100Happy

Wonderful live review. We board LOS today are also in a JS aft. Our first time on RCC. We have cruised Disney several times so curious about the differences and whether the price reduction is worth it.

Following. We will be boarding the Liberty next Sunday 4/2. Looking forward to reading all about your adventures.

I always take a Tervis Tumbler sports bottle with me on every cruise. I never get a soda package, but it's always full of ice water, lemonade, or tea from the Windjammer! :) The only place I don't take it is the MDR. :)

If I purchase the soda package on Liberty do I get a tervis/tumbler to use for the soda? I thought I saw one pictured on RC's website?

I could be incorrect on the two breakfast seating's. Sorry I just don't remember. I guess I was going off the assumption it was just like Disney Cruise Line (we sail them yearly) which is 2 breakfasts. This was my first and probably my only Carnival cruise.

Anyway, whatever breakfast time is we ate it and arrived at LAX via Lyft with plenty of time.

We flew out of LAX at 1 and had no issues getting to the airport in time. Unfortunately I do not recall the exact time we got to the airport except that we didn't have to rush once we got there. We did eat breakfast in the MDR that morning before we disembarked which would have been the 2nd breakfast service since we had second dining. I hope this helps.

Thank you, we are all looking forward to our cruise on the Liberty

I put a 12-pack of bottled water in a duffle bag when we were boarding Liberty. The bag was not delivered to my room with the rest of the luggage, but was taken to security on deck 1 (aka "the naughty room"). I had to go own there to get it and they gave it to me with no questions asked. So, even if you get caught with the water, it isn't a big deal. It was nice having bottles of water to take on excursions without having to pay so much for Evian.

One of the many reasons I want bottled water....convenience for excursions.

I use a YETI drink tumbler to carry around cold drinks. I do have the soda/coffee/water drink plan so it's not a matter of cheaping out, it's a matter of convenience and cold drinks. Will there be any problem using my own tumbler and getting ice and/or drinks in it?

OMG...I got my first Yeti this past year and I love it! Never thought about bringing it but I may now if I have room.

100Happy: You may want to click on the site below to find your informal roll call for the week in April for Liberty of the Seas, where you can connect with your fellow cruisers!!:cool: Just look for your specific week!!:rolleyes:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=398

 

Happy cruising!!:D

Thank you, I will.:)

The running track on deck 12 of Liberty is pretty narrow on the two straight lengths (port and starboard sides). It has 2 “lanes” that are between the lounge chairs that line the deck on either side of it. So there is no other place for folks to move forward or aft on that deck except on the track. So runners, joggers, walkers, strollers, amblers, meanderers, wanderers, bar waiters, and people getting to/from the loungers all have to share those two narrow lanes. :( But traffic is usually pretty manageable early in the morning (maybe before 10 am). You do, though, have to watch out for people who don’t pay attention to where they are or where others may be either. The track does have a nice view, though. :)

 

Also, the deck plan on Royal’s web site shows the track dead ending into some recently-added staterooms at the front when in fact it curves behind the Sky Bar at the forward end.

 

Hope that helps some.

Tim

Yes this is very helpful. I will try it out and if I run into too much traffic I guess I will head inside to the gym

Your son will be in a group of up to 14 year olds...so he won't be with the older teens...he'll be fine.

Great!

We will be sailing on the Liberty this April and although we are experienced cruisers we have never sailed on Royal or Liberty. We love cruising and are excited to try Royal.

Suite questions

We are staying in a Junior Suite(7712)-What perks do you get with Junior suite? Can we go to the suite lounge, breakfast in the specialty restaurants-free or fee? We do have some non suite family sailing with us. Will they be able to board with us?

Kids activities

Our son will be 12 on this cruise. I noticed his age group is in the teen club and he will be on the young side. Will the activities in the teen club be suitable and interesting for his age? Lots of planned activities? Is there an option for him to move down to the other club with the younger kids?

Communication

What is the best way to communicate with your kids onboard? My son does not have a cell so messaging is not an option for us.

My time Dining

We have my time dining but I was able to make reservations for Dinner. Is this a waste of time? Do you really show up at the MDR and get seated promptly if you make a reservation in advance? If no ressie how long do you typically wait to be seated?

Running

I enjoy running on the ships but noticed the track on the Liberty is on the top deck. I typically run early in the mornings 7-8am, will I be dodging a lot of passengers while running. Can I run on Deck 4 or is there another deck that is a good running deck?

Food

Where can you eat lunch for free? My family drinks soda at lunch and dinner. We drink water the other times. Is the soda package worth it or is it a hassle? Does is include bottled water? How much is a soda with no package.

