Kuki's CruiseMates Daily Virtual Cruise Report- Nov.16to24

[Kuki]

While it's unlikely you're going to find entertainers of current popular celebrity status of the likes of Marc Anthony, or Jennifer Lopez, many cruise lines do have well known entertainers from the past... sort of on their way down, or young up and coming entertainers.

[Kuki]

Nov. 20 – Freedom
Great news for everyone visiting St. Thomas who thinks the pre-existing 1983 jewelry, electronics, and T-shirt shops, weren’t enough. There’s a new high end luxury shopping mall, located very near to the pier at Havensight.
St. Thomas is actually a terrific port of call for cruise ship passengers. It’s a destination that has something for nearly everyone; lots of variety of water sports for those so inclined, great beaches to visit, and shopping for those who are after just about anything money can buy (though these days the “bargains of historic proportion� are just that – historic – mostly because of the huge number of tourists being brought to the island by the ever growing cruise industry).
If you’re seeking a less developed Caribbean Island experience, a trip to St. John, by ferry or shore excursion will do the trick. Most cruise ship passengers seem to choose a mix; part of the day in some water related activity, and part of the day trying to bargain their way through every shop that time allows.
If you want to visit the new mall and your ship is docked at Havensight, simply turn left when you get off your ship, and keep following the security fence until you get to a new gate.
Having visited St. Thomas many, many times by ship, Mrs. Kuki and I opted to take one of the open air group taxis to the downtown area, to stroll around, and visit some of her favorite shops to make certain the shopkeepers could still keep food on their tables. Taxis to all the tourist destinations are waiting at the pier, and per person prices are pre-set. The trip downtown or back, for example, is $4 PP. The taxis are half or ¾ ton trucks adapted with a carriage, allowing each truck to carry 25 passengers. I’m guessing, from the numbers of these taxis, that converting these trucks to taxis is probably the second biggest industry on the island next to tourism.
After patting down every jeweler downtown, we returned to the ship by taxi for some lunch, and we’re going to walk over to the new mall, just in case there was some form of bling we hadn’t seen yet. However by that time a pretty consistent, driving rain developed, and we opted for a much more relaxing alternative, an afternoon nap.
For the curious, there were no new baubles for Mrs. Kuki. I tried to get a 3 carat ring for her, but no one would make that trade.
As we left our position at the dock we passed very close to the Carnal Truph. I suppose I should explain that; it was evening, and there were a few lights burnt out on the sign on the side of the ship.
At any rate, it was fun passing so close by the Triumph, as passengers on both ships waved and hollered at each other and the ship’s masters “waved� to each other as well, with traditional soundings of the ship’s horns.
Our whole dining room table had reservations for the Sun King Supper Club tonight. We felt bad leaving our new service team after just the one night, but the reservations had been made in advance. By the way, you can now make advance reservations for the ships that you’re going to be sailing, which have Supper Clubs, via a link on Carnival’s Cruise Director, John Heald’s Blog.
Each of the 6 of us ordered steak for their entrée, and everyone said their steaks were outstanding, and prepared exactly as they requested. The Supper Clubs have a $30 per person surcharge. Shorty I’ll be writing a feature article for CruiseMates about the Supper Club, and comparing it with the alternate surcharge restaurant on the Celebrity Constellation, which we’ll be sailing on next week. I’ll also be doing a daily Virtual Cruise Report from that ship as well, and you can cruise along on our Celebrity Message Board, if you’d like.
Our reservation in the Sun King was for 8:30 P.M., and the restaurant was quite busy. In our past experience these restaurants have not been all that busy. I’m guessing the cooking demonstration they held early in the week had something to do with more people taking advantage of this facility.
After dinner Mrs. Kuki and some friends went to this evening’s production show in the Victorian Lounge (theater). I headed to the casino for a bit of entertainment, and the place was hopping. I’d intended to visit the Piano Bar afterwards, but I did run out of gas, and headed to the cabin to file today’s story and get some sleep before we arrive in St. Maarten tomorrow.
It appears I do have my technical problems with my camera corrected, but now I’ve run into a problem trying to load them to the photo galleries from the ship. On Saturday, when we’re back in Miami, I will load them all.

