REVIEW: Carnival Liberty - Western Caribbean - 4/5/14 thru 4/12/14

[travel33]

I am loving the color changing chandileers and the theatre is classic Carnival.

 

That's the Breeze, Liberty does Grand Turk, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and San Juan.

 

I've never been to Grand Turk, I am wanting to try the brand new helicopter tour.

 

Liberty also goes to Aruba, Curacao and Grand Turk for the Southern Caribbean. Doing that itinerary next month :)

[catty]

I was looking at the excursions and I did not see San Pedro on it. It looks like they are doing small private islands this instead. I am so disappointed since that is the place I really wanted to see. I guess I will have to save quite a bit of money for the airfare in the future. :(

[titanic27]

Thank you. I'm glad the Valor review was helpful to you in planning your Valor trip. What did you think of the itinerary? We LOVED it. I wanted to do that one again this year but just do different excursion, but we splurged on the airfare to San Juan last year and it was so much cheaper to fly to Miami. DH also wanted to do a Western this time since we were just on Valor last year.

 

We were on Glory in May 2010 and did an Eastern Caribbean cruise and really liked her. Same layout as Liberty and Valor, so we knew exactly where everything was and it was easy to get around on Liberty. I hope you have a great time on Glory.

 

WE LOVED SOUTHERN ITINERARY, I almost regret doing it before the western. I Was told by a friend that the western side Was not a beautiful as Eastern or SOUTHERN, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

We also considered going back on the Valor maybe next one, where would you like to go next ?

[pghsteelerfan]

I am loving the color changing chandileers and the theatre is classic Carnival.

 

That's the Breeze, Liberty does Grand Turk, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and San Juan.

 

I've never been to Grand Turk, I am wanting to try the brand new helicopter tour.

 

The lights along the Promenade Boulevard also change colors. If I'm remembering correctly, Glory also had lights that changed color.

 

I was just looking at Carnival's site yesterday and they are offering several different itineraries now and I noticed there are more 8 day cruises as well.

 

We loved Grand Turk when there a few years ago. The water color is unbelievable. We went to the conch graveyard to get a couple of "free souvenirs" then to Margaritaville (way too crowded) and then down to Jack's Shack. The helicopter tour would be cool.

[pghsteelerfan]

Liberty also goes to Aruba, Curacao and Grand Turk for the Southern Caribbean. Doing that itinerary next month :)

 

You've only got a couple more weeks to go. :)

[pghsteelerfan]

I was looking at the excursions and I did not see San Pedro on it. It looks like they are doing small private islands this instead. I am so disappointed since that is the place I really wanted to see. I guess I will have to save quite a bit of money for the airfare in the future. :(

 

I think there are also some private tours that go to San Pedro. I'd just be afraid about the time and getting back to the ship. I think I remember seeing a sign for the boat to San Pedro in the marina somewhere. We have done private tours in the past and haven't had an issue but there is always a chance. That would be nice if Carnival would bring that one back.

[pghsteelerfan]

WE LOVED SOUTHERN ITINERARY, I almost regret doing it before the western. I Was told by a friend that the western side Was not a beautiful as Eastern or SOUTHERN, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

We also considered going back on the Valor maybe next one, where would you like to go next ?

 

Our first cruise, honeymoon in 1992, was southern and very similar to Valor's route except we went to Dominica and Martinique instead of St. Lucia and St. Kitts. The others were the same. We did a western (first one in 2006) and an eastern recently (2010), but I loved both of those too. I'd forgotten just how pretty it was until I happened upon a Victory review (Victory and Valor switched places) and was sold on that itinerary. That was my fear after Valor and the southern itinerary last year, that every other cruise after would be a let down. The western is very pretty, in a different way. The islands are pretty flat, with the exception of Roatan, so there is none of the spectacular scenery when coming into the islands. The water is beautiful and apparently the way the water was for us in Cozumel is not the norm. Someone posted that it only happens a few times a year. I personally think, scenery wise, that the Eastern/Southern are the prettiest.

 

Where would I like to go next? Probably like to go on Valor Southern itinerary out of San Juan again! :) We flew in a day before last year, but I'd love to go a few days earlier or stay a few after. So much to see and do in San Juan. Of course, I'd love to see Aruba and Curacao too.

