Carnival Liberty 8/1/05 - 8/13/05 Review

[JodyB]

Your review is great and the pictures are gorgeous. Can't wait to hear the rest. I am going on the Liberty Med. next May and gathering all info. possible.

 

It sounded like you had to walk a long way in Venice to get anywhere. Is there a vaporetto stop near where the ship docks? If so, was it just bogged down with so many people when they first let you off the ship.

Thanks again for your time. I am sure you are still basking in the wonderful memories.

 

Jody:)

[BillnBobbi]

If you like Rodeo Drive, Manhasset's Miracle Mile, Fifth or Madison Aves, then you'll love Cannes. In fact, I heard that Beverly Hills and Cannes have declared themselves sister cities. They are certainly welcome to each other.

It isn't that the French are snooty, everyone in Cannes is snooty, but hey, they earned it, n'est pas? We thought we might have lunch at a seaside bistro. Well the cheapest thing we could find was a Monsieur McDonalds Grande Mac for 5.90 euro which works out to about $7 US.

"Voudrez-vous pommes frites avec cela?" "Non, je n'espere qui oui."

 

Aside from that the least expensive item anywhere was a plate of spaghetti with butter sauce for $11 euro. INCROYABLE !!!!!!!

If you wanted anything like bolognese sauce, some shrimp, perhaps a meatball or two, it progressed upwards by 2 euros per addition.

 

We didn't choose to go on any tours out of Cannes, simply because we thought that it would exhaust us. We simply don't care to do vacation by checklist anymore, and what we see is fine, and what we don't see is fine too. I know that many folks enjoyed doing the Cote d'Azure and visiting Nice, St.Moritz, or Monaco; or going to Esse for the parfum, or into the countryside to see the foothills of the Alps. But they all reported that they were in transit for all of this for the entire day. We had just walked all over Barcelona the day before, and knew that Florence would be a mad rush based on the limited time, so we opted to just walk about a bit downtown and see what was what.

 

The ship weighs anchor about a half mile off shore in the Baie de Cannes.

Unlike the hundreds who lined the pier as we pulled into Venice, the denizens of Cannes ( the Cannesenites?) seemed very blaze about the entire matter.

Probably if it was one of the Crystal ships or a Radisson they'd have looked up. Most of the people on Carnival weren't about to plunk down $16 for a plate of spaghetti, much less $20,000 + for some of those top of the line watches in the windows along la Croisette.

Just about everyone walking out of the expensive hotels along this boulevard apparently spends half the morning preparing themselves to walk out the door. I don't know that much about cosmetics, but won't most makeup melt in that kind of sun and heat? We definitely passed by a few world class models preening, as well as some inherited wealth eurotrash types. After about an hour of feeling like the help, we walked back to the tender. We decided we'd have lunch on the ship, change into our bathing suits and head for one of the free beaches. ( Now free beach here does not mean the same thing as it does in N. America, where a "free beach" is a euphemism for "nude beach"). There are free beaches for those who serve, because those who rule get to pay about $40 each for the ones with the pretty yellow and gold parasols, and the chaise lounges.

Hey, I was born a plebe and I'll die a plebe. You can take da boy outta da Bronx, but you can't get da Bronx outta da boy. It isn't that we couldn't afford the tariff, it's just a sense of value.

 

At any rate, the tenders pull into the Quai Monsieur Laubert, whomever that was, which is located on the southwest side of the Vieux Port where all of the fancyschmancy yachts are berthed. Right off of this dock is a beautiful public beach. There are no life guards, but there are outdoor showers to wash off the salt and the sand. There are also not many bikini tops. :-)

 

Of course not everyone was one of those women you see in those St.Tropez tan advertisements. But it was refreshing to see the lack of false modesty. One young woman who had turned the color of Hershey's milk chocolate lay down on a blanket next to us. She was built as if she had been a greyhound in a previous life. After lying there frontal up for about a half hour resplendent with coconut oil, she was obviously overheating. I learned never to tell a Spaniard that you are "caliente", and I wasn't about to ask her anything either. So this 20 something lithe creature went to the shower to cool off. Then she came back, lay back down frontally and now her body was glistening. Bobbi snickered as I felt the need to turn over and lay on my stomach. At least in my early sinescence I steel dun need no steenken veeagrah!!!!!

 

Well, time passed, and we simply went in and out of the cool Mediterranean all day. It was really (awesome, terrific, super, great ).

Oh, and the gelato was the same price as it was elsewhere in Europe, it was excellent, and there were two stands one at either end of the beach.

We didn't need to test the toilets here, the ocean is free.

