Chrissandra's Honeymoon in the Aft (an eastern Liberty review)

[divetrash]

Hello my pretties,

 

Love your review and all the pictures! Looks like a wonderful trip! And your wedding pictures are lovely as are you both.

 

Thanks for checking out the piano bar regardless of what you have heard. You know the old saying, different strokes for different folks. But I'm sorry you found it lacking.

 

I'm keeping an ear out to hear who will replace Joe on the Victory and crossing my fingers you get someone good. I made a little discovery the other day that suggests that the office is very aware of and may even be taking seriously things being said over on the Bar-Barians page, so there is hope!

 

I'm not sailing again until the Breeze in October, but I think I got a good one in Ben Gentry! Yay me! LOL

 

Take care you two. Perhaps we should get Cass a helmet and safety pads for every day use? LOL :p

 

Happy Cruising,

 

Laura

[Anung Un Rama]

Hello my pretties,

 

Love your review and all the pictures! Looks like a wonderful trip! And your wedding pictures are lovely as are you both.

 

Thanks for checking out the piano bar regardless of what you have heard. You know the old saying, different strokes for different folks. But I'm sorry you found it lacking.

 

I'm keeping an ear out to hear who will replace Joe on the Victory and crossing my fingers you get someone good. I made a little discovery the other day that suggests that the office is very aware of and may even be taking seriously things being said over on the Bar-Barians page, so there is hope!

 

I'm not sailing again until the Breeze in October, but I think I got a good one in Ben Gentry! Yay me! LOL

 

Take care you two. Perhaps we should get Cass a helmet and safety pads for every day use? LOL :p

 

Happy Cruising,

 

Laura

 

Hey Laura :D, I've heard good things about ben Gentry as I was hoping he would be staying on (but as we all know, no such luck).

 

It's nice to know that the Beards are at least aware and somewhat paying attention to what people are saying on that board. We've got our fingers crossed for a great PBE for the Victory in October. We have a huge group that loves the PB and will most likely fill it up every night.

 

I told Cass I was going to wrap her in bubble wrap before the next cruise. I think she'd still find some way of injuring herself :rolleyes:

[oneboysmom]

Hi Guys! I feel like I know you now!!LOL...am really really enjoying your review. I am going on the liberty next year and was trying to decide between the eastern or western, but with the pics you posted of st. thomas, the choice is pretty clear!! So thank you for that!

I loved HMC and agree the music was quite loud. We actually sat in front of the boat as thats where my son's friends were and he wanted to be close.

Many happy wishes for you both!

[lhaddon]

If you don't mind me asking, can you tell me how much the 101oz of beer costs?

 

Loved your review!

[lovestocruise19]

That was my biggest fear too, but surprisingly yes. It's by no means as cold as the first pint but it did not get warm (I hate warm beer). I love Thirsty Frog Red and it may seriously be my favorite beer.

 

DH loved the Red Frog beer too. Told me it was the best beer he'd ever had. Good to know that the tube of beer doesn't get too warm. However, if we ever ordered it, DH would have to drink it all himself as I don't like beer! LOL! Perhaps he could share with my BIL. We might be cruising next year with MY sister and brother-in-law. :)

[Spurs Fans]

I have never got past the name of your thread! Congratulations to both of you and I will try to clear my head!!

[funinthesun1964]

Connnnnnnngratulations guys!!!! Was glad to see this review on the boards, especially since it was a Liberty cruise! We loved our cruise in February, although we did the Western route. We had Karl as CD and Ben in the piano bar. He was hilarious, sorry that you didn't have a better entertainer there.

 

Sorry about your hand Cass, that looks like it hurt! Ouch!

 

Here is my blessing for the two of you, and hope to see you on a cruise someday!!

 

[funinthesun1964]

DH loved the Red Frog beer too. Told me it was the best beer he'd ever had. Good to know that the tube of beer doesn't get too warm. However, if we ever ordered it, DH would have to drink it all himself as I don't like beer! LOL! Perhaps he could share with my BIL. We might be cruising next year with MY sister and brother-in-law. :)

 

No need for your DH to drink it all by himself, If I'm there I will more than gladly share! LOL!!! Love beer!

[ardnassac79]

Again, thank you all for the wonderful wishes and congratulations.. it means a lot that you all like what we put out here! :D I'm currently writing out San Juan, and should start getting those posts up within the hour.

 

Hi Guys! I feel like I know you now!!LOL...am really really enjoying your review. I am going on the liberty next year and was trying to decide between the eastern or western, but with the pics you posted of st. thomas, the choice is pretty clear!! So thank you for that!

I loved HMC and agree the music was quite loud. We actually sat in front of the boat as thats where my son's friends were and he wanted to be close.

Many happy wishes for you both!

 

Glad to help! Definitely book some kind of tour or excursion that will take you to the scenic areas... St. Thomas's beauty is not able to be seen by just getting off the boat and doing your own thing. San Juan is a different story as you'll see later tonight!

 

If you don't mind me asking, can you tell me how much the 101oz of beer costs?

 

Loved your review!

 

I just looked at the S&S bill, and it showed $34 and some change, but I think I added a $2 tip... so around $32! Not bad for what is technically 6 pints of beer!

