Liberty review August 30, 2015 (and April 5, 2015)

So, I will start this review with a couple of disclaimers. First of all, I am not a writer...just a mom. Second of all....these are my opinions, your experience may be different. Last of all, I took pictures to record memories, not for a review. I saved my funtimes for a review but there are enough pictures out there having to do with food, etc that these pictures are being shared and were taken for my purposes.

With that being said...I did this exact same itinerary four months ago in April with my husband and our four children (ages 11, 13, 14, 17) since my oldest was a senior and this may be her last family cruise. During my review, I will also review some of the things from then since I have been so busy this summer that I wasn't able to review that. That may get confusing but I would have to repeat a lot of information and it would take too long to review separately so this is a Double review and as such, may jump around a bit...my goal is to get as much info to you as I can.

We flew Southwest both trips. With them giving you two free checked bags, we always attempt to fly them if possible. With the kids, we wanted to go to the rain forest so we decided to rent a car as we got there on Friday and didn't sail until Sunday. We needed a minivan and found that the best price was through Enterprise. I also found out it was cheaper to pick up at the airport and return to the office at Condado Plaza instead of back to the airport. So, that is what we did and then took a cab (readily available there) to the ship from there. We had no issues with any aspect of renting the car.

Having four kids, I tried to find a hotel that we could all vacation in together. I ended up booking at the Comfort Inn Tanama Princess in Condado. They had a parking lot available as well as a free breakfast. They had a two bedroom suite that allowed up to 6 people. It was listed as 3 double beds. It was actually two double beds in one room and a king in another.

The room was fantastic, as you can see from the pictures. Only down side was the one very small bathroom but it wasn't a big deal for us. Location was great, there were plenty of restaurants as well as a Walgreens all within a few blocks.

On Saturday, we woke up and drove to the El Yunque. The drive was easy and we didn't have any issues finding it. We stopped first at the Las Cabezas Observation Point. Here is the view there:

We continued on to La Coca Falls. While the observation point wasn't busy, La Coca was! It was very massive and beautiful though.

From there, we continued on to Yokahu Tower.

It was definitely worth the trip to the top, the views were stunning.

From there, our plans were to hit the lesser known Juan Diego Trail to see the falls there. It was Easter weekend and there were lots of people in the park. We had a little trouble finding where it started, here is what it looks like from the road to help you in case you head there.

We found a parking spot along the road and headed on the trail. We first came to this waterfall and pool. It was just under waist deep and very 'refreshing'.

We continued up the trail on the right to the next waterfall section. Here is the trail

This is the second section of the waterfalls

Having heard that if you continue up, there is an even better section, we did so. When I was researching, I read that to the left is the way to go...that is where we went. It was quite steep but we all made it and it was an adventure. Here is the path, I haven't started yet and my boys are near the top.

Here is the rewards though....the third section of waterfalls.

We found out that there was also a path on the right to get there, we took it back to the road as it didn't seem quite as steep. All in all, we were really glad we went to the Rain Forest and especially that we chose Juan Diego instead of the La Mina Falls Trail....it was gorgeous, less crowded and a lot shorter trail.

For my husband and I in August, we wanted to stay in Old San Juan. After tons of deliberation, we chose to stay at the Hotel Plaza de Armas. We had a King Bed Suite with a Plaza view. Our flight landed at 1:30 and we knew check in wasn't until 3 but we had hoped we could get in early. Arriving at 2, they informed us that we could not check in until 3 but we could leave our luggage. Please note, the place you leave your luggage is not secure but we didn't leave anything crucial and had no issues. They gave us a coupon for a free 5oz Pina Colada at Barrachina's so that was where we went for a late lunch. It was good, we had burgers and fries and of course our free yummy Pina Colada.

When we got back a little after 3, we were able to check in without issue. The elevator was a trip....we barely fit...

Our room was decent....it was very loud outside. That didn't bother us but if you are a non-heavy sleeper, it will probably bother you!. The location was fantastic, a walgreens was just on the other corner of the plaza and very convient. It was raining on Sunday morning, we ran to Walgreens real quick for a few last minute items and by the time we got back, it had stopped. My husband decided that instead of spending the money for a taxi to the pier, we would just walk. I would've rather taken a taxi but whatever, it isn't that far. We had three spinner suitcases, two of which he was going to handle so we hooved it. Most of the way was downhill and wasn't any trouble at all. It was interesting however going over the cobblestone roads when we had to cross them. Once we got down to Darsenas Square, things got a bit more difficult to manuever the luggage over the uneven walkways. I didn't have too much trouble but my husband was second guessing his idea when I snapped a quick shot while waiting for him to get through the Square and onto the final stretch.

