funinthesun082611

That is definately cutting it close! I don't think you'd make it, and trying would create far too much stress. Any other times or is it possible you can fly out the following day?

On the Calabaza tour in Barbados, how do you get the pictures they take of you?

 

 

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Like stated, you getan email with a link for the pictures. Also included in the email is an attachment of recipes for food and rum punch, some of which you sample during the tour.

All pictures I posted from the excursion on Barbados are the actual pictures emailed from Gina. In my opinion, very good! And so nice that you can enjoy the day vs. spending all day trying to get the perfect shot.

Do you recall price for cover up? It looks super cute & I like the Orange. Did you see it anywhere else, type of material - thanks.

After they discontinued envelopes, I started bringing thank you cards with envelopes.

The cover-up cost me $18. This particular lady was selling them for $20. She offered it for $18 when I walked away. I'm sure you could probably get it down to around $15. There are plenty of ladies walking around selling these, so if you don't see one you like keep looking!

Sorry if you already posted this, but did you do FTTF? Is there any advantage to this on this particular cruise?

Sorry about not seeing this. I've purpose,y avoided finishing my review (leaving from San Juan isn't exciting anyways!) because I didn't want it to end.

We never do FTTF. I don't think it is necessary, especially because you have such a widespread time to board the ship for this itinerary. We went through the entire process- from walking into the building to walking on the ship- in 20-30 minutes midafternoon. We could walk right to our room. It worked for us, although everyone has different preferences!

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I contacted Carnival just the other night via their website about VIFP numbers. I had thought about it and discovered that I had a number with my maiden name and one with my married. I didn't have to prove anything about cruises, and within 24 hours they'd figured out how many cruises to add (I couldn't remember) and bumped me to the next level. They'll be able to easily figure it out.

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There are tons of shops at the pier here. We of course didn't have time to go to them, but there are a lot and they are "nice", similar to the ones in St. Thomas.

I had heard about this guavaberry colada and rum shop on the boards. So we decided to split one final drink in St. Maarten.

Waiting for our drink..

What I forgot to mention are the people trying to sell you things at Orient beach. There are quite a few locals who come around trying to sell you things- aloe vera massages, braids, hats, dresses, etc. All we simply had to do was say no thank you, and they didn't ask us again as they made their rounds up and down the beach. There was one sort of obnoxious man trying to sell a CD- he wouldn't give up, and would target the guys telling them that they needed to share this beautiful music with their ladies and why weren't they open to reggae, etc. When he approached us, we didn't answer every single question/approach he tried. We simply told him we weren't interested, and he didn't spend as much time badgering us as he did others.

If they do come around, they will be willing to make a bargain. I decided to buy the orange cover up in my previous picture. I asked how much they were, she told me a price, and I said thank you and walked away. I was only leaving to go ask my DH his opinion on if I should spend the money or not, and she asked how much I had. While I don't promote robbing these people of their income, I do promote bargaining. So you can always ask for a better deal- if they say no they say no.

Anyways, we enjoyed our guavaberry daiquiri (dangerously good!) as we waited to board the Liberty one final time.

We boarded the ship, cleaned ourselves up, and headed to dinner. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of the menu this date (sorry!). My mind must have been on enjoying the dinner, talking with our wait staff a little extra, and thanking them for such awesome service. We did tip our wait staff a little extra. I miss the days of envelopes that you pass out on the last evening, but I understand why things have been changed. We decided to tip a little extra just so we could show our appreciation to the staff in person.

We didn't do much this evening- grabbed a drink, sat at the outdoor movie on the Lido deck for a little while. Headed back to the room for the not so fun packing while my DH fell asleep on me. We were not doing self disembark, so luggage had to be in the hall by midnight.

We had decided before our trip that we would rent a jetski while here. I'd never been, while my DH had.

It cost us $50 for 30 minutes from a watersports shack right next to Orange Fever. All I have to say is it was a blast! It was an easy way for us to "beef up" a beach day and throw a little adventure into it. I never drove the thing- as much as I love adventure, I didn't want to ruin the thing! There were a few others out there but not many, which allowed us to go all over. We did decide to go shortly after we arrived before drinking for safety purposes (we do make smart choices every now and again!). They also offered parasailing- not sure on the price, but friends from the ship did do it and loved it.

