14 Days of Fun! Our B2B on the Liberty -- reprise edition -- 3/31/12-4/14/12

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OK, this is a reprise of our B2B cruise, thanks to Webshots sale and all of our photos being lost. If you read my review previously, this is the same review. If you read it recently, without photos, this will have all the photos!

 

Since Webshots shut down, all pictures have been deleted. I am going to repost review, and put the pictures back in. I wish there was a way to edit the review, and add them back in...

 

 

After spending 14 days on a B2B, it took me quite some time to type up this review. It is a total of 17 pages in Word, and I have close to 2000 photos. I will start with a brief review, for those who want just a quick snapshot, and then introduce our family, and start the real review. My focus is always on ports, so my apologies in advance for that, but I do have a lot of pictures of the ship, which I will post first. I would be happy to answer any questions about the ship as well.

 

 

Brief review:

 

Ship: Lovely; not as gaudy as some of the others; love the 2.0 additions (all of them, although we did not frequent the EA sports bar)

 

Cabins: 8457 and 8453; aft extended balcony and interior; 8457 is extra wide, only two like it on the ship; not on ship plans; otherwise rooms are just like all other balcony and interior rooms; 8457 had a couch; 8453 had a chair.

 

Food: Like many others, I feel the food quality and choices have dropped since our first cruise in 2009; that being said, we almost always found something we liked on the menu, and were never hungry; Blue Iguana: love! Guys Burgers: LOVE! I didn’t take any food pictures, as I don’t like taking pictures at the table, and there are plenty on the internet.

 

Bars: Did not go to EA sports bar, although we walked through it twice, and it was cool looking. Alchemy: awesome, our favorite. Strong drinks! Red Frog: beer yummy but strong; great drink menu, tried several. Ting Mojito: delicious! Blue Iguana: also a great drink menu, but tequila and I are not friends, so didn’t try very many there. Best thing about those two outdoor bars was the cool “vibe” they brought to the Lido deck, and the live music played there most afternoons.

 

Cameras: Most of the pictures were taken on one of two cameras: my daughter’s SLR Nikkon ____ and my underwater Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2.

 

Bringing alcohol on board: We walked on in Miami with three bottles of wine (one was a slightly oversized bottle), no problem. We did NOT smuggle. In St. Thomas we walked on with a bottle of vodka, no problem. In San Juan, we walked on with two more bottles of wine, no problem (there are details about that in the San Juan part of the review). In Mexico, we walked on with a bottle of Kahlua, no problem. We were only asked to check the alcohol in San Juan, and the towel guy said, “Just wine? Take it on.”

 

Smoking (or lack of): As a non-smoker, I was very happy with the extreme decrease in the amount of smoking. We had our paid meet and greet in the Stage (the only cigar/smoking bar), and you could not even smell it there. No smoking on Lido was very much appreciated (by me!), and our balcony area was mostly smoke free as well. Sorry, smokers! (For the record, I asked if our meet and greet could be moved to a non-smoking bar, as I didn’t think it was fair of us to take over the one place smokers could really meet. They did not move us.)

 

 

Introduction:

"We" are my husband, John, and I, Julie, and our 15 year old daughter, Kacy, and her best friend, Leah, also 15. John and I are 50 and 43, respectively.

 

 

 

This was the fourth and fifth cruise for John and I, the third and fourth for Kacy, and Leah's first and second. Leah got to go from blue card to gold...

 

 

I am almost OCD in my planning. I spend hours on the internet, researching everything. I love planning vacations.

 

 

 

Now for the actual review.

 

 

 

March 30: Travel Day

Finally. After 330 days of waiting, the day had come! We had to go to the airport early (7:30am) because that was the time we could get a ride. Coming from California, you really do have to fly out a day early, as the trip basically takes all day (or night if you can red eye it, which we’ve done a couple times).