[Cruise Cynic]

Funny. I did a search for performers on the Freedom named Anthony, and came up with a so-called Ant-Man, who claims to be still headlining onboard the Carnival Freedom until December. "Ant-Man"'s real name is Anthony Acosta. Try and find him, and tell him his internet buddies seem to be missing him a whole lot.

[beenie weenie]

Kuki, thanks for the back up dude! No one believed me when I said there were lots of burnt out light bulbs on the Triumph. Now I have a witness !

[katlady]

Thanks for the great information it's nice to know I can make advance reservations for Sun King's supper club. The steaks sounded tasty I drooling into my tea.

[msblackjack]

Kuki; honestly - what were these people thinking? oh then again, they weren't thinking! heck, I wouldn't stand on a chair and lean over my floor much less a dang balcony. will be very interested in seeing the picture

Congrats by the way and tell Mrs. Kuki congrats as well; sounds like her job was harder

[rollerdonna]

Enjoying your reports Kuki, and I'd like to wish you and Mrs. Kuki a very Happy Anniversay, and a very Happy Birthday to her as well!

donna

[lhp]

Kuki:

Does this area of the dining room have a table for four???

If so, would you please be so kind as to get us the table number so we can request it.

Our son has autism and the seclusion would be such a blessing when we sail on her next year.

I will just make sure we "dress warmly'!!

Thanks so much!!!

[Mike M]

Kuki:

Sometimes you need a little extra height, over the balcony. It helps assure the accuracy of the water balloon you have just dropped on the balcony, two decks lower.

I am enjoying the read and "sort of wishing" I was there but I'm between flights in Houston and tomorrow I'll be in Brasil.

I hope you continue to have a great cruise and tell "your girlfriend" that Betty and I wish her a (and you) a Happy Anniversary.

Take care,
Mike

[katlady]

Happy Anniversary glad to see your camera is working. I love these daily reports.

Ihp my brother is autistic and my parents took him on an alaskan cruise. One time he got locked out of the room, my parents were in a panic. They found him at the buffet. He is autistic not dumb.

Mike have a great time in Brasil. I can't wait to hear about Brasil I want details. See how demanding I'm.

[Kuki]