There she is....lady Liberty....our home for the next week

At this point I am going to go out of order for a bit and combine the two trips. One thing I love to find is sea glass. It is beautiful, makes a good souvenier, and I am crafty and have high hopes of crafting with it if I ever get some free time. Both this trip with my husband and the trip in April with the kids, we hunted for sea glass in Old San Juan. We heard of here of people finding glass on the beach across from the Capital building. The trip with the kids, we found a lot more glass.

Here is the area in April.

That day, the six of us found this glass in about 45 minutes or so...

Here are some photos from August when my husband and I went. It is beautiful here.

We found about half as much glass this time. It was a lot of fun though and definitely worth the time. There are hermit crabs gallore in this area! Others had reported not feeling safe, we went both times in the afternoon and felt completely safe. It looks like a shelter of some sorts there and we didn't go near it as we didn't want to upset anyone but there wasn't anyone near it. We ran into a few others exploring the area as we were.

So....back to the boat....we arrived about noon both times. We also had FTTF both times. The lines were about 75 people deep each time with no waiting at all in the FTTF line. In April we were able to get on the boat immediately, about 12:20. In August we had to sit down for a few. Now, if you have FTTF and get there before boarding has begun, make sure you get to the start of the line. We were told this by a worker and weren't comfortable 'cutting' so she escorted us where we needed to be waiting. She told us otherwise we would have trouble getting where we paid to be, her words, not mine. The August cruise started boarding about 12:30 and by 12:45 we were on board. It was nice to check out our rooms and drop our stuff (cameras and medications mainly). With the kids we actually had cabins 1105 and 1010, our first balconies. The two of us had our first aft-cabin, 7449. Room 1105 was almost the same as 1010. We got one on each side so we could always have a good view and so we could have one covered balcony (1010) and one that wasn't (1105) to see which we prefered. The uncovered balcony was nice but you didn't have much privacy, which I noticed more at sailaway than any other time. Also, there was no protection from the elements and sometimes I wanted that. For that reason, I preferred the covered balcony. I thought the views were equally good depending the day.

For the cruise in August, I talked my hubby into getting an aft cabin since I celebrated my 40th birthday just a little bit prior to the cruise. We chose to do the same cruise as April since there were so many more things we wanted to do on each of the islands. Anyway, I am constantly busy at home so I was REALLY looking forward to having a lounge chair on my balcony to relax and unwind. It didnt' disappoint! It was worth every penny! We spent a lot of time on the balcony, it was nice as it was partially covered yet open. I didn't mind the lack of privacy as much on the aft cabin cause it was just a few neighbors, not tons of people above you. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE having the aft cabin. The only downside were some idiot neighbors that must have not heard the NO SMOKING on your balconies. It was only once or twice but it is annoying that some think they are above the rules. Here are pics from our aft cabin.

From there we went to get my husband his Burger

That first night in the MDR is also where they serve the apple pie...it is my favorite!!!

Here are the Funtimes for Sunday.

St Thomas

So in April, our oldest wanted to go to Coral World. We obliged...they enjoyed it, we didn't do anything there except look around. I think we were there for a little bit over an hour. We then decided to just walk to Coki Beach for the rest of the day. Coki beach was beautiful but also very crowded.

When it came time for us to plan our August trip, we knew we wanted to try Sapphire Beach as that was the original plan after Coral World only we didn't make it. We took a cab to Sapphire ($10 per person....same as to Coral World). We got there about 9:30am and there wasn't hardly anyone there and the dive shop was closed. There was a bit of seaweed here but not too bad. There were a couple of workers cleaning it up for a bit. This picture was taken later on once more people had shown up. The dive shop opened while we were there and had drinks, food and snorkeling gear.

My husband and I snorkeled here on Sapphire....here are some things we saw.

Jellyfish

A Peacock Flounder...kind of hard to see

and my husband saw and thought it was so cool...a spotted eagle ray.

There was also an iguana that wanted someone's towel....and scared her a bit to get her off of it lol

Fun Times for Monday

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Fun times for Tuesday:

That is it for me tonight....hope to pick back up with Barbados, hopefully tomorrow!

We are sailing on 11/22 and I am so excited to hear the rest of your review. It is not often that people who have children review. I have a 10 yr old so I can wait to hear everything.

I am enjoying your review!! We sail on 11/1 and we have a 11 year old son...cannot wait to go to Sapphire and here what things you did for the rest of the islands :D

great review :) We will be going on the Liberty Nov.15

So, in April, we took the kids to the Boatyard. We decided to just walk there since we had plenty of time. It was a fairly easy walk, you just stayed to the right until you come to it....took about 20-25 minutes I think. For $15, you got use of lounge chairs, umbrellas, water trampoline, iceburg, platform to dive off of and rope swing, as well as a free drink and taxi back to the boat. Closer to the bar, it was louder but we chose chairs further away from that. There were a few vendors that came by but a polite, “No Thankyou” and they were on their way. There were people with jet skis, jewelry, and going out by boat to swim with the turtles, we didn't do anything but they are offered by individuals....not the Boatyard. My kids had a blast. Be sure to reapply sunscreen often if on the water toys! The sun is extremely strong here. Be aware, the drinking age in Barbados is 16. If you have teens, know that you don't have to be there for them to get a drink....including when they do free pouring of alcohol. Wasn't a big deal for my teens but just wanted to make sure other parents are aware. Here is the Boatyard

We really wanted to do a Catamaran tour but our kids had a bad experience in the past and aren't a fan of snorkeling or the boat tours. This was a huge reason why we rebooked this cruise...we wanted to swim with the sea turtles again. We had done it through Silver Moon in 2004 and loved it. This time, we decided to go through Calabaza. They had great reviews and as an amatuer photographer, I liked that they posted photos for free so I could actually be in some without it being a selfie lol. It far exceeded our expectations. We were on Calabaza I with Danny, Fabien and Chris. They were wonderful. They limit it to 12 people and with that you get personalized service. After a safety briefing and information session, we were on our way.. There was plenty of room for everyone and it was nice getting to know your fellow travelers. We first went out and swam with the sea turtles. Noodles were available for anyone that wanted them. The sea turtles were so beautiful and amazing. We saw 4 or 5 in all. We were there for about 45 minutes. It was so nice being on a boat with only such a small group. After that, we reboarded the catamaran and headed to a coral reef to snorkel. This time Chris came out with us. It was nice to be able to see a fish and him tell you what you were looking at. He also pointed out several things to us. We were there for another 45 minutes or so, just the perfect amount of time. We got back and soon it was lunch time. I can't remember what all was for lunch, some chicken, fish, and several pasta dishes. It was very good! We then had about 30-45 minutes where we could just swim or relax. They had a drink float that they sent drinks out to us with. All in all, it was a fantastic day, I cannot wait to do it again! A HUGE value for your money! As soon as your drink is dry, they are taking your glass and asking if you would like another. I cannot recommend them enough! I can say that if we ever go back, we are making the kids go....we think they would love it if they gave it another chance. The only time they went was in Nassau and it was chilly on the boat in the morning and the sea was rough and there weren't hardly any fish...just an all around bad experience. We didn't want to spend the money in April since they didn't want to do it and they did want to go to the Boatyard, but if there is a next time, they are going to swim with the turtles!

Sea Turtles

Another Peacock Flounder like we had seen on St Thomas.

