8/13/05 Liberty Review

Finally feeling rested after feeling quite jet lagged since returning on August 25th from the Liberty. I'll focus this review on excurisions and transportation issues since that is what seems to concern a lot of people.

We arrived in Rome the day before the cruise. We (Husband, 13 yr. old son and 16 yr. old daughter) had time the day of arrival to see St. Peters and the Vatican museum. Stayed at the Capo d'Africa in Rome near the coloseum and it was perfect. Modern, clean, rooms and a beautiful breakfast on a terrace overlooking the coloseum. We got up early the next morning and toured the coloseum (no line if you get there right when it opens), roman forum, pantheon.

Had a driver from Limo In Rome pick us up at the hotel at 1 pm and were at the ship by 2:30. Very high marks for Limo in Rome who also did our airport transfers. They were there waiting for us each time.

Embarkation was a breeze, we were on the boat within ten minutes. We had an outside balcony with the kids in an inside accross the hall. The cabin was spacious and comfortable, especially the beds. We used our balcony a lot - stay on the starboard side for the best views while in port.

First port - Naples, we did the Alfami Drive and Pompeii tour. The scenery on this tour was spectacular! However, the traffic in this area during August when all the Italians are vacationing was horrific. At one point we got stuck for quite a while when two buses couldn't pass - it took the police to untangle the mess. Pompeii is very interesting and is a lot larger than I imagined it would be. The lunch on the tour is in a very nice restaurant and the food was quite good - includes champagne and wine.

Second port - Dubrovnik, was the biggest surprise to us on the whole trip - it is beautiful! We did not take a tour here but did take the shuttle bus to the old city offered by the ship. It is a $10 per person round trip but we just bought a one way to get there and after learning the way - walked back to the ship. I have to say, the walk back was the best part of our day. The city is lovely and the small port where the ship docks is beautiful. I would say the walk took about 45 minutes.

Third port - Venice - everyone's favorite port. We did not take a tour here.

We walked off the ship, crossed the bridge over the railroad tracks, hang a right after the bridge and a little ways down on the opposite side of the street is a ticket office where you can get a ticket for the vaparetto. We bought the 24 hour ticket which lets you ride as much as you like. The system is very easy to use and a good way to see the city. We went to the Doges Palace about 3:30 pm and there was no line at all. The next morning we got to St. Mark's Basillica early and still had a little bit of line to deal with.

Don't miss getting off the beaten path in this city - the uncrowded back streets are the best part.

Fourth port - Messina - we did not take a tour here and should have. There is not a lot to see in Messina (at least we didn't find it). We wandered around for a couple of hours and got back on the ship early.

Fifth port - Barcelona, was beautiful. Its a very interesting and modern city. Great shopping. We did not do a tour here. We ended up walking down Las Rambas (a great pedestrian walkway down the center of the major shopping area) and all the way to the Gaudi Cathederal. This is a long walk but very dooable if you take a few stops along the way. The Cathederal was definately worth the walk - amazing! We stopped for a cappucino and later for lunch at a tapas bar. We took the metro back to our starting point. Very easy to use - you can purchase a single ticket for E1.30 per person.

Sixth port - Cannes, we took the Monaco and Monte Carlo on your own tour. Our guide was quite informative on the way there so we knew what to do once we arrived. At the suggestion of the guide we bought sandwiches at a little shop in Monaco and ate them at the lovely park there. We toured the Monaco Cathederal and the Palace - both very interesting. Later in the afternoon we left for Monte Carlo. We didn't do the Casino as we had the kids with us but had a great time just sitting outside watching all the fabulous cars ( with fabulous people in them) drive up.

Seventh port - Livorno - we did the Florence on your own tour. Again, we had a very informative guide in our bus. We walked the city, toured the science museum and the Santa Croce church. Didn't have reservations for the Uffuzi or Academia but don't know if we would have had time to fit it all in anyway. We were absolutely exhausted by the end of this day! Three major ports in three days at the end of the cruise was hard.

As for the boat, it was great. We especially enjoyed the Seaside Theatre, Sushi Bar, Coffee Bar, and the workout facilities. I will get a lot of flack here but I thought the intereior decoration was awlful!

Be careful of the internet - lots of problems, we would log on in our cabin but when we would log off, it would still be charging us minutes. Had to go get it straightened out twice.

Debarkation was a snap. We had arranged for our driver to come at 9 am and he was there waiting for us. FYI everyone is off the boat by 9 am - you can get off as early as about 5:45 am.

The Rome airport was a crowded - give yourselves a lot of extra time.

Let me know if you have any questions - be glad to help!

Jane from Spokane

Hi Jane,

Just wondering, in Messina did you consider taking the train to Taormina? We were planning on getting to Taormina on our own. Did you hear of others doing this?? Is it easy? I'd hate to get stuck in Messina. I too hear there isn't much to do there.

Thanks

bobbi

P.S. I leave on Friday for the Sept 6th cruising:)

Oops, I forgot to ask... in Venice, can you get to Murano taking the Vaporetto or would we need to take a different boat?

thanks again,

bobbi

Hi Bobbi - you're going to have a fabulous time!!!

I don't know about the train in Messina - didn't hear about anyone taking it but there are lots of taxis right at the ship so shouldn't be hard to get to the station.

You can take the vaporetto to Murano.

Have fun!

Jane from Spokane

Hi Jane,

That was a very informative and helpful review as you focused on some important issues like excursions and transportation. We are looking forward to our cruise on Sept.30th. I think the weather should be cooler and the city less crowded than in August.

I was especially interested to hear about the area of your hotel as we will be staying fairly close to the Coloseum at the Best Western President. We'll certainly take your tip about getting up early to visit the Coloseum!

It was good to hear that the embarkation was quick. We are leaving Rome at 1.00pm as you did so hopefully it will be the same for us.

We are joining others on our thread for private tours with Drive Amalfi for Pompeii and Amalfi coast, Florence/Pisa and Messina. I'm glad we booked the Messina one now after you mentioned there wasn't much to do there.

We are going on a tour of the Riviera from Cannes with Revelation tours who seem to have some good reports from CC people who have used them.

Thank you so much for the time you took to give us your report and advice.

Have a lovely day:)

Joyce

I am taking kids on the same cruise again next year, wondering what your kids thought of the experience?

Tina

Thanks so much for posting your review. We are leaving September 30 on the Liberty and are very much looking forward to our first cruise.

We are also planning to take the Florence on our Own tour. What time did you arrive in Florence and when did you have to meet the bus to go back to the ship?

Thanks!!

My 16 year old daughter was very interested in the whole European experience - loved the sights, even all the walking didn't bother her. My 13 year old son was more interested in the social life on the ship - I think if we'd let him, he would have never gotten off. He has told me that many of the teens aboard didn't get off (and there were a lot of them).

We got into Florence around 10:30 and had to be back at the bus around four.

Jane from Spokane

Thanks very much for the review. We leave in 2 days! And it is helpful to learn as much about getting about the ports as we can.

Amy

I am on the 10/12 sailing with an inside cabin. Can you tell me if the rooms have a hair dryer and mini refrigerator?

Thanks!

jmw: I can answer that. I had a hair dryer, and I believe I had the mini refrigerator, but it was locked the entire time (personally I didn't want to be tempted by it)

We were on the Aug 1 Liberty cruise and had planned to try to do Messina on our own. We decided to take the Carnival excursion and were glad that we did. It was not that expensive and we did not have to try and find the train or bus station on our own. Once the train gets to Taormina you have to get a bus to take you to the top where the old city is. We were very glad to have someone else do the driving. Some others that did it on their own liked it okay but said it was kind of a hassle to find everything. They did not save much money or much time in this port by doing it on their own.

We did love Taormina and the views from the Greek theater were amazing. Mt. Etna was covered in clouds but it was impressive anyway.

Have fun, whatever you decide to do.

Seventh port - Livorno - we did the Florence on your own tour. Again, we had a very informative guide in our bus. We walked the city, toured the science museum and the Santa Croce church. Didn't have reservations for the Uffuzi or Academia but don't know if we would have had time to fit it all in anyway. We were absolutely exhausted by the end of this day! Three major ports in three days at the end of the cruise was hard.

Is the bus part of Carnival tours or did you pick the bus outside the port? Also, where did you pick up the bus? We are going on the Oct 12 Liberty cruise and will be in Livomo on Oct 23.

The "florence on your own" is an excursion offered by Liberty...