Sailed Liberty 2/14 - 2/21. This was the 3rd cruise for my girl and I but the first time we cruised with others- others being two teenage boys (14 and 16) and my Dad and his wife (their first Carnival Cruise) We had adjoining balcony rooms on the upper deck aft. We had the partition opened which was nice. As with any cruise, you have as much fun as you want to allow yourself to and my few minor issues were not nearly significant enough to put a dent in this incredible experience! First, the Liberty is a very clean and well kept ship. The decor is interesting with it's wrought-iron look and multi-colored lighting. The staff for the most part were extra friendly and ultra-helpful.
Food-Because we were a group, we met each night for the early seating instead of trying out the "anytime" dining option. In the past we normally only ate in the dining room once or twice but I must say that everything that we ate in there was excellent and it was nice being served by our competent and knowledgeable wait staff. Only saw the Maitre-d (sp) on the last evening of the cruise- Hmmmm- The songs (showtime) in the dining room were typical silly but they were having fun. The rest of the food in the buffets was also very good. Lines were never too long.
Shows- The comedy shows were very good, a funny comedian who was far funnier in the non-adult show than he was in the after-hours show ( a little too rank, even for me). They also had an excellent ventriliquist who had everyone cracking up. The broadway type shows were okay and the dancers were in sync. The only dud was some guy doing a Sammy Davis Jr/Frank Sinatra tribute- he was dreadful and I think a good 1/3 of the audience actually got up and left during the show.
Excursions- Only my Dads wife got off the ship in Grand Cayman. She went snorkeling but the seas did not cooperate so she was only in the water briefly. In Cozumel my girl and I took the boys on the powerboat/beach excursion. Despite the Freedom being in port at the same time, there were only 10 others on this excursion. The guides were professional and it was a blast driving the boats in the hot sun. After the boating part they took us back to a rather dirty (brownish water) beach and fed us some mediocre mexican food. There was a pool so we chose to swim in that and played some volleyball with the other participants before heading back. Good excursion for the kids and we enjoyed it as well.
We were in port until 10PM so my girl and I took a taxi over to Carlos and Charlies to experience what we had heard to be a wild and crazy time. Far from it! Perhaps it was just bad timing but we were the ONLY ones in there! We sat and had two drinks and picked up a t-shirt in the gift shop but left there disappointed. Asked the cabby why so slow and he claimed it was the economy.... sigh....
In Jamaica we took the boys on the river-tubing safari. Awesome! After a 45 minute ride up the mountain we got to float down the"mostly" gentle White River in a group of about 12. The guides tried hard to keep the group somewhat together but the river had other ideas two young girls would tend to get pretty far ahead and a bit scared at times. We had quite a few laughs floting down and got a great look at the vegetation and a real feel for outdoors jamaica without the duns-falls crowd. We were not approached or hassled by anyone trying to sell us ganji or anything else. Do this excursion for fun and laughs with no problem mon... I was subjected to a "random" search by the Jamaican Police before boarding the ship. Random and quite thorough I might add. I was actually borderline MOLESTED by the female Jamaicam officer. I guess she wanted to know for sure that I was not stashing any weed up under my testicles! She also shook out all the beach towels and completely emptied my bag. Thank goodness I do not smoke the wacky weed!
On and off the boat were no problem and the port of Miami is very user friendly.
The only issues I had on the ship were:
No beach towels in the room upon check in. Despite THREE calls to guest services, none arrived. We flagged down a random worker in the hallway who finally hooked us up. Also, no room-service order menus in room. Never delivered despite being requested. Guest services on board was less-than-OK. But- I was on vacation and I did not let it bother me for more than 22 seconds!
My other issue had to do with the buffets. On several occassions I saw staff filling food items ON TOP of already existing food. For example, they would pour freshly cut tomato slices on top of ones that were already on the line instead of behind. No proper food rotation. Same thing restocking yogurt containers, putting new in front of old instead of simply pushing the older ones forward. Perhaps this is a nitpic but being in Food Service I took exception to it.
Overall I would say this was a superb cruise experience and I cannot wait to get back on a ship, perhaps by the end of the year. As a huge bonus, we won a $1000 BINGO jackpot midway through the cruise which just about wiped out the cost of the spa, excursions and alcohol! I would like to personaly thank the one rude individual I encountered on the ship for jumping in front of me in the line to get the bingo tickets. That lady set me up just fine and I hope she realized it when my girl literally jumped outta that chair screaming BINGO!!!
I will gladly answer any questions about Liberty for anyone sailing her.
Thanks for a fresh review! We're going on the Liberty in May to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.
We too will have a balcony room. Glad you had fun and glad the ship is OK.
I'm just so worried about how crowded it will be. We've gone on a Fantasy class ship and it wasn't crowded at all (except the pool area and buffet at lunch time).
I just don't want to wait in lines forever and ever for stuff.
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-LeeshA
Carnival Liberty - May 2009
Carnival Inspiration - October 2008
Nice to know. PM me and let me know more. I am sailing an Eastern Caribbean itinerary on her later this year. I am especially interested to know if you know anything about Harry's.
Rockchick- you will not be disappointed but do expect crowds at times. If you can adjust just a 1/2 hour from peak times you should be good. Have never had an problem finding a quiet place on a ship. Lido deck pool area will be packed so if you want sun, get out there early!
I bet you will enjoy every aspect of the cruise- sun, music, gambling, the ports, people-watching, the entertainment- don't sweat the small stuff and leave your worries at the office- they will still be there after the cruise!
Thanks so much for the review. I will on the Liberty the end of May doing the Eastern route. Think it is great that your girl won at bingo especially considering that lady jumped in front of you.
Was wondering if you have a copy of the menus, I have looked at the sample menu on the Carnival website and it does not look like the menu I experienced on the Fantasy this past October.
Thank you for taking the time to write the review and for any other additional information you have given or will give.
I will be traveling with coworkers on June 6th via the Liberty, and I appreciate the information given in your review. I will be cruising for essentially the first time, and I have been researching so much to get an idea of what to expect. Too bad I am traveling alone...technically. Everyone I have talked to has told me it is alot more fun when you travel with a companion.
Don't feel bad. I am going it alone in October as well, and really it doesn't matter if you have a travel companion or not. Solo cruising is actually becoming more and more popular, so you may just find someone to hang out with once on board.
I was subjected to a "random" search by the Jamaican Police before boarding the ship. Random and quite thorough I might add. I was actually borderline MOLESTED by the female Jamaicam officer. I guess she wanted to know for sure that I was not stashing any weed up under my testicles! She also shook out all the beach towels and completely emptied my bag. Thank goodness I do not smoke the wacky weed!
Many a stoner buys pants with a special stash pocket right where the officer searched. If you remember the movie "The Sting" there was an early con about carrying money in your pants, "no tough guy is going there". Cops looking for drugs don't hesitate to go there.
Despite the intimacy it sounds like you had a great time. Thanks for the review.
__________________
Bob
A Bad Day At Sea Always Beats A Good Day At Work
Carnival: Glory 2004, Destiny 2008, Splendor 2009, Freedom 2011
Celebrity: Summit 2011
Princess: Ruby 2010
Jubilee July '86
Celebration May '88
Fantasy June '90
Sovereign of the Seas May '93
Windjammer Polynesia June '06
Carnival Triumph May '07
Carnival Freedom Dec.'07
Carnival Imagination Oct.'08
Carnival Destiny Dec.'08
Carnival Liberty May '09
Carnival Freedom Nov.'09
Congrats on winning at BINGO! LOVE LOVE LOVE the story about the lady cutting in front of you what's the saying "good things come to those who wait"? We had a lady last cruise who complained it was "too hot" to do the lifeboat drill then we saw her a few days later at the atrium bar complaining there wasn't any alcohol in the drinks. Bartenders politely made her a drink without arguing the point and off she went. We told them they should have put a triple shot in there to get her off everyone's back Hubby hit $500 on a slot machine on our Princess cruise 2 years ago and we were just thrilled that it broke us even for the week in the casino. We're hoping to do some Florida cruises down the road so thanks for the input on the ship
Great review! I find it unsettling that they were not turning the buffet food but just dumping new on old. Last month on the Pride they were pulling the old stuff out and replacing it with new.
In regard to lost luggage: Less than 1% of luggage is lost. USAir is the worst with .92% and Continental is the best with .41% bags lost.
I have never had "lost" luggage but I have had a couple of instances where my luggage didn't turn up for a few hours and had to be delivered to my hotel or house.
Take care,
Mike
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the service is awesome! i did it at port canaveral and plan to do it from miami on liberty may 16......u gotta sign up for it mid cruise....its $20 per suitcase. they pick it up at your door the night before just like normal but you dont have to handle it again til your at the carousel at your home airport...they also check u in for your flight and lv your boarding pass at your door...best $20 ive ever spent...i dont know if american does it though...i was on air tran. im on american this time so i hope so
May 16th cruiser on Liberty. Let us know how the luggage check-in goes when you return. We're cruising on May 30th so it'll be good to know how it worked...Thanks!
Hi 8th cruiser! Hope you had a great cruise. We leave Saturday. What did you experience with the checking of luggage directly from the ship? Was American Airlines participating and if so, how did it go? LIBERTY here we come!!
hey there hydemite! the cruise was great and american participates...$15 per suitcase. well worth it..they check you in on your flight, leave you your boarding passes at your door so all you gotta do is go to the airport go thru security and catch your flight..your suitcase should be at the carousel..$15 bucks is a steal...if u have any more questions feel free
Thanks for the info. Sounds wonderful! We have an early flight coming home so I just hope the lugguge gets to the airport in time. I'm not too worried about a delay in luggage on the way home anyway. It'll be great not having to find our luggage among the masses then have to handle it again at the airport.
Back from Liberty....
Hubby hit $500 on a slot machine on our Princess cruise 2 years ago and we were just thrilled that it broke us even for the week in the casino. We're hoping to do some Florida cruises down the road so thanks for the input on the ship
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