Great Time on 4-day Liberty to Bahamas

Kudos to the Liberty staff who took such great care of us in all aspects of our short stay. There was such a cheerful vibe on this cruise.

The details and the pictures will have to wait. Unfortunately, during the 14-hour car ride home from Port Canaveral, I was overtaken by a low fever, headache, and body aches. I'm just too tired to type today.

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Nice to know you enjoyed your cruise.

Be well and looking forward to the details.

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I second the well wishes for your health. I too look forward to your recap.

Hoping for a speedy recovery. Happy to hear you were well taken care of by the staff.

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Thank you for the well wishes. I'm back. I slept for most of the first 36 hours after our return, and that seemed to do the trick.

You already know how the story ends, we had a great time. To begin with, we had our reservations about this cruise vacation. Even though we've been on 9 other cruises,we've never been on a short cruise, never in the summer, never on an early sold-out ship, and never on the Liberty, although 2 were on the Pride. We had trepidation about sailing in the summer because of the rants about the abundance of wild, obnoxious children. We also had trepidation about sailing on a 4-day cruise because of the rants about wild, obnoxious booze cruisers. What it came down to is that we had only a small window of time in which to travel and thanks to some foolishness on the part of our oldest child, who did not come with us, not much money for more than a short Carnival Cruise from a driveable port.

As it turned out, there were wild, obnoxious children - my daughter caught a raucous, knock-down wresting match between two boys in our hallway on video- but not in abundance. There might have been obnoxious booze cruisers, but we never witnessed anything even close to what people have posted on the recent "Worst Thing"thread. None of our fears were realized. In fact, the only unpleasant aspects of our vacation had nothing to do with Carnival. It was of our own doing.

We had a rather stressful beginning to our cruise vacation. The plan was for the four of us (husband, me, adult son, teen daughter)to take turns driving during the 13 hour, 915 miles from Maryland to Cape Canaveral. Since none of our kids can drive a stick shift, we decided to take the only vehicle we own that's an automatic. Unfortunately, it's also the smallest and when it comes to comfort, a seat on an airplane couldn't have provided less elbow and leg room, even with most of luggage in the trunk. It rained most of the way from Maryland to South Carolina, and the windshield wipers operated on some lunatic erratic cadence that was noisy and grating. Close to the Georgia border, the AC started acting up,a sign we knew well from another of our old cars that did the same thing. Sure enough, the car was overheating. We stopped for a bit. Dh messed about doing whatever he does when this happens. We might have made it all the way to Cocoa Beach, but for a long stretch along 95, we encountered intermittent traffic jams that the car just couldn't handle. We wound up pulled over to the shoulder to sit in the steamy heat 4 times to let the car cool down and to add water. Finally, we left the interstate to find the Advanced Auto where my husband bought some tools and did some mechanical magic I know nothing about. We arrived a tour hotel in Cocoa Beach 3 hours behind schedule but not at a terribly late hour since we had left at 4:00 in the morning.

Things got better after that. We stayed at the Days Inn near the pier. It was a good value for the money. Clean. Comfortable beds. Basic breakfast. While we were getting ready for bed, I pulled out the luggage tags dh color printed for me at work right before we left. It was the first time I took a good look at them. What the heck. They had the FTTFcircle on them which confounded because I didn't purchase FTTF.I did read about it on the Carnival excursion page about 4 weeks before our cruise,was suprised it was available but never purchased it. I never wouldhave. Being first or fast isn't something we prioritize. So, I called Carnival. The rep confirmed that it had been paidfor. While I was on the phone, I asked dh if he did it, which I was sure he hadn't. Hedidn't even know what it was. I quickly told him and asked him if weshould just keep it. He said no way. The rep canceled it forme. I apologized for the late notice but she said it was noproblem because there were people waiting for it. She said tokeep the tags since I didn't have access to a printer. It wouldbe straightened out at check-in.