We were hungry and thirsty afterwards, so we decided to go put an order in. They do have a open patio/restaurant area that you can stay in, or you can go back to your chairs and they will bring you your food when it was ready.

Some of their menu options...

In my research, I had heard that they had good pizza here. My husband can be a little picky when it comes to some toppings, so we didn't get to try any that I would have. Still, it was really good! I can't remember the price for our pepperoni- about $14 for a large pizza. I thought it was a really good deal if you're looking to not spend a lot.

We also ordered a bucket of Carib beers. I think it was something like 6 for $12- a really good deal. You did have to pay a $5 deposit for the bucket (who steals a bucket?!), but you got it back when you turned your bucket back in.

We spent the rest of our day hanging around- lounging in our chairs, swimming in the water, taking a walk up and down the beach. The beach is 1+ miles long. So even though it's busy, it never really felt busy. If you were swimming, there might be a handful of people near you, but you could move 10 feet over and no one be around.

We had planned on returning to the ship some time in the afternoon. We had ran into some friends from the ship (who coincidentally were originally from our hometown {that's a village} and we had some similar contacts) who asked if we would want to catch a ride back together. We had to be back by I believe 4:30. We left Orient Beach around 3:30 in a taxi van with 7 other people. If you worry about these things, leave earlier. We had no traffic and no problem getting back to the pier within 25 minutes.

It was our last day of true vacation. Always a sad day, but I was so excited to be in St. Maarten!

We had decided on our last day to keep it a beach day- relaxed but enjoyable. Orient Beach it was!

We didn't have to wait long for a taxi as you do some places. They put us in one with one other couple, and off we went. The more people they take, the cheaper it is per person. If it matters to you, try and get more people into the taxi to save a couple of bucks. We paid $8pp on the way there and $7 on the way back.

It wasn't a long ride. When you arrive, there are a ton of different places that you can go to and set up for the day. If you know in advance, let the taxi driver know and he can drop you off. Just because you "rent out" a chair from one place doesn't mean you can't go up to any of them for a meal or drink. Some have better deals overall than others. I had written down a couple, but we decided to go with Orange Fever. In my opinion, it was a good deal- a chair, an umbrella, free WiFi (which we didn't use- it was a no technology vacation and it felt good!), and one free drink (water, beer, rum punch) for $10 pp. Looking at the "Orange Fever" section from the water:

As you can see, the chairs are already set out and placed close together. This didn't bother us at all. We were up and down all day and didn't stay in one place too long. As you should know (but maybe don't), the beaches in St. Maarten are topless. Orient Beach also has a clothing optional section at one end. We had two women near us who were topless for part of the day. If it's not your thing or you have kids and don't want to explain or have them see anything, find something else to explore.

On the boards before we came, there was great discussion about seaweed here. There had been a storm that had messed with the beach a little. There was some seaweed on the beach- depending on where you were, there would be none. And I never came across any while I was in the water.

The water here is just heavenly! The shades of aqua and teal and blue- ah. The sand here feels the "finest" to me. Very soft and smooth.

The view from our chairs wasn't half bad either, even if we were in the second row.

could you add the last page about food??

I hate to admit it, but Saturday is the only day I didn't take pictures of the menus or what I got to eat that night. I must have been too wrapped up into one last dinner and talking with our wait staff. I'm sorry!

Thank you for your informative review.

I see you've been on other Carnival Cruises. Can you tell us which were your favorites?

I'm researching cruises for my son & his buddies, all in their early 40's, and starting at step zero. I think I've settled on a 3 - 5 day Carnival, but that's as far as I've gotten. There's just so much to research! We went as a family on the Disney Dream a few years ago, and he's hooked. That was an easy research project compared to this - there are just so many ships!

Thanks again for your great review.

