Limon, Costa Rica

After a wonderful sea day on Tuesday we arrived in Costa Rica on Wednesday, July 8th. The ship wasn’t due to arrive until 10 am so we were able to sleep in a bit, have breakfast and then head up to our “private deck 7” to watch the ship dock.

The day was a bit hazy and gray and made the mountains along the coast blend in with the sky and sea…all various shades of blue. The ship maneuvered around a small island before finally docking.

No souvenier shops or Carlos & Charlies at this dock…just a big parking lot and lots of shipping containers. As we got closer and closer, the dock started to fill up with all sorts and sizes of tour busses.

Being in “steerage” on deck 1 is very handy on port days…no fighting for an elevator…just walk down one flight of stairs and get off the ship. Extra easy for us since our cabin was in the front of the ship where the gangplank was located.

I had booked a tour with Charlie Soto of OkeyDokey tours. Here is the email I received:

i hope you doing well, and many thanks for e mail me , Yes i really recommend you the A-2 tour ...6 hrs , only $99 each include Bananas plantation to see the process, country side, the wonderful tortuguero canal boat ride through the jungle to see animals; nonkeys, sloths, toucans, lizaeds, iiguanas, birds a lot, Jungle Breeze canopy & rain forest to do the zip line 10 plattforms, Bonita beach , View point for pictures, and city , full air conditioned van , the $99 each include admission fee for the tortuguero canal , zip line, refreshments, fresh fruits and thipycal lunch at the rain forest or the beach , no extra charge, wear: t shirt, short pants, hat, sneakers or tennis shoes, you can pay me cash at the end of the our, i would like to be at the pier holding a sign: okeydokey & your name on it 1 hrs after arrival time to give you an perfect introduction of my beautiful country , thanks a lot, would be an honor, Blessings from Costa Rica

Although the email said to meet the tour one hour after arrival, we decided to go ahead and get off the ship shortly after it had docked. There were several guides for OkeyDokey waiting on the dock holding signs…it only took a few seconds to find our name and Rey, who would be our guide for the day.

He showed us to the van and we waited while the rest of our group showed up…we waited about 20 minutes or so. I think we were to have a few more in our group, but after waiting a bit more we just left. As we left the port, we passed by a large city park that Rey seemed to be proud of. He explained that the trees were painted white to protect them from bugs.

Driving through Limon reminded me of Jamaica or Roatan from past cruises…very poor. The homes all had bars on the windows although many did not have glass or screens. Most houses had a small courtyard in the front…also enclosed by bars…where kids were playing and laundry had been hung to dry.

I wasn't able to get many good photos with the van moving...this home is actually one of the "nicer" ones we saw. Notice there is a satellite dish on the roof!

Our first stop was the Tortuguero Canal. After a quick visit to a very rustic bathroom, we boarded our covered boat.

As we sailed down the canal Rey would point out animals and the boat driver would pull over and stop so we could take pictures.

Most were so well camouflaged that taking a picture was pointless…I did try nonetheless. ;)

If you look closely there is a "Jesus Christ Lizard" on the rock...it got it's name because it runs on the water.

Here is a sloth sleeping in a tree. I had to use the zoom on my camera and it still just looks like a furry blob. Rey said they only come down out of the trees once a week to poo.

Along the shore we spotted quite a few very old and run down boats. According to Rey these had been confiscated from drug dealers. It rained a bit, but the boat was covered so it wasn’t a problem.

Back in our van, we were offered bottled water, Cokes, or Costa Rican beer. We drove out of town and started up into the mountains headed for Brisas de la Jungla…Jungle Breezes canopy tour.

Once we arrived at Jungle Breeze, we were outfitted with harnesses, helmets and heavy leather gloves. Two employees gave us a short orientation using a small section of cable strung by the equipment building.

Since we were already at the top of the mountain, we walked up just a few steps to the first platform. There are two cables between each platform and you are attached to both with webbing and a carabineer from your harness. This was the hardest part of ziplining...especially if you were short. I would have to stand on my tip-toes or jump so that the staff could get me attached to the top cable.