I stopped at the front desk of the Days Inn in the morning to arrange for our car to stay there and book a shuttle trip, but it turned outthe super cheap rate I got (82.00) didn't include parking. Noproblem. I didn't really want to take the shuttle anyway. BTDT toomany times. Our check-in time with Carnival was 11:00 am. We arrived at the port shortly before. There appeared to be vehicles converging on the parking garage from three different directions, but the lot attendants had everything under control. Excellent directions any newbie could follow. I think it took 10 minutes from the time we hit the entry tothe time we dropped off luggage, parked, and crossed the passenger ramp to theport.

What happened next changed our mind about FTTF. It was prettycrowded at the security entrance to the port. And really hot andhumid. We were ready to do our time and sweat it out(literally) in the security line, but as soon as we hit the entrance,the security lady asked for our boarding passes, looked them over,and sent us straight to the FTTF line. Dh said, we canceled it, butshe wasn't biding what he said and told us which way to go. So wewent. No line, no wait. In a snap we were in thechecking/waiting area. The room was packed. Seats, lines,everywhere hundreds of people. We were told where to get inline for FTTF. Moral dilemna. No wait in FTTF versus long waitin regular line. I said to DH, "At this point, I think weshould get in the FTTF line and pay for the FTTF at check-in.They think we have it. It looks like it might already have beenworth it." Dh said he was thinkingthe same thing.

We sat in the FTTF/premium (whatever it's called) area not even longenough to get bored. Maybe 10 minutes? I guess there weren'tany weddings. It felt very weird but kind of nice to get on the ship so quickly. It was also kind of nice toexperience our first lunch without the manic crush on the Lido deckthat would ensue imminently. We were able to get sushi from thesushi bar, fresh fruit from the buffet, Guy Burgers and a table forfour without any hassle or wait.

(Sidenote: Our opinion of Guy Burgers and the sushi. DS summed it upfor all of us. The burger patties and fries were better thanBurger King's but not as good as Five Guys'. DD and I agreedthe sushi was better than the stuff you get from the supermarketsushi chef but not as great as the sushi we had in Long Beach,California (a hard act to follow admitedly).)

More first day stuff: OneTFFT perk we skipped and one we didn't. Ihave no idea how early our room and bags were available to usbecause we didn't go back to our room until well after 1:00. First,we went to Guest Services so I could have my gift cards applied toour folios. (Thanks for the GC threads - saved hundreds ofdollars). By now, just about everyone (or so it seemed) was onboard, and the line at Guest services was long. Fortunately, there was someone managing the line because it has surpassed the point of obvious entry. She ushered us to a different line. No wait. We were liking TFFT even more than before. While I'm thinkingabout this, I've heard someone call FTTF guests line cutters. I hope that person has been corrected. If not, and he/sheis reading this,There is a SEPARATE line. No one cuts into theregular line.

After that chore, we explored the ship to find the best place to play Settlers of Catan otherthan the library which is very small and only has two tables bigenough to set up this game, and then we went to our room to unpack.

Fourgrown people sharing a room. One word.Poopourri. Just kidding, but only a little. It reallyworks. Too bad there isn't something to prevent fart smell. Onmemorable afternoon, my son cleared the room! Even my husband, who isolfactory-challenged-went to sit on the balcony. As far fouradults sharing a room, it wasn't bad at all. There was enough closet, drawer, and storagespace for us, but we pack light. We had a total of 4 carryon-sizesuitcases (clothes, shoes, etc.), 1 large suitcase (snorkel gear,board games, electrical stuff,etc) and 4 backpacks. Surprisingly,there were enough hangers. I brought extras but didn't need but afew. To keep the bathroom uncluttered, we had the over the door organizer. By nesting smaller luggage in bigger luggage, we were able to fit it all under the bed. That being said, I wouldn't recommend this arrangement of 4 adults in oneroom unless you are all light packers(4 pairs shoes or less), use minimal beauty and groomy products and devices, are tidy people, don't spend a lot of time in your room, and are open to the idea of using a toilet somewhere else on the ship and the spa shower if necessary. Too many conditions? Book two rooms. ;) We usually do, but, as mentioned, vacation money was tight this year.

