Pre-Cruise blog and Review of the Liberty -- June 20-28

[AK Wife]

Glad I could help! I should at least get a drink out of it! :p

 

You got it! :D

[AK Wife]

April 28

Of course, I've paid in full and it is past the date for full payment, so I'm not surprised. But, I would have loved if she had at least tried.

 

When I called about the price reduction the other day, she told me to keep checking for price drops. Said if I had paid in full I would have gotten the difference in OBC. Since I haven't paid yet, I just got it deducted form my balance. Would have preferred OBC. But I have it set aside for bigger & better things! ;) Cheers! :D

[billys5764]

May 8

 

I did a mock booking today and found that rates have come down again!!!!

 

I called Carnival and got DSs and friends cabin reduced by $100!!!! Every little bit helps. The final payment is not due until May 21, so I will be checking again before that date to see if I can get another reduction.

 

DS had his first wreck on Tuesday :mad: Fortunately no one was hurt. The car is another story:eek: Talk about bad luck -- On Monday, I dropped collision from his car insurance because he has been such a good driver. Then on Tuesday, he rear ends someone.

 

Maybe I should cancel his cruise as punishment???

 

43 days to go...

[MimiMia]

I just wanted to say thank you. You have inspired me to also do a "Start to Finish Blog/review". It wont be as detailed as I booked back in January also for our May 25th Cruise.

[billys5764]

I just wanted to say thank you. You have inspired me to also do a "Start to Finish Blog/review". It wont be as detailed as I booked back in January also for our May 25th Cruise.

 

 

Great! I can't wait to read it.

 

 

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[tammi0916]

May 8

 

I did a mock booking today and found that rates have come down again!!!!

 

I called Carnival and got DSs and friends cabin reduced by $100!!!! Every little bit helps. The final payment is not due until May 21, so I will be checking again before that date to see if I can get another reduction.

 

DS had his first wreck on Tuesday :mad: Fortunately no one was hurt. The car is another story:eek: Talk about bad luck -- On Monday, I dropped collision from his car insurance because he has been such a good driver. Then on Tuesday, he rear ends someone.

 

Maybe I should cancel his cruise as punishment???

 

43 days to go...

 

 

Congrats on the price drop - I got $100 off my DD and her friends cabin today too!

 

As for canceling his cruise - I wouldnt given his track record you don't want to jinx your cruise and have something happen! LOL

 

Tam

[billys5764]

Congrats on the price drop - I got $100 off my DD and her friends cabin today too!

 

As for canceling his cruise - I wouldnt given his track record you don't want to jinx your cruise and have something happen! LOL

 

Tam

 

This cruise is for his high school graduation. I guess the wreck doesn't wipe out 12 years of hard work!

[happybunny1207]

April 17

 

Today I received in the mail my certificate for $300 Casino Cash for the cruise! I present it at the cashiers cage. Does anyone know if I get cash or if it is applied to my S&S card?

 

I also receive special boarding and embarkation. Of course, I've already purchased FTTF. I wonder if that is now wasted money?

 

I also get a Welcome Aboard cocktail party where we receive info about the special casino events, free drinks in the casino, Commemorative Players Club gift (SOAS?), and free tournaments.

 

Can't wait!!!!!!!!

 

For our last cruise I received $50 casino cash and when I went to the casino desk they gave me cash. it was great!

 

We also used FTTF for this last cruise and it was worth EVERY PENNY!! The best part is being able to go straight to your cabin as soon as you get on board and drop off your carry ons! Also, you don't have to wait in line at the service desk or excursion desk - there's a special line on the side that - at least for me - never had anyone else waiting. You get dirty looks, but hey well! Plus you get off the boat first when arriving back at home port. I'm hoping to be able to score FTTF for our August Liberty cruise too!

[billys5764]

Tuesday, May 20

 

The final payment date for DS and friend's cabin is tomorrow. I did a mock booking today and saw the Super Saver rate was $499 for an interior. I called Carnival to see if I could switch their 123 rate to that one. They told me I would have to cancel their booking and rebook under the Super Saver rate. I would lose my $100 deposit by doing this.

 

Even with the loss of the deposit, I still saved $210 on their cabin! Carnival will assign their cabin the week before we sail. We did give up them being across the hall from us. But, we are fine with this. Both boys are very mature and I'm not worried about them being on the other end of the ship and down in the basement. Actually, the boys are thrilled with this!

 

I'm going to start working on my base tan this week, now that school is out for the summer and I'm a man of leisure now. I don't want to burn in the Caribbean sun! :eek:

 

Only 31 days to go... We're SO ready!!!!!!!

[AK Wife]

Yay for price drops! I just did another mock booking on Sunday and we saved another $80! BUT I had already PIF so now we have OBC! Total reductions since booking: $640! Woo hoo! And I was told by the Carnival rep to continue checking in case they drop again! ;-)

[billys5764]

Saturday, May 24

 

I checked today and saw that there are over 250 cabins still unsold. Hopefully this means fewer people in line at Guy's burgers!!!

 

27 days until...

 

 

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[tross1970]

Enjoying reading your blog... I live in Summerfield and my family and I will be on the June 28th sailing. Just trying to decide on our precruise hotel! Enjoy your cruise!

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your blog, looking forward to more.:)

[billys5764]

Enjoying reading your blog... I live in Summerfield and my family and I will be on the June 28th sailing. Just trying to decide on our precruise hotel! Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

We live in Whitsett and I teach at Elon University.

