Hello new here

[eeyoremum]

Hello,

 

My family is new to cruising. Our first cruise was last year on the Crown Princess as chaprones for my son's band trip. My family (DH, DS16, DS11) loved it. I was on the fence. Loved the ports, bored silly on the ship.

 

Fast forward to last Saturday. We spontaneously booked a January 1, 2011 cruise on the Liberty. We were going away for Christmas with my dad and his wife. His wife has never been to the islands and wanted to go. We looked at the Liberty and the Dream both sailing the same day. Dad and I read the reviews posted here and decided that the Dream was out. Wow for a new ship people sure don't like it.

 

So over the next few weeks and months I will have tons of questions. First being with two adults in their late 30s, one teen, one preteen, one picky father in his 60s and a disabled step mother in her late 50s please tell me I didn't make a mistake.

 

I should say to put it in prospective our kids love to travel and we did drag dad and Smum around Disney World a few years ago and they really were good sports about the whole thing.

 

Also, we have an interior room (DH's preference because it is so dark) and Dad has an ocean view disabled room (strange shape looking at the deck plan) on deck 2. Is this good bad or other wise?

 

Thanks so much

[firefly333]

I think with a new ship like Dream, expectations are extra high, with higher prices. It doesnt necessarily mean it would dissapoint.

 

Legend will be great too. Im rarely bored, but Im happy with a book if things are slow and I have to wait on something.

 

No one can say you didnt make a mistake without knowing you and still probably thats up to you. Just go with a open mind.

[*Mach*]

Welcome to Cruise Critic! We're glad to have you aboard!!

No, you did not make a mistake. I'm betting that y'all will have a fabulous time on the Liberty.

Don't worry about your step mom's disability... Carnival does a fine job in that area. Just make sure the Special Needs department is aware of her requirements well in advance.

As for the questions... ask away! That's what we're here for!!!

:)

 

[breezycruiser]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!:)

[baylivin]

Welcome!:) I think you'll like Carnival. We cruised the Grand Princess once and had no complaints about the ship and the food. But it was a much more boring crowd than on Carnival. You'll find a lot more to do on Carnival and the boys if they get involved with the youth programs will have a blast.

[shadoo]

Welcome to the Boards!:D:D:D:D:D

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

Welcome. The Liberty is my favorite Carnival Ship.

[rrraydon]

Welcome aboard!

[valancy1]

You are going to have an absolute blast aboard Carnival Liberty!!! This was our first cruise, too, and I would be SHOCKED if you didn't come back and tell us that you had an incredible time.

 

PLEASE ask questions--that's what we're here for. I'm so excited for you... I can't wait to sail her again. It's my favorite ship that we've sailed on, so far.

[kjunea]

Welcome To Cruise Critic! You will love the Liberty! It is a wonderful ship and there is as much or as little as you want to do! If you are doing the Eastern Itinerary, I suggest you get a cabana on Half Moon Cay. Absolutely the best way to go! And there is a Handicapped accessible one too.

[cruiser-007]

Welcome to Cruise Critic! Check in daily, it's addicting. We are new at cruising as well but are realizing more and more it really is the best vacation for the dollar. The only set back for me is slight motion sickness but there are ways around that. We are in our mid 30's with a teenage son and I think cruising was the best vacation we've ever experienced. Please consider writing a cruise review when you get back- I love reading them. :)

[marcyjane]

Welcome to Cruise Critic and Carnival Board:)

You will loving cruising and cruise critics. By far the best cruise board ever!!!

I've cruise HAL, RCI, NCL and CCL. On Carnival you will not be bored I promise you that. Something to do all the time if you want to.

[DreaminFP]

Welcome to Cruise Critic, you picked my favorite ship ok ok so it's the only one i have been on and we loved it so much we are cruising her again in May 2011. I hope your family has a great time and don't worry just have a good time.

[k2excursion]

Princess is known for being a more laid back cruiseline with very little activities going on, which is not good for the younger half. However, Carnival is known for being a much more active cruiseline with tons of activities going on. Just keep in mind that no cruise or any kind of vacation is perfect. There will always be some issues.

 

I was actually debating between a Liberty cruise or the Dream for my 10th. I actually chose the Dream, just because I absolutely loved that ship. It's been my favorite cruise so far! I definitely don't understand how there have been so many negative things said about it on here. But like was mentioned before, maybe expectations were just way too high. I kept searching for some of the mentioned problems and couldn't find them.

 

Still, the Liberty looks to be a beautiful ship, and I've sailed on 2 of her sister ships. You will love it! Prepare to get addicted. Then, you can cruise on the Dream sometime later. You can read my Dream review and see the pictures in the link in my signature.