 

I had put off booking flights for quite some time. Southwest doesn’t release their flights until 3 months out, and I wanted to explore the option of flying into Ft. Lauderdale instead of Miami. By the time they released flights, the prices had started to climb. I watched them go from around $400 in November up to around $700 in January! Internet price stalking begun. Finally, in the middle of February, I saw a Delta flight for $457. The times worked, and I bought it. It had two layovers on the way to Miami from Sacramento, and one layover on the way back. As I was choosing seats, however, it would only let me pick first class for some of the legs. Weird, but, OK. So I chose first class seats from LA to Atlanta, and again from Atlanta to Miami on the trip out. I chose first class seats from Miami to Minneapolis on the way back, thinking that something was wrong here… Price: $457. First class; almost too good to be true!

 

For a month and a half I kept waiting for Delta to contact me and tell me that there had been a mistake – no way can a teacher be flying first class! But no, when we got to the airport, our luggage was free (saving me $100 each way), and our boarding passes for the last two legs were first class seats! The weight limit on first class baggage is also much higher, which was good because we came in at over 60 pounds on the suitcases.

 

So what’s the difference between coach and first class? Bigger seats. Lunch served. Drinks free (all drinks; we had wine). Baggage free. Higher weight limit on bags. Hot towels before lunch. Pretty much pandered to all flight long. Makes going back to coach painful.

 

We arrived in Miami at 11:30pm, and took a cab to our hotel, which was near the airport.

 

 

March 31: Cruise Day!!!

At 8 am the girls knocked on our hotel room door. I had, literally, just woken up. They were fully dressed in shorts and dragging their suitcases! We’re ready to leave, they said. Seriously?? After sending them back to their room, we got up, had breakfast, and headed to the port.

 

 

 

We were at the port around 10:30, and handed a zone 7 card. We had brought three bottles of wine with us, two in my carry on, one in John’s. The one in John’s was an oversize bottle. As we went through the scanner, I told the guy, “we have wine.” He asked me to take a bottle out to confirm that it was wine, which I did, and John did the same. No problem walking on with three bottles instead of two! Sweet! Once we got into the terminal, checking in was quick and painless, using the kiosks they have in Miami.

 

We were called around 11:30, and on board around 11:45. We headed up to Fish N Chips for lunch, and then explored the ship a bit.

 

On our turn around day (April 7), I had Kacy use her good camera to take ship photos. She really did a great job, and all of these photos are hers…

 

The Arcade: Deck 5

 

 

 

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The Hot and Cool Dance Club:

 

 

 

My favorite place: Alchemy Bar!

 

Down the hallway from Alchemy (on the left) toward the Piano Bar and the Punchliner Club

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Piano Man Bar:

 

 

 

The Punchliner Comedy Club:

 

 

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Ceiling of the Punchliner:

 

The Stage Lounge:

 

 

Stairs at fore of ship on deck 5 (Alchemy just to the right)

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Entrance to Punchliner and Stage. This is where the line was for comedy!

 

Deck 5

 

Coffee bar/bakery on Deck 5:

 

Casino:

 

Deck 5 shops and sitting area at top of stairs down to deck 4:

 

Atrium Chandelier:

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Looking down from deck 5 to the lobby, on deck 3.

 

The Library:

 

Deck 4 photo area:

 

Lobby area, deck 3; this is where we waited on changeover day:

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The main Theater, the Venetian Palace:

 

 

 

Ceiling of the Venetian Palace:

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Moving outside for a bit: the jogging track:

 

 

Whale Tail Reflection:

 

 

Flags:

 

Only day with no chair hogs:

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Basketball court:

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Miniature Golf:

 

 

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Red Frog on Lido:

 

Red Frog on left, Blue Iguana on right:

 

Serenity:

 

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shoes in an elevator:

 

Versailles Pool (aft):

 

Stairwell:

 

 

Cherry on Top Candy Store:

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Casino:

 

 

 

Casino Bar:

 

Deck 5:

 

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Club O2:

 

 

 

 

 

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More Club O2:

 

 

Aft Lido:

 

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Our cabins were ready before 1, and our luggage arrived well before dinner, although I don’t remember what time.

