Carnival Liberty 10/26-11/3

[vc562894]

Wednesday, October 31st, 2012 San Juan

 

Good Morning San Juan!

 

We had previously booked a private tour with Albert Aguirre of Surf Cab Tours. We had emailed him before leaving for vacation (surfcabs@yahoo.com). It was $52 per person and had a 10 person maximum. We paid day of as we got off of the ship. Albert was waiting for us after we got off of the ship. He escorted us to his air conditioned van. We had requested a tour to the Rainforest then seeing some of the sights. Albert allows you to plan your own day.

 

Albert was very friendly and chatted with us the entire trip to the Rainforest, dicussing San Juan and its culture/daily events.

 

We arrived at the Welcome Center at the Rainforest, used the bathrooms and explored for a few minutes. We headed into the Rainforest. Albert stopped on the road, grabbed a leaf, smiled and continued driving. You will find more about what he did later on.

 

We stopped at two waterfalls. The first required some hiking if you wanted to head all of the way up. It was a moderate hike, only a few minutes walk but sneakers were definitely needed.

 

Albert took photos for all of us as we hiked and even posed pictures!

[vc562894]

Before we headed to the second waterfall, Albert used the leaf to make a HAT! We loved it!

 

Next stop was Yokahu Tower. We climbed up the steps and observed all of San Juan! It was gorgeous.

 

Our next stop, was another waterfall. Again, a short walk to the waterfall.

 

Again, our photographer Albert took fabulous photos!!

[vc562894]

We took off our shoes and walked around the waterfall pool. The water was cool but perfect on the hot day. The bottom of the pool is rocks so tender feet are NOT recommended. We walked slow and were able to go underneath the waterfall.

 

The guys even hiked up a little higher to get to the top.

 

I have about 300 photos from this day, about 150-200 are compliments of Albert. I couldnt express more gratitude to him for a fabulous day.

 

After we left the rainforest, Albert gave us a driving tour through Old San Juan Streets as we headed to the Forts.

http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp54349%3Enu%3D62%3A4%3E938%3E255%3EWSNRCG%3D346%3A%3B5%3B384346nu0mrj

[TakeMeAway1001]

Great review, thanks for sharing :)

[vc562894]

We explored the ground of the Fort. We did NOT go inside.

 

 

The grounds were gorgeous.

 

After our tour, Albert dropped us off at the restaurant called Punta de Vista, that he recommended as my sister was looking for monfongo. The drinks were cheap as was the food but everything was DELICIOUS!!!

 

We have our amazing day in San Juan thanks to Albert!

[vc562894]

We were on that cruise with you guys . We had a great time and are doing the same halloween cruise on the liberty this year . and piane bar with ben was a blast:)

 

 

Did you have a great time? We LOVED the ports and the boat, especially the upgrades. We decided NOT to do another Halloween cruise again (one last thing I need to pack, hehe)..

[vc562894]

we also were on that same cruise with you:D

Guess you missed the flyer handed out at embarkation about the change from HMC to Nassau;)

Love reliving that cruise again thru your review:D

Did you both dress up for the Halloween party?

 

Yeah, we didnt read anything until the next am! We were so excited to be on vacation. Oops!

 

Yeah, we all dressed up for Halloween, that will be coming soon!

[vc562894]

Enjoying your review! We will be going to St. Thomas in May and I am thinking we might go to Sapphire. Have never been there. So the $10 taxi is pp/one way? Is there any other (cheaper?) way to get there? If we opt for a taxi, how would or could we ask our driver to take us up to the lookout as yours did? TIA and can't wait to read the rest. Sorry you missed HMC. Maybe next time! :D

 

Sapphire Beach was very relaxing. It was about 30min drive from port. It is $10 pp per way. It was worth it. The snorkeling was nice but like I said the water was a little cloudy but coming from NJ Shore Oceans, it was gorgeous still!

 

We didnt find any other means of transportation but what we got for $20 was well worth it! When Henry picked us up, he asked what we wanted to see on our day in St. Thomas. We told him Paradise Point and he said "Dont waste your money, I will show you the same thing but for free." I do not remember if the outlook had a name but they all know it apparently.

[vc562894]

We returned to the ship to celebrate Halloween! We relaxed on the Lido deck while others took a nap before dinner.

 

They had a pumpkin carving contest.

 

The Winner

 

We watched the sail out of San Juan.

 

We headed to the MDR for dinner. I don't remember what we had for dinner this night (terrible I know) but they had Halloween inspired desserts.

bat

ghost

[vc562894]

All 8 of us in our group dressed up for Halloween. They had asked you to walk along the promenade dressed up and crew members would be handing out certificates if you were the best dressed. The certificates invited you back to the Palace later on!

 

Many guests wore costumes. Some guests went all out, while others simply wore a halloween tee shirt. It was up to you. My mom and mother in law, brought candy to hand out to the children.

 

My parents, sister/bf, myself and husband

in laws and us

 

My inlaws won a certificate so at 10pm we headed to the palace to support them. They didnt end up winning the entire contest but overall we all had fun!

 

After the contest, there was a halloween party in the club.

Asst. Cruise Director and ourselves

 

 

Overall, Halloween on board was fun. I do not know if I would do it again as a costume was simply one more thing I had to worry about it but the crew did a great job decorating and enjoying the day!

[vc562894]

I apologize for how the next part will come but I thought previously we could edit posts which I had planned on doing for anything my sister wanted to add. But apparently it's blocked on this page for whatever reason. I am going to create an entire post for comments my sister wanted to add to this post then continue on with the rest of the review.

 

 

Alyson note: The Blue Iguana Cantina is also good. If you are used to authentic Mexican/Spanish food, you will not find it at the B.I.C., but it is a nice treat on board. Theyoffer tacos and burritos throughout the day and breakfast burritos and huevos rancheros in the morning. After they build your "entree", you can head over to the salsa/toppings bar. Make sure you read each one carefully and follow the picture if you don't like spicy :). We did eat here two or three times - only once for breakfast (the "huevos rancheros" option was pretty greasy).

[vc562894]

Alyson note: We also went to Sharkeez to relax and have a few cocktails. The staff seemed a little unprepared due to the amount of cruise ships that were probably re-routed due to the storm. The manager was screaming at all the servers making it almost uncomfortable. The drinks were delicious, though. As we were leaving, we noticed that there was a woman selling coconuts. My boyfriend is obsessed, so he had to have one. I believe it was $5.

 

 

Alyson note: Due to the cruise being the same week as Halloween, you could find stateroom doors decked out every floor you passed. Here are a few, including ours!

[vc562894]

Alyson Note: Cherry on Top is so tempting! We never ended up buying any candy but all week we thought about it. It looks delicious! However, 3 or 4 of us spent money at the jewelry store. Most of the people who worked in the jewelry store were very helpful, excempt ONE woman. She seemed to be the only employee that we came in contact with that was not friendly.

 

[gelo7]

Excellent review and pics.

[vc562894]

Alyson had the photos from snorkeling due to my camera dying. As you can see the water was slightly cloudly.

 

Arguably the best dessert of the week after St Thomas... raspberry chocolate and something layered cake with raspberry sorbet!

 

Alyson Note: In the middle of the tour, I could not hold it any longer and had to ask Albert about the best spot for MOFONGO (pretty much mashed plantains, signature dish of PR). He told us he would take us to a spot that the locals love that is actually right across from the port. Punto de Visto was cheap and delicious!! We also got free shots!Me and my boyfriend shared the mofongo relleno - churrasco (steak) with ajo (garlic) sauce. The server told us that this is one of the most popular choices. We also shared the carne frita (fried pork )with yucca. I am not typically overly excited for this dish, so it was just average for me.

[vc562894]

November 1st, 2012 - Grand Turk

 

The morning of day 6 a few of us decided to do breakfast in the MDR and it was a great decision for breakfast lovers! The buffet is great with many options, but I love a good sit-down breakfast. I had the eggs benedict with turkey bacon and it was delicious! Th servers are definitely not as attentive as they are at dinner, but it was okay.

 

Our last port was Grand Turk. My parents booked the horseback riding, my brother-in-law's parent chose to relax. and the four of us booked dune buggies. We knew that there wasn't too much to do on Grand Turk without booking an excursion so we made it a priority after booking our cruise (the excursions sold out fast!).

 

We got to Grand Turk and it was pouring rain and kind of chilly! We were a little upset at first until we realized that it would probably make the dune buggies a lot more fun.

 

As soon as we came through the customs area, we checked in with a woman from the tour group and were escorted to the dune buggies. There was a lot of confusion at the desk because a lot of excursions had been cancelled due to weather.

 

We got a few quick lessons on how to operate the dune buggy from the two tour guides. They also instructed us to keep the helmet (and shield??) on at all times! They mentioned that due to all of the free roaming animals on the island, we will be running through a lot of fecal matter and it may splash up onto us! YUCK!! We definitely kept that face shield on!!

 

Grand Turk is only 7 miles long, but our tour guides took us all over and kept it interesting. Our first stop was at the light house that had been shipped from England to Grand Turk. We could get waters, souvenirs, use the restroom, and explore for a little bit. We got back in and headed out for some more exploring. They took us past some sort of bay or lake where there were kayaks that you oould rent. Towards the end, we passed the best spot. Going through it looked like something from a movie, there were big rocks that we went through and on the other side was opened up and all sandy.

