Back in March this year we dropped our friends Keith and Barbara off at the Galveston Cruise Terminal so they could board the Carnival Freedom. Cindy and I weren't on this particular cruise, as we would be joining some of our fellow scuba club members the following month in Roatan, Honduras. Yes, that should sound familiar. I wrote a detailed account of that wonderful week in Roatan (try saying "wonderful week in Roatan" fast, three times) that you can find by clicking here. Go ahead and click that critter.
Before I go any further, I'd like to remind my faithful readers, and inform my new readers that any links you click will open in a new window. You won't lose your place here. The same holds true with photos you'll see. If you'd like to see a larger version of the photo, just click on it.
As Cindy and I were on our way back from the cruise terminal, she mentioned how hard it was to drop people off for a cruise and not join them. I mentioned that they still had two more cruises booked later in the year. Well, that settled it! When we picked them up the following Saturday, Cindy wanted to know when they'd be cruising next ("Details, I want details!") so we could potentially book one of the cruises with them. Cool, works for me!
Well, long story short, we decided to book an Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Freedom for October with them. The last time we did this route was 2010, so we were more than ready to return. When we did that cruise the previous time, we weren't diving yet so this would allow us to dive in the Bahamas for the first time.
Before I go any further, I'd like to remind my faithful readers, and inform my new readers that any links you click will open in a new window. You won't lose your place here. The same holds true with photos you'll see. If you'd like to see a larger version of the photo, just click on it.
As Cindy and I were on our way back from the cruise terminal, she mentioned how hard it was to drop people off for a cruise and not join them. I mentioned that they still had two more cruises booked later in the year. Well, that settled it! When we picked them up the following Saturday, Cindy wanted to know when they'd be cruising next ("Details, I want details!") so we could potentially book one of the cruises with them. Cool, works for me!
Well, long story short, we decided to book an Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Freedom for October with them. The last time we did this route was 2010, so we were more than ready to return. When we did that cruise the previous time, we weren't diving yet so this would allow us to dive in the Bahamas for the first time.
Carnival Freedom
We haven't been on the Freedom since 2015 when we did a western Caribbean itinerary: Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. As an additional bonus, I found out that our favorite piano bar entertainer, Ben Gentry, would be on our ship! And there was much rejoicing. While we've had the pleasure of some quality piano bar entertainers on other cruises, Ben is by far our favorite. You'll read more about him later.
Our specific itinerary had us leaving on a Saturday, and returning the following Saturday, as is typical for most cruises on the Freedom out of Galveston.
Our specific itinerary had us leaving on a Saturday, and returning the following Saturday, as is typical for most cruises on the Freedom out of Galveston.
Saturday: Embarkation in Galveston
Sunday: Fun day at sea
Monday: Key West
Tuesday: Freeport
Wednesday: Nassau
Thursday: Fun day at sea
Friday: Fun day at sea
Saturday: Disembarkation in Galveston
Once we booked the cruise, I started looking for dive operators for each port. Of the three, I really wanted to dive in Key West so we could dive the Vandenberg wreck. I've heard so many good things about the "Vandy" that it's been on my list for a few years now. And of course, the one port where we docked too late in the morning was.....you guessed it.....Key West. I'll elaborate more on that when I write that day's blog.
I found an active Facebook group for this cruise and joined the fun. I enjoy cruise groups, as it's a good way to meet new people and share ideas and tips on excursions, as well as find potential dive buddies. Cindy and I usually dive as a team, but we try to find others on a given cruise to join us. Keith and Barbara wouldn't be diving on this cruise, so I figured it would be just Cindy and me diving this trip.
Another tradition of sorts we like to follow is a pre-cruise dinner the night before we leave. We don't have to cook or try to save leftovers by eating out. Since we normally sail with at least one other couple, and oftentimes several others, it's a fun way to start our vacation. I invited anyone from the Facebook group to join us, and we ended up with more than a dozen at Southern BOI Cafe. I got to meet several of the members who I'd been interacting with online.
A quick look around our cabin to make sure everything was in order, and we off to Lido for some lunch. Not many had boarded yet, so lines at the various buffets and other venues were generally short. We decided on the Mongolian Wok for a light lunch, as dinner would be just a few hours away at 6 p.m. As we finished our lunch, Keith and Barbara found us and we sat with them as they ate their lunch. Keith told us they were able to board without much of a delay, as their line moved along at a brisk pace, too. By this time, their cabin was ready, so we parted ways and went back to our cabins to relax before the safety briefing.