Morning service, night service or both? Our room steward offered morning or evening service but I asked for both. I didn't ask about the conversion of the sofa and pull-down bed because I assumed they would be stowedduring the day. That's what the steward did on our Princess cruise last year, but that wasn't the case here. Once the beds were prepared on the first night, the sofa stayed in bed mode the entire cruise and the pull down bunk stayed down as well. We probably could have asked for the sofa-bed to be stowed, but we didn't really need it to be. With 4 in our room, having the upper bunk available all day gave my son a place to chill that he wouldn't have had otherwise. If anyone reading this has had a different experience in regards to stowing the beds, please share.

Speaking of sharing, this is all I have for now. "Luxuriating" in convalescent slumber has put me way behind in my household chores.

Thanks Silent Penguin for your review. I truly laughed out loud at your "Fourgrown people sharing a room. One word. Poopourri." Oh my, that is funny & relate-able!

I would love to know what you all did at Nassau. Glad you enjoyed your trip!

Thanks Silent Penguin for your review. I truly laughed out loud at your "Fourgrown people sharing a room. One word. Poopourri." Oh my, that is funny & relate-able!

I would love to know what you all did at Nassau. Glad you enjoyed your trip!

I'm glad I struck your funny bone. :) This report is just jinxed. Every time I sit down to update it, something happens. Yesterday, I wrote up what we did in Nassau and my computer hung up. I lost it all.

Nassau - Our day in Nassau.

Morning -DH

Scuba diving - Dh always goes scuba diving when we're in Nassau. He's a die-hard fan of Stuart Dive shop. It's not the cheapest option on the island, but he appreciates their professionalism and service. One time, I went with him because there was a combined snorkel or dive option. That was a while ago, so I don't know if the shop still offers it.

Morning - Mom and friend

My mom and her friend (both early 70's) booked their sightseeing tour through Carnival. They enjoyed it. Personally, I would have held out for a local company and a better price. After all, the Carnival tour started and ended way too early for anyone to not make it back to the ship on time, so there is no compelling reason to book with Carnival.

Morning The kids (16 and 20) and I

We dropped in at the Starbucks for frappes and to use the free wi-fi. This location is close to the ship and has the seating upstairs. As early as it was, the day was already hot and muggy, and on our way there, we were accosted several times by locals trying to lure us to their shop/stand nearby, so it was a blessed refuge to rest in the cool and quiet space upstairs.

Then we stopped in at the Straw Market so my daughter could look for a gift and my son could buy a hat. I was tempted to wait for them outside since I didn't want anything and I didn't want to waste any of the vendors time trying to persuade me otherwise, but my daughter had never experienced the Straw Market and I was concerned she would be overwhelmed by the pushiness of the vendors. The aggressiveness of the vendors was worse than I remembered. I think because there were so few shoppers to target, the vendors were in pounce mode for anyone who walked by. My daughter was very put off by the experience and didnt' buy anything, but my son overpaid (15.00) a cloyingly deferential old lady vendor for a cheaply made, acid green baseball hat with poorly stitched embroidery that we begged him not to buy. Considering he spent six months in China last year and had experienced street market haggling at its most famous, I was surprised he caved so quickly. Must have been the heat.

Lunch Time

On a previous cruise, we walked over to the Fish Market to eat lunch at Twin Brothers and enjoyed the venue and the food very much. It's a popular place and I can see why, but I'm not inclined to go back there. It's not hard to find good, local food in a pleasant outdoor setting elsewhere. Personally, I would rather get my lunch from a food stall or some place less touristy, but I'm usually outvoted. This trip, we returned to the ship for lunch after our brief shopping excursion.

That's it for Nassau. We thought about going snorkeling after lunch. On previous trips, we either booked something ahead (as mentioned) or found a tour at the port. I don't remember specific companies or locations for any of these trips they were all great for snorkeling and we never felt unsafe or came close to missing the ship's aboard time.

Nassau Afternoon

You didn't ask about this since it has nothing to do with having a good time on land, but I'm going to share it anyway. A lot of people say they stay on the ship while it's docked in Nassau. Well, I don't know where on the ship they hang out, but it's not on the Lido deck. After lunch at the buffet, my daughter and I went in search of a hot tub so she could unkink her aching back (sleep/sofa is awfully hard) . We found the hot (or not hot at all) tubs empty and most of the Lido deck pool area pretty much deserted. It stayed that way until about 3:00, when the deck, pool and bar began to slowly fill up.

Port Day Spa Special

The other noteworthy thing is that not only did the spa offer the usual discount specials because it was a port day, but later in the afternoon, they announced a further discount on the 75-minute massage package.. The catch was we had to book for that evening. Since the not-so-hot tub didn't do the trick for my daughter's knotty back muscles, I booked us both a massage. We had to miss dinner for our appointments but it was worth it. ;) Since she's only 16, she wasn't allowed to have the hot stone massage, but they let her substitute that part.

I'm trying to remember exactly how much the discounted price was in case anyone reading this wants to know. The total for two of us was about 324.00, including two massages, the 15% gratuity, and extra tip for each of our masseuses.

I'm glad I struck your funny bone. :) This report is just jinxed. Every time I sit down to update it, something happens. Yesterday, I wrote up what we did in Nassau and my computer hung up. I lost it all.

 

Nassau - Our day in Nassau. ..........

 

Nassau Afternoon

You didn't ask about this since it has nothing to do with having a good time on land, but I'm going to share it anyway. A lot of people say they stay on the ship while it's docked in Nassau. Well, I don't know where on the ship they hang out, but it's not on the Lido deck. After lunch at the buffet, my daughter and I went in search of a hot tub so she could unkink her aching back (sleep/sofa is awfully hard) . We found the hot (or not hot at all) tubs empty and most of the Lido deck pool area pretty much deserted. It stayed that way until about 3:00, when the deck, pool and bar began to slowly fill up.

 

Port Day Spa Special

The other noteworthy thing is that not only did the spa offer the usual discount specials because it was a port day, but later in the afternoon, they announced a further discount on the 75-minute massage package.. The catch was we had to book for that evening. Since the not-so-hot tub didn't do the trick for my daughter's knotty back muscles, I booked us both a massage. We had to miss dinner for our appointments but it was worth it. ;) Since she's only 16, she wasn't allowed to have the hot stone massage, but they let her substitute that part.

 

I'm trying to remember exactly how much the discounted price was in case anyone reading this wants to know. The total for two of us was about 324.00, including two massages, the 15% gratuity, and extra tip for each of our masseuses.

Thank you for the additional information! :)

Glad you had a great time.

Thank you for the additional information! :)

Hi! I wish I had pictures to liven up for this report. Unfortunately, we only have little videos that my daughter took. While they are interesting to us, they wouldn't be so to anyone else. You have motivated me to continue. I think I'll backtrack chronologically and write about Freeport now.

DIY Snorkeling excursion in Freeport - It is possible to save your family a good chunk of change by arranging your own snorkeling excursion in Freeport. It's pretty simple to do since all you're really doing is arranging transportation to a beach with a reputation for great snorkeling and that rents equipment if you need it.

Five years ago, my husband and I took the West End eco-tour with Chad4Nature. The full-day excursion included some historic and cultural sightseeing, a nature walk, great snorkeling (including equipment) and a delicious lunch at Deadman's Reef in Paradise Cove. We were picked up and dropped off at the port. Everything about the tour, our tour guide and Deadman's Reef was fabulous, and I would recommend this company to anyone. Our tour guide was professional, friendly and extremely knowledgeable. (I've read the same about other guides with this company.) The cost was 89.00 per person. (I just looked at the website and I see that the price is now 104.00 per person.) If this description appeals to you, you can stop reading right now and book with Chad4Nature. If you want to go economy style, keep reading.

On this trip, we had our kids were with us, and they just wanted to snorkel, so we decided to skip the package tour and just head to Paradise Cove on our own. If you've never arranged your own seat-of-the-pants, walk-off-the-ship-and-see-how-it goes excursion before, you should be prepared for how this plays out. I'm going to try to help you there.

Once you walk off the ship and enter the Lucayan Harbor Cruise Facility, there will be plenty of vendors enticing you to book a tour with them. If all you want is round-trip transportation to a beach - which we did- keep walking to toward the taxi stand. I say taxi, but there are mostly vans. There's huge sign with the prices to various popular destinations posted. NOTE: The prices are for the group rate (10 or more). It says so on the sign, but it's easy to miss. It's a couple dollars more per person for smaller parties. If your group is less than 10 people, and you're willing to share a van to get the group rate,the transportation brokers (I don't know what they're really called) at the taxi stand will try to assemble a large enough group if they can.

In no time, you will be on your way. If you are sharing your taxi van with others who are not in your personal party, you might have to make a stop along the way to your destination. Your van may also need to make a quick stop to switch drivers or vehicles along the way. There's nothing cagey about this. On various trips, we experienced any of these possibilities. In fact, on this trip, we experienced all three. We left the harbour with one driver but stopped to pick up a different driver. The party of 8 that shared the van with us was dropped off at a different beach on the way to our destination, which was Deadman's Reef. And, we took a different van (unfortunately with no AC) back to the ship.

In the event that you have arranged round-trip transporation, which you most likely will have, once you arrive at your destination, your driver will tell you what time he (or she) is coming back and will give you his card. You will pay him at end when he takes you back to the port. I can't speak for all the beaches, but if you're going to Paradise Cove, your driver will probably walk you up to the concession stand where you pay the entry fee. (I think it was 3.00 a person, maybe 5.00.) I'm not sure it's out of courtesy or if the drivers check in with someone there.

There, you found your way to the beautiful, clean, and suitably equipped for comfort and all kinds of fun Paradise Cove beach. If you are a family of 4 like us, with your own snorkeling gear, you've committed yourself to spending about 88.00 ( transportation +tip and beach entry fee). Unless you smuggled your food and drink off the ship or picked it up along the way, you can expect to spend another 10.00 per person for lunch. We spent about 40.00 on drinks, burgers and fries, but it was still a good deal less expensive than a group tour.

Hi! I wish I had pictures to liven up for this report. Unfortunately, we only have little videos that my daughter took. While they are interesting to us, they wouldn't be so to anyone else. You have motivated me to continue. I think I'll backtrack chronologically and write about Freeport now.

 

DIY Snorkeling excursion in Freeport - It is possible to save your family a good chunk of change by arranging your own snorkeling excursion in Freeport. It's pretty simple to do since all you're really doing is arranging transportation to a beach with a reputation for great snorkeling and that rents equipment if you need it.

 

Five years ago, my husband and I took the West End eco-tour with Chad4Nature. The full-day excursion included some historic and cultural sightseeing, a nature walk, great snorkeling (including equipment) and a delicious lunch at Deadman's Reef in Paradise Cove. We were picked up and dropped off at the port. Everything about the tour, our tour guide and Deadman's Reef was fabulous, and I would recommend this company to anyone. Our tour guide was professional, friendly and extremely knowledgeable. (I've read the same about other guides with this company.) The cost was 89.00 per person. (I just looked at the website and I see that the price is now 104.00 per person.) If this description appeals to you, you can stop reading right now and book with Chad4Nature. If you want to go economy style, keep reading.

 

On this trip, we had our kids were with us, and they just wanted to snorkel, so we decided to skip the package tour and just head to Paradise Cove on our own. If you've never arranged your own seat-of-the-pants, walk-off-the-ship-and-see-how-it goes excursion before, you should be prepared for how this plays out. I'm going to try to help you there.

 

Once you walk off the ship and enter the Lucayan Harbor Cruise Facility, there will be plenty of vendors enticing you to book a tour with them. If all you want is round-trip transportation to a beach - which we did- keep walking to toward the taxi stand. I say taxi, but there are mostly vans. There's huge sign with the prices to various popular destinations posted. NOTE: The prices are for the group rate (10 or more). It says so on the sign, but it's easy to miss. It's a couple dollars more per person for smaller parties. If your group is less than 10 people, and you're willing to share a van to get the group rate,the transportation brokers (I don't know what they're really called) at the taxi stand will try to assemble a large enough group if they can.

 

In no time, you will be on your way. If you are sharing your taxi van with others who are not in your personal party, you might have to make a stop along the way to your destination. Your van may also need to make a quick stop to switch drivers or vehicles along the way. There's nothing cagey about this. On various trips, we experienced any of these possibilities. In fact, on this trip, we experienced all three. We left the harbour with one driver but stopped to pick up a different driver. The party of 8 that shared the van with us was dropped off at a different beach on the way to our destination, which was Deadman's Reef. And, we took a different van (unfortunately with no AC) back to the ship.

 

In the event that you have arranged round-trip transporation, which you most likely will have, once you arrive at your destination, your driver will tell you what time he (or she) is coming back and will give you his card. You will pay him at end when he takes you back to the port. I can't speak for all the beaches, but if you're going to Paradise Cove, your driver will probably walk you up to the concession stand where you pay the entry fee. (I think it was 3.00 a person, maybe 5.00.) I'm not sure it's out of courtesy or if the drivers check in with someone there.

 

There, you found your way to the beautiful, clean, and suitably equipped for comfort and all kinds of fun Paradise Cove beach. If you are a family of 4 like us, with your own snorkeling gear, you've committed yourself to spending about 88.00 ( transportation +tip and beach entry fee). Unless you smuggled your food and drink off the ship or picked it up along the way, you can expect to spend another 10.00 per person for lunch. We spent about 40.00 on drinks, burgers and fries, but it was still a good deal less expensive than a group tour.

 

 

Wow! Great information here. We would definitlely do it the DIY way! Thanks!!

These posts are so interesting and helpful! Thanks for keeping it going, Silent Penguin!

Can you (or someone) elaborate on the Carnival GC's?

Thanks for your review. It was great to read!

Very informative review, thanks for the info on Freeport.

Glad you loved it.

Can you (or someone) elaborate on the Carnival GC's?

 

Thanks for your review. It was great to read!

Sorry, GC is short for gift card. After reading on this board about buying gift cards through AARP, State Farm (?) and other online resources, I bought as many as we would need to cover the balance of our trip and projected onboard expenses. Consequently, we saved at least 300.00.

Thanks for the report. Where did you find the sushi?

Thanks for the report. Where did you find the sushi?

Sushi at Sea is on deck 9, just around the corner from the buffet, very close and not tucked away all by itself. I'm sorry I can't be more specific in terms of exact location (aft-mid-forward). I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but when you order, the sushi chef gives you a pager to let you know when your order is ready. Every single time we ordered, he would say 20 minutes, but it never took that long. :)

Thank you. I'll be able to find it from that.

Sorry, GC is short for gift card. After reading on this board about buying gift cards through AARP, State Farm (?) and other online resources, I bought as many as we would need to cover the balance of our trip and projected onboard expenses. Consequently, we saved at least 300.00.

Can you explain your comment "we saved at least 300.00"?

If you paid $300 in advance to purchase your gift cards, do you mean by prepurchasing you saved a $300 bill at the end of your cruise?

Can you explain your comment "we saved at least 300.00"?

If you paid $300 in advance to purchase your gift cards, do you mean by prepurchasing you saved a $300 bill at the end of your cruise?

I expect that she purchased gift cards from Verizon or AARP, etc with a 10% discount, so if the total cost for the cruise was $3000, she saved $300.