Our Cruise Begins, days 1 & 2

Sunday, October 27

Day 1

Port Everglades

We met our Hotel shuttle bus at 11:30 a.m.

and left for Port Everglades

around Noon

Our ship was the Carnival Freedom

leaving from Terminal 19

We got the "first glance" of our ship

before reaching the terminal

Once at the terminal we left our suitcases with

the Porter.  All the luggage is sorted in these

bins which helps expedite delivery to the cabins.

After dropping off our luggage we were directed to

Security...very similar to Airport Security, so

we felt pretty comfortable with that.

After security we checked in

 

where we received our Cabin Keys 

which were also our "Sail & Sign" cards

(kind of like a ship credit card & ID)

which were used for Everything.

We boarded the ship before the Cabins 

were ready

so..... 

we found our way to the Lido Deck (9) and

 enjoyed a delicious buffet luncheon

(our first of many!)

After lunch we wandered around the ship

just checking things out 

From one end to the other

At about 1:30 we found our way to our Cabin....

which was very nice, larger than we expected

and had a nice balcony

that we enjoyed throughout the week.

Before the ship could leave port they had to conduct a safety

briefing with all the passengers.

Our muster zone was "H"

After the meeting somehow we made our way 

back to our Cabin where we

found our luggage had been delivered.

We unpacked, relaxed a bit and

 met our Room Steward Gusti (Goose-tee)

We enjoyed the view from our balcony as

we waited for our ship to set sail

A draw bridge in the distance....

A fuel barge.....

Testing? the lifeboats on a Princess Ship.

At about 4:30 p.m. our ship began to move

from the dock....

through the harbor with a Coast Guard escort....

passed by the Jetty and.....

out into the open sea!

We walked down to the main deck (3)

and enjoyed the evening as the sun began to fade away

into our first sunset with the Florida skyline on the horizon

Our assigned dinner time was 8:15 p.m. in the Posh Restaurant

which is in the lower rear of the ship....

kind of bumpy back there!

We left for dinner a little bit early and went out on deck....

we were amazed at how much 

salt there was EVERYWHERE ....

on the railings, deck, lounge chairs and it even 

stuck to our glasses.

After our "salty" walk we went to dinner.

We ate at table 350 which actually had four place settings

but it was just us which we enjoyed.

Our waiter was Jayadi or "J" for short and his assistants

were Newman and I Muade (ee-maude-A).

After dinner we watched a little football on the outdoor,

poolside Jumbo-tron on the Lido Deck

before attending the Welcome Aboard show at 10:30.

The show was in the Victoriana on the Promenade deck

and was very entertaining with a 

sampling of the performers on board for the week.

After the show we went back to our cabin for a

good nights rest.

Monday, October 28

Day 2

Key West, Florida

Our first On Shore Excursion was

Key West, Florida

We arrived at Key West just before 8 a.m.

We watched from our balcony as we were welcomed

into port by a flock of Seagulls...some

coming right up to our balcony.

After breakfast we went ashore

We went off the ship to buy our tour package

and saved $12.50 each.

Our tour began at Mallory Square where many

of the souvenir & other shops are located.

The key West Aquarium had an interesting Sign

 and there was this 

Conch (pronounced konk) Fritters stand.

When we learned what Conch Fritters were we 

decided to pass by this one.

(like deep fried snails)

Our tour made a complete loop around the island, 

which is about 2 miles wide and 4 miles long,

on the Old Town Trolley

and lasted about 90 minutes.

A few of the sights included....

The Southernmost point of the U.S.A. monument

Highway 1 - mile 0

and the main street in Key West....

Duval Street.

After the tour we did a little souvenir shopping

a conch shell, pearl earrings and a

Hwy 1/Southern Point memento

After shopping we got back on the Trolley

and rode it to....

 the Key West Lighthouse

where we climbed......

 88 steps up the spiral staircase

to the top

It was a beautiful 360 degree view of the island and harbor

where our ship, on the right, was docked next

to a Disney ship, on the left.

After being destroyed at the original location

the lighthouse was rebuilt more inland 

as a way to protect it from the storms and 

being destroyed again.

By about 2:30 we were done touring & shopping

so we headed back to our ship

Each time we left or returned to the ship

they scanned our Sail & Sign card.

this is how they kept track of all the passengers.

Once on board we had lunch then went up to

deck 11 and watched the 3 or 4 stragglers

rush to get back on board.

Soon everyone was accounted for and we

were sailing once again.

Next we are headed for the Cayman Islands

Our ship cruises at about 20 knots or 25 mph.