Carnival Liberty Review from 1st time Crusier

[Shelly196731]

I’ve returned from my first cruise and am going to offer information that I was looking for before I left on this cruise. My husband is an introverted person and likes to keep to himself, where I’m always into everything. We don’t drink or party and not much into dancing or gambling. And we still kept busy and had a great time. I’m going to try to bullet tips, so that they stand out. It was a great journey and I’m so glad we went. Everyone has their own way of getting there. First off, if your flight isn’t arranged with the Cruise line, I would strongly recommend flying in a day or so before the cruