Give me Liberty AND give me a fantastic family vacation- trip report 4/1-4/4

Give me Liberty AND Give me a fantastic family vacation

Hello everyone! My family and I just returned from a fantastic 4 day cruise on the Carnival Liberty. I have really enjoyed reading trip reports while passing the time until cruise day arrived, so I thought I would try and return the favor. This is my first trip report, so there might be some lapses in memory, food pictures with bites taken out and general shenanigans, so please bear with me.

I wanted to write this report for a couple of reasons,mostly as a way to remember our vacation, but also because I thought it might be helpful for those traveling with kids. I really enjoy reading all the trip reports posted here, but there aren’t too many that feature smaller kids, and I certainly learned a few things (and made a few mistakes- so you can know what to avoid!) that would be helpful to those traveling with pre-schoolers and early elementary aged kids.

Every good trip report starts out with intros and a goodbackstory- so here we go!

Traveling on this trip was myself, Marissa, my husband, Mark and my two adorable (not that I’m biased or anything) boys, Everett (8) and Foster (5). In our real, non-beach bum lives my husband manages warehouse operations for a large company, and I am a full time mom and work part time at a living history museum (yup, I’m one of those crazy people who dress up in costume, cook over a fire, milk cows, churn butter, spin wool, farm historically- laugh all you want, but when the apocalypse comes, you’ll want me on your team!)

This pic is from our Disney cruise- I didn't end up taking a whole family photo on this trip (trip report fail #1)

This will be my husband and I’s 5th cruise (our 3rdon Carnival) and our kids 2nd cruise (1st on Carnival). My husband and I have sailed with Norwegian and Disney and the kids have just previously been on a Disney cruise. We took the kids on a Disney cruise last summer and had a wonderful time, the kids did great and I was thrilled that we could add crusing back into our vacation repertoire.

It was actually on the Disney cruise that I started thinking about cruising over Spring Break. We were parked in Nassau right next to the Liberty, so I was able to get a good look at the ship. When we got back home (who am I kidding, I began searching for our next cruise in the car driving home!) I looked up the Liberty for Spring break and then just for fun, I checked the prices for Disney. HAHAHA- Disney was literally THREE TIMES the price of the Liberty, for the same number of days and basically the same itinerary. This mama can be pretty frugal so Liberty it was. I was a little nervous that the kids wouldn’t like a Carnival cruise- the old “how are you going to keep them down on the mass market cruise line after they have seen the bright lights of Disney”- problem, but I had faith. Was my faith misplaced- you’ll just have to read along to find out! :D

Next up- a quick detour to Legoland and then CRUISE DAY!

Excellent start and beautiful family! I love your style of writing. :) You summed up my thoughts exactly in the last few lines about “Carnival after Disney”.

Since we are doing a 4 day on the Liberty this Sept, I am impatiently waiting for more!:cool:

First of all- Welcome Jen and thank you for reading along!

Day 1-3 Driving, Legoland, Coco Beach

We live in South Carolina, so all of our cruise vacations start with the drive down to the great state of Florida. We do the drive to Florida at least once a year (in addition to cruising we are also big Disney World fans!), so DH and I have gotten vacation prep down to a science. The van is packed the night before, and we are up before the sun to get on the road by 6 am. Everything went really smoothly and we were even on the road a little early!

Our kids have really gotten to be great travelers and alternated between watching movies and playing with all the fun surprises in my travel bag. Throughout the year whenever I see something that would be good entertainment for the car, I buy it and put it aside, and then break out all the fun surprises during the trip. Bunch ‘ems, colorforms, aquadoodle, maze and activity books are their favorites, and we never travel without their car trays. I have these car trays for the kids and they work great. They provide a play surface, but they are soft so they won’t impale the kids during a potential accident.

We made great time, with just a few stops for potty breaks. I bring snacks and sandwiches to eat lunch in the car because my kids are terribly pokey eaters, and I’m always just antsy to get there and get vacation started!

We arrived at the Legoland Hotel right around 3 pm, perfect timing to get checked in. We spent the rest of the night exploring the hotel, eating dinner at their buffet and swimming in the pool. The hotel was awesome and a great choice if you have kids. There were legos to build and play with everywhere, even in the pool! The rooms were amazingly themed and full of surprises. The hotel isn’t cheap, but I definitely feel like it was worth the cost and the kids absolutely had a blast.