 

BnB

[BillnBobbi]

Your review is great and the pictures are gorgeous. Can't wait to hear the rest. I am going on the Liberty Med. next May and gathering all info. possible.

 

It sounded like you had to walk a long way in Venice to get anywhere. Is there a vaporetto stop near where the ship docks? If so, was it just bogged down with so many people when they first let you off the ship.

Thanks again for your time. I am sure you are still basking in the wonderful memories.

 

Jody:)

 

We did walk a lot in Venice, but we chose to do so. We're both in good shape and do a lot of walking, both outside and on treadmills, so that wasn't a concern. Rick Steves, the famous professional tourist, had recommended in his excellent book on Venice that one "get lost". So that was what we chose to do. He had said that some of the best finds in Venice are off the beaten path and he was right. Check out my photos to see that. We got a lot more out of our exploration than we did going to St.Marks plaza.

 

It isn't that St. Marks plaza isn't beautiful; it's just that it's sort of like being from out of town, going to Rockefeller Center and thinking that you'd seen NY without exploring less touristy areas.

 

We also knew in advance certain things that we wanted to see, especially the old Jewish Ghetto. Bobbi's mom grew up in Venice, and had to leave one step ahead of the ****s. This experience was very real for us in that it put the lights, smells and sounds on all the things we had read in books, and had heard from relatives. We knew from looking at the map that it was a short walk to there from where the ship puts in. Seeing the Cannaregio section which leads to the Ghetto is something that many tourists miss. I'd compare this section of Venice in a vague sort of way to Greenwich Village.

 

However, if you want to the Vaporetto station is right there once you take the long walk from the ship to the Piazzale Roma where you can pick up all of the Vaporettos. The next day we took one to Murano, and it went there express, around the north island (see photos) and past the cemetery island.

This stop is one of the terminals. The N,1,4,41/42.51/52, 61 and 82 all stop there. If you want to get a great view of the grand canal, take the #4 express during an off hour on a non-workday (Saturday is perfect) from there to St.Marks plaza. Sit either in the front or the back which are open air and click away!

 

BTW, the station is fairly busy because not only do the passenger ships dock nearby but the carport is there (you can't drive around in Venice obviously), as well as the Ferrovia ("iron road") Station, and lots of people commute into Venice to go to work.

 

Bill

[BillnBobbi]

Obviously, the boards are protected from insulting words. Well the word that was starred in my last posting was not an insult but a description of the word used for the German National Socialist Party during World War II when all of the allies fought against Hitler and his ****s. I'll bet it gets bleeped out again.

 

Ok, drone, can I say "kraut". I thought so. :-).

 

Bill

[Guest Crazeecat5]

Hey Bill,

What a fabulous review! Makes me wish I was there. Hey wait a minute....I was there! Your descriptions are wonderful. Even I can't wait for the next installment.

To all reading this review, Bill kept our roll call thread going for quite some time. He continues to hold his audience captive with this wonderful review. I was on the Liberty during that Aug.1st cruise and it was everything Bill has said it was and more.

Sheryl

[BillnBobbi]

Hey Bill,

What a fabulous review! Makes me wish I was there. Hey wait a minute....I was there! Your descriptions are wonderful. Even I can't wait for the next installment.

To all reading this review, Bill kept our roll call thread going for quite some time. He continues to hold his audience captive with this wonderful review. I was on the Liberty during that Aug.1st cruise and it was everything Bill has said it was and more.

Sheryl

 

 

Hi Sheryl!

 

You have to tell everyone about the places that you went with some of the gang, that we skipped. I know you did quite a bit of touring at the Cannes stop. Didn't you also go into the Tuscany countryside. In retrospect, I wish we had done that, but we'd never been to Florence. I need to tell everyone why Florence was a big disappointment.

 

Best regards,

Bill

[Frequent Floater]

I'm loving all this info and Bill's enchanted tellings. Making lots of notes for my Sept. 30th sailing. At least we should have cooler weather then.

 

Did you Bill or Crazeecat get the Liberty pin as past guests. I am an avid collector of these pins and would much appreciate having one BEFORE sailing. If you are interested in selling or trading let me know.

Thanks again for all the valueable info.

rdonte@cox.net

[BillnBobbi]

Bill,

 

Thanks for continuing this great review.

 

Do remember the cost of your Taormina tour?

 

Thanks for the tip on the Barcelona market. One thing my hubby and I love to do wherever we go is visit the local outdoor market.

 

I think the cost for Taormina, which included the tour of the Greek ampitheater, lunch, and the tour of Mt. Etna was around $175 per person.

I thought it was a good value, especially the airconditioned Mercedes Benz buses and the running commentary by a very knowledgable tourguide.

