July 3, 2010 Carnival Freedom Itinerary: Cozumel, Costa Rica, and the Panama Canal Leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale: We arrived the morning of the cruise. The airport is virtually right next to the cruise terminals. It costs $8.00 a person to take a taxi directly to the terminal. After a short drive, you are there. Right now, there was the Oasis of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas at the port with the Freedom. Embarkation was simple. If you show up before 12:00 noon, do plan on standing in line some. It is not a big deal though. Once they open the doors, you head right to the terminal where you will get in a line to get your key cards etc. They have it down pretty good there. As a VIP, it was simple, but some of the port authorities seemed a little lost to me. The Carnival folks were great. The VIP's and wedding couples were allowed on the ship first. The whole process went smooth. Ft. Lauderdale is a great port.

The Ship : A conquest class which is the recent sister ship to the Carnival Liberty. I was on the Carnival Liberty just a few months prior. Even though the ships are similar, I really like Freedom better. YES!!! They brought back the spa and pool in the exercise area. This used to be on the Destiny class ships and the other conquest ships. I was told that it was taken out due to maintenance. Freedom brought it back. The spa is smaller, but I am just glad they brought back. Another excellent area is the Serenity area that they added to the front of the ship at and above Spa. The hot tubs are in a great area. It was wonderful to be up there.

If you have been on Glory, Conquest, Victory, Destiny, Liberty etc, the layout is pretty much the same, except for small differences. Everything still flows through the Casino on 5. I like this class of ship, but I am looking forward to getting on the Spirit classed ship, the Legend, in April 11. Read more