Liberty Feb 5-13 Trip Journal with Pictures

[Newbcruiser1]

Day 4: St. Thomas

 

 

We woke up early yet again, and watched from our balcony as we pulled into port. St Thomas has some beautiful scenery!

 

 

 

We headed to the Windjammer for breakfast today. It was VERY busy and it took about 15 minutes to find a table.

 

[JKYChildes]

Thank you for the great review... It sounds like you had an amazing vacation!! I will be boarding the Liberty in 12 days and I am very much enjoying the sneak peak you've given me.:D

[Palmetto Pilot]

Who was the cruise director? How was he/she?

[Newbcruiser1]

Here is a shot of the craziness on the pier - there were various tours picking people up here, as well as a free shuttle to the shops down the pier at Havensight Mall, however it's less than a 5 minute walk.

 

 

The shopping area is split into 4 or 5 separate buildings, each with a variety of different stores.

 

 

We had booked a tour online with Godfrey Tours, and we had a wonderful day.

Our open-air bus for the day:

 

[GSuitesailing]

Really enjoying your review and photos. Thank you!

[Newbcruiser1]

Godfrey was great! Very informative!

 

He took us shopping in downtown Charlotte Amalie for about 2 hours, followed by some sightseeing, a visit to the Mountain-Top store/bar/lookout point (where there was a 20 minute downpour), a 2.5 hour stop at Magens Bay Beach ($4 entrance) where we had lunch and went for a swim, a little bit more sightseeing, and back to the ship. He included cold non-alcoholic drinks as well. Unfortunately it rained a few more times throughout the day, but it didn’t interfere much with our fun.

Here are some pictures from the day:

Downtown Charlotte Amalie:

The 2 Liberties:

 

 

The Mountain-top lookout, bar, and store:

 

 

 

[dadofbkm]

Awesome post!!! Keep it comming.

[BLAMBKY]

WOW, I wish everyone would do this! I have really enjoyed your descriptions and photos. Yes, it is about time my family goes on a cruise!!!

[snoop-a-loop]

Awesome pictures! I'm really enjoying your review!

[Loucat]

Hoping for more soon! Thank you as we will be on Liberty on her Western sailing in March. :)

[CruisinDawn]

It looks like you have all the pictures of the compasses, any chance you can email them to me if I give you my email address?

Thanks,

Lynn

Here is a link to scans of the compasses from another person from the same cruise.

Keep in mind, these are for the 8 night Eastern Liberty. Formal night was moved from the 2nd night to the 3rd because of Superbowl too.

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[volley1974]

Thanks for the link, that is great!

Lynn

[Eng23]

Great review so far. I've been waiting for some photo's of Liberty since the drydocking. The new features look good especially the outdoor big screen! I'm on Freedom in October and can't wait to see the new features on her! :D

[sapphireblue]

This is absolutely wonderful information about the Liberty. Your pictures are great!! It's great to read about the 8 day cruise - of which there are very few.

 

We are sailing on the Liberty next month and will be staying 2 cabins away from yours in a D1 as well. I am guessing that the cabin configuration will be the same as yours.

 

I had wondered how the roof of the dining room affected the view below as the deck plans show that is juts out abit - I'm guessing thats what you said was the walk way below. Because we're 2 cabins aft - that might not be below ours. Not that it's a big deal - I was just wondering.

 

I have a question about St Thomas. I know the ship leaves at 8:00pm. Do you know if the shops downtown stayed open that late? We have a bit of time in the morning to shop, then we have a tour booked in the afternoon. So I was hoping that if I wanted to head back into town if the shops would still be open. I imagine Havensight would still be open. Did you happen to notice or hear anything about store hours there?

 

I am looking forward to reading and seeing more of your pictures. I am enjoying them.

[sapphireblue]

:oOops ... this was a duplicate. I deleted it.

[Newbcruiser1]

The foggy view from the mountain-top just before a downpour:

Magens Bay:

 

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

There were TONS of fish in the water today which made swimming somewhat unenjoyable for me:

We made a quick stop to see Coki Beach which doesn't look as nice as Magens Bay, but it's apparently great for snorkeling and for those that go to Coral World next door) and we arrived back at the ship around sunset, and watched sailaway from our balcony.

We ate at Chops today with a large group and everyone loved it. I had shrimp cocktail, French onion soup, and the petit filet mignon. They have a wide variety of side dishes which are served family style so that everyone can have a bit of everything. For dessert, I had the mud pie and it was to die for! There’s definitely a lot of food at Chops, so if you’re planning on eating there, make sure you starve yourself for part of the day in preparation! ;) We were sceptical about spending an additional $25 per person for dinner when we could eat for “free”, but it was well worth it and I’d definitely do it again!

I took a few bites before taking this picture because it was too good!

 

[Newbcruiser1]

After dinner was the pool party/buffet at 11:15 with live music from 2 bands, as well as a DJ. Unfortunately we were too full from Chops to eat anything, so I can't comment on the food. It was a lot of fun but very windy despite the ship’s slow speed. They also made use of the big screen by the pool tonight for a movie before the pool party, and a Katy Perry concert after, neither of which I can comment on as I didn’t go to either. The quality of the screen was great though, day or night, and it’s a great addition to a beautiful ship!

The Dance Floor was packed!

Another towel animal waiting for us on our bed:

 

[Newbcruiser1]

Who was the cruise director? How was he/she?

 

The Cruise Director was Mike Szwajkowski, a fellow Canadian. I thought he was great! He did some things I've never seen before (like the "behind the scenes" show, and some awesome skits at the farewell show), and was very funny. I think he's leaving soon to go back to the Voyager out of Galveston, but I'm not sure when. He's on these boards though, so maybe he'll chime in with that information!

[Newbcruiser1]

This is absolutely wonderful information about the Liberty. Your pictures are great!! It's great to read about the 8 day cruise - of which there are very few.

 

We are sailing on the Liberty next month and will be staying 2 cabins away from yours in a D1 as well. I am guessing that the cabin configuration will be the same as yours.

 

I had wondered how the roof of the dining room affected the view below as the deck plans show that is juts out abit - I'm guessing thats what you said was the walk way below. Because we're 2 cabins aft - that might not be below ours. Not that it's a big deal - I was just wondering.

 

I have a question about St Thomas. I know the ship leaves at 8:00pm. Do you know if the shops downtown stayed open that late? We have a bit of time in the morning to shop, then we have a tour booked in the afternoon. So I was hoping that if I wanted to head back into town if the shops would still be open. I imagine Havensight would still be open. Did you happen to notice or hear anything about store hours there?

 

I am looking forward to reading and seeing more of your pictures. I am enjoying them.

 

You will love the room location! We didn't hear any noise from the surrounding areas (i.e. the dining room), and it was very convenient to run down the stairs to the Royal Promenade... the Cafe was at that end as well. The room configuration was nice having the bed by the balcony as it gave us more room when we walked into the room, even if the sofabed was open. Regarding the view directly down, you will probably still see that walkway if you look straight down, but it was so far "in" that I didn't even notice it until day 3 when I was hanging over the railing. If you're just standing at the balcony looking out, it doesn't obstruct anything.

 

I don't think the stores downtown were open very late, however the stores at Havensight at the port were open late... I think until 6 or 7. They have everything in that area, so if you miss anything downtown in the morning, you should be able to find it there (or in St. Maarten the next day!).

[sapphireblue]

Thanks for the info. Very helpful!

 

I am looking forward to enjoying the cruise as much as you did.

 

Where in Canada are you?

[Gator0178]

Maybe I missed it?? But, what happened to your sodas you tried to bring on board?

[Shomari]

Maybe I missed it?? But, what happened to your sodas you tried to bring on board?

 

 

^^^ They made it up albeit a little later than the luggage.

Awesome review!!!

[alise79]

Awesome review!!! Keep the pictures coming!

[mikeblum]

FANTASTIC REVIEW AND THE PICTURES ARE GREAT...we sail the same 8 day in march...19th...and yes Mike the CD is gone already to the Voyager of the Sea's...