Our luggage had been delivered, so we took the time to unpack and organize our cabin for the week. Both of us enjoyed a little downtime and soon enough we were on our way to deck 4 for the safety briefing. On this particular class of ship (Conquest-class), our muster stations are outside by the lifeboats. On the larger classes of ships, like the Dream-class, the muster stations are inside, such as in the dining rooms, main lounge, etc. The weather was perfect for an outside muster station with cool temps and a mild breeze.
Hey, cool! One of our muster station attendants just happens to be Ben! Yep, the same Ben I mentioned earlier. I greeted him with a "bro hug" and chatted with him briefly before we had to take our place in the muster area. Thankfully the Freedom crew was efficient and after the mandatory information was given we were released. Sailaway time was fast approaching so we all headed up to Lido for the festivities.
I knew from the weather forecast that the winds would start picking up in the afternoon, and sure enough, they did. The day was overcast, as expected, with an occasional light mist. That didn't bother us at all, and soon the sailaway party was in full swing. By this time tomorrow, we'd be in the Gulf of Mexico with warmer temperatures and blue skies.
As I nibbled on some Swiss cheese, I looked over the menu and made my selections for tonight. We've had this menu before, so I knew what was good and what was better.
I found an active Facebook group for this cruise and joined the fun. I enjoy cruise groups, as it's a good way to meet new people and share ideas and tips on excursions, as well as find potential dive buddies. Cindy and I usually dive as a team, but we try to find others on a given cruise to join us. Keith and Barbara wouldn't be diving on this cruise, so I figured it would be just Cindy and me diving this trip.
Another tradition of sorts we like to follow is a pre-cruise dinner the night before we leave. We don't have to cook or try to save leftovers by eating out. Since we normally sail with at least one other couple, and oftentimes several others, it's a fun way to start our vacation. I invited anyone from the Facebook group to join us, and we ended up with more than a dozen at Southern BOI Cafe. I got to meet several of the members who I'd been interacting with online.
Pre-cruise dinner
photo courtesy of Oscar Valadez
All of us had plenty of good food to eat and enjoyed getting to know each other. We spent at least two hours there and called it a day. Some of our group had already traveled all day and were ready for some rest before starting a weeklong cruise. Keith and Barbara stayed the night with us to avoid a long drive for them Saturday morning.
And so it begins...
I'm glad we didn't have to wake up early. We got up around 8:30 Saturday morning, and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of pastries and coffee. Knowing we'd be eating lunch on the ship once we boarded in a few hours, we didn't need anything more than that. All of our bags had already been packed and tagged, so we waited until 10 a.m. and started a relaxed drive to Galveston.
A few weeks before our cruise date, I booked a covered parking spot in an offsite parking lot. This lot sits several feet above the street, so if there happened to be a flood, the car would be high and dry. As I pulled into the lot, the attendant instructed me to "find any open space over there," pointing to a row of covered parking spaces. What's this? The first open spot I found just happened to be space 19! Oh, yes, this cruise is already starting out nicely. Stephen King fans will appreciate why I thought this was the perfect spot. Not a King fan? No worries, just click here and you'll get an idea about what I'm referring to. To add a nice, thick layer of frosting on this cake, the shuttle bus was just unloading people from the ship so we wouldn't have to wait. We unloaded our luggage and climbed aboard the bus for the short ride to the terminal.
Even after multiple cruises, both Cindy and I can't help but feel excited when we see the ship and know we will be boarding in short order. If we didn't get excited, what would be the point of cruising? We unloaded our luggage, triple checking that we had everything, and flagged down a porter. Other than our carry on bags, we left everything else for the porter to drop off with Carnival. Our bags would join us in our cabin in a few hours.