The theming in the hotel was top notch

 

 



 

 

We had an adventure themed room

 

 



 

The kids were given a treasure hunt when we checked in that lead that them to this treasure chest filled with snacks, juice boxes, and lego sets for the kids to keep, which was all included with the room

 

Day 1-3 continued

On days 2-3 of our vacation we were at Legoland, I’m not going to go into too much detail, since this is primarily a cruise report, but we had a great time. The park wasn’t as crowded as I thought it was going to be in the run up to Easter, and the lines were really manageable.

Day 1-3 cont- again

They have a VR rollercoaster which was really cool. You wear a virtual reality headset, and the images are perfectly matched up with the motion of the rollercoaster. I can see how it could really cause motion sickness, but we have stomachs of iron in our family, and I was really a unique experience. If you go to Legoland, be sure to get there right at park opening and make a bee-line to that coaster (The Great Lego Race), the VR headsets do tend to slow down loading and the line can get really long.

My boys are at a perfect age for Legoland, it really it apark suited to younger kids. I would saythat by age 12 you have really aged out and would not find it as fun. We took the kids to Legoland three years ago,and I’m really glad we came back for one last adventure.

On day three of our vacation we stayed at the Legoland park until about 3 pm, after which we left to make the drive to Port Canaveral (withthe addition of a few extra lego sets).

It was a pretty easy drive over to Port Canaveral, about two hours (if I remember correctly). We stopped for dinner in Coco Beach at an old favorite of mine- Tijuana Flats! My husband and I lived in Jacksonville,Florida when we were first married and we ate a lot of meals at the Tijuana Flats that was just down the street. The weather in Coco beach wasn’t really cooperating, it was drizzly and chilly, so I scrapped our plans to take a walk on the beach and we just headed over to check in at our hotel.

We stayed at the Sheraton Four Points, right next to the Ron Jon Surf shop. We had stayed at this hotel prior to our Disney cruise last June and found it to be comfortable and convenient. The rooms are so stinkin’ dark though, it was like staying in a tomb! We checked in, confirmed ou rcruise parking and went into the room to relax. I had planned on getting the kids to bed early, since we had a few late nights at Lego land and we had a big day a head of us, and I was marginally successful. The kids were goofing off in bed, but after I built a pillow wall in-between them, they settled down and were asleep before 9. My husband went to take a soak in the hot tub and I relaxed with my kindle.

I would definitely stay at the Sheraton 4 Points again, the hotel is nice and the parking package is reasonable. It was $35 for parking and shuttle for two,and then we had to pay $12 for Everett’s shuttle ride and Foster was free. They charge for guests 6 and over, so we just made it under the wire.

Next up- Easter Morning and Cruise day 1!

We, my wife and I, did the Lady Liberty back in 2014 ( 7 day W Caribbean) and she IS a BEAUTIFUL beautiful Lady !! I told my sis, who also has started cruising w/us,'IF you ever get the chance, take a 7 day cruise on her! You won't be disappointed !'

Mac

Following. Taking this same trip as a quick birthday cruise at the end of the month!

I love the Legoland pictures! (Almost) makes me wish our 5 boys were young again (now ages 15-29.)

Looking forward to reading about your adventures on Liberty! A friend and I will be on Liberty in 18 days - yes, I am counting!!

Great start. LOVE your writing style! We'll be on her for the 1st time in December.

Awesome review and the Lego hotel is cute. We will be sailing in July second time on her loved it. This time will be special taking a lot of 1st timers.

Following

Following! We will be taking our girls (5 and 3) on their first cruise next April!

Great job so far. I always enjoy reading cruise reviews. Esp ones with kids. Our kids have been on three cruises (one disney and two carnival) and have loved them all. I learned a lot from these boards. I also try to write reviews and share any tips I may have.

We, my wife and I, did the Lady Liberty back in 2014 ( 7 day W Caribbean) and she IS a BEAUTIFUL beautiful Lady !! I told my sis, who also has started cruising w/us,'IF you ever get the chance, take a 7 day cruise on her! You won't be disappointed !'

