Western liberty review march 24, 2012 with a great friendship formed

[carncruiser1964]

After the last 3 very stressful months, our cruise was finally here and we just couldn’t wait to get on the road. Normally, we will leave around 7am when leaving out of Miami, however, we were up and started getting ready by 5:30am and were on the road by 6:30am. We stopped at McDonald’s for a quick bite to eat and then stopped to fill up gas in Naples right before getting on Alligator Alley.

[carncruiser1964]

We arrived at the Port of Miami around 10am and there were still many people lined up from the previous cruise waiting for a taxi or shuttle. I thought at first that it was the line to board the ship, but was relieved to find out that it wasn’t. Hubby dropped me and the luggage off and went to park the car. Once he did that, we walked to the building and got into the VIP line, except there was no line, just us. That made it very easy to go through security, up the escalators and into the VIP lounge where we received our Sail and Sign cards.

[carncruiser1964]

The VIP lounge has two adjoining rooms and we sat in the one off the main entrance. It was 10:30am and we were all checked in and figured we’d have a good hour anyway before boarding began. There was only about 20-25 people in the lounge between the two rooms. At 10:45am, we heard some announcements being made outside of the lounge asking everyone if they were ready for their cruise. We figured they were just trying to pump everyone up so we didn’t think too much of it, until someone popped their head into the main part of the VIP lounge and told everyone it was time to board. No one came into the room that we were sitting in and it’s a good thing that Hubby heard what the lady said or we would have been sitting there for a bit.

[carncruiser1964]

We made our way to the escalator and they started calling Zone 1. Everyone started merging together and rushing to the escalator. It really was a bit ridiculous especially since it was only 10:50am! We have never boarded a ship before 11:30 – with the exception of when we got married on the Spirit. When we got to the top of the escalators we noticed right away that there was no one there to take the embarkation pictures. We were VERY disappointed as this is the one picture that we always buy. The employees were telling everyone to keep moving and directing us to the ship. More on this later.











I thought I spotted EastlovesWest09 aka Frank and Linda and I was right!

[cruiserNC]

Great Start keep it coming! I love the Liberty!

[carncruiser1964]

We boarded the ship and went directly to the Lido deck where our normal routine would be to go to the Deli, which we did. My usual for embarkation day is a turkey sandwich on a country roll, unfortunately, the country rolls were not ready so I settled for a Reuben and Hubby got a turkey wrap. Actually, most of everything on all the buffet lines still had plastic wrap on them. It was nice to get on the ship early, but it was very evident that the ship itself was not ready for us.

[4hunters]

You guys sure cruise a lot! How cool is that! Great start to your review.

[carncruiser1964]

We took our food and went up to Deck 10. We found a couple of chairs and tried to enjoy our lunch. I say tried because the Reuben was very fatty and chewy and just not what I wanted. Hubby said his wrap was good and offered me part of it, but I figured I would go find something else a little later.

[Cupcrazy]

Great review. I always love seeing Liberty reviews as she was the first ship I sailed on. Brings back some great memories. Great pictures!

[carncruiser1964]

Originally Posted by Cupcrazy

Great review. I always love seeing Liberty reviews as she was the first ship I sailed on. Brings back some great memories. Great pictures!

Thanks. We liked the Liberty but our favorite is still the Legend

[momonthego17]

Hi carncruiser 1964!

I'm glad you enjoyed the "hoochy-mama" comment. By the end of our cruise, my DDs would whisper "look Mommy, another "hoochy girl". Even they recognized tacky apparel and they are 9 and 11.

Question for you: Mahogany Beach. Did you snorkel? Or did anyone in your party check out the fish? We love swimmin' with the fishies, especially colorful ones.

Thanks and looking forward to more review....

[carncruiser1964]

Originally Posted by momonthego17

Hi carncruiser 1964!

I'm glad you enjoyed the "hoochy-mama" comment. By the end of our cruise, my DDs would whisper "look Mommy, another "hoochy girl". Even they recognized tacky apparel and they are 9 and 11.

Question for you: Mahogany Beach. Did you snorkel? Or did anyone in your party check out the fish? We love swimmin' with the fishies, especially colorful ones.

Thanks and looking forward to more review....

They have snorkel gear to rent at the beach but we have not taken advantage of that. I probably will in September. I'm sure there are plenty of fish when you go further out in the water.

[Spring1onu]

Fantastic review! Loved your other one as well and think its so sweet of u to remember the lady's daughter in Cozumel how incredibly sweet! Love all your pics, esp Roatan. You both looked fantastic all dressed up - glad u had a wonderful cruise an thanks so much for sharing!!


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[alou44]

Thanks for the great review. We'll be on the Liberty in July. Can I ask why you didn't get off in Belize? It will be our first time there and just wondered what things you've done in the past and what you thought of them. Thanks again.

[carncruiser1964]

Originally Posted by alou44

Thanks for the great review. We'll be on the Liberty in July. Can I ask why you didn't get off in Belize? It will be our first time there and just wondered what things you've done in the past and what you thought of them. Thanks again.

We have been to Belize a number of times and unless you are doing a shore excursion, there isn't much to see in port. Some shops, but it is pretty dumpy. If it is your first time and you do not do a shore excursion, I would say to take the tender in just to see whats there.

A few years ago we did the cave tubing with Major Tom and thought it was great. The only downfall to that was it took an hour to get there and an hour back. The bus was air conditioned but still that was two hours of sitting on a bus.

My advise would be to check out all the excursions that are offered and check CC for any reviews or pictures.

Hope this helps.

[carncruiser1964]

Originally Posted by Spring1onu

Fantastic review! Loved your other one as well and think its so sweet of u to remember the lady's daughter in Cozumel how incredibly sweet! Love all your pics, esp Roatan. You both looked fantastic all dressed up - glad u had a wonderful cruise an thanks so much for sharing!!


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Thank you. We love surprising people like that and we are both very good at hearing something and remembering it. It was alot of fun for us all.

[Time2CruiseAgain]

Originally Posted by carncruiser1964

After the last 3 very stressful months, our cruise was finally here and we just couldn’t wait to get on the road. Normally, we will leave around 7am when leaving out of Miami, however, we were up and started getting ready by 5:30am and were on the road by 6:30am. We stopped at McDonald’s for a quick bite to eat and then stopped to fill up gas in Naples right before getting on Alligator Alley.

Where you from? We live in Venice, FL! More than likely we will be stopping in Naples for a bite to eat before we hit the Alley next month!!!

[carncruiser1964]

Originally Posted by Time2CruiseAgain

Where you from? We live in Venice, FL! More than likely we will be stopping in Naples for a bite to eat before we hit the Alley next month!!!

We live in North Port. Very close

[Oakman]

Originally Posted by carncruiser1964

We live in North Port. Very close

Sarasota here. Thanks for another great review once again. Always enjoy reading about your Carnival travels.
This review held special interest, as we are traveling on the Liberty May 12th. Planned this immediately following a ship's tour last year.
Congrats on trying to quit smoking. Did that over 20 years ago, and could not be happier. Just don't give in.

[carncruiser1964]

Originally Posted by Oakman

Sarasota here. Thanks for another great review once again. Always enjoy reading about your Carnival travels.
This review held special interest, as we are traveling on the Liberty May 12th. Planned this immediately following a ship's tour last year.
Congrats on trying to quit smoking. Did that over 20 years ago, and could not be happier. Just don't give in.

Thanks neighbor! Enjoy your upcoming cruise and thanks for the support on quitting