LONG review of Carnival Liberty Sailing on August 28, 2010-lots of photos!!

[3redheads]

We were a party of 5 ladies on the August 28th sailing of Carnival Liberty.

 

I went with my mom, my teenage daughter, my best friend and her teenage daughter. This was my 9th cruise, my mom's 10th, my daughter's 8th and my friend's first cruise!

 

This was my second cruise on Carnival. Last August, my family sailed Carnival Legend, which we loved. Most of our cruises have been on RCCL ships.

 

Here is a link to my Carnival Legend review last year:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1056421

 

I have a lot of information, reviews and photos, so this will be a work in progress and may take a few days.

 

Overall impression: this may have been the rudest passenger base of any cruise I've ever sailed!! If this had been my first Carnival cruise, it may have been my last. Luckily, the Carnival Legend was our first sailing on Carnival.

 

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We decided on Liberty based on the number of sea days and the airfare.

 

AIRFARE

We live near Washington DC and about 5 minutes from Dulles International Airport. The cheapest flight we could get was $240, so I researched Reagan National out of DC.

 

I found an airfare of $140 for Spirit Air! While DCA required a longer drive, the savings of $100 per person made it a no brainer (or so we thought).

 

We booked shuttle service through Super Shuttle for a total, round trip cost of $114 for 5 people!

 

While the airfare was a fabulous deal, Spirit Air is less than impressive. I have never been in a plane that was so cramped and worn down. The staff is not friendly at all! While they are on time and fast with the luggage, I will pay more to fly another airline.

 

More to come...

[Name Of The Game]

I really enjoyed your Legend cruise last year particularly since it was right before my own cruise on the Legend. Looking forward to this review as well. I haven't had the misfortune of rude fellow cruisers.

[remharri]

We were a party of 5 ladies on the August 28th sailing of Carnival Liberty.

 

I went with my mom, my teenage daughter, my best friend and her teenage daughter. This was my 9th cruise, my mom's 10th, my daughter's 8th and my friend's first cruise!

 

This was my second cruise on Carnival. Last August, my family sailed Carnival Legend, which we loved. Most of our cruises have been on RCCL ships.

 

Here is a link to my Carnival Legend review last year:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1056421

 

I have a lot of information, reviews and photos, so this will be a work in progress and may take a few days.

 

Overall impression: this may have been the rudest passenger base of any cruise I've ever sailed!! If this had been my first Carnival cruise, it may have been my last. Luckily, the Carnival Legend was our first sailing on Carnival.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

We decided on Liberty based on the number of sea days and the airfare.

 

AIRFARE

We live near Washington DC and about 5 minutes from Dulles International Airport. The cheapest flight we could get was $240, so I researched Reagan National out of DC.

 

I found an airfare of $140 for Spirit Air! While DCA required a longer drive, the savings of $100 per person made it a no brainer (or so we thought).

 

We booked shuttle service through Super Shuttle for a total, round trip cost of $114 for 5 people!

 

While the airfare was a fabulous deal, Spirit Air is less than impressive. I have never been in a plane that was so cramped and worn down. The staff is not friendly at all! While they are on time and fast with the luggage, I will pay more to fly another airline.

 

More to come...

 

 

Can't wait for the rest of your review, me and my mom are booking the Liberty tonight! So this review couldn't have come at a better time...being that I'm doing nothing on this beautiful Sunday afternoon.

 

~Regina

[3redheads]

TRANSPORTATION FROM AIRPORT TO HOTEL

 

Since we flew in to FLL instead of Miami, we used SAS Transportation for shuttle service from FLL airport to the Intercontinental Hotel in Downtown Miami.

 

We've used this company before and found them friendly, dependable and affordable! We were charged $13 per person.

 

When you get your luggage, you call Steve at SAS and he gets the van there within 10 minutes. They use U Haul pull behinds for luggage transport:

 

 

 

 

 

HOTEL

 

We found a fabulous deal for the Intercontinental in Downtown Miami-we paid $100 per room and it was a beautiful hotel! We booked through last minute travel dot com:

 

 

I am working on uploading photos, but even though I resized them in photobucket, they're huge! Be right back...

[MamaParrotHead]

TRANSPORTATION FROM AIRPORT TO HOTEL

 

Since we flew in to FLL instead of Miami, we used SAS Transportation for shuttle service from FLL airport to the Intercontinental Hotel in Downtown Miami.

 

We've used this company before and found them friendly, dependable and affordable! We were charged $13 per person.

