Having a Fabulous February in the Caribbean!

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 7

Helpful Votes: 235

Review summary

It was a rainy start to February 10th when we headed to Galveston for a weeklong date with the Carnival Freedom and prayed as we drove through Houston and Galveston passing several accidents and water stranded motorists on I-45. When we got to the terminal we decided to forgo dropping off the luggage at the ship (which is the best way in most ports) and park first. The port transportation folks got us in a good mood to start, there are always a lot of confused travelers to the start of any cruise and they were very humorous and professional as they tended to us. Embarkation was awesome, 2nd only to our experiences in Puerto Rico (of course we didn’t leave port until 10pm but that’s a whole ‘nother story!) We waited a minimal amount of time compared to other ports so if you get there early I don’t recommend the FTTF if you mainly want it for embarkation. Once we got onboard you couldn’t dampen the spirits with the fog and rain everyone was ready for vacation. We rambled around the open areas of the ship sampling cuisine and looking around getting to know our new home for the next week. When 1:30 came around, POOF! The doors were open, and our staterooms were ready. We booked an interior room on lido to save money and still be closer to the fun but to our surprise my wife was called by the “upgrade fairy” 2 days before the start of the cruise and offered a port balcony on Lido, even better and what a surprise! Eduardo our steward was awesome in making sure we had everything we needed including a fresh new towel animal every day! The first two days were at sea (never had that many sea days!) so we really got to know the ship. The ship is the most beautifully decorated “Conquest Class” ship I’ve been on other than the Piano Bar and the Atrium of the Carnival Liberty This is the first cruise I’ve been on that the gym was one of the most popular spots on the boat too, still plenty of space, modern equipment, sauna, steam room and a nice whirlpool to therapize 😊 after the burn. I tried to limit my eating to a low carb brunch and dinner everyday, but that plan went out the window the first night at 2am thanks to the 24 hour Pizza Pirate and Swirls ice cream! I did manage to stay away from the buffet lol! My favorite was the Seafood Shack, they want a little money but the grilled lobster and raw oysters were out of this world! The Steakhouse for Valentine’s day was awesome, and the Old Fashion BBQ was good too! I highly recommend the pork though; the brisket was a little too dry for this Texan! 😊 Our Cruise Director Malcolm “Woo Hoo” Burns was the best! He definitely kept us all entertained from the heat of the “Hairy Chest” contest to a real blowout Mega Deck Party to keeping us cool during a slow debarkation, he was awesome! Our favorite shows at night were the Beach Party show and 80’s night of course both of which led to Mega Deck Parties! All the venues were great but are favorite hangout at night was the Havana Bar, lots of good music, comfortable leather chairs, and a lot of chill! Our first stop was for Mardis Gras in Ocho Rios! It was our first time there and we made it worth it by doing the Dunn River Falls, Sky Explorer and Jamaican Bobsled tour. One of our favorite excursions ever and reasonably priced too! I thought by looking at other people’s pics it was going to be too busy with lots of people, there where lots of people but it was sooo fun and the staff of Dunn’s River and Mystic Mountain had us entertained and laughing the whole day, especially mama Annette. If you go down the bobsled, hammer down the whole way you won’t fall off! Malcolm was ready for us when we got back to the ship with lots of Mardis Gras beads being thrown in the Atrium a congo line and elected the King and Queen of Mardis Gras. For Valentine’s Day we were tendered at Grand Cayman, it was beautiful! We snorkeled the USS Kittiwake there 5 years ago and had such a blast we wanted to keep it in the water and do the Stingray City and Starfish Beach. We found out when we got there that the tours to stingray city were closed due to high surf. We found another tour once we got to port to take us to Rum Point which is close to Starfish Beach. Our boat Captain was (drum roll please) Captain Kirk and he was ready for an adventure because he wanted to go to Starfish City anyway! The water wasn’t too bad! It was crystal clear, we could stand on sandbars in the middle of the bay as not only Sting Rays but Parrot Fish, Blue Tag, Ballyhoo and all sort of other fish swam around us. Captain Kirk got the Sting Rays to give us massages and my first kiss on Valentines day was from a Sting Ray lol! It was so awesome because we were the only boat out there (because we weren’t supposed to be!) Of course, we were boarded by the “Klingons” marine police and they took our Captain hostage momentarily. They released him and he was all smiles as he came back onboard. One of our strangest snorkeling experiences but a really good time. We gave Captain Kirk a good tip in case he needed bail money and still had enough time left to enjoy a Cheeseburger in Paradise at Margaritaville and got a got a bottle of White Tip and Caybrew for my Caribbean bottle collection. Lunar New Years Eve took us to Cozumel! Years ago we had a great time at the all-inclusive La Casa en el Playa and after all the activities this week we needed to take a beach break at another all-inclusive Isla Pasión in Cozumel. There was food, drinks, dancing, limbo and kayaking but the beach was too nice not to just enjoy and lay out for a while! Very relaxing I am so ready to go back! We took the catamaran back to the port and enjoyed some silliness at Fat Tuesday before boarding last minute! Yikes! The last day at sea we did all the things we hadn’t done on the ship the previous two sea days. We started with a sea day brunch and mimosa (after the gym!) went down the water slide, hung out by all the pools, our balcony, got toasted on the Serenity Deck, piano bar, red frog bar and all. We packed that night and were ready (not ready) to debark the next day. It was sad to say goodbye to Eduardo and the crew. We love ‘em all and wish them the best. We’ve been back in Texas a week and as I sit a stare at the sky I can still see and hear that young lady playing the steel drum, I guess I always have and always will. That’s what brings me back. See Ya’ll there!! 😊

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

George Town, Grand Cayman

Cozumel, Mexico

Disembarkation

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