 

Mac

She was a beautiful ship, we really enjoyed her and I'm looking forward to trying a longer cruise real soon!

Following. Taking this same trip as a quick birthday cruise at the end of the month!

 

I love the Legoland pictures! (Almost) makes me wish our 5 boys were young again (now ages 15-29.)

I feel the same way when I see someone traveling with a baby :')

Awesome review and the Lego hotel is cute. We will be sailing in July second time on her loved it. This time will be special taking a lot of 1st timers.

A first cruise is super special, I hope you and your friends have a wonderful time!

Looking forward to reading about your adventures on Liberty! A friend and I will be on Liberty in 18 days - yes, I am counting!!

I can certainly understand counting down, I'm ready to start counting down to our Dec cruise!

Thanks for reading along Danvillecruiser!

Following! We will be taking our girls (5 and 3) on their first cruise next April!

You guys are going to have a blast! Are you going to be on the Liberty too?

Great job so far. I always enjoy reading cruise reviews. Esp ones with kids. Our kids have been on three cruises (one disney and two carnival) and have loved them all. I learned a lot from these boards. I also try to write reviews and share any tips I may have.

Yes!! I learn so much from reading these boards, I feel like I would be lost without them, or I know for sure we would be missing out on some secrets!

Cruise day 1- Port Canaveral

And here it is, the day I have been waiting for- CRUISE DAY! I was up before 7, too excited to sleep! The kids and my DH were up shortly after and everyone was looking forward to our next adventure! Not only was this cruise day, but it was also Easter and luckily the Easter Bunny was able to find us in Florida! He brought some new sand buckets, a little bit of candy, and a few of those “blind bags” that younger kids think are all the rage.

The boys and their loot

 

 



 

 

Easter means Peeps for breakfast

I spent some time reorganizing the suitcases, I planned to leave the one we took to Legoland behind in the car, but I had to make sure that everything we needed for the cruise was switched into our cruise suitcases. Once we had finished all that and gotten everyone dressed and ready for the day (I always dress the kids and myself in our swimsuits on cruise morning, makes it easier to get right in the pool!), we headed down to find some breakfast.

There is a Starbucks in the lobby of the Sheraton, which is super convenient, but equally super busy! There were a lot of people headed out for Spring break cruises staying at the hotel, and everyone had the same idea! I left my DH to wait in line and I took the kids over to check out the big aquariums they have in the lobby.

 

 

The fish are ready for their close-up

While we were looking at the fish, I noticed that the CocoBeach surf company shop (which is connected with the Sheraton), was having an Easter egg hunt for the kiddos, which I thought was a really sweet touch. My boys were really excited to look around the store for the eggs and it was a great way to kill some time while waiting for breakfast. The rules were that each kid could find and keep one egg (the eggs were empty, I’m sure because of worries about allergies), and once they each found one they asked if they could keep looking as long as they didn’t take any more. I didn’t see a problem with that, so they continued the hunt! At one point Everett got the brilliant idea that he should re-hide some of the eggs that he found,to make it harder. I quickly put a stop to that and I think I found all the ones he shuffled around, but if a Coco Beach Surf shop employee finds a plastic egg hidden in a crazy place months from now, I’m terribly sorry. :')

With that it was time to wrap up the egg hunt and go check on breakfast! Our timing was perfect because Mark had just gotten waited on, and we found a place to sit. I had asked DH to get the kids a donut and juice box, and unfortunately they didn’t have any of the sour cream donuts I’ve seen at other Starbucks, and he made the executive decision to get the kids chocolate croissants. Well, he chose poorly. Everett in particular is very rigid about food, and he gave that poor croissant a side-eye for the record books, and promptly declared he wouldn’t eat it. I tried valiantly to redeem the croissant in his eyes, (come on kid, its bread and CHOCOLATE), but he wouldn’t budge. Foster took a few bites, and then decided to side with his brother and declare the croissant “gross”, I mean, after all, I could very well be trying to poison him with breakfast pastries in the Sheraton Lobby. At this point I admitted defea tand took advantage of a lull in the line to get them both a muffin, and then I ate the delicious, decidedly un-poisonous, croissants myself, it was cruise day after all!

