Carnival Liberty Review August 22-27

[jamdoll417]

Well I just returned from a 5 day on the Carnival Liberty! I always enjoy reading reviews, so I thought I would try my own. This review will be fairly short as I didn't take many pictures this go around! Anyways I hope y'all enjoy. Feel free to ask any questions!

 

On this cruise it was me and my husband as well as another couple. This was my 6th cruise, my husbands 5th, and the other couple were newbies! I enjoy being with others on their first cruise! Seeing their excitement and shock is SO much fun!

 

My husband and I booked this cruise in March or April. We actually have the Liberty booked for October 22nd with our 4 year old and my in laws. We added this one last minute as a final getaway for just the two of us! We booked an interior cabin on deck 1. We have had interior, ocean view, port hole,and balcony before. I really have no preference, I just needed to be on the boat. We prepaid gratuities and we booked cheers! This was the first time for us doing cheers. We were excited but nervous that I might not "break even".

 

We live just south of Little Rock, AR, so we left early Sunday morning and headed towards Galveston. It rained on us the whole way there, but as we pulled onto SeaWall BLVD the sun came out and the rain stopped. I know Galveston isn't the most beautiful beach, but it holds a special place in my heart as my late grandparents took me there for vacations on multiple occasions. It felt so good to be there again!

 

We arrived at the Quality Inn & Suites on SeaWall Blvd around 3:00 pm, and had no issues checking in. We got a great rate there and I would recommend them to anyone. Nothing fancy, but they had a great view of the ocean, great location, clean, and breakfast was included.

 

We unloaded a few items, freshened up and headed to pleasure pier. It was $25 per person for unlimited rides or $10 entry fee and $4-$6 per ride. We went ahead and just did the unlimited rides. We road 5 or 6 rides. I quickly realized my stomach was not what it used to be!! It was a lot of fun though and felt good to just be a kid again! After our last ride we looked over the pier and spotted 6 dolphins directly below us! I couldn't believe how close they were. They were spread out a bit staying in groups of 2. They were very playful, jumping out of the water, and it looked like chasing each other in the water. We stopped and had dinner at Bubba Gumps on the pier, it was delicious and great service!

 

We drove over to the port to show our friends where we would be headed in the morning and to scope out the parking area. We made it back to our rooms by 7:15 PM and called it a night! We were wiped out from the trip. My husband and I watched Big Brother and then headed to bed! I'm shocked out how easily I fell asleep, I was so excited!!!

 

Next up.... Day 1!

[jamdoll417]

Here we go!! I'm really kicking myself for not taking pictures but maybe next time!

I woke up bright in early, I couldn't contain my excitement! I pulled up the cruise cam, the Liberty wasn't there yet! I don't remember what time it finally came in, but I was able to watch it on the cruise cam. We had breakfast and hopped in the car. We made it to the port at about 9:15 AM. I should mention we had FTTF so we had an early check in time. My husband and the husband from the other couple dropped us off at the port with the bags and headed to park. I had purchased parking a head of time, so my husband just took the confirmation with him. We waited about 15-20 minutes and the men arrived back on the shuttle and we made our way into the port.

 

This was hands down the easiest check in I have ever had. I have had FTTF before, but I think the staggered check in times have made a big difference. We were through security, check in, and had our cards by 10:15 at the latest! We saw a few people from our cruise group. I get so excited meeting new people and just feeling the energy of others waiting to cruise! They called for a wedding party first,then the plats and diamonds, finally it was our turn with the FTTF. We were on the ship at 11:45! We went straight to our room to drop off documents and take a peek! We were on lido getting a burger by noon!

 

Our friends were in awe! They hadn't quite grasped the concept of how big the ship truly was until they set foot on it! After lunch we had fun exploring the ship and looking over the funtimes for that evenings events!

 

Our bags arrived quickly with no issues and my husband and I quickly unpacked! Our friends had a steakhouse reservation for the first night so we went to dinner just the two of us. We all had Your time dining. This was my first time trying it out, as we usually do early dining. The first night my husband were put at a "table for two" but of course it was a mere 2 inches from another couple. I didnt mind at all, I'm quite chatty and enjoy meeting new people! The other couple was very nice, and we had a great dinner. I had a chicken breast, I can't remember what DH but he was satisfied with it. Of course we both finished the dinner with WCMC.

