Liberty's Memorial Day Review (photo heavy) - Including Extra Days in San Juan!!

[Stinger-pr]

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to do another review! I really enjoyed this one. I love the pictures you got, just beautiful and some of the best. You had me laughing several times as well. I am so happy to finally see a review with Culebra included. I'd never heard of Culebra until 2010 after an eastern itinerary. We were heading into St. Thomas, were passing PR sometime around 8 or 9 then another island...Culebra. I found out when I looked it up when we got home after that cruise and was surprised it was actually part of PR. Also, congratulations to Trippett on her graduation from VA Tech and wishing her the best of luck in whatever her future holds. Hopefully that will include more family cruises...and more reviews. :D

 

I don't remember if I mentioned to you that I had been "arm twisting" DH to go on this cruise again or not. If not, I have been for almost a year. It worked! :D We will be sailing Liberty out of San Juan on 9/20/15!!!....

 

First of all I gotta say trippingpara I have really enjoyed your review. I laughed so many times at your comments and had a ball reading! Sure blew my Southern Caribbean cruise (on the Valor) out of the water...LOL I also want to say that I am very happy and proud you enjoyed your time in my Island of Puerto Rico. Like I've told dirkgun and pghsteelerfan next time you're in town let me know so I can say Hi!

 

pghsteelerfan... We almost ended up in the same sailing!! I had scheduled (but not booked) to sail on that same date but it turned out I would create some scheduling conflict with a business trip that got "dumped" on me a few weeks back. It's all expenses paid (VEGAS, baby!!!) so I had to re-plan for Aug 2-9, 2015 (yup I am THAT close!!). Still.... I'd love to say hello when you guys make your pit stop in San Juan.

[pghsteelerfan]

First of all I gotta say trippingpara I have really enjoyed your review. I laughed so many times at your comments and had a ball reading! Sure blew my Southern Caribbean cruise (on the Valor) out of the water...LOL I also want to say that I am very happy and proud you enjoyed your time in my Island of Puerto Rico. Like I've told dirkgun and pghsteelerfan next time you're in town let me know so I can say Hi!

 

pghsteelerfan... We almost ended up in the same sailing!! I had scheduled (but not booked) to sail on that same date but it turned out I would create some scheduling conflict with a business trip that got "dumped" on me a few weeks back. It's all expenses paid (VEGAS, baby!!!) so I had to re-plan for Aug 2-9, 2015 (yup I am THAT close!!). Still.... I'd love to say hello when you guys make your pit stop in San Juan.

 

Stinger-pr...you gave me your email in case we every vacationed in PR because I was probably going to need your expertise on a few things. I'll send you a PM and will have CC pghsteelerfan in the subject line.

 

trippingpara...sorry if this is considered a "hi-jack". May have a question or two for you in the future - one about St. Kitts.

[trippingpara]

First of all I gotta say trippingpara I have really enjoyed your review. I laughed so many times at your comments and had a ball reading! Sure blew my Southern Caribbean cruise (on the Valor) out of the water...LOL I also want to say that I am very happy and proud you enjoyed your time in my Island of Puerto Rico. Like I've told dirkgun and pghsteelerfan next time you're in town let me know so I can say Hi!

 

Stinger-PR, thank you so much for the very kind words. We will definitely let you know when we're coming back around to your neck of the words!!

[trippingpara]

trippingpara...sorry if this is considered a "hi-jack". May have a question or two for you in the future - one about St. Kitts.

 

Being a hardcore Browns fan, for some strange reason, I still like you even though you're a Steelers fan!! Luckily for you, my wife is a diehard Steelers fan too, so I've learned to leave with em! As for your post, no worries at all! Happy to see people getting any answers and responses that they want from this thread even if I'm not the one helping them... and I'll be happy to help you with any questions that you may have at any time! :D

[miamilady305]

I have thoroughly enjoyed your review. My DH and I will be on the Liberty on November 1, 2015 and our first time in these ports. I thought I had my itinerary planned, but you have thrown me for a loop. I have some questions I hope you can answer for me.

 

Hotel Chateau Cervantes: I have a junior suite booked pre-cruise for 3 days. Did you hear a lot of noise at night? If so, what time did it die down? How far is it from the port?

