Liberty Halloween Review - LOOOOONG

[vacruizer]

Finally recovered enough to get together a review. Grab a snack - this is gonna be long:D . We'll see if anyone actually makes it to the end of this;) .

 

After over a year of waiting, we finally made it to our Liberty Halloween cruise and I am pleased to say we had a fabulous trip. We took our first cruise on the Miracle last fall and have it to thank for this cruise addiction thing now. After a disappointing 2 night cruise-to-nowhere on the Victory in June, I was wondering if I would be disappointed in the Liberty as well and if nothing would ever live up to our first cruise. This trip exceeded our expectations by a long shot and I wish I were back onboard right now!

 

The trip got off to a rocky start. For those of you who missed my frantic Friday night postings a few weeks ago – we were scheduled to fly out of Roanoke on a 6pm flight Friday night, stay at the Sleep Inn in Dania and board the ship in Fort Lauderdale the next day. I had wanted to book an earlier flight but was using my credit card points for one fare and had limited options plus the boss wanted me to work at least a half day that Friday. Two days before our trip, after a 6 month drought here, it started raining. And raining. And was still raining when we got to the airport Friday afternoon. Our flight was still listed by US Air as on time. About 5pm we went through security, walked the 30 seconds to the gate (we have a very small airport) and saw the big “DELAYED” message. By 7pm US Air told us they still didn’t know when the plane would get in from Charlotte to turn around and take us back and that there was no way we’d make our 8:15pm connection in Charlotte. The only later flights in FLL were all overbooked. All the morning flights into FLL from Charlotte were booked. They finally told me they could get me on a flight that would arrive in FLL the next day at 4pm. :eek: Our other option was to fly north instead into Philly and spend the night in the airport hoping to catch an early flight the next day to Florida.:eek:

 

I was doing my best not to have a full blown panic attack while standing in the airport at this point, and trying not to think about the fact that after over a year of waiting for this cruise we were about to not make the ship!!!! I think the lady at the counter took pity on me since the five people in front of me had yelled at her and I was actually being nice and just trying not to cry at that point. After about 20 minutes of looking at various options (MIA – booked, West Palm – couldn’t make the connection, Orlando – could fly in the morning there and rent a car but still not sure we’d have time to make the drive) she made a phone call and let us know we were now confirmed on a 6 am flight the next morning with a 45 minute connection in Charlotte and due to arrive in FLL at 9:50am. If all went well with these flights we’d make the ship. If something didn’t, well, we didn’t really want to even think about it, especially since our area tends to get very foggy in the early mornings after it rains. We called our ride to pick us back up and I called the Sleep Inn to cancel my reservation. Now I knew that we were past the cancellation deadline for the day, but it would have been nice if the guy on the phone had at least apologized before he interrupted me and said “you have to pay anyway.” Just sort of rubbed me the wrong way as had the guy I talked to earlier in the week to confirm our reservation and was told the shuttle stopped at 11pm and don’t even bother calling if it was close to that time when we arrived. So I will find another hotel the next time we are in FLL. I knew I would still be charged but thought I’d be nice and let them know we weren’t going to make it. Rudeness is never OK to me and tact and friendliness go a long way. And yes, they had billed my credit card for a night’s stay when we returned.

 

After catching a couple hours sleep we got up at 2:30am on Saturday to get everything back together and headed to the airport by the 4:30am time the agent told us. Got to the gate again only to see that evil “DELAYED” message again. It’s a good thing I have some anti-anxiety meds for when I fly because I really needed one about then!!! Luckily we were only 15 minutes delayed. Landed in Charlotte about 7:20am, grabbed our carryon and ran for our 7:45 flight on the other side of the airport. We walked up, straight onto the plane, and made it to FLL finally at 9:45am!!!! I have never been so thankful to be somewhere in my life I think! Next year I am flying early the day before if not two days before!

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We caught a cab to the port with a stop at Walgreens on the way for hubby’s Diet Mountain Dew and some duct tape to fix one of our suitcases that was ripped pretty bad. I still can’t believe all the luggage made it to the other side of the airport with the tight connection we had. Embarkation was quick and easy and we were onboard by 11:30am. Whew!! We made it!!! Since we were toting our carryons and the fire doors to the rooms were locked we just went up to the Lido, grabbed lunch at the Mongolian station (yum!), some of that great Carnival lemonade and our first ice cream of the week. At 1:30 we went to our room which still wasn’t quite ready but met our steward Skinner from Costa Rica who was more than happy to let us drop off our bags. Skinner was great all week. We never even met our steward on the Miracle and only saw our Victory steward once so Skinner was a joy. He greeted us with a smile every time we saw him all week, asked about our daily activaties. We had a long chat with him the day we were in Costa Rica and were very glad to hear that he did get a few hours shore leave in the afternoon and found out that he lived near where our excursion took us. I would love to have him as a steward again but his next contract is going to be in Alaska next summer.