Edited May 20, 2014 by pghsteelerfan

[rooster1961]

Great review of Liberty, going on eastern caribbean next.

[pghsteelerfan]

Great review of Liberty, going on eastern caribbean next.

 

Thanks for following along. You'll love Liberty, very nice ship. Which Eastern will you be doing? I notice there are a few more itineraries to choose from now. We did an Eastern on Glory (one of Liberty's sister ships) in 2010 and went to HMC, St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. Loved it. I hope you have a wonderful cruise.

[Baatman]

Nice review and you had some really good pics also...thanks.

[travel33]

You've only got a couple more weeks to go. :)

 

Thank goodness, as my older son just broke his toe, and is now in a boot. Hoping it will come off right before the cruise! My younger son had also hit his toe last week, but fortunately didn't break his...kids :eek:

[pghsteelerfan]

Nice review and you had some really good pics also...thanks.

 

Glad you enjoyed the pictures, I sure took a lot. Thank you for following along.

[pghsteelerfan]

Thank goodness, as my older son just broke his toe, and is now in a boot. Hoping it will come off right before the cruise! My younger son had also hit his toe last week, but fortunately didn't break his...kids :eek:

 

Oh no!!! Kids, yes, but what timing...right before your cruise. Sounds like you need to bubble wrap both of your sons' feet :) I sure hope your son gets the boot off before the cruise.

[pghsteelerfan]

Day 5 – Wednesday, April 9, 2014 (Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan, Honduras)

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Today's edition of the "Fun Times":

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

The flyers that came with the "Fun Times"

Art Auction (page 1):

Art Auction (page 2):

 

Spa & Salon:

 

The other side of the Spa & Salon flyer was just a picture of a man shaving, not necessary to post that. :)

[pghsteelerfan]

The alarm clock went off at 6:30AM, the time I set it for. We were scheduled to arrive in Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan, Honduras at 8:00AM. I knew from pictures I’d seen in other reviews that Roatan was not flat, like many of the ports of call in the Western Caribbean are, but mountainous like the ones in the Eastern and Southern. On our Valor cruise last year, that is one of the things I enjoyed most: waking up and going out to our balcony in the morning to see us coming into these beautiful islands. When I went out on the balcony this time, it was still dark and I couldn’t see anything, no lights and no mountains in the distance. But again, we were on ship’s time, Eastern Daylight time, which was two hours ahead of the local time (Roatan). I went back in and started getting ready and once finished, DH was getting up and took his turn getting ready. While he was showering, I went up to Lido Deck 9 for my morning coffee, taking my Red Frog Tervis tumbler with me but I didn’t bring a camera since there was nothing to see yet and even if there was, it would be too dark to get any decent pictures. As I headed up the stairs and right around Deck 8, I could smell the bacon. That is always enough to get me hungry. I went and got coffee, remembering a cup of ice this time, and started heading to the stairwell to make my way back down to the cabin. While I was still on Deck 9, I saw the lady that I was sitting next to in the back of the tender from Belize the day before so I stopped and chatted a while with her. She told me what they had planned for Roatan and I told her what we were doing. We talked a little about the captain’s announcement the previous evening and the letter that was delivered to every cabin. We both agreed that we were going to continue with the plans we had, which were going to be in the main “touristy” areas and nowhere near the “area of concern”, as how it was labeled on the map on the letter. We spent about 15 minutes talking and then she joined her husband for the buffet and I went back down to the cabin.

When I returned to the cabin, DH was out of the shower and already on the balcony so I joined him. It was about 7:15AM now and this time we could see something. It was getting a little lighter out and I could tell we were approaching Mahogany Bay, I recognized it from pictures. I was also able to tell that it was raining, but it seemed to be more of a drizzle or sprinkling. I was really hoping this was just a passing morning shower but the way the clouds were, it didn’t look like it. It reminded me of how it looked in St. Kitts last year on our Valor cruise and the rain never really did clear out for us that day. I went back inside for my cameras and took them to the balcony to get some pictures.