I've never been on a short cruise, so I can't speak too much to that. We loved the Liberty, and the Glory has the same layout. I looked, the Glory doesn't do 3-5 day cruises but the Liberty does. I glanced at some of itineraries for the shorter cruises. I personally look at itineraries first, pick a few I like that work with dates I can go, and then see what ships they are. I don't fancy the Bahamas as much as Mexico, and I don't fancy Mexico as much as I do the Caribbean islands- so that's what I'd personally look for. I also don't know what port the guys would leave from. So this is what I would do: select the month or two that the trip is planned for, select the departure port, select 3-5 days for cruise length and select the Caribbean for the destination. See what ships come up- you may not have a lot of options.

In terms of ships, I do like big since it often means that there is a wider variety of things to do. We tend to look at dining options (like having Guys and Blue Cantina aboard) and bars/entertainment areas (like the Alchemy Bar).

Sorry I'm not a ton of help, but that's where I'd start :)

Yeah, check out my review! The previous poster is talking about mine :)

In all seriousness, my husband and I just did this cruise a few weeks ago. We are 26 and 28 and sound like we enjoy the same things.

To sum it up for us:

Sapphire Beach in St Thomas

Calabaza Catamaran tour (snorkel with turtles) in Barbados

Spencer Ambrose's Land, Sea and Beach tour in St Lucia

We had to go to Dominica, but we were booked with Thenford Grey in St Kitts (Brimstone fortress, Batik, tour of island, few hours at the beach)

Orient Beach in St Maarten

Friday is the 2nd formal night of the cruise. After sitting on the deck, we spent our time getting ready for the evening.

After getting a set of professional pictures taken, we stopped at the Taste Bar. I can't remember exactly what this was, but some Italian meatball maybe? Everything we tried was always good here. The Taste Bar wasn't open every day. We always walked by on our way to dinner. If it was open, we tried something!

For the appetizer I got the four season salad (as always, refreshing! something about a cold salad after a day in the sun "feels" good) and my DH got the crab cake.

For dinner we both chose the filet mignon and short rib. It was so tender! Delicious.

This night they were having a "rock show" in the main lounge (Victoria lounge). We decided to go- great choice! The song choices were entertaining and the performers did a good job.

Afterwards we headed to the Punchliner Comedy Club. We saw 2 of the shows- they had been able to fly in the 2 new comedians to Dominica instead of St. Kitts. Both were excellent.

While we were looking forward to the next day (love St. Maarten!), we also weren't. It would be our last day of vacation :(

After our tour ended, we headed back to the ship. We were glad we spent a few hours on the island to see some highlights. We grabbed a late lunch from the Fish and Chips station. If you haven't gone there- try it! On all my cruises, I hadn't. It was good (it's fish and chips!) but they also offered a few extras that would be tasty- ceviche, fried kalamari, etc.

All day it had rained off and on. But all of a sudden, the sun came blazing in again.

We decided that we better soak it up- before we knew it vacation would be over. We threw on our suits and headed up to the Lido deck to relax, read, and listen to the live music.

How can't you be happy when the sun is shining, there's a perfect breeze, and island music is playing?!

We also happened to catch a rainbow, which I thought was the icing on the cake for the day.

I love the mountainous view this island gives- very much like St. Lucia in that sense.

And the colors of the buildings... seriously heavenly! For me, it's always the simple things.

So while Friday was completely unexpected and likely won't be repeated, I still have to share our time in Dominica.

We didn't rush ourselves this day. We woke up when we wanted, leisurely ate breakfast. We didn't have a plan. We decided that we would go down to the pier, look around, and see if anything "spoke" to us. If we needed to get something from the ship before we did it, we would come back.

It was gloomy, cloudy, rainy. Didn't make me feel like going to a beach or the like.

We wandered around at the end of the pier. There's booths set up along the street, selling trinkets. None of it was appealing, and I just wasn't sure what we were going to do. I'd been here once before- it's less developed and more of a place where you don't go extremely off the beaten path. There was a tourist information center, so we walked in to see what was available. A young couple approached us and asked if we would want to do a taxi tour with them. The taxi driver of course didn't want to take just 2 people (less money!), but was willing to take 4. My DH was a little leery (he's great if I have things planned, but just didn't know what to expect). The taxi driver had his government issued ID tag, so we decided why not.

