Carnival liberty 11-08 - excursions and other comments of week on board

[soon to be mrs. k]

We had a family reunion, and also celebrated the wedding of my sister, on board the Carnival Liberty. I’ve posted the Wedding Review on the Honeymoon and Wedding Forum.

 

This post will cover our excursions that we did on own in Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios. Also I will include other highlights on board the ship as well. There have been other reviews of the ship’s interiors so will not include here. But feel free to ask questions.

 

Cozumel – Monday 8 AM – 10 PM – Weather was very warm, sunshine, blue skies. I’ve been in Cozumel before, and also lived and travelled in Mexico extensively. I am not fluent in Spanish, but could read and speak a bit. I decided not to do any ship sponsored excursion. My family members wanted to see Tulum, so I was designated as the “tour guide”. We got off the ship around 7:20 AM (Cozumel time, which is one hour behind ship’s time, always set your watch to ship time), walked about 10 minutes to get the taxi to the ferry terminal. The ship docked at the new terminal, Puerto Maya, which recently opened up after being destroyed by a hurricane 3 years ago. Lots of shopping places and places to eat and drink at this terminal. The taxi was about $2 USD/pp, there were about 13 of us, 4 taxis, and the ride to the ferry was about 15 minutes. The ferry’s departure time was 8 A.M, cost $12 USD/pp, and ferry ride was about 45 minutes to Playa del Carmen. Rough ride, thankfully no one got sick, but we all looked “green” and queasy. We didn’t buy a round trip ferry ticket, there were 2 ferry companies, and we didn’t want to wait for a particular ferry to get us back from Playa to Cozumel. Upon arrival in Playa, I again negotiated with a “taxi supervisor”, (they are by the ferry terminal, randomly picked one to talk to, everyone we encountered spoke English) about trip to Tulum, we had 4 taxis, cost was $20/rt USD/pp, they gave us 2.5 hours at the ruins, they will wait for us, and we did not have to pay them until we get back to Playa. It was a 45 minutes taxi ride. The entrance fee to the ruins was $5 USD/pp, there is a little tram that would take you to the ruins from the entrance for $2 USD/rt pp, they will give you a band to put around your wrist for the tram ride, for you can opt to walk for 15 minutes in the hot sun. If walking, be careful of snakes in the ground!! We saw one crossing the street from the tram, yikes!!! Bring plenty of water, as it was hot. At the entrance, there were guides for hire, you can bargain, I think people were paying anywhere from $20, but we didn’t hire a guide, we had a guidebook (borrowed from the local library before leaving home), and just self toured. The place is compact, although there is a lot of walking involved to go from ruin to ruin, and is very hot. We were there early in the day before the bulk of tourists and tour groups arrived, so we had plenty of opportunities to get some really good pictures. Saw a lot of iguanas, be careful sometimes they looked like stone statues, so make sure don’t sit on stone pillars, and check before stepping on the grass also.

 

The highlight of the tour was to be able to swim in the blue Caribbean warm water down by the ruins. We had an hour, we put our stuff by the rocks, there was a lifeguard by the tower, and this was also where we had our picnic “room service” sandwiches and fruits. Very wonderful way to spend a day. (There is a changing room/bathroom, but best to put on your bathing suit underneath your tank tops/shorts. Bring the carnival towels provided in your room. You can exchange for a fresh ones when you get back on board the ship.)

 

Back to the little tram to the parking lot to our waiting airconditioned taxis to take us back to Playa. We arrived in Playa around 2:10 PM, enough time for me to buy ferry tickets, ferry leaves at 3 P.M. for Cozumel, had tacos pastor and beer by the terminal, some went shopping a bit. We all boarded the ferry, and were in Cozumel around 3:45, took taxi back to ship, again paid $2 USD/pp. We stopped for beer and snacks at Fat Tuesday, then board the ship, had dinner and went back out for more shopping. Boarded the ship around 9:15, ship sailed at 10 P.M. Lots of shopping places in the new terminal.