 

Interior rooms are nice. I've always enjoyed them, because I use it mainly just for sleeping and showering. The disabled room will give your folks some extra space, which will be nice for them.

[Inklight]

Welcome to CC! This is definitely the place to go for information ... Everyone is so helpful. While I haven't been on the Carnival Liberty, I do know there are a lot of fans of this particular ship here on CC! I'm sure you and your family will have a wonderful time.:)

[hubofhockey]

Hello,

 

My family is new to cruising. Our first cruise was last year on the Crown Princess as chaprones for my son's band trip. My family (DH, DS16, DS11) loved it. I was on the fence. Loved the ports, bored silly on the ship.

 

Fast forward to last Saturday. We spontaneously booked a January 1, 2011 cruise on the Liberty. We were going away for Christmas with my dad and his wife. His wife has never been to the islands and wanted to go. We looked at the Liberty and the Dream both sailing the same day. Dad and I read the reviews posted here and decided that the Dream was out. Wow for a new ship people sure don't like it.

 

So over the next few weeks and months I will have tons of questions. First being with two adults in their late 30s, one teen, one preteen, one picky father in his 60s and a disabled step mother in her late 50s please tell me I didn't make a mistake.

 

I should say to put it in prospective our kids love to travel and we did drag dad and Smum around Disney World a few years ago and they really were good sports about the whole thing.

 

Also, we have an interior room (DH's preference because it is so dark) and Dad has an ocean view disabled room (strange shape looking at the deck plan) on deck 2. Is this good bad or other wise?

 

Thanks so much

 

My most recent cruises were on the Ruby Princess (this month) and the Crown Princess (last April). The ships are almost the same and I would have to say are much nicer than the Liberty. We have been on the Liberty twice. That being said, I am about ten years older than you and Princess may be more geared to my age demographic than yours.

 

Here are the differences you will find between the Crown Princess and the Liberty. If you like spending time in real swimming pools, you know the Crown has decent sized fresh water swimming pools and there are four of them spaced out well througout the ship. The Liberty has one massive crowded pool area with smaller salt water pools. You cannot avoid the AM/PM tv shows of the cruise directors blaring out on the Carnival big screens. Princess only turns on the big screen by the MUTS pool in the afternoon and it's just a movie.

 

The Crown has a good breakfast buffet with many things to choose from (including bagels, lox, and choices of baked good and and all of the staples). I was disappointed with my breakfasts on the Liberty. Lunches in the buffet areas are good on both lines. So are dinners. The Liberty has one specialty restaurant while the Crown has both the Crown Grill and Sabatinis. To me, the Liberty has better pizza and more convenient ice cream. Princess downgraded the sushi area (Vines/International Cafe).

 

As far as entertainment goes, Carnival does the big production shows better than Princess. Princess will bring in better guest performers and have more of a variety of entertainment with several venues providing live entertainment for different tastes.

 

We had a great time on both the Crown/Ruby and Liberty. Our kids like what Carnival/RCI offers them more than they do what Princess does. So we are doing family cruises on Carnival and RCI and have our next two family vacations lined up on each line. When it's just my wife and I, I don't mind spending more and going for a Princess cruise.

[LemurCat]

Hello,

 

My family is new to cruising. Our first cruise was last year on the Crown Princess as chaprones for my son's band trip. My family (DH, DS16, DS11) loved it. I was on the fence. Loved the ports, bored silly on the ship.

 

Fast forward to last Saturday. We spontaneously booked a January 1, 2011 cruise on the Liberty. We were going away for Christmas with my dad and his wife. His wife has never been to the islands and wanted to go. We looked at the Liberty and the Dream both sailing the same day. Dad and I read the reviews posted here and decided that the Dream was out. Wow for a new ship people sure don't like it.

 

So over the next few weeks and months I will have tons of questions. First being with two adults in their late 30s, one teen, one preteen, one picky father in his 60s and a disabled step mother in her late 50s please tell me I didn't make a mistake.

 

I should say to put it in prospective our kids love to travel and we did drag dad and Smum around Disney World a few years ago and they really were good sports about the whole thing.

 

Also, we have an interior room (DH's preference because it is so dark) and Dad has an ocean view disabled room (strange shape looking at the deck plan) on deck 2. Is this good bad or other wise?

 

Thanks so much

 

I personally don't think you could make a bad decision here, to be honest with you. CCL tries to be everything to everyone, and generally succeed. I think it's good you booked the disabled room, especially if you need special accessibility in the bathroom, or if your family has a power scooter that needs charging or wheelchair storage.

