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

[Buffettfan 225]

OMG.....these are the BEST sunset pics that I have ever seen in a review. Absolutely Beautiful.....

 

 

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have been on twelve cruises, and never seen a more beautiful sunset! Every time I think here it is... The clouds roll in on horizon.

What photo hosting site are you using, and is there a size selection to post? Yours are just right and clear.

[Buffettfan 225]

Your kitties are adorable. Is skate a boy or girl? We have two ourselves and Skate looks just like our Gizmo. Favorite toys- milk jug rings and my hair bands.

Lol their vacation of counters was over.

P.s. How in the world did you know all the landmarks from a plane?

[pghsteelerfan]

have been on twelve cruises, and never seen a more beautiful sunset! Every time I think here it is... The clouds roll in on horizon.

What photo hosting site are you using, and is there a size selection to post? Yours are just right and clear.

 

Thank you. We really lucked out with this sunset and it was a first for us. Like you, so many times it looks like we'll have a great sunset then we end up with clouds on the horizon. This one was the first evening, right after leaving Miami. Some of the best sunset pictures I've seen in another review were from Wrigley80's Imagination review where she got some gorgeous sunset pictures the evening after sailing out of Miami too. We came to the conclusion that it has something to do with Miami/South Florida sunsets. :)

 

I'm using Photobucket for the hosting site. As for size selection, I've seen it on there but not really familiar with it, although I think these pictures are larger, so it might be the largest selection. I don't know if that's the size it defaults to if a size isn't selected or not. I had two cameras that I was using for this. The one is a Kodak Z612 which is an older point and shoot with zoom capability and only 6 megapixels but I've been happy with it. Most of the pictures on here were from the Kodak. The other camera I had for a few of the pictures is the Canon Rebel T1i DSLR that I'm still trying to get used to. I cheat by using the "P" setting so the whole picture is clear.

 

Your kitties are adorable. Is skate a boy or girl? We have two ourselves and Skate looks just like our Gizmo. Favorite toys- milk jug rings and my hair bands.

Lol their vacation of counters was over.

P.s. How in the world did you know all the landmarks from a plane?

 

Thanks about our kitties. Skate is a boy. My friend who we got him and his brother from thought he was a girl and we originally named him Savannah Kate and were calling "her" Kate and my mom kept telling me to call her "Skate" as a nickname. At the vet appointment a week later we found out she was a he. The backup name was Sidney, for Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins to please DH. So the official name is Sidney, but we just decided to keep calling him Skate since we didn't want to get him too confused and since Sidney Crosby is a hockey player and skates. :) They even have Sidney "Skate" on his vet records. So glad that our Skate has a lookalike in your Gizmo! :) Is Gizmo a boy or girl? Our first cat LOVED the milk rings (would fetch and bring back to be tossed again) and these four just aren't interested. Skate likes my hair bands and they loved their little stuffed mice toys and the little springs a friend gave us for them. We still catch them on the counter occasionally and our Lucas, oh my, I have so many laugh out loud funny stories about him - he's a riot and he just turned one a week ago.

 

For the plane pictures I had a general idea of our flight path from Dulles to Miami and reverse since I knew we flew over DC on the way down. The Washington Monument and the Mall gave that one away. I used Google Maps, satellite view, to help out with the rest. I knew that was Richmond that we flew over on the way back because of the Richmond International Speedway. Coming in for landing, we recognized the local landmarks, since we're all to familiar with them. :)

 

I just noticed your Victory review link in your signature - getting ready to read right now. I'd love to go on Victory since I love the interior décor of the ocean theme that Victory has. We were with her sailing out of Miami this time and I got a lot of pictures of her.

Edited August 30, 2014 by pghsteelerfan

[Hogladyrider]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review!

 

We sail on Liberty on Oct 11th eastern, our first time on Liberty and I absolutely LOVED all your fantastic pictures!

 

Besides being our first cruise on Liberty (we cruised Glory 3x) it is also our first cruise in an aft wrap balcony 6452....so we are VERY excited.

 

We spend a lot of time on our balcony so we will get our monies worth.

 

The first few cruises I did, I did not know that there was no charge for room service! :D Once I discovered room service there was no looking back.

 

We have coffee, pastries and yogurt every morning on the balcony. We are both "coffee snobs" and the coffee on Carnival is not to our standards so I bring with me the Starbucks Instant Via and make our own. I order two pots of hot water from room service.

 

Just purchased our two bottles of wine to carry on yesterday...two bottles of Sangria to have on the balcony.