[vc562894]

The rain definitely made the dune buggies interesting and very dirty! My parents also had an amazing time on the horseback adventure.

 

After our excursions, we all decided to meet at Margaritaville. I could not stand being so dirty and possibly covered in animal feces any longer, so we ran back quickly to the ship to shower and change and head back to Margaritaville. If you have been to one Margaritaville, you know how it is there. Our bill was about $70 for 2 beers and 2 sandwiches and I think all 3000 people from the ship were in there which made the service horrible.

[vc562894]

A few extra pics of Grand Turk from our ATV tour.

The view of Grand Turk from the boat

It poured.

Finally we got about 10-15 mins of the rain stopping so we toured the beach for a few minutes.

[battchief1]

thanks for the review

[vc562894]

After Grand Turk was our 2nd formal night. Before dinner, we stopped at the Alchemy bar to try the crazy concoctions.

 

I believe I had "The Youthful and Bold Berritini" while my boyfriend tried the "Spicy Chipotle Pineaple Martini" and Val had "The Antoxident" ...they were both great and the alchemists (bartenders) put SO much effort into one drink!

 

For dinner, I had the Chateubriand which was delicious!

 

Our server, Marthana was hysterical. Told us jokes, showed us magic tricks, etc all week! We loved coming to dinner to see him. We definitely missed him after the week was over. We have been staying in contact via Facebook since.

[vc562894]

After dinner, we changed and went to the Punchliner again and it was another funny show, but I don't remember the comedian's name!

 

After that, the 4 of us decided to go to the EA Sports Bar (after another pit stop at the casino). We decided to order a few of the 101 oz tubes of the Red Frog beer. The satellite was down so they had switched all of the tvs over to video game. Every male on the cruise was drooling. Needless to say our boys were in heaven playing FIFA on the big screens.....

 

 

[michelle1836]

Alyson had the photos from snorkeling due to my camera dying. As you can see the water was slightly cloudly.

 

 

Alyson Note: In the middle of the tour, I could not hold it any longer and had to ask Albert about the best spot for MOFONGO (pretty much mashed plantains, signature dish of PR). He told us he would take us to a spot that the locals love that is actually right across from the port. Punto de Visto was cheap and delicious!! We also got free shots!Me and my boyfriend shared the mofongo relleno - churrasco (steak) with ajo (garlic) sauce. The server told us that this is one of the most popular choices. We also shared the carne frita (fried pork )with yucca. I am not typically overly excited for this dish, so it was just average for me.

 

we ate here too and loved it! I am pretty sure the owner is from NJ!

[vc562894]

November 2nd, 2012: Day at Sea

 

Our last day was at sea and we decided to take full advantage of the beautiful weather after all the rain in Grand Turk, a few of us started the day by going to the MDR again for the Puncliner comedy brunch. We just wanted breakfast, but we got PG comedy also. I wouldn't judge the comedians based on the brunch.

 

After breakfast, we headed to the Lido Deck for some sun, relaxation, and drinks. The frozen drink of the day was some sort of pineapple drink served IN a pineapple...it tasted delicious, but I'm not sure it had any alcohol in it (maybe it didn't and I'm the dummy) but it was about $14.

 

 

They did the "Groove for St Jude" to encourage everyone to donate to St Jude's Children's Hospital. Steve, the assistant cruise director, said he was going to continue to play the YMCA until everyone donated! He actually played it and danced to it about 6 times.

 

Before our last dinner, we stopped at the Alchemy Bar again.

Our last dinner was great and I was actually said to say goodbye to our servers! Nunung and Marthana took great care of us all week and taking the time to get to know something about who they are definitely made a difference.

 

After dinner, we decided to change and relax on the Lido deck. This was our third cruise and never once did we hang out on the Lido deck after dark. They were showing the Pirates of the Caribbean so my husband and I decided to take the opportunity to relax after a fantastic week!

[vc562894]

We were up early to head off of the ship. We signed up for our bags to be taken directly to MIA. It was $20 a person. It was worth it! However, if you had a flight earlier than 12pm in MIA you could not do it.

A few more photos of Port of Miami

 

 

 

We had an absolute FANTASTIC week on the Carnival Liberty. We loved every moment (well maybe not the high seas day 1 and/or rain Grand Turk). I took over 2000 pictures so if there is a specific pic you are looking for a question I might of missed feel free to ask on here or email me at vmahart at gmail.com

[BoardwalkBabe]

Looks like a great trip! Thank you for sharing it with us.