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

[kcbutterfly]

Magen’s Bay:

The second stop on the Ultimate Island Experience Tour was a 2 hour stop at Magen’s Bay. The two hours went by very quickly. We renting some floating mats that we used to float in the ocean and sit in the sand instead of lounge chairs. The beach was nice, but it was nothing like HMC. It was pretty crowded also. We had lunch at Magen’s Bay. We split a club sandwhich and a piece of veggie pizza. Both were very good, and the food at Magen’s was much better than we expected. We did have to wait a good bit for our food though, so allow plenty of time to eat. Here are some pictures from Magen’s Bay:

Next stop: Blackbeard's Castle

[Lucille Bluth]

Here are some pictures from the second overlook:

 

 

 

So beautiful! St. Thomas is definitely on my to-do list!

[sk84fungirl]

For some reason, I've not been very excited about this trip yet. I think it is become I am just starting to come down from my Med cruise.

 

BUT...this review made me smile and look forward to my time in the Caribbean :D

[kcbutterfly]

After a brief introduction, the tour of Blackbeard's is self guided. You then have to catch a harbor cruise which left every hour on the 1/2 hour. We kind of rushed to catch the first harbor cruise boat so we wouldn't have to wait another hour. Here are some pictures from Blackbeard's Castle:

 

 

 

 

 

 

99 steps:

[kcbutterfly]

After the harbor cruise, we shopped in the Havensight area before getting back on the ship.

 

We were pretty tired after our day in St. Thomas, and we had an early morning the next morning since we would be arriving in San Juan at 7:00. So we grabbed dinner at the buffet on the Lido and then went to the photo gallery to look at pictures from elegant night before calling it an early night. We had a surprise though when we got back to our room:

 

[TrqoisWtrs]

Wow, awesome towel animal! :)

[NurseW2Kiddies]

I'm liking your review! Anxiously awaiting more. I am trying to decide between this cruise and a cruise on the Legend for next May:D. Thanks for taking the time to write this!!

[nolababe504]

I'm liking your review! Anxiously awaiting more. I am trying to decide between this cruise and a cruise on the Legend for next May:D. Thanks for taking the time to write this!!

 

 

I love your review!! I absolutely love the towel animal!! I never got that before!! I love the pictures!!

[kcbutterfly]

Thank you to everyone who has offered positive feedback on my review! I have really enjoyed writing it, and it has helped alleviate my post cruise depression. :) Our next port was San Juan, Puerto Rico. We arrived bright and early at 7. We decided to walk around Old San Juan on our own. I have to thank amapola on this board who provided excellent directions on how to get to La Bombonera and El Morro. Thank you so much! Before we left, we got a map from Barnes and Noble. It was a GREAT resource, because it did not only include street names (which were sometimes hard to find), but also had stores, restaurants, landmarks, etc. I would highly recommend it if you are planning on walking around San Juan on your own. I found it online here:

 

http://www.mapeasy.com/product.cfm?id=792&location=77

 

Here are some pictures from our balcony as we went around El Morro before docking:

 

 

 

[soccersharon]

Looking forward to more! We're doing this itinerary in March 2012 and I find it interesting to read and enjoy peoples' perspectives.

 

Thanks for posting :)

[kcbutterfly]

Our first stop after getting off the ship was La Bombonera for breakfast. I had a mallorca with bacon and cheese and fresh squeezed orange juice. Our breakfast was fantastic and service was excellent. Here is a picture of my breakfast taken with my phone:

 

 

After breakfast, we walked to El Morro. The walk was actually not bad at all. Here are some pictures from El Morro:

 

 

 

 

 

[kcbutterfly]

As we were leaving El Morro, the free trolley came by. So we took advange and hopped on it to go to San Cristobal. It took us a while to get there with the traffic, but the trolley ride was worth it to not have to walk in the heat. Here are some pictures from San Cristobal:

 

 

 

[kcbutterfly]

After San Cristobal, we walked to Cafe Puerto Rico for lunch. I would highly recommend it for an authentic meal in Puerto Rico. We both had the mashed plantains with chicken, and it was excellent! After lunch, we walked around and did some shopping before getting back on the ship.

