Another Froufie Review - Jan 21-28, Carnival Liberty

[Froufie]

Back on board to get gussied up for 2nd elegant night and I find this in my cabin - what a great 'pre-dinner' snack!

 

 

Before dinner I did visit the IT room to chat with Debbie about my problems and this is when she kindly added 30 minutes to my package which was helpful. After that I caught the tail end of the 7:30 comedy show - and laughed like crazy. I have seen Percy Crews II on other ships and he is just as funny as before.

 

My starters this evening were the baked eggplant and mozzarella followed by the seafood platter (more smoked salmon YAAY). Others enjoyed the escargots. For dinner instead of my usual chateaubriand I had the martini braised basa filet with tomato, chili and fennel, which was quite nice (and found pieces of prime rib and other stuff on my plate donated by my tablemates - we did a lot of tasting/sharing of certain dishes which was fun). The amaretto chocolate cake for dessert was divine!

 

Carol and me:

 

Baked eggplant and mozzarella (sorry I started before remembering to take a picture!)

 

Smoked salmon/seafood appetizer

 

Martini braised basa filet

 

Bonnie's chateaubriand

 

Tonight’s show was Rock On - again very well done. Then I caught Percy’s late night comedy show, made another donation to the casino, got my tea and back to my cabin at 2 am (when will I ever learn?).

 

And yes the suitcase is out on the couch now and I have been throwing in things I know I won’t need for the remainder of the cruise - makes the packing a bit easier - bit by bit?

[Froufie]

Friday, January 27th - Day at Sea and the saddest day of all

 

Well the cruise is nearing its end and you can feel the ‘frantic’ excitement of everyone on board as they want to try and do everything before getting off the ship tomorrow.

 

9 am finds Bonnie in the shops for the European bracelet sale (you guessed it cheaper copies of those pandora beads) where she makes a few more purchases. 9:15 am we meet up with our friends for another MDR breakfast - everyone looks pretty wiped out!

 

After breakfast I head to the shops to grab some souvenirs for those at home, and then catch up on my emails. 12 noon is the final round of Super Trivia and off I go to try and win that prize. I am very lucky with my guesses on some of the questions and my team is grateful - I am also the designated dice thrower as I have been doing a good job (and scared to death of rolling that minus 5 which happened to some teams leaving them in a precarious position in the end). Being a competitive team we have some ‘issues’ and cruise social hostess Marie (from New Zealand) who is in charge of the Super Trivia game now nicknames us The Hecklers!

 

The game is finally over and the results are being read out - starting with 6th place - so far don’t hear our team name which is a good thing - and lo and behold - first place goes to FULL SIGNAL with 65 points!!! WOW! I am thrilled to pieces as I am now the proud owner of a ship on a stick and a bottle of (cheap) champagne! So exciting and a great way to end the cruise. Have some pics taken to commemorate the occasion and off to chill the bottle in my cabin planning to take it to tonight’s dinner to share with my tablemates (for a farewell toast).

 

Thrilled to death!

 

The winning team:

 

I find Bonnie on the Serenity deck and we plan to meet up to try those burritos after my slot tournament attempt - which was not good so no need to come back! Burritos were pretty good and lots of fun toppings.

 

After that I finally got to sit out in the sunshine enjoying the Serenity deck (Bonnie was off to pack). At approx 3 pm I pack up to go sit at the Alchemy bar for another teatime with Froufie. I finally meet up with some of the gang (roll call/full signal team mates) at the dining room door entrance and we fill a table for four and chat about cruising while enjoying some very sweet and yummy cakes and things! We finish up and realize it’s soon time for the Fun Farewell party (5-6 pm) and more drinks so we better go finish packing.

 

Now on most ships the Fun Farewell party is not well advertised and therefore not well attended! (which ticks me off a bit). Yes there is a mention of it in the Fun Times on the first day - but if you don’t remember or don’t look for it you won’t find it (on the last day it is only listed in the ‘tear off’ section of the Fun Times and simples states ‘Fun Farewell Party’ and the location with no mention of the entertainment or free drinks).

