Cruise Logs - Nice Relaxing Cruise on Carnival Freedom

Nice Relaxing Cruise on Carnival Freedom
Posted on : 2011-09-23 by uCruiser

Cruise Line :	Carnival Cruise Lines
Cruise Ship :	Carnival Freedom
Cruise Region :	Central America
Cabin Number :	8425
Ports :	Colon, Panama , Cozumel, Mexico , Ft. Lauderdale , Limon, Costa Rica
Days :	8
Departure Date :	08/26/2011
Avg. Price per Pax :	1100
Tags :	limon costa rica panama colon cozumel mexico

Visiting Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama.

How did I book?:
We booked online on Carnival.com

Did I get a good price?:
Not really. We booked a bit late and I heard of early savers who paid several hundreds less than us.

How was my trip to the port?:
It was the usual 2 hour drive

Embarkation/Debarkation:
I do not like the port in Ft. Lauderdale. It looks like an old warehouse with "fun lights" added on the ceiling. The debarkation was horrible. We didn't get off the ship until around 10am and had to stand in line forever (close to an hour) to get our luggage and go through customs and immigration.

The ship:
This was probably our least favorite Carnival ship so far. We knew the layout from Liberty and Glory and that's ok. Not too thrilled about the lido deck stadium seating though. It gives you a cramped up feeling of the deck. The decor was really bad. Usually you can find a theme to the ships decor, but not here. Pink snakeskin on the dining room ceiling mixed with green statue of liberty face sculptures around the ship. I wonder what kind of drugs the designer was on when he did that Carnival Freedom.

Cabin:
We stayed in Balcony stateroom 8425 and it was a standard Carnival cabin. Good size and clean. The balcony was dirty though, with a big lump of hair sitting on the glass and a big toe nail on the floor. The glass was dirty as well. Yikes.....
We had the room steward clean up the worst mess.

Dining:
The quality of food in the dining room has gone wayyyy downhill. The new [didja ever] menu seemed to have less exciting meals (in our opinions) to offer. Now you can get "gourmet burger", meatloaf, mac and cheese and fried chicken. This is food I can get here in my local bar and I do not think it belong in the main dining room.

I saw a guy at a table next to us look very disappointed at the burger he ordered. I heard he asked the waiter what was gourmet about it. I didn't hear the reply. It was just a plain old burger as far as I could see.

I ordered Chateaubriand one evening. It said in the menu it was from a shoulder cut. GIVE ME A BREAK CARNIVAL. Chateaubriand is a very specific cut. Not the shoulder, but the tenderloin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chateaubriand_steak
Calling a shoulder cut for Chateaubriand is like serving you a slice of brisket and call it Fillet Mignon.

Entertainment:
The Beatles Show "Ticket to Ride" is probably the best show I ever have seen on a cruise ship. Don't miss it if you ever get a chance to see it. There was a show for early as well as late seating and many people from the first show stayed to see it again!

Ports & Excursions:
We did not book any excursions on this cruise at all. In Cozumel we took a taxi to downtown ($7 each way) and did a little shopping.We ate our lunch at a really nice restaurant at the water. It doesn't look that nice from the street, but you have a great view of the ocean from the 2nd floor.

In Limon, Costa Rica we walked around in town. It's right at the port area. Just stay within the crowds no longer than a couple of blocks away from the ship and you should be safe. Even though it looked to be a very poor country, the people was very nice and not pushy the way we see it many other places.

Colon, Panama didn't have much to offer in the port area. There is about a block with shops and restaurants. We only spent a couple of hours there and went back to the ship.

Overall Experience:
It was a nice cruise and we loved all the sea days. I don't think I will choose the same ports again, unless I get a really good deal.

Comments

From: KeithnRita said: "Ticket to Ride Beatles show" - 2011-09-28

We saw the Beatles show on the Fantasy a couple years ago and we agree with you, as it was the best show we've seen on a cruise ship!

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