We went on the 8 day Eastern Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Freedom. The ports of call were terrific! Nassau in the Bahamas was the best shopping port of call. The Pirate Museum in Nassau is a must see for pirate lovers, young and old. Antiguas Eco Kayak Tour was well organized where we got to ride kayaks, snorkeled and even a nature hike for a panoramic view of the island on top of Bird Island.
Activities on board were both entertaining and educational. The Hairy Chest Contest so funny where grown men got to strut their hairy chests. The Who Wants to be a Millionaire contest was educational that the passengers were really getting into answering the questions.
The one complaint is our noisy stateroom. We had a balcony stateroom on the 8th level. It was right in front of a crew-only room or some kind of entrance/exist place. So at night, when we are fast asleep, we would hear the crew come in and out of this room, rolling carts which rattled and made do much noise as they rolled in and out . So, I suggest to get a room that is not across any kind of public or crew only place.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The food was good especially the deli bar. The best sandwiches you will ever eat in your life. If you love corned beef sandwiches you need to try their corn beef sandwich on rye. I love it so much, I ate one every night even after eating dinner and dessert. Try it with the sauerkraut and you will be eating one every night as well!
Entertainment
3 out of 5
There were lots and lots of entertainment and activies for young and old a like. Though we did not attend or participate in many of them because we were tired by the end of the day's excursions, the ship had activies like nightly shows, trivia contests, drink making contest, hip hop dance lessons, animal towel folding lessons, and so many more. If you are looking to do activities on board the ship, you will find something that you will be interested in.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
The children's program was terrific. Our 11 year old son was so into the kid's camp that he even asked to stay longer, which provided mom and dad some private time. They even had a kid's only party which lasted until 3am in the morning. Our son had a great time that he even met and became friends with 2 other boys in the camp. They would roam around the ship like they were buddies, good they did not get into trouble.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Ship staff was polite but not as efficient as other staff on Carnival Valor. Our stateroom staff did not join the two twin beds as requested, we had to do this ourselves. We also did not see him disinfect our room during the whole cruise. But on Carnival Valor, our stateroom staff disinfected nearly everday and we saw our Valor stateroom staff with his bucket of yellow cleaning liquid nearly each time we ran into him.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The ship had a great layout where most of the public places were on mid-ship making it easy for us to access the pool, buffet, etc. The public places were clean and you would see staff constantly wiping off food spills or clearing the table right away.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
We had a balcony stateroom on the Verandah deck, deck #8. The room was just spacious for 2 adults and 1 child. But might be crowed for more than that. Our room was located across a public/crew only room where the crew came in and out all day which was very noisy at night. Get a room that is not across a public place, but get a balcony so you can see the docks/terminals as the ship arrived and departed. Without the balcony, we would have to go to the Lido deck to take panoramic photos of the port/dock.
The Snuba at Coral World was a good experience especially for us non-scuba drivers. It gave us a chance to experience scuba diving without having to be certified or carry the heavy equipment. This snuba dive was at this Coral World which is a marine park. They also had the Helmet dive at the same site. I recommend the snuba for divers who are mobile and helmet for less mobile divers.
The Cave Snorkling was not bad but the caves were smaller than I expected. It was not as deep nor a high as I expected. Only a few people can get into the cave at a time. But it was a good experience to be in a cave even it it was small.
Limited time to see this port as the ship arrived around 5pm as per the itenerary. The tours were mosly at night and because it was dark by then, we could not really see much in the tour.
We did the Historical Highlights Tour which gave us a glimpse of the overall island including the not-often-seen residential district. We also did the parasailing which was great because it was only in Nassau that we were able to get a 3 person parasail, one for me, my husband and our 11 year old son. Other port's parasailing only had maximum of 2 people per sail
The Eco Kayak and Snorkle Adventure is a must do event. We kayak in a mangrove forest lead by a very educational and dedicated environmentalist. After the hike, we took a short hike on Bird's Island were we saw a panoramic view of Antingua. Then we snorkled at this island right across the Bird's Island. Did not see much fish but saw a ray closeup.
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