Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Review of 6/11 sailing of the Liberty to the Eastern Caribbean with pictures

kcbutterfly

By kcbutterfly,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

Recommended Posts

kcbutterfly

kcbutterfly

Posted
Posted

My mom and I were on the June 11th sailing of the Liberty from Miami to the Eastern Caribbean. We had a fantastic time! We drove down to Miami from around an hour north of Atlanta, GA. We took two days to drive to Miami, so we left the Thursday before our cruise. We arrived in Miami around 3:00 or 3:30 on Friday. We stayed at the Intercontinental. The hotel was very nice. We didn’t have any complaints. We walked to the Bayside Marketplace that evening and had a nice dinner at Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Factory. We really enjoyed our dinner, and then walked back to the hotel. The walk to Bayside was not long, and we felt pretty safe walking in that area. I definitely wouldn’t have felt comfortable walking there after dark though. I don’t want to spend too much time reviewing the hotel. However, if you have any questions about the Intercontinental in Miami, I would be happy to answer them. J

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kcbutterfly

kcbutterfly

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Saturday – Embarkation Day!

Saturday morning we were able to see the Liberty docked from our room! We went down to the lobby and got Starbucks for breakfast. We ended up getting to the port around between 10:15 and 10:30. We were VIP since we were staying in an Ocean Suite. The check in process was extremely quick and smooth. We were whisked right through, and then we were directed to the VIP lounge to wait for boarding. After a short wait, they called us to begin boarding. We were on the ship around 11:15.

Our first stop was the Shore Excursions Desk to set up our cabana for HMC that we had reserved online. When we checked in, we received a green paper saying we had reserved a cabana and it asked us for our drink choices and shoe sizes for swim fins. We filled it out while we were waiting in the VIP lounge. When we got the Shore Excursions desk, it wasn’t open yet. So we just sat for a little while in the atrium lobby and waited for it to open. We reserved cabana number 12 (yellow) when it opened. After we reserved our cabana, we went to eat lunch. There were hardly any lines at all at this time. We ate at the buffet and carried our food up to the Fish and Chips area. It was very quiet up there, and there was hardly anyone. After lunch, we walked around the ship a little before our room was ready. They made an announcement that rooms were ready right around 1:30. We went to our room and relaxed and took some pictures from the balcony. We were very happy with our Ocean Suite room. Shortly after we got to our room, our luggage was delivered. Then we went to the Lido and walked around a little before heading to our assigned muster station. The muster drill was the only unpleasant part of our trip. We were assigned to an outer deck on Level 4. It was hot and extremely crowded. We got there a little early, and so we were crammed in the back. After muster drill, we needed a cold drink as we walked Sail Away.

We had chosen the early seating for dinner, and we were assigned to the Silver Olympian Dining Room. We were assigned to a 4 person table, but our tablemates did not show up that night. Our waiter explained that he was a “fill in” for the regular waiter. I’m not sure if that was the reason, but our service was extremely slow that evening. It must have been the absence of the regular waiter, because service was much quicker later in the week. The service was very pleasant nevertheless. I ordered the Sweet and Sour Shrimp and Crème Brule for dessert. Both were excellent and exceeded my expectations. After dinner, we went and watched “Tangled” which was being shown as the Movie Under the Stars. It was a really neat experience watching the movie out on the open ocean in the dark.

Here are a few pictures from embarkation day and the view of Miami:

 

IMG_0052.jpg

IMG_0044.jpg

IMG_0053.jpg

IMG_0054.jpg

IMG_0056.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kcbutterfly

kcbutterfly

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Sunday: Half Moon Cay

We ordered room service for breakfast this morning, and it was delivered a few minutes before the time we specified. We were told to meet in the Victoria Lounge at 8:30 since we had reserved a cabana. We got there around 8:15 or 8:20, and there was already a crowd. We were able to get on the 1st tender though and were soon on the island! Half Moon Cay is just pure paradise. We had been there last year on our Fascination cruise, so we knew what to expect. Last summer, my sister and I had done the horseback ride and swim which was amazing. So this time we decided to relax and enjoy the island. We spent the day relaxing in our cabana and swimming in the ocean. We also enjoyed the barbeque lunch. We made our way back to the ship around 3:00 or 3:30. We had a little bit of a wait to get on a tender, but it wasn’t too bad. We decided to eat at the buffet on the Lido Deck tonight since we were pretty tired after being in the sun all day. I had chicken parmesan and some kind of penne pasta, and it was pretty good. My mom and I both had strawberry cheesecake for dessert which was great. After dinner, we went to the juggling show in the Venetian Palace. It was quite funny and entertaining. Then of course we had to stop by for some late night pizza before calling it a night. Here are some Half Moon Cay pictures:

IMG_0073.jpg

IMG_0075.jpg

IMG_0081.jpg

IMG_0086.jpg

IMG_0087.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kcbutterfly

kcbutterfly

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Monday: Fun Day at Sea

Today was a Fun Day at Sea. After having room service coffee, we went to the Lido for breakfast. I had an omelet from the omelet station. There was hardly any wait at this time, and it was really good. After breakfast, we went and looked around some of the Fun Shops. Then we went to play half price Bingo in the Venetian Palace. My mom ended up winning! The prize was $400, but she ended up getting $200 since someone else won as well. We tried the burrito bar for lunch today, and it was great. We got there right around 12, and there was hardly a line. Tonight was elegant night. We had a great time getting dressed up and going around to all of the picture stations before dinner. Dinner tonight was fantastic. We both had the stuffed mushrooms and lobster. They were great! I had the warm chocolate melting cake for dessert. It was ok but very rich. I couldn’t finish it all, and I have to admit that it wasn’t my favorite dessert on the trip. After dinner, we went to the Vegas style show “Wonderful World” in the Venetian Palace. We both thought it was very well done and entertaining.

Here are some pictures from elegant night:

IMG_0113.jpg

 

IMG_0115.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kcbutterfly

kcbutterfly

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Tuesday: St. Thomas

We did the Ultimate Island Experience excursion through Carnival in St. Thomas. It started at 9:30. It was extremely crowded getting off the ship. I would recommend waiting 20-30 minutes to get off if you don’t have an excursion. After getting off the ship, we quickly found the sign for the Ultimate Island Experience. I had read in a previous review to make sure and take note of the license plate and van driver so that we could get back on the correct van. Our driver also reminded us of this. After a winding drive uphill, we stopped at 2 different overlooks. The views were absolutely breathtaking. Here are some pictures:

IMG_0150.jpg

IMG_0151.jpg

IMG_0162.jpg

IMG_0164.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kcbutterfly

kcbutterfly

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Great review!!

We'll be on this ship in August. Can't wait!

Was the Ultimate Island Experience a private tour? Would you do it again?

 

It was a tour through Carnival. It goes to the overlook areas, Magen's Bay for 2 hours, and Blackbeard's Castle. I would highly recommend it and would do it again. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...