 

I too purchase Vanilla in Cozumel. I am a baker and there is nothing like the pure vanilla from Cozumel. I currently have a 1 ltr bottle in my refrigerator and I use it in a lot of things.

 

If you cruise Western again, my recommendation in Roatan would be Mahogany Beach. When we first started cruising western (we live 60 minute ride from Port Canaveral) we went to Tambayna Beach until Mahogany Bay was built.

 

Mahogany Bay, no charge for loungers, great food and beverages. Walk all the way to the end of the beach by the pier and the snorkeling at the end of the pier is fantastic and free.

 

We love the beach when we cruise! In Grand Caymen walk to the right when you get off the tender to the Dive Shop , Eden something and there are lockers for rent and a ladder to get into the water and you can snorkel and scuba dive right from shore for free, great snorkeling.

 

If you go Eastern, which in my opinion the snorkeling is much better western, in St. Thomas we go to Secret Harbor it is like swimming in an aquarium and the Tikki Bar is to die for!

 

All these spots I learned about here on CC.

 

Now I am going back to finish reading your Valor review. You have a wonderful talent for writing reviews! Looking forward to your next cruise and review.

Susan

[pghsteelerfan]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review!

 

We sail on Liberty on Oct 11th eastern, our first time on Liberty and I absolutely LOVED all your fantastic pictures!

 

Besides being our first cruise on Liberty (we cruised Glory 3x) it is also our first cruise in an aft wrap balcony 6452....so we are VERY excited.

 

We spend a lot of time on our balcony so we will get our monies worth.

 

The first few cruises I did, I did not know that there was no charge for room service! :D Once I discovered room service there was no looking back.

 

We have coffee, pastries and yogurt every morning on the balcony. We are both "coffee snobs" and the coffee on Carnival is not to our standards so I bring with me the Starbucks Instant Via and make our own. I order two pots of hot water from room service.

 

Just purchased our two bottles of wine to carry on yesterday...two bottles of Sangria to have on the balcony.

 

I too purchase Vanilla in Cozumel. I am a baker and there is nothing like the pure vanilla from Cozumel. I currently have a 1 ltr bottle in my refrigerator and I use it in a lot of things.

 

If you cruise Western again, my recommendation in Roatan would be Mahogany Beach. When we first started cruising western (we live 60 minute ride from Port Canaveral) we went to Tambayna Beach until Mahogany Bay was built.

 

Mahogany Bay, no charge for loungers, great food and beverages. Walk all the way to the end of the beach by the pier and the snorkeling at the end of the pier is fantastic and free.

 

We love the beach when we cruise! In Grand Caymen walk to the right when you get off the tender to the Dive Shop , Eden something and there are lockers for rent and a ladder to get into the water and you can snorkel and scuba dive right from shore for free, great snorkeling.

 

If you go Eastern, which in my opinion the snorkeling is much better western, in St. Thomas we go to Secret Harbor it is like swimming in an aquarium and the Tikki Bar is to die for!

 

All these spots I learned about here on CC.

 

Now I am going back to finish reading your Valor review. You have a wonderful talent for writing reviews! Looking forward to your next cruise and review.

Susan

 

Susan, thank you for reading and glad you enjoyed it. Your Liberty cruise is in just a few weeks! :) Liberty is a beautiful ship and we loved the decor. I have a soft spot and am very partial to all of the ships we've been on, and Glory is one of them, but Liberty's decor was definitely my favorite.

 

I think you're really, really, really going to LOVE you're cabin. On our cruise on Liberty, some of our table mates (we were at a table that seated 10) were in 6483 and they took us on a nice little tour. It was NICE and we loved the balcony. They used the loungers on their deck that last sea day and as I'm sure you read, DH and I had no luck finding loungers in the sun. Not only that, the great views you'll get of the water. That Sangria will definitely be an added bonus. :D We've gotten room service a couple of times on other cruises but not even once on Liberty or Valor. I think we overindulged on Guy's Burgers on Liberty & I was always so full.

 

This was the first time I've gotten Vanilla in Cozumel and never would have known about it if it wasn't for CC. I bought it for my mom and am kicking myself for not getting some of my own. Next time. They do have a website where the kind I got is sold, so I may look into that. I think we will definitely be spending the day at Mahogany Bay next time we're in Roatan. Tabyana (West Bay) was pretty, but we've seen it and would like a different experience. With it being a shorter port day and even doing the private tour, we felt rushed and didn't have much time at the beach and that is what we wanted. Eden Rock!!! We met some others on our cruise who told us about Eden rock and where it was and we were thinking about snorkeling there for a bit either before or after Seven Mile Beach. Unfortunately "mother nature" wouldn't allow us to visit Grand Cayman this trip, so hopefully next time.