[pghsteelerfan]

Once we got close to Mahogany Bay, Liberty slowly turned around to back into the dock. I was able to get even more pictures then. Once we started backing into the dock, the rain started getting heavier. After we were docked, we remained on the balcony for more pictures of the area. We were also looking to see if we could see RCI’s Navigator of the Seas, which would be in port with us but docked at Coxen Hole. No ship in sight. It was about 7:50AM but I didn’t know what time Navigator was due in port. With the rain and clouds, she may have been there already but we just may not have been able to see her. We were still getting pictures when it started pouring rain and we were getting wet, time go back inside the cabin.

Starting into the turn to back into the dock at Mahogany Bay:

Backing into the dock:

[pghsteelerfan]

More pictures as we were docking in Mahogany Bay:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

More of Mahogany Bay:

 

The half submerged ship:

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

More of Mahogany Bay:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Today our plans were an excursion that we booked through Victor Bodden. We never would have heard of Victor Bodden if it hadn’t been for cruise critic. After booking our cruise, I looked at the excursions offered through Carnival but they were kind of pricey for what we wanted to do. We were able to “wing it” with cabs to the beach last year on Valor for much cheaper than booking an excursion would cost. I also researched Roatan in the Ports of Call boards in Cruise Critic for ideas. We knew we wanted to snorkel and we wanted a beach day as well. We knew that Roatan had really good snorkeling and diving and I had seen posts about the west coast, but our options were open for anything else we thought we may like to do within a reasonable cost. After reading posts about the cost for a taxi to West Bay Beach ($15.00 per person, each way…meaning $30.00 per person, round trip). Once at the beach, we’d have to rent loungers on top of that, plus additional of we wanted something to eat or drink. Back to Carnival’s excursions. They had a couple that interested us but then I remembered the reviews I read where many have used Victor Bodden for a tour. So it was about two weeks after booking our cruise did an interenet search for Victor Bodden and found his website. He offers a variety of tours and I also thought it would be nice to see the monkeys and birds he has. We were looking at his “Fun ‘n Sun Tour”, keeping in mind that this would be a short port day (8:00AM – 3:00PM, back on board by 2:30PM). The tour would be $30.00 per person (cost of a cab to West Bay Beach and back). Those taking the tour are instructed to meet one hour after the ship docks, which would be 9:00AM for us and consisted of an hour and a half scenic cultural drive; a 45 minute stop at “Victor’s Monkey Business” to see the monkeys, birds and other animals in addition to shopping & restrooms; a 30 minute drive through West End Village with a stop at a scenic overlook; two hours at West Bay Beach, I looked through some reviews on another travel review website for this excursion specifically. Many enjoyed it, but there were a few that had shorter port days and due to tours being held up by other people causing them to be behind schedule, they either had to skip the beach or had a very short time there before having to leave to head back to the ship. I contacted Victor through his website letting him know I’d love to book with him but also letting him know of my concerns. He replied back, via e-mail, that evening. He informed me that does happen periodically, especially on a short port day. They will cut the beach time to make sure everyone is back at their ship(s). We wanted more beach time and didn’t want to take the chance that others could potentially hold things up. Again, this is something we have experienced and if we can do some research and avoid getting into that situation, we do. We need to consider the fact that this could be a place we’d never get back to, so we want to see and do what we want to see and do and not have plans change because someone else is on “their own time” while on a tour with others and holding the group up. I mentioned this for anyone who may be new to cruising as something to consider when planning. We also wanted to do a little shopping while we were there since Roatan was a new port for us. Victor recommended the “Best of Roatan Private Tour”, which is a private tour and vehicle for the day for $40.00 per person (for 2 people) and $30.00 per person (for 3 people) and $25.00 per person (for 4 people). Children under age 5 are free. We decided to go ahead and book. We did know in advance that loungers would be $10.00 extra, but that is paid at Bananarama, the resort we’d be at when on the tour. We also knew that if we wanted to see “Victor’s Monkey Business” that it would be an additional $5.00, per person. No biggie. After we booked, Victor sent us another e-mail asking us what we would like to do. Since it was a short day, we said we mainly wanted beach time but did want some time for shopping and wanted to do the “Victor’s Monkey Business”. He sent an email acknowledging that and also let us know that there was no down payment and we’d pay the $80.00 (for both) the day of the tour. In the email it said once the ship docks, we’d be able to start our tour whenever we were ready but they do ask that you’re at the designated location within two hours of our ship’s arrival, otherwise our guide would be released for other tours/guests. Victor was also excellent with further follow up communication where he sent detailed instructions on where to meet, including maps and pictures. We were set for our day in Roatan.

After the rain chased us from the balcony we went up to Lido Deck 9 for breakfast. Since we had such a short port day, we wanted to get started with our excursion as soon as possible to get the most of it. The buffet line was not crowded and there was no line, so we just went and got plates at the end and made our way to the buffet. We had the “usual” but I decided to make another bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich like I did the previous day since we weren’t planning to stop to eat somewhere. We decided to eat at the tables by the windows on Lido Deck 9 that were outside, but covered. The table we sat at was like a wooden picnic table with bench style seating. They look nice but aren’t very comfortable, actually they were very uncomfortable to sit at and we kind of had to squeeze our legs in a certain way to fit. Since we were already seated, we decided to just eat there but this would be the last time we sit there.

When we were finished with breakfast we went back down to our cabin to get what we’d need for the day and applied sunscreen. I was really tempted not to, but I still didn’t have much color and I didn’t want to burn. I brought my snorkel set, three cameras (“Old Reliable”, “Rebel” and the waterproof camera for underwater snorkeling pictures), extra sunscreen, and towel. All fit in my beach bag except for the snorkel fins. I also had my wallet with some cash, passport and Sail & Sign card that I would hold onto until we got off Liberty. DH also got what he’d need into his beach bag. He didn’t bring his snorkel set since we were going to take turns using mine while the other stayed at the lounger to keep an eye on our stuff. Before heading down to exit Liberty, we went out on the balcony for a few more pictures in case the others we took earlier didn’t come out because of the rain. ***After viewing my pictures that I got while coming into Mahogany bay on the computer once home, they look kind of weird…like I took the pictures through a screen. ??? It might have been the rain but we did not have a screen on our balcony.*** It was now 8:45AM and it looked like it stopped raining so it was time to get moving.

A few more pictures from our balcony before heading out for our tour:

I'm going to wrap up here for now and will begin my next installment with our Victor Bodden "Best of Roatan Private Tour" this evening or tomorrow. I was hoping to get more of this done, but time sure seems to fly. I'm volunteering at a cat/kitten rescue several times a week and it's time for me to head on over.

[pghsteelerfan]

We went down to exit Liberty and there was somewhat of a line but it was moving very slow. Once we could see what was going on, the delays were due to those who were going on scuba diving excursions who were bringing their own gear. We don’t scuba dive, so I never knew how that worked, but I always assumed that the scuba gear would be included in a tour. It may be, and it just may be a lot of people who scuba dive have and prefer to use their own gear, even if they have to haul it around. They had their gear in large containers that looked very similar to large suitcases so it wasn’t like they could just get their Sail & Sign cards “dinged” and walk right off the ship. Once the main group of them was off, the lines started moving fairly quickly. If anyone reading this scuba dives, Roatan is also supposed to be a great spot for scuba diving.

Once we got off the ship, we followed the detailed instructions we received via e-mail from Victor Bodden. The reason for these detailed instructions is that tour operators and taxis aren’t allowed to go into the cruise center to pick passengers up for tours booked outside of Carnival. To get to them, we had to go to a meeting spot outside the cruise terminal then get out on the road, go over a hill and that is where the meeting spots are. We walked through the Mahogany Bay cruise center, almost to the end. Just before the group of shops on the end is a building with a red roof on the right, we were to continue through that to get to the parking lot area then cut through the parking lot on the left and at the end of that parking lot were stairs to get up to the sidewalk along the road that led up and over the hill. There is also an option of getting a cab at that parking lot that would drive you to the meeting spot for $2.00 per person. We decided to walk it. It took us about five minutes and once we got to where the tour operators were, someone asked if we had a tour or needed a taxi. We told him we were doing Victor Bodden’s “Best of Roatan” private tour. One of Victor’s representatives walked us down to the parking lot where our driver was and introduced us.

Our driver was a gal and her name is Kayla and she’s very nice. The vehicle she had that we’d be riding in was her own personal, air conditioned minivan. When we replied to Victor’s email inquiry about what we wanted to do, we had shopping, “Victor’s Monkey Buisness” and beach. I didn’t need to do a lot of shopping but I preferred to buy from locals and wanted to see if they had the kinds of things I’d be interested in but we also wanted time to shop in the cruise center after the tour in case I couldn’t find what I was looking for and wanted to be back there by 1:30PM to allow us an hour. I wanted a refrigerator magnet, shot glass, post cards, and Christmas ornaments and possibly a nice T-shirt or sweatshirt since it was our first time to Roatan. I knew that there is a gift shop at Victor’s where the monkeys and other animals are and wanted to check in there, thinking that would be all locally made. I was hoping to find a nice refrigerator magnet and Christmas ornaments that were had made, maybe even carved out of Mahogany wood. By this time it was a little after 9AM and we had a total of four and a half hours, which would allow plenty of beach time, I thought.

 

Once we were in Kayla’s van, we told her we had our money for the tour and she said we would pay when we stopped at Victor’s. She told us she’d take us shopping first, then a short tour while on our way to Victor’s, where we would pay our $80.00 total for both of us and the $5.00 per person for “Victor’s Monkey Business” and where we could go into the gift shop. We drove past the airport and Kayla pointed that out to us along with many buildings and houses. Our first stop would be shopping in Coxen Hole, the town where non-Carnival cruise ships dock. As we approached the town, we could see that RCI’s Navigator of the Seas was there, so we probably weren’t able to see her come in through the rain and clouds. Kayla took us up a road that is off the main road to a grocery store. Groceries? Kayla told us there was a nice gift shop upstairs with locally made items for sale. She told us we could leave our beach bags (cameras inside) in her van, which she locked. I don’t like to leave things like that in a vehicle but Kayla said they’d be fine and no one could see in the back because the windows were tinted. We just had our stuff on the floor of the van and threw the beach towels on top. We followed Kayla up the stairs and into a HUGE gift shop with all kinds of wood carvings and other souvenirs. I didn’t think to bring my camera or I’d have gotten pictures. They had T-shirts, unfortunately the kind with just the iron on decal, which we don’t buy anymore because they don’t last. They had some nice refrigerator magnets for $6.00 that were carved out of wood. I knew there was a gift shop up at Victor’s place and I didn’t want to buy the first thing I saw, so I passed on those and now regret that decision. They didn’t have Christmas ornaments but the gal working there found some cute little turtles (wood carved) on strings that could double as a Christmas ornament. I needed two since my friend who collects them has been to Roatan and said she didn’t need one from there. They were $10.00 a piece but are really cool and both have Roatan, Honduras, on them. Good enough. I found a shot glass for my friend who collects those and then I looked for Christmas ornaments. When shopping for ornaments, I’m not necessarily looking for Santa Clauses and snowmen, just something unique to the place they are from that can be used as an ornament. I also picked out a few post cards and I noticed a bin full if pre-wrapped Honduran money that contained a $1.00 bill, a .50 cent, a .20 cent, and a .05 cent coins, for $2.00 USA dollars. I went ahead and purchased the Honduran money along with the two wooden turtles, shot glass, and post cards. We spent a total of about 15 minutes in there and did look around at other things too. They had some beautiful Mahogany carvings and bowls but we’re keeping in mind that we need to get all of this in either my carryon or suitcase and the suitcase had to be under 50 pounds or we’d be charged a $50.00 fee.

We went back outside where Kayla was waiting and got back into her van for the next part of our tour. The next stop would be Victor’s but it would take at least a good 20 minutes to get there. Along the way, Kayla would hit the breaks to slow down and sometimes stop along the road to point out things to us, including trees and other plant life, including tropical fruit farms. There were also a lot of houses that Kayla stopped in front of and pointed out, but only the huge ones. Roatan is a popular vacation destination for both Americans and Italians and apparently it’s the Americans and Italians that own and live in these huge houses. I didn’t take any pictures along the drive since the van windows were tinted. We could see out but pictures wouldn’t really come out great. The roads themselves are not in the best shape, similar to the roads in Belize. There was a lot of road construction and repairing of washed out areas but they were still passable.

We finally get to Victor’s at about 10:00AM. We had our cameras and wallets and noticed two cows, well, a cow and a bull, right along a dirt road that goes off from the parking lot. They weren’t enclosed and were just grazing there.

Kayla took us to a gift shop right inside and it was here that we paid our $80.00 and the additional $10.00 for both of us to do “Victor’s Monkey Business”. After we paid for that, I asked the gal working the register if she would like to trade some Honduran money for USA money. I had a $1.00 bill on me and I asked DH if he had any $1.00 bills on him. He had some but the gal working the register took my $1.00 bill and asked if I wanted a Honduran $20.00 bill or if I wanted one each of the smaller bills. I didn’t research exchange rates before our trip and never do, I just trade a few bucks when I can. I was surprised when the gal working the register told me the exchange rate was $20.00 Lempira (Honduran dollars) for $1.00 USD. I traded the $1.00 bill USD for a $10.00, a $5.00, a $2.00, and three $1.00 Lempira. Back to the little souvenir I bought while shopping? That was only worth between .20 and .50 cents, USA money. Am I kicking myself? Well kinda, but I did get some coins with the bill at the souvenir shop and the gal at the register at Victor’s didn’t have any coins, just bills, so it was a win, win.

We quickly browsed through the gift shop there but didn’t see anything that interested me. It was mainly locally made handbags, scarves, beach cover ups and some wood carved bowls. After a quick walk through there, Kayla took us over to where “Victor’s Monkey Business” is and introduced us to the guy who would take us through. Unfortunately I forget his name but DH and I both really liked him. He took his time and with us and we enjoyed conversation with him. Our first stop was to see and play with two Capuchin monkeys. We were able to feed them sunflower seeds. They guy told DH to stick some down into his T-shirt pocket and the monkey that was sitting on him was able to get the sunflower seeds out of his pocket. The one that was sitting on my back found my ponytail band/scrunchie and pulled that out. He played with that for a few minutes then he decided to play with my hair. We couldn’t really hold them and it’s not that we weren’t allowed to, they are just very active and curious and prefer climbing all over you. The really are cute though. The older one would jump from DH and back onto him when he wasn’t expecting it. He also liked DH’s hat. I’ve seen pictures of them but never saw one, in the real, up close like that before. Their little faces are so humanlike. We started talking about American TV since Kayla told us earlier that they get it in Roatan. His favorite show is “Duck Dynasty” and second favorite is “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo”. Funny, “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” was the favorite TV show of Therese, one of our tour guides in Belize the day before. Our guide was great for getting us pictures of the monkeys with our cameras for us. They are really hard to get pictures of since they are constantly moving.

 

 

The Capuchin Monkeys:

 

 

 

Digging through DH's pocket for sunflower seeds:

 

Edited May 22, 2014 by pghsteelerfan

[pghsteelerfan]

He just got my scruchie/ponytail band:

 

After spending time with the monkeys we exited their cage and moved on to some Macaws. At least I’m pretty sure they were Macaws.

 

I think these guys are Macaws:

 

 

 

Our next stop was over to a cage were another animal was. He is the size of a medium sized dog and I forget the actual name, but he's a member of the raccoon family. He was in a cage and our guide pet him but we didn’t. He said he could bite, so it was a safety precaution but he sure seemed to enjoy the scratching behind his ear that our guide gave him.

 

Forget what he is called, but he's a member of the raccoon family:

 

Edited May 22, 2014 by pghsteelerfan

[pghsteelerfan]

We moved on to view another monkey cage from the outside, a couple of Toucans, and I think parrots that we were able to hold and other very colorful tropical birds.

One of the other monkeys. This was not a Capuchin but I forget what kind of monkey he was:

One of the Toucans:

I think this may have been a type of parrot, but again, not positive. There were so many different colorful birds that I forget what each is:

DH holding him: