Carnival Freedom May 23-31 2009

[cruisingcats]

Donna these are wonderful. I actually feel like I am there. Looking forward to the next one. You do a great job.

[zebra]

Donna - I see she was making most of her "Fun Ships" experience......

[hazelson]

Good job Donna!

[rogue]

I just read through them, Donna, and they're great. One of the best reviews I've read. I'm looking forward to the rest.

[Shaunna]

Wow! This is awesome! I had some time before getting back to my room and DH but glad I ran across this. Just fantastic!!

[JoeyandDavid]

Carnival Freedom, Part 8

Friday May 29 09

Sea Day

Ahhh, a sea day at last! Since I spent the first sea day sick in bed, I was determined to make the most of this 2nd and last relaxing day at sea.

I was up early for a scheduled Pilates class, and I was the only one who showed up!

The instructor Daniel told me to come back tomorrow and he would give me a complimentary class whether anyone else showed up or not!

The weather was perfect for a day at sea. Very hot and humid, and perfect for lazing around by the pool, and dipping in the pool, which is what I did most of the morning.

At 11 a.m. There was Trivia on the big screen at the main pool, and I sat in one of those big and very uncomfortable armchairs poolside, trying to answer questions based on comic book super-heroes.

It was super-hot, and I finally gave up on both the quiz and the heat!

The 11:30 Pool Aerobics class was a very welcome diversion, and I jumped right in with a dozen or so others, and we had a blast exercising to music, led by our very funny ("100% Prime British Beef") entertainment staff, Steve.

Reluctant to waste even a few minutes of beautiful weather, we opted to get our lunch from the outdoor grill and enjoyed Cheeseburgers and fries by the pool, followed of course, by more ice cream! I really love the free ice cream feature on Carnival ships!

The afternoon was spent much like the morning - lazing in the sun with a good book and music on my MP3 player, until

It was time for the Walk for the Cure at 4:30 p.m.

For those of you who may not be familiar, the Walk for the Cure is a fundraiser held every week on each and every Carnival-owned ship, and raises in the vicinity of $30,000 per week for breast cancer research with the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

For a $10 donation, passengers receive a T-shirt and a pink bracelet, and are invited to participate in the 1 mile walk around the ship.

I was impressed with the speech Steve made before we set off, and that he invited "fighters and survivors" to lead off our walk.

9 laps around the Sports Deck near the aft funnel, equalled 1 mile, and even in the heat of the day, it was just a breathtaking view of the sea while we walked around and around.

My walk was made easy with my MP3 player playing my Century Cruise CD of cruising music.

Pink lemonade was supplied for all the participants at the end of their walk, and we left feeling like we had done something special.

That evening was our 2nd "Elegant Night", and when we entered the dining room, all the tables were decorated with colourful Mardi Gras beads, which we all wore for the duration of dinner.

Speaking of wearing things for dinner, I witnessed something I thought I'd never see on a formal night on any ship; a young couple a few tables away, arrived for dinner dressed in nothing but their white terry cloth bathrobes! They were not stopped at the door, and apparently no staff said anything to them about it being "Elegant Night", so they stayed and enjoyed their meal in their bathrobes. Strange, but true.

Dinner of course, was another taste sensation; James had Tiger Shrimp, Broccoli Soup and Chateaubriand, with a fruit plate for dessert, and I had Broccoli Soup, Green Bean and Tomato Salad, Charred Spring Chicken, and the divine Warm Chocolate Melting Cake which is to-die-for!

There was the usual wait staff singing and dancing, but this time they managed to get many passengers up and dancing as well, including our tablemates Gino and Kim!

After dinner, we tried to get into the 10:30 comedian's show in the International Lounge, but it was so packed, there wasn't even standing room!

We decided to try it again at midnight (late show) and in the meantime, attended the big production show in the Victoriana Lounge, called "The Big Easy".

Obviously, this show was based on the music and the history of New Orleans, including a spectacular finale with larger-than life characters in amazing costumes, all of whom made their way up the aisles and out into the lobby after the show. I wish I had pictures of them, it was quite impressive!

At midnight we managed to squeeze in a spot in the International Lounge to see Happy Cole's X-rated adult comedy.

It was funny, but the guy is funny enough without the bad language, I thought his "clean" show was much better!

Bedtime was late on this night, but we didn't care, we had certainly packed a lot into our last sea day!

Goodnight Mr. Sea Turtle....

to be continued.....in Nassau.....

donna

[cruisetarp]

Another great installment Donna. I'm enjoying traveling along with you and James.

Joey - thanks for posting these for Donna.

[deb1220]

I feel like I'm there, Donna! Thanks so much. Can't wait for the conclusion!

I don't understand why the "bathrobed" couple weren't sent back to their cabins to get dressed. Totally disrespectful to the crew and their fellow passengers. JMHO!

[zebra]

Bath robes in the dining room? Whaaat! You're not kidding that's disrespectful and on Elegant night to boot. I wouldn't have thought that the dining room manager would have allowed it. Donna, you have don a stellar job... what an interesting review.

[rollerdonna]

About the bathrobes.... the couple created quite a stir amongst fellow diners when they made their appearance. I half expected the Maitre 'D to come running after them and escort them out, but he was later seen at their table having a friendly chat.....guess he didn't want to ruin his chances of a good tip....

I will say that they were obviously clean, groomed (her hair was done up as if she were dressed elegantly) and wearing jewelry and make-up, but just didn't take the time to change out of their Carnival-issued bathrobes.

As they were a young couple, I assumed that perhaps they were on their honeymoon....

donna