 

We had plenty of time so we were able to do this on our own. Please remember as on any tour that you undertake on your own, you have to weight the pros and cons of going to the mainland or staying on the side of where the ship is docked, if you stay in Cozumel, there are lots of things to see and do in the island, and you don’t have to worry that something might happen and you will miss the ship. Also, if you take the ship sponsored excursion, if anything happens, the ship will wait for you to get back.

 

Cost of this excursion - $55 USD/pp – (taxis - $4 USD, ferry - $24 USD, taxis and tour in Tulum - $27 USD).

 

 

Grand Cayman – Wednesday 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM. Weather was sunny, and warm. This is a tender stop. You go to the Venetian Lounge and get a ticket for when you can board the tender. They will call those on ship sponsored excursions first, then they will call the number of those who are not on excursions, but want to go on their own. The wait for your tender number to be called wasn’t long, about 15 minutes. The tender takes about 15 minutes. At the port, there are local people selling tours. We went with Linda of Soto Tours, we wanted to do the stingray/coral reef swimming tour. We agreed on a price of $400 USD for 13 people, this came to about $31/pp. We had about 45 minutes to wait for the van to take us to stingray city. We used the time to stop at the Tortuga Rum store across from the port, had tastings of rum and rum cakes, bought some rum, they will take it directly to your ship, Coconut Rum was $9/bottle, cakes were same priced as those on ship, although there were varieties to choose from. If you want to buy something for a snack, they have individual wrapped cakes for about $4. Delicious.

Linda gathered all of us and we were in the van and taken to where we had to board the catamaran, about a 20 minute ride out of town. There were snorkel gears and mask and water and juice on board the little boat. Took about 25 minutes to the coral reef, we were given 45 minutes to swim, then another 10 minutes to the stingray area, where we were given another 45 minutes with the stingray. Back to the van after that, and some of us wanted to be dropped off at the Royal Palm resort for a swim, and the rest were dropped off in town for more shopping and where you can also take the tender back to the ship. There is no admission charge to go to the Royal Palm, laid our ship beach towels, and had a wonderful time swimming. Very crowded with ships passengers, I think there were 5 ships in port that day. We ate at the restaurant, mediocre food and service, and expensive, drinks were okay but also expensive. Took a taxi from Royal Palm back to town, around $4. Did a little shopping and board tender back. Last tender at 3:45 P.M.

 

Cost of excursion - $31/pp (plus $4 taxi for those who were dropped off at Royal Palm).

 

Ocho Rios – Thursday 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM. Weather was warm, a little overcast in the morning, heavy downpour for about 30 minutes, and blue skies and warm in late afternoon. Again, we decided to take excursions on our own. I had been to Jamaica long time ago, did a land vacation, stayed in Ocho Rios for a week, and twice on cruise visits. The island is lovely, and remember it is a very poor country,. A lot of comments of this port stop is quite negative, but my experiences have always been positive. We got off the ship, I asked a port authority official what it would cost to do independent touring, and she referred me to Patrick, a local islander. Patrick gave us a summary of the tour, i.e. Dunn’s River Falls, countryside tour, Fern Gully, city tour, stopping at Soni’s for little shopping, and then back to the ship. We did not have a definite timetable, we can stop and leave anytime, we had the use of his services until we want to go back to the ship. This came to about $35 USD/pp, including the $15 entrance fee to Dunn’s River falls. Patrick bought the tickets, led us to a guide, and stayed with us until he was assured we were okay inside the park. We had fun climbing the falls, took our time, and then we boarded the van. Patrick took us by Fern Gully, also we stopped at local elementary school, had time to chat with the children, then we went on top of the hill to take pictures of Liberty below. Then Patrick led us to the Soni’ shopping, he guided us to what kind of coffee to buy, also what marinade and sauce to buy for the famous Jamaican “jerk”. He also led me to get some wonderful meat pies at Juicy’s, behind Soni’s, we bought meat pies and coconut soda, and we wanted him to take us to a jerk restaurant. We did not have enough time to eat at the restaurant, but had some Red Stripes. Patrick was wonderful guide, very knowledgeable and willing to share his birthplace, the school tour was a highlight, and we did not at all felt threatened or in danger. It was a good way to spend a day in Ocho Rios. We board the ship back around 3 P.M.

 

Cost of excursion - $35 USD/pp. for 6 hours.

 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:

 

We had a fabulous wedding reception at the Hot and Cold Disco for my sister’s wedding aboard the Liberty (Venetian Show Lounge) before the ship sailed. Had 60 guests, 46 sailed, and almost all are first time cruisers.

 

The “special” dinner (Silver Olympian) and “special” breakfast (Golden Olympian) the assistant chef created for my family. We asked if this could be arranged through the restaurant hostess, and it was a thoughtful gesture from the chef to be able to do this.

 

Silver Olympian - rack of lamb, petit filet mignon, shrimp cocktail, braised ribs, creme brulee, warm chocolate cake

 

Origami Sushi Bar for sushi, and warm sake. The sushi was free, there is a small charge for the sake. – The Origami opens from 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM, deck 5, next to Hot & Cold Disco, near the Paparazzi Wine Bar.

 

The Fish and Chips for fried oysters, ahi on top of watermelon, and bouillabaisse.

 

The Taste of the Nation “Chocolate Buffet” for scrumptious lemon mousse and anything chocolate.

 

The tea time by the Cabinet, Deck 4, on sea days. Delicious desserts accompanied by classical music

 

The grill area (11 PM – 1:00 AM) by the lido deck aft for grilled burgers, hot dogs and grilled chicken sandwiches.

 

The carving station for anything roast.

The sandwich station for vegetarian foccacia sandwich

Room service for coffee, juice, Danish and croissant for “wake-up” call breakfast

Room service for sandwiches to take to Tulum tour

The pizza place (open 24 hours) for goat cheese pizza, caesar salad and calzone after the casino closes at 3 A.M.

The Golden Olympian for breakfast of eggs benedict, bagels and salmon, waffles, French toast, chicken sausages, corned beef hash and fresh brewed coffee and/or cappuccinos.

Breakfast in the dining room (Golden Olympian) on the day of debarkation.

 

We had our own “entertainer”, Wayne, he used to work on cruise ships a long time ago, joined us on this cruise. We arranged to have the Piano Bar for 2 hours on one of the sea days for private party, the ship provided a complimentary cake for November/December celebrants. We also brought some of our wines, and the wait staff opened and provided us with glasses. Of course, we gave them tips. Also ordered drinks through them.

 

A one-hour private cocktail party with, again, lots of free drinks and appetizers for our group.

 

One of my niece was a finalist at the “Carnival Legends”. She didn’t win, but it was wonderful to hear her perform. She also performed with the “Music Man” band in the Atrium on the last night.

 

The Captain’s Repeat Guests Party, held in the Venetian Show Lounge, was very classy, lots of appetizers and drinks flowed freely. You can order drinks not on the drink trays that were being passed around. The pin on the special invitation was a nice touch.

 

This truly was a memorable family reunion, and of course, very special because of my sister’s wedding. All first time cruisers were impressed by the staff and crew, who were very accommodating, very friendly, and acted on our requests with promptness and efficiency. We chatted with the staff quite a bit and learned much about shipboard life.

 

In summary, we all are waiting for the Carnival Dream so we can do another family reunion cruise in 2010. In the meantime, I will try to cruise on another Carnival ship for 2009, or maybe go back to the Liberty for an Eastern Caribbean itinerary. Carnival Liberty truly surpassed all our expectations.

[balcony bound]

Thank you for the review. We will be on the Liberty for the first time in April for an eastern cruise. It sounds like you received the great service that we love with Carnival.:)

[johnlcruise]

A very enjoyable report. Thanks for posting..