Need Answers From The Experts

My hubby and I will be flying in pretty early on June 28 in Miami for Carnival Liberty. We will be arriving from Charlotte, NC around 9am. Should we hang out at the airport or go on to the Port? Should we get a taxi or use Carnival transportation? If taxi -what is the expected cost?

Also we are booked in room 1208 riviera 4a forward of the ship(very front-tba assigned room from 1a). Will I have motion issues? Is it worth $350 more to get a window on the same deck? Or use that money to play?

Should we still bring toiletries or are the ones in the room sufficient- I am not picky-except for hair conditioner. Do you know the brands they use?

And last but not least, how are the prices for jewlery and watches onboard in the shops?

Thanks for your help!

Dena :o :rolleyes: :D

If you must fly in same day, I would go straight to the port. I would not want to risk anything delaying getting me there. Better to get to the port and have to wait around then to hang at the airport and get stuck in traffic or have some other unforseen event cause me to miss my cruise. Also, it is in your best interest to continually check the status of your flight (right up until the time you leave for the airport), as delays and cancellations are becoming the rule, not the exception. If you have not done so already, please get trip insurance and make sure the policy includes coverage if you miss the ship and must fly to a port of call to catch up with the ship.

I find the toiletries provided are adequate, but if you are picky about conditioner, then by all means bring your own.

In my opinion, the jewelry and watch prices are competitive, but by no means a "steal". Your best bet is to research in advance what you want to buy and what prices you should expect to pay. Then you wll know if you are getting a good deal onboard or not.

Hope this helps. Have a wonderful cruise!!

My hubby and I will be flying in pretty early on June 28 in Miami for Carnival Liberty. We will be arriving from Charlotte, NC around 9am. Should we hang out at the airport or go on to the Port? Should we get a taxi or use Carnival transportation? If taxi -what is the expected cost?

 

Also we are booked in room 1208 riviera 4a forward of the ship(very front-tba assigned room from 1a). Will I have motion issues? Is it worth $350 more to get a window on the same deck? Or use that money to play?

 

Should we still bring toiletries or are the ones in the room sufficient- I am not picky-except for hair conditioner. Do you know the brands they use?

 

And last but not least, how are the prices for jewlery and watches onboard in the shops?

Thanks for your help!

Dena :o :rolleyes: :D

I am not help on these questions....but I am on the same cruise so see you there. Come check out our Roll Call

I am on this cruise as well.. we fly in from washington state on friday.

I believe that the shampoo and conditioner were fine when i have used them, i would however, recommend you bring your own hair dryer as the one in the cabin is not very powerful and can take you awhile to dry your hair.

Dena, to answer a few of your questions:

Regarding motion sickness, really can't tell you if you will have a problem with it. If you have problems with motion sickness in cars or planes, you may have problems. Even if you've never had problems with motion sickness, you might experience it on a forward cabin on a cruise.

DH & I have cruised about 20 times so far and have experienced motion sickness at very few times on our cruises. However, we've learned that it can happen to us at any time and in any part of the ship, forward, mid or aft. I always travel with Dramamine or Bonine for those few times when we experince the problem. It's a ``just in case'' pack I put into our pack of travel size stomach aids, headache, muscle ache, bandaid, etc. pack. It's just in case.

If you are picky about your hair conditioner, I'd pack a small bottle of that for the cruise. I'm picky about my shampoo and take a travel size bottle of that with me along with travel size bottles of my favorite skin cream lotions, perfume and body lotions, etc.

As far as prices for watches and jewelry onboard: prices are very reasonable but don't jump at those prices the first day or so after you board. Ship shops normally have ``sales'' on watches and jewelry throughout the cruise. Most of those sales occur toward mid to end of your cruise.

Have a great cruise. You are on a great site to get many of your cruise questions answered and there are literally thousands of seasoned cruisers here to help you have that great cruise.

Dianne

My hubby and I will be flying in pretty early on June 28 in Miami for Carnival Liberty. We will be arriving from Charlotte, NC around 9am. Should we hang out at the airport or go on to the Port? Should we get a taxi or use Carnival transportation? If taxi -what is the expected cost? By the time you make the LONG walk to baggage claim and get your bags and make a quick stop in the BR, it's going to be after 10. The port is about 20 minutes from MIA, so unless you're hungry and want to grab a snack I would probably go on to the port via TAXI. The cost is right around $20 total. If you do the Carnival shuttle, you have to wait until the whole bus is full and that could take some time

 

Also we are booked in room 1208 riviera 4a forward of the ship(very front-tba assigned room from 1a). Will I have motion issues? Is it worth $350 more to get a window on the same deck? Or use that money to play? Are you sure you're in 1208 on the Liberty??? I'm not finding it on the deck plan. I prefer inside rooms, though that far forward could be an issue, but no for me I wouldn't pay $350 more for a window, I might pay a little more for an inside closer to midship on the main or upper deck though.

 

Should we still bring toiletries or are the ones in the room sufficient- I am not picky-except for hair conditioner. Do you know the brands they use?

I don't know what they use, but it's not very top line. Okay for me, but I do usually bring my own shampoo (don't use conditioner). They have shampoo and body wash dispensers in the showers, and when I was on the Valor last month they also had bar soap in both the shower and vanity area. Bring lotion, there is a hairdryer in the desk, but it's not very powerful and you have to hold the button down. Bring lots of lotion, sea air is very drying, all of the pools are salt water.