 

We're staying at the Radisson because we can get a suite instead of 2 rooms at another. We stayed at the La Quinta last year and it was very nice.

 

We'll try and leave the ship in good shape for you!

 

 

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[KPfromCT]

I really enjoy your style of writing.

This is fun to read.

Cannot wait to read more.:D:D

[rockbock]

January 24

 

Bradley’s concern is that since he will be 18, he won’t be able to go in the Club O2. Elijah will be able to. Surely, they will let him since his friend can go in.

 

I'll be on this cruise with you. My son is 17 and my daughter turned 18 in March. I'm not as confident as you that they will let her into Club O2. I've got my fingers crossed, but I honestly expect them to be very strict about the "Under 18" rule.

[billys5764]

I'll be on this cruise with you. My son is 17 and my daughter turned 18 in March. I'm not as confident as you that they will let her into Club O2. I've got my fingers crossed, but I honestly expect them to be very strict about the "Under 18" rule.

 

 

I've considered accidentally putting the wrong birth year down on the Club O2 form.

 

 

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[rockbock]

I've considered accidentally putting the wrong birth year down on the Club O2 form.

 

 

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That thought had crossed my mind as well, but I thought they cross-checked the signup forms to the list of names of teens onboard? Might be worth a try anyway. The worst that can happen is they get denied and then they're no worse off than if we didn't try in the first place.

[BeatySC]

We took our son and his best friend three years ago, our son was 17 and his friend was 18. Not sure how but I put his age down as one year younger, guess it was the "pre-cruise stress" ;). The first night they mentioned how his age didn't match and asked if I could bring back by something with his correct date of birth. Seems each time I thought to take something by, no one was there. Of course our boys didn't mention their age other teens in the group. The leaders of the group never mentioned it again to the boys.

[cruisetodayteachtomorrow]

Kpôp

 

 

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[bpatrick]

You said you checked the number of cabins left unsold... can you tell me where you did that? (if it's a dot com, you may not be able to share it here.) If it's an easy thing to do, would you mind finding out how many are left unsold as of today (it looks like your last comment about this was a few days ago??)

 

thanks,

b & k

 

You said: "I checked today and saw that there are over 250 cabins still unsold. Hopefully this means fewer people in line at Guy's burgers!!!"

[billys5764]

You said you checked the number of cabins left unsold... can you tell me where you did that? (if it's a dot com, you may not be able to share it here.) If it's an easy thing to do, would you mind finding out how many are left unsold as of today (it looks like your last comment about this was a few days ago??)

 

 

 

thanks,

 

b & k

 

 

 

You said: "I checked today and saw that there are over 250 cabins still unsold. Hopefully this means fewer people in line at Guy's burgers!!!"

 

 

I was bored so I did mock booking and checked every available cabin. It took about 30 minutes. I wish there was a website.

 

 

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[bpatrick]

I'll try doing the mock booking idea and see what I can find out.

b & k

[pacer1]

What did you think about Music Boardwalk the House Band? They are the best.....

 

I agree that Music Boardwalk was terrific on Liberty 5/09. They will be onboard until July for you future cruisers. I'm going back on Liberty in Nov....hope their new contract will again be on Liberty. :)

[billys5764]

June 2

 

We're now in the "teens" of days!!!!!

 

We consulted with our friends in Tallahassee that are going with us and they want to do the catamaran tour in Grand Turk. I checked the reviews and they were almost all rave reviews. So, we signed up for that excursion.

 

Since we don't get to Aruba until 1:00pm we decided not to do a beach day there. By the time we got there it would be time to leave to get back to the ship to get ready for dinner -- we have early dining. So, we are going to have lunch at Iguana Joe's and walk around town for a bit.

 

If you've never been to Iguana Joe's, you really should add it to your list of things to do in Aruba. The food is excellent and the drinks are superb!!! It's a short walk from the ship.

 

On a side note, we honeymooned in Aruba 24 years ago. While we were there we rented a motorcycle and drove all over the island and saw the sights. That was the first time I had ever been on a motorcycle (and the last). I finally got the hang of it, but never went very fast. We returned 2 years ago on the Valor and rented a car this time! We took our friends around the island and went to the Occidental Hotel and Resort where we honeymooned. It was called the Americana then. The pool area looked the same. It brought back memories!

 

In Curacao, we will probably take a taxi to the Blue Bay Resort. For $8 you can use their facilities (chairs, shade, bathrooms, showers) and then there are restaurants and bars if you are hungry and thirsty. The pictures look really nice. Has anyone been?

 

In Curacao 2 years ago we just got off the ship and walked into town and shopped a little.

 

Are Curacao beaches topless? Maybe I'll have to make DS and friend stay onboard that day! (Like they've never seen bare boobage before!!!)

 

DS and friend got their cabin assignment. They are in Interior 8206. They were across the hall from us until I changed their booking and saved so much money. They are now 1 floor up from us and at the opposite end of the ship. We're aft and they are forward. I'm an easy going parent, so I won't worry. They are easy going kids, too.

 

I've got the travel docs (birth certificates, passport, etc.) in a file folder ready to go. We just now have to get the letter notarized allowing DSs friend to come along with us.

 

It will be here before you know it!!!

 

 

18 more days.....