 

When you get your luggage, you call Steve at SAS and he gets the van there within 10 minutes. They use U Haul pull behinds for luggage transport:

 

 

 

 

 

HOTEL

 

We found a fabulous deal for the Intercontinental in Downtown Miami-we paid $100 per room and it was a beautiful hotel! We booked through last minute travel dot com:

 

 

I am working on uploading photos, but even though I resized them in photobucket, they're huge! Be right back...

 

Did you have any issues using last minute travel? I have a room booked at Marriott Bis Bay for our January cruise and am a tad nervous since there's relatively little info out there on people who have used them.:o

[alreadypacked]

Great start!!! Can't wait for the rest. Thanks.:)

[3redheads]

The Intercontinental was within walking distance of the Bayside Market. You can walk along the canal to the market. What a fun place to spend a Friday night. We always eat at Bubba Gump's. If you get a chance to eat there, ask for Mindy. She's a great waitress:

 

 

If you have kids, you may get a kick out of this sign:

 

(it should read: while you still know everything)

 

My favorite shot of Miami at night:

 

 

 

 

MORNING OF THE CRUISE:

 

If you need breakfast in the morning, the Starbuck's is not open on Saturday in the Intercontinental! Breakfast in the dining room will set you back about $15-$22 per person, so plan accordingly.

 

We took a taxi at a cost of $10 for the 5 of us and we arrived at the port at about 10:30. We tipped the porter a couple of bucks and in we went! We were given group #3.

 

We had a bit of a scare before the cruise. We were concerned about my daughter's ID. Here's a thread I posted before we left:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1261285

 

When we got to the check in area, we were directed to a kiosk, where you check yourself in! You touch the screen, scan your passport and present ids etc to the customer service line. It was a painless process and they didn't even ask for additional id for my daughter. I was sweating it!

 

GETTING ON THE SHIP!

 

Group 3 was called and we were onboard around 11:30. There were very few people and we ran around and took photos before it got crowded.

 

Luggage:

 

[3redheads]

Did you have any issues using last minute travel? I have a room booked at Marriott Bis Bay for our January cruise and am a tad nervous since there's relatively little info out there on people who have used them.:o

 

No problems at all! We booked 2 rooms through them and had no difficulty once we got to the hotel. We saved so much money! I wish you the best of luck in January!!!

[3redheads]

LUNCH

 

Having read so much about the Fish n Chips, we headed there for lunch. We may have been the first group there! In order to find it, head to deck 9 and walk across the pool deck, in to the buffet area. Head all the way to the back. In the middle, behind the dessert station, there are stairs heading up on both sides, with a sign for Fish n Chips.

 

This became my favorite place to eat for lunch! Here is some food porn!!

 

Octopus Civichi:

 

 

Fish n Chips (I didn't care for the fries, just the fish)

 

 

 

Fried Calamari, with shrimp etc.

 

Still encountering sizing problems. Will work on it and post later.

[RnBluvher]

I too was on this cruise, so i'm definitely interested in this review.:rolleyes:

[TracersQQ]

Can't wait to read more. I hope the rude passengers, you encountered, were because of the timing of your sailing - because I will be on the Liberty, in a few weeks. Can't wait to find out if this was your only dissapointment.

[oncruisecontrol]

More, please. Really enjoying your review. I'm glad the situation with your daughter's ID worked out for you. I'd read that thread and was keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[3redheads]

I too was on this cruise, so i'm definitely interested in this review.:rolleyes:

 

I am very interested to see what your experiences were. Lots of good, some bad for us.

 

Can't wait to read more. I hope the rude passengers, you encountered, were because of the timing of your sailing - because I will be on the Liberty, in a few weeks. Can't wait to find out if this was your only dissapointment.

 

Maybe it was a fluke because we sail this week almost every year. Perhaps the layout of the ship isn't as user friendly as others. It just seemed people would run into you, cut you off and were just plain rude. I do know that it seemed more crowded than other ships.

 

I've been on Freedom of the Seas, which is a larger ship and didn't feel this crowded.

 

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Pictures (hopefully they don't fill the whole page)

 

Fish n Chips:

 

Fried Calamari:

 

*I'll try to post this photo later. No matter how small I make it, it takes up the whole page!

 

Fish n Chips became my favorite place to eat.

 

STATEROOM:

 

We were in balcony stateroom 8253. Love Carnival's rooms and bedding! The layout of the room worked well for 3 females! The beds and pillows are the most comfortable I've slept on.

 

 

We had them turn the king bed in to two twins later in the day.

 

 

While the location of the room was convenient, we heard a lot of noise throughout the night and morning.

Could be because this was right across the hall:

 

[3redheads]

MUSTER DRILL

 

Muster drill was at 3:30pm and no need to carry around your life vests. One thing I did learn is not to rush down as soon as they sounded the horn or else you will be surrounded by people. It was hot and there were people crowded around. If you're the least bit claustrophobic, wait a few minutes.

 

SAIL AWAY

We had the Sail Away after 4pm. Here are some shots of Miami as we sailed away:

 

 

There was music and there was dancing during Sail Away.

 

Here I am with my mom:

 

 

My mom and my best friend dancing on the upper deck.

[3redheads]

FIRST DAY AT SEA:

 

We had a lazy day. The girls found lots of friends in the H2O club while the adults played cards by the pool and people watched. It was a very relaxing day!

 

HARRY'S SUPPER CLUB

 

We decided to enjoy Harry's on the first sea day. Here's the whole group of us:

 

 

Food porn:

 

Filet Mignon and Lobster

 

 

Shrimp as an appetizer:

 

 

Mushroom appetizer (I think):

 

 

Chocolate sampler dessert:

 

[remharri]

You're pictures are perfect size on my screen, not sure about others. Just letting you know :)

 

~Regina

[kerrytens]

You're pictures are perfect size on my screen, not sure about others. Just letting you know :)

 

~Regina

Mine too. Always love your reviews, btw:D

[3redheads]

COZUMEL:

 

Having previously visited Passion Island last year, we decided to go again.

We booked through This is Cozumel. For $45 per person, plus the taxi ($15 per person, roundtrip) we enjoyed a day in paradise!

 

We got off the ship as soon as we docked and took a taxi to Bahia Ciega. Here is the view from Bahia Ciega, you can see Passion Island in the distance:

 

 

 

 

We got there so early, we took the boat with the employees over to Passion Island. Isla Pasion is where the Corona beer commercial was filmed. It truly is a beautiful place!

 

$45 included 4 hours (or more) lunch, water trampoline, drinks, kayaking and games.

 

Here are some pictures:

 

Looking left-no one:

 

Looking right-no one:

 

 

The water trampoline:

 

 

Kayaking with Carlos, an employee:

 

 

More to come...

[bee-bee]

Will be on the Liberty in just under 12 week. Looking forward to your review and pics.

[3redheads]

The employees on the island are top notch! Ida runs things and is the friendliest person you could ever meet! So is Leo, her assistant. Carlos kept the girls busy.

 

We could have spent our whole vacation there! It was that special.

 

On a funny note, this is what I saw when I entered the bathroom stall on Passion Island. I ran out of the bathroom! It's an iguana. I didn't know if it would jump on my head.

 

 

When we arrived, one of the employees was letting this crocodile loose on the island. No worries, he won't bother anyone. My daughter held it before he was let loose:

 

 

What a fabulous day!

Some pictures of the sunset:

 

 

[3redheads]

Food from dinner in the Main Dining Room:

 

Turkey dish, it was very good:

 

 

I think this was a pasta dish:

 

 

SEA DAY

 

Another lazy day. Spent some time on deck and in the casino.

 

CAYMAN ISLAND

 

Booked a stingray and snorkeling tour through Stingray Sailing. The cost was $45 per person and was worth every cent! They are very highly rated on tripadvisor and on this board.

 

He met us at the dock after we tendered. There were 17 in our tour. The catamaran holds many more people, but Chip prefers to keep his tours small and personal.

 

Our first stop was the stingray sandbar. The water is about 3 feet deep and you go in and feed and hold the stingrays. What an amazing experience!

 

 

Best picture of the vacation! My mom would kill me if she knew I posted this!

 

 

After playing with the stingrays, we sailed to the reef for snorkeling. My favorite photo of my friend, Kim. She looks like a little kid in big kid's snorkeling gear:

 

 

Before we left, Chip lured a 4 foot eel out of it's hole. They are nasty creatures and it chased him around.

 

That's it for tonight. I will continue working on my review tomorrow.

[efhuggins]

Best picture of the vacation! My mom would kill me if she knew I posted this!

 

 

 

 

 

Too funny!!! I love it!

[mss22859]

Can't wait for the rest of your review! We'll be on the same itinerary in Oct. The pictures are awesome!:)

[jdbmga]

Great review! Can't wait to read the rest. Your mom looks like she was having a great time. We did that excursion with Stingray Sailing in July as well.

[trini_ras]

Loving your review, I'll be on the Liberty in 3mths. Thank you for taking the time to share. :D