 

And last but not least, how are the prices for jewlery and watches onboard in the shops?

 

They have specials on jewelry almost everyday, but it does get cheaper as the week goes on.....I'm not sure I think prices are that much better than what you can haggle for on shore, and I'm really not sure they are any better than what you can obtain from a good discount jeweler or online jeweler here at home.

Have fun, the Liberty is a Conquest class ship and though I've never sailed on her I've been on all of her sister ships and I love them. Just study up on those deck plans, it can be confusing if they are new to you.

Thanks for your help!

Dena :o :rolleyes: :D

Bon Voyage!!!!!!!!!!!

Forgot to add: regarding transportation from airport to pier -- grab a taxi. The price is normally less than the transfers and if you book a cruiseline transfer you normally have to wait at the airport until a transfer bus is full.

I'm thinking that the last time we took a taxi from MIA to pier the cost was around $20 or less.

Dianne

Thank you for your great advice. I was mistaken on our cabin #. It is 1206 not 1208. It is the 2nd room forward-port side. Looking forward to this cruise. :D

It looks like all of your questions have been answered; I thought I would add a little to the jewelry comments.

I have bought several pieces of jewelry, along with a couple of watches, in the onboard jewelry shops. I have been very pleased with them, and all pieces have been appraised at MUCH higher than what I paid. If there is a particular type of stone that you want, ask in the jewelry shop which day they will be having a special - e.g., tanzanite day, emerald day, blue diamond day, etc. They really do give an extra discount on those days.

Have a great trip!

My hubby and I will be flying in pretty early on June 28 in Miami for Carnival Liberty. We will be arriving from Charlotte, NC around 9am. Should we hang out at the airport or go on to the Port? Should we get a taxi or use Carnival transportation? If taxi -what is the expected cost?

 

Sounds like you are on a non stop out of CLT. That is probably the first flight of the day and there is little chance of much delay so there is not much to worry about on that end.

 

I would take a taxi to the port. It is a flat rate and is about $25 (I suspect that fares have gone up since I was there in March due to fuel costs.) Luggage in MIA is a quick process (I assume that you are on USAir). It may be to the carousal by the time you get there. As to when to leave for the port, I would play it by ear. It is about a 15 minute ride (maybe 20). You really do not want to get there much before 11:00 to allow debarking passengers time to get off. Just plan accordingly.

 

Also we are booked in room 1208 riviera 4a forward of the ship(very front-tba assigned room from 1a). Will I have motion issues? Is it worth $350 more to get a window on the same deck? Or use that money to play?

 

While you may have motion issues, Bonnine is a lot cheaper than the $350 to upgrade. Grab some at a target or drug store before you leave home and start taking it in the morning before you leave home. It may not be needed, but it is cheap insurance. Save your cash and use it for something else.

 

Should we still bring toiletries or are the ones in the room sufficient- I am not picky-except for hair conditioner. Do you know the brands they use?

 

Bring your conditioner. they provide liquid body wash and shampoo in the shower. If you want to bring your own pack travel sizes in your checked baggage, don't try to carry it on the plane.

 

And last but not least, how are the prices for jewlery and watches onboard in the shops?

 

You can probably get a better deal for a watch in St. Thomas than on the ship. I am assuming that you are looking for an expensive watch, I would suggest the R H Risse Rolex store in St. Thomas. They are an authorized dealer for all the major brands and will take good care of you.

 

I can't help much with jewelery. There are some good outlets in Old Town San Juan. I have saved over 50% off the outlet price in the US at the Polo store.

 

On my last cruise on NCL the store manager told me that I would get a better deal on a watch on shore (I was looking at TAGs and Brietlings). He was right and actually made a good effort at taking care of me.

 

Thanks for your help!

Dena :o :rolleyes: :D

Answers above

Yes, if you are buying a watch or jewelry on the ship, they do tend to have specials near the end of the cruise. Unless, of course, you are looking for a specific stone and then go with the 'sale of the day'. Have a great cruise!!!

Thank you all for your very informative answers.

Dena- Just 19 more days!!!

Thank you all for your very informative answers.

 

Dena- Just 19 more days!!!

We have bought the watches and all I can say is you get what you pay for. I had one last me a year - paid 10.00 for it and a battery would have cost me this much. Gold faded very quickly but I still wear it and does not look bad at all.

Ahhh yes, Jewelry on the ship...

Diamond night June '06 I have one named Elation, Blue diamond night April '08 I have one named Victory!!:p Very good prices.

I prefer my own fave toiletries myself. Just remember the "don't check anything over 2 oz bottle" rule. If you put it in the checked bags, you can take whatever you want.

I travel quite a bit for work, too, and it's easier to have a separate makeup kit just for travel. I replenish it when I come home and then forget about it--it's ready to go. It's an exact duplicate of what I keep in my makeup drawer.

Agree on the jewelry. Sales come up later in the week.

For motion sickness, you might experience it as a headache on day 2. Sometimes happens to me and I never get queasy. Just take some pain reliever and get enough rest.

ENJOY!