 

We explored the ship some and then just relaxed on our balcony and waited for muster drill. We had room 1014 on the Panorama deck. We chose the location since we had ended up with a high and forward location on the Miracle through a guarantee the year before and loved the location. While these are not the spots to be if you are prone to motion sickness, there is very little hall traffic so far forward which makes for a quiet room. We also had a great view from our balcony of the bridge “wings” where they navigated us in and out of port.

 

We went up on deck for sailaway and then just relaxed until dinner time. I was glad I’d packed a nice outfit in the carryon since we didn’t get our bags until almost 8pm and didn’t want to go to dinner in the clothes I’d had on since 3am. We had requested the 8pm dinner but got 8:30 which was no big deal. We were seated at an 8-top table in the Golden Olympian but only one other couple ever showed up for dinner all week. We had a great time chatting with them over dinner each night and seeing them around the ship. Our wait team was Imade and Olga and they were fantastic. Imade was very good about suggesting what was good each night and had us laughing at his magic tricks all week. Olga was always nearby with water, the bread basket, and a smile. Olga was going home for vacation after our cruise so she was in great spirits. We had a long conversation with both of them one night when we were solo for dinner about life on a ship, how much they miss their family, and how they sometimes don’t know until they get to Miami what ship they will be on for their next contract. We are not big drinkers and hubby only had one drink in the dining room all week but our cocktail waitress still checked with us each night to make sure we didn’t need anything.

 

After dinner we decided to attend the Welcome Aboard show since we hadn’t been to it on either of our prior cruises. I was about to fall asleep after being up since 2:30am when the next thing I knew, hubby was being dragged up onstage for the interview and to play the “spoon game.” He was kind enough to tell the whole theater that we’d been married “forever” when Karl with a K, the CD, asked how long we’d been married. After that, we were recognized around the ship all week which was sort of odd for me – I’m a shy, stay in the background type. DH did a lot of theater in his youth so it was no big deal for him to be on stage and dance around and act silly. But we got a free bottle of champagne out of the deal. We also received a $15 off photo coupon at dinner and chocolate covered strawberries in our room. Not sure if these came from the Ocean Players Club or not – the cards just said from Carnival and we are very small-time gamblers – a few dollars a night in the slots is about it for us.

 

No midnight show.

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Well, I'm getting aggravated trying to insert the big pictures so I will just go with the small ones.

 

We finally made it!!!

 

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Sunday – at Sea

We woke Sunday to the ship rocking pretty good even though seas weren’t terribly high – just choppy. That seemed to be about what we had most of the week. Skies were overcast with some on and off rain all day. I’m not a sun worshiper so it didn’t really matter to me. We did some trivia, watched the ocean, and just relaxed some more. Tonight was formal night and the Captain’s party. I’m not sure what they put in the drink I had but after one I was so dizzy I could barely walk. It made the trip to the dining room in heels entertaining! After dinner we went to the “Singin’ with the Big Band” show with Christopher Alan Graves. If you like standards and are on a ship with this guy – do not miss this show. We can’t figure out why he has been with Carnival so long and hasn’t made it big yet, unless he’s just happy with life at sea. Mr. Graves has an incredible voice and we were sad to see his show end. I was a music major in college and can get picky with musical acts but this guy was great. Adult midnight comedy was with David Sayh – we stayed about 10 minutes and left. The jokes were just tired and not that funny. He kind of reminded us of someone who should be in Catskills.:rolleyes:

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Monday – Cozumel

I can’t say I was thrilled at the announcement of Cozumel replacing Costa Maya. Couldn’t we go to Belize? Or Roatan? We had spent a day in Cozumel last year and counted it as our least favorite port after spending the day trying to shop while fighting off very aggressive shopkeepers who called us names when we politely said “no, thank you” to their offers to browse the shops. After much reading here we decided to book a day at Playa Uvas. We were debating between Uvas and Paradise Beach but opted for Uvas as it seemed like it would be less crowded and more quiet.