Once you reach the next platform, one line is disconnected and hooked to a cable around the tree before the second line is disconnected. At no time was there any chance of falling. After we were done I told Bob that I really should have been scared…but I was having too much fun (and if a 53 year old lady can do this…anyone can!) The youngest in our group was 11 years old. She was a bit nervous at the beginning…but was having a ball by the end.

The ziplines vary in length…if I remember correctly, the longest was about the same as a football field in length. They encouraged everyone to try…but if someone didn’t like it, there was a chance to bail out at the 5th platform...this was just before you did the longest zipline.

Here is a video I made of Bob on the long section of the zipline. He disappears from view...but you can hear that he keeps going and going.

The platforms were about 8 feet in diameter and built around trees…and most were VERY high.

Depending on the platform there might be as many as 4 or 5 of us waiting to be connected to the next section. We would sort of hug the tree and work our way around it. Sometimes it would be 5 or 10 minutes before it would be your turn…but the waiting gave us a chance to take in that amazing view and listen to the sounds of the jungle.

Other times you would get to a platform and immediately be connected to the next line and sent on your way. I can’t begin to tell you how exhilarating it was to fly through the air above all of the trees…I would do it again in a heartbeat!

There is an open air restaurant at the start of the zipline and this is where we had lunch.

We were given a plate of rice & beans, slaw, cooked green bananas (not plantains…I asked), and chicken. When we were all finished they brought out a platter of watermelon and fresh pineapple that was delicious.

I wondered around a bit taking pictures of some of the huge bamboo plants and other colorful plants growing nearby before we got back in the van and headed to our next stop...the banana plantation.

Some of the people in our group were worried it was getting late and wanted to skip the banana plantation but Rey insisted we go for a short time (and I’m glad he did).

On the way to the plantation...

Unfortunately we got there later in the day and the workers were all gone, but we did get to see how bananas grow and hear a bit about what happens to them from the time they are picked until they show up in the grocery store.

I don’t want to sound like an encyclopedia, but I’ll give you just a few facts. :) Each banana plant only produces one bunch of bananas and then is cut down.

The bananas are covered with a blue plastic bag that is treated with pesticides and protects the bunch. The bags have small colored tags that indicate when the bananas will be ready for picking. So for instance...on one day they harvest all bags that have a "red" tag. The banana plant "stems" are soft so to provide stability, each plant is tied with string to another plant...which is tied to another plant...and so on. It produces sort of a spider-web affect through the plantation.

Men called “mules” haul the bunches of bananas to where they are floated in a big tank of water and graded according to size. This truck was full of “reject” bananas going to be used to make baby food.

The tour was to include a stop at a look-out point where we could take pictures of the ship in the port. Again some on the tour were worried that it was getting late but didn’t want to miss stopping at a grocery store to buy coffee. Rey decided that perhaps we should “vote” to see which stop we should do and shopping won out…but just barely. I was OK with this decision since I wanted a chance to purchase some coffee.

Rey went into the grocery store with us (while some chose to stay in the van) and showed us different kinds of coffee. There was also a representative from one of the coffee companies who helped me pick out some espresso beans for my daughter-in-law. I took a picture of the cash register display after buying several bags of coffee and a bottle of vanilla…converted into US money…$12. When I realized how cheap it was I ran back and got a few more bags!

Just down the street from the grocery store was a drugstore...I hadn't noticed the big sign on the front until I got home and looked at my photos!

We were to be back on board the ship by 5:30 and Rey dropped us off at the pier at 5:00. There was a sort of a “flea market” set up that we wandered through…but didn’t buy anything. Several were selling the same kind of coffee we had just purchased…but it was slightly more expensive. Many stands had jewelry for sale. I was tempted, but decided to wait since I was planning to make some purchases in Panama.

This guy was standing guard by the gangplank...