For $25 per person, we got a 3 hour tour. Our taxi driver gave us history of the island, told us what we were seeing, etc. Our first stop was to Emerald Pool. My DH and I didn't bring our swimsuits with us (the young couple from Puerto Rico did), but it was still lovely to see.

Everything is so green in Dominica- all that rain! It's just so bright and awesome.

We next made a stop to the botanical gardens. Our driver would stay near the vehicle and let us explore. We were never rushed through any stop- just take your time. Loved how the tree life grew together..

We made a stop past the botanical garden t a really great viewpoint of the town. There were booths set up here as well- we had to of course try a local brew. Loved the views from here- the Liberty looks so lovely!

MonsterS4R and Beach gal- I am so excited for you both! So glad you booked Spencer and/or Calabaza. You will absolutely love it! You will see so much and feel so special at the end of the day. It makes my heart happy when other people get to experience such great things too!

I think for dessert my DH got the sticky toffee one. I decided on the s'mores parfait (which my waiter agree was good).

It might have been the best dessert I had during this trip. Seriously so good!!

We hadn't had our regularly scheduled vacation nap that afternoon, so we decided to take a short one before the night's festivities.

(I always like when they incorporate your stuff into the towel animal)

The nap was a bad idea! I was up within an hour, and my DH was out. I had really wanted to go to the show that night- The Game of Love. It's my favorite! If you haven't been on a cruise, it's essentially a show involving 3 couples. They select a couple that has been married the longest, the shortest, and somewhere in between. They split the couples up, ask a series of questions to the ladies, and then they ask the men the same questions (what would your wife have answered). It is always so funny! I couldn't stand to miss out, so I left my sleeping DH and went alone. Such a weird experience! I have never done anything alone on a cruise. Glad I went- as always, an entertaining show!

I grabbed a glass of wine on my way back to the room and read out on the balcony. Listening to the water against the side of the boat- there's just something so calming about that. The perfect way to end the night! I really was so thankful that Carnival offered us the cheap upgrade to the balcony. We loved it.

We grabbed a drink from the Alchemy bar (surprise surprise!)- tonight the bartenders asked if they could make something for us. They knew what we had been ordering all week so I ran with it. Some awesome strawberry martini. They do a great job at this bar.

I initially forgot to take pictures of the menus this night. Good thing it is posted outside the dining room :)

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a5da37b3127ccee8b4397a7b0200000030O10Aat2rNi3YuWYPbz4S/cC/f%3D0/ls%3D00309171357520150417001314451.JPG/ps%3D50/r%3D1/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

What I ordered: the cream of broccoli soup (so good!), our waiter told me the cannelloni was good (I think he just got the picture that I eat a lot!) so I got that too (also good!), and the grilled beef tenderloin (just one of the regular "alternative" options). I think my husband stuck with the Port of Call this night.

After about 2 hours, we loaded back up into our speedboats. On the drive back, we got to learn about the different villages. The fellas would stop for lots of picture opportunities. We drove into Marigot Bay- so beautiful! My pictures don't do it justice.

It's a very pretty, secluded bay. There's a hotel located here (you have to get there by water ferry!) that they said is really reasonable to stay at- $75 a night or something of the like.

We made our way back to the pier, arriving around 3:30. We had until I think 4:30 to be back to the ship. All of the places stopped at on the tour had people selling trinkets- almost all of those things you can also get back at the shops at the pier. We were on the hunt for something unique. I don't like to buy things that aren't actually made on the island. We ended up with banana ketchup (they have hot sauce and other similar things)- good! We also came across a gentleman creating fine wire craft souvenirs. There are tons of pieces he's made. He takes one wire and uses tools to twist it, bend it, etc into something. There are all sorts of things- "people" playing the drums, snorkeling, sitting in a hammock under a palm tree. We purchased a scuba diver with a turtle next to him. I didn't take a picture, but here's a sample of what he does-

If you're interested, he's on a corner in the duty free shops. It's called "Wire World".

We made our way back to the ship by 4:15 pm. We decided to get a snack- somehow I was always hungry, but I think it's because there's just so many options!

