Tori and I have never been on a cruise. After sitting through a timeshare sales pitch, Tori and I received a free Carnival Cruise with airfare to the Caribbean. We ended up booking the 5 day cruise aboard the Carnival Freedom to Nassau and Princess Cays in the Bahamas and Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Since our ship departed from Port Canaveral, we flew into Orlando the day before and stayed at the La Quinta Inn near the airport. Checking in at 3pm, we decided to take a 30 minute Lyft into Downtown Orlando to explore. Our first stop was Relax Grill on the shore of Lake Eola. From the patio, we had a nice view of the the iconic fountain that sprays water 75 feet into the air as we drank Yingling Beer and ate nachos. After dinner, we walked the mile long path around the lake at sunset before heading over to Church Street, the unofficial center of downtown. All the restaurants and bars were showing the Orlando Magic playoff game from the nearby Kia Center arena.
After breakfast at the hotel on Saturday morning, we walked over to the nearby liquor store for two bottles of wine and a case of Coke to take on our cruise before the GoPort Shuttle arrived at 11am. With all the stops at the other hotels on the way, it took an hour and a half to arrive at the Port Canaveral Cruise Terminal. It was perfect timing for our boarding group window that started at 12:30pm. I was worried there would be a long line, but we checked in, passed through security, and boarded the Carnival Freedom within 15 minutes. It took a few minutes to get our bearings in the Millenium Lobby, but we quickly figured out how to get up to the Lido Deck so we could set down our heavy bags and get some food before all the staterooms opened at 1:30pm. Tori had a veggie burrito from the BlueIguana Cantina while I ordered a Guy Fieri burger from Guy's Burger Joint. Outside the window, we could see all the other cruise ships preparing for their departure as well. After eating, we took the elevator down to the Riveria Deck 1 for our Interior Cabin all the way to the aft of ship. Our stateroom and bathroom were much nicer than we expected with tons of storage space and our steward had combined the two twins into a large King bed. After leaving our bags, we used the Carnival App to find and check into Muster Station H before heading back down to finish unpacking.
A little after 3pm, we could hear the ship starting to rumble and move so we went up on deck to watch our departure as all four cruise ships in Port Canaveral headed out in a staggered line. We ordered a Rum Punch from the bar as the Carnival Freedom cruised down the channel and out into the Atlantic Ocean. On the port side, we could see the rocket launch pads of the Cape Canaveral Space Port before we explored the rest of the ship, checking out all the public decks. Before the cruise we signed up for early dining so we went to our assigned table in the Posh Aft Dining Room at 6pm. For the first night, there were only 6 out of the 10 people for our table present. The other two couples were very nice and they had all been on several cruises before. They did mention that this ship was jerking about more than the other ships they had been on, but luckily the motion wasn't bothering us. I had taken two 24hr. Dramamine in the morning and it was very effective. After dinner, Tori and I watched the beautiful sunset from the top deck. In the distance, I could see another giant cruise ship under the orange-tinted sky before we went to the Victoriana Theater for the Welcome Aboard Show. The show was hosted by the Cruise Director and featured a troupe of singers and dancers. We still had energy after the show so we went to the Punchliner Comedy Club that started at 11pm before going to bed after midnight.
As we were having breakfast in the dining room on Sunday morning, we could see our ship pulling into Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. It was a busy port with five other cruise ships docked as we disembarked at 10am. After checking out the Victoria Statue in Parliament Square across the street, we walked about a mile up a gentle hill to visit the Queen’s Staircase. The 66 steps were hewn out of solid limestone rock by slaves between 1793 and 1794 to provided a direct route from Fort Fincastle to Nassau City. It was later named after Queen Victoria, who ended slavery in the British Empire. Sadly, the staircase was temporarily closed due to repairs of the water tower on the hill above it, but we were still allowed to see it from the top and bottom of the stairs. It was very beautiful with water cascading down beside the steps into a pool at the bottom of the long passageway between high stone walls, lined with tropical plants and trees. To get to the bottom, we walked past the battlements of Fort Fincastle, built by the British to protect the city from pirates with its howitzer and six cannons. I would not be surprised to learn that the limestone walls were built with the same rock carved out of the ground to create the staircase passage.