Cruise day 1- Port Canaveral-cont

After all this excitement it was about time to board our shuttle. The Sheraton has set shuttle times, and we choose the earliest which was 10:15. We had an 11:30 boarding time, and I figured I’d rather be early than late. It was a good choice because there were people boarding the Oasis, the Disney Wonder and the Liberty on our bus and we were the very last stop.

We met a very nice family that was boarding the Wonder and I chatted with them for a while. I’ll admit I was just a little jealous, especially when we pulled up to their ship. I’ll always be a Disney fan first and foremost, but if it comes down to taking a Disney cruise every three years or taking a Carnival Cruise every year, it’s a no brainer.

Twinges of jealousy aside, it is always so exciting to get your first glimpses of your ship on cruise day and today was no exception. It was delightful to pick out the Liberty from afar and know that it would be our home for the next four days. The Liberty was parked next to the Sunshine,which was really cool to get a good look at because it is coming to Charleston,the closest port to our home. I look forward to trying her out on a future cruise( am I the only one who enjoys “cruise shopping” on the ships that are parked near to us in port).

Getting through Port Canaveral was easy-peasy. We pulled right up, the porters took our checked luggage and we headed right into the terminal. The lines were really short and we got through quickly.

Almost on!

 

 



 

 

Pre-cruise selfie

The Liberty does sail and sign cards in the mailboxes, so that is one less step. Before we knew it we were sitting waiting for our boarding number to be called. We were called and were boarding the ship a little after 11:30.

Next up- Lunchtime and exploration

Twinges of jealousy aside, it is always so exciting to get your first glimpses of your ship on cruise day and today was no exception. It was delightful to pick out the Liberty from afar and know that it would be our home for the next four days. The Liberty was parked next to the Sunshine,which was really cool to get a good look at because it is coming to Charleston,the closest port to our home. I look forward to trying her out on a future cruise( am I the only one who enjoys “cruise shopping” on the ships that are parked near to us in port).

I'm enjoying your review. We started cruising with our sons when they were 4, 8 and 13; the younger two still cruise with us, and they're 18 and 22. (The oldest is in the Navy - he does his own sort of cruising.;)) I loved Legos as a kid, as did DH. All three sons loved Legos. Maybe some years from now we'll be able to take grandkids to Legoland.:)

 

The Liberty does sail and sign cards in the mailboxes, so that is one less step. Before we knew it we were sitting waiting for our boarding number to be called. We were called and were boarding the ship a little after 11:30.

Next up- Lunchtime and exploration

This will be our first time with this process can you walk me through it? After security, do you even go through the check in process?

Following. I will be sailing on her 4/28/2019 for my 45th birthday with my DH and our BFFs. This will be my 5th cruise and the 1st for everyone else. Waiting to see their faces when they see her for the 1st time.

Cant wait to read more!!

This will be our first time with this process can you walk me through it? After security, do you even go through the check in process?

There wasn't a check in process like I have been through in the past, where you line up and wait your turn to be seen at a desk, where they take your photo and print out your cards. We handed over our boarding passes, and they scanned them with an ipad, they then snapped a picture of the kids (they used DH's and I's passport photos), and gave us a boarding number. It all happened so fast that I don't really remember anything else. We pretty much were constantly moving from the moment we stepped into the terminal until we got to the boarding area, they really pushed us through quickly. The longest wait was in the boarding area to get on the ship, and that couldn't have been more than 5-10 minutes.

Once we got on the ship, we were able to use our boarding passes to get a drink and charge it to the room, and then we picked up our cards in our mailbox when our rooms were ready. It was super easy and I'm a big fan of the new system.

We are going on a Girl's Fun Cruise towards the end of May on the Liberty and am really enjoying reading your trip report. Cypress Gardens was a favorite of my Mom's and I used to enjoy the water ski shows they had back in the day when I was a kid. Looking forward to reading more!!

I understand your jealousy with doing a Disney cruise. I haven't taken one but every time I sail from Port Canaveral I wish I was getting off at the Disney World exit.

Loving the review & pictures so far! We are boarding this Sunday the 15th so very excited!