As we were splitting a Guy's burger, they made the announcement that we would not be stopping at St. Kitts the next day due to expected high winds. Cue initial disappointment. St. Kitts is the only island I'd personally not been to on the itinerary, and I'd had a tour planned with Thenford Grey. They had decided early enough in the day that we wouldn't be going there that they were able to switch our stop to Dominica. A long line suddenly formed at the Shore Excursion desk. We picked up a listing of the excursions they'd be offering. For the price, we didn't think any seemed worth it. Some of them sounded appealing, but not for the money. We didn't have a plan for Dominica (so not like me!), but it was what it was.

We set sail away from St. Lucia- it was beautiful out! The sun was hitting everything just right.

After a short ride in the van, we made it to the waterfall. It was a little on the cool side (compared to the sulphur pool, anything would be!) but so refreshing.

I wore water shoes into the waterfall. Better safe than sorry- never know what you're going to come across. The crew was literally always seeing if we wanted our picture taken. So nice when you're traveling as a couple without friends or family.

We stayed here a short time, enough to get in, cool off, and take some pictures. Next up- stopping to try some local bananas!

St. Lucia's biggest industry is bananas. The U.S. doesn't get any from St. Lucia, Great Britain does. They were so good! Definitely had more flavor I would say than the ones I purchase in Michigan. When we were done taste testing and learning about the process to grow bananas, we threw our peels over the fence back under the banana trees. They claim that it's good fertilizer for further growth of the crop.

Afterwards, we headed to a local small restaurant for lunch. Learn to be patient- there's 2 groups here (on our day anyways there were two speedboats all doing the same tour). It's a small restaurant and there's only one line to reach the table, but it's worth it!

There is a little bit of everything, and it all was delicious! Salad, root vegetables, potato salad, chicken, rice, beans, noodles. The cook herself was present, so it was nice to be able to thank her for the yummy lunch.

We made our way back to the docks and hopped into the speedboats. It was a short ride- maybe 5 minutes- to reach Jalousie beach. The beach is seated right between the Pitons. What a breathtaking view!

Looking at the beach, the left side is where we all went to. The beach itself is public, however, on the right side there is a resort. You can go to the right side, place your towels there, but if you try to use their chairs you will get charged. There are a handful of lounge chairs on the left side that you can use for free. By the time we got there, there were none available. We didn't care as we were ready to snorkel!

There is a section on the left that is a marine reserve. You literally walk right in, throw on your snorkel mask, and see fish all around you! Spencer does have snorkel masks to borrow. I continued to wear my water shoes for protection. There were SO many fish! I'd say probably the best place I've snorkeled in the Caribbean. It does not get very deep in this section- I'm bad at judging depth, but it was very comfortable. There was nice coral, and so many different fish. Really, I can't praise this place enough. No need to feed the fish or anything. Schools of fish around you- awesome!

We stayed here I'm guessing about 2 hours or so. You could snorkel, relax, partake in free drinks. There are a few shops/tables set up here if you felt so inclined to browse.

Thursday morning we were up bright and early. We headed to breakfast around 7:45 a.m. after getting ready for the day. It was the first time we hit up the omelet station- quick to get and made to order, just what we like!

We were ready to embrace the day in St Lucia!

(view from our balcony, starboard side)

I had already set up a tour with Spencer Ambrose for this day. We had selected the Land, Sea, and Beach tour. We were off the ship by 8:15 a.m. and easily found Spencer at the end of the shopping area at the pier. This day's tour was set to be 8 hours long.

We walked to a dock once everyone arrived and got into speedboats. It was a little chaotic trying to figure out who belonged in what boat- Spencer holds a number of tours. One of the tours was headed straight to the beach, and the other (the one we were in) was headed into the island first and then to the beach.

After everyone knew where they belonged, we were on our way. What I did like is that we used speedboat to travel. Some tours offer van only in order to tour the island. Most attractions visitors plan to go to are a long distance from the pier by car due to winding roads- a good 1.5-2 hours by car. It took us about 30-40 minutes in the speedboat to get to the side of the island we were aiming for.

While on the speedboat, the guides would stop and fill us in on what we saw- villages, resorts, hotels, where movies had filmed, etc. We stopped at a natural bat cave- can see and hear so many of them! Eventually, we got the best sight ever- the Pitons!