 

In this case it was busier than I expected - with the party in full swing. Waiters circulating with trays, New Dawn duo entertaining and people on the stage dancing along.

 

Cruise Director Karl was circulating and chatting with everyone which was nice to see.

 

We found our tablemates all gathered at one table so Bonnie and I joined them (and I got some good videos of bonnie and carol and kirk all having fun on stage!). Now Bonnie has caught on to this ordering of drinks NOT on the trays so before I know it we are surrounded with banana daiquiris - and boy are they good. I have 2 banana daiquiris and 1 rum punch and one ‘something else yellow’ and now feeling no pain (and this is why you should finish packing BEFORE the party and the free flowing drinks).

 

 

[Froufie]

I circulate around taking pics of some roll call friends and saying goodbye!

 

Bye to fellow roll call members and Full Signal team mates:

 

Bye to Brian and Anita:

 

Lots of dancing going on - videos: http://travel.webshots.com/video/3076742370059010061dPZjQB

 

And after all that drinking it must be time for a sushi snack!

 

Dinner tonight consists of baked sweet potato soup (1st time I had this and it was very very good!), caesar salad, and the panko crusted jumbo shrimp. We also ordered a plate of the bacon mac and cheese to ‘share’ and to be quite honest I was not that impressed - very creamy/cheesy but too bland for me.

 

Champagne anyone?

 

Panko crusted jumbo shrimp

 

Bacon mac and cheese (with a 'visiting' shrimp)

[Froufie]

For dessert we share some grand marnier souffle and cappuccino pie....and it’s time to take our farewell pics and say bye to the wait staff.

 

Bye Marie

 

Bye Carol:

 

Bye Bob:

 

The whole gang:

 

On the way out I find Trevor and Sue and say goodbye

 

 

A toast to the end of a fabulous cruise!

 

Marie and Carol come back to my cabin with me so I can hand over some ‘leftovers’ as they are both staying on the ship! (e.g. 2 cans of diet pepsi, 1 bottle of san pellegrino, tonic water, hair conditioner and eye makeup remover - all things I would have just left behind - remember I had a 49 lb suitcase when I left home!)...and yes I have a 6 lb bag of stuff which Bonnie has agreed to place inside her suitcase (gotta love that digital luggage scale) leaving my big bag at 46 lbs so no big worries for the trip home!

 

I now go use up my internet minutes, cash out at the casino and back to my cabin to pack my remaining clothes and stuff and get my suitcase out around midnight! This is the earliest night I get to bed - go figure!

[Froufie]

Saturday, January 28th - Heading Home or All Good Things Must Come to an End!

 

I placed a 7 am wake up call on my phone (ouch) and was happy not to hear any of those loud in-cabin announcements bright and early in the morning (I did ‘feel’ the ship docking earlier tho). Final breakfast with our good friends Marie and Carol at 8 am as we lug our carryons to the MDR with us. It seems pretty empty (breakfast from 6:30 - 8:30 am on debarkation day) with only a few tables still filled up. We have a final ‘hearty’ breakfast then say goodbye making sure our pics show our unhappy, pouting faces!

 

Well I suppose if you are staying on the ship for another week - you are pretty happy about it?

 

...but if you have to get off you're pretty miserable:

 

We are in the debarkation line (3rd floor lobby area) around 9:15 am but it is moving slowly - in fact not at all. Karl is making periodic announcements and looks like the customs/warehouse area is backed up so they ‘shut down’ the line for a while till it clears up.

 

By 10 am we are in the terminal finding our suitcases and a porter. We are whisked thru the customs line - as non-US citizens the customs fellow barely looks at our form and passports and waves us thru.

 

Out into the lovely sunshine and the ‘island’ to try and find our ride. I call SAS (preprogrammed on my phone thank god) and get an answering machine??? Hmmm....I now see an SAS van pulling up - and it looks very full. I speak with the driver who says each van has ‘dedicated’ pickups and I need to call Steve - I ask him to call for us as I was having no luck. He says he will?