 

 

Our balcony:

 

 

The balcony should have ended where the silver post is in front of John:

 

We had a planned meet and greet immediately following muster drill near the Red Frog Pub. There are a bunch of dining tables there, and about 15 to 20 people showed up. It had started pouring down rain during muster, and it was still raining pretty hard during the meet and greet. It was nice to put a face to some names, and the kids got to meet each other before the club events as well.

 

We had six o’clock assigned dining, as we always do, and were happy to find that we had a little booth for four. The location was not great, as the station was right outside the dining room doors, but our wait staff was friendly and efficient. John bought the wine package at dinner (once you are out to sea there is no more tax, so it save a few bucks to wait), and we had a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon with our dinner.

 

I wasn’t crazy about the menu the first night, and as a result we booked the steakhouse for the first night of the second cruise. More about that later!

 

After dinner we took a nap (helllooo vacation!) and hit the piano bar until midnight. “Piano Bar” Bob was fun and highly entertaining. He does this thing when people enter the bar (which I had read about prior to the trip) where he yells, “Look who’s here!” and the crowd yells, “Holy sh--! Come on in!” It’s hilarious to see how people react! We LOVE the piano bar, and really enjoyed Bob. He doesn’t have the greatest voice, but is good on piano and knows how to get the crowd involved.

 

Everyone should have a goal. My goal last year was to try every drink on the menu. Failed miserably. We’re not big hard alcohol drinkers, preferring wine and beer. So… this year same goal. I did pretty well the first day, knocking out the Hurricane Wave (which was good!) and the Red’s Remedy (also good and STRONG).

 

We also did the martini sampler at Alchemy. This is where you choose four of seven drinks, and they make you guess which ones are which. John and I both did it, and we both got 100%. Ioana and Adri and the two bartenders, and Ioana (pronounced “ya wanna”) became our new best friend. My favorite drink there was a basil drop… so delicious! They also do a cucumber drink that is so refreshing, and a spicy pineapple chipotle that is also yummy.

 

 

 

Standard balcony room:

 

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April 1: Half Moon Cay

After having a quick breakfast (Blue Iguana Burrito and Arapas) and coffee, we hit the gym like good folks.

We headed off ship around 11 am. We walked right down to the tender. Not sure that is what we were supposed to do; I was not paying any attention to announcements. Once we got to Half Moon Cay, we had about an hour to kill until our excursion time. We spent about half an hour on the beach, and then headed to the barbeque area for lunch. The lines weren’t horrible, and the lunch was good.

 

 

 

First view of Half Moon Cay:

 

 

When it was time for the excursion, we headed to the place we had been told to meet. We waited about 10 minutes, then were called. All of us boarded an open air bus to the horse area.

 

Once we reached the horse area, we were directed to get water shoes on (for those that were not wearing close toed shoes). Then they started loading up the horses for the land part of the ride.

 

 

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They take you on the land part first, and then you do a separate ride for the water horse. They use different horses and water saddles for the water part.

 

The horses were beautiful and clearly very well cared for.

 

The staff called over people to fit each horse, based on size (of horse and person, if that makes sense). One guy got you seated, and sent you out to where the other riders were.

 

This is where I have a bit of a gripe. Most of the guys working there were courteous and friendly. I’ve never had an excursion (EVER!) where I have felt that the staff was not courteous and friendly. When I went out into the area where the other riders were, one of the staff members was helping me into stirrups, and was actually really rude. He had a heavy accent, so at first I thought I just didn’t understand him, but I then realized that I was not hearing wrong. He had asked if I had ridden before, and what style, and I told him yes, and Western. He kept telling me that I had not. It was weird, and I kind of brushed it off.

