Saturday, June 18 – Debarkation
I woke up before the ship entered the port. This is not good, as I could have used an extra couple hours of sleep. I’ve got a long day ahead of me, and as I sit here at the Fort Lauderdale airport I’m expecting the day to get even longer (a flight to Atlanta, not mine, has been delayed – not a good sign). The lines to eat on the ship were not too bad, however, I was in no mood for any lines and there were no bananas in sight. I ended up making myself a salami sandwich for breakfast. The Oasis of the Seas beat us into port this morning.
More from the Turtle Farm ...
At any rate my friends and I have all booked the Everglades excursion which takes us to the Everglades for an airboat ride, then takes us to the FLL airport by 1:00pm. Via text message I found out my friends met up with our waiter in the airport (they are in a different terminal than I am). He is taking a redeye to Los Angeles and will join the Carnival Splendor tomorrow. Turns out I'll be on a red eye also, but I don't know that yet.
The Everglades tour was the same as the one I was on four months ago (off the Carnival Miracle). Unfortunately Florida is in a drought and the water level is very low. As a result we could not go to some of the prime spots. Also my friend’s son wanted to sit near the edge of the boat which cut down on my photo opportunities. Nonetheless I ended up with more alligator pictures than last time because there were several alligators near the shore where we board the airboats, giving me a lot of photo opportunities. The tour is great if you have a flight after 2:30pm.
From the Everglades tour ...
So, as I sit in Atlanta waiting for my flight home I am taking this opportunity to wrap up this review. Since I didn’t fully describe my cabin, now would be a good chance to do so. I had a standard balcony cabin on the starboard side, just forward of the forward bank of elevators. It is a good location, but next time I’m going to get a cabin closer to the front on the port side (the door to the observation deck is on the port side). I didn’t use my balcony as much as I usually do. However, I have found I miss the connection with the sea that the balcony affords if I book an ocean view cabin. I don’t like inside cabins because you have to go outside the cabin to get any idea of what is going on around the ship.
Being able to just step out of the cabin and into the pool or buffet was nice. If I took the elevator down I would hit all the prime public areas except the aft restaurant, which is where I had dinner every night. However, it felt a little weird walking past the pool with a tie on when I went to dinner on the elegant nights. I could have dropped down one level I suppose, but I didn’t want to ride the elevators twice. The Posh dinning room (the aft restaurant) is on decks three and four. However, you can’t get from the front of the ship to the rear of the ship on decks three or four (unless you want to do a self-guided tour of the galley on the way to dinner).
As for the cruise it was enjoyable. Jamaica is Jamaica and my problems aside, the street vendors were less of a problem compared to the last two times I have been to Jamaica. Next time, if I can’t find a tour I like I’m walking to the jerk chicken place near the dock. If someone wants to know where I am going, I’ll just say, “I’m going for a walk.†Key West is of course part of the United States (more or less – it is also known as the Conch Republic and bills itself as the nation that did secede). Nonetheless, it is very American (so not all that exotic).
Grand Cayman has a lot going for it. It has a high standard of living, and thus almost no street vendors, and those that are there are not aggressive at all (you have to go to them - they don't come to you). Stingray City remains my favorite and the Turtle Farm is now in the top three. Grand Cayman is also well known for its great snorkeling and scuba diving. About the only negative for Grand Cayman is that it is a tender port.
Inside the Sun King Restaurant ...
The Carnival Freedom is a nice ship with the main negative being the Chic Restaurant that is mid ship. Putting the entire restaurant in the rear as Carnival did on the Spirit class is a much better layout as far as I am concerned. The Carnival Freedom does have something new; two ATM style kiosks where you can manage your onboard account or change large bills into smaller bills. You can check your onboard account on the TV, but apparently these two stations (one on deck five outside the port side gift shop and one on deck three next to guest services) allow you to do much more than just check your account. I can’t tell you everything you can do at these stations since I didn’t use either one.
And so I am wrapping up my review. I hope it provides some insight for anyone planning a cruise. However, in the end, a cruise is what you make it. Go with a good attitude and you’ll have a good time. Go looking for problems and you will likely find them. Of course cruising with good friends always makes the trip more enjoyable.
The weather in Atlanta has gone bad. The entire airport has been shut down because of a thunderstorm. This is one of the main the reason I bring my laptop with me. I can sit here and finish this and not care too much about how long the weather delay is (it is Saturday after all and I don’t work tomorrow). It is now 7:14pm and our plane is scheduled to leave at 7:15pm, which is doubtful, since it has not landed in Atlanta yet. Okay, Delta has just updated things. My flight is now scheduled to leave at 8:30pm – oops, now 9:30pm – scratch that, now 10:00pm. I sure am glad I have this computer with me. At the moment I am proof reading my review. If need be I can fire up my favorite game.
It occurs to me that the last time I had a big delay like this was a similar fight through Atlanta on July 1, 2007. That was after my cruise on the Freedom of the Seas. Summer is not the best time to fly through Atlanta. However, Delta has the best flights from Los Angeles to Florida except for the non-stop flights American offers to Miami.
Its Sunday morning (happy Father's Day) and I finally have my luggage (so much for priority luggage service - though to be fair it was one of the first to arrive in FLL). I call for the shuttle which I'm told will arrive in "a couple of minutes". After fifteen minutes I hop on the Crowne Plaza shuttle (so I have to walk an extra 200 feet - at least I'll be able to get to my car). I arrive home shortly before 2:00am local time (5:00am body time). I've been up for close to 24 hours and I'm tired. Good night. See ya next cruise.
Here is a link to my album - I'll add more photos as time permits ...
Carnival Freedom pictures from cruises photos on webshots
