Liberty “Funship-Two-Point-'WHOA'!” Review; Eastern Caribbean; 31 March 2012; Pics

[MisterMom]

We would put the old gift card (often a card snagged from wherever we shopped last before embarkation because we seem to inevitably forget the dumb thing before hand!) in one of our closets with some clothes. A place the steward hopefuly isn't poking at, but one that either person can find. I had locked my MP3 in there once, and spent 2 hours searching the ship for my BFF, who had the damn card. That's when the closet became our hiding spot!

 

 

I just updated my master packing list. Thanks! (Recommendation above)

[Froufie]

We would put the old gift card (often a card snagged from wherever we shopped last before embarkation because we seem to inevitably forget the dumb thing before hand!) in one of our closets with some clothes. A place the steward hopefuly isn't poking at, but one that either person can find. I had locked my MP3 in there once, and spent 2 hours searching the ship for my BFF, who had the damn card. That's when the closet became our hiding spot!

 

Yes definitely a good idea to hide the card in the room somewhere in the cabin so everyone can have access as required.

 

Another tip I learnt on these boards is to keep your hotel room key cards. They both should be encoded the same therefore either card should be able to open the safe...and you can each carry your own!

[Cupcrazy]

 

Hopefully you didn't shoot

[navybaby1113]

Yes definitely a good idea to hide the card in the room somewhere in the cabin so everyone can have access as required.

 

Another tip I learnt on these boards is to keep your hotel room key cards. They both should be encoded the same therefore either card should be able to open the safe...and you can each carry your own!

 

We've tried to use hotel keys before and we've never been able to get them to work.

[MisterMom]

Normally, I book my own excursions to save money. I’ve been successful on several cruises with no problems. However, I think I was just lazy this year and wanted the convenience of booking our excursions through Carnival.

 

St. Thomas has SO many options but I loved the idea of getting off the island to scoot over to St. John. I booked the Champagne Catamaran and Snorkel. Back at the ship, we boarded an open air “mini bus” for a 20-minute bumpy ride to Compass Point Marina. Of course, we were encouraged to tip the driver.

 

Upon arrival, we passed the group coming off the catamaran. They seemed well-lubricated and said that we’ll have a great time. We headed down the dock, took all our shoes off and boarded The Adventurer. We got a briefing, orientation to the toilet (head) and off we went. There was plenty of water to drink and sun to soak in.

 

 

 

 

The trip to St. John lasted about an hour? Maybe 90 minutes. We anchored at Honeymoon Bay.

 

 

Malik and I had snorkeled in Nassau before and weren’t fans. However, I felt the need to snorkel on this trip and, boy, was it worth it. Derrell, who won’t even go to the pool with me at home, snorkeled!!! The water wasn’t particularly clear, but there was a nice reef with a ton of colorful fish to view. Also, we saw 3 different sea turtles. We were asked to leave them alone and it was cool swimming with them. Here’s a pic of one after we re-boarded The Adventurer after about an hour of snorkeling.

 

 

Recommendation: If you go snorkeling or do any sort of water sport, I highly recommend purchasing a cheap, waterproof digital camera. Some of the folks on the catamaran had one. I was jealous. I’m going to try for one next time to film the adventures under water.

[MisterMom]

Once everyone boarded, the crew pumped up the volume and started pouring the rum punch and champagne. Yum!

 

 

They liquored us up before the “buy our t-shirt spiel.” Very entertaining. The women (and some of the men… lol) on board enjoyed the “strip tease” of the quite handsome first mate while he was demonstrating the various t-shirt sizes. I was pretty “fuzzy” so didn’t capture any photos except for the cat-calling women….

 

 

Freddy wanted to captain the boat for a bit.

 

 

Back at Compass Point, Cam poses for a pic with Val, one of our hosts.

 

 

Good times. After sufficiently tipping the crew, we boarded another bus to head back to the ship. It must’ve been rush hour because traffic was about as bad as it is here in Atlanta. It was nice seeing some familiar retail outlets…..

 

 

Sprint store (with whom we have service)….

 

 

We made it back on board after a tiring, but exciting day in St. Thomas and St. John!

[tmt218]

Loving all you HMC and St Thomas pictures! How cool to see sea turtles! I have always wanted to do the swim with the turtles excursion in Barbados. It's even cooler to see them without any food or anything.

[ace500]

So want to do this ship in 2013.

 

 

Join us on 01/05/2013 sailing! We would love to add more crazy people!

[MisterMom]

Time for sail away from St. Thomas. Sigh.

 

The harbor pilot boat escorting us out….

 

 

 

This looks like an interesting property right at the entrance to the port. Is that a “For Sale” sign out front?

 

 

The harbor pilot disembarking….

 

 

Looking forward as we follow the Eclipse out….

 

 

A decent sunset as we head out to San Juan….

