LIBERTY Review 4/9 - 4/16 Western CARIBBEAN

[FcapAcap]

Just Back from the Liberty 4/9/06 - 6 day sailing of western Caribbean with stops at Freeport Bahamas, Grand Cayman and Costa Maya.

This was mine and my wife’s first cruise. I’m 28yrs old and she is 26 years old.

DAY 1

Started off embarkment on Sat 4/9. Tickets said that boarding should start at 1:30 but I got to the pier at 11:30. Checked my luggage and went on line to go in this warehouse like building. Waited on this line for about ten minutes when we started boarding, I would say there was about 100- 150 people a head of me on line but this process went so smoothly. They take your welcome aboard photo then you go to this check in counter in the warehouse. I had all my papers ready and filled out (sail and sign sheet, customs sheet for Bahamas) and because of this we flew through this process while I saw others stuck filling out the papers.

This is where you get your sail and sign cards. All in all this process took shorter then expected and my wife and I were on the Liberty by 12:00.

They told us that our rooms would not be ready until 1:30 but no problem at 12:00 we got on the ship and entered through the Lobby (Floor 3) I was Happy to find that they had a table set up for reservations for Harry’s the Supper Club. We made reservations and then headed up to the dining room because we were signed up for the earliest seating at dinner by mistake when we wanted the latest. A Carnival rep fixed this problem with no hassle and so next we went to deck 9 the Lido deck to Get some Food! The buffet was open and we ate Lunch and got some Drinks. They were selling a soda card for unlimited soda but because of the boards I knew that iced tea, lemon aid, and fruit punch were given for free and I passed on the card. This was good enough and I think my wife and I only bought 4-5 sodas the whole cruise at about $2 each.

Before we knew it, it was 1:30 and we went to our room which was on the Lido Deck also.

I think if you’re going to stay on this ship then you should try to get a room on the Lido deck. This deck includes the pool, the slide, the all night pizza place, the jumbo tron – This is the deck if you’re the pool and tan lover. It is very nice to be on this deck we could get from our room to food or the pool in less than 2 minutes. Our room was room 9218 with a balcony (booked guaranteed balcony for $1810, for two people through American Express Travel) The room was great. Larger then I expected with plenty of space and draws, closets for two people. Room had a safe that works on a magnetic strip- I had read this on CC and I brought an old used up gift card to act as my safe key. Room also had a mini bar which I easily fit 5-6 bottle cans of my own. The bathroom was bigger then I expected also and it had 6 shelves to keep personal effects on. Shower was a little tight but OK. They give you free dove shampoo and dove green tea and cucumber body wash in the shower. Wife told me it was the best I have ever smelt! Because of these boards I took an extension cord because I knew there was only one plug in the room and this is something everyone should bring. In the room they have two robes for you and two very nice beach towels which we brought with us to each port. They also have a hair dryer.

Our bags reached the rooms by 2:00 and we unpacked We have very large suit cases but they fit very easily under the bed

The first night, just like the next five, we went to eat dinner at the silver dining room. The boat has two dining rooms the silver and the gold. The wait staff was great and the food was also good. They did not have pasta on the menu a couple of nights and my wife and I asked for it and got it. Also one night I did not like anything on the menu so I asked for steak and they made a nice filet. There is also a lot of talk on CC about dress at the dining hall. Formal night should be a suit, tie or tux. But the rest of the days jeans, kakis and a collared shirt will be fine. I saw many people wearing jeans (including myself) and a collred shirt. To tell you the truth with all the big deal this is a cruise critic boards don’t sweat it wear what you want but look nice and jeans are fine.

Next was bingo, We played a lot of Bingo through out the cruise they sold single cards for $10 or a card that contained 3 boards for $20 This was one of the few things on the cruise that you could pay cash for.

After bingo we watched the shows throughout the week some were good some were ok

We found that the shows containing the cruise Director John Heald were the best. This man is very funny and makes the experience on the boat 100x better. Go to all his shows and talks.

Late After the shows we would catch a movie on the TV in our room they played 2 new moves each day throughout the day on 2 channels. Examples of the movies were WALK THE LINE, JUST FRIENDS, BEWITCHED, BATMAN BEGINS – all some what new releases.