[elspeth]

Please fire away with any questions you have, and we'd love a report on your cruise when you get back. Like a previous poster said, I'm happy as long as I have a book, but there sure is a lot do on a Carnival ship - we never seem to do half the things we talk about doing before we go. Maybe that's because we talk about doing so many different things before we go, but we always have a great time.

[eeyoremum]

Thank you all for you welcome and comments. I am a the "planner" of the group spend hours upon hours preparing.

 

I am a Disney person if that gives you an indication of the type of go, go, go vacation I enjoy. I am also on the Disney board daily so I no strange to forums.

 

I really like this forum. I found pictures of the room my parents will be in. It seems very large and roomy. I am sure I will have many question about the kid and teen programs. Since our first cruise experience was with 23 high school kids this will be a different experience.

 

So here is one other question for you. My dad read somewhere that when you tender you can't take your wheelchair. Is this true? Smum can walk with a cane to get to the tender but she will need her chair in port. Can we just fold the chair up and take it on the tender with us?

[*Mach*]

Thank you all for you welcome and comments. I am a the "planner" of the group spend hours upon hours preparing.

 

I am a Disney person if that gives you an indication of the type of go, go, go vacation I enjoy. I am also on the Disney board daily so I no strange to forums.

 

I really like this forum. I found pictures of the room my parents will be in. It seems very large and roomy. I am sure I will have many question about the kid and teen programs. Since our first cruise experience was with 23 high school kids this will be a different experience.

 

So here is one other question for you. My dad read somewhere that when you tender you can't take your wheelchair. Is this true? Smum can walk with a cane to get to the tender but she will need her chair in port. Can we just fold the chair up and take it on the tender with us?

 

 

This is from the Carnival FAQs in that regard:

Facilities in ports of call vary significantly; wheelchair accessibility may not be available for shore tours or in certain ports of call. Carnival is not responsible for accessibility in its ports of call, which are not under Carnival's control.

 

http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/cruise_control/EMB_guest_specials_requirements.aspx?icid=CC_Footer_87

 

If it is not a Carnival tour you'll need to contact the specific tour operator.

The FAQs say this about tours booked through Carnival:

Which shore excursions are recommended for physically challenged guests?

It depends on the type and degree of the disability. In general, if guests are able to walk on their own, we recommend those excursions that are designated as easy or moderate activity. See specific excursion activity level icons.

If guests are non-ambulatory, we generally recommend independent transportation for their comfort and convenience. Our shore excursion staff can provide them with excursion suggestions. We also recommend that non-ambulatory guests be accompanied by someone who is able to assist them throughout the duration of the excursion. Some ports of call require tenders to go ashore, and that may preclude non-ambulatory guests from leaving the vessel.

http://www.carnival.com/cms/faq/default.aspx?icid=CC_Footer_88#q-42

[Nanaimobound]

Hi Welcome!

 

Never have been bored on a ship, but if there ever was any line you won't be bored on it's Carnival!

Just a little comment on the Dream.

it is brand new, and usually when you look back on an inaugural season for most ships, there are issues.

I made up my my mind after my cruise on Infinity years ago, to skip inaugural seasons.

I think Dream needs to add some activities and figure out a way to separate

the populous on board better. They should have added pools or made them larger also.

just remember cruising, like any vacation, is what you make it. There should be plenty going on for each of you to enjoy, sometimes doing nothing at all but snoozing in a lounge can be the most fun thing! Happy sailing:D

[jandjfun]

Welcome to CC! I understand being bored. I was once on a Royal Caribbean ship once and the demographic for the ship was one that I didn't fit into so there were very few activities during the day for me to do. BUT I still had a great time overall. I find Carnival ships to be more active and lots of things to do during the day and at night. Of course that will depend on what you are looking for in your cruise experience.

I personally LOVED the dream!! And my favorite spot was on the lido deck in front of the big screen watching movies. It was just like going to the drive in when I was a little girl.

I have never been on the liberty, but I am positive you will enjoy her as much as I enjoyed the Dream. Have a blast, and remember, your cruise is what you make of it.

[elcuchio24]

Liberty is nice, big, fun, plenty to do, tastefully decorated. I'll bet you find yourself not nearly as bored on seadays as you did on Princess.

[lacrosse fan]

Welcome aboard from another newbie and a neighbour.

[MiamiSpartan]

Welcome.

More than half the time, we book inside cabins for the same reason...very easy to sleep in due to the darkness, and frankly we aren't in the room all that much anyway...

Bring books or favorite games, etc so you won't get bored....can't imagine it myself, since we are always busy doing something...

Chk out the cruise newsletter for activities you all might be interested in doing: ie art classes, cooking classes, wine tastings, etc...