 

[MisterMom]

Time to settle back into ship life. And time for, you guessed it, a drink at Alchemy! This is the Caribbean Manhattan. From Alchemy’s menu, Take a breather. Maker’s Mark Bourbon, Cinzano Sweet Vermouth, Spiced Brown Sugar Syrup and Bitters. Maker’s Mark is my bourbon of choice so I had to try this one. It was very sweet, more like an after-dinner drink.

 

 

Adri went out of her way to make Cameron a special, non-alcoholic drink with strawberries and mint. She put a lot of time into it and Cameron really liked it.

 

 

Since the main stage show for late seating was early at 7:00, we stopped for some entertainment. Cameron had missed curfew the night before so he had to suffer through the show with us. It was Christopher Alan Graves in “Singin’ with the Big Band” featuring the Liberty Big Band. As a fan of big band music, I enjoyed the show, especially the “butler.”

[MisterMom]

Dinner time….

 

 

More steak (filet mignon) for Cameron….

 

 

Shrimp for Derrell….

 

 

Snapper for me…. (I would NOT recommend this. The texture felt as if it had been under a heat lamp since the first dinner seating. If I were still hungry, I would have sent it back and requested the vegetarian entrée – the cinnamon pumpkin, squash, yam and cheddar cheese pie. I believe I read good reviews on it.)

 

 

Again, we were wiped out so off to an early bedtime. I have a busy day planned in San Juan.

[hayesktrm]

Normally, I book my own excursions to save money. I’ve been successful on several cruises with no problems. However, I think I was just lazy this year and wanted the convenience of booking our excursions through Carnival.

 

St. Thomas has SO many options but I loved the idea of getting off the island to scoot over to St. John. I booked the Champagne Catamaran and Snorkel. Back at the ship, we boarded an open air “mini bus” for a 20-minute bumpy ride to Compass Point Marina. Of course, we were encouraged to tip the driver.

 

Upon arrival, we passed the group coming off the catamaran. They seemed well-lubricated and said that we’ll have a great time. We headed down the dock, took all our shoes off and boarded The Adventurer. We got a briefing, orientation to the toilet (head) and off we went. There was plenty of water to drink and sun to soak in.

 

 

 

 

The trip to St. John lasted about an hour? Maybe 90 minutes. We anchored at Honeymoon Bay.

 

 

Malik and I had snorkeled in Nassau before and weren’t fans. However, I felt the need to snorkel on this trip and, boy, was it worth it. Derrell, who won’t even go to the pool with me at home, snorkeled!!! The water wasn’t particularly clear, but there was a nice reef with a ton of colorful fish to view. Also, we saw 3 different sea turtles. We were asked to leave them alone and it was cool swimming with them. Here’s a pic of one after we re-boarded The Adventurer after about an hour of snorkeling.

 

 

Recommendation: If you go snorkeling or do any sort of water sport, I highly recommend purchasing a cheap, waterproof digital camera. Some of the folks on the catamaran had one. I was jealous. I’m going to try for one next time to film the adventures under water.

 

I am so glad you went on this excursion because we just booked it and wanted more info. How far from shore do you anchor? My DH won't snorkel and really doesn't swim, but I heard you can take a little boat to shore. Also, you said there was a brief orientation to the head. Kind of embarrassing, but due to multiple surgeries my plumbing doesn't work like normal people. Anything I need to know in that area? One more question, I believe the drinking age is 18 in St. Thomas. DS is 19 and would like to try a beer or two, do you think that would be a problem? Also, how strong is the rum punch? I think that might not be the way to go. I don't want to have to carry him back to the ship. What time did your excursion start?

 

As far as the bushwacker, we got one for me next to the ship. I don't drink much so that could have been it, but my gosh my DH almost had to carry me back to the ship it affected me so much. He thought it was quite funny.

 

Thanks for all the info!

[wrigley80]

Great Review!!!! I love reading through and looking at the pictures on photo reviews. We are booked on the Conquest for December 2012 and it will have the Fun Ship 2.0 upgrades by then so we are so excited to see the changes

[pbmsmile]

You have a lot of great pictures from your deck..which side were you on Port or Starboard?? Enjoying the review very much BTW :)

[TaraLynne]

First - your family is just too adorable. Also, I love seeing reviews from other southerners on these boards, for whatever reason. haha

 

We're doing the Champagne Cat Sail too! Was it as worth it as everyone said?

 

And one more question...did you find the steam rooms super crowded at any point? I've only used them on a Disney cruise and the Dream (both of which you have to pay for) so I'm definitely curious as to how busy they get. Nothing worse than wanting a good steam and not being able to find a seat!

[lymah]

Once everyone boarded, the crew pumped up the volume and started pouring the rum punch and champagne. Yum!

 

 

That's a really good picture. Great review!

[flyawayca]

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this review! I look forward to seeing more!

[MisterMom]

I am so glad you went on this excursion because we just booked it and wanted more info. How far from shore do you anchor? My DH won't snorkel and really doesn't swim, but I heard you can take a little boat to shore. Also, you said there was a brief orientation to the head. Kind of embarrassing, but due to multiple surgeries my plumbing doesn't work like normal people. Anything I need to know in that area? One more question, I believe the drinking age is 18 in St. Thomas. DS is 19 and would like to try a beer or two, do you think that would be a problem? Also, how strong is the rum punch? I think that might not be the way to go. I don't want to have to carry him back to the ship. What time did your excursion start?