Uvas may have changed our opinion of Cozumel. We arrived by cab to find Carmen welcoming us by name. For $39pp we had booked the all inclusive day pass with a snorkel tour. Carmen set us up with loungers and an umbrella and our waiter Raul introduced himself and offered us non-alcoholic drinks while we waited for the ship tour to arrive so we could join them for snorkeling. The spot is beautiful. Crystal blue water, music playing for a festive atmosphere but not too loudly, hammocks in the shade, and a pool also available. If you are looking for the perfect white sand beach, this is not for you, but for service and relaxation Uvas can’t be beat. The club and beach are small and the beach is rocky. Water shoes are a necessity – we unfortunately left ours on the ship but made do with our sandals. We were there with only one other group on the beach – it was like our own private slice of beach heaven for the day and I’m not a beach person so it takes a lot for me to say that.

An hour or so later the ship’s tour arrived and did the kayaking portion of their tour, after that we joined them for snorkeling with about 15 or 20 people. I’m fairly new at snorkeling so I don’t know if this was the best snorkeling spot but we did enjoy it and see some neat fish, coral, and freshwater caves underwater. When we arrived back at Uvas, we showered and Raul promptly offered us our choice of beverage from the included open bar and told us lunch would be served to us shortly. Those on the ship tour got a drink coupon and a fruit plate – all for double what we had paid to use the beach for the day, open bar, and lunch. We had grilled grouper for lunch served with rice and vegetables – it ranks as one of the best pieces of fish I’ve ever had. We drank a couple of Sol’s and then had Pina Colada’s for dessert – the end to a perfect tropical beach day.

We caught a cab back to the ship about 3pm (wish I had a picture of the broken speedometer with a picture of the Virgin Mary taped over it) and went to our balcony to watch the “parade” from Senor Frogs and Carlos & Charlies. We saw quite a few stumbling, falling down, and then the few that started running at 4:45 when the ship’s horn blew. We were scheduled to sail at 5 but kept hearing a page for two women over the loudspeakers. About 5:15 we noticed a port official on the far end of the pier with two women in tow. Neither appeared to be drunk – just loaded down with shopping bags and sauntering down the pier like they had all the time in the world. At one point they stopped and pointed to their watches like they were arguing about the time with another port official. Meanwhile, the ship is blowing the horn, we are late departing, and these two ladies act like they have all day. By the time they finally rounded the corner on the pier most of the ship was on their balconies or on deck yelling, applauding and cheering at these two. I’m certainly glad it wasn’t me on that walk of shame but it was some of the best entertainment of the week! I don’t think I could have left my cabin for the rest of the week had it been me.

Show that night was Glenn Miller with comedy-hypnosis – before dinner for late dinner seating guests. We had seen him on the Miracle last year and thought he was a hoot and were looking forward to him doing an adult midnight show at some point but there never was one. After dinner was the pub crawl/Mexican deck party. Lots of fun but not quite as good as the bathrobe deck party we had on the Miracle. This one was mostly focused on the whole Red, White, & Blue colors thing. Music Society played at the deck party and we had high hopes for them. Wish I could say they were better but they were truly awful at the whole cover band thing. I’ve seen a few videos here of various other of the “Music Whatever” bands and these guys just didn’t have it together.

No midnight show this night since it was the deck party.

 

 

 

[cathyoo]

Wonderful review... keep it coming.. I loved the Liberty.

[Charming01]

Great review so far - can't wait for the rest.;)

[vacruizer]

Thanks! More to come after work tonight :) .

[carnivalkim]

Great review now I have something to look forward to...:D

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Tuesday – at Sea

We noticed the ship seemed to be going much faster after we left Cozumel Monday night and the waves were pretty choppy. Most of the ship seemed to take it in stride although I did see a lot of people wearing the patches behind their ear. I avoided the public restrooms after I walked into one on the Lido where there were women sick all over – hanging over sinks, the trashcan – just not looking like they were having fun at all. I seem to be blessed with not being affected by the motion so I count myself lucky. The captain gave his lunchtime weather report and told us we had been trying to outrun the waves caused by Hurricane Noel (even though we weren’t near the storm we still got waves associated with it) and that things would soon calm down.

We did some more trivia games in hopes of winning the elusive “ship on a stick” but kept coming in second. This was our trend for the week. The Newlywed Game was another one we had never attended so we went to this and laughed ourselves silly. The couple who won had been married 54 years and got every answer right.

