Carnival Freedom Reviews

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We left NJ for Ft. Lauderdale on Friday and stayed at the lovely Hilton Ft. Lauderdale Beach hotel. Had dinner at Lulu's nearby and it was very good. Spent Saturday morning between the beach across from the hotel and the hotel pool. Early afternoon we turned in our rental car outside the port and got a ride to the ship. VIP embarkation had only a few people in line so very quickly we were at the check-in counter. Carnival has a new computer system and you need only hand over your passport at check-in; no other documents needed anymore. We had an aft balcony cabin and also two balcony cabins all near each other on deck 7. I liked our large balcony and the cabin was good as well. Having sailed this class of ship several times already, we skipped our front to back on every deck walk-around. Muster was around 4 I think. Sailaway was after Oasis and Constellation, around 5:40pm. My toddler nephew was traveling with our family and he spent a little time at Camp Carnival for the younger kids. He seemed to enjoy it. Dining room food (we had aft Posh restaurant early dining) was very good; we always found something we liked though we skipped a few nights of dinner there. Lobster was very good. The waiter does make an effort to address you by name every time. Our dining room bar waiter learned I like extra limes with my mojito and made sure I got them each time, which I appreciated. The buffet had good food for the most part. Tried a burger from the grill too, yum. We had Indian food the last sea day and wished we had eaten there sooner. Pizza is just ok. A few in our group liked the chocolate melting cake, which has a good flavor but I prefer my cakes fully baked. Had breakfast at the buffet, dining room, and via room service and all were good. Doing laundry costs $3 for wash and $3 to dry; the dryer cycle is very long at 90 minutes. We went to the food demo in the Sun King Steakhouse and the samples ended up being sufficient for lunch. Also in the SK was a wine pairing/tasting which we attended and enjoyed as well. Others in my group frequented the coffee stand and liked the various coffee drinks they had (not free). Only a couple production shows; we went to the first night's variety show only. Saw 2 of the comedians; 4 different ones are on the ship at various times. Other music venues around the ship in the evening too. Trivia games, and of course bingo. Enjoyed the outdoor movies a bit too. I like the photo opps. Not only on formal night but other nights as well various backgrounds are set up and we have gotten some informal photos done that were great. Try a couple backgrounds though as sometimes the photos are not quite clear. Also there were guys taking photos at Grand Turk so we got a nice one with the ship in the background too. Carnival TV has a lot of stations. Though the directory shows CBS, it is actually CW on that channel. CBS not to be found. My favorite channel is the bridge cam! A movie was usually playing, I remember seeing Harry Potter and also Meryl Streep as The Iron Lady a couple times as I surfed through the channels. Ports of Call: Grand Turk. Planted ourselves on the beach near the ship in the shade. Water was wonderfully warm and clear, though the sand and beach is a bit rocky. We did wander down the beach a bit and buy beer and soda at the nearby stand on the beach. The couple margaritas we got at Margaritaville had the artificial sweetener aftertaste. Lots of people using the pool here too. Dominican Republic. We had a tour through Seavis (thank you Magda!). We met up outside the port and 2 vans took us to 2 boats. After all of us squished onto these boats I have to say I was wondering what I had agreed to. The seats are 2x2 across the boat width and very small seats with not a lot of legroom. We boated off to some cliffs and a nature preserve (viewed from the water) and the guide explained about the wildlife. Stopped by some mangroves and then headed to Saona to the beach. Snorkeled, swam, lunched. Note there are shops nearby but the packaged coffee prices we paid there were about the same as the shop at the port shop (I'd buy it there next time). We stopped at a sandbar to check out the many starfish and then headed back for our ride back to the port. Aruba. (2pm-11:30 time in port) We took a taxi to Palm Beach. Note when you arrive at the Radisson you walk down an alley to the beach. A man approached us about renting chairs to the right, telling us we cannot use the hotel's chairs. (We later learned you could use the hotel's chairs if no other guests needed them.) $25 to rent an umbrella for a few hours! Around 6pm or so most people had left the beach, and it was just lovely there as it got quieter and the sun started to set. Curacao. We rented an Avis car in advance. Got off the ship and found Avis booth at the dock area, but