Cindy and I have a different status than Keith and Barbara, so we went into different lines. Another detail I like to keep track of is the time it takes "from curb to cabin." A glance at my watch showed 11:10 a.m. as we walked to the terminal entrance. Security at the cruise terminal is similar to that at the airport, with similar being the operative term. There are no restrictions on the amount of liquids (aftershave, toothpaste, shampoo, that type of thing) you can have in your bag. Several staff members checked our boarding passes and identification as we entered the terminal and approached the security line. Like the airport, we placed our carry on bags on the x-ray conveyor belt and walked through a metal detector. No beeps, so we retrieved our bags and proceeded to the next station. There was no line at all, so we barely broke stride through this whole process.
A few weeks before our cruise date, I booked a covered parking spot in an offsite parking lot. This lot sits several feet above the street, so if there happened to be a flood, the car would be high and dry. As I pulled into the lot, the attendant instructed me to "find any open space over there," pointing to a row of covered parking spaces. What's this? The first open spot I found just happened to be space 19! Oh, yes, this cruise is already starting out nicely. Stephen King fans will appreciate why I thought this was the perfect spot. Not a King fan? No worries, just click here and you'll get an idea about what I'm referring to. To add a nice, thick layer of frosting on this cake, the shuttle bus was just unloading people from the ship so we wouldn't have to wait. We unloaded our luggage and climbed aboard the bus for the short ride to the terminal.
Even after multiple cruises, both Cindy and I can't help but feel excited when we see the ship and know we will be boarding in short order. If we didn't get excited, what would be the point of cruising? We unloaded our luggage, triple checking that we had everything, and flagged down a porter. Other than our carry on bags, we left everything else for the porter to drop off with Carnival. Our bags would join us in our cabin in a few hours.
Cindy and I have a different status than Keith and Barbara, so we went into different lines. Another detail I like to keep track of is the time it takes "from curb to cabin." A glance at my watch showed 11:10 a.m. as we walked to the terminal entrance. Security at the cruise terminal is similar to that at the airport, with similar being the operative term. There are no restrictions on the amount of liquids (aftershave, toothpaste, shampoo, that type of thing) you can have in your bag. Several staff members checked our boarding passes and identification as we entered the terminal and approached the security line. Like the airport, we placed our carry on bags on the x-ray conveyor belt and walked through a metal detector. No beeps, so we retrieved our bags and proceeded to the next station. There was no line at all, so we barely broke stride through this whole process.
Boarding had just begun, so the line was moving steadily and we boarded the Freedom just over twenty minutes after dropping our bags off with the porter. Since we knew our cabins were immediately available, we made our way to our cabin to drop off our carry on bags. Our home for the next week would be a balcony cabin on the starboard aft side of the ship. We were just a few steps from the elevator bank ideally located for both the main dining room on deck 4 and the Lido, two decks above us.
Cabin 7397
A quick look around our cabin to make sure everything was in order, and we off to Lido for some lunch. Not many had boarded yet, so lines at the various buffets and other venues were generally short. We decided on the Mongolian Wok for a light lunch, as dinner would be just a few hours away at 6 p.m. As we finished our lunch, Keith and Barbara found us and we sat with them as they ate their lunch. Keith told us they were able to board without much of a delay, as their line moved along at a brisk pace, too. By this time, their cabin was ready, so we parted ways and went back to our cabins to relax before the safety briefing.
Our luggage had been delivered, so we took the time to unpack and organize our cabin for the week. Both of us enjoyed a little downtime and soon enough we were on our way to deck 4 for the safety briefing. On this particular class of ship (Conquest-class), our muster stations are outside by the lifeboats. On the larger classes of ships, like the Dream-class, the muster stations are inside, such as in the dining rooms, main lounge, etc. The weather was perfect for an outside muster station with cool temps and a mild breeze.
Hey, cool! One of our muster station attendants just happens to be Ben! Yep, the same Ben I mentioned earlier. I greeted him with a "bro hug" and chatted with him briefly before we had to take our place in the muster area. Thankfully the Freedom crew was efficient and after the mandatory information was given we were released. Sailaway time was fast approaching so we all headed up to Lido for the festivities.
I knew from the weather forecast that the winds would start picking up in the afternoon, and sure enough, they did. The day was overcast, as expected, with an occasional light mist. That didn't bother us at all, and soon the sailaway party was in full swing. By this time tomorrow, we'd be in the Gulf of Mexico with warmer temperatures and blue skies.
Adios Galveston, hello fun!
Vacation mode....activated!