 

I know I will have more questions, so thanks in advance.

[mississauga]

Thank you so much for your review and photos. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I started reading this because I wanted more info on Puerto Rico.

 

We have been to Puerto Rico a few times as a port of call but never pre or post cruise. When I first saw your review, We were going on the Sunshine from Port Canaveral and getting off in Puerto Rico and were going to spend a couple of days post cruise. Was waiting for info from your stay in Puerto Rico. However, before you finished with your review, we decided to do the b2b. We will have a whole day in Puerto Rico but that's it. We decided PR can wait for another time as another 10 days cruising was preferable for now.

 

I am glad that I was drawn to your review for a different purpose but so glad I decided to read it as you did a fantastic job. We loved the Dream also.

 

We will be on the Inaugural Vista also so hope to meet you and say thanks in person. You are quite the storyteller.

Edited July 11, 2015 by mississauga

[trippingpara]

I have thoroughly enjoyed your review. My DH and I will be on the Liberty on November 1, 2015 and our first time in these ports. I thought I had my itinerary planned, but you have thrown me for a loop. I have some questions I hope you can answer for me.

 

Hotel Chateau Cervantes: I have a junior suite booked pre-cruise for 3 days. Did you hear a lot of noise at night? If so, what time did it die down? How far is it from the port?

 

I know I will have more questions, so thanks in advance.

 

Miamilady305,

I'd be happy to help with any questions that you may have! Our junior suite was right on the second floor overlooking the street. We heard some noise until 10:30 pm maybe 11:00 pm. It seemed to quiet down pretty quickly. We also had the doors to one of the balconies open quite a bit so that didn't help to soften the noise at all. The noise certainly did not keep us awake at all and we were there on a Saturday night. There is a popular nightclub right around the corner but we never heard a peep from them.

 

As far as the distance from Cervantes to the port...we'll its about 2 blocks. Its one block down to the waterfront and 1 block over to the pier. The photo below was taken from the street corner that is diagonal from the front door on the Cervantes.

 

 

As you can see, us and the couple down the street in front of us all walked there with all of our luggage. Very easy walk.

[mississauga]

Oh oh. Just saw my faux pas. I meant the Liberty not the Dream, although we love the Dream as well as the Liberty.:D:D:D

 

I do have a few favorite ships and both of those are right up there.:p

Edited July 11, 2015 by mississauga

[trippingpara]

Thank you so much for your review and photos. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I started reading this because I wanted more info on Puerto Rico.

 

We have been to Puerto Rico a few times as a port of call but never pre or post cruise. When I first saw your review, We were going on the Sunshine from Port Canaveral and getting off in Puerto Rico and were going to spend a couple of days post cruise. Was waiting for info from your stay in Puerto Rico. However, before you finished with your review, we decided to do the b2b. We will have a whole day in Puerto Rico but that's it. We decided PR can wait for another time as another 10 days cruising was preferable for now.

 

I am glad that I was drawn to your review for a different purpose but so glad I decided to read it as you did a fantastic job. We loved the Dream also.

 

We will be on the Inaugural Vista also so hope to meet you and say thanks in person. You are quite the storyteller.

 

Thank you Mississauga very much! Hopefully we will be able to meet up on the inaugural run and chat some about our stories. I would love to do a B2B someday!!

[miamilady305]

Thanks for the answer and picture. I am a fashionista, so my luggage would be the issue; but that looks doable.

[bda73]

 

Found this place jimmys bbq and thought of you

 

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[trippingpara]

Blacksburg! That's awesome!!

[bda73]

because senor trip is da man we had to come here! Home of the pina colada Barrachina

 

 

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[trippingpara]

because senor trip is da man we had to come here! Home of the pina colada Barrachina

 

 

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

 

My man!! There's no better way to have a better day then to enjoy a nice cool pina colada at the home of the pina colada!!

[pghsteelerfan]

Hey there! I've actually got two questions (for now...maybe more later). :) I also went back and skimmed through your Victory review because I remember you spent some time at Brimestone Fortress in St. Kitts. That is a must for us both this trip and we're kicking ourselves for not going last time, but don't have too many regrets since the weather was poor (low cloud cover) and we probably wouldn't have seen much anyway since I also love the views. You mentioned you were there about an hour but you, personally, would like more time. Is an hour enough time or should we allow a little more...an hour and a half? When we did this itinerary on Valor in 2013 and we were in St. Kitts from 8 - 6. The itinerary has us in St. Kitts from 8 - 5 this time. We'd also like to go to both Cockleshell Beach AND Shipwreck for maybe 2 hours each but may have to pick one or the other. Your pictures from this review are tempting me back to Cockleshell, even though we were there the last time. With nice weather, it looks so different from when we were there. We're also considering an island tour that would at least stop at Brimestone but that depends on what we'll be doing at the other ports. A few days after we booked and paid (in full) for the cruise, we found out we need a new transmission in DH's vehicle. :eek: Soooo, we do have to budget some of this trip.

 

The other question I had seems kind of silly, but we're going to do one of the formal nights. We haven't done either our past three cruises trying to keep that luggage under 50 pounds to avoid extra fees. We'd like to go to at least one and I'm seeing that the Spaghetti Carbonera is served during a formal night. Do you remember if it's the first or second? That is my favorite.

 

Thanks!

[trippingpara]

Hey there! I've actually got two questions (for now...maybe more later). :) I also went back and skimmed through your Victory review because I remember you spent some time at Brimestone Fortress in St. Kitts. That is a must for us both this trip and we're kicking ourselves for not going last time, but don't have too many regrets since the weather was poor (low cloud cover) and we probably wouldn't have seen much anyway since I also love the views. You mentioned you were there about an hour but you, personally, would like more time. Is an hour enough time or should we allow a little more...an hour and a half? When we did this itinerary on Valor in 2013 and we were in St. Kitts from 8 - 6. The itinerary has us in St. Kitts from 8 - 5 this time. We'd also like to go to both Cockleshell Beach AND Shipwreck for maybe 2 hours each but may have to pick one or the other. Your pictures from this review are tempting me back to Cockleshell, even though we were there the last time. With nice weather, it looks so different from when we were there. We're also considering an island tour that would at least stop at Brimestone but that depends on what we'll be doing at the other ports. A few days after we booked and paid (in full) for the cruise, we found out we need a new transmission in DH's vehicle. :eek: Soooo, we do have to budget some of this trip.

 

The other question I had seems kind of silly, but we're going to do one of the formal nights. We haven't done either our past three cruises trying to keep that luggage under 50 pounds to avoid extra fees. We'd like to go to at least one and I'm seeing that the Spaghetti Carbonera is served during a formal night. Do you remember if it's the first or second? That is my favorite.

 

Thanks!

 

Brimstone Fortress was one of my favorite stops since I love forts (if Lady Trip would let me, I would still make a fort at home out of couch cushions and cardboard!) But any ways, a hour is plenty there unless you're like me and have to look at every little nook and cranny or want to run out to all of the outlaying parts of the fort (the entire complex is very spread out but the main citadel is very compact and easy to see quickly). I would say an hour is perfect for the average person who is sightseeing but an hour and a half is great if your a history buff or are an 8 year old stuck in a middle age man's body like me. Just be sure to bring a camera...the views from there are amazing!! But remember that the pathway up to the fort from the parking lot is steep! Its a doozy!

 

If you want to see Brimstone and then go to Cockleshell/Shipwreck, I would bolt to the fortress right away to beat the crowds there so you can get in and get out. All of the tours going there are going to stop at the Caribelle Batik first so you can beat them to the fort. That will give you more time at the beaches then.

 

As for the Spaghetti Carbonera, it was served on the first elegant night. I would have been all over that if it was served on the second elegant night. Unfortunately it was competing with lobster on the first night. There is a reason I live near Boston. Lobsta, clam chowda and the Red Sox. Okay, three reasons but you get my point!! I hope this helps!