The main pool was closed all day for maintenance which probably upset a few people but we had plenty else to do. We actually used the hot tub in the spa once and never made it into a pool or the waterslide all week. After dinner was the “Wonderful World” show which was typical Carnival show fare. DH likes the showgirls and their outfits :p as well as being an old theatre person so we usually attend all the production shows.

No midnight show.

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Wednesday – Halloween and Costa Rica

Wow. I love Costa Rica. I want to go back and do some extensive touring there. The mountains are gorgeous. We docked next to a Holland America ship and were amazed at the view – especially when we realized that the dark gray above the clouds wasn’t more clouds – it was high mountain peaks. We wanted to hike in the rain forest and couldn’t find an independent tour offering what we wanted so we took the “Nature and Tradition at Bocuare Haven” through the ship. We were very pleased with the tour. We had a group of only about 18 people and a very knowledgeable and friendly guide. He was a bird guy but also knew a lot about the plants and animals of the region as well. We drove about an hour down the coast and then another 20 minutes or so into the hills. The scenery was gorgeous.

We arrived at Bocuare and did a very leisurely hike while our guide pointed out various wildlife and set up his scope for some interesting birds. The one thing that scared me about this tour was the hanging bridges mentioned in the description. They were nothing to worry about as they were very stable and low over the water – not high in a gorge like I had pictured them. At the end of our hike we boarded a tractor driven wagon and were driven to a high point on the ranch where we relaxed under a nice pavilion with tables/chairs and hammocks and enjoyed the view along with fresh squeezed pineapple juice. I could have had a gallon of that stuff. We then took the wagon back down to a hand crank sugar cane press where we pressed sugar cane and got to try the juice. Way too sweet for me but was neat to try. We took a short walk back to the main pavilion on the property where we then made our own tortillas as an appetizer. Lunch was served to us – chicken with veggies and red beans and rice cooked in coconut milk. It was a great meal and came with more of that yummy pineapple juice. One of the girls (maybe the daughter of the family that owns the ranch?) danced a few folk dances for us before we left. All in all – an incredible day and way more than we expected from a ship tour. The staff was gracious, friendly, and welcoming to us. The thing I noticed most about Costa Rica was the pride the citizens have in their country. We heard several people back on the ship complaining about how poor Costa Rica was – we really didn’t see it that way. Most of the people we saw lived in small, well cared for houses, we saw lots of children going to school in their uniforms, and everyone seemed to have a smile on their face. But I also don’t necessarily equate lack of electricity and modern conveniences with horrible conditions. There are still a few people here in Western Virginia that live that way even today – some by choice and some not.

Back at the pier I bought some coffee (Café Quetzal at the first booth inside the market) and wish I’d brought home a whole suitcase of the stuff. I may need another trip to Costa Rica to replenish my coffee supply! Tonight was the Halloween party so we went back to our room to get showered and put our costume together. We were looking for something easy to pack so we went as a clothesline with some odd sized underwear on it. We had fun just walking around the ship and watching peoples reactions as we’d go past them. Did the costume contest in the theatre and called it a night since Panama was an early port call the next day. There were some decorations around the ship but no haunted house or anything of that sort.

There was a vocalist featured earlier in the evening but we didn’t attend due to the Halloween festivities. No midnight show again.

 

 

 

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Thursday – Panama

We also opted for a ship tour in Panama – the Two Oceans by Railroad excursion. We considered a tour with My Friend Mario but read a few too many reports of being late back to the ship and didn’t want to take the chance. The tour was expensive but worth it. Colon was the first port I’ve been to that I felt really lived up to the dirty, ugly, third world reputation I’ve read about. This is not a place you want to venture around by yourself. My DH said it reminded him of pictures he’d seen of inner city Detroit in the 70s. Very rundown tenement buildings, trash everywhere, and a pretty rough looking crowd of people.

We boarded a bus just off the ship for the short ride to the train station. Our guide was Ana Maria and she was great. The ride to the station was interesting to say the least – general traffic rules in Panama seem to be nonexistent. Ana Maria told us that instead of stopping at a stop sign, you close your eyes, lay on the horn, and go. It looked to us like the biggest vehicle wins. We saw lots of the “Red Devils” – old American school busses decorated for a yearly contest and blaring salsa music. They were pretty neat and added some local flavor to the trip.