Carry on

I refuse to pay lots of money for evian water. Can I carry on my own water in Galveston. Are you allowed to carry on 2 bottles of wine per person or cabin. What other items would you suggest we carry on?

All information is greatly appreciated!

TIA

Update....

We used Lyft since I have experience with it and since it was very easy to request service for 6 persons (only 5 of us). You have 2 choices 4 or 6 persons and it was easier then going through Uber to get this.

Yes this service is on demand and no setting up round trip or scheduling pickups. We requested the service took about 15 mins for pick up, which I believe is directly related to us needing 6 person (supply). Anyway, cost to port was $50 and return to airport was $55. Yes this is total not per person.

I highly recommend Lyft or Uber. It is much cheaper and just better all around then taxi or shuttle van. There are a lot of ways to get discounts on rides so google it shortly before you leave and yes download the app(s) at home. Just easier.

The price you quoted apprx $38 is that per passenger or total for the trip? Never taken Uber, but can 4 passenger ride a uberx to the port for the approx $38?

I am pretty sure it is total not per person.

We finally got our assignment.

Junior Suite Obstructed and it is one that is very obstructed. No upgrade fairy. We got what we paid for.

I'm curious how this turns out for you. I am on this sailing as well and there are two of us in an interior 5 person room. We booked our guarantee inside about two weeks ago and got our room assignment within hours. I wonder if we will get changed for a different room to make way for a larger family.

Of course reassignment is possible with a guarantee but probably unlikely. Wow I am shocked though you got your assignment weeks ago and we still haven't. We booked in the summer and I truly thought we would have an assignment by now. The only thing I can think of is that Carnival is trying to up sell still and that is why we still don't have an assignment. Crazy

On our very first cruise we got our guarantee balcony assignment at the airport while waiting for the shuttle. It was on Deck 8, midship - perfect! So don't stress too much. The surprise might be wonderful.

This is what I envision happening to us. :eek:

No matter what we will be happy with whatever Suite we get and of course are hoping for the best. :D

I'd be nervous too and I'd be calling Carnival to make sure everything is okay. Good Luck!!

Thank you. Sometimes you feel like your the only one so it is nice to see others would be nervous as well. ;)

We booked a Guarantee Suite on Carnival Imagination and we are 3 days out from our cruise and still no assignment on our stateroom.

Gotta admit I am getting nervous about not knowing and really wondering if we will know before we go. :eek:

We are suppose to be priority boarding but since we don't have a stateroom assignment it doesn't note that on our boarding passes. I am worried we won't know till we get to port and then there will be unnecessary confusion or time wasted standing in line getting the proper luggage tags and boarding passes.

Please share any advice or past experience in dealing with assignments at port and avoiding confusion and/or stress.:confused:

Uber pick-up service at LAX starts tomorrow. (Lyft has been authorized for a few weeks, and both have always been allowed to drop off at LAX). Here's the announcement: https://newsroom.uber.com/la/laxpickups/

 

From personal experience worldwide, there shouldn't be more than a 5-minute wait for an Uber car. FYI, Uber does not do "roundtrips"....when you need to go from the ship to the airport, you just hail a ride via the Uber app on your smartphone.

 

FYI, UberX fare from LAX area to Carnival (long Beach) is $29-$38 and to San Pedro the fare is $26-$33.

Thank you so much for this information!

Thank you for the review. I have a question pertaining to the bottomless bubbles program. I purchased it for our cruise on the Imagnation next week and wanted to know if there are soda machines you can use or do you have to always order from the staff? Can you get the soda anywhere on the ship or only from specific locations? Also you mentioned always tipping is that because you used waitstaff to order and deliver a drink while at pool/lounger?

TIA

FWIW taxi is $68 flat to LAX. About $75 LAX to port.

Thank you but i am hoping to use Uber.

Has anyone used Uber to and from an LAX hotel/and the Long Beach cruise port? Easy? Cost? Did you wait a long time for driver?

We will be on a cruise next week and there will be 5 of us and we would prefer our own transportation since we will be staying at The LAX Renaissance. We may decide to use Carnivals vans for our return trip to LAX but wanted to see if Uber drivers will do a round trip.

TIA

Flat rate taxi is $30 ($38?) to LGB. They're located in the parking structure.

Sunday or Thursday departure? Thursday takes a touch longer because of port traffic.

Do self assist and get in line by 8:00.

Even going thru a full customs check it hasn't taken us longer than an hour from the time we get into line to the parking lot.

Wednesday departure. I gather from your response 11:00 LGB airport departure time is doable?

I am looking at booking a flight out of LGB at 11:00 am. I am cruising on Carnival Imagination. Would I be able to make this flight time from the port. Would I need to take a Taxi and would it be costly? Currently we have a port arrival time of 7 am. But I know with going through customs time can get away.

TIA