Cheers :D

[pghsteelerfan]

Brimstone Fortress was one of my favorite stops since I love forts (if Lady Trip would let me, I would still make a fort at home out of couch cushions and cardboard!) But any ways, a hour is plenty there unless you're like me and have to look at every little nook and cranny or want to run out to all of the outlaying parts of the fort (the entire complex is very spread out but the main citadel is very compact and easy to see quickly). I would say an hour is perfect for the average person who is sightseeing but an hour and a half is great if your a history buff or are an 8 year old stuck in a middle age man's body like me. Just be sure to bring a camera...the views from there are amazing!! But remember that the pathway up to the fort from the parking lot is steep! Its a doozy!

 

If you want to see Brimstone and then go to Cockleshell/Shipwreck, I would bolt to the fortress right away to beat the crowds there so you can get in and get out. All of the tours going there are going to stop at the Caribelle Batik first so you can beat them to the fort. That will give you more time at the beaches then.

 

As for the Spaghetti Carbonera, it was served on the first elegant night. I would have been all over that if it was served on the second elegant night. Unfortunately it was competing with lobster on the first night. There is a reason I live near Boston. Lobsta, clam chowda and the Red Sox. Okay, three reasons but you get my point!! I hope this helps!

Cheers :D

 

Yes, this is a BIG help. Brimestone is a must but we'd love to see both beaches, so it sounds like we can do that. :) We'll be doing as we did on Valor (at least I will) and that's getting up very early to see the islands as we come in, so heading there first thing in the morning shouldn't be a problem. I've read about those steps in several reviews but I think we can handle it. We'll definitely have water with us. And cameras...I'll be taking three again. DSLR, the point and shoot, and the underwater. I'm also a big camera geek. :D

 

We will definitely plan for the first elegant night. On Liberty last year (our western cruise) is when they were first introducing the new American menus. We skipped both formal nights but did not see Spaghetti Carbonera on the menus and our table mates confirmed that they did not have it. I'm so happy to see Carnival has it again.

 

Thank you for answering those questions for me - St. Kitts is now planned. Just hoping the weather cooperates this time so we can see more.

[trippingpara]

Yes, this is a BIG help. Brimestone is a must but we'd love to see both beaches, so it sounds like we can do that. :) We'll be doing as we did on Valor (at least I will) and that's getting up very early to see the islands as we come in, so heading there first thing in the morning shouldn't be a problem. I've read about those steps in several reviews but I think we can handle it. We'll definitely have water with us. And cameras...I'll be taking three again. DSLR, the point and shoot, and the underwater. I'm also a big camera geek. :D

 

We will definitely plan for the first elegant night. On Liberty last year (our western cruise) is when they were first introducing the new American menus. We skipped both formal nights but did not see Spaghetti Carbonera on the menus and our table mates confirmed that they did not have it. I'm so happy to see Carnival has it again.

 

Thank you for answering those questions for me - St. Kitts is now planned. Just hoping the weather cooperates this time so we can see more.

 

Glad I could help. Looking forward to reading another awesome review from you in the near future!

[jagger16]

Hey Tripp,

Just wanted to thank you for your information on the Liberty, the ports and especially for your recommendation to eat at Marmalade in OSJ. We had a fabulous meal and experience there. The service was attentive, friendly and personal. It was one of our most memorable dining experiences and we look forward to eating there again someday when we are fortunate enough to return to San Juan. The cruise was terrific and we really enjoyed returning to the Liberty after sailing on her back in her inaugural season.

[trippingpara]

Hey Tripp,

Just wanted to thank you for your information on the Liberty, the ports and especially for your recommendation to eat at Marmalade in OSJ. We had a fabulous meal and experience there. The service was attentive, friendly and personal. It was one of our most memorable dining experiences and we look forward to eating there again someday when we are fortunate enough to return to San Juan. The cruise was terrific and we really enjoyed returning to the Liberty after sailing on her back in her inaugural season.

 

Jagger16, you are more than welcome! I'm so happy that my recommendations worked out so well for you. Did you get a chance to meet Peter, the chef? His cooking is so flippin' good! Glad you got the opportunity to go to Marmalade and had such a great time and a great trip overall!:D:D

[dmpannke]

Wednesday, May 27th – Bridgetown, Barbados

 

Once again that offensive bloody alarm clock started rocking out to Volbeat’s Sad Man’s Tongue at an extremely evil time. It’s probably a good thing that I didn’t program my phone’s alarm to play a song that I can’t stand as it surely would have found itself a couple thousand leagues under the sea! Luckily for the phone, I am a big fan of Volbeat and that song in particular so it was safe. At least for the time being!