Our next stop was the Bahamas Rum Cake Factory. There was a line but it moved fast for free samples of the famous bundt cake marinated in Ole Nassau Rum that's distilled on New Providence Island. It was so tasty, we bought an Original Rum Cake and a second with pecans to take home. After stopping back at the ship for more water and a bathroom break, we walked another mile down to Junkanoo Beach. We hung out on the beach deck of the Salty Crab and ordered some Conch Fritters, a Caribbean delicacy made from chopped conch meat mixed into a seasoned, fried batter. We also had a couple cocktails (Rum Punch & Goombay Smash) before walking out onto the pier for a better view of the crystal clear water.
On the walk back to the ship, we passed the Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, built in 1841 on the location of the Bahamas' first church. We also stopped and walked through the Nassau Straw Market, checking out all the vendor stalls filled wood and straw handicrafts. Back aboard, we visited the buffet to make ourselves some tasty salads before changing into our swimsuits to relax at the Aft Pool until dinner time. From the deck, we had a good view of the Atlantis Resort. Maybe we will visit it the next time we return.
Our table was full in the Posh Dining Room this night and we were able to meet the other two couples. One was from Arizona, but the rest were all from the South. Our table was right next to the large aft window so we were able to watch our departure from Nassau as we ate our dinners and talked about our day on the island. The servers were all very friendly and occasionally would stop to dance and sing during the meal. We learned that Seconds from the menu are free and Third entrees only cost an additional $5 each. We never ate that much, but every night I would order a second appetizer to add the tasty Caesar Salad. The 12 Hour Braised Short Rib was my favorite dish I had during the entire cruise. For dessert, I ordered the delicious Melting Chocolate Cake that Tori tried the previous night. After our late night at the Comedy Club and our long sightseeing today, we went to bed early after watching The Royal Gemstones on my iPad. I slept soundly every night aboard, a combination of the Dramamine, the white noise of the thrumming engine and the rocking motion of the ship.
We woke up early on Monday and went up on deck to watch our sunrise arrival at Princess Cays, Carnival's private beach in the Bahamas. The resort sits on the southern tip of Eleuthera Island that is one hundred miles long and only two miles wide. To beat the crowd ashore, we ate a quick breakfast at the Lido Buffet and boarded one of the earliest tenders that shuttles passengers from the cruise ship anchored off-shore.
Exploring the small resort, we found a nice flat sandy spot to practice our AcroYoga while the morning weather was still cool. We wanted a nice shot with the Carnival Freedom in the background, but it was hard with my small tripod. I finally lined up a good shot with the camera perched on a nearby day bed. All warmed up and covered in sand, we went snorkeling out and around one of the rocky jetties. There was a ton of small fish among the rocks in the crystal clear water. (Tori was nibbled by a fish!) We brought full face masks that worked good except I couldn't get a complete seal with my beard so it slowly filled up with water every few minutes. After our refreshing swim, we laid out for awhile on beach chairs.
After laying out in the sun, we climbed the nearby observation tower and visited the large lagoon that lay behind the beach. To escape the crowds, we went for a half-mile walk up the rocky shoreline to the sandy point at the north end of the resort. We were the only ones there and it was a beautiful day! The smell of the Beach BBQ made us hungry when we returned but since the Carnival Freedom was departing at 3pm, we decided take a tender back to the ship at noon to avoid the long lines when everyone would try to head back at the same time.
Back aboard, we made buffet salads before hanging out on the Panorama Deck. We found two deck chairs under a shady umbrella with great views of the island, relaxing as we watched the tenders ply back and forth to the beach. As Carnival Freedom finished loading its passengers and pulled away from the island, Tori and I went down to the cabin to dress up for the Cruise Elegant Night in the Posh Dining Room. I didn't go full formal with a coat, but I did wear a dress shirt and slacks while Tori wore a cocktail dress. After dinner, we went up on deck and watched the sunset before going down to the Millennium Lobby to listen to music at the 70's Motown Party. We also had our picture taken with one of the many professional photographers stationed about the ship. (It turned out great and we purchased it later in the trip.) We then watched a few shows on our iPad before going to bed.
On Tuesday morning, we returned to the Posh Dining Room and were serenaded by the server with her coffee song during our breakfast. When we returned to our room, we had my favorite towel animal of the cruise, a lounging rabbit left by the steward. Going up to the deck, we found a large variety of towels animals displayed on the deck chairs along the aft pool. It's amazing how many different ones can be created. The water was so blue as we approached Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the last port of call on our cruise. Our Carnival Freedom traveled down the beautiful coastline and docked at 11am just inside the Carnival Celebration, the largest ship in their fleet. 1,130 feet long versus the 952 feet of the Freedom and their main deck stood four stories above us, crowned with a roller coaster. We went back down to get ready and gather our things, disembarking before noon along the long pier that connects to the Grand Turk Cruise Port.