That meant we were so close to where we were headed.

Where we docked, there were a handful of local young boys. Before we got there, the crew warned us to not take anything the boys were trying to offer us (grass reeds they had shaped into animals). If you take it from them (it can seem just like an offering to you), they will expect money from you and follow you. One of the things I much appreciated from the crew. A simple "no thank you" kept them from approaching me.

Once on land, we got divided into vans. A tour was provided as we drove to our destination- you could either choose to get a tour of the volcano or you could go to the sulphur mud baths. We picked the second option.

It's said that the sulphur mud has all these natural properties that make you "youthful". When you arrive, you're instructed to get right into the pool. It is hot hot hot! You are supposed to sit in there for a few minutes. After that, you get out and there are buckets of sulphur mud that you are supposed to spread all over you. Let it dry for 5-10 minutes, then get back into the pool of water to rinse off.

The pool is in the following picture at the top of those steps. Hard to see as it is dark.

Our skin really did feel good- so soft! If you plan to go here, wear an old bathing suit. Had no issues with staining, but some find that they do. When we were done, we hopped back into the van for a short drive to the waterfall.

(at a scenic overlook on our way to the waterfall)

Throughout this tour, there is also unlimited drinks- pop, water, Piton beer, rum punch. With this tour, I did find that I had to ask for a drink more often than being asked, but they were always happy to supply.

Can you advise who you booked this tour thru and how bumpy was the catamaran. My son can get sea sick of it's too much but he would love the snorkeling. We are booked on liberty over Xmas so wanting to book excursions early! Thanks. Janet

Use this email address to book/inquire about availability: sailcalabaza@gmail.com

The ride was not bumpy at all on the way to the snorkeling spots. It was slightly bumpy on the way back, but we chose to sit on the nets at the front of the catamaran. If you had your son stay in the back, it wouldn't be as bad. No one on the trip made any comments on it being bumpy. I think it's definately worth it!

Gina responds very quickly to all emails, less than 24 hours between emails.

That's an excellent deal! I got an offer for our recent Liberty cruise that was an upgrade from our interior on the 6th floor to a balcony on the 9th for $200 even. I had priced the difference, and it's an incredible savings!

I thought I was giving all the wrong info when I said port on the left haha as long as we have that straightened out!

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JKirkN- what awesome photos of the ship sailing away! I haven't seen these yet. Thank you so much for sharing!

Thanks for the awesome review. Can you please tell me if Liberty docked on the even side or odd side at each port? I am in 7439 and just wondering if I get to be port side for at least one of our stops! Thank you.

St Thomas- docks with the starboard (odd) side facing the island, which is a less pretty view in my opinion

(view from starboard side)

Barbados- docks with port (even) side next to the pier. This is the starboard view, where you can see part of the island and the water

St. Lucia- Starboard (odd) side is next to the pier. This is the view from the starboard side (very good in my opinion)

St. Maarten- Port (even) side docks next to the pier. The view from the starboard side is nice.

From what I've read, if needed they can change the side they dock on based on if other ships are in port, etc. We enjoyed our views every morning/evening. And if we didn't see what we wanted to (like the ships in the bay at St. Thomas {my favorite} then we just saw what we wanted when we went to breakfast).

No matter what, I can always make room for dessert :)

(sorry the picture is so awful! apparently vacation brain made me decide I didn't need to actually hold up the menu as I took the picture)

I got the cheesecake with fruit relish.

Before making plans for the rest of the night, we headed back to our room. Our room steward dropped off a "birthday card" from Carnival. Not anything fancy, but a nice touch!

This night, we decided to head to the evening show- a Frank Sinatra production. My DH is a huge Sinatra fan and is very involved in music, and neither of us were very impressed. The performer indicated he was flown just for this show- not sure if he's only there the 1 day a week or just this once? We weren't upset we went, just wouldn't go again.

(the Victoria lounge)

We spent the remainder of our evening sitting in the lobby of the atrium listening to the live music.

(in the lobby- so pretty and calming!)

The perfect ending to a perfect day!