 

After dinner I hit up the venetian for trivia with Matt. The first night of trivia was host's choice. He chose a few questions from a variety of trivia games. I WON! I love trivia and often participate but this was my first win! At this trivia Matt mentioned he would be hosting Full House trivia on the day we were in Cozumel. I knew that my second ship on a stick would be coming soon, as that's my favorite show! haha My husband and our friends were in the casino so I anxiously awaited them to return so I could tell them. They were not near as impressed as I wanted them to be! HAHA

 

We watched a portion of the welcome aboard show and then my husband and I caught the late comedy show with JeRome. Our friends went to bed early. The show was pretty good, R Rated of course, but i laughed quite a bit!

 

DH and I headed to bed after this. I couldn't wait for our first full sea day!

Edited August 28, 2016 by jamdoll417

[jamdoll417]

Sea Day 1---

 

We woke up about 6:30 (DH has to take an early medication). We lazed around the room for a bit and took our time getting ready. We stopped by the atrium bar to get our cheers stickers, but they weren't open just yet. We stopped by the red frog bar on Lido got our stickers, I started with a coke zero, it was too early for me to get crazy! DH headed straight for a breakfast burrito (his favorite) and I had an egg white omelette. This was the only morning that there wasn't a big line! It was delicious!

 

We attended the morning show with Frankie "The Tank" our cruise director. I didnt know much about him going into this cruise, but I have to say I REALLY enjoyed him! He had a great presence on the ship. He also has a GREAT team leading bingo, trivia, and comedy.

 

After the morning show was BINGO. I WON! I'm kicking myself though. I actually had BINGO for about 3 numbers before I realized it. I ended up having to split the winnings and got $50! Oh well better than nothing, and it was still fun! After Bingo I stuck around for the fun ashore fun aboard talk and the shopping talk. I eventually cut out of the shopping talk a little early and we all went to lunch!

 

After lunch we got swimsuits on. The decks were packed, both main pools, the pool by the pizza, serenity... everywhere! We found a couple of chairs and quickly dipped into one of the pools to cool off. Once we laid out I took a short nap. I woke up and decided to go get ready as it was our "elegant night". DH said he didn't need to do much so we would go play in the casino for just a bit.

 

Fast forward a few hours and DH finally made it back! He was up about $400 so I couldn't complain TOO much about him being in there for a few hours. We went to dinner around 5:!5 to start having pictures made and then entered the dining room when it opened at 5:45. This evening we were sat with our friends at a table for four. Our head waiter was Joseph and Bruno was one of his assistants. We absolutely fell in love with them. They were very attentive, funny, and charming. We requested them every night for the rest of the cruise!

 

We played in the casino and did some shopping that evening. There was a show and some comedy but we didn't make it there. We hung out in the atrium and played cards. The atrium became one of our favorite spots to hang out! We found our favorite waiters there!

 

That night we decided we wanted to do a couples massage the next day while docked in Cozumel. I called that evening and had us scheduled for 10:45 AM for a deep tissue couples massage.

 

Next up...Cozumel day!

[easyboy]

Following.

[siestakeys04]

Great review!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Angel91805]

Great start! Will be following this for sure. We leave for the same trip next week! (Driving down next Sunday, boarding Monday 9/5)

 

Can't wait!

Donna

OKC

[jamdoll417]

Great review!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Thank you!

[jamdoll417]

Great start! Will be following this for sure. We leave for the same trip next week! (Driving down next Sunday, boarding Monday 9/5)

 

Can't wait!

Donna

OKC

 

Oh you will absolutely love it! Please let me know if you have any questions!

[jamdoll417]

Cozumel--

 

This was my 6th visit to Cozumel, and we knew we would be back in October. We decided to stay on the ship this day. I know this irks quite a few people, but I would gladly spend the entire week on the ship. Port days on the ship are quiet, low key, and you really are free to do what you want!