still had to wait about an hour to get the car as there was only one person in the office and each person in line to rent took at least 15 minutes to fill out the paperwork. So if you have 3 people ahead of you, you'll be there an hour. We had limited time in port and had just lost over an hour since there was already a line when we arrived. Once we got our vehicle we drove around a bit (trying to follow a detour to the main road) and eventually (and happily) ended up at Cas Abou beach which was a beautiful sight after a trek down a dirt road! We were greeted by a large iguana in the middle of the road. $7 entrance fee for our party of 6. We ate at the restaurant there too and had some cocktails. Chairs are $3 to rent and include a ticket for a one minute outdoor shower. A bit rocky on the beach and some rocks in the water, but the water was beautifully crystal clear. We also stopped at a supermarket and picked up some water, Coke, snacks. We like to check out local items. They had the coffee I had bought in the Dominican Republic for less than I paid there! A day nicely spent and I wished we had some more time there. A quick rain shower just as we got into the car to head back to the port. Then two glorious days at sea. Issues with Carnival: Balcony doors slamming. If my balcony door doesn't slam (I was so happy it didn't), why can't all be reset NOT TO SLAM!!! Or perhaps people could be more MINDFUL of this and not let their door slam!!! Bacon police. I will eat the 2 pieces I choose myself; I won't eat most of what the "police" put on my plate. How is this not more wasteful? Chair hogs. BUT this is the first cruise ever where I saw an attendant take things off a chair and heard them say that they knew the people had not been back for an hour. Maybe the start of a trend? Mongolian Grill takes way too long. Loved the cruise, our balcony, the waterslide, the itinerary, time with family and friends. Sadly got ready to leave the ship. Cleaning out the fridge I found a Turk's Head beer and not wanting the hassle of packing it, we popped it open and 3 of us shared it. Debarkation seemed a bit delayed; I think the first groups of self-assist headed out around 7:30, and the first numbers were called around 8:30. Didn't want the trip to end so I had a margarita at Chili's in the airport around 11am!

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My wife won this cruise as an incentive with a company she works for. We are experienced cruisers who have started taking our son along with us so he can gain a broader perspective on the world outside the US (not to mention have some fun!). We picked this cruise itinerary because it was a rare opportunity to visit the southern Caribbean while debarking from a US port. We have sailed with Celebrity, Carnival and Princess and like each line for different reasons. In this instance, we were not disappointed. Carnival typically delivers a very consistent, predictable cruise experience (staff, activities, food, etc.) and we appreciate that when our son is traveling with us. Now, let me get to what really matters: the review! Arrival: I flew in the night before and stayed with friends. Met my wife and son at the airport and took a taxi to pier. Nice and easy. Debarkation: VERY smooth, we were through the terminal and in our stateroom within 60 minutes. Carnival made checking in fun, the staff in the terminal were cracking jokes and having a great time. One gentleman had a portable speaker slung over his shoulder connected to an iPod playing island music. My son got a kick out of this. The Ship: Again, very predictable in terms of overall decor and layout which is a good thing. We didn't find it to be gaudy, offensive or annoying. The Freedom was in need of some sanding in paint in certain places (our balcony included), but hey: she's made of steel and you're gonna see some rust even though the crew tries their level best to stay ahead of it. Speaking of the crew, many of them would hear your name once and remember it the entire cruise. Very impressive! We loved the tiered layout of the pool deck better than that of any ship we've ever sailed upon. We never felt crowded and jammed into that area like on so many other ships where the pool deck is an afterthought. A larger pool below and a smaller pool above near the waterslide helped keep crowds to a minimum. Drink servers on deck were very polite and we found a great one (Benedictus, or "Benny"). He waited on us all week and was fabulous. On the other hand, Carnival needs to revisit the design of their Lido deck buffet and dining areas. This has been typical on all Carnival ships we've sailed upon. Long lines were routine, especially at the Deli and Mongolian Grill station where we spent 45 minutes once waiting for the food to be grilled. The best way to avoid this is to eat breakfast early and lunch either very early or very late, go to the Main