DAY 2

Day 2 we were in FREEPORT Bahamas. They have a pier and the ship docks. We took a cab from the pier to the Port St Lucerne beach. (JUST ASK FOR THE SHERIDIAN HOTEL) $5 per person. Now the weather was bad- overcast. But I thought that if it was nicer out then FREEPORT would have been great. I read a lot on these boards that people don’t leave the boat at Freeport and that there was nothing to do- But I disagree. The beach was beautiful- and I would have loved to spend the day there. They have a Casino right there near the beach. And if the weather is bad like it was for us they have the Port Lucerne marketplace with places to eat and shop. A very nice day.

Today on the boat they played a Billy Joel concert on the large outside TV. Great call- the wife and I sat under the stars and watched it.

Day 3

Today was a full day on the ship, Went to pool all day- I got up at 5:00 am the get seats for the wife and I at the pool STILL DARK OUT I was not the 1st person, but had my choice of seats. Later in the week on our next day at sea I would get up at 6:30 to find no seats left- none at all! At the pool they had lots of entertainment all week – The TV, A Band playing. Ice sculpting, , hairy chest competition

Went to the casino also. The casino has all the regular table games – let it ride, poker, bJ, roulette. They held BJ and Slot tournaments daily for a $20 entry fee winner take $500, One guy Hit the slots for $50,000 – not me between this place and bingo I lost my shirt. You can use your sail and sign card to buy chips so be careful.

Lets talk about food They had many places to eat if you did not choose the dining hall

Pizza place – OK pizza the calzones (10 min wait) were great and I got them often- open 24/7

Deli- choices of hot or cold heroes. This was also good

Chinese food place- Food was ok liked the fried rice

Grill- Great hamburgers and FF also had grilled chicken and steak sandwiches- very good

The buffet – good mix of foods every day had a different theme one day was French. One Mexican, one Caribbean, one India – but if you did not want that type of food then they always had a stir fry station which you could get a chicken, calamari, or pork stir fry. I would mix this with the rice from the Chinese food place for a great stir fry

Was disappointed with the chocolate buffet which the had one day. No chocolate pudding, brownies, cookies, covered strawberries or shakes- you see the Jordin Café – a coffee shop on the boat which you must pay extra for had these items and they wanted you to pay for them, there not get them free at the buffet.

Did however like the midnight Mexican Buffet Tacos Nachos very good

On the last night we ate at HARRY’s supper club. A steakhouse in which they charge $30 per person to eat at. Everyone please do this at least once. This steakhouse rivals MORTONS or Delmoicos for only $60 total I left $15 tip so $75 Dress very Nice- No jeans here.

In all I gained 9 pounds on this trip so be prepared to eat

DAY 4

Grand Cayman- you must tender to port that means take a small boat from the Liberty. Process was easy we got to the meeting place on the boat early and got the first tender- Do this if you have a tour outside of carnival to make. Also you get the best pictures of the liberty when you leave on the tender so sit in the back and have your camera ready.

At GC I set up a snorkel stingray tour through SOTO. $30 per person This tour was great lasted from 9-12. I recommend that you book the stingray tour outside of carnival- less packed and also these guys jumped in the water with you and grabbed the stingrays. This was wild I got to hold one and took lots of pictures- make sure you bring a water camera-

After the stingrays the people at Soto dropped us off at 7 mile beach. We got some sun. Drinks as are everything else are very expensive in GC. A tap beer and a mudslide cost me $18 US. $1 US equals to $1.25 GC currency. Beach was very nice 91 degrees out - we paid $5 each for beach chairs.

We took a bus from the beach back to port for $4 each

They we still had time so we shopped and went to Senior Frogs for drinks and Lunch. Senior Frogs is only 2 blocks from port –easy walking distance bill came to $52

DAY 5

Arrived in port at Costa Maya Mexico Right away you could see how beautiful this Jem was. We docked and they have a beautiful port. Large pool, great shops. But don’t spend the day there. From the CC message boards I learned about the town of Maluhal . We took a bus from port there for $3 each. This is an old school Mexican town right on the most beautiful beach you will ever see. The people on CC message boards recommended a bar called Pez Quadro at the end of town.( the very end left side) (The bar seats are swings) ask the locals that are trying to get you to buy stuff they know where its at. It’s a little walk but well worth it – rented chairs there for $5 each. Beers Dos Equis were only $2 each They are $3.50 at port - I would drink the beers you don’t want anything with ice. Had a great time. Had Lunch there, a true Mexican lunch. I even saw a lot of the crew from the ship come there throughout the day. That’s how you know its good.

Don’t sign up for and beach break they try to sell you on the boat the beers are only $2 each why pay $30 for all you can drink Just go to Maluhal on your own and go to Pez Quadro

Now some people we later talked to said they went to a beach about 30min away- Maluhal is only 5min away make sure this is the place your going when you get on the bus.