 

After everyone grumbled and groaned as they slowly climbed out of bed, we got up, showered and headed over to the Lido deck for our breakfast. Omelets and fruit. I wish they had better offerings at the buffet but I’m not much of a breakfast guy anyways, so it’s not really worth a complaint. The food served its purpose and filled the belly! It was then off to “ding” ourselves off the ship and grab our ride to the catamaran. Have I mentioned that I love sailing on catamarans?

 

Pulling into Barbados. A very industrial dock.

 

The Bajan Coast Guard

 

 

 

We met our taxi driver where she said she would be and we all jumped into her van for the short ride to the marina. Everyone quickly kicked off their shoes and hopped aboard Calabaza. They limit the number of passengers to 12 so it does not feel crowded at all! I believe there were only 11 guests on our trip. It included seneca257 and his family. It was neat listening to his wife’s adventures as she paddled from Cuba to Florida for 3 days and nights. They were a cute family. If we ever find ourselves down in Key West we’ll be sure to stop into your bakery!

 

.

 

Loving your review and actually reading it for a second time as I get ready for the same cruise on 8/9. This time I'm taking notes on your excursions. That being said, the Calabaza cruise looks really cool! Do you recall the per person rate? I couldn't find the info on a website. Thanks again for the awesome detailed review!!

[momonthego17]

thanks for writing a great review!!

[trippingpara]

Loving your review and actually reading it for a second time as I get ready for the same cruise on 8/9. This time I'm taking notes on your excursions. That being said, the Calabaza cruise looks really cool! Do you recall the per person rate? I couldn't find the info on a website. Thanks again for the awesome detailed review!!

 

Thank you so much for the kind words and I'm really happy that you are finding my review helpful. The Calabaza tour was one of our all time favorite excursions. There was just something about it that makes it stand heads and tails above all of the others. We would do it again in a heartbeat!! It is a bit on the pricy side but also in line with the costs of similar tours so it seems to just be the going rate for that type of excursion. The cost was $110 per person and that includes the awesome lunch as well as photos and a huge packet of all of their recipes that they serve. The photos and recipes are emailed to you after the cruise. Even though it was one of the more expensive excursions we did, we felt that it was definitely worth the costs. Hope you have a great cruise!!:D:D

[jagger16]

Jagger16, you are more than welcome! I'm so happy that my recommendations worked out so well for you. Did you get a chance to meet Peter, the chef? His cooking is so flippin' good! Glad you got the opportunity to go to Marmalade and had such a great time and a great trip overall!:D:D

 

No we did not meet the chef. We ate at the bar and my husband said he was out and about but he did not come our way. I'm sorry that I forget their names but the bartender and waitress were terrific. The bartender was very helpful with our wine pairings and they both took the time to make sure that we understood the food and how it was prepared. Plus, since we were in a hurry to get back on the ship we did not have dessert. But the bartender sent one over anyway because he said it was so good he wanted us to experience it. They were very understanding that we had to get on the Liberty for sail away and they paced our meal accordingly. We paid the check while we ate dessert. And then the bartender walked us to the shortcut back to the ship so we would be back on on time!

[trippingpara]

No we did not meet the chef. We ate at the bar and my husband said he was out and about but he did not come our way. I'm sorry that I forget their names but the bartender and waitress were terrific. The bartender was very helpful with our wine pairings and they both took the time to make sure that we understood the food and how it was prepared. Plus, since we were in a hurry to get back on the ship we did not have dessert. But the bartender sent one over anyway because he said it was so good he wanted us to experience it. They were very understanding that we had to get on the Liberty for sail away and they paced our meal accordingly. We paid the check while we ate dessert. And then the bartender walked us to the shortcut back to the ship so we would be back on on time!

 

Glad to hear that they took care of you. They're good people there and the food is out -frigging-standing!!