Dining Room or hit the other buffts that are sort of out-of-the-way (like Tandoor or Fish & Chips, which were very good). Plus, we encountered a higher concentration of gluttonous guests on this cruise that insisted on getting 3-5 of everything on the buffet, making the lines even slower. Folks, seriously? I have never seen so much piggishness on any other cruise, very sad. We also dined at the Sun King steakhouse twice during our cruise and it was excellent. Spend the 30 bucks each and go; you'll be glad you did. Our Cabin: Cabin Number 7367, a typical balcony cabin on a large cruise ship. Upon unpacking we found a sock and a golf umbrella under the bed, and there was a significant amount of dust in the cabin. We aren't sticklers, but it seemed the cabin could've been cleaned a little better. Bathroom, though was very clean and smelled faintly of bleach. And that's good. NOW...what's bad about this particular cabin: it was right across from the cabin stewards' water closets and we heard noise at all times day and night. Our lights went our four times the first day because they were working on something right outside our door, but each time we notified Savoy (super room steward) and they were fixed promptly. Fortunately this wasn't too much of an issue, but I figured you'd want to know. When my son and I became sick, the cabin stewards did everything in their power to make things easier for my wife. They actually came in and cleaned up after my son one time (for which I will eternally be grateful to them) and kept us in good supply of towels, red bags, etc. Take the time and slip these guys an extra $20; they more than earn it for all the things they do for you! Shows: We only saw the comedians and the Beatles show, both of which were good. We found the comedians' "family-friendly" shows to be much better than the R-rated shows. My son loved the comedians, one of his favorite parts of the trip. Speaking of kids, because this is the end of the busy season for cruise lines we only had 160 children/teens on the Freedom during our sailing. Take note if you want a lower concentration of young'uns on the ship during your trip. I cannot give much information on Camp Carnival as my son didn't participate but each time we saw the younger groups on deck the staff members and kids seemed very engaged and happy. Overall: A great experience, wonderful ports, super staff and good food. It is rare to find an 8-day Southern Caribbean cruise that goes weekend-to-weekend, and this one will be hard to beat.

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First of all I generally travel by car which means I use hotel cruise packages. I stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Dania Beach which provides a free trip for 2 to the port via Ace Transportation. It was $8.00 for an extra person to the port, and $10.00 per person for the return trip. However, this aspect was handled so well I do recommend this package for Port Everglades. We were taken to and from the port very promptly. Services by hotel and transportation was A+ and recommended. Getting on the Freedom was much like other ports. We were getting on at terminal #21, and this was uneventful. The muster drill was well done, staff very friendly. Our room was clean, and our cabin steward met us promptly. He remembered all of our names and did an outstanding job. We had early seating and although our table was not in the best location our waiters were outstanding as was the food throughout the cruise. I did not eat on the lido deck very much, but everything seemed very good. On the last two sea days they attempted some special events like a taco buffett and a chocolate buffett. These events were very good, but they had problems handing the many customers. I should note we had excellent weather throughout this cruise which enhances the experience, naturally. Our first port was Grand Turk, and it had everything for my family. Ocean, pool, shopping,and it is now one of our favorite ports! La Romania was the next port where I went on an excursion with Seavis. Very well done, and recommended as well as I had a very good time and never felt lost, or worried about getting back to the ship on time. Unfortuantely, I was not well when we arrived at Aruba, so I did not venture out. I did take a tour via Carnival at Curacao on the Trolley. I enjoyed it, but our family was split up once on the trolley, despite being together on the taxis to get there. Regardless, a good experience. The ship itself was excellent. There are two adult areas with a total of 4 hot tubs and one small pool. I spent most of my time in the adult area at the rear of the ship. The shows were very good. The only change I would make is to make sure my cabin was a bit more closer to the rear elevator so I could access ship areas better. I had a great cruise and recommend the Carnival Freedom to other cruisers as well.