 

Thanks for your input on Secret Harbor in St. Thomas. On our Glory cruise, an Eastern Caribbean itinerary, we went to Trunk Bay and snorkeled there. On our Valor cruise, we wanted to stay in St. Thomas and I also really wanted to go up to Paradise Point, so we went to Sapphire Beach (Eastern end) and really enjoyed it and there was also pretty good snorkeling. We knew the tram up to Paradise Point was closed (closed about 2 weeks before our cruise) but thought we could get to the top via cab. We left Sapphire Beach at 1PM, cabs were waiting, but we didn't get up there since there were new owners of Paradise Point and the building was being renovated. Next time back, I'd love to try Secret Harbor (seen a lot of good recommendations for it on the port of call boards). Didn't hear anything about a "Tiki Bar", but I know I'd LOVE that. What drinks would you recommend? :D I'd love to try a Paradise Point Bushwacker and I've heard that the "Painkillers" at many St. Thomas locations are really good too.

 

I hope you enjoy the Valor review as much as this one. I loved our Liberty cruise but the Valor one is one of our favorites, mainly for the spectacular scenery of the islands.

 

Happy cruising to you in a few weeks and hope you have beautiful weather and smooth seas. :)

Holly

[almendrada]

I really appreciate you taking all the time and effort to write this review. My DH and I will be first-time cruisers when we go next spring, and we're seriously considering the Liberty, on a southern route to St Thomas, Barbados, St Lucia, St Kitts, and St Maarten. Your detailed notes and pictures made it feel like I've been on the Liberty myself! I also especially appreciate you taking the time to describe things like embarkation/debarkation, what it's like to get off at ports of call, the level of crowds/lines, etc., because I'm really curious and hungry for information as someone who's never been on a cruise before.

 

Thanks again for your time and effort. I'm sure it will be appreciated by many more future cruisers in the years to come.

[pghsteelerfan]

I really appreciate you taking all the time and effort to write this review. My DH and I will be first-time cruisers when we go next spring, and we're seriously considering the Liberty, on a southern route to St Thomas, Barbados, St Lucia, St Kitts, and St Maarten. Your detailed notes and pictures made it feel like I've been on the Liberty myself! I also especially appreciate you taking the time to describe things like embarkation/debarkation, what it's like to get off at ports of call, the level of crowds/lines, etc., because I'm really curious and hungry for information as someone who's never been on a cruise before.

 

Thanks again for your time and effort. I'm sure it will be appreciated by many more future cruisers in the years to come.

 

Thank you and so glad the information was helpful in hopefully planning your first cruise. As for the southern itinerary out of San Juan...I sure hope you book this one!!! :D That is my all time favorite itinerary, so scenic, and I think is the most beautiful of the Caribbean itineraries that Carnival does. We did the exact same itinerary out of San Juan in May 2013 on Carnival Valor and that was probably our favorite cruise of all time. This coming March, Liberty will be taking over the southern route from Valor but they are sister ships with the same layout but different decor. You certainly can't go wrong with Liberty either, beautiful ship and probably our favorite decor.

 

If you do decide to book it and have any questions or would like more information about it, I'd be happy to answer. I love this itinerary so much that I am currently in the process of twisting DH's arm into doing it again, so we'll see. :)

[Crusin Karen]

Holly, I saw your reply to a thread about Liberty and you said you had wrote a review and had lots of pictures, so I clicked on your review and have been reading it since yesterday! I am so sad I have come to the end! I have ALWAYS wanted to sail Liberty. We cruise exclusively from Manhattan now because the port is 20 minutes from our doorstep. But then CCL decided not to do any more winter sailings from here and we got a GREAT DEAL on Liberty for January, had free airfare because of points on our credit card, have friends who live a mile from Port Canaveral, so we could fly down and stay with them the night before the cruise...and the deal was so good that we decided to do a B2B. WTH we were down there anyway and nothing to look forward to but snow and cold weather up here. And our friends decided to do the lst cruise with us. So all the stars aligned and we had 2 GREAT cruises on Liberty. I LOVED her decor also. The pictures you posted of the different colors of the atrium lights brought tears to my eyes. THANK YOU for posting this. Even tho you sailed a year before we did, your pictures brought back such great memories and your commentary was so very interesting. Now I'm going to check out your other review! ;);) HAPPY CRUISING! :D

[pghsteelerfan]

Holly, I saw your reply to a thread about Liberty and you said you had wrote a review and had lots of pictures, so I clicked on your review and have been reading it since yesterday! I am so sad I have come to the end! I have ALWAYS wanted to sail Liberty. We cruise exclusively from Manhattan now because the port is 20 minutes from our doorstep. But then CCL decided not to do any more winter sailings from here and we got a GREAT DEAL on Liberty for January, had free airfare because of points on our credit card, have friends who live a mile from Port Canaveral, so we could fly down and stay with them the night before the cruise...and the deal was so good that we decided to do a B2B. WTH we were down there anyway and nothing to look forward to but snow and cold weather up here. And our friends decided to do the lst cruise with us. So all the stars aligned and we had 2 GREAT cruises on Liberty. I LOVED her decor also. The pictures you posted of the different colors of the atrium lights brought tears to my eyes. THANK YOU for posting this. Even tho you sailed a year before we did, your pictures brought back such great memories and your commentary was so very interesting. Now I'm going to check out your other review! ;);) HAPPY CRUISING! :D

 

Karen, I'm so glad you enjoyed the review I did of our cruise on Liberty last year and so glad you were able to relive some of your cruise on her. When I did the review, it was like reliving our cruise all over again. I'm so happy that you enjoyed the pictures of the atrium lights. We were waiting for the Mardi Gras party to start and I was taking so many pictures of the lights trying to get every color. They were very mesmerizing and I loved watching them. The decor of the whole ship was just beautifully done. I really loved the wrought iron and the colorful pictures in the stairwells. I even took pictures of those. :D I also agree with you about Guy's Burgers...I could go for one of those right now. We just loved Liberty and I'm actually in the process of twisting DH's arm into another cruise on her this fall, on the southern itinerary out of San Juan. That is our all-time favorite itinerary because it is just so scenic. That's the one we did on Valor. When you read that review, what you see in pictures of the islands doesn't do them justice at all.

 

We haven't done a B2B yet, but I would LOVE to someday. Which itineraries did you go on? Last year I noticed some of Liberty's itineraries out of Port Canaveral and there were a few that I'm very interested in that had some ports we haven't been to yet. I think I'd be in a little trouble if we lived 20 minutes from a port...knowing me, I'd book a cruise on impulse without consulting DH first just because it would be so darned convenient and no airfare. :D We're about an hour and a half to two hours from Baltimore, but haven't cruised from there yet. We were considering it in 2010, but ended up sailing on Glory out of Miami. Glory was a lot less expensive and we were able to get a great price on airfare to Fort Lauderdale (Carnival shuttle to Miami), so the cost was the same. The final decision for us was the itinerary. We've never sailed out of NYC but I'd love to someday. I've read Jamman54's reviews of Splendor out of NYC and I've loved his sailaway from NYC pictures, just beautiful.

 

We've had winter pretty bad this year and it seems to be a repeat of last year and since DH just started a new job last July, we're unable to do what we did last year to escape winter by booking a cruise, so I've been reading reviews trying to get my "cruise fix". I know you have had it worse this year, so I'm glad you were able to have a nice escape on Liberty. Thank you again for you kind words about my review and Happy cruising to you! :)

[Crusin Karen]

Holly, it is wonderful to have a cruise port right at your doorstep, but CCL has the same ships here with the same itineraries and after a while you just have to say NO! :rolleyes: As you can see in my signature we have gone on some ships many times because they were here in NY for so long. Embarassed to say, we don't really go for the itinerary, tho it can be a deciding factor between which cruise we book. We enjoy the cruising and don't spend a lot of $ on excursions. We love Grand Turk and Half Moon because they are "free beach" days! :D Liberty was a very pleasant surprise. We got an EXCEPTIONAL deal at the last minute. We book from the computer and we thought there might be a typo! It was a casino pack and go offer I believe. And with all the other "free stuff" it was a win win situation. Almost more expensive to stay home! :p We did the Aruba/Bonaire/Grand Turk cruise on Liberty. Grand Turk is a favorite, we had been to Aruba before, but did a tour anyway, then wandered the pretty streets and went into all the shops, and did a great tour of Bonaire just because we had never been and probably won't again. We had absolutely gorgeous weather while watching the reports of snow storms in NY/NJ. :D We became close to many of the crew on Liberty and it was just a wonderful experience/cruise. I agree with you that it is one of the prettiest ships we have ever been on. LOVE the lighting and I too took many pictures of the walls. I especially liked the tile detail in the halls going into Emiles, past the deli and omelette stations. Didn't mind Splendor at all, but after 3 cruises with pink donuts and zebra stripes to look at, Liberty was a nice change! We are looking forward to going on Pride as we love spirit class ships and she is the only one we have never sailed on. Have never been to DC, tho we have been to Baltimore for Yankee/Oriole games many times, so we will drive down a day early and drive thru the city to see the sites.

Happy cruising and thank you again for a wonderful review and fantastic pictures. If I had known about this before we went on Liberty I wouldn't have had to take my own pictures of the ship! :p:p SINCERELY hope you can do a cruise from Manhattan some day. I have cruised past the Lady SO MANY times and it still brings tears to my eyes. I have so many pictures of the Twin Towers as we sailed past them too.

[pghsteelerfan]

Holly, it is wonderful to have a cruise port right at your doorstep, but CCL has the same ships here with the same itineraries and after a while you just have to say NO! :rolleyes: As you can see in my signature we have gone on some ships many times because they were here in NY for so long. Embarassed to say, we don't really go for the itinerary, tho it can be a deciding factor between which cruise we book. We enjoy the cruising and don't spend a lot of $ on excursions. We love Grand Turk and Half Moon because they are "free beach" days! :D Liberty was a very pleasant surprise. We got an EXCEPTIONAL deal at the last minute. We book from the computer and we thought there might be a typo! It was a casino pack and go offer I believe. And with all the other "free stuff" it was a win win situation. Almost more expensive to stay home! :p We did the Aruba/Bonaire/Grand Turk cruise on Liberty. Grand Turk is a favorite, we had been to Aruba before, but did a tour anyway, then wandered the pretty streets and went into all the shops, and did a great tour of Bonaire just because we had never been and probably won't again. We had absolutely gorgeous weather while watching the reports of snow storms in NY/NJ. :D We became close to many of the crew on Liberty and it was just a wonderful experience/cruise. I agree with you that it is one of the prettiest ships we have ever been on. LOVE the lighting and I too took many pictures of the walls. I especially liked the tile detail in the halls going into Emiles, past the deli and omelette stations. Didn't mind Splendor at all, but after 3 cruises with pink donuts and zebra stripes to look at, Liberty was a nice change! We are looking forward to going on Pride as we love spirit class ships and she is the only one we have never sailed on. Have never been to DC, tho we have been to Baltimore for Yankee/Oriole games many times, so we will drive down a day early and drive thru the city to see the sites.

Happy cruising and thank you again for a wonderful review and fantastic pictures. If I had known about this before we went on Liberty I wouldn't have had to take my own pictures of the ship! :p:p SINCERELY hope you can do a cruise from Manhattan some day. I have cruised past the Lady SO MANY times and it still brings tears to my eyes. I have so many pictures of the Twin Towers as we sailed past them too.

 

Grand Turk and HMC...those are also two of my favorites and would love to get back to. I'd love to try the Pride out of Baltimore at least once and would go for the Grand Turk, HMC, Freeport itinerary. I haven't heard too many nice things about Freeport, but I think I'd enjoy it if there's a nice beach. I have yet to go to a port that I didn't like. Some may not be as scenic, but we always find something fun to do or see and if there's a nice beach, we're set. We've only been on one Spirit Class, Miracle, and loved the layout. I am partial to every ship I've been on for some reason. We're about 30 miles southwest of DC and go there as little as possible. One of DH's former jobs was in DC and he and was able to take the train in. Traffic is just as bad, if not worse, in your area so I don't need to tell you about that. The only time we get to DC is if family/friends visit from out of town and want to go down, but that's not too often anymore. We went down in 2012 to see the cherry blossoms and I really enjoyed that and it was the first time we've seen them and we'd been here 20 years at the time. I would just love to cruise out of Manhattan sometime, I'm getting chills just thinking about it. My husband has relatives in New Rochelle, NY, and the idea of going on a cruise with his cousins has been tossed around and that would be a great opportunity AND it would work out great for them...no airfare. I actually have one picture with the twin towers. It isn't a good one but I'm glad to have it. It was from I-95 using a film point and shoot camera from the passenger side window of a car on our way up to visit DH's relatives for a wedding in 1993. I'm sure your pictures are treasured.

[Crusin Karen]

Holly, our cruise is on a Sunday. We were going to drive to Baltimore the day of. We're just about 4 hours exactly from the port, but since it's a B2B cruise, parking would be $210.00. I researched and reserved a hotel room at the Best Western in Elkridge that has a free parking, free shuttle to the port and free breakfast for $127.00. So we will drive down the day before and do that. Just seems to make more sense and this way we can have a good night sleep the night before the cruise. I REALLY want to see DC and since it will be a Saturday traffic/parking won't be as bad as on a weekday. We really don't plan on visiting anything unless we have time for the Viet Nam Memorial, but even just to park and let me walk and take pictures or drive by the sites is okay with me for now. I hope you can book a cruise from Manhattan some day. Sounds like a good plan with family so close! Splendor is a great ship (tho she doesn't have a Guys Burger :() and the Sunshine will be coming to NY next year also.

[pghsteelerfan]

Holly, our cruise is on a Sunday. We were going to drive to Baltimore the day of. We're just about 4 hours exactly from the port, but since it's a B2B cruise, parking would be $210.00. I researched and reserved a hotel room at the Best Western in Elkridge that has a free parking, free shuttle to the port and free breakfast for $127.00. So we will drive down the day before and do that. Just seems to make more sense and this way we can have a good night sleep the night before the cruise. I REALLY want to see DC and since it will be a Saturday traffic/parking won't be as bad as on a weekday. We really don't plan on visiting anything unless we have time for the Viet Nam Memorial, but even just to park and let me walk and take pictures or drive by the sites is okay with me for now. I hope you can book a cruise from Manhattan some day. Sounds like a good plan with family so close! Splendor is a great ship (tho she doesn't have a Guys Burger :() and the Sunshine will be coming to NY next year also.

 

Karen, your Pride cruise is just around the corner and it should be warmer here by then so it won't be too cold while sailing through the Chesapeake Bay. The only downside is that the cherry blossoms in DC will be done by then...but if this cold weather continues, who knows. :) Two more inches of snow expected for our immediate area tomorrow. :eek: Since you're planning on seeing some of the sights in DC, have you considered parking at a DC Metro station and taking the Metro? When we've gone into DC to see sights if family/friends from out of town are in the area, we always park at Metro and use that to get around because it is so convenient. Many of the main sights (Smithsonian, monuments, memorials, Capitol) are right along the Mall and there are several metro stops in that area. If you'd like more information on that, I can get you a link. For a cruise out of NYC, I wouldn't mind Splendor or Sunshine and even with Splendor not having a "Guy's Burger", that wouldn't be a deal breaker for us. Both would be new ships for us and I noticed that Sunshine has an 8 day sailing to Bermuda in 10/16...might have to think about that. :D It would be nice if they added more Bermuda sailings.

 

Holly

[Crusin Karen]

Thanks Holly. I have researched all the ways to see DC and I know the public transportation is the best, but we will probably get there about noon and have to be at the hotel for check in and to sign up for the shuttle to the ship by 3. So it might be a quick trip this time. But if we're all the way DOWN THERE I at least want to see the buildings...maybe I'll have to bring my binoculars! :rolleyes:

I have been looking at the Bermuda cruise on Sunshine also. We have been to Bermuda a bunch of times. I actually went on a few "land cruises" to Bermuda when I was in college. We used to go on the smaller ships which docked in Hamilton and then went to St. George so we are kind of spoiled by those memories and don't really want to dock at King's Wharf, but I've heard they have really built it up and made it nice now. So we will see! I think it's a 7 day cruise tho??? I just HAVE to get away in the winter (yes, we are getting ready for MORE SNOW tomorrow just like you!) and it used to be great to leave from NY, then CCL stopped sailing here in the winter. I didn't mind the lst and last days of cold because I was on a ship! So I'm looking at FL sailings. I am particularly interested in the Breeze, but I wouldn't mind sailing Liberty again. I really liked the ship very much. All her winter, 2016 sailings are from PR tho...:confused: I just have to wait a few months and see if we get another awesome deal like we did this year. ;):p

[pghsteelerfan]

Thanks Holly. I have researched all the ways to see DC and I know the public transportation is the best, but we will probably get there about noon and have to be at the hotel for check in and to sign up for the shuttle to the ship by 3. So it might be a quick trip this time. But if we're all the way DOWN THERE I at least want to see the buildings...maybe I'll have to bring my binoculars! :rolleyes:

I have been looking at the Bermuda cruise on Sunshine also. We have been to Bermuda a bunch of times. I actually went on a few "land cruises" to Bermuda when I was in college. We used to go on the smaller ships which docked in Hamilton and then went to St. George so we are kind of spoiled by those memories and don't really want to dock at King's Wharf, but I've heard they have really built it up and made it nice now. So we will see! I think it's a 7 day cruise tho??? I just HAVE to get away in the winter (yes, we are getting ready for MORE SNOW tomorrow just like you!) and it used to be great to leave from NY, then CCL stopped sailing here in the winter. I didn't mind the lst and last days of cold because I was on a ship! So I'm looking at FL sailings. I am particularly interested in the Breeze, but I wouldn't mind sailing Liberty again. I really liked the ship very much. All her winter, 2016 sailings are from PR tho...:confused: I just have to wait a few months and see if we get another awesome deal like we did this year. ;):p

 

You're right, you don't have that much time. I sure hope you get a chance to see some of the buildings you'd like to. The Bermuda cruise for 7 days would be good for us since it will be really difficult for DH to get more than 5 business days in a row off from work. I've seen some of the "Journey's" 10 and 11 day cruises and I'd just LOVE to go on one of them, so many different ports and the ones I've been to already are ones I'd love to return to. I don't think we'd be able to work that out though. I'd also love to try the Breeze someday as well and from the pictures I've seen in other reviews, it really looks beautiful. The itinerary that Liberty is taking over for Valor in San Juan is my favorite and one I'd love to do again. The only bad thing about that one is the airfare to San Juan. When we went two years ago, the cruise itself (with balcony cabin on 8th Deck) was actually cheaper than the Eastern/Western Caribbean cruises out of FL, so in the end it probably worked out even. When we went on Liberty last year out of Miami, we chose that one since it was a direct flight and the lowest cost. Two others were direct flights & the others had connecting flights and some of the airfare was even more expensive than it would have cost to fly to San Juan. We did go during spring break so that may have had something to do with it. I couldn't believe it was over $600/pp to fly to Tampa, $200/pp more than it would have cost to fly to San Juan! :eek: We were also looking at Pride out of Baltimore, but that would be better to do in May or later. I hope you do get an awesome deal again. We've gotten a few really good offers when Carnival was having the sales but we just couldn't take advantage of those at this time. I sure hope they keep them coming! :D

Edited March 19, 2015 by pghsteelerfan

[Crusin Karen]

Holly, ,we should probably exchange email addresses and not use up other's time with our conversations! :o This was the l st time we have flown to a port since 2008 and were amazed at the prices. We actually have a United Air credit card and have used it more than we should lol, and had so many points on it that we probably could have flown around the world for free. So that was a BIG burden off our shoulders. Plus our friends living down there and we did not have to pay for transport from MCO to port and hotel. They picked us up from MCO and we stayed with them the night before. We took them out for dinner and drinks...wish we had gone to Fishlips, but they go there all the time and were sick of it! Well, maybe someday we will meet up on a ship. I would really love to do the Liberty out of SJ. We have been on a lot of cruises, but believe it or not, we go to the same islands all the time. And on the same ship. But I am not complaining! Cruising is what I love. I told you, it's not "that important" where we go, but I am not into PC, Nassau and Freeport anymore if I can help it! I would love to go to Curacao, St. Lucia and we were at St. Kitts once and I loved it. Roatan looks good too...and we have never even been to Key West! :eek::eek: So many places, so little time (and $!) Fingers crossed we both find something perfect for next year and it matches days your DH can get off from work. ;)

[pghsteelerfan]

Holly, ,we should probably exchange email addresses and not use up other's time with our conversations! :o This was the l st time we have flown to a port since 2008 and were amazed at the prices. We actually have a United Air credit card and have used it more than we should lol, and had so many points on it that we probably could have flown around the world for free. So that was a BIG burden off our shoulders. Plus our friends living down there and we did not have to pay for transport from MCO to port and hotel. They picked us up from MCO and we stayed with them the night before. We took them out for dinner and drinks...wish we had gone to Fishlips, but they go there all the time and were sick of it! Well, maybe someday we will meet up on a ship. I would really love to do the Liberty out of SJ. We have been on a lot of cruises, but believe it or not, we go to the same islands all the time. And on the same ship. But I am not complaining! Cruising is what I love. I told you, it's not "that important" where we go, but I am not into PC, Nassau and Freeport anymore if I can help it! I would love to go to Curacao, St. Lucia and we were at St. Kitts once and I loved it. Roatan looks good too...and we have never even been to Key West! :eek::eek: So many places, so little time (and $!) Fingers crossed we both find something perfect for next year and it matches days your DH can get off from work. ;)

 

We've been to some of the same islands as well but since we've only been on 6 cruises total, they still seem pretty new to us. We just do something different when we repeat and get a whole new experience. Airfare is unbelievably expensive anymore but we've been able to get some good deals. With sailing out of FL, our other alternative is to drive the 16 or so hours, and we are about 20 minutes west of I-95, so it would be a direct shot. We'd still have to do that in two days. We thought about it for our Liberty cruise, but add in the cost of gas each way, two nights at a hotel and POM parking for the week and there probably wouldn't be that much difference in expenses to get down there. We've never really been to Key West either, until our unexpected stop while on Liberty. Although we didn't get off the ship, we really liked what we saw. We would also love to fly into Miami or Fort Lauderdale then rent a car and drive from there to Key West and spend some time there. We know others who've been and said they loved it and that it's very different but a lot of fun. I'd also love to spend a week in San Juan...you're right, so many places and so little $$$. :) Email sounds great - I don't have to log into that. :D Our email address is dgieh at comcast dot net.

[DutchCruiseFan]

I really, really, really liked reading your review and wanted to say that i look forward to reading more of your reviews :D

Great job!!!!

Edited March 22, 2015 by DutchCruiseFan

[pghsteelerfan]

I really, really, really liked reading your review and wanted to say that i look forward to reading more of your reviews :D

Great job!!!!

 

Thank you very much! I'm very happy that you enjoyed reading it. I'm hoping to do another review soon since that would mean another cruise. :D We don't have any booked, yet, but we're hoping to cruise again soon. Thank you again. :)

[jmebgiv]

Holly,

 

I am new to the CC boards and looking forward to our trip on Liberty in July on the Southern Caribbean itinerary that you did on Valor. This will be our second Carnival Cruise (and third overall cruise), and I think we are hooked! We took our first on Elation in December with family (took my husband's grandmother and aunt on their first cruise) and are looking forward to this trip with friends! Getting ready to delve into your Valor review next to get your perspective on our ports.

 

Thanks again for a great and thorough review!!

 

Jamie

[pghsteelerfan]

Holly,

 

I am new to the CC boards and looking forward to our trip on Liberty in July on the Southern Caribbean itinerary that you did on Valor. This will be our second Carnival Cruise (and third overall cruise), and I think we are hooked! We took our first on Elation in December with family (took my husband's grandmother and aunt on their first cruise) and are looking forward to this trip with friends! Getting ready to delve into your Valor review next to get your perspective on our ports.

 

Thanks again for a great and thorough review!!

 

Jamie

 

Jamie,

 

Welcome to the CC boards and am glad you enjoyed my Liberty review. We've been on six cruise now, five with Carnival, but most of them have been spaced apart but I'm definitely hooked. The Liberty was a very last minute decision last year due to the long, cold winter. LOL!!!

 

The southern itinerary is my personal favorite and the scenery of each of the islands is just gorgeous. I took a lot of pictures (many in the review) but the pictures don't do the scenery justice. I hope you find the Valor review helpful but there are so many options for each of the islands so it's pretty easy to find something to to that you'll enjoy. The hardest part for us was deciding what to do, since there was a lot we wanted to see and do. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to ask. We will be doing this itinerary again someday but just don't know when yet.

 

I hope you have a wonderful time on your Liberty cruise and enjoy the itinerary as much as we did. You don't have much of a wait left. :)

 

Holly

[cruiseclues]

Thanks for the fine photos...especially like the tugs and your night photos...and thanks for your interesting review. :):):):)

[pghsteelerfan]

Thanks for the fine photos...especially like the tugs and your night photos...and thanks for your interesting review. :):):):)

 

Thank you for reading and so glad you enjoyed the pictures. I was pleasantly surprised when I got home and saw the night pictures on the computer actually came out. They looked fine on the camera's LCD screen but I've had that in the past only to get them uploaded to the computer and find that they are blurry. I love taking pictures but am definitely a novice but I think I know the trick now. :D Miami is just beautiful to sail into when it's still dark & I love those colorful buildings.

[princess76021]

Hey Holly! 

 

What a great cruise!  Your narrative is stupendous and your photos are awesome!!!  

 

I'm about to join you once again on the Liberty 😄

 

See you aboard!!

 

Hugs 

Nicki

[pghsteelerfan]

On 12/9/2020 at 10:00 PM, princess76021 said:

Hey Holly! 

 

What a great cruise!  Your narrative is stupendous and your photos are awesome!!!  

 

I'm about to join you once again on the Liberty 😄

 

See you aboard!!

 

Hugs 

Nicki

Hey Nicki!

It was a great cruise and glad you could join, even if virtually.  The next Liberty cruise was up there as one of our favorites.  We met some great friends on that cruise (several from a CC & social media roll call and the couple we had dinner with) and are still in touch with all.  Hoping we can all cruise together again and soon - I sure miss it.   

 

Holly

Edited December 14, 2020 by pghsteelerfan