KatPem

Cost/Value and Itineraries. I have enjoyed every cruise we have been on, haven't tried another and as long as I get the best deal for my money on Carnival, I don't know that I ever will.

We were on the Liberty last week and went to Dominica instead of St Kitts. I was actually jumping up and down when we got the announcement. I liked St Kitts but Dominica is our absolute favorite island hands down! Since Carnival hardly ever goes there, we were thrilled with the opportunity to introduce our kids to our favorite....they loved it too! There are so many different things you can do, I really wish Carnival went there more! Love, love, love it!

Just back from there. Last trip (nov 13) we went to Tia's...it is a lot smaller but very beautiful and more intimate. This trip we went to screw spa on a ship tour and it was wonderful! They are closed on Mondays which is why we did Tia's before. Screw spa is working on a water slide...said they hope to gave it done in October or November. I would not hesitate to go back to either but will just take a taxi next time. We did the ships tour cause we wanted to take the kids to Titou Gorge and you really need a tour for that.

Beautiful, thanks so much!

Great suggestion and you can walk from Mullet to Maho in 15 minutes.

Do you recommend taking Rhine Rd or are you aware of a short cut? Thanks for the suggestion, I think it will be perfect for us!

Two years ago we had 11 of us and had a round table to ourselves. Be sure to call Carnival with all 5 booking numbers and asked for them to be 'linked'. That should get you all sat together.

Any good beaches between Marigot and Maho or Maho and the port? We hope to go to Marigot in the morning and would like to go to Orient but Maho is a must so we are thinking it would be better to go to a beach other than Orient after Marigot. I know Maho is a beach but it isn't ideal for swimming and we want to experience the novelty of it but not be there for real long. Thanks in advance!

Definitely try to just a sharps container for traveling. I have MS and the drug company sent me one...you might call and ask if check at your local pharmacy

Depends....like others said, if you are paying cash on board it depends on what you will be paying for. If using a credit card for your sign and sail, cash needed on board is minimal...just tipping really.

At the ports it is another story. If that is what you are referring too, I would suggest that you research what you are wanting to do and the costs involved, especially taxi prices.

We wanted to take our kids to St John on our St Thomas shop. We brought $200 and then grabbed an extra $100 for souveniers. I had not researched cab rides, just assumed they would be $20-40 per way...Boy was I wrong and we quickly learned our lesson. $10 pp EACH way to the ferry. We were able to use the cc for the ferry fees and then $7 pp each way to the beach on St John. Since there were 7 of us (a relative was with us), it was about $240 just in cab fares!! I am sure to research that now...many islands are per person and with a family of 6 that quickly adds up.

When we went with our kids and in-laws two years ago we did early dining. I loved every bit of it, except missing sunsets which bummed me out.

A few months later my hubby and I went and did YTD. We did not care for it at all. Service was a lot slower and a lot less attentive, every night. It was nice to be able to watch the sunsets but we didn't even do that but one or two nights.

We go in less than 2 weeks and are doing the early dinner again. The kids loved that the waiters knew them by name and all their little quirks....that added to the experience for them (and us). Also, they always had a club event they wanted to do and it seemed most started right after we finished with dinner so we could eat together and then head off to do what everyone wanted.

None of us take very long to get ready so we got back on the ship, showered real quick and then went to dinner. We tend to not eat off the ship if we can help it so we are usually starving by then.

Probably 1,000+ kids. Consider going later in April or May or take longer, like 9+ nights, cruise.

I think that is a very high number unless you are talking about a ship with 6000 people. We went two years ago Easter week and while there were plenty of kids, they didn't overrun the ship..about 600 on the Liberty between 2-18. The serenity deck on there is adult only as is the aft pool.

We will be on the liberty in less than two weeks and I am sure there will be lots of kids but not 1000+

Google ita matrix. It is a great thing to use to reference airfare prices. You can expand your search further out and maybe find a better deal. Last cruise we were able to drive to St. Louis (about 5 hours) and fly for half price to Miami/fll. With six of us, that was huge. This year we aRe flying southwest as that was the best option for us, out of Indy. Definitely was good to be able to research other possibilities though. My husband wanted to drive to Miami and we were able to fly instead since I had found the St. Louis flights

How flexible are you on which airlines and which days you are flying? If you are able to be flexible, I would stick with the Liberty. We are on the liberty in a couple of weeks and while we had to be flexible with our airfare, we were able to go for $540 pp RT, my husband and I were able to go out of San Juan in Nov 2013 for $400 pp RT by not being particular about the airline and by looking at nearby airports. We ended up flying out of the local one but I checked several times a week and booked it as soon as I found decent prices.

For someone wanting more bank for their buck, the itinerary on the Liberty is fantastic. Honestly, what is another $200-300 when you are spending what you are while on vacation (and this is coming from someone pretty frugal lol) The itinerary is easily worth the extra if you can afford it. Also, The liberty is a nice ship but doesn't have some of the bells and whistles the Breeze does, I think if I would've gone on the Breeze for my first cruise, I would've gotten spoiled :)

I have two questions. First off, we will be in San Juan for two nights prior to a cruise. It is Good Friday when we get there and then we leave to cruise on Easter Sunday. We get back into San Juan the following Sunday and then don't fly home until Monday. We want to rent a car one of those times to go to El Yunque. How busy will it be on a holiday weekend Saturday versus a Sunday? Also, we will be staying at the Comfort Inn in Condado before and Le Consulat after.....how hard will parking be to find on the holiday weekend versus the weekend after? Thanks in advance!

Do you go to the left of the pier or to the right when exiting the ship?

On Grand Turk, go to the right while facing the island from the pier. Tons of sea glass, it comes in on the waves, watch for it and grab...lots of fun!

by the time you get to the port, they shouldn't be horrid. With the 10pm sailings I think it gets spread out quite a bit more. By the time you get to the ship, your stateroom should be ready so I think the only reason for you to get FTTF would be if you anticipate needing to go to guest services enough to warrant it.

I have only had the hot stone massage and it was great! Did a port day special, scheduled for 15 minutes before sailaway to get the deal but not miss out on the port.

Nope, no whirlpool in the spa :( There are two in the serenity area but last time we were on the Liberty they were lukewarm at best :(

We are planning a similar itinerary on our trip an plan on just taking cabs to where we want to go.

Go to your local dive shop and buy a pair of booties - sounds like just what you need.

Unfortunately we are in Central Indiana and I don't know of any dive shops around here. Will booties offer enough protection/grip when having to walk over rocks?

I have tried the cheap ones and prefer to spend a little more to get a better fit. I think we paid $30 11 years ago for the Nike ones and they served us well, they just don't make them any more :(

My cruise leaves out on Easter. From the research I've done, you are able to visit either fort in OSJ as they are still open on the holiday from 9am-6pm. I contacted a few tour operators, and none were operating that day. We were hoping for a rainforest tour, but the forts will be equally as lovely instead.

Thanks for the info! I had just assumed the fort would be closed. I was planning on going on Saturday instead if I can talk the family into going again...they are just so beautiful!

My husband and I enjoy snorkeling and beachcombing while on a cruise. On the last one, our decade old Nike Water socks fell apart. Does anyone have any suggestions? We don't like to snorkel in fins off the beach, but want our feet to be protected. So many shoes seem bulky so looking for any suggestions of ones that are comfortable to swin/snorkel in without being too cumbersome. Thanks!

Wow, gorgeous! Thanks for the info!

Sometimes it has taken 10 minutes, other times two days and yet another I didn't get one. They responded via email,just use the fare viewer from the carnival site and be sure to select the correct catagories. Before I did mock bookings and thought it was cheaper when indeed it wasnt

I took my Camelbak water bottle last time and plan on it again. It is nice to not have to worry about it spilling. I also just found bounty paper towels with dawn dish soap in them and will be bringing a few to wash my bottle out with!