The train was a great, relaxing experience. Amtrak could take lessons from these guys. The train cars are restored with nice wood paneling and comfy seats with tables and chairs. There are “train girls” who serve complimentary coffee on the way and also sell sodas and snacks – these are college students majoring in tourism according to our guide. If you are set on seeing the whole Panama Canal – this is not for you – but if you want a relaxing train trip with some beautiful scenery along the way then go for it.

When we reached the train station outside of Panama City we boarded busses and unfortunately didn’t get on the bus with Ana Maria still as our guide. Our guide for this portion of the tour was ok, but her accent was harder to understand and she kind of reminded us of Charro – both in looks and corny jokes. She just wasn’t quite as informative but was still good. We took a bus to the Miraflores locks where we were told to use the restroom, browse the gift shop, and go to the theatre for a video. It was crowded in the visitor center so we popped out onto the observation deck out back just in time to see the gates closing on the lock with a large container ship in it. This was a highlight of the trip for me – just to see the Panama Canal at work was really a great experience. The locks filled much quicker than I expected and about 10 minutes later the train mules were pulling the ship out of the lock. I think most people in our group missed it while they were milling around inside waiting for the movie, though.

After this stop we took the bus for brief photo stops with the Bridge of the Americas in the background and another one at Fort Amador to see the Pacific Ocean and the skyline of Panama City. We definitely noticed the contrast in living conditions between the wealthy areas around Panama City and the yachts at Ft. Amador and the downtrodden conditions of Colon. We made our way back to the bus for a short ride back to the train station and the train ride back to Colon. There is a light (and I do mean light) snack served on the way back. If you need to eat on a regular schedule this is a good tour to bring some granola bars or cereal on with you since you will not have lunch until you are back at the ship around 2pm. (Remember – only pre-packaged food can be taken off the ship!!! Please don’t take the chance at destroying the ecosystem in these places! Ok – PSA over now but I just read an msnbc.com article that advocated taking sandwiches into port to save money.)

Back on the ship we had lunch and hung out on the balcony. We departed about an hour late due to the Canal ferry tours and Panama City tour coming back late. As we sailed we caught some great pics of the sunset over the ships anchored just outside the Atlantic entrance to the Canal. The sit and wait there until it is their turn for Canal space – sometimes for weeks at a time.

Tonight’s show was a 10:30pm “one show only” listed as comedy with Greg Ray. Greg Ray did about 15 minutes followed by our cruise director Karl with a K doing singer impersonations for another 20 minutes. Greg Ray said he would be doing the R rated comedy the following night but that his act was not R rated. We got the impression maybe that an act hadn’t made it to the ship and they were just trying to cobble something together maybe?

There was also an early show with the Liberty Dancers in the Victoria lounge. This was ok but wouldn’t go out of my way for it again – canned music and looked like just an excuse for some low cost entertainment to fill in the gaps. This was the night we discovered “happy hour” in the various promenade bars. Drinks are cheap from 7-8:30 and we were sorry we didn’t figure that out sooner. So we hung out in the disco for 70s/80s night and had a couple of drinks. This was also the night I discovered the “Miami Vice.” :D No midnight show again.:(

 

 

 

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Friday – at Sea

I really loved the four sea days on this itinerary. We had another full day to enjoy the ship without worrying about packing up just yet. We did some more trivia and just enjoyed the ship. The walk for the Susan G. Komen foundation was at 4pm. For a $10 donation you got a t-shirt and pink wristband and participated in a 1 mile walk. The winds were too strong to hold it on the jogging track so they held it down on deck four by the lifeboats. It was really moving to hear the applause when the breast cancer survivors were asked to come forward to lead the walk.

This was the second formal night although about half the crowd was just dressed in their normal dinner attire and not formal. Rock Down Broadway was the show – also typical Carnival show fare. We were too tired to go to the midnight comedy and didn’t think he was all that funny in the 15 minutes we saw the night before so we went to take pictures of the “Gala” buffet and crashed. I was surprised how small this buffet was and you couldn’t really take pictures since it was held in the Lido where everything was behind the glass barriers. The food wasn’t all that appetizing looking – I just appreciate the artwork and they really hadn’t done much compared to what we saw on the Miracle and pics I’ve seen posted here by others. We did hang out in the disco for a while for the Reggae/Soca happy hour and then again later and had fun watching a group of Latin Americans on our cruise dance. We had a great time just hanging out but were too chicken about our dancing skills (or lack thereof) to actually get out on the dance floor!

