3 storms out there, blah, blah blah. I am literally doubled over with nervousness, and yell to the intercom, "JUST TELL US!!!” John continues on to share that we will be changing our route, and despite our original plan of San Juan, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Antigua, we will now be visiting the tried-and-true ports of Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. Collectively, you can hear a groan all across the ship.

 

After my initial disappointment, I remember that at least it’s not Savannah. Phew! I quickly switch into planning mode, and decide that we are going to book a ship shore excursion for Ocho Rios. Rent a car in Cozumel. And Grand Cayman, just hang on the beach.

 

The kids don’t really care, nor does DH. But secretly, I am disappointed. We have been to Cozumel and Cayman on the last 3 cruises we’ve been on, all by our choosing. We’re a little Cozumel and Caymaned-out. Or at least I am.

 

Anyway….

 

As we walk through the lobby on our way to dinner, we see that there is already a long line at the Guest Services, most of which are people that are complaining about the change. One gentlemen in particular was visibly upset, and arguing the point that they had, in his opinion, “paid too much $$ for this cruise to go to lower quality ports.” WOW! I wanted to remind him about the Savannah alternative.

 

As we walked past the desk, there was a female officer standing nearby with a radio. She could be overheard saying into the radio, “Not too bad here at the desk yet. Just the usual turn out.” Clearly, they were expecting people to complain.

 

We put on our happy faces and went to dinner. Our tablemate were also a little miffed. I tried to explain to the upside of everything, but didn’t do so well. They too felt that they had paid too much for a cruise to such cheap ports.

 

Ah yes, anyway…DD and I will just get back to playing a rousing game of DOTS while waiting for our food to avoid any unpleasant conversation about the itinerary change.

 

 

Following dinner, DD jetted off to Camp Carnival, while I managed to catch a beautiful sunset on deck 11 forward.

 

 

DH and I decide to watch the feature movie poolside. We have never taken the time to watch a movie “under the stars”, and I must say, it was really neat. I loved the fact that the ceiling of our movie theater was the ocean sky. So cool.

 

What movie did we watch? Well, one that fits right into the whole rest/relaxation/indulge yourself cruise mindset: “Slumdog Millionaire.” No joke! It was a good movie, although a little to “real” for my vacation brain.

 

Halfway through the movie, John Heald breaks in via intercom to announce YET ANOTHER itinerary change. Huh? It seems that the NOAA has updated the status of the storms in the Caribbean on a route further north than originally projected, and after consulting with the “home office”, we are now back on schedule for our original cruise port stop although on different days, and minus Antigua. Yes! Noooo! Huh?

 

Collectively, everyone on the ship cheered. And, as an added bonus, we would be receiving extra time in all of our remaining ports. 12 hours in San Juan, not 7. 12 hours in St Thomas, not 8. And 10 hours in Tortola, not 8. NICE! Instantly, everyone onboard was happy again.

 

Back in our cabin, we find another towel animal, and the next day’s Capers, titled appropriately, “Monday” again. And, don’t forget to set your clocks BACK tomorrow night!!

 

[Mrs. Chernabog]

I like straw markets. I'm still using a basket I got in Dominica in 1993.