retnuh281

We did the salsa salsa in Cozumel, booked through Carnival. We've been to Coz many times and wanted something different. It was a lot of fun, and I highly recommend it. You can go to Carnivals website for more info. I was however disappointed not to go to the beach and jump in the beautiful water. Won't happen again.

Next stop was Progreso the following day. We had planned on just going to have a nice lunch and we did!!

Now you do have to run the gauntlet of all the vendors. I do feel for the people just trying to make a living, but WOW. Best is to just say No Gracias and move on. "maybe later" works as well. We ended up at a restaurant called Maya Ka. Great service, great food and OK prices. It is opened aired, and there is a small pool that customers can use. Kind of right in the middle of the restaurant. Now, I'm from Southeast Texas, and used to heat and humidity, but it was hot, really hot. Like one level above hell hot. But we did some souvenir shopping and got on the ship right before we melted.

I love Mexico, the people, and the experience of being in a different country. So, no negative comments will be found here.

On this trip I ate more than any other cruise I've been on. I wanted to try everything. And I almost did.

Did not do room service, and did not have the burritos that are a part of Red Frog. Other than that, I crushed. The pizzas are so good. Worth the wait, and there is one most the time. I had the bagel and smoked salmon from the Deli at least 3 times. And the pastrami is really good as well.

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We allotted enough time for everyone to go through the getting ready rituals and met in the steakhouse for drinks prior to dinner. Just so you know, no shorts in the steakhouse. I'll discuss that dress code more, but that much we know for sure. We enjoyed a glass of champagne or two here. While we were having our last glass before dinner we asked for a glass of good Cabernet, waited another 5 min and poured another in the same glass. So if you're keeping score we each had two wines in one glass to take to dinner. Which would equate to almost two bottles of wine had we ordered by the bottle. There was no problem bringing a glass of wine to the dining room of course, and we enjoyed a great meal with some really good wine.

I know I'm focusing on the Cheers package but I know a lot of people have a lot of questions, and I feel as though we did it right.

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2nd day, sea day and formal night. This was a great day! Of course I was up too early and just enjoyed the morning. Ate a small breakfast at Lido buffet and some good coffees. The women were up and ready for sea day brunch by 11:00. I highly suggest going to brunch, it's a sit down and order meal, and they have great choices. I ordered the bagel breakfast, and steak and eggs. Well, to be truthful that's all I ever order because it's delish. Now what have we learned so far about ordering drinks? Not a Bloody Mary, but a Grey Goose Bloody Mary. Or a mimosa with better champagne, not the house stuff. We enjoyed the ship and played a couple rounds of trivia. We were tied for Doctor Suess trivia but lost in the tie breaker, so alas, I was still without a ship on a stick. I did take a picture with it, so it looks like I won, but at this point still no 24 karat plastic piece of ship......on a stick. Dinner tonight was perfect, but I have to pause for the cause.

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Alrighty!

The biggest thing is the package worth it for you. It is for me but it's not for everyone. My wife drinks, but not as much as me, but it was still worth it for us. You just have to break it down and see. As I have stated, the not worrying about the bill really made the cruise more relaxing for me.

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I will continue on my thoughts and experiences of the Cheers program, because I know all the questions some have after perusing this board for months.

1. As I've mentioned there is no limit for non-alcoholic drinks. Sodas, bottled water, vita water, energy drinks, espresso, cappuccinos, machamocawhatever, milkshakes, juices. It's really nice just ordering anything.

2. For alcohol drinks you are limited to 15.

3. There is a cap of $50.00 per drink.

What drinks cost 50.00 you may ask? Not many. Buuuuuut, there are many that cost $20.00 plus.

I didn't have to drink 6 or 8 of whatever to break even, or even care if I were getting my monies worth, because I knew I was.

Did I order a rum and Coke? Nope!

I ordered a Flor de Cana 18 year old rum and Diet Coke.

Vodka tonic? Bahahah! No indeed.

Grey Goose VX with an olive or at the very least Grey Goose and tonic.

One shot of the Goose VX is 20.50. Would I ordinarily order this? Hell no. But I was big timing it, so I did. And often.

4. They don't have all alcohols at all bars, so if you drink the same thing all the time you have to find the bars that stock the best. For instance, Grey Goose VX was only at steakhouse and Alchemy bar. Flor de Cana was at Red Frog Rum Bar. Like wines? Lobby bar and steakhouse. Scotch? Steakhouse has best.

I have more on this subject but must sign off for now.

CHEERS!!

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Sorry work is getting in the way.

When I return to the room I'm not being quiet any longer and let my wife know what's going on. I planned everything for the cruise but she had all the paperwork and confirmations.

Instead of walking all the way forward again, (as I've said we are at the very back of the ship) and the lobby is a long long way away. I stroll to the Red Frog rum bar and ask the very friendly guy there if he could get my sticker for me. And what do ya know? No problem at all. He had no desire to see the stack of paperwork I was carrying either.

Now I'm really wanting my morning coffee, but rather than stop at the Lido buffet, I head to the coffee bar for a Machachino. Don't ask me what's in it, I just know it was good and I had at least two a day.

Now gather around everyone and let me tell you a little secret. If you have the Cheers package you can get any drink you want. If you want non alcoholic beverages there is no limit. So, all the threads on break even for Cheers only take into account alcohol.

If you are thirsty get a bottle of water. Want coffee? Get good ones. Energy drinks? Have a couple. Well, wait 5 min then get another. Looking back, if I were to guess how much I spent on non alcoholic drinks, I would say between $15-$20 a day. The best part is I didn't have to check my bill once. The not worrying about what I was spending, is priceless. Well, almost.

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So......

I was so looking forward to sleeping in, but my body clock just wouldn't let me. I was up at 7:15 and as quietly as I could, threw on some clothes and headed out for the day. Because we sailed out of Galveston, Cheers doesn't start until day two. I went to the lobby desk and asked to have our Cheers card activated and get my little sticker. Tphe very rude woman working said that I had not purchased Cheers and would I like to? Needless to say I'm freaked out by the tune of about $458.00. Instead of losing my cool, I go back to the cabin to find proof, which I had because we received a letter the day before stating that we bought the Cheers package.

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Of course Muster drill put a little damper on the afternoon and as soon as that was over we went to our room to enjoy the aforementioned sail away.

Dinner that night was very good, although without my pictures, I can't recall what it was except that I ordered a banana split for desert, and that too was really good. Our first night aboard we were very busy little cruisers. After dinner we enjoyed the adult only comedian. He wasn't great, but he had his moments. We visited the Alchemy bar before and after the show. Which I must admit, is my favorite place on the ship. Yulia, and Yulia were the bartenders and they were really fun and good at their job.

The piano bar is next door to Alchemy and we had a cocktail there before calling it a night. I was really looking forward to the piano bar because the one on the Triumph was off the hook fun. This one? Not so much.

When I return, day two begins and so does Cheers.

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Let me back up just a little.

When we got on board, which was pretty easy I must say. We headed to the Lido for lunch. I suggested the Mongolian Wok because there was no line, and I knew that would change quickly. It was very good, but because I don't like lines it was the last time I enjoyed the Wok. We dropped off our carry on in the room that was a suite and went to explore. First stop was the Silver Dining room and found our table. It was a four top and we were OK with that. We wouldn't have minded a big table with others, but we sure didn't mind having our own table either. We proceeded to the steakhouse to confirm our reservations because we changed our minds which night we wanted, and as I expected they had us booked for two nights. Originally I booked the first night for the free bottle of wine, but after we paid for Cheers I realized that would not be necessary. Much much more on the steakhouse starting evening number two.

So after that we got that out of the way, we poured ourselves a glass of wine and explored. After sailing the Ecstasy and the Triumph, I was pleasantly surprised of the size and decor of the Liberty.

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Little background first, while it's still somewhat fresh in my mind. I want to go day by day and hopefully help some people and throw in my two cents on topics that are pretty hot on this board.

This was our 4 th Carnival cruise but first on the Liberty. Being new empty nesters this was our first time without kids as well. I booked this for our anniversary and we traveled with another couple that are long time friends.

We live about an hour from port, so arriving was a breeze. They booked a suite and we had an aft balcony.

Now about the aft extended. I read many posts about this cabin and it was basically split on likes and dislikes. So now, I'm in the like category. The room is pretty much standard size but the balcony is awesome. It was hot at times, but we were traveling North/South so there was always shade. Yes it does move a little more than mid ship, but not much more. If you have motion problems, stay with mid cabins. We were on deck 7 so noise was very minimal and vibrations were barely noticeable. The views are awesome and there was plenty room for 4 of us to share champagne on sail away. So if you want to know how the sail away party on Lido was, I couldn't tell you. But the party on our balcony was picture perfect. I will be posting periodically, so if you have questions I will be happy to answer to best of my ability or memory. We did have the Cheers package so there are parts of the cruise I remember more than others.

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Thank you for the information.

That really makes the Cheers package worth the money. Somewhere on theses threads while searching, i saw a wine list. I just remembered that the wines and champagnes offered by the glass were really nice. I would never spend 20.00 on a glass of champagne, but thanks to Cheers ill be enjoying one every evening.

I've read countless threads about people getting their moneys worth. A couple glasses of wine for $20.50 a pop should take care of that quickly.

Has anyone experienced this first hand?

We will be purchasing the Cheers package on our up coming cruise. My question is can you get glasses of wine from the steakhouse when not dining?

We have reservations, and look forward to some of the wines by the glass that they offer, but that is only one evening. Is there a separate bar in the steakhouse? Would love to have their wines throughout the cruise, as they are of a higher quality (and cost) than those offered in the dining room.

2days! How am I getting ready? Just walking around with a smile.

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Any beach on that side of Coz the sand will be a little rough, because they are man made because if erosion. My fav dish at Nachi is the ceviche. I've tried a lot on the menu and it's all been great. Lots to do on Coz, but we go to Nachi every time. The best day for the money. The para sailing is the best I've done anywhere.

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So great to hear. We will be on her in Sept. Thanks for the positive feed back.

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I hate to rain on anyones parade but come on now. I am 68 years old and have drank my share over the years. I think if anyone drinks 15 drinks a day they can not be enjoying there cruise because how can they even know what is going on around them. I sure hope people that have a family with them does not get the cheers program because it can't be called a family cruise if half the family is waisted every day.

Just because the limit is 15 doesn't mean you have to drink that many. Don't judge because it is an avenue for people to try different things that they may not ordinarily try. Would you rather they smuggle and get waisted.

UGH!

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Thank you for the info. Seems like it will be fine.

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Thanks. I will have two 20 yr olds traveling and didn't want them excluded.

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Can you enter the "dance clubs" if you are under 21? Not to drink, just to enter?

Okay so let's crowdsource ideas for "what item to put in your bags that'd embarrass a security guy the most"... :cool:

I have a few things in mind but Im sure as heck not putting them in writing.

My thoughts embarrass me just thinking them.

I received one as well. We are cruising in Sept on Triumph. I upgraded to a Grand Suite. All totaled it's $300.00 each! Very excited.

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If you prefer your breakfast fresh and not having sleeveless men dangle their pit hair over your food , then the MDR is for you.

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After a long night, using the sauna and steam room to detox in the morning. An absolute must on Carnival ships

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Eat in the MDR for breakfast and lunch. My last cruise I had the buffet only once on a 7 day cruise. Relaxing, better food, no rudeness or bad manners.

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