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Saturday – at Sea

Well, the last day is kind of depressing knowing that your vacation is almost over. Did more trivia of course and finally won our first “ship on a stick” playing “Sea Feud.” We also attended a chat at the coffee bar with “Karl with a K” that was an informal chat about ship life where people could ask questions about the ship, crew, etc. It was really informative and interesting and I was surprised that only about 25 people showed up. Prior to this cruise I kept wondering what the big deal with cruise directors was. I found out on this trip. Karl was absolutely phenomenal. Even though he’s a fairly new cruise director – he kept us entertained, informed, and seemed to be everywhere around the ship. My prior experience with cruise directors had been hearing them over the intercom and maybe introducing a show or two. Sure his jokes are corny and the same old jokes but Karl has the personality to go with it. We were also surprised that after DH’s first night onstage at the welcome aboard show, Karl called us by name every time he saw us all week. Also, Lawrence the social host was lots of fun at trivia, horseracing, and other silly ship events. He will probably be a cruise director one of these days.

We spent the late afternoon packing everything and went to our last dinner. We skipped the Legends show and hung out in the Disco again for a little while –mainly because we wanted to give Julia, one of the waitresses an extra tip. Like I said earlier, we are not big drinkers and maybe ordered 5 or 6 drinks all week in the disco, but Julia waited on us the first time and after that remembered us, our drink orders, and our folio number every time we came in. She always greeted us with a huge smile and was quick to get us drinks and not at all upset if we weren’t drinking then.

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Sunday – Debarkation

We had # 10 on the new numbering system. Everything went fairly well except there were plenty of people who just didn’t bother waiting for their number to be called so it took about an hour to get off the ship once we were called and to make it through customs. But we were at the airport around 10:30 for a 1pm flight and made it home only about 45 minutes later than scheduled, albeit with one very damaged bag that US Air now has to see if they can “repair.” Not sure how that will work since they managed to pull half the metal frame out of the bag somehow.

General Observations

Here’s where I’ll address a few minor issues along with some general info. Nothing cruise ruining by any stretch of the imagination, but just for info and things that could be improved on.

Cabin – balcony 1014 on the Panorama deck. Great, quiet location, spacious, and always clean.

Crew – I’ve mentioned them all before but our room steward Skinner, Imade and Olga in the dining room, Julia in the Disco, and CD Karl with a K all made our trip that much more special with their smiles and friendly attitudes.

Décor – a little more subdued on this ship than some of the others. Check out the color changing chandeliers all over and the big one in the atrium. It’s mesmerizing to sit and watch the colors change. The atrium is really a beautiful spot. The ship always seemed to have a comfortable vibe to it with plenty of chairs available most anywhere you wanted to stop and just watch the sea or enjoy some of the entertainment.

Layout – even knowing the tricks to what decks go all the way through – convoluted is a good way to describe it. I found out the hard way on one of our rainy mornings that there’s no good covered way to get to the Lido buffet for coffee without going down two floors to deck 8, back to the aft, and then back up to the Lido. We always got around ok – you just had to think about it first. “Ok, we are on deck 10 forward and need to go to trivia in the Cabinet on deck 4 aft. Take stairs down to five, travel the ship, then take aft stairs down to 4.” No big deal – just required some planning and thinking to get where you needed to go.

The internet café access being through the cigar bar is just poor design. And warning to non-smokers – the casino smoke is ridiculous. Even though the promenade, half the casino bar, and a few slots are now non-smoking, the cloud assaulted us anytime we got near the place. About 30 minutes in the casino was all we could take – and we are smokers so you know it is BAD. I usually had to go immediately shower to get rid of the stale smoke smell. There has got to be a better way to ventilate that area. Smoking areas were clearly listed in the Capers and marked as well - the only public places smoking is allowed now are the disco, piano bar, casino, cigar bar, and the starboard side of open decks. We were actually glad to see that there was no smoking in the atrium or on the aft pool deck like the Victory had. We know it's an obnoxious habit and those spots are way too publicly traveled to be smoking areas so that was a good decision on Carnival's part.