Overall I was very pleased with our tour with OkeyDokey…however we did miss a couple of the stops that had been mentioned in the email. I heard some people from another tour talking about visiting the beach…and describing the huge waves that were crashing into the shore. I’m sorry we missed that (although we did catch a glimpse of the waves as we drove back to the ship.) We also did not get to go to the look-out point for pictures. The canal tour seemed overly long to me and perhaps that is why we ran out of time for the other stops.

Sailing away from Costa Rica…on our way to Panama...

Cozumel, Mexico

Our first port was Cozumel (8:00 to 5:00). On Sunday night (the 2nd day of the cruise) we were instructed to turn our watches back one hour before going to bed. That meant when we arrived in Cozumel we were on “port time”…the same as central daylight time in the U.S.

Rather than diving as he has on our previous 3 trips to Cozumel, Bob decided this should be a “relaxing, take-it-easy” sort of day. A couple of factors played into this decision. I’m not certified and although I have done discover dives with him a couple of times…diving is just not my thing. Also with the crazy baggage fees the airlines have imposed, bringing his scuba equipment has gotten quite costly. He could rent, but just prefers to have his own equipment.

Our last cruise in 2005 on the Victory was a family cruise…we brought 3 sons, a daughter-in-law, and my sister. While Bob and our oldest son were diving with Eagle Ray Divers, the rest of us took a cab to Dzul Ha Beach Club to snorkel. I had read that it had the best shore snorkeling on the island…and it wasn’t bad. We were there in August right between two major hurricanes…Emily and Wilma. Here is what Dzul Ha looked like at that time. You can see some damage from the first hurricane…after Wilma came through, nothing was left and the storm destroyed much of the reef close to shore.

Dzul Ha (Now The Money Bar) as it looked in 2005

In doing some research I found that the snorkeling at Dzul Ha has not recovered to where it was pre-hurricane, but it is still one of the better places to snorkel from shore. Since we didn’t want to be tied to a schedule, we chose to take our chances. We ate a leisurely breakfast and took our time getting off the ship. Also I was not feeling 100% that day…not sick…just a little “off”. I was glad we had not planned a tour.

Prior to Wilma, the pier at Cozumel was a series of enclosed, air conditioned shops that you walked through to get to shore.

Cozumel pier in 2005

The hurricane completely demolished the concrete pier and all of the shops and now it is just a dock…a very long dock.

Cozumel pier in 2009

Carnival has rebuilt the shopping area at the port (Puerta Maya) back to how it was on our last visit and you must walk completely through this area to get to the spot where you can get a taxi. Ordinarily I would have loved to take my time browsing through the shops but I wasn’t feeling great and the heat seemed unbearable.

Dzul Ha is not far from Puerta Maya and the fare was $8 each way. Only one other couple was at the beach when we arrived and we were able to get lounge chairs under the shade of a tree. There were tables & chairs with umbrellas, but most all of the lounge chairs were in full sun.

We had our own snorkel gear…I had also brought fins, but Bob did not. (I'm pretty sure you can rent snorkel equipment at the beach as well.) Cozumel is known for it’s strong currents and it was very noticeable. At one point we walked north along the beach with the idea that we would get in and float back…but when we did it seemed we were going against the current! We dove on our first trip to Cozumel and I remember them telling us that the current can change directions quickly…or perhaps the current is different closer to shore? Sand has been brought in for the area around the chairs, but the "beach" is actually very rocky. It is a bit tricky to get into the water...the rocks are jagged and slick...and it is easy to lose your balance when a wave comes in. Some people entered the water on the sloped area above...but it was VERY slick. Instead there was a small handrail on the opposite side of the seating area that we used.

The snorkeling was just “OK”…we have seen better. However throughout the morning, numerous boats showed up with snorkel tours so it must be one of the better sites on the island. I was glad that we just went on our own rather than going with one of these groups…we saved a lot of money and avoided snorkeling in a pack.