 

With regard to the markets, just check out the hygeine before purchase.

I was about to buy a few peaches at one stand and then noticed bugs and flies crawling around on them. I simply went to another stand that looked much cleaner. The fruit was fabulous ( I refuse to use the word "awesome"), not at all the insipid watered down flavor you get in supermarkets stateside.

Peaches actually tasted like peaches, tomatoes like tomatoes. Of course, the lizards tasted like chicken but all reptiles do. :-) Just kidding, we didn't eat any reptiles, only because I didn't see any. Eat 'gator all the time in NOLA.

 

Bill

[ladycaveat]

Bill, your pictures are beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing . . . :p

[BillnBobbi]

Fri 8/12 : Florence.

 

We were really really looking forward to Florence. We actually thought the ship should have skipped one of the other ports and spent exta time there. Actually I still think so. Thus you can imagine our great disappointment in Florence.

 

We were warned by the tour guide on our bus. She was a 50ish perky woman of Dutch origin, married to a Florentine. She had nothing nice to say about these folks, and we kind of thought she was joking. But her humor was tinged with a bit of reality. This is what she had to say in her lovely accented English:

 

" So you want to know about the Florentines, heh? Well a typical Florentine family has four people, three cars and two books. One is the telephone book and the other is for coloring. The problem with Florence is that there are Florentines living there."

 

We all were hysterical, and then we experienced it for ourselves. At about 11:45am we decided to stop and have two paninis at a nice looking stand which was obviously popular. The prices were reasonable and the food on display looked tasty. We picked out two different paninis, one with ham and cheese and the other with proscuitto crudo and peppers. After grilling them I asked the woman nicely to please cut them in half with the large bread knife that was right in front of her. She refused!!! "Hey, you see the line, I'm busy!!!" I was about to tell her to go Eff herself and put the panini where the bambini come out of, but the fact of being in a foreign country and being a foreigner dissuaded me. I have a bit of a temper. We were given a small butter knife to use.

 

The second situation occurred at the L'accademia, the museum where The David resides. We had reservations which we had made two months in advance for 3PM. We thought at the time that since we had to be back on board by 6:30, and it was about an hour and a half back, that we didn't have to leave Florence until about 4:45. There was no guidance given by Carnival on their website in this regard. Well, the tour told us we needed to meet at the St.Croce church by 3:45. OK, we negotiated with the tour for 4PM and all the people on the tour were reasonably happy.

We arrived at the L'accademia at around 2PM, having already gone and seen The Uffizzi (we had reservations here for Noon. There are only so many Madonnas and Children that you can look at in one sitting, I don't care what great Renaissance master did them.) and were out of there in about an hour.

We asked the gatemaster if we might be able to go in early. "No."

We explained our situation. "No". "You come back five minutes before 3 and stand on that line." OK, we figured if we went in at 3 we'd do the Chevy Chase "saw the grand canyon" bob and be out.

We walked around a bit, sat and had a delicious cappucino (found out the secret) and went back to the line at 2:45. We asked again if we could enter. "No." Then the line moved, but it turned out it was the folks who had reservations for 2:45 and were now going in at 3:05. At the front of the line he stopped us again. We asked him how soon the 3PM reservations were going in and he said, "Around 3:20 or so". Again we asked nicely. "No."

Well EF YOU COMPADRE!! I didn't realize we were on Florentine nontime. We were dissappointed, we'd barely make it back to the meeting place. So we looked on the non-reservation line for the first two Americans we'd find (it's really easy to spot us in a crowd of Europeans), they were from KalyForneeah and were very greatful not to have to wait. We've lost more than 19 euros in our lives.

 

Aside from the people, this is what we found about Florence itself. Essentially the downtown central area is one giant outdoor-indoor museum preserved in grime. I was shocked at how filthy all the noted places were.

There was graffitti on the WALLS OF THE CHURCHES. Who does that?

There were garbage cans open and spilling over. There were bums everywhere.

Yes, the Duomo is magnificent; as are the Gates of Paradise on the Baptistery. The Uffizi is impressive, but frankly, the overflow of Renaissance masters, the majority of which were either depictions of the crucifixion, madonnas, madonnas with child, resurrections, etc. got tedious very fast.

And we love art!!!

Perhaps it was the rush job the time of the ship dictated. The ship got into port about 8 and was leaving at 6:30. The tours left at 9. It's about an hour and a half to Florence, and nothing opens till 10:30. We had to leave by 3:45. Do the math. It sucked. You cannot really appreciate anything in that time span.

In retrospect I wish we'd just gone on the tour of the Tuscan countryside, and seen Florence in a more leisurely way. It was very frustrating, and not a good way to be a finale for the cruise.

Perhaps Carnival should go in reverse. Do Florence first for two days, skip Cannes, cut out one day at sea in the middle, end with two days in Venice and go back to Rome from there. That way, inspite of the Florentines, perhaps we'd feel less harried.

 

On the way out of Florence the tour bus took us up to the hill from which those postcard shots are taken. It looks magnificent from the overlying hill. As I recall from years ago in South America, so did Caracas.

That was another mistake.

 

Yet I did get some great photos of the Ponte Vecchio. The crowds were the worst we experienced during the entire cruise and the Piazza del Duomo was wall to wall tourists and hustlers.

The heck with the leather items, we were very happy to get back.

 

In retrospect, the cruise offered an appetizer at each stop, enough to wet one's appetite. We saw nothing of Rome except the airport.

Venice was our favorite stop and we will definitely go back there for a few days, if only to relax on Lido beach and see Murano again.

Dubrovnik was the surprise gem of the trip, the Croatians were lovely, and we rank that as our second favorite.

Barcelona ranks third, and we need more time there as well. It's large and cosmopolitan and we simply know there is way more to do than we had time for. One of the daughter-in-laws was there last summer for a week and she reported having one of the best times of her life.

Sicily was fourth. We certainly don't need to go up on Mt. Etna again, and Taormina is a one time thing as well. Next time we are there we hope to stop in Palermo.

Cannes was fifth. It would have been last, but swimming in the Mediterranean saved it.

We're sorry to say that Florence came in last. When we left, my mother-in-law told us that Venice was dirty and smelly (that was how she remembered it) and Florence was a treasure. Well, things did a flipflop over the years.

Florence apparently needs another renaissance. It's a damn shame.

Michelangelo,Leonardo, Rafael et.al, deserve more respect.

 

Ok, that's it, except I will post some more photos. Please don't hesitate to ask me questions.

 

Bill (and Bobbi)

[winewanderer]

Bill,

 

Sorry Florence was a bummer. When I was there 13 years ago I loved it more than Rome. I don't remember grafitti or bums anywhere.

 

Do you know of anyone who took the Carnival "Wines of Tuscany" tour from Livorno and if they liked it?

 

Thanks

[mjbelen]

Thanks Bill. I really want to go to the Tuscan countryside, but felt that I just couldn't go all the way to Italy and not go to Florence. Now I can relax and not feel that I am making the wrong choice.

 

Joan

[GrammaZ]

Thank you so much for your insight. We are not doing Florence off the ship, we are staying in a B&B just south of Florence for week after the cruise and will be doing Tuscany at an easier pace. We just plan one day for Florence and after reading your review feel we have made the right decision. No deadlines to meet. The day off the ship we are renting a car and doing Lucca and Pisa. Hopefully a good decision. Your pictures are wonderful, hopefully we have half just as good. We are in a cabin on the same deck as you were, just down the hall and on the other side. How did you find the fridge? Was it full when you got there and were they willing to empty it for the week so you could chill your own bubbly? Loved your reviews and have printed them all off and will carry them with us in three weeks. Thanks again.

[Cyn29]

Thank you for all the info. Just started planning for next year and already I'm excited. Will probably have a ton of questions later.:)

[queenslander]

Hi Bill and Bobbi,

 

Just loved the review! Bill - you would make a brilliant travel writer!

Your review is as good as some that I read in Traveler magazine - which is posted out to me from the US. Thank you so much - I'm looking forward to my Liberty cruise on Sept.30th more than ever now:D

 

One question. Do we need to book an island tour for Venice or is it easy to just take a vaporetto and do it on our own? We intend to buy a vaporetto pass so perhaps we could use that to get to the islands or do you need to pay separately?

 

Hope you enjoy planning for the next trip:)

 

Cheers

Joyce

[BillnBobbi]

Hi Bill and Bobbi,

 

Just loved the review! Bill - you would make a brilliant travel writer!

Your review is as good as some that I read in Traveler magazine - which is posted out to me from the US. Thank you so much - I'm looking forward to my Liberty cruise on Sept.30th more than ever now:D

 

One question. Do we need to book an island tour for Venice or is it easy to just take a vaporetto and do it on our own? We intend to buy a vaporetto pass so perhaps we could use that to get to the islands or do you need to pay separately?

 

Hope you enjoy planning for the next trip:)

 

Cheers

Joyce

 

Thank you. You can easily do Lido, Murano and Burano on your own. If you plan on hopping on and off the Vaporetto all day, definitely get a 24 hr. pass. You don't have to buy it on the internet, you can pick it up at one of the terminals such as the Piazzale Roma. It's definitely worth it.

 

Bill

[BillnBobbi]

Thank you so much for your insight. We are not doing Florence off the ship, we are staying in a B&B just south of Florence for week after the cruise and will be doing Tuscany at an easier pace. We just plan one day for Florence and after reading your review feel we have made the right decision. No deadlines to meet. The day off the ship we are renting a car and doing Lucca and Pisa. Hopefully a good decision. Your pictures are wonderful, hopefully we have half just as good. We are in a cabin on the same deck as you were, just down the hall and on the other side. How did you find the fridge? Was it full when you got there and were they willing to empty it for the week so you could chill your own bubbly? Loved your reviews and have printed them all off and will carry them with us in three weeks. Thanks again.

 

We didn't even use the fridge. I'm sure it was full of stuff to buy with the sale and sign card. We put the bubbly in a large plastic bucket which was in the room and filled it with ice. Kept nice and cold all week. The room steward kept bringing ice.

 

It isn't that I intensely disliked Florence, we were just rushed so much, and you can't appreciate it in that way. Yes the Florentines need to get their act together and spruce up their city, but the treasures there deserve more than six hours of rushing. We will go back on a more leisurely tour in which time is not of the essence.

 

Bill

[rustybaby]

Great writing Bill, i would agree with most things. the one thing i don't get however, is your admiration for John the CD? what the hell did he do? I had no time for him, he is full of hot air, ''oh George Clooneys dining there tonight'', ''Thats Bill Gates' yacht over there'', ''I've never met them before, honest!?'' big fat liar, not funny.

 

nice photos tho, but i wanna see the pictures of you testing the matress!?:D

[BillnBobbi]

I'm loving all this info and Bill's enchanted tellings. Making lots of notes for my Sept. 30th sailing. At least we should have cooler weather then.

 

Did you Bill or Crazeecat get the Liberty pin as past guests. I am an avid collector of these pins and would much appreciate having one BEFORE sailing. If you are interested in selling or trading let me know.

Thanks again for all the valueable info.

rdonte@cox.net

 

Why do you want one BEFORE you sail, they're going to have one waiting for you in your room. How much are you willing to pay? They're extemely rare and valuable you know. :-)

 

BnB

[BillnBobbi]

This link should work:

 

http://community.webshots.com/album/426087655vbFYvq

 

 

If not I'll try again.

 

B

[Juliadlf]

Why do you want one BEFORE you sail, they're going to have one waiting for you in your room. How much are you willing to pay? They're extemely rare and valuable you know. :-)

BnB

 

Okay, so tell us - first time cruisers here- what are the "pins"?

 

Bill: your review has just the right touch of sarcasms(I mean that in a postive way) to keep the readers wanting more. Good job on the writing and pics. Thanks for sharing.

[Frequent Floater]

Bill I would like to have a pin BEFORE just to make sure I get one at all. On the Spirit last Nov. they ran out 2 weeks before my cruise. I have been told that they still didn't have them months later. Better safe than sorry for us pathetic pin collectors. E me if you are interested in helping....

Julia the pins are small red/white and blue replicas of the ships funnnel. They have the name of the ship on them.

[BillnBobbi]

Bill I would like to have a pin BEFORE just to make sure I get one at all. On the Spirit last Nov. they ran out 2 weeks before my cruise. I have been told that they still didn't have them months later. Better safe than sorry for us pathetic pin collectors. E me if you are interested in helping....

Julia the pins are small red/white and blue replicas of the ships funnnel. They have the name of the ship on them.

 

I wanted to buy our grandson (1 year old) that funnel doll which they sell in the gift shop on board. My wife looked at me like I was an idiot. I wanted to get one for myself and she threatened to throw me out of the house.

 

This is the way to negotiate, because what I really wanted was a souvenir, inaugaural cruise T-shirt. I got that. :-)

 

Smart.

 

 

Bill (n Bobbi )

[BillnBobbi]

Bill,

 

Sorry Florence was a bummer. When I was there 13 years ago I loved it more than Rome. I don't remember grafitti or bums anywhere.

 

Do you know of anyone who took the Carnival "Wines of Tuscany" tour from Livorno and if they liked it?

 

Thanks

 

 

Oh yeah, they all liked it. They don't remember any of it but they liked it.

 

Remember the 60s

If you do then you weren't there.

 

 

Bill

[bobbi3]

Hi BNB,

Did you take your passport with you when you left the ship??

 

Also, it just so happens that the only tour we booked was the one that goes from Florence to Piza. I doubt I can get out of it now, but do you have any suggestions about anyting in Florence?? Would you leave the tour and take off on your own???

Thanks,

Bobbi