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My family consists of myself, 35, in very good physical health, my wife, 35, good physical health, and our daughter, 8. Weather; Saturday 4-28 (Arrival in Ft Lauderdale) - Windy and Chilly Sunday 4-29 (Embarkation) - Heavy rain and cold Monday 4-30 (Key West) - Warm and sunny until 12pm, then heavy rain on and off Tuesday 5-1 (Sea Day) - Perfect, 85 and sunny Wednesday 5-2 (Grand Cayman) - Perfect, 85 and sunny Thursday 5-3 (Ocho Rios) - Warm and sunny until 930am, then heavy rain on and off Friday 5-4 (Sea Day) - Perfect, 85 and sunny Ft. Lauderdale: Don't stay at the Extended Stay America on 17th Street. The shuttle service is a joke, we ended up taking a cab from the airport to the hotel because the shuttle "wasn't available". The next morning, we were scheduled to be on the 11am shuttle to the port, but it didn't arrive until 11:45am. Embarkation - We arrived around 12:15pm. Traffic was a mess, but the terminal was pretty simple. There were a lot of people there, but the lines were moving rather quickly. We were on the ship and eating lunch by 1pm. We finished lunch, headed to the room to check it out, then explored the ship some more. Our luggage arrived before the muster drill at 4pm. Nice relaxing evening after dinner. Carnival Freedom: Ship Layout - Odd. You have to constantly go up a deck or down a deck to get to certain parts of the ship. They could also do a better job with the signs. They used a fluctuating LED sign for the room names which was hard to read. They also need to mark the decks better near the stairs. We used them a lot and were constantly confused as to which floor we were on. The pools were also very oddly laid out. Let me explain. There are 4 pools. A kiddy pool near Camp Carnival, a pool near the bottom of the slide, the main pool, and an aft pool (adults only). The only pool that was covered during inclement weather is the adult pool. If your child wanted to swim during bad weather, you are out of luck..... State Room - Our Ocean View Room was very nice. Plenty of storage and a nice layout. No clock of any kind, no iron, and only 1 small laundry string to hang wet clothes were our only complaints. If you wanted to use the iron, you had to go down to the laundry room and use a community iron, which was in pretty bad shape. There was only 1 plug in the main room and 1 plug in the bathroom. Camp Carnival - We were a little disappointed with Camp Carnival. Let me explain..... I was told by the staff that there were only 600 kids on our cruise. They said that on average there are 900-1300 kids on that ship. Our best guess was that they made an adjustment to all of the ship's activity schedules accordingly. Not only was the Camp Carnival schedule funky, the whole activity schedule seemed skewed towards an adult's liking. We took our daughter to 2 planned activities at Camp Carnival during the first 2 days, neither of which were done. After that, we just took her there when she knew some of the other kids she played with where there. A lot of the activities were planned during our dinner schedule or just too late in the evening. It was really odd. Camp Carnival really just seemed like a mediocre day car that had a bunch of gaming systems set up and some coloring books for them to use. (6-8 age group). Food - Something else we were pretty disappointed in. We had dinner at "The Posh" every night thinking the food would be better than the Lido deck (buffet). Sure, you could order 3 starters, 5 entrees, and 43 desserts if you wanted to, but when they were all bland, what's the point? We are not food snobs at ALL, but I know the difference between a New York Strip and a Fillet. On the "elegant nights" the food was rumored to be better than the rest. We had the exact opposite thought. The lobster was pretty bad and the steaks were tough. The breakfast buffet wasn't bad, but the only way to get real tasting eggs was to wait in the long line to get an omelet. The rest tasted like powdered eggs. Lunch was OK, but it was way too busy. It took 45 minutes to get your food and sit down, once you finally found an empty table. After finding the deli that made the paninni type sandwiches, I was marginally satisfied. The 24 hour ice cream cones, pizza, and cheeseburgers was actually pretty cool. Drinks - The OJ, Lemonade, and Iced Tea were all VERY good. I was afraid they would be cheap and undrinkable, so I purchased an "Endless Bubbles"' card (free soda). $43 waste of money, I drank lemonade the whole week. Alcohol was EXPENSIVE. $7 for a beer, $10 for a martini, and $6 for a kids smoothie. Wow. Entertainment (Movies) - The sea side theater movies were a joke. Tina Turner Concert? Lord of the Rings (part 1)? Field Of Dreams? The first Superman? Seriously? What a waste of a good opportunity. Entertainment (Music) - For the 2 sea days they had a Jamaican band playing on the Lido deck (pool area). I can only handle so much of that genre of music. It would have been nice to mix it up a bit. In the evenings they had a Latin group playing in the casino, which was a lot of fun. The 70's club played all kinds of music depending on the schedule. Entertainment (Shows) - DO NOT MISS THE SHOWS. Jump, Jive, and Wail was great along with Ticket to Ride. The comedians were hit and miss. Entertainment (Activities) - They did do some fun stuff throughout the day. Bingo (pay to play), battle of the sexes, hairy chest contest, Mr. and Mrs. Freedom contest, dance lessons, digital picture scavenger hunt, etc. Good time if you could make it to the event, but we were usually either eating or had something going on. Staff - AMAZING. Tip well, these people do one hell of a job. We were blown away by the service we received. Everyone who we interacted with new our names after the first day and remembered everything about us. Ports of Call: Key West - We did a Jet Ski Tour with Fury Water Sports first thing in the morning, I absolutely recommend it. They do a fantastic job. After our tour, it started to rain on and off. We jumped in a cab and headed to the Southern most point for a cheesy picture. We then walked up Duval Street to catch some lunch at a quaint little French spot, which was fantastic. It started to rain pretty hard as we headed up Duval back towards the ship. We were suppose to go para-sailing with Fury Water Sports, but the rain ruined that so we just headed back onboard. Grand Cayman - Our favorite day of the cruise!! We booked Stingray Sailing to take us to Sting Ray City and snorkeling. When we got to Sting Ray City (a sand bar) we saw the other tours booked by the cruise line. 40-60 people herded like cattle. We only had 7 people on our tour!! My daughter and wife were little scared of the sting rays, so they stayed on the catamaran while I jumped in the water with the rays. After the rays, we went snorkeling at a near by coral reef. My daughter LOVED it. We had some much fun as a family. After the tour, they dropped us off at a recommended Caribbean restaurant for some authentic food. We then walked on 7 Mile Beach to the Royal Palms Hotel and swam a bit before hopping in a cab back to the ship. ($4 per person) Our next cruise will absolutely go back to Grand Cayman and will for sure include a tour with Stingray Sailing. Ocho Rios - We hired Courtney Taylor as our guide in Jamaica. He did a fantastic job. You can read my review in his thread here on Cruise Critic. We did the Dunn's River Falls and Calypso Rafting. DRF was beautiful and fun. The girls loved it! After the falls it started to rain, which pretty much ruined the rafting. The river was cold and murky. It was also in a bit of a scary part of town, so I was instantly not impressed. After the rafting, we were all cold and just wanted to go back to the ship. We were back on board by 11am. We will probably not make any plans to go back to Jamaica. Just not our thing. Over all it was a great vacation. It had it's good times and disappointing moments. Don't get me wrong, we LOVED the cruise and will absolutely go on another one. We may end up trying a different cruise line just to see the differences. Since we will always take our daughter with us, we would like to explore a ship that is more catered to kids.

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We went on the Carnival Freedom 4/15 as a family of three (father age 62 and two daughters age 26 and 23). We have each been on 2-4 cruises in the past all with Carnival. Embarkation: We drove to Port Everglades and parked there. They have covered parking lots that are gated and I did see security driving around in golf carts so I didn't worry about leaving our car there. It took us about 45 minutes to check in once we got inside the terminal. The longest part was waiting in line for our sign and sail cards, some of the employees were blaming it on a slow internet connection. We have cruised out of Port Canaveral before and the terminal seems to belong to Carnival their signs and banners are everywhere and the terminal its self is much more comfortable. In Port Everglades all the employees were working off of laptops and everything seemed a little more make shift but it ran smoothly and we had no complaints. On our last cruise we sailed out of Port Canaveral my one complaint is that once we went though all the lines and then once we got on the ship we had to wait forever in a line on the outside deck because it was taking a long time for them to scan everyone's sign and sail card in. On this cruise they scanned the sign and sail cards in the terminal and it went much faster. Going through security was very easy. I saw them ask people to take off their belts, hats and sunglasses but no one had to take off their shoes and I never saw them pat anyone down. The metal detectors seemed much less sensitive than the ones at the airport. Food: We really enjoyed all the food. We ate breakfast and lunch on lido deck several times. For breakfast they have omelet stations, scrambled eggs, potato's (prepared different ways on different days) fruit, cereal, bacon, sausage, toast and more. I liked the breakfast a lot and always really like their scrambled eggs. For lunch they have different themes on different days but most days we ate from the deli or the grille station which had nachos with homemade salsa, nacho cheese and sour cr??me. They also had good cheeseburgers and French fries that are a lot like McDonalds. On our last sea day after lunch they had a chocolate extravaganza on lido deck that had all different types of chocolate things including lots of different chocolate cakes and a chocolate fondue station. One night they had a late night buffet on lido that was Mexican themed, I did not care for that as much but a lot of the food they had included seafood which I don't eat. We ate in the dinning room every night. We had the my time dining, most nights we were able to walk in and sit right down but if we couldn't we were given a pager that will work anywhere on the ship. There were a few nights where we choose to wait to sit with a waitress we really liked and got to know. All the food in the dinning room was excellent. My favorite thing from the dining room was the bacon mac and cheese that they served on the last night but the prime rib, flat iron steak and chocolate melting cake was very good too. We also ate in the dinning room for lunch a few times on sea days to avoid some of the congestion on lido deck. The food seemed similar to what they were serving on lido deck but it did have some diffrences. Room service gives you options of different salads, snacks, sandwiches and deserts. We also sometimes ordered room service in the morning which gives you continental breakfast options. There was one morning that room service was running behind about 30 minutes but they called and let us know they would be late and asked if they