Jump to content

Carnival Liberty Eastern Review with photos


 Share

Recommended Posts

Where do I start? This was my third cruise with my DH Jason. We went with his sister, Jenny, and her husband, Lance. This was their very first cruise and they loved it! The weather was gorgeous and we made all four ports. Here is a shot from the tender boat at Half Moon Cay to get started. Then I will get into all the details and I have tons of photos! :D

 

547408_10151600437369721_527234224_n.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We flew down to FLL from ALB. Our connecting flight in Tampa was delayed by a little bit. As we were waiting, I saw someone get off the plane who looked familiar. I nudged my husband and said "Is that Hulk Hogan?!" He said "Yes, brother!" LOL! My first celebrity sighting! ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I did a lot of research on transportation from FLL to our hotel in Miami. I went with SAS since it was highly recommended by a lot of people on the board. I have to say that we will never book them again! Here's the story:

 

I called SAS once we got our luggage. They told me to stand outside under the yellow Southwest sign. We waited for about 10 minutes when the beige SAS van showed up. We thought a white van earlier had been SAS, but Lance asked the driver and he said he wasn't SAS, but that he'd take us for $72. In hindsight, we should have jumped in! But we declined as we didn't know who this guy even worked for.

 

The SAS guy, Hector, loaded our luggage into a mini trailer hooked to the van. He told us the van would be full and we should sit four in the backseat. Me, Jenny and Jason climbed in the back. It was a couple minutes before 4 p.m. Lance got in and didn't sit with us at first until the van filled up. It took quite awhile for the van to fill up and it was hot in there! We had to circle the airport to get our final passengers.

 

We chatted with a nice couple from Austin, Texas, while Lance squeezed into the backseat with us. We were packed in this van like sardines! I think we finally made it on the road a little before 5 p.m. We thought we'd hit traffic, but it wasn't too bad.

 

So Hector proceeded to drop off couple after couple at their posh hotels in downtown Miami. By this time, it was pushing 6 p.m. and we had been in the van for close to two hours! The only relief we got was when couples got out, Lance was able to move forward. For some reason, Hector drove past the last couple's hotel and circled back around.

 

We were all starting to get slap happy from lack of sleep at this point. We were making up songs to the songs on the radio about being stuck in the van for so long and laughing hysterically. "This van is on fire!" (a la Alicia Keys).

 

Hector told us he was going to avoid an accident on the highway, so he took us through a seedy part of town. At one point, we had to wait for the road to open and close for what I'm assuming was a tall ship. Then we passed a Mexican restaurant and I tried to pronounce the name. Then a few minutes later we passed the same Mexican restaurant! Hector was driving in circles!

 

When I saw the sign for the road the hotel was on, I was ecstatic. After what felt like circling the Miami airport, Hector pulled into a parking lot with a boarded up building. I almost cried as I thought this was our hotel! :eek: But, alas, La Quinta Inn Miami East was behind said building. We were all barely able to move when we got out of the van. We reluctantly paid Hector and he did mutter an apology about the "delay." By that time I was hauling myself into the hotel. The clock at the reception desk of the hotel said 6:45 p.m. We had been in that van for 2 hours and 45 minutes! I was literally the first one on and the last one off. Never again!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We checked into La Quinta and headed over to Bennigans to eat because we were starving. The restaurant looked rundown. The floor was sticky and it looked liked it hadn't been swept for days. We ordered our food. My husband had pot roast and I had a chicken cesar salad. Jenny and Lance shared a pizza. The food wasn't half bad.

 

We left the restaurant and used the vending machines in the hotel. All of the candy bars were half melted. When I tried my Twix, it tasted stale! At this point, we were exhausted, so we all went to bed. We shared a room to save money, but I'm not sure if I'd do this again because it seemed like we all had to use the bathroom at the same time. I also won't stay at La Quinta Inn Miami East again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had a crappy, crowded continental breakfast at La Quinta and then had the front desk person call us a cab. Because we had gotten in so late the night before because of Hector, the next available free shuttle was noon and we didn't want to wait that long. The taxi came quickly and I think it cost about $26 to get to POM. We got to POM around 9:30 a.m. Check-in was a breeze and we were boarding the ship by noon. Here is a first sighting pic taken from the taxi!

 

532884_10151600427144721_1228489822_n.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Once aboard, I high tailed it to the shore excursions desk and signed up for the Behind the Fun tour! :D

 

We all ate lunch on the Lido deck and then DH and I gave Jenny and Lance a tour (since we had been on a Conquest class ship before, we were familiar with the layout).

 

Here is a Guy's Burger my DH devoured and a yummy turkey sandwich I had from the deli.

 

298052_10151600427244721_1105541173_n.jpg

 

297929_10151600427269721_17889879_n.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, I remember when you read my review you asked about those strawberry cake pops. I think I said, "I didn't have any, but Tom said they were OK". LOL, well, at least you were able to try for yourself!

 

I love looking at these pictures of the Liberty. Makes me want to go again, and soon! I feel like I need a cruise AT LEAST every other month! :eek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is one of the reviews I've been waiting for :) Sorry things didn't get off to a great start for you. I'd have been fuming after nearly 3 hours in the shuttle. We stayed at the same La Quinta the last time we cruised out of Miami and weren't impressed, but it wasn't that bad. It wouldn't be our first choice in the future but it worked well since we were on a budget at the time.

 

Glad to hear the cruise portion of the trip was much better! Looking forward to the rest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, I remember when you read my review you asked about those strawberry cake pops. I think I said, "I didn't have any, but Tom said they were OK". LOL, well, at least you were able to try for yourself!

 

I love looking at these pictures of the Liberty. Makes me want to go again, and soon! I feel like I need a cruise AT LEAST every other month! :eek:

 

Yeah, the strawberry one was kinda dense, but the chocolate one later in the week was yummy!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...