 

We woke up and headed upstairs to the Lido for breakfast. DH had his burrito and I grabbed a bagel and made a breakfast sandwich with the meat and cheese provided on the buffet. We chilled out around the pool (completely empty of course) to pass some time until our massage. We made it to the Spa at about 10:30 for our 10:45 appointment. We filled out a few forms about our problem areas and two young ladies came to get us quickly. They took us to a room with two massage beds. We opted for the deep tissue, it was an additional charge but we both knew from previous experience that would be the pressure we wanted. We had a 90 minute full body massage.It was amazing! Once the massage ended they left so we could get dressed and came back to do the sales pitch. I was aware it would be happening as I had gotten massages on board previously. It is still a buzzkill after a perfectly relaxing massage. DH and I politely declined their products and went on our way.

 

We headed up to the lido for lunch and then hopped in the aft pool. The night before there had to have been at least 30 people crammed in that pool. There were 6 of us in there this particular afternoon. It was awesome. I was keeping my eye on the time as full house trivia was scheduled for 3:00 PM. There was no way I was missing that!

 

We headed to the room to change clothes and made it to trivia a little before 3:00. Matt showed up after I began scoping out my competition. I was surprised at how many people showed up for full house trivia. Matt asked 20 questions, I missed 1, but still managed to win the ship on the stick! My husband joked that he would have disowned me if I had lost since I made such a big deal about going!

 

We stuck around for super trivia afterward. Super trivia is played every day and your score builds each day. I wish we had started on day 1, it was a lot of fun!

 

When we went back to our room DH had a nice little card from the Casino. We were given the opportunity to choose dinner from the steakhouse selection menu compliments of the casino. We met for dinner around 5:45 and requested Joseph and his team again. This evening I had the NY strip and DH had the surf & turf. His was yummy but mine was out of this world! I couldn't finish my steak so DH helped me out. He said he wished he had ordered the same as me! It definitely made me consider going to the steakhouse on our next sailing!

We still ordered our appetizer and sides from the regular menu as well as our dessert. WCMC OF COURSE!

 

After dinner I could barely move from that steak. Our friends hadn't been feeling too well so they went to bed early. They had a little too much fun in the sun while in Cozumel. After dinner DH and I played some cards with each other and hit the casino for a bit.

 

We found ourselves going to bed fairly early in the evenings. We have a little one at home so going to bed early and getting uninterrupted sleep is a treat!

 

Next up- Progresso- the day cheers got REAL! lol

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Clarea]

Enjoying and following.

[cruisingsouth]

Enjoying your review. My wife and I were on this cruise. Keep up the good work.

[BriBrizzle]

Following loving your review cant wait till my cruise in Oct.

[jamdoll417]

I apologize for the delay in the rest of this review! I went back to work and life got a little crazy! DH is out of town for work so I'm taking some quiet time to finish up!

 

Progresso!

 

We woke up that morning and took our time getting ready. We went up for breakfast for our usual. Brandon once again got the burrito and I made a breakfast sandwich with a bagel and the meat and cheese offered.

 

Our only goal for this port was to pick up a few souvenirs for our little girl and for me to find an elephant figurine. I collect them, and have picked one up on each of our cruises. We didn't rush off as soon as we were docked as we didn't need to rush. Once we finally did get off I was ready to walk right back on. I've been to this port numerous times, but my goodness it was HOT! It took my breath away, and I'm from the south!

 

We made our way through the shops that are right there near the port. I was ready for the pushiness and had prepared our newbie friends as well. While they are pushy, I try to remember this is their livelihood. I am always friendly and polite when declining their offerings. We picked up a few t-shirts and trinkets and were back on the Liberty in about 45 minutes.

 

As I mentioned before we had cheers this go around. So far my husband and I had definitely broke even in the drinking department, but nothing too crazy. Well we decided today was the day, we were hitting the 15 limit. We had maybe 1 before we got off in port that morning.

 

After grabbing a quick lunch we made our way to the atrium to find our favorite bartenders. Amie and Iwan. The first night of the cruise they offered a shot at dinner called liquid marijuana. I loved it so much but I hadn't had one since. I asked Iwan if he could make it for me and so it began. I had some in shot form and some in drink form. He also suggested a tokyo tea. It is like a long island but instead of filling with coke they fill with Midori. My husband loved it, but it was not for me! The atrium was a popular place that day and a 3rd bartender Roque joined the team. He was awesome as well.