We passed through the busy cruise port and walked down the beach to the southern tip of the island, Boaby Rock Point. There was a lot of seaweed on the beach, but we found a good spot on the white sand to lay down our yoga mat and film some AcroYoga. It took a lot of practice but the Clumsy Pickpocket in the video below is now one of our favorite Acro Washing Machines.
We had fun climbing on the dead tree laying on the sand at the point before we walked back, past the two cruise ships and up the beach to Jack’s Shack for some cocktails! Their Rum Punch was probably the strongest single drink I have ever experienced. It felt like a triple!
We thought about trying to take a couple more AcroYoga pictures with the docked cruise ships in the background but we were too hot and decided to go for a swim instead. After a refreshing dip in the sea, we walked into the Margaritaville Resort to hang out by the pool and drink some Pina Coladas. After a little bit, we returned to the sand and relaxed on beach chairs in the shade of the palm trees. It was a beautiful day with white puffy clouds. At 3:30pm, we returned to the ship and went on one of the water slides and ate some slices from Pizza Pirate and hung out on deck as our ship departed the island. After dinner in the dining room, we called it an early night and watched some shows on the iPad before going to sleep.
The last day of our cruise was a Sea Day as our ship traveled back through the Bahamas to Port Canaveral. We must have been very tired since we slept into 9:50am. With no windows, our interior cabin is pitch black with no outside light so even though we both woke up several times, we kept falling back asleep. That is the latest I have slept-in in over 10 years. Luckily, Wednesday was the Sea Day Brunch that goes until 1pm in the dining room so we didn't miss breakfast. The brunch menu was much bigger than the daily breakfast menu and I ordered the Steak and Eggs with fries and creamy peppercorn sauce. It was cooked perfectly! Tori had the delicious Skillet-cake with whipped ricotta, guava preserve, marshmallow, and maple butter. We also ordered the dessert cookies for a mid-day snack. We spent most of the day relaxing on the deck chairs of the Panorama Deck, our favorite spot, as we slowly cruised along the 100 mile long Eleuthera Island. We could see long lines of Sargassum seaweed floated by in the deep blue water of the Sargasso Sea. To cool off, we visited the Mid Pool and we each went on the second water slide.
After another tasty salad from the Lido Buffet, we swam at the Aft Pool and hung out in the Hot Tub for awhile before going down to pack our bags. After saying goodbye to our nightly dinner companions at our last dinner, we had our busiest night of the cruise. We first went to the comedy show in the Victoriana Theater to see the ship's second comic. He wasn't as good as the first, but maybe that was because it was his clean show version in the early evening. He mostly did a lot of crowd work to fill up his act. There was a bit of a kerfuffle outside the open doors of theater as we listened to two drunk ladies yelling at each. After purchasing our cruise portrait, we returned to the theater for the Love & Marriage Show hosted by the Cruise Director. It was a funny version of the Newlyweds Show, but with three couples picked from the audience at different life stages of their marriage. At the end of the night, we visited Scott's Piano Bar and requested a couple songs before going to bed. He had us get up and dance to my requested song, "Hello" by Lionel Richie.
We woke up early and we could see our ship pulling into Port Canaveral as we went to breakfast at 6:30am. That gave us plenty of time to shower and finish packing before we had to exit the cabin at 8:30am. Our Disembark window opened at 9am and we were able to walk right off the ship with no lines and head over to the GoPort Shuttle Stand for our trip to the Orlando Airport. Since we were so early for our 5pm flight, we would take hourly walks around the terminal to stretch our legs. On one of our many circuits, we stopped to check out The Traveler, the lifelike sculpture crafted by the artist Duane Hanson. I recognized his work from two other sculptures we saw of his in the Palm Springs Museum last year. Since we had no Wi-Fi on the cruise, I also had fun catching up on the results of the NFL Draft that occurred during our trip. We had dinner during our 2 hour layover in New Orleans and we passed a massive thunderhead illuminated by countless lightning bolts as we flew home! It was very cool to see out the window!
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