Another 3 Generations report: 8 day Eastern Liberty, Sept 13-21, 2014

If you’re looking for a short, concise trip report, this may not be the place for you.

If you like LONG reports with LOTS of pics and LOTS of FOOD PORN; then you’re in the right place!

If you’re looking specifically for the newest American Table/Feast Menus and pictures; but don’t want to follow the entire thread: when we get to MDR Day One here; I’ll be starting a “Dueling Trip Report”. That one will just have that info and pics. You’ll be able to find it under the title, “American Table/Feast Menu’s and Pictures: 8 Day Eastern Liberty, Sept 13-21, 2014” (If you’re sticking around here; that info will be in both threads - you don’t have to go back and forth.)

Soooooooooooo, In 2012, we started doing family reunion cruises. I posted a “3 Generations” report after our 1st trip in May of that year on a 7 day Eastern Liberty cruise. Last year, we were on the Dream for a 7 day Western in June. I was finishing up a project at work that had me on the job 60+ hours a week for 10 weeks. That cruise really was a “chillax” cruise for me and my wife. There weren’t many photos and not enough to report. Seven days of “I ate, slept, visited with family and relaxed on my balcony” – does not a trip report make. :)

If you’re interested in re-living the 2012 cruise (either to see if you like the flow of my report, or because it will take a while to get this one finished), here is the link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1647594

We had 9 people on the 2012 cruise, 13 joined us last year and the same 13 are booked this year as well.

Be back soon.

So excited to see new pics of the American Table/Feast food and menus. Can't wait for your review!

Yay!!!! Cannot wait for the rest!:D

Thanks for doing this!!!!:D:D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dixie24

So excited to see new pics of the American Table/Feast food and menus. Can't wait for your review!

From what I can tell, and you will see here; there are updates to the menu from the last time I saw it. Others may have posted info that I haven't seen. We'll see when we get there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KPfromCT

Yay!!!! Cannot wait for the rest!:D

Thanks for doing this!!!!:D:D

You're welcome. I may not post a thanks to everyone for the positive feedback; but please know I DO appreciate it! I have learned a lot here. I don't post a lot and this is my way of "giving back".

So, you see, I like music. I set up a “Cruise 2014” play list on my I-pod that I listened to. With many posts, I’ll be “setting the mood” for you as we go on the re-telling or as I’ll call it, "our virtual cruise”.

I have a question. I’ve tried to understand the copyright infringement thread and I don’t think I’ve got it. Am I allowed to post a link to a You - Tube video? It’s not cruise related info, just a music video. I ONLY plan on doing this once for a particular reason. If you don’t know other songs I list, feel free to look them up. I just want to know if I can post from You – Tube at all?

Awesome! Looking forward to reading your review. We are sailing on the Liberty this Friday! Cant wait!

Thanks!! Subscribing....we have sailed the liberty omce and would love to sail her again!!

Boarding the Liberty for the 8-day Eastern on the day after Thanksgiving. Can't wait for a preview!

Awesome! Looking forward to reading your review. We are sailing on the Liberty this Friday! Cant wait!

I see you're close to the port. We should get onto the ship here for a little taste before you get on her for real. ;)

Thanks!! Subscribing....we have sailed the liberty omce and would love to sail her again!!

This was my third trip on the Liberty. I'm so sad she's moving to San Juan so soon. I really love her (and her 2.0 upgrades). :(

Boarding the Liberty for the 8-day Eastern on the day after Thanksgiving. Can't wait for a preview!

This review should be right up your alley! Hope this helps make the time before your trip pass more quickly.

So, this is my 12th cruise overall, starting in 1974 with my parents and middle brother. We went on the Costa Flavia, going to Nassau and Freeport. Anyone remember the tiny ships of that era? It was a whopping 15,465 tons – that’s 1/7th the weight of the Liberty! It held 1100 passengers. Think about it; if you made a ship 7 times the weight and tried to add 7 times the people…. Well, a max capacity of 2974 doesn’t seem quite so crowded, now does it? :)

Anyways, I love reading trip reports; and I enjoy writing them as well. You’ll see LOTS of pictures of the Liberty and the Ports of call: Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Martin/St. Maarten. I already mentioned: LOTS of FOOD PORN.

I also like to show a different side of things by taking pictures from unusual angles. I like to “stop to smell the roses”. There will be pics of the beauty of the ports that you might have missed.

I also like to give helpful hints to new cruisers that may be following along.

I love, love, LOVE participation on the thread. If you were on this cruise; please join in and share your experiences as well. IE, in the 2012 report; I attended an Illusionist show. There were 3 people on stage. TWO of the three were on Cruise Critic and posted about their experience at that show and throughout the trip. What a small world, it was a blast.

I do have one request though if you were on the actual cruise. You WILL see me posting something that has the wrong time (if you catch it) or you may know something “new/different/exciting” is coming up. I'm going in chronological order and I took very detailed notes. Please share your comments/experiences when I get there. There are a lot of twists and turns for me to share; lets live and re-live them together. :) There’s a reference to something already posted in another short Liberty report. If you’ve seen that – that is the type of thing I’d like to wait and discuss from my perspective first; then hear everyone else’s comments.

I’m still sorting thru pictures and also back at work. I do have a little more info to share before it’s picture time; please bear with me. It’s been 2 years since I moved photos to photo-bucket so I could post them there; gotta get past that learning curve again. ;)

Suggested reading material in the mean time: why the 2012 trip posted above – of course. :D

Oh yes, before I forget; one thing I’m NOT going to post is the Fun Times. With the variation in the Liberty’s cruise lengths and destinations; I don’t think it will be as helpful as the ships that always do alternating 7 day Eastern/Western Itineraries. Even though I know there’s at least one 8 day Eastern coming up soon, right thistoo? (Plus, I don’t have a scanner at the moment.)

I also like to leave an occasional cliff-hanger. So without further ado:

Coming up: The Trip that almost wasn’t. :eek:

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It's never too early to see this:

:D

Following!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Now we're cooking. Before we get back to our story, let's try this.

What is this and where can you get it?

Following review.

Since you mentioned love to help, can you post any particulars or trouble shooting you had to do with photobucket.

Thanks, want to try them again as photo hosting service.

Following review.

Since you mentioned love to help, can you post any particulars or trouble shooting you had to do with photobucket.

Thanks, want to try them again as photo hosting service.

Hey, Buffettfan225; LOVE your screen name - you're gonna like some of my song choices. :D

Glad you're following and happy to help. Photobucket has been updated since I last used it (big surprise - it's been 2 years).

On the main Cruise Critic Board page, look for the Digitial Photography Category and click on the Photos and Camera Discussions Board.

Towards the top, you'll see a "how to post pictures" thread. The 2nd post gives general details. I opened a new photobucket account because I knew I had a lot of photos for this report.

Have your account open, but have Windows small enough that you can see it, and then where your photos are downloaded on your PC. Left click on the photo you want to move to photobucket and "drag" it there (it will show you where). Then, on the right of the photo, you'll see a "IMG" link. Just left click that, you will see it says "copied". Then in your post on the boards, you right click to paste.

Try it out on the testing thread, then you're set to go. There are ways to play with sizes, etc; but I haven't gotten that far. My pictures come out bigger than some people may want; but that just what I do. Use the "preview post" function to make sure your pick is there and then submit.

I'm still sorting thru pictures. There is a way to move an "album" to photobucket. I'm guessing it's the same "drag" method; but I'm not there yet.

So, to give everyone a little taste of island life. Let's take a look at a boat from the beach in Grand Turk:

You see, it really is a boat; the Liberty is a ship. ;)

Quite a nice way to start the day, don't you think?

I posted my drink photo late last night? Anyone care to make a guess?

I've got some errands today. Soon, I'll we'll be back to "The Trip that almost wasn't" and we get to "Meet the Family".

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I posted my drink photo late last night? Anyone care to make a guess?

 

 

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Mimosa at sea day brunch?

Mimosa at sea day brunch?

You're close Dixie. I was tricky on purpose. This was from a Sea Day Brunch. I don't believe it is on the menu; but it might be for the port day breakfast menu.

Helpful hint: sometimes you can ask for things that may not be on the menu.

The beautifully orange-ish drink I enjoyed that morning was....... pineapple juice.

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We’re gonna start this music thing off with an oldie but goodie; and with a twist. You have to change the title to, “I left my heart in Carolina”.

“I left my heart, in Carolina. So far from home, I long for her. My love waits there, in Carolina; her heart of gold will shine for me.”

You see, my wife has put up with me for 30+ years. SHE. IS. A. SAINT. :D We’ve been on 8 cruises together.

But, she had a nagging bug that she just couldn’t shake. We planned to travel to Florida a day early on Thursday; but it just didn’t work. She insisted that I come by myself. I just couldn’t, she wasn’t well enough. After a better night’s sleep; she had a talk with my 19 yo son. He was 50/50 on the cruise – he wanted to see family; but he gets a little sea sick. They twisted both of my arms enough and convinced me that, together; they would make sure DW was OK. You see, I haven’t seen most of my family since our Dream cruise in June of last year and DW knew there was a special celebration this cruise. They said I had to go. So with a VERY heavy heart; I headed to Cocoa Beach on my own.

I guess it’s finally time to meet “the family”. We’re 11 now instead of 13; but DW and DS (dearest wife and son) are with me in spirit. The other 10 live in Florida, I’ve got to represent the South Carolina contingent!

Here we are:

Cruzin’Scotty – that’s me!

Returning from 2012 and 2013:

Pop – my Dad

W’ma – Dad’s significant other

DB and DSIL – my middle brother and his better half. They were DB and DSIL in 2012, I wanted to keep them the same.

Ma and Pa – my in-laws. Yep, you read that right. I went on a cruise with my mother-in-law and left my wife at home. :eek: It’s OK to laugh; we really do get along just fine. We shared this info a few times on the ship which people found amusing. It’s not the “normal” family reunion gathering. But, that’s how we roll.

New additions from 2013 (no trip report) and returning this year include:

The “EC’s” (EC1 and EC2) – this is my oldest brother and his better half. I couldn’t demote DB/DSIL to “2” status; those names are claimed. The EC stands for “expert cruisers” and is quite fitting. They’ve cruised the Seven Seas; frequently on Carnival. This includes the Glory in April with the new menus. Or make that – the newest menus at that point in time.

Thing 1 and Thing 2: these are DB/DSIL’s grown daughters. They are close together in age. You can’t really tell them apart because Thing 1 and 2 are quite mischievous, if you remember the book. You just never know what they’ll do, so you’ll never know which one is which. :p There’s also a couple of other tie-ins to these names as well. (Remember – no spoilers for those who know what I mean. ;) )

So, the trip down was uneventful for a while. There were some love-bugs to contend with; but nothing like I’ve seen in the past where you can’t see out of your windshield at all. Then, somewhere past St. Augustine; there was this car that was passing me. But, it was just going so slow – it wouldn’t do it. Don’t you hate when that happens?

Welllll, finally I looked over and……..it’s the EC’s. They found me! What a joy it was to have a 2 car caravan the last 50 miles to Cocoa Beach. They were staying in a different hotel than I, so we stopped to get gas just after we passed the cruise terminals. How many times do you see people hugging each other like they haven’t seen each other in a year – in a gas station? Again – that’s just how we roll.

I do need to mention that DW is the photographer in the family. I’m low-tech. That means no I-phone, I-pad, Kindle, or fancy camera. I have a small Kodak with disposable batteries. Some pictures may be a little blurry, but they are posted for some important reason. IE, you may be able to read the items on a menu, but not the description. On the other hand, you will see some beautiful pictures that you wouldn't think would come from such a camera.

Like maybe this one?

Coming Up: Upgrades – there’s two kinds: the good ones, and the other ones.

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Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. I haven’t looked at a ton of trip reports departing from Port Canaveral. But, of those I have; I don’t recall notes of anyone staying at the Best Western. This is our hotel of choice. It’s an older hotel that added a newer, taller ocean front building. We stayed in that building once and it’s great; but the regular rooms are just fine.

There was no line at check in and my room has been upgraded to an ocean view room! For free! Now, this is a good upgrade!

These pics aren’t good, but they are representative of a normal room. What was different was that there was a balcony with an ocean view.

After settling in, I checked in with DW. She said Carnival called and offered us a suite for only $900 more. She informed them that I was actually traveling solo and that I surely didn’t need a suite to myself. :)

Carnival insisted that I needed to call a special Carnival number to let them know about this. I decided there was no way I was going to do that. I have FTTF and there’s NO WAY I’m going to do anything that could in any possible way cause that to be changed/cancelled.

DB/DSIL also got a call from the Upsell Fairy. They were offered the Grand Suite for a mere $1300. Now, they have 4 in their room, so I could forgive the fact they were offered the larger suite. LOL In both cases it’s: thanks, but no thanks.

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Oh yes, before I forget; one thing I’m NOT going to post is the Fun Times. With the variation in the Liberty’s cruise lengths and destinations; I don’t think it will be as helpful as the ships that always do alternating 7 day Eastern/Western Itineraries. Even though I know there’s at least one 8 day Eastern coming up soon, right thistoo? (Plus, I don’t have a scanner at the moment.)

I *do* have a scanner, so I will try very hard to remember to post at least the Funtimes from the 8-day Eastern in November. For posterity, if nothing else ;)

I *do* have a scanner, so I will try very hard to remember to post at least the Funtimes from the 8-day Eastern in November. For posterity, if nothing else ;)

Duly noted. :)

And, I guess I should say that if you have any questions about events or shows; I can try to answer if they occurred on our sailing. So, ask away.

We are staying there next week. How did the shuttle work for you? Couldn't find out a lot of information about the BW on here! Thanks!

So, DW was sounding a little stuffy, but I could tell she was doing better now that I had made the drive safely. This gave me great comfort and allowed me to start looking forward to the cruise a little more.

So, now, I can finally settle in and enjoy the fact that I’m a SOLO cruiser for the first time! Well, a solo cruise amongst a group of 11. :)

This changed what I did. I did a lot of things that are “new to me”. To help fill my time, I have more pictures than ever before.

This is also why I have so much FOOD PORN. I have pictures of EVERY time I ate. I also have FOOD PORN from the family as well. So as not to interrupt others meals; I just asked whomever was seated to my immediate left and right if I could take pics of what they ordered. Occasionally someone at the other end of the table would offer to take a pic of something that presented well. I’m not going to critique every item; obviously, I didn’t try every food or drink I’ll be posting. I will point out things that were particularly good and the few things I would pass on next time.

For example:

This is Shrimp Cocktail. It used to be on the Menu Daily; but was removed. Due to customer complaints, it's on the menu every day again. I personally didn't order it once. But, it was ordered often at our table; so my assumption is that it's as good as it looks.

It is all due to my DW’s generous insistence that I make this trip alone that I’m able to post this trip report in this format.

THANK YOU, honey; you really ARE the wind beneath my wings. We ALL owe you a great debt of gratitude. I’m also happy to report that in our current “real world”, she is finally well.

Next, let’s take a look at Cocoa Beach.

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I'm enjoying your review and photos of my favorite ship. Looking forward to the rest, and thanks so much for taking the time and effort to do a photo review:)

We are staying there next week. How did the shuttle work for you? Couldn't find out a lot of information about the BW on here! Thanks!

We didn't use the shuttle, so I can't help you with that.

We were all within driving distance. In addition to the shuttle service, the Best Western has a "discount parking at the cruise terminal" deal. If you stay at least one night, they will give you a certificate for 40% off of the cost of parking at the terminal. Nice deal.

I will say that if you drive; you have to sign up for one deal or the other when you do your booking. Because we had so many vehicles, we asked if we could leave one there and car pool back for it later; they said no because of how we booked.

BUT...... KUDOS to the Best Western with our reservations. When DW was trying her best to come, we had a 2 night reservation, The national number couldn't credit/change our ressie to 1 night (in the hopes we all traveled); they said it was too late; I would be charged for the 1st night. They also said to call the hotel directly to make sure when we didn't show up that they didn't cancel the 2nd night. When I called directly, they very nicely changed my reservation so I didn't get charged for the first night. That, PLUS an upgraded room gives them an "A" in my book. I hope you enjoy your stay. We're almost to breakfast there. :)

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