Bob did notice one of these snorkeling boats was from Eagle Ray Divers whom he has gone with a couple of times. He swam out to the boat and talked to them for a few minutes. (The little blob in the water is Bob!)

A couple of weeks before the cruise I had purchased a new Canon D-10 camera. This model had just been released and can be used underwater (down to 10 meters). I’m not the greatest photographer, but did have fun using it while we were snorkeling. It was a little scary putting a brand new digital camera in the water...but it worked great. Not being too familiar with the camera, I completely forgot that I can also take underwater videos. I’ll have to try that next time!

Numerous "reef balls" have been put in the water to attract fish back to the area. Bob also saw a starfish and a barracuda, but he refuses to use a camera.

In place of the damaged palapa that we saw on our last trip, a brand new restaurant/bar has been built…the Money Bar. What a difference!

The Money Bar at Dzul Ha. What a difference from when we were here in 2005!

We ordered a couple of diet Cokes during the morning and then later split a huge plate of nachos…even with two of us eating, we didn’t quite finish it! Our cruise was the first time that the Freedom has returned to Cozumel following the swine flu scare…and only the 3rd ship overall. I’m sure places like the Money Bar must be feeling the effects because the place was deserted. The staff at the Money Bar were very friendly…I had a lengthy conversation with one of the waiters.

A little after 1:30 we decided to head back to the ship. We had waited along the road for a taxi for a few minutes when a guy in a red car stopped. Using my bad Spanish to read the sign on the side of his car I figured out that he worked for the local transportation department. He called a taxi for us and it was there shortly. Another $8 fare and we were back at the port.

The plan was to drop off our stuff back in the cabin and then come ashore again to do some shopping. Again…the heat on that concrete dock was so intense that I decided to just stay on the ship. Bob did get off but wasn’t gone long…he isn’t much of a shopper anyway.

After getting cleaned up, we went outside on Deck 3 and watched as the rest of the cruisers returned. Everyone was to be back onboard by 4:30 for sail away at 5:00…but there were some stragglers still coming down the dock at 5:00. They were met with a combination of cheers and boos from the folks watching from their balconies.

At one point a dock employee took one of those bicycle taxis and went ashore. He came back with a guy and three pieces of luggage. We thought perhaps it was an entertainer who had flown in to meet the ship…if it was, we didn’t see him perform.

John Heald announced that night that a honeymoon couple had not made it back to the ship and were left. They had rented a jeep and were on the opposite side of the island. Their family was onboard but couldn’t get in contact with them…so had to sail away without them. Apparently they had gotten confused and thought they didn’t need to be back on the ship until 7:30 (rather than 4:30). John said that Carnival has representatives at each port to help make arrangements when someone does miss the ship. According to him they were to spend the night in Cozumel, fly to Mexico City, then San Jose, Costa Rica, spend the night there and then fly to meet up with the ship in Limon, Costa Rica two days later…all at their expense.

Next...Costa Rica.

Carnival Freedom Embarkation Day

I wish I could say I had slept great...but I didn't. The rooms at the Hyatt Place were nice and spacious, but there was a strong, musty smell and the AC roared the whole night. The AC unit is right under the window next to the bed and was so loud I struggled to sleep. On a positive note...it kept us from hearing any outside noise! 😉

Our day began with the free continental breakfast in the hotel lobby. It wasn't anything fancy...fruit, bagels, toast, cereal, juice, yogurt, etc. The best part? Free Starbucks coffee! Knowing I would be eating non-stop for the coming week, it was certainly adequate.

The hotel provided a free shuttle to the port...a plus for cruisers. Around 10:15 am we went down to the lobby and the shuttle driver was loading up luggage for a larger group to go to the port. There was just enough room left for 2 more people (that would be us!) It is a short drive to the port and we arrived a little after 10:30 am. The driver stressed that he was sure that we were arriving too early, but it worked out perfectly.