Entertainment – Overall good but it does seem like Carnival is starting to cut corners to save on the budget here and there. We enjoyed the production shows. Summer Breeze played evenings in the atrium and they were fantastic. The female singer has an incredible voice. Did not hang out in the piano bar but walked by a few times and he was pretty good. We thought that the Calypso band on deck and Music Society were both pretty bad. The string trio in the atrium was also very good along with a pianist there in the evenings. Our biggest disappointment in the entertainment was the lack of comedy/variety acts – especially the R rated adult shows. I checked my Capers from last year’s Miracle trip and we had several comedians, R rated midnight shows almost every night, the hypnotist and a juggling act along with the production shows. Not sure if this sailing was just a fluke or if they are trying to cut costs. But we were surprised there were only 2 midnight shows on an 8 night, 4 sea day cruise where people would be more likely to stay up late since they could sleep in on all those sea days. We enjoy the comedians usually and there were really only two all week – the one who just did a late night show and the one who just did the 15 minute act along with an R rated show he said wasn’t R rated. I still wonder if one of their acts didn’t make it and this guy had to move his act to fill the midnight slot the next night. Or was it budget cuts? We never really did any of the on deck movies. The times conflicted with our dinner and the picture quality wasn’t great – the screen seems to need some adjustments or repairs.

Fellow Passengers – 90% wonderful, 10% - what rock did you crawl out from under??? These folks were in the minority but I saw it all. Pushing and cutting in the buffet lines, picking up food with hands and then putting it back:eek: :eek: , the scooter brigade was out in force (ladies, watch your toes if you are in sandals for dinner!!!) and they had no regard for anyone who might be in their path. Did see an infant in diapers in the pool by the waterslide along with some kids in the adult hot tubs on occasion. Two tables over from us at dinner arrived 45 minutes late for the 8:30pm seating each night with a screaming baby in tow, everyone in shorts, kids in baseball hats, and never once took the baby outside. Not trying to start a dress code debate – just an observation and personal opinion that you should teach your children where it’s appropriate to dress up or not. I also noticed several times that people in shorts made sure they went to the rear entrance of the Golden Olympian where the maitre’d wasn’t stationed and they walked right in – there was no one there to stop them. There were also several groups onboard with us and I’m glad to report no major problems. The BGL (black gay and lesbian) group was an absolute joy – great people who were kind, friendly, and polite not matter where we saw them. We also had a small group of the “Hashers” onboard. They mostly kept to themselves on the ship but we did have a few on an excursion and found them rude and annoying but nothing I couldn’t just ignore. I don’t think I’d want to sail with a large group of them, though – they seem like they could get out of hand in large numbers. I’m sure they have plenty of members who aren’t like that but I saw enough to know that I don’t want to be in a situation where there would be several hundred of them.

Food – Dining room was very good, although some of the selections on the new menus just don’t sound all that appetizing. (Duck liver sauce on your chicken, anyone?) All the appetizers and entrees were well prepared. The Tiramisu was excellent. Our tablemates asked the maitre’d when he visited our table if there would be Crème Brulee again on the menu – after that our whole table was served warm, fresh baked, Crème Brulee each night along with the desserts we ordered. What a great gesture on the part of the Maitre’d. He was also the first Maitre’d I’d actually seen go around and talk to the tables. Dh loved the chocolate melting cake. I still haven’t managed to order one because there’s always some other yummy looking thing I want to try and I just can’t do two! There are only two non-diet desserts offered each night now, along with the melting cake. The buffet was not so great. I wish I could say it was better. Mongolian, burgers/hot dogs, and pizza were all excellent, but the regular lunch buffet food was mostly really bad. Several times I sampled a few items that looked good and ended up getting a burger instead. Most items were cold, bland, or just oddly seasoned. One bite was usually enough. We never made it to the deli but did have fish and chips one day which was also very good. Breakfast buffets were pretty good and also the couple of breakfasts we had in the dining room were good. The French Toast in the dining room was excellent.

Overall we had a fantastic cruise, great ports, and great crew. The ship is beautiful and also very clean with crew members cleaning everywhere we went. It really started to feel like home after just a few days. We can’t wait to be back on board next July for our CC group cruise where we are celebrating our 10th anniversary while onboard.

[vacruizer]

Well, I think that's it. If anyone actually made it this far :D and has any questions, let me know.

[Donna573]

Your review was very entertaining...thank you. It sounds like you had a great time and those are the kind of reviews we like :) My DH and I will be on the Liberty in just about 2 weeks and I can hardly wait. Oddly enough, we are also booked in cabin 1014. I was really unsure about the location at first, being the gym/weights are located fairly close above us, but after reading your review, I feel much better. Unfortunately, my night-owl days are over, so just the thought of hearing weights hitting the floor above me at 6 am, was pretty scary! :eek: Now, I just have to pray for smooth seas so we are not bouncing all over the place.

[nybumpkin]

Thanks for a great review - and thanks for taking me back to my Liberty sailing in February!

 

I wish they'd come up with something different for the Internet cafe as well. I'm not a smoker, but DH enjoys a cigar every now and then, and we do go to the cigar bar at night because we like the jazz trios that are usually playing there - and I hate the looks from the folks trying to get to the Internet cafe. (Hint to those who want to get to the Internet cafe without going through the cigar bar: there is a stairway from the Promenade deck (I think near the coffee bar) down to deck 4 that will take you to the Internet cafe without going through the cigar bar.)

[vacruizer]

Your review was very entertaining...thank you. It sounds like you had a great time and those are the kind of reviews we like :) My DH and I will be on the Liberty in just about 2 weeks and I can hardly wait. Oddly enough, we are also booked in cabin 1014. I was really unsure about the location at first, being the gym/weights are located fairly close above us, but after reading your review, I feel much better. Unfortunately, my night-owl days are over, so just the thought of hearing weights hitting the floor above me at 6 am, was pretty scary! :eek: Now, I just have to pray for smooth seas so we are not bouncing all over the place.

 

If you have Skinner as a steward tell him the couple from that room on the Halloween trip says Hi!!! He was really great and sooo friendly.

 

Our first morning we woke up about 7:30 to the most awful noise - it sounded like someone running on a treadmill above my head and we thought we'd made a terrible mistake with the room selection. But it was just as loud on the balcony and in the hall. We later discovered that they were running some cleaning equipment above us and we never heard any more noise after that so I don't think you'll have any problems.

 

I'm one of those odd people that really likes the motion. We mostly had side-to-side rolling since the seas were more choppy and not that high. The last night we did get into a pretty good up and down motion late - all the stuff actually fell off our bathroom shelves. DH slept through it and i sat on the balcony and enjoyed the ride.:D

[bills blasters]

Great review. WE will be doing the same trip soon.

Did you go to the outside theatre at all? If so, can you remember any of the movies they were showing.

We have been to Costa Rica before, and also think it is a wonderful, beautiful country. Would love to go back and spend more time than a cruise ship allows.

Glad you had a great trip.

[Donna573]

If you have Skinner as a steward tell him the couple from that room on the Halloween trip says Hi!!! He was really great and sooo friendly.

 

Our first morning we woke up about 7:30 to the most awful noise - it sounded like someone running on a treadmill above my head and we thought we'd made a terrible mistake with the room selection. But it was just as loud on the balcony and in the hall. We later discovered that they were running some cleaning equipment above us and we never heard any more noise after that so I don't think you'll have any problems.

 

I'm one of those odd people that really likes the motion. We mostly had side-to-side rolling since the seas were more choppy and not that high. The last night we did get into a pretty good up and down motion late - all the stuff actually fell off our bathroom shelves. DH slept through it and i sat on the balcony and enjoyed the ride.:D

 

Just one more quick question.......was there a secret door a few cabin doors away? I thought I read about it in another post, but I could be mistaken.

 

Thanks again - - only 16 (very long) days to go.........

[vacruizer]

We didn't really watch any movies but did see bits and pieces walking through the Lido. What I remember is Wizard of Oz, The Prestige, Happy Feet, Talldedega Nights, and Casino Royale. Our dinner time seemed to conflict with the showings and I'm one of those people that's bugged by a bad picture and the big screen needed some help - it had big blotchy squares all over the picture. The rest of the time they either showed pictures of windsurfing and stuff, Karl's morning show, or concerts (Earth, Wind & Fire, Bee Gees, Pavarotti.)

 

Yes - the "secret door" was just down from the cabin. If you wanted a front view instead of the side view from the balcony we could just pop out there for a while. I only saw other people out there once, but it was windy and rainy for a fair bit of the trip.

[CinWin]

Really enjoyed reading your excellent review cause you covered everything. We are sailing on the Liberty in January but doing the Eastern itinerary's 8-nt. cruise. We heard that Karl with the K won't be the Cruise Director when we sail. We remember him when he was just an entertainment staff member when we were on another Carnival ship. We had a lot of fun with him and would have loved to have met up with him again.

Cindy

[deborahjo]

Loved your review. We just did the Eastern and Loved the Liberty. Karl with a K and the Casino bar guy were great. There was a couple that play romantic music in the lobby every night from 10 to midnight. Hope you saw them they were awesome.

[lsp]

I am curious, what is a hasher?

 

Linda