 

We left for the land part of the ride all in a long line. The guide in front was right near me, and he was very helpful and informative. He led the group down the beach for a ways, then up the hill toward the highest point on the island.

 

 

 

 

 

We rode for quite a ways, then headed back toward the stables.

 

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The guides helped with the dismount, if you needed help, and then directed us back to the waiting area for the water portion. Shoes off for this part. The new horses were led out in water saddles, and a small number (maybe 15?) were called to mount up. I was glad that the group was split at this point, because it allowed me to get pictures of the girls riding, and then they were able to get pictures of us later.

 

 

 

 

This part was pretty amazing. You ride down into the water, in a line, and the horses take off. It’s not quite a trot, as they are swimming, but it’s not as fast as a gallop either. Your legs have to be folded up when they are in the water; not a super comfortable position to be in! The horses go for a bit, then turn and come back. (They do their horse business in the water too. A bit gross!) The horses are moving fast, the waves are coming in around you, and you’re in water up to your knees, hanging on for dear life!

 

 

 

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Once back on the beach, we dismounted (a bit tricky with no stirrups) and boarded the truck back to port.

 

We had a little more time to enjoy the beach before getting in line for the tender. The girls were anxious to get back on the ship. The line was super long, and they wanted to wait in it. We tried to get them to forget about it, and enjoy the beach for a bit, but they jumped in line to wait. John and I lay on the beach for a while, went back in the water, and by the time we joined the girls in line it was still a good 20 minute wait.

 

We were back on the ship by 4pm, showers and get ready for dinner and our second trip to the Alchemy bar. Bed early; we were tired!

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April 2: Day at Sea

John went up to get coffee at 7:30 in the morning, and came back with the report that there were far more towels and flip flops out than people. So it went on all four of our sea days: chair hog heaven.

 

He wanted to put towels out, but I figured it was time to make use of our huge balcony. Before booking, I had done a lot of research about where I wanted to spend fourteen days. I learned that on the Conquest class ships, there were two extended balcony cabins that were extra large: both ends of deck 8 aft. My PVP at Carnival had no idea, and thought I was nuts. He wanted to book me on 7, so I would not be under the Lido deck. I held firm, though, and booked Cabin 8457 for us, and 8453 across the hall for the girls.

 

Our sea day was a “relax, read, get some sun” day for the most part. Not a single picture…

 

We went to the gym in the morning; sea days make for a crowded gym! I was able to get an elliptical machine for half an hour, but when I finished literally every single weight machine was busy.

 

We did go to Alchemy at 2pm for the mixology class. Ioana led it, and it was a ton of fun! Well worth the $16, as you learn a bunch about vodka (all new information to me), and how to mix drinks. You also get to drink A LOT! We got three smaller drinks that Ioana showed us how to make, and then a regular size one of your choice off the menu as well.

 

Suffice it to say that we missed our 3pm meet and greet… Pretty sure there was a short nap involved before dinner!

 

I didn’t even realize that we had missed the meet and greet until the next day. Those drinks at Alchemy are STRONG, and I’m a lightweight.

 

This day was a formal night, so we got all dressed up for lobster!

 

April 3: St. Thomas

This was our second trip to St. Thomas. We had a sailboat excursion booked, and we were looking for Ting, a Jamaican grapefruit soda.

 

 

We left the ship around 9 am and took a cab into town. After walking around a bit, we found our Ting at $2 a bottle. We also were able to get some bottles of water and a bottle of vodka for one of the roll call members on the second cruise.

 

I have to say that I was not that impressed with downtown St. Thomas. Unless you are shopping for jewelry or hard alcohol, there is really nothing there. We hightailed it back to the ship via cab.

 

We walked right on with a bottle of vodka, five bottles of Ting, and water. They did not even ask us to check the alcohol. That made me wish I’d bought the second bottle requested by another roll call person! Of course, with two, maybe they would have cared?