should still deliver. Late at night when we ordered room service there were also sometimes that it was slow taking between 30 and 60 minutes for the food to arrive but they always let us know when we called to place the order how long it would take. They serve pizza 24 hours a day and we also liked that for a late night snack the pizza is surprisingly good. The coffee they serve on deck 5 is an extra charge but well worth it. I didn't care for the coffee they served on lido deck and through room service. Drinks: We purchases the unlimited bubbles program on the first day with entitles you to unlimited soda. It came out to about 41.00 with tax and everything. We also purchased alcoholic drinks which were expensive but strong. I would say that alcoholic drinks cost between $7 and $12 on average. Cabin: We were in cabin 8205 which is an inside cabin all the way forward. Our room steward was great she cleaned our room twice a day. We always bring extra hangers and unpack our suitcases and stick them under the bed to save space. The bathroom had more storage spaces than other Carnival ships I have been on. There were plenty of shelves to allow us to stack all of our stuff in there. The room did have a mini fridge stocked with soda and alcohol. We asked the room steward to remove all the drinks from the fridge so that we could use it. The cabin was set up with two twin beds one on the right wall and one on the left with two small bedside tables in the middle. The 3rd bed came down from the ceiling and you have to use a ladder to get up there like a bunk bed. There was also a table with a big mirror to sit at and eat or do make up and there was also a small free standing table that could be moved around the room. Ports: We stopped in Key West, Grand Cayman and Jamaica we preplanned an excursion in every port and bought all the excursions through Carnival. In Key West we purchased the on again off again trolley ride. While all the shore excursions are a little bit expensive in my opinion I thought this one was one of the best value for the money. It was $30 per person and the and with the trolley we felt like we got to see everything there was to see in Key West. As they drive along they do give you a tour and point out different points of interest and tell you a little bit of the history of the island. You can get off as much or as little as you like and you end up right back by the ship. Key West is a nice town that is mostly for drinking and shopping but they also have some very nice beaches. We thought Grand Cayman had the best shopping. We went on the tour by land and sea. The first part you go in a partial submarine boat and you see the reefs, lots of fish and two sunken ships. The captain of the boat actually gets in the water and feeds the fish for you to see. We had a lot more fun than expected. The second part of the tour they take you around to see some of the different sites, it was a nice way to see a lot of the island in a short amount of time. In Jamaica we did a shore excursion where you ride mini boats to Dunne River Falls. The mini boats fit two people plus a guide. The ride was fun and lasted about 30 minutes or so and as a nice way to see Jamaica and it was gorgeous there. We climbed the Dunne River Falls which is like a big waterfall. You do need water shoes to climb the falls. It is not an easy climb but we all were able to do it with out a problem and it was one of the highlights of the trip. If you have not been to the falls before in Jamaica you need to do this at least once. The one drawback in Jamaica was how pushy people are trying to sell you everything. Once you get to the top of the falls there is an area set up with lots of little makeshift stores all in one area and it was like a maze trying to get out and started to get a little frustrating with everyone trying to stop us to sell us something. Activities: There was always a lot to do on the ship and we tried to go to more of the activates onboard than we have in the past. We went to 2 of the shows at night. The shows were ok, the performers were good and the sets impressive but the quality of the show not quite as good as one that we may have paid for back home. We went to the past guest party which was like others we have been to in the past, their entertainment staff is there, they show a short movie they show, and they gave away a free dinner at the steakhouse. They also had drinks and oeuvres. We went to the towel animal folding demonstration and they actually give you towels and show you how to fold them. The serenity deck area (adults only area) was very nice and surprisingly quite compared to the main pool area on lido deck. As a smoker my only complaint was that there was no area on serenity deck where you were allowed to smoke. It seems silly that you should have to sit down by the noisy pool area with all the loud music and kids running around to smoke. Debarkation: Pulling back into Port is was a little rainy that morning and they let us off at a different port than the one we left in. Carnival provided free shuttles to the parking area which was quick and efficient. I was surprised the driver didn't even ask for tips. We ended up getting off the ship late (about 10:30 by the time we went through customs). There seemed to be a problem not sure if it was with the terminal or the weather but we spent our time sitting up on lido deck and it was fine. I kind of preferred having a little more time and not having to rush off in the morning. When we got back to our car we realized that we had left a light on in the car and the battery was dead. In less than five minutes we found a security person riding around who was able to give us a jump. All and all we had a great cruise, the staff was amazing, the food was great and the atmosphere was always fun. Now that we are back home we are already planning our next cruise.

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