As we drove up the first person I spotted was Patty that I had corresponded with on our Cruise Critic roll call. We ended up in line right behind her family and immediately started inside the building and up to the second floor. There was a bit of a line winding back and forth through the ropes, but it didn’t take long to get to the desk where we were quickly checked in and given our Sign & Sail cards. We were assigned Zone 2 and told to have a seat until we were called. About 15 or 20 minutes later and we walking onto the ship. We were eating lunch on the Lido shortly after 11:30.

Our first meal was the Mongolian station at the buffet…no line. That was the only time all week we didn’t have to wait. Bob tried it several times and by the end of the week the wait time was close to 45 minutes. With so many other choices I wasn’t about to wait in line that long…but he thought it was worth it. You fill a bowl with raw veggies and then have your choice of 3 kinds of raw meat. I think the meat choices vary from day to day. There are 3 sauce choices as well…mild, medium and spicy hot. Bob had to try the hot one and admitted it really did have a kick. For him to say that makes me believe it must have been VERY hot. I chose the medium one (can’t remember the names) and it was just perfect for me.

Eventually we were allowed to go to our cabins (around 1:30). In our past 3 cruises we have had an inside cabin, a porthole cabin, and a balcony. Bob just wanted the cheapest option for this cruise although I stressed about going back to an inside after experiencing the balcony the last time. He actually loves sleeping in the dark inside rooms. By the time we booked I got one of the last 4A cabins…an inside near the front of the ship on deck 1. We have been in one of the very front cabins before so knew that we would feel the ship movement…and we did…and we loved it!

Our cabin (#1238) seemed much smaller than the inside that we had on the Paradise. The outside cabins across the hall were considerably larger and I was a bit sorry we hadn’t gotten one of those…but we spent very little time in our cabin and the complete darkness did make for some wonderful sleep!

The hallway of Deck 1...it goes on forever!

Muster drill was pretty painless…just something you have to do and then get on with the cruise. At least we were in the shade so it wasn’t beastly hot. They let us just carry our life jackets to the muster station and only had to actually wear them for a short time.

After the drill was over, Bob made a mad dash back to the cabin to stash the life jackets and then joined me at the front of the ship on Deck 6. We had discovered what some people like to call the “secret doors” on our last cruise on the Victory. And…just as it was on that cruise…we were all alone at the front of the ship for sail away! Throughout the cruise we would return to this spot and would joke that we were on a “ghost ship”! Thousands of people onboard yet it felt like we were all alone!

Our previous cruises had been booked through a large, online agency. This time I booked directly with Carnival. When I made the reservation, I asked her to note that we would like to be at a larger table in the dining room as we enjoy getting to know other people on the ship. My heart sank when we found our table in the dining room the first night and realized that it was a booth for 4 people.

Our dining assignment was in the Chic dining room…early seating.

(I think this photo is actually the Posh Dining Room at the back of the ship...but the Chic looked very similar.)

When our table mates arrived we discovered we had almost NOTHING in common and I was afraid that it would be a long week of awkward conversations at dinner.  But you know what…we had a great time! We didn’t end up being close friends for life or anything, but I did look forward to the time we spent with them each night. I did not however enjoy being in a booth. The booths have a “roof” over them and I felt like we were in a “cage”. (I think the roof was actually just the overhang of the upper level...you can just barely see the booths off to the side in the above photograph.) If I had a choice I would much prefer the longer tables by the windows or even a large round table in the center of the dining room.

Our waiters for the week were Dominic (from India) and Supakorn (from the Philippines.) Both were excellent! I asked for lemon slices for my water on the first night and each night after that “Supa” had the lemons on the table when we arrived. She would also remember that I liked coffee with dessert each night without me asking. Our table mate had trouble holding the small coffee cups so she made sure to have a large mug for him each night as well.

I was so excited to find out that John Heald was to be the CD on our cruise. I have read so many good things about him on Cruise Critic and I was not disappointed. Bob never checks the cruise boards, but also agreed he was great.