 

I then call back about 5 mins later and Steve answers and says a van is on its way - where are we? And then moments later it arrives and we are onboard (and chatting with roll call pals Bobbi and Hugh on the same shuttle!). We leave the port area and are at the airport at 10:45 am (that was some might fast driving on the I-95 - I was sitting next to our driver and let’s just say he wasn’t taking his time!!).

 

We are let off first (terminal 3 Westjet) and of course find a major big line inside. We line up and wait but it’s not too bad cuz by 11:30 am we are at the gate having checked in, checked the bags and gone thru security (where I had to take off all my bracelets to get thru).

 

Well it’s been a couple of hours since we ate so time for snacks (pretzels/water).....and later a sandwich and an apple. Got to use the free airport wifi to find roll call members already posting from various airports! And emailed home info about flight delay....

 

We eventually board and while exhausted manage to catch some shows on the seatback satellite tv’s. It is an uneventful flight back to the cold and snow and I am not looking forward to it at all.

 

We make up some time in flight so we are not that late however upon touchdown we are advised that there is another plane at the gate so we have to sit on the tarmac for a while. The wait was annoying but what can you do?...and eventually we do pull up at the gate and disembark.

 

It seems 3 planes have landed within minutes of each other so the customs line up is huge! This is where I am so thankful for having a Nexus card which BYPASSES all the line ups - go to the left , special machine for the retinal scan, spits out a ‘paper’ and off to the luggage carrousel I go (I guess if you had only carryon luggage you could be out of the airport in minutes).

 

Of course only one luggage carrousel is open for the THREE FLIGHTS so it takes a very long time for luggage to show up. In fact Bonnie is already thru the long customs line and her luggage soon appears and after big hugs she is off (it is her son’s bday today and while she just wants to go home and rest she is off to a restaurant for a family dinner party!). I have been in touch with dh who says the airport is mobbed and he is circling as there is no parking space available....

 

I finally get my luggage and get outside into what seems to be a blizzard (okay it was fairly mild with rain/snow falling but it sure felt awful). Dh has my winter coat in the car (he is double parked) and we quickly load up and head home (kiddies waiting for me - oh ya I did end up cooking dinner for them!! What’s up with that?). Unpacked a bit and in bed by 10 pm!

[Froufie]

The Synopsis

 

Wow - how time flies....as they say. So much anticipation and planning and preparation and then it’s over so quickly - or it seems to go quickly! I really need to ‘adopt’ that philosophy of one week is not enuf and plan for b2b cruises all the time.....if only...... You just get settled in and it’s time to go!:(

 

Of course I now realize all the stuff I didn’t do...and wish I did - but I certainly had a very busy, fun-filled, entertainment-packed cruise and even tho I came home exhausted I wouldn’t have it any other way!

 

For those that have stuck with me to the end hope you were not too bored and you got all the info you wanted about the Liberty and the ‘exotic eastern’ itinerary.

 

More than happy to answer any questions and/or entertain any and all comments!

 

Thanks for reading and happy cruising :D:D

[maryann2]

 

Thrilled to death!

 

one ‘something else yellow’ and now feeling no pain (and this is why you should finish packing BEFORE the party and the free flowing drinks).

 

 

Congratulations on winning Super Trivia Froufie. I love playing that too.

Also I love the "something yellow" LOL

 

Thank you again for an entertaining review. What happened to Steve?

So nice that Marie was able to stay another week with Carol. Sounds like you were a great bunch.

[pcrum]

He mentioned during his routine that he was a CD before becoming a comedian. ( He was very funny ) We were on this same cruise.

 

I'm glad to hear that Jorge is doing standup on the ships. We had him as a CD on his next to last cruise and loved his humor! I loved the line, "I hear there is a gym on the ship, but I've never seen it."

 

Froufie, love the review. I agree with you that the Liberty is one of Carnival's prettiest ships!

[NCTribeFan]

You know I was fairly concerned before I did the HAL Hawaii cruise a year ago in November, that I'd be bored to death with 10 days at sea, but I really wasn't. And I don't even "do" many ship activities (other than lose money in the casino). I need to try some trivia games, but I just really like finding a (somewhat) quiet spot to read and relax on those sea days.