Nov. 22 – Freedom
It seems it now costs an extra $1.28 per person to cruise! That is on top of the recently announced fuel surcharges of $5 per person. The $1.28 seems to be an unannounced tax grab. It’s listed in our folio charges as a Miami Port Facility fee. I hadn’t noticed it, but one of the other cruisemates did, and the explanation given at guest relations was that the fee was set by the government, applying to all passengers, on all cruise lines. I have no idea if that’s the case, but it is the explanation being given onboard.
I want to wish a Very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone reading this virtual cruise report. Hope you’re spending it with family and friends, and eating as much as we are.
Sometime in the future you may well want to consider getting your entire family as well as friends to take a cruise for Thanksgiving. Holiday sailings are normally quite expensive. Christmas and New Year’s cruises, for example can easily run an extra $400-500 per person. Thanksgiving cruises, however, can often be found at bargain pricing, and I think they are one of the best times of year to cruise. Most everyone is in a very good mood, and enjoying one of the best American holidays. It’s a time to enjoy spending time with those you care for, without any other worries. So doing so on a cruise makes it even better, as the cruise lines do the cooking and cleaning.
The ship is already decorated for the upcoming holidays, so the atmosphere is also very festive.
Last night was the big deck party of the cruise, and there was definitely a participatory bunch on this cruise. Todd and his cruise staff had the ship pumped up with all sorts of antics in the ship’s bars and lounges before the deck party even began. There was no elaborate buffet or any particular theme, just some finger foods, the Caribbean band playing, and lots of high energy which everyone seemed to be enjoying.
We went to sleep last evening with some fairly substantial white caps bouncing off the hull. There have been several nights during the cruise where the ship has been bouncing around pretty good. It hasn’t been to the point of seeing any white bags left around the public areas, but we’ve most certainly experienced some “motion in the ocean�. Last night I thought perhaps it was because we were trying to make up for some lost time, but this morning we woke up to find we were still moving along at quite a clip. Most of the afternoon was spent at 20 knots, which seems a bit unusual for a sea day… where historically I remember the ships sort of crawling along, allowing passengers to enjoy a relatively calm day at sea.
I began struggling this morning with a raw throat; the general precursor I get before a cold. Hoping I’m wrong, but I’ve been dragging myself around much of the day, and even took a nap to try and beat this before it happens.
Tonight was the final formal night onboard, and the crowd was pretty well dressed. Interestingly, I’ve noticed, and discussed with others, that the kids on this cruise have been very appropriately dressed. I think it speaks volumes about all their parents. It’s good parenting, and not always easy, to convince young kids and teens that a cruise is a special occasion, that requires appropriate clothing.
One of Carnival’s best production shows, their Beatles tribute, was the main showroom entertainment tonight. We finished dinner quite quickly tonight, and went to the casino for awhile to entertain ourselves before the show. But I began to fade quite fast, so Mrs. Kuki and friends went to the show, and I just came back to the cabin to get some Zicam, and combat this developing cold. The Grand Buffet as well as an R rated midnight comedy show are still on tap for those who can last longer than me.
Tomorrow is the last sea day, as well as the last day of the cruise. Hopefully all will be well after a good night’s sleep, and I’ll be able to enjoy the day, and our CruiseMates cocktail party.

Plus.. I cruise again beginning Monday (you can read the Virtual Report for that on the Celebrity message board), so I certainly hope we stay healthy.

[beenie weenie]

Sorry I forgot to warn you about the new tax. Our October cruise was one of the first to get the honor of paying the piper. Carnival did make a formal to-do about it and sent out a flyer explaining the charge.

Hope you keep fighting the good fight against the cold that is trying to attack you. Congrats on your Anniversary and Happy Birthday to Mrs. Kuki. See you in couple of days. hang in there and stay healthy.

[Brian J]

Hey Kuki love the reports hope you and your wife had a great holiday onboard that nice ship!!

[Kuki]

Nov. 23 – Freedom
We slept quite well last night, and quite late into the morning. And I awoke feeling a bit better than yesterday, but a cold has evolved. Today was probably the hottest day of the cruise (weather wise), and the pool decks were certainly indicative. The towels on the empty deck loungers were everywhere. I sure hope their owners had lathered all those towels with sun-screen before abandoning them for hours in the hot sun. Carnival must have given up on any attempt to deal with this problem, because I don’t recall seeing any mention, either in the Carnival Capers or signs on deck, telling people not to save loungers. On the other hand, if one went up a deck to Deck 10, there were plenty of unoccupied loungers available in nicely protected areas.
You could easily tell the cruise is down to its last few hours. People were acting like it was “Black Friday� onboard as well as on land, the way they were invading the gift shops. And they were slapping the slot machines silly trying to get their dollars back.
Luggage tags were delivered with disembarkation instructions, and comment cards left to be filled out. By early afternoon Mrs. Kuki had us totally repacked, so we could spend the remainder of the day laying back and enjoying the ship- read- eat, drink, nap the day away.
I have to admit we’re truly spoiled, 7 day cruises are just not long enough. Particularly these days, when air travel is as much an ordeal as it is effective, and a couple of days to distress upon arrival feels necessary, the only answer is longer cruises, or as we’re doing, back to back cruises. No doubt the cruise lines understand this, and thus the growth in home port cruising, alternating itineraries, and longer cruises.
The décor of the Freedom is not likely going to inspire anyone to run home to attempt to duplicate it in their own homes. However, regardless of if you like the interior design, you should be impressed with the quality of the materials used throughout the ship. There’s nothing low end, or cheap, about the materials. It’s just the way there are combined for use on the ship may leave you scratching your head. Frankly though, after a day none of it really ever entered my mind. Nor it did it have any positive or negative impact on our cruise experience.
To my mind, the more important areas of the cruise experience are food, service, and entertainment. And with the exception of the experience of the first 2 days (that I talked about at length earlier) our service was very good. Talking to others in the group today, after a full week, some had less positive experiences, and some raved… so a bit of a mixed grade overall, at least from our 80 person sampling.
In my view, looking at service in its entirety through the ship, I’d give it about a 7 out 10; friendly, but perhaps not as professional or as polished as it might be.
In regard to food quality, I think Carnival competes quite favorably with any of the mass market lines. We’re going to be returning to the Freedom for the Jan. 19 /08 sailing, with another CruiseMates Group, on The John Heald Blogger’s Cruise, and we look forward to returning. We just have to be certain we don’t get that dreaded “Alaska Zone Washroom� seating assignment for dinner.
Our CruiseMates group cocktail party was this afternoon, and we had an excellent turnout… amazing what free drinks can do. . This was somewhat different from other group cruises we’ve done in that there were lots of families traveling together. Though everyone said they had a terrific week there was a bit less group interaction and activities going on than with our non holiday groups. But when we did meet there were plenty of laughs, so it was all good.
We had given out a trivia sheet for all the dinner tables to work on over a few nights, and at the cocktail party we gave out the answers and a prize for the winning table. Also gave a prize to CruisingDeb who’d brought flashing turkeys for everyone in the group, as well as half the dining room staff.
I did go to dinner tonight, and had a chance to say goodbye to the late seating part of the group. But with my cold, there was no hand shaking or hugs. I don’t want to be responsible for sending anyone home sick.
Carnival’s traditional “Legends Show� is tonight, where different passengers play some of the legends of music. Not feeling well, I had decided to simply return to the cabin, put our luggage in the hall, relax, and turn in early.
I’m going to try and write a bit of a concluding review to end this cruise tomorrow, back on land, with a hopefully less congested head.

[katlady]

I hope you feel better soon. Thanks for the great review. Glad to know the food good. I will flip over to the Celebrity thread when that Vitual Cruise starts I love the vitual cruises. I'm not sure I could do a Thanksgiving Cruise because I'm a crazy Black Friday shopper.

[rollerdonna]

Kuki, if there's anything worse than a miserable cold, it's suffering a miserable cold while on board a cruise!
Hope you feel better for next week's cruise!
Thanks for the ongoing review, much enjoyed reading it!

donna

[lhp]

Sorry to hear of your cold.

I use the steam room and sauna to help "heal" the vocal cords from singing to much karaoke....perhaps they may have some "healing" effect on your throat???

I also carry those Vapor tablets that you drop in a hot shower. Love them!!

Of course, I always look like a pharmacy when I travel!!

[Brian J]

Thanks Kuki for another great cruise!!

[Trip]

Kuki, your cold brings back memories of my cold on the Cruisemates Century Cruise:( I hope it's better real real soon. I will be flipping to the Centuryboard soon, to follow your next chapter.....Have a ball!!

[Kuki]