Sailaway from any port is one of my most favorite parts of a cruise. I love to stand at the rail and watch as we thrust away from the pier and begin the journey to our next destination. We stayed on deck until 5:20 or so, then returned to our cabin to get ready for dinner. I'm glad we ate a light lunch so we could enjoy the scrumptious dinners Carnival prepares.
For this cruise, our dining assignment would be in the upper dining room deck 4, table 551. It was a four-top that we shared with Keith and Barbara. The view was less than desirable, but we could live with it. Other than dinner, we wouldn't be spending any time here, so we didn't try to change our table assignment.
Table 551
No matter what's on the menu, we always order a cheese plate as an additional appetizer to share with the table. Even though this is on the dessert menu, many request it as an appetizer. We asked our waiter Lousito to bring us this each night as a "standing request." We ordered just one cheese plate, but Lousito brought us two each night to split between the four of us. It made for a nice snack while waiting for our actual appetizers to arrive.
Cheese plate
As I nibbled on some Swiss cheese, I looked over the menu and made my selections for tonight. We've had this menu before, so I knew what was good and what was better.
Appetizer: Jalapeno poppers
corn and bean relish
While the poppers had good flavor, they had no heat, at least to me. In all fairness, though, being born and raised in Texas, I'm accustomed to some really spicy food. These poppers had a nice crunch to them, and just enough cheese inside to give it a pleasing, gooey texture.
Entree: "BBQ brisket"
Baked beans and sweet potato hash
Yes, this was brisket, but no, it wasn't barbecued, at least in the traditional sense. It did have a nice BBQ flavor, though, due to the sauce. The sweet potato hash had a nice texture and the seasoning made it the perfect balance to the brisket.
Dessert: Warm chocolate melting cake
This is Carnival's signature dessert and is available every night. Notice the two small ramekins of ice cream? This is "Mickey Mouse style," available upon request. The standard serving is just a single ramekin of ice cream. I encourage new cruisers to try this at least once, especially the chocolate fans.
After dinner, Keith and Barbara thought a soak in the hot tub would be an enjoyable way to spend the evening. Cindy and I would join them in the aft Lido hot tubs, at least for a while. On our way back to the cabin, I wondered what towel animal Mario, our cabin steward, had made for us for our turndown service.
Hello, Mr. Elephant
Ollie's "good side"
In just a few minutes we had changed into our swimwear and were climbing the stairs to Lido to soak in the hot tubs. On the Conquest-class ships such as the Freedom, the aft Lido pool area has a retractable glass cover that closes at night or in rainy weather. Keith and Barbara were already in the hot tub when we got there, so we joined them and the others. We spent about an hour or so and decided to rinse off in the cabin and check out the piano bar. Keith and Barbara opted to stay in the hot tub, so we bade them good night and returned to our cabin to shower and change into shorts and t-shirts.
For being the first night, Ben was already rocking the piano bar and we joined right in on the fun. And fun we had! And had.....and had. So much fun, in fact, that we ended up closing the piano bar. The next day would be a sea day, we didn't have to get up early, so why stop the fun until we had to?
If this first day was any indication of how the rest of the cruise would go, we would need a vacation just to rest up from this vacation. Cindy and I trudged back to the cabin and after spending about half an hour on the balcony, we called it a day. At 1:15 a.m.
If you enjoyed our first day on the Freedom, I've written accounts on two other cruises that you might find interesting. They are a series like this one will be. Links for the first blog of each cruise are below:
For those that have cruised before, what was embarkation day like for you? Did you find it generally stressful or fun? For those who have never cruised before, did reading this make you feel like you were there with us? I'd love to read your thoughts. Please leave your comments below.
Coming up next, our first sea day, which you can find by clicking here.
Until next time....
carpe cerevisi
Great job Pat....We have been trying to get friends to cruise for years but no takers. Maybe one day we can cruise with Cindy and you ...
ReplyDeleteHeck yeah! The more the merrier, right?
Deleteoh good! Another series on another amazing cruise. Some day I will do one, but probably on Disney the first time. Thank you for the blogs!
ReplyDeleteWow, thank you for such kind words! It's comments like yours that make writing so rewarding! I hope you do end up taking a cruise soon, regardless which cruise line you choose.
Delete