 

One of the best things about that 14-day cruise was that usually, by day 4 or 5, you're thinking that the cruise is almost over. There we were, after 5 sea days and 4 days in Hawaii, and we still had another five days at sea! It was glorious!

 

And you really get to know the crew, too, which is an added bonus, especially on a smaller ship. I bet you'll love your TA. If for some reason my cruise buddy backs out on me, I still might end up with you. Who knows!

 

Glad you had another great cruise with great weather, good food and good companions.

 

Stay warm! :D

[Froufie]

Thanks Joan - trying to stay warm - and I am absolutely looking forward to all those days at sea (ending with a couple of caribbean ports stops before reaching Miami!)

[Froufie]

Congratulations on winning Super Trivia Froufie. I love playing that too.

Also I love the "something yellow" LOL

 

Thank you again for an entertaining review. What happened to Steve?

So nice that Marie was able to stay another week with Carol. Sounds like you were a great bunch.

 

We seem to have lost Steve on the last night (altho he was with us at the Fun Farewell party - never showed up for dinner.....hmmm....)..we did however 'diagnose' him with a social problem (we're so bad) - seems he needed a few drinks before braving the dance floor and/or interacting with too many of us (and we did see him 'wandering' the shop in the wee hours looking for his cabin???):D:D

[Anung Un Rama]

Thank you for the wonderful review. I can't wait to try out the Liberty and the 2.0 upgrades in a few weeks. I'm sorry we're gonna miss you on the Breeze but hopefully we'll get to sail with you one of these days as you seem like a blast :D

[ardnassac79]

Froufie, thank you so much for an excellent review!! I cracked up multiple times, and I think you've just about sold up on doing this itinerary in April 2013 for our honeymoon! I think you need to go on another cruise soon, just so we can all read another review! :p

[pcrum]

 

Inside La Bombonera

 

 

My 'lunch':

 

 

OMG, that sandwich looks amazing...kind of like a monte cristo sandwich. I will definitely put La Bmbonera on my list the next time we are in San Juan.

 

And, I agree with you about the heat. Is San Juan ever cool??? If you were hot in Jan., I wonder!

[Froufie]

Thank you for the wonderful review. I can't wait to try out the Liberty and the 2.0 upgrades in a few weeks. I'm sorry we're gonna miss you on the Breeze but hopefully we'll get to sail with you one of these days as you seem like a blast :D

 

You are too kind! would love to meet you on a ship some day.....:)

[Froufie]

 

Inside La Bombonera

 

 

My 'lunch':

 

 

OMG, that sandwich looks amazing...kind of like a monte cristo sandwich. I will definitely put La Bmbonera on my list the next time we are in San Juan.

 

And, I agree with you about the heat. Is San Juan ever cool??? If you were hot in Jan., I wonder!

 

Ya a Monte Cristo sprinkled with icing sugar - yum yum :D

 

It was so fun finding this place after reading about it - definitely worth a visit!

 

As for SJ - have been there in November, December and January - and it was pretty warm all those times! :cool:

[ILCruzr]

Hey Froufie-Its Mitch (Diane's son)...loved your review. I wish there was a Flowrider when we were in Grand Turk! I just booked the Valor this past week for a friend and I for my bday week in November. I will be on it when you are on the Breeze. I can't wait as it's been a year since I have been on the Miracle. Time Flies!!! Hope you are doing well!

 

Mitch

[Froufie]

Froufie, thank you so much for an excellent review!! I cracked up multiple times, and I think you've just about sold up on doing this itinerary in April 2013 for our honeymoon! I think you need to go on another cruise soon, just so we can all read another review! :p

 

Congrats on the upcoming wedding - I think it's a great choice for a honeymoon!

 

If you woud like to contribute to the 'Send froufie on another cruise soon' fund let me know and I'll forward the details. Otherwise you will need to wait a while for the upcoming saga of Froufie Breezes Across the Atlantic :D:D

[CWcruisers]

What, no Coach Outlet in SJ? That's where you'll find me!;)

 

Chris, my DS and DIL did the Segway Tour in SJ and loved it. I did not do it because I was recovering from a broken wrist. So in October, we took them on another Segway Tour here is San Diego. I found them very difficult to operate, and this time, I was still nursing a broken foot, so that was definitely uncomfortable. They told me it was better in SJ because you went slower, whatever, been there done that.

 

So, now you've got us thinking and we've been exploring various TA's today. Looking for a package deal to help out with the airfare to Europe. Would love to do the Breeze, but those dates are a bit rough, but how knows, I'll keep you posted. We definitely want to do the Fall crossing since we have already done the spring.

[Froufie]

What, no Coach Outlet in SJ? That's where you'll find me!;)

 

Chris, my DS and DIL did the Segway Tour in SJ and loved it. I did not do it because I was recovering from a broken wrist. So in October, we took them on another Segway Tour here is San Diego. I found them very difficult to operate, and this time, I was still nursing a broken foot, so that was definitely uncomfortable. They told me it was better in SJ because you went slower, whatever, been there done that.

 

So, now you've got us thinking and we've been exploring various TA's today. Looking for a package deal to help out with the airfare to Europe. Would love to do the Breeze, but those dates are a bit rough, but how knows, I'll keep you posted. We definitely want to do the Fall crossing since we have already done the spring.

 

Ya I know - dd would have LOVED for me to visit that Coach outlet :)

 

And I guess I will eventually try out that Segway (given ideal conditions of course!)

 

...and that would be AMAZING if you and Chris came along!!! Let me know if can swing it! :D:D

[SMSACE6]

The Synopsis

 

Wow - how time flies....as they say. So much anticipation and planning and preparation and then it’s over so quickly - or it seems to go quickly! I really need to ‘adopt’ that philosophy of one week is not enuf and plan for b2b cruises all the time.....if only...... You just get settled in and it’s time to go!:(

 

Of course I now realize all the stuff I didn’t do...and wish I did - but I certainly had a very busy, fun-filled, entertainment-packed cruise and even tho I came home exhausted I wouldn’t have it any other way!

 

For those that have stuck with me to the end hope you were not too bored and you got all the info you wanted about the Liberty and the ‘exotic eastern’ itinerary.

 

More than happy to answer any questions and/or entertain any and all comments!

 

Thanks for reading and happy cruising :D:D

 

Oh Froufie...I do love your reviews, and this one of course is extra special, since Im booked on Liberty for October. I know how fast a 7 or even 8 day cruise goes by. ( Way too fast ! ) As for "bored", with one of your reviews??? Never! I cant wait for my turn, but I just will have to do so! Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to post your review and your photos are wonderful! Welcome "home"!:)

[Froufie]

Oh Froufie...I do love your reviews, and this one of course is extra special, since Im booked on Liberty for October. I know how fast a 7 or even 8 day cruise goes by. ( Way too fast ! ) As for "bored", with one of your reviews??? Never! I cant wait for my turn, but I just will have to do so! Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to post your review and your photos are wonderful! Welcome "home"!:)

 

Thanks so much for your very kind words and 'interest' in my review! I know you will have a fabulous time on the Liberty when your turn comes (and it will happen in no time! :D)..have a Guy's burger for me LOL!

[campdaan]

 

 

 

We also found out that a diamond ring was purchased by Trevor in St. Thomas and he had proposed to Sue the night before - how exciting! Congrats to a very lovely couple!

 

 

 

Congrats Trevor and Sue !...

 

We have sailed with them a few times.

 

Hey Froufie, Steve looks like someone I know, Is he a Massachussetts guy ?

[buddylover]

Well, Janet, another OUTSTANDING WONDERFUL review....enjoyed every minute of it......BTW, hair looked great (a beautiful color....LOL), loved the color of the mani and your variety of watches.....you looked super......hahaha......can't wait for the Breeze to see all those 2.0 upgrades. You would have been FINE on those segways, if I could do it, so could you....even tho it was HOT HOT HOT and we were "dripping" too. Do give it a try another time, they are a hoot, once you get the "hang" of it.

[gapearl]

Great review Froufie! :)