 

We had dinner in the dining room tonight. I had the fried shrimp for an appetizer and the burger which is on the new everyday menu. Both were great. Then of course I couldn't pass up Bitter & Blanc for dessert. After dinner, we went to the Venetian Palace and watched several game shows that were going on: Sea Feud (like Family Fued) and 60 seconds or less (like Minute to Win It). They were both fun and very funny to watch.

 

Before going to dinner, I had joked with our room steward that the alligator towel animal had scared my mom. He then said he would do something even scarier and to "be ready." Haha...so when came back from dinner, this towel animal was on my mom's bed:

 

and this was under my bed:

 

 

(rolled up beach towels with my mom's shoes)

[rzyjzq]

Too funny!!

 

Enjoying your review. Thanks for taking the time to post.

Susan

[SASA13]

Thanks for taking the time to write this, it is excellent.

Can't wait to read more.

[RunsWithFlyingDolphins]

You got on right after I got off. Great review. Great ship

[ManyMore]

That must have been a fun cabin steward to do those things!

[BettyPC]

What a great review! Thanks for sharing.

[BSQ]

Great review and Pictures! I also have to agree about the MapEasy Maps. I've used them for other cities and love em love em love em!

[crewsweeper]

KC,

 

We're looking at this itinerary for next spring. Since you drove down, where did you park? Port, hotel, off-site lot?

 

Thanks for the easy map link and B&N tip. Waiting to see your Grand Turk pictures too. New place for us.

[MyDogRudy]

Who was your room steward?? He is so creative with the towel animals!! We will be on Liberty in January and can't wait for this itinerary and ship - especially since it will be in dry dock in October getting a big new yet-unnamed improvement (Serenity Deck for sure, maybe Red Frog Pub?)

 

Thanks for the great pictures, always my favorite part of the review. How bad was the heat and walking around in San Juan? I am seriously considering the independent segway tour (if it is even still available), but it is a bit pricey for an area where you really can walk it. Figure with HMC and Grand Turk being beach days and relatively cheap I would splurge so we could tour SJ in comfort, but if others end up cruising with us I am not sure they want to spend the extra money and it is more fun to tour as a small group. I know we will be there in January, but from what I've heard so far, it is pretty hot and humid in SJ year round.

 

Looking forward to the rest of the review!

[luvcdays]

Thanks for writing your review and the great pictures. I can't wait to read the rest! Can you tell me how much you paid the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami and the floating mats @ Megan's Bay? Also, was the harbor cruise at St. Thomas included in your tour?

[KCMarie]

Lovin the review and the pictures. We will be on the same ship and itinerary for Halloween. Thanks for whetting my appetite!

[kcbutterfly]

Grand Turk:

 

This is our view from our balcony as we docked in Grand Turk:

 

We waited around 20 -30 minutes after they said we were clear to get off before heading out to avoid the crowds. We first walked down the beach to the right (with our back to the ship) a little ways. It was a very pretty and "natural" beach that way:

 

 

We then went to the main beach area to find some lounge chairs. We ended up gettting some chairs near the Flow Rider area away from some of the main crowds. This is my view from my lounge chair:

 

 

The water at Grand Turk was very pretty, but it was very rocky and uneven. You had to be very careful getting out to a point where you could swim.

 

After lounging and swimming a little while, we went to Margaritaville for lunch. It was good but pretty expensive. After lunch, we went and shopped around the cruise center. Then we took a few last pictures before getting back on the ship:

 

 

 

After dinner tonight, we went to the show called "Just Rock." We enjoyed it and thought it was well done. After the show, we had another surprise when we got back to our room!

 

[kcbutterfly]

KC,

 

We're looking at this itinerary for next spring. Since you drove down, where did you park? Port, hotel, off-site lot?

 

Thanks for the easy map link and B&N tip. Waiting to see your Grand Turk pictures too. New place for us.

 

 

We parked at the port. There is both a parking garage and a lot. It is $20 per day.