Carnival Liberty - FULL REVIEW from SanFranBayCruiser

[pacoloveschocolate]

Thank you for the great review. We all appreciate the time it took.

 

Paco

[daniela]

I am really happy that your expectations were exceeded after visiting Messina. I am a first generation Sicilian and frequently travel there to visit my grandfather and other family members that never immigrated. I am not writing this to single you out in any way, but I just wanted to comment that unfortunately many people have this perception of Sicily and upon going there realize that it doesn't live true to the stereotype. I'll admit that there are still small towns in Sicily where you can find the donkey carts and dirt roads but they are far and few in between. Anyway I just wanted to thank you for your review and for writing about the pleasant experience you had in Messina.

Your review was great...I know I was one of the hundreds on this board waiting for someone to finally post a review of the Liberty and you did a great job. My boyfriend and I plan on taking a Med. cruise sometime in the near future (possibly a honeymoon cruise :rolleyes: lol) and when we saw the Liberty's itinerary we knew it would be perfect for us. After readng your review I wish we could just hop on a plane tonight and head for the Liberty :)

 

It was great reading the original posting of the review of your trip and I agree with the above posting. I'm also a first generation italian (Trentino Alto Adige region in northern Italy) living in NYC. The immigrants that came to the US from Italy many years ago escaped poverty not the beauty of their areas. Italy is totally different now - people are very educated and have so many opportunities. They now only come to the US as tourists/exchange students/research scientists etc. The history and culture in Italy speaks for itself. I always feel proud when I walk on Madison and Fifth Aves. since some of the most beautiful shops are Italian!

I'm just sorry that you didn't see Taormina and get to go to Mt. Etna. I just loved that area and plan on doing a tour of only Sicily soon.

Thank you again for your informative posting.

[hill6]

Thank you sooo much for your informative review. We appreciate you taking the time to write it.

[MrPete]

Your story reminds me how paranoid I was during my trip to Rome.

 

We arrived by train, and eventually left by air. And everything else in between, I had read to worry about pick pockets. It was May, so I simply wore shorts under my pants with my wallet in them.

 

As for Venice, we bought a chandeleir in Venice, and had it shipped home, with the hope that we would return one day to buy the matching sconses. 11 years later, still no sconses!

 

Thanks for your write up. One of the views in my minds eye was travelling across the causeway from the mainland to Venice, and seeing a cruiseship "pulled up next to it." It was so surreal, like a clash of two times.

 

And I still can't wait to see some pictures!

[SleevesEnd]

One of the views in my minds eye was travelling across the causeway from the mainland to Venice, and seeing a cruiseship "pulled up next to it." It was so surreal, like a clash of two times.

 

Ha! I had the same vision, made even more bazarre with the big movie screen showing Shrek!

[cinnabun]

Thank you so much for the review. We're leaving next thursday so we appreciate the quickness in which you wrote this report.

 

Hope your jetlag isn't too bad

Dominique

[Tweetjazz]

Hi! I just got off the inaugural as well and had a GREAT time..I'm 15, so if you have any questions from a teens point of view (or in general), just ask! I think SanFranBayCruiser wrote an excellent review...I don't think I could write that long of a review right now--my jet lag is pretty bad!

 

kdickers- I thought there were just as many teens as on a Caribbean cruise, or pretty close; I met a LOT of kids. There were tons of things for teens to do, as usual on a Carnival ship, but I found a lot of teens had earlier curfews [and were more tired] than usual because they had to get up early for tours, etc..Europe is pretty exhausting. That won't apply if you're going on the Liberty when it comes to the Caribbean though..the activities might be a little different too. I was in the age group 15-17, which is a new program for teens called Club 02. The teen disco is called Without Batteries and is located on the Promenade deck..most of the Club 02 activities took place there. An arcade is also attached to the teen disco, which is open to all kids (of all ages). I don't know if your daughter will be in the Club 02 age group or not--if not, she will be a part of Camp Carnival in the 12-14 group. On my cruise there was a girl who was almost 15, and they let her be in Club 02, although I know they are not always that lenient. I will try to scan the teen Club 02 caper later, but some of the activities included Battle of the Sexes, Language Crash Course in Italian, Spanish, French, and Croation, Sunset Whirpool Hang, Black Jack Tournament, Hip Hop Dance Class, Blind Date, Ms. Liberty Beauty Pageant, Toga Party, etc..

I'm sure your daughter will have a great time!! :)

[DebNJoe]

SFBC - Thanks for your terrific review. Very informative and to the point! Did the same "bring your own wine" rules apply as in the Caribbean?

 

Tweetjazz - Your review was great too! Sounds like you had a really good time. So many times there are not enough age appropriate things planned for the teens. Don't have any teens to bring along, but I sure wish I had the opportunity to go on a trip like that when I was a teen!

 

We'll be on the 9/30 sailing - can't wait - even more now!

Debbie

[SanFranBayCruiser]

Ok gang, I know you're all dying to see the ship. I admit, I cheated and scanned the professional album I bought at the gift shop first. I promise to add more photos soon but, until then use this link:

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/sanfranbaycruiser

 

Enjoy!

[cathyoo]

SanFranBayCruiser.... Thanks you are a sweetie.

[flytoeat]

Just bumping this up as I'm sure you missed it among all the many good questions you're being asked. Thanks again for any insight.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for your hard work in compiling a recap. We sail on August 13. Any idea which tours were sold out when some in your party attempted to book late? Regarding Dubrovnik, we too are kayaking and taking our kids. Were there any kids on your kayak tour? Were you able to have a little time in Dubrovnik after this tour was over? Regarding Pisa and Florence, would you rather have just arranged transportation on your own and explored these cities yourself? Thanks in advance for your help and your generosity in posting.

[Live_2_cruise05]

Great Review! We are wanting to go on the Liberty someday!

 

great pictures!

[SleevesEnd]

Just bumping this up as I'm sure you missed it among all the many good questions you're being asked. Thanks again for any insight.

 

I compiled the unanswered questions I found and asked them again here.

 

Hope to get some responses!

[Stillfloatin']

Thanks for the photos. Cheating is fine while you're recovering. Look forward to your personal pics but understand it takes TIME to do all this when you get back. I'm amazed at just how much you've fed us already! Good job and thanks from all of us.

[FamilyFive]

Thanks for the review. We enjoyed it.

For Barcelona...you mentioned you did not dock downtown. Does that mean you did not dock where the other ships dock? I remembered the cruise terminal dock in Barcelona to be close to the Columbus monument. Please advise?

 

Glad to hear you did Messina on your own becasue we are planning to do the same?

[Cyn29]

SanFran cruser - Bless you for all your info - DH and I are planning med cruise next July for 25th anniversary. Did you guys book air thru cruise line or on your own? We are also from San Fran Bay Area. Will probably have more questions later but just wanted to say thanks again for being so thorough. After reading reivew, I'm starting to get excited. First time to Europe for both us. Will definitely continue to check this board.:)

[mvcynthia]

Just wanted to say thanks for the excellent, detailed review. We are also a professional couple in our 30s without children (down the road from you in Mill Valley), so we were thrilled to hear that you so enjoyed your cruise. We set sail on September 6th and can't wait!

[Frequent Floater]

SFBC did you attend the past guest party? Day and time?

Thanks,

Renee

[howison]

My husband and I were also on the Liberty. We took the train from Rome to the Ship. We did not take the train to the airport from the ship but would have had plenty of time to do so. Our flight was at 2:30 and we were off the ship by 8:30. You will need to get the bus from the ship to the port entranceway and then from there if you don't have too much luggage you can walk to the train station. It is about a 15 minute walk. (Taxis are very difficult to get so you should plan on walking) The cost of the train from Rome ( we picked it up near the Vatican) was 3.60 euros. I would expect it is not much more to take it direct to the airport. The ride was about 45 minutes. The train was comfortable and airconditioned.

[Tweetjazz]

Hi again, I don't know if these were all meant for SanFranBayCruiser, but I tried to answer all the ones I could for you all.

 

Did you use the laundromat?

On every cabin floor of the ship, there is a self-laundromat with washers, dryers, and an ironing board. I believe the washer and dryer cost $2.00. I used it once or twice.

 

Do you know if there are fridges in the inside cabins?

I had an inside cabin, and yes there are fridges in them. They are locked, however (at first we didn't even know it was a fridge), but if you ask your room steward they will open it for you. We found out they are locked because the fridges contain liquor, and they don't want children getting to it.

 

Where you given a special book about Liberty that you could keep?

Yes.

 

How many formal nights and semi-formal nights?? The rest I assume are casual.

There were 2 formal nights (on sea days), and the rest were casual. No semi-formal, except when I went to the past guest reception, the dress code was "smart casual".

 

Is Carnival continuing the singing-by-staff performances in the dining room on the Liberty? If so, how often did that happen?

Yep they are! I beileve they did it every night except the first night. They were great. =)

 

Any idea which tours were sold out when some in your party attempted to book late?

Yes, my grandma and I tried to get on the Tower of Pisa tour. At first they told us it was sold out, but we eventually got on.

 

Do you plan to post any pics of the ship?

SanFranBayCruiser already did, but yes, I will try as well.

 

We have a 12:10 pm flight out of Rome after the cruise. We were assured by CCL that we could make this. Based on your experience, do you think that's possible?

I think so. Our flight was around 2 and we had PLENTY of time. There were tons of people with flights way before 12. Carnival made sure everyone with early flights got off the ship first. We got off at 8:30am. I have to say the Rome airport was not a breeze to get through, however.

 

Past guest party what day and time Please.

Pretty sure it was the 29th for us, so the 3rd to last night. I think the time was 5:15/5:30 or around there. I'll try to check later.

[SanFranBayCruiser]

Thanks to all those who are helping respond to all the questions. I have finally rounded up all the Capers and will get them scanned for you. I'll try to get back online a little later today... Look for another post from me within the next 24 hours with the Capers ready for reading! Back to the dreaded laundry for me :rolleyes:

[cruise pup]

"if you want something fun and silly to do at days at sea, try one of Butch's Dance Classes, they are fun!"

 

Butch was on the Glory last Christmas. Still trying to figure out how he got that name. He is a lot of fun.

[Frequent Floater]

Thanks for the past guest info. I thought it may be the last at sea day or Barcelona. My group is trying to put together a private cocktail party and didn't want it to be the same as a formal or repeaters party. Appreciate if you can confirm. Also did they give out the red.white blue funnel pins?

[cruzingracie]

Tweetjazz and SanFranBayCruiser, thank you so much for the time to answer all of our questions. It is really sweet of you.

 

I'm relieved knowing that my 12:10 pm flight out of Rome is doable.

 

Thanks again and get some rest!!!

 

Gracie

[Learning the ropes]

Tweetjazz - I will have a 16, 13 & 11 year old on the Liberty next May....they were really interested to read what you had to say from a teen point of view. Looking forward to seeing some of the 'Capers'...:p