The locals wanted you to buy there stuff but they were very nice and not pushy and a simple no thank you was good enough and they would leave us a lone. If you want something bargain a bracelet for my wife started out at $25 got it for $5

Costa Maya was by far the best port Cheap and Beautiful if you love the beach, shopping this place is for you.

When I got back to the ship I took part in a 70’s disco dance class -lots of fun- and they had different activities like this throughout the week

DAY 6 Day at SEA

Day 7 Debarkation- I recommend that if possible you carry you luggage off the ship. For people carrying luggage you can start leaving at 6:30-8:30 am they call out random floor by floor. For those who cannot carry you luggage you must wait until 8:30 on. I was off the boat in 10 minutes from the time they called our floor at 7:00 well worth it. You beat the hassle of many cruise ships unloading at once and you get a head start.

All in all the Liberty was beautiful and well taken care of. It was polished and cleaned up and down every day. It truly was a great ship in every way. I could not believe after this week that people give this ship and the crew and the food negative reviews. Those people will never be pleased

This was mine and my wife’s 1st cruise and Carnival impressed me. I really do believe that we will be on a cruise every year now I rate this cruise a 10 out of 10. Please enjoy this boat. Trips are what you make of them and on this boat carnival does everything it can to make it great

[crazidude1400]

Was there really fried rice??? I am so excited. On the Destiny, they only had white rice. What is in the fried rice? Can you request what to have and not have in in? I love fried rice. (like you couldn't tell)

[FcapAcap]

Was there really fried rice??? I am so excited. On the Destiny, they only had white rice. What is in the fried rice? Can you request what to have and not have in in? I love fried rice. (like you couldn't tell)

 

 

 

Yes Fried rice- had different kind each day

I had Three

egg

shrimp

vegetable

[crazidude1400]

I also wanted to ask if you thought the buffet lines were big? What cabin number did you have, and did you hear noise/vibrations. Was there enough to do on days at sea? Would you say reservations at Harry's fill out within the first night?

 

Thanks

[cruisenk]

I think if you’re going to stay on this ship then you should try to get a room on the Lido deck. This deck includes the pool, the slide, the all night pizza place, the jumbo tron – This is the deck if you’re the pool and tan lover. It is very nice to be on this deck we could get from our room to food or the pool in less than 2 minutes. Our room was room 9218 with a balcony

 

Thanks for the review. We were on the Liberty last month and also had a great time. We were in 9222 and 9226 - I think we would have been next door to you. It was a very convenient location and had easy access to everything the ship has to offer.

[woodman]

Great review it sounds like you had a great time. We have a cruise booked for next April on the Liberty an 8 day Eastern tour. Now I am even more anxious to be on the Liberty.

[FcapAcap]

I also wanted to ask if you thought the buffet lines were big? What cabin number did you have, and did you hear noise/vibrations. Was there enough to do on days at sea? Would you say reservations at Harry's fill out within the first night?

 

Thanks

 

 

Buffet Lines not bad at all. Waited at the grill and pizza place maybe 5-10 mins at most. Had Cabin 9218. Thought ride was smooth, but its a boat. I read people complain about movement noise vibration ect but its going to happen any where on the ship. I had those motion braclets and they worked great. I bought them at walmart. Days at sea- I like to get sun and lay by the pool, but plenty to do if you don't - shows, bingo, dance classes, slot tournaments. Harrys will fill out by the first night and if not room will not last past the second day. Make reservation as soon as you get on ship the have table set up in lobby

[crazidude1400]

Thank you. You have been quite informative.

[HLW]

Hi!

 

We were on your cruise, cabin 1025. We had a great time. Just wanted to add that we did not use self-assist and still had such an easy time getting off the ship. We were off the ship, collected our luggage, and at the airport in 45 minutes. We had no lines at all. If you have an early flight, I think self-assist is the way to go. But if you have an afternoon flight (ours was at 1:40) don't bother...it's just as easy to get off the ship not using self-assist, and we still had over a 2 hour wait at the airport.

 

About finding chairs on days at sea, we were always lucky enough to find chairs on the 11 or 12th deck to the side. We never got up very early (one day we overslept until 10!) or saved seats. I think it's a good idea, but it's not impossible to find a seat if you don't, unless you want to be in a "specific" area of the ship. From the top side decks, you can still see the main area and big screen down below and still be in the sun.

 

Of course, maybe we're just lucky.....:)