 

Some random St. Thomas shots:

 

 

 

 

Getting off the ship:

 

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Our excursion with Island Girl was not until 1:30, so we had plenty of time to eat lunch on the ship and grab our towels and snorkel gear. We headed off ship again around 1, and started walking toward the meeting spot. We were the third ship in port, and it was quite a way to go to reach the land end of the dock! I was glad we left at 1, as I do not like to be late, and the Captain had sent me a confirmation email about being on time….

 

We reached the end of the pier (you have to walk out of the secure area to get to where the dinghy’s come up), with about five minutes to spare. It was hot, so we settled in to wait for Captain Mike to arrive on his dinghy.

 

I mentioned that I am a stickler for being on time? Well Captain Mike was at least fifteen minutes late. We were about to give up on him, as we were melting in the sun, and he had been so firm about being on time! Finally, this tiny dinghy pulls up, with another family on it. The email had said that the dinghy would be marked “Island Girl” so we really did not know if it was him or not. One of the other guys on the pier told us that it was Captain Mike, so we went down, introduced ourselves, and took the dinghy out to the sailboat.

 

Once on board, we motored out to Buck Island. The main sail was up, but the wind was low. We probably could have sailed, but it would have eliminated our snorkeling time.

 

At Buck Island we snorkeled for about an hour. It was Leah’s first time snorkeling (she used our other daughter’s gear), and she loved it! She had been worried because she says she’s not the best swimmer, but the salt is so intense in the Caribbean that it keeps you afloat with no effort at all. I don’t think you could drown in the Caribbean even if you wanted to!

 

The snorkeling was great. There were sea turtles, tons of fish, coral, and urchins.

 

 

Some underwater snorkeling pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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"Hi, girls!"

 

 

John approves:

 

 

 

After snorkeling, Captain Mike made up a snack tray of cheese, crackers, and apples, which we demolished! He also had water bottles, rum punch, and beer.

 

We motored back (no pretense of a sail this time), and took the dinghy back to the ship.

 

John and I chatted with Captain Mike both there and back, and he was friendly and open. I had read some reviews right before we left that were negative toward him personally, and I found those reports to be unfounded, in our case. We enjoyed his company. The price was typical for St. Thomas sailing excursions, $300 for the half day. We had a great time snorkeling!

 

If I were to go back to St. Thomas, I think I would just make it a beach day, like we did last year.

 

I have no idea what we did that night, besides dinner, because I did not write any notes about it! That probably means we went to bed early; we did that a lot! The sun really sucks the energy out of you!

Edited January 21, 2013 by jjtimes6

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Oh, our St. Thomas hot sauce!

 

 

We always bring home hot sauce for our boys. Tradition. :D

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April 4: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Last year we cruised on the Victory out of San Juan, so we spent two days pre-cruise in Old San Juan. Because of this, we knew that the CVS down the street had a wine selection that wasn’t horrible, and that they would probably let us through with new bottles in port.

 

So we headed off the ship early, just John and I, to go to CVS and pick up a couple of bottles of wine and some bottled water.

 

When we went through the scanners, the guy there kind of freaked out on us. He followed us out, and made us go to “the table.” The guy behind the table asked what we needed, and we said that we had been sent there. He asked what we had, and when we said, “Wine,” he said, “Just wine? That’s OK.”

 

That is how we were able to get two more bottles of wine on board!

 

We woke the girls up and after breakfast headed off the ship around ten. I had read about the free trolley (never used it last year, or even saw it), and so we headed across the street. Low and behold, there it sat. We boarded, and headed off to Fort El Morro.

 

 

 

Once again the only ship in port

 

 

In the trolley

 

 

San Cristobal (the fisheye lens got a workout in San Juan)

 

 

 

 

Last year we spent a couple hours at San Cristobal, and all of us (had all four kids) loved it. But we had not gotten to El Morro, hence the decision to head that way. We probably spent an hour and a half at El Morro before deciding it was time for lunch.

 

 

This was not our mode of transportation: