KoKoMo WRAP UP – Finally…

Ahhhhh... there you are, well now, time to settle in for Uncle Chucky's Eagerly awaited {by whom is still the question}if not often maligned, Comprehensive Review of their latest Adventure along with the
All important Dragon Lady Comments  -or maybe not..

Got that Tall Drink or short smoke?
Good -Now Sit Back, feet up and we'll begin...

First the Cabin.  

Cabin 8450 is standard well thought out Carnival Comfort {we think better than what we experienced on Royal Caribbean or Holland American} with the usual dressing/desk, Big Mirror, Loads of drawer/cabinet/closet space, a minimalist Bathroom with plenty shelf/counter space for all our STUFF as well.  And of course, being an aft facing cabin, the balcony was extended and as noted previously - cabins 8450 {port} and 8457 {starboard} are the only Double Wide extended balcony’s on the Conquest Class ships.  A Serious Plus as it had room for 2 chairs, 2 lounges and a table, a snoozing Dragon Chic... {OK...ok... On with it...}.
Big enough to host a party, which we never found time to do but should have.

The Ship

The Carnival Freedom recently underwent renovations that Carnival calls Fun Ship 2.0.  We had sailed on the Freedom several years earlier in the Mediterranean and loved it.  The new additions such as Guy Fieri’s Burger Bar and the Blue Iguana Cantina - both on the Lido adjacent to the main pool were nice. We enjoyed the Burger Bar but for some reason every time we were ready to try the Taco place, it was closed for dinner prep.  Also the addition of the Red Frog Pub was fun, especially the Latin Night.
The ship also got a brand new big screen on the lido deck - Very nice for watching movies - a big improvement from the last one.  We are told by frequent cruisers that the ship feels like the bigger and newer ships Magic, Breeze and Dream with all it's new amenities.

For the most part, the new additions seem to be well received, however as noted previously, the Pizza Bar got Heavy Action – especially when the Lido was converting for dinner, which unfortunately was just about the time we were in the mood, the product is good, just grossly under staffed.

A minor and perhaps silly complaint by many we encountered - no chips on board - of ANY Kind!! The Blue Iguana which serves up Mexican fare - tacos & burritos and has a wonderful salsa bar... except there are no chips to found anywhere on the ship!!  We found that to be odd.  When asked, an employee said that they no longer served them.  Carnival, you need to re-think that decision. 

Also the conversion of what we remember to have been a Jazz Club, one flight down from the Comedy Club – Now the Havana Club Cigar room was a total waste of space - mostly empty each time we peeked in.  Make that TOTALLY EMPTY save 1 or 2 staff and ZERO entertainment way off the beaten path, it could use another 2.0 rethink..

Other branded experiences onboard are: Once a plain Sports Bar, now EA Sports Bar, action is on every wall with sports games, video games of sports games, and sports memorabilia that comes to life.  

"Hasbro, the Game Show" in the Victoriana show Room takes the board games everyone knows and loves and plays them out on the stage with members of the audience.

The Punchliner Comedy Club continues to bring great comedy acts with Seriously Good Adult stuff after 11PM.

Carnival - still Very much Family Cruising oriented, the Freedom is the first ship with Camp Ocean, replacing Camp Carnival as the on-board children's program, and the first ship with Bookville, that anchors the Seuss at Sea experience onboard. It's also the first ship with four full PlayList Productions shows at just 30 minutes each, which rotate throughout the cruise.  While Camp Ocean has upgraded the kids' space, an arts and crafts room is included to encourage participation from parents in their children's daily activities.  Seuss at Sea welcomes kids of all ages (meaning adults, as well) to march and let loose in a parade, become reacquainted with "The Cat in the Hat" and test their taste buds with culinary creations ripped from the pages of Dr. Seuss' books.  Getting everyone involved in the action is part of the plan and also part of the charm.

My one serious complaint is not necessarily just about the Freedom, but the direction entertainment in general is going with Carnival. The production shows of singing and dancing with orchestras have vanished. Instead they are singing and dancing in front of digital screens to recorded music mixed in with some magicians, ventriloquists, hypnotist, jugglers, etc.  It seems very low end in my opinion – at least on Royal Caribbean they still have live music for the shows and the Casts there seem more professional.   We caught part of the first show that had so many glitches with the mechanical walls etc that we and many others walked out after 20 minutes and never returned.

The Spa, Gym and Salon haven’t changed much -are still pretty well maintained, Managed by Steiner Leisure Ltd who do a good job

Since we booked “Your Time Dining” we were assigned to the Chic Dining room, Mid ships which while a hefty trek from our Aft Cabin, the service was excellent, while the menu was fairly unremarkable.  {The Posh “Main” Dining room was directly below us but didn’t accommodate YTD}  Don’t misunderstand, most of the meal items were very nicely done but as noted previously the Quality was sorely lacking from our previous cruise on this ship.

Stand-Outs for us, MD-NK-M&M and several other Roll Callers, was the Alchemy Bar with its highly talented Mixologists and the Piano Bar with Seth Gibson. The staff in both were excellent, personable and just plain fun… which is what Carnival is all about.

Then there's the Ports or Call

Grand Turk.

Most of what we said in the episode on Grand Turk was just about it. And speaking as someone who lives 10 minutes from a beach, with all due respect to the Beach Starved folks from the north and inland, aside from Jack's Shack, Crabbin' dogs, Sandy Vaginas and the super friendly folks that run Jacks, the island is a wasted stop.  Much better beaches in Curacao and Aruba, the latter of which deserves a longer stop.  We know Carnival wont ditch the stop, since they own the Terminal, duty free stores and the Hotel and beachfront.

La Romana

Another stop that could have used a longer stay, Many more sites to see including Altos de Chavon etc. 
The Super Folks at Seavis Tours have it together and know how to show you a good time, Butt Pounding Boat ride not withstanding. They're organized, concise and mega friendly.  Well worth the cost, Saona Island is a tourist gem, not to mention Ingrid of the super annoyingly Great Tan and her jovial crew.  
Really should have tried to get to DOM HAM... next time Carlito, I promise.

Curacao

Another stop where we pretty much said it all already, but a lovely place we would definitely visit again, with more time to really see Willemstad and the rest of the Island up close and personal.

Irie Tours, another good bunch and Sylvian cant be topped as a Guide and Driver... Grinning Glare and All.

Aruba

What can I say... She Swung from the yard arm of a Pirate ship for her BERSDAY... It don't get much better than that.

And yes... we needed much more time there to explore the island and all the sites, which we were told by those that did are not to be missed.

Hooray for Jolly Pirates, they too  know how to show you a good time and worth the cost, Waiver and all.

Well, that's about it kiddies - Dragon Chic says I got it all covered, but declares it was a Fabulous Bersday Week and is ready to do it again, if it wasnt for the GrandBaby Withdrawals...

Who knows where the winds will take the Wacky American Tourist and the Ever-Lovely Dragon Lady next, but rest assured, you'll get to travel along in the next NOWAT.

We leave you with our last music selection - 
As the lilting sounds of Bob Marley echoe our fondest sentiments - 

Dont Worry, 'bout a Ting...

'Cause Every Little Ting Gonna be All Right...

And...Last -but not least - our traditional NOWAT Benediction to you:

Our Treasured Family, Friends and Innocent Bystanders:

Work like you don’t need the money.
Love like you’ve never been hurt.
Dance like nobody’s watching.
And during life's darkest moments remember 
The 4 most important words in any language:
"This Too Shall Pass!"

Ciao 4 Now,

Uncle Chuck & The can’t wait for the Next Adventure

Dragon Lady