Wednesday's Fun Times

We let the kids decide what they wanted to do on our April cruise since it could be our oldest's last time going with us. They decided they wanted to zip line and after much research, we decided that St Lucia was the best place for us to do it. My husband and I had heard rave reviews on a previous cruise of ziplining in the rain forest on St Lucia. The kids decided on the adreniline zip lining through Carnival. Now, I was a bit nervous as I read that there was a) a tarzan swing and b) a free fall. I am NOT an adreniline junkie like the rest of my family but I was going to be a good sport and do it cause that is what they wanted to do. After a winding ride to the zip lining facility, we suited up and were ready to go. Our guides were fantastic and funny. The six of us traveled in a group with our guide. The kids took turns going first, which was nice that we didn't have to go in the same order each time. You started out on a shorter, slower line to get you used to it and then they got better as you went along. 9 lines in all. It was a perfect amount. Now, the tarzan swing was just over halfway through. I was pretty nervous about it. I opted to go last and once I went, it wasn't anywhere near as scary as I had thought it would be. I enjoyed it! Sadly, I don't have any pictures...only video. Once we got to the free fall, I will admit I was freaking out a bit. I had told the kids that my idea of a perfect excursion would've been the mud bath and was quick to remind them that I was only doing this because I loved them and I hoped they remembered that. One by one they went down the free fall. I got more nervous by the minute. I was not going to look like a wimp though, dad is always the fun one you see. I finally went and the guys were nice and slowed me down about halfway so it wasn't really that bad either...and I got major bonus points with the kids! Anyway, we loved it and had a blast but I was disappointed that we didn't get to see more of the island that I had heard was so amazing.

When deciding what to do in August, I knew I wanted a variety. I originally booked with COSOL but after much deliberation, we cancelled that and booked with Spencer Ambrose for his land, sea, and beach tour. It did a lot of the same things but you went by boat to them instead of by bus/van. I get car sick from time to time and didn't want to spend half my trip on a bus, a speedboat sounded much better. We went to the designated meeting spot and walked a short walk to Spencer's boat. There were about 16 of us doing various tours. It was about a 35 minute ride by speedboat to get to Soufriere where we would begin our land portion of the tour. Our first stop was the mud baths. The water in the soaking pool was very hot but once you got in, you got acclimated to it very quickly. Once you get wet, you get out of the pool and they have buckets there to mud yourself and your significant other up. Then, you wait for it to dry. You can sit, stand, pretty much do whatever.

After about 20-25 minutes, it is time to get back into the pool to rinse off. Your skin feels SOOOOO smooth! Even my husband enjoyed it! After that, it was time to head to the waterfall. It is gorgeous here and refreshing without being too cold.

After leaving the waterfall, we stopped at a banana plantation, the driver gave us a lot of information on the agriculture in St Lucia.

Next stop: Jalousie Beach

We were really looking forward to snorkeling in between the Pitons....it didn't disappoint. Spencer and his crew prepared our lunch when we got there and announced it would be ready in about 20 minutes. We had jerk chicken, pasta dishes, couscous, rice and beans, as well as breadfruit, plantains...both raw and fried. It was all delicious! When we got there, there were not very many others there. A few from the earlier boat ride that opted just for the beach portion. Here are the chairs we had available to us.

The snorkeling was amazing. The pictures do not do it justice. It was truly like swimming in an aquarium, there were so many fish and so many different types. About 1/3 of them actually glowed, which unfortunately did not pick up in the pictures. We had about two hours in all there. We were the first to get there and the last to leave. It was perfect! There was some seaweed but that didn't bother us to much.

About 2:00 we got back on the boat to sightsee a bit and head back to the Liberty. We saw some amazing things that we would've never seen on our original tour we booked.

Bat Cave

And finally back to our home away from home

So, when we got back, it was about 3:30 so we decided to stop in the port area to get wifi and check in with the kids. One bar had beer 3/$5 as well as free wifi. We sat down and started talking to our daughter. For some reason, my kids think that their dad is drunk all the time on vacation. I don't get it, the man drinks maybe 3 times a year and doesn't get drunk then. I think they may have seen him drink in excess maybe twice in their life and even then, he wasn't drunk. Anyway, everytime I talk to them on vacation they want to know if dad is drunk yet? lol So, while I am messaging her, I glace over to the table next to us. there is a group and they are taking full advantage of the 3/$5 beer lol So, I get an idea and explain to them that my daughter is asking if dad is drunk and I wanted to mess with her and send a picture of all of their beer. Anyway, long story short, they were great sports and even let my hubby sit down. Here is the shot I sent her

She about died...in all caps IS THAT RIGHT NOW???????? ANyway, we let her know we were just joking but it was pretty funny!

St Lucia is a gorgeous island and I am so glad we chose this tour to get a taste of different things. It is now our co-favorite with Dominica! We would love to come back and stay a full week sometime in the future!

Thursday's Fun Times