 

Hello my pretties,

 

Love your review and all the pictures! Looks like a wonderful trip! And your wedding pictures are lovely as are you both.

 

Thanks for checking out the piano bar regardless of what you have heard. You know the old saying, different strokes for different folks. But I'm sorry you found it lacking.

 

I'm keeping an ear out to hear who will replace Joe on the Victory and crossing my fingers you get someone good. I made a little discovery the other day that suggests that the office is very aware of and may even be taking seriously things being said over on the Bar-Barians page, so there is hope!

 

I'm not sailing again until the Breeze in October, but I think I got a good one in Ben Gentry! Yay me! LOL

 

Take care you two. Perhaps we should get Cass a helmet and safety pads for every day use? LOL :p

 

Happy Cruising,

 

Laura

 

Hey Laura!! Really good news about the powers-that-be taking notice... changes! And yeah, I'd probably get some kind of weird plastic injury from the bubble wrap, I'm a walking calamity... it's amazing I never broke any bones!

 

DH loved the Red Frog beer too. Told me it was the best beer he'd ever had. Good to know that the tube of beer doesn't get too warm. However, if we ever ordered it, DH would have to drink it all himself as I don't like beer! LOL! Perhaps he could share with my BIL. We might be cruising next year with MY sister and brother-in-law. :)

 

Yeah it's best to share - with only one person, it may get too warm... that last glass was "slightly chilled" at best... still good though! I don't like beer all the time, but love this.. (lmao that was close to the dos equis commercials). I don't drink beer all the time, but when I do, it's Carnival's Thirsty Frog.

 

I have never got past the name of your thread! Congratulations to both of you and I will try to clear my head!!

 

LOLOL! Chris has been waiting for someone to comment on that!! (in his dreams! :p)

 

Connnnnnnngratulations guys!!!! Was glad to see this review on the boards, especially since it was a Liberty cruise! We loved our cruise in February, although we did the Western route. We had Karl as CD and Ben in the piano bar. He was hilarious, sorry that you didn't have a better entertainer there.

 

 

Yeah we were hoping! And we LOVE Karl - had him on our Liberty 2012 cruise, such a great CD!

[MisterMom]

I'm sorry but Cass says she really wants me to post this picture

 

 

 

All gone

 

 

So, first pic - worth posting! Especially the shirt. That's going to become my new mantra.

 

Second pic - I shed a tear.

 

Congrats on da' nuptuals.

[BigDog™]

Congrats to y'all!!! Loved our last trip on the Breeze but still like the Liberty and sure we will be back on her soon. Great review as always!

[Lil_One]

Yay! I love your reviews! We are doing the Eastern on the Glory this fall so I'm looking forward to reading the rest for ideas at these ports. Unfortunately, no HMC for us....Nassau instead.

 

Congrats to the two of you!!

[ardnassac79]

Wednesday – San Juan

 

Because we had an early night, the 7:30 am alarm wasn’t too terrible. We packed up our bag of stuff we’d need for the day, and headed to lido deck for some breakfast – I really wanted to try the huevos rancheros at Blue Iguana (delish!). We didn’t have any planned excursions for the day, instead we did our research from other reviews (thank you Navybaby!) and had a good Trolley Map and plan to hop it to get to El Morro, the largest fort in the area. This was the link and map we printed:

 

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/free-trolley-old-san-juan/

 

The ship docked on time at 7am, but that was a tad too early for us – we ended up heading out around 9, and it was still relatively thin as far as crowds go.

 

Some pics from our balcony before we left:

 

 

[carnivalcruiser10]

My question

 

did ya meet to same funatics?? from island or cruise??

[ardnassac79]

The first Trolley stop is across the street, and left of where we were docked (we were in “dock 4” – almost positive. The trolley signs are green with a large number on them.

 

We were the first people there to wait, but about 10-15 others came up while we were waiting. After about 15 minutes it showed up, already with people on board, but we were able to squeeze in. It took us up and around some government and museum buildings, and it struck the both of us how well maintained this area is! Just beautiful. We were able to snap some photos while the trolley was moving – max speed on these streets is posted at 15mph!

 

 

 

 

[lovestocruise19]

Wednesday – San Juan

 

Because we had an early night, the 7:30 am alarm wasn’t too terrible. We packed up our bag of stuff we’d need for the day, and headed to lido deck for some breakfast – I really wanted to try the huevos rancheros at Blue Iguana (delish!). We didn’t have any planned excursions for the day, instead we did our research from other reviews (thank you Navybaby!) and had a good Trolley Map and plan to hop it to get to El Morro, the largest fort in the area. This was the link and map we printed:

 

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/free-trolley-old-san-juan/

 

The ship docked on time at 7am, but that was a tad too early for us – we ended up heading out around 9, and it was still relatively thin as far as crowds go.

 

Some pics from our balcony before we left:

 

 

 

Yeah, I had that lovely trolley map too...but left it on the ship. D'oh!

[ardnassac79]

We didn’t get off at the first fort stop, and stayed on board till we got to stop 24, which was before the last stop before turning around, and we started our own sightseeing tour…

 

 

 

 

 

Chris spotted the cemetery by the fort, and being types of people we are that are intrigued and interested in the less than normal – we went in.. you have to go down a path leading to a tunnel, but it opens out onto the most beautiful and breathtaking cemetery either of us had ever seen.

 

 

[ardnassac79]

I want to stop for a moment and say I debated about putting some of these photos in the review, just because I didn’t want people to think we were “sightseeing” or being disrespectful by taking pictures.

In fact it was the opposite. It was simply awe inspiring, the amount of care, detail, and love that was evident. The place definitely had an other-worldly feeling about it, and I definitely got the shivers a few times, but it is clear that religion and honoring those that have passed is very important to the culture here. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves...

 

 

 

 

 

[deedle7544]

Beautiful.

[ardnassac79]

There is no exit through to the fort, so back under the tunnel we went, and hiked up the grassy hill to the entrance.

 

There is a small fee to enter the fort per person, and you can purchase entrance to both. I’m sure many of you reading this have been there before, but we were newbies and had a field day with the pictures! I especially liked all the informational signs that explained the history of the fort, what different areas were used for, and other informational facts. I will warn, it is a lot of walking with stairs and steep inclines, so I’d recommend sneakers or other comfortable shoes if you’re planning a visit. I saw a girl in some uber-high platform sandals and just imagined a broken ankle, or at the least blisters… but then again not everyone is as big a klutz as I am…

 

 

[ardnassac79]

And let the picture onslaught begin...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ardnassac79]

 

 

 

The sign points out that the little brown building to the right is where they stashed all the people with Leprosy... I guess there's worse places to be quarantined to!

 

 

[ardnassac79]

 

 

"Where do these stairs go?" - Dr. Peter Venkman

 

A Celebrity ship was coming into port while we were leaving

[ardnassac79]

We spent about 2 hours in and around the fort area, and then thought about waiting for a trolley back… so we waited a bit… and then saw it but it was full… I wasn’t about to wait for the next one just knowing it would look the same… so we started walking back the way the trolley brought us, and figured if we were by a return stop on the other side of the street we could hop on… yeah no such luck and we hoofed it all the way back to the shopping area by the cruise ships… it’s about an hour walk back, but we were able to stay in some shade, luckily.

Some shots we got along the way:

 

 

 

 

 

Typical street downtown:

 

[ardnassac79]

Alert.. previous picture time now enters into some wordy bits... sorry 'bout that...

There were two other things I wanted to do while in San Juan, one of which Chris knew about… I love food shows like Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives, as well as Man vs. Food.. and a few months ago Man vs Food was in San Juan! Oh yeah baby I wanted to go to Restaurant Raices, come hell or high water… I knew what street it was on from looking it up on google maps – and I was right… the bad thing about all the streets in San Juan – yeah none of them have street signs (at least visible to either of us!).. but luckily I had the general area circled on our trolley map, and I found it…

bad thing was, Chris was having a hard time with the sun, which by this point (around 11:45) was in full force at 90 degrees or so, and the humidity was rising as well… and heat + walking just kills his appetite… so I told him we could try to walk around in the shaded sides of the street for a while to check out shops, when he realized my nefarious plan….

To find the Coach Factory store and buy myself a honeymoon present (my first Coach bag!) … oh the dirty looks, LOL. Well, unfortunately I wasn’t as prepared with the location of the Coach store, and we embarked on a maze-like trek through the streets of downtown San Juan to find this place.

We asked a person with a map to if we could look at it – nada on the map, but they claimed they had been in there… they gave us directions that led us in a circle… ugh…

Seriously all these streets look the same...

 

Finally we took a left at the street we had already been down to the right, and found a man holding a shopping bag from – you guessed it – the Coach store!! He was talking to some people, so we waited, and then politely asked where the store was – the couple he was just talking to cracked up because they had just asked him the same thing!

Finally – we kept going in the same direction we were headed, then up a few blocks, and like a mirage in the desert, that Coach Logo beamed out at me from the storefront… I had to chuckle because there were 3 men out front obviously killing time while their ladies were getting their shopping on… Chris debated about joining the man-pack, but the AC was cranking inside, so he followed me in.

 

OK - alert – I’m going to get a bit “FEMALE” here now.. if purses bore you, just skip this paragraph… I looked around, meandered through the crowds to the back, and OMG! Kristen Hobo bag in Pink I had on my wish list for AGES… tag said $389, factory price $199, and a guy at the front handed me a flyer that said 50% off… sometimes that’s misleading so my hopes weren’t up.. but holy crap on a cracker my most wanted bag, first ever (real) Coach bag rang up at $92… I’m in heaven. Chris is happy to get the hell out of there, but slightly jealous there isn’t anything he wants equally as much…

 

Now we head back to Restaurant Raices, and got our Mofongo (mashed plantain) with Chimmichurri Style Skirt Steak on… this is goooood.

 

We split it, and it was enough for us both, I think we both could have eaten more, but 1 each would have been too much. Just more room for dinner and drinks later. It was about 1:30 when we were done, and decided to head back to the ship. Back on board time was 3pm, but we were tuckered out.