Carnival Freedom May 23-31 2009

[JoeyandDavid]

Carnival Freedom May 23-31 2009 Part 1

Pre-Cruise day, Friday May 22

As is our custom, we flew into Fort Lauderdale a day before the cruise, to relax and acclimatize ourselves to the weather. Unfortunately, Mother Nature chose to rain on our arrival, and we had to stand for an hour waiting for the hotel shuttle.

We chose to stay at the Rodeway Inn and Suites Airport, as our last stay there was quite pleasant. Other than the wait for the shuttle, this stay was also nice.

The Hotel has a nice pool area, which we were unable to use due to the heavy rain all that afternoon, as well as the next morning.

We did however, enjoy the Sports Bar/Restaurant on the premises for a delicious late lunch, and an even more delicious late supper. I love their Philly Cheesesteak and Steak Fries!

Embarkation Day, Saturday May 23

The last time we stayed here, there were 8 ships in port on Embarkation Day; this time, there was only our ship.

The morning shuttle bus was not very full, as opposed to the many shuttles and organized chaos of our last trip!

Arriving at the port in Fort Lauderdale around 11:30 a.m. In the pouring rain, it almost seemed deserted compared to last time.

Hardly any parked cars, and only a few buses, and not very many passengers. Of course, that changed once we got in line, and soon the line snaked down the outside of the building.

After a fairly quick and efficient boarding process, we were onboard around 12:30 p.m.

They say 1st impressions are all-important, and I must say here that my 1st impression of the Carnival Freedom was that it was overwhelmingly gawdy!

From the many and ever-changing coloured lights surrounding the atrium, to the mixture of colours, textures, fabrics, patterns, panels, floors, surfaces, carpets, it was just over-the-top and gave a distinct feeling of claustrophobia.

We were to discover this was true of the rest of the ship, due to the strange lay-out and passenger-flow problems, exacerbated by the odd placement of poles and pillars in main throughways all over the ship.

However, we weren't about to hang around gawking at the colour schemes, we had more important business to take care of - lunch!

Our first Lido Buffet meal was excellent, and proved to be a good sign of the meals we were to enjoy the whole week.

After checking out our cabin on Verandah Deck, at the very back, starboard side, we found it to be very large and roomy.

It was called a Premium Balcony cabin, and in addition to the large Queen size bed, seating area, vanity and storage drawers, 3 large closets, and a good sized bathroom, there was also a lot of (wasted) space, but comfortable to move around in. There was also a larger than normal balcony (not quite the wrap around, which was next to us), but roomy enough for 2 chairs and a table, with room to spare.

Following the inevitable Muster Drill, which was long and boring and extremely hot and humid on the outside deck, we headed up to Lido Deck in hopes of a fun Sail Away party, but alas, the weather was not to cooperate once again.

It poured rain during our sail away, so we made do with a couple of Sail Away drinks and some people-watching.

Our dinner assignment for this cruise was late seating, 8:15 p.m. in the Chic Dining Room, which, amusingly, our Maitre 'D continually pronounced "Chick" rather than "Sheek". He also referred to the Posh Dining Room as "Poesh".

Pronunciation notwithstanding, the Chic Dining Room proved to be the best place to be on the ship! In 14 cruises, 7 of which were Carnival ships, we had never enjoyed our evening meals as much as we did on the Freedom!

I decided to start the week with a lovely light Tilapia, served with a side of the most delicious Mac 'n Cheese I'd ever tasted. James enjoyed a wonderful Pasta plate, and we both had a to-die-for Creme Brule for dessert.

We were very impressed with our first dining room meal, with both the food and the service, and were not to be disappointed for the rest of the week.

Following our wonderful dinner, we were pretty tired, but dragged ourselves to the Victoriana Theatre for the customary "Welcome Aboard Show", which, if nothing else, at least gave promise that the shows later in the week would be performed by some very talented singers and dancers.

We were just a touch disappointed to return to our cabin and find no towel animal or chocolate mint for the first night of the cruise. They did appear during the week, but not on the first and last nights.

We went to bed looking forward to a week of fun ahead, and especially, a Sea Day tomorrow!

To be continued..... A Day at Sea......

donna

editors note this review will be posted in many parts..

[cruisingcats]

Very good review so far. looking forward to part 2.

[deb1220]

Donna - Part 1 - excellent. Looking forward to parts 2 & 3.

[zebra]

Thanks Donna for the great presentation - looking forward to the rest!! (Know what you mean about gaudy and ill placed pillars etc - the Carnival Legend is the same.)

[cruisetarp]

I'm enjoying your review Donna - looking forward to reading the rest of it.

[DebbieandJerry]

Looking forward to the remaining chapters "of the Freedom book". I know what you mean by Carnival and their colors and gawdy. We had to stare at purple grapes in the dining room of the Miracle for 16 days. I'm sure there's a reason behind all of it

[coloradocruisers]

Donna: I really like how you've inserted pictures throughout your review. Excellent. Thanks,

[JoeyandDavid]

Great review Donna .. looking forward to the next installment.

[rogue]

Great review, Donna. Love the pictures.

[JoeyandDavid]

Part 2:

Carnival Freedom, Sunday May 24/09 Sea Day

My first Sea Day of the cruise turned out to be more of a "seasick day".

I awoke with a killer headache, but got up and dressed, ready for my first Pilates class early in the morning.

James was already gone out to breakfast, and to videotape the ship while waiting for my class to be over.

I never made it breakfast nor to my class, but only made it as far as the bathroom where I was very sick.

I am sure it was not seasickness, as it was a very calm sailing.

More likely the migraine I had made me ill, and I was very relieved to find that the vomiting did not cause atrial fibrillation and I did not end up in the infirmary!

The catheter ablation I underwent in April had obviously done it's job!

By the time James came back to the cabin looking for me, I was sound asleep on Gravol (Dramamine) and slept most of the day. At some point he spoke to our room steward to tell him not to bother doing up our room today.

This kind gentleman suggested to James that I eat a green apple to feel better, so he dutifully went up to Lido deck to find a green apple. Sure enough, it did the trick and I felt so much better that I was ready for lunch at 3:30 in the afternoon!

We headed for one of the few places open at this time of day, the Deli, and had a delicious grilled panini ham and cheese sandwich.

Afterwards, we found a quiet shady spot by the aft adult pool and spent the remainder of the afternoon reading.

This became our favourite spot for the week, with adult-only pool and hot tubs, and quick access to the bar, the Grill, ice cream station, toilets, and just outside the Lido restaurant. Couldn't ask for anything more!

This being the first Sea Day, it was "Elegant Night" the new name Carnival is calling Formal Night.

Before dinner this evening there was the traditional Captain's Cocktail Party in the 70's Disco, and it was well attended.

The drinks were varied and good, with plenty of alcohol, but there were no h'or d'oeuvres served, nor was there any appearance whatsoever of the Captain or any of his staff.

The music was recorded and a good mixture of old and new. Many people enjoyed dancing on the 70's under-lit multi-coloured dance floor.

In the Chic Dining Room, everything looked very elegant for Elegant Night.

We met our tablemates from the previous evening, Chiny and Heather from Windsor Ontario, Canada, and new tablemates Gino and Kim.

The first thing we asked them was if they were Canadian too, and strangely enough, Gino was from Toronto Canada, while his girlfriend Kim was from Tennessee. So we dubbed our table the "Canada Table!"

Chiny & Heather

Gino & Kim

Donna & James

Dinner was excellent once again. The special menu was a little too special for my tastes, so I ordered the standard classic chicken dish (always available) and it was delicious. James had some sort of chili and green pepper concoction that he found much to his liking.

For dessert he enjoyed a wonderful Cherries Jubilee, and I went light with an orange sorbet with chocolate sauce.

After dinner we attended the main show in the Victoriana Lounge, called "Jump and Jive".

It was a very good show, with talented singers and dancers, choreography, bright sets and costumes, but it was not my era of music (Swing).

The show ended with a nice touch of fun; the dancers and some of the band members ran through the audience and out into the atrium, and the audience was invited to join them to swing dance in the lobby!

The trumpets and saxaphones wailed, and the passengers were dancing with the performers, and there was a great dance party going on when we left for bed.

We were happy to see our first towel animal waiting to greet us on our return to our cabin.

Good night Rabbit, and see you in Puerto Rico tomorrow!

to be continued.....in Puerto Rico.

donna