 

We spent that afternoon mingling and meeting new people in the atrium. We also were attending the super trivia, which you accumulated points at each day.

 

We decided to skip the dining room this evening. Instead we changed into swimsuits and hit the pool by the pizza. We grabbed some pizza for dinner. I had a slice or two, however; my husband had 7 slices! 7 of them! The best part was when we got off the ship and he said I can't believe I never ate pizza this week. We looked at him like he was crazy! He clearly didnt remember his pizza feast.

 

We swam for a bit and had a few more drinks. My husband and our friends capped out at 15. I just couldn't hang. I got to 11 and called it done. I like to have fun, but I'm not one to go super crazy.

 

We finished the night in the casino and headed to bed!. I was already getting sad that we only had one day left!

[jamdoll417]

Our last day. A fun day at sea!

 

I woke up feeling great (I was a little surprised). I wanted to soak up all of the fun that I could! We saw in the fun times that there would be lots of good trivia today! There was Harry Potter Trivia and Friends trivia. Now earlier in the week I had dominated at full house trivia so my friend and DH were arguing over who would win Harry Potter trivia. Most trivia had about 15 people participating. There were nearly a 100 there for this trivia, I'm not even kidding! 4 people had perfect scores. (neither my husband or friend were among them HAHA). It dwindled to 2 sisters, until only one could answer the question. I had some bitter travel mates for a little while! We played friends trivia shortly after, I got quite a few right, but no prize this time!

 

We took it fairly easy on the drinking this last day. I broke even but didnt push it too much.

 

On the finally sea day carnival does a groove for st. jude fundraiser. I absolutely love St. Jude and the opportunity it provides to families. We bought a bear and a few t-shirts to make our donation. They played a clip on the lido screen showing how the money goes towards last chemo parties and birthday parties. I was in tears! It was so great to see people coming out and being a blessing to others. My husband and I are very fortunate that we are able to take vacations, I love that we are given the opportunity to give back!

 

We had played bingo quite a bit this week and wanted to play one last time. Well I won BINGO, AGAIN! It was bag-o bingo, I had to split with 3 other people. We each walked away with $100 I think?

 

We quickly packed our bags so we could enjoy our evening.

 

We attended the sports trivia at 5 pm in the sky sports bar. They had it each night at 5, but this was the only night we made it. My husband and I had so much fun, we will definitely make sure to attend it more frequently when we are on again next month!!

 

We went to dinner in the dining room tonight to make sure we said goodbye to our head waiter and his team. I teared up a bit at the goodbye song as I always do. We hugged our new friends goodbye, and I told him we would be requesting him again in October. I truly hope he is still there!

 

This was our first try at the anytime dining, and although i was skeptical, I REALLY liked the flex time it gave us.

 

For the majority of this cruise I ate fairly healthy. But on this last day I made sure to get all of my favorites. I ended up pretty sick that night, I just overdid it with the sugar.

 

We enjoyed the casino, some last minute shopping, and listening to music in the atrium. It was the perfect ending to a great week!

[jamdoll417]

Debarking and wrap up!

 

We did self debarkation. Once we are back in port I'm ready to see my baby girl. I get pretty impatient so we always do self debark. We were off the ship VERY quickly and in our car by 8:40am EASY! Galveston is SUCH an easy port, I love it.

 

This cruise was absolutely amazing. Hands down it was the best service I have ever received of my 6 cruises. I loved the decor in the venetian lounge. I think I probably prefer the decor on the newer ships, but the Liberty was still in GREAT shape. I'm excited that she is getting a dry dock at the end of the year.

 

The only thing I disliked was the lack of the red frog pub. I wonder if she is getting that in dry dock? Besides that she was perfect. Prior to the cruise I was nervous about doing the same ship in August and again in October. However, I loved her so much and the staff! I hope my favorites will still be there in October!

 

We will be taking my 4 year old daughter and my inlaws for their first cruise! I'm excited to share my love of cruising with them!

 

I hope to do a review again with more pictures from that one! Please feel free to ask any questions!!!

 

Happy Cruising!

[ABQrobin]

Nice review!

 

I agree and so does my DH.... the Red Frog Pub is the only thing that the Liberty lacks. It needs to put it in replacing that jazz bar that sits empty all the time.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the review.