 

Let me give some answers a try....

 

I'm terrible at distance for how far we anchored out but there was a Zodiac that takes folks to the beach - Cameron took that option. This is a pic of some folks coming back from the beach.

 

 

 

I took this pic of the beach from the catamaran.

 

 

RE: The head. No worries. The main request they had was that any paper be placed in the trashcan rather than flushed down. Otherwise, normal toilet. Or just pee in the ocean! :eek:

 

Don't know about the drinking age or getting a beer for DS. The rum punch wasn't too strong on board (one or two bottles of rum per cooler) but maybe if he has just one??? Senor Frogs is literally right there as you debark the ship if you want to try there.

 

We chose the excursion that left the ship at noon. I would recommend that one, especially if you're going to partake of the rum punch and/or champagne. If you choose the AM trip, heck, "it's 5:00 somewhere!"

 

Great Review!!!! I love reading through and looking at the pictures on photo reviews. We are booked on the Conquest for December 2012 and it will have the Fun Ship 2.0 upgrades by then so we are so excited to see the changes

 

LOVE the avatar. UNC classes of '96 BA and '06 MHA. GO HEELS!

 

You have a lot of great pictures from your deck..which side were you on Port or Starboard?? Enjoying the review very much BTW :)

 

Starboard mid-ship, deck 7. Right off the mid-ship elevator lobby. Very

convenient.

We're doing the Champagne Cat Sail too! Was it as worth it as everyone said?

 

And one more question...did you find the steam rooms super crowded at any point? I've only used them on a Disney cruise and the Dream (both of which you have to pay for) so I'm definitely curious as to how busy they get. Nothing worse than wanting a good steam and not being able to find a seat!

 

Campagne Cat was cool. I recommend it!

 

I was only in the male steam room located off the male locker room on the Spa deck. It was only crowded when the drunk high school/early college kids came in loudly. There IS a free steam and sauna on the Carnival Dream in the men's locker room....

[shannonpb2]

What a great review! We will be driving from Conyers to Miami in June (a graduation gift to myself!). My family will be so thrilled I found a great app like the Roadside America app on this site!:D

 

Can't wait to see some more!

[lala364]

Loving your review! I feel like I'm on the cruise with you. Thank you for all the pictures.

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

 

 

This looks like an interesting property right at the entrance to the port. Is that a “For Sale” sign out front?

 

 

 

This is the Fort Willoughby Garrison House on Hassel Island. Fairly interesting history to this island.

 

What camera are you using?

[hayesktrm]

Mister Mom...thanks for all the answers and great pictures to give me a visual. Glad to see there were several people who opted for the Zodiac. Don't want DH to feel silly for choosing this option. When we reserved online for the Champagne Cat it didn't say a time. When you came aboard did you then choose a time? Noon would be great. My kids REALLY don't like to get up early on vacation. DH and I could go shopping and then come back and get them and go if we had the noon excursion. Thanks again!

[NurseW2Kiddies]

Can't wait for your review of the Mixology class!!! I am SOOOO there!!!!:)

Loving the review!!!

[sharecruises]

Loving the review and fantastic pictures. Your family is beautiful and so is Liberty...I thought she was the prettiest Carnival ship I have seen and the new 2.0 is just icing on the cake.

 

I live here in S Florida and am very familiar with logistics for cruisers, have helped others who need an affordable way to stay/park etc

 

I always suggest the La Quinta EAST...it is near the airport, decent, inexpensive...offers a week free parking and free shuttle TO the port for up to 4 people...perfect for you guys.

 

You would then take a shuttle/bus/van back from port at about $14/15 each or grab a cab. For those flying in, La Quinta east also has free shuttle from airport to hotel and of course the free shuttle to the port

 

http://www.broward.org/Library/BCLWOW/Pages/Default.aspx

 

~~~~~~~~

a new option that I found was Comfort Suites by the airport, a new hotel

that has free shuttle from airport and free shuttle to the port...they have supposedly some parking deals too??

 

 

Another option that gives free parking for the week is the Fairfield Inn DORAL and/or the Courtyard Inn DORAL...these are right next to each other

They offer the free week parking BUT they charge $10 per person for a shuttle to the port so that adds up

 

There are also park/stay deals at Hampton and/or Hyatt Place BUT again they jack up the price

 

IMHO the La Quinta East is the best logistical move for Miami

 

Sadly the off site parking in Miami is problematic compared to friendly Fort Lauderdale...and unlike Fort Lauderdale many hotels do not have much in the way of free shuttles to port, free parking. Port Everglades is very easy, close to airport and many hotels have great deals so if you ever try the Freedom you will be in luck :)

[jade**]

Great review. We are considering this itinerary for next year.