The first night was the “Welcome Aboard” show...interesting and funny...and even took John by surprise! Let's just say the inebriated gal who came up on stage became the brunt of many jokes during the week and probably came away with some not so good memories of her week. John does mention later on his blog that he spoke with the her and she was totally embarrassed by her behavior. They replayed the Welcome Aboard Show on the cabin TV over and over so she had many opportunities to witness her "performance".

The Carnival website shows the guest capacity at 2,974 for the Freedom. We had slightly over 3,600 guests for our week which means many of the cabins were occupied by more than just two guests! Out of the 3,600 guests, 2,278 were past cruisers with Carnival!

Carnival Freedom Cruise - The Beginning

This cruise was to have been shared with our old college friends from Illinois. We have traveled with them in the past and this year was to be their “choice” since they were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary.

The two husbands are both divers so the choice was made to sail to the southern Caribbean on the Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas (AOS). Having done Western Caribbean ports in the past this would be some new spots to visit and give the guys some great diving sites. The Carnival Victory was also considered, but rejected since we had already sailed on that ship and we didn’t think we would survive a cruise with NO sea days!

I was not excited about the cost of the cruise nor did I care that the ship had a rock climbing wall and a skating rink. Believe it or not we actually have a rock climbing wall in our backyard. (Bob is a rock climber.) And guess how many times I’ve used it…ZERO. Also after being a hockey mom for 20 years, a skating rink just doesn’t have much appeal to me! The AOS sails from San Juan and trying to find affordable, convenient flights from Minneapolis just wasn’t happening.

I started working on plans last fall, but in January my friend experienced some strange, rare health issues. Each time she thought she was improving she would experience another setback. They had pretty much decided that they couldn’t commit to a cruise when a huge storm hit southern Illinois (where they live) and their house was crushed with 3 large trees. This storm was called a derecho or “inland hurricane” for lack of a better description. Another rental house that they own was also crushed. The storm was the final blow that ended their plans since each house required major, costly repairs that wasn’t totally covered by insurance. A 4th large tree in their yard was damaged as well and had to be removed at a cost of nearly $4,000…and insurance wouldn’t cover a penny of that since it hadn’t fallen on the house. So…their “cruise savings” went to tree removal. (When the tree was cut down, our friend had them leave about an 8 foot stump and he did a wood carving of a giraffe which they named "Aruba"...after the cruise that never happened!)

(Here is the expen$ive giraffe that replaced the cruise.)

Since Bob and I were now on our own to make plans I started researching again. Carnival was offering a nice Minnesota resident discount on the Freedom 8 day western cruise and the thought of FOUR sea days sounded wonderful. Bob is a supervisor at a feed mill for his “regular” job and also works as an EMT for our local hospital’s ambulance squad. If two jobs weren’t enough…this past spring he started training to become a paramedic. This is an extremely demanding process and add on the other jobs and it becomes off-the-charts stressful. Taking a week off for the cruise was not easy…but something that he needed.

The paramedic class met from 6 to 10 pm on Tuesday and Thursday nights…so as soon as class was over on Thursday, July 2nd, we hit the road for Minneapolis…a little over 3 hours away. We crashed at our son & daughter-in-law’s apartment and then had them drop us off at the Minneapolis airport the next morning for a direct flight to Ft. Lauderdale.

I had made reservations for the Hyatt Place hotel and once we landed at FLL they provided a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel. Our room had a king bed and a separate seating area which made it feel much more spacious.

The weather had taken a turn for the worse when we arrived, but in between thunder storms, we walked from the hotel to the nearby shopping center and just browsed. An Outback Steakhouse shared the parking lot with the hotel and that is where we had dinner. Luckily we timed it right again and got there just in time before another big storm hit. The thunder was booming throughout our meal.

I had debated about taking the water taxi in the evening to see some of the elaborate mansions in the area (rates after 7 pm are $7/person for unlimited travel)...but we were tired from traveling and decided to make it an earlier evening.

Only one more sleep...and then we cruise!