Final Wrap-Up – Freedom
When did Carnival start giving my luggage the run around? Now, in Terminal E, at the Port of Miami. Carnival has introduced the airport style luggage carousels. Gone is the warehouse style, color coded system, with luggage lying everywhere. It’s likely more people than not prefer the new conveyor system. Not me! I’m a traditionalist, and I much prefer climbing over people and luggage to get at my bags to make certain they won’t decay before I get to them. At any rate, even though I tried to delay it, we had our bags, and were at the InterContinental Hotel in Miami, attempting to check in by 9:30 A.M.
(Scene fades to indicate flashback). We were in no rush to get off the ship, as we had no plans other than to check in to the InterContinental Hotel in Miami. The notice we received the night prior said we could stay in your cabins until 8:30 A.M., even though the cabin stewards make you feel they’d like you out with your luggage the night before.
By 7 A.M. on disembarkation day, all the announcements you had to run into the hall all week to hear are now being replayed simultaneously at HIGH volume inside your cabin. But relax in your cabin if you like.
As Platinum Concierge Club members we had Priority 1 tags, but chose to relax on Lido Deck for a period after those tags were called. When we finally did decide it was time to say goodbye I was pleasantly surprised to see how organized everything was. There was no fighting with the crowds to get through the gangway area on Deck 3. We walked quickly into the terminal, through Customs and Immigration, and were done in record time.
I’d fully intended to end this Virtual Cruise with a mini-review summarizing our feelings, but sadly my head’s in a fog, and getting anything in order, and on paper succinctly does not look possible at this time.
Maybe some of our CruiseMates turkey friends returning home can help along here sharing the cruise through their eyes.

[myrtlemama]

Thank you, Kuki. I have enjoyed living vicariously through your reports. I hope you are feeling better real soon and I look forward to seing your pictures when you get them posted. (You are going to post some, aren't you?)

[Luanne Russo]

I really enjoyed it too. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. I also hope that you are feeling better soon.

Luanne

[fourxbusymom]

Kuki,

I enjoyed reliving the week through your eyes. I'm sorry about your dining issues, but our table and servers were awesome. Easily the best we've had. Noah (our 7yo) tried my creme brulee the first night, and requested it the second even though it wasn't on the menu. He didn't get it Sunday, but Felix made sure he had one for him every other night of the cruise! Nancy also took excellant care of us, so they got a very nice additional tip from us! The kids were very spoiled by them!!! Tonight they started to tell me what they wanted for starters - but I put a stop to that right away. I was cooking, so they were lucky they were eating at all!

The lido was wonderful. We really enjoyed the terraced deck, so everyone had a good view of everything that was going on - especially during the horse races! Also, the blue plastic rockers were quite comfortable. They rocked all on their own along with the movement of the ship! Not the prettiest, but they were fun.

Hope all the other Cruisemates had a safe trip home. We are very sad it's over, but feel so blessed to have met so many new friends. You all are so welcoming and entertaining! We can't wait to do another Cruisemates trip!

Terri

[fourxbusymom]

By the way, we would still like to see your pictures Kuki.

Oh, and Jon loved the socks - but they weren't his colors. So, he gave them back and got a nice t-shirt instead. The stocking (were they thigh-highs?) were a bit much for him, though!

Terri

[Kuki]

Hey Terri,
It was great getting to know your family, and look forward to the next time we get to cruise together!

I have been trying to post some pictures while I'm in Miami, but the galleries are acting very KUKI.... posting the same pic over and over for me, rather than the next one I select. Hope I can get it figured out. Eventually I'll post my pics, just not sure when.

I'm happy to report I'm just about done with my cold. Don't know which of the 89 cold remedies I tried should get the credit, but I feel MUCH better tonight.

Should be good to go tomorrow when we board the Celebrity Constellation. Those who would like to can follow along for that cruise using this link....
http://www.cruisemates.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=586244

[AlaskanGrown]

Kuki where can i read the John Heald blog? I cant seem to find it anywhere. can you send me a link please

[PartyAnimal]

Here you go......

http://johnhealdsblog.com/

[Cruznut2]

I was the Liberty in September. Todd was in his last week on that ship before Leaving to take over as CD on the Freedom. What a terrific CD he is, pleasant and personable.

Laura

[mehawk]

Originally Posted by beenie weenie

Kuki, thanks for the back up dude! No one believed me when I said there were lots of burnt out light bulbs on the Triumph. Now I have a witness !

I have the pictures of it on my Carnival Freedom 6 gallery.

[ScurvyDog]

As of about 6 A.M. Sat Dec 15th the Triumph still had not repaired the sign on the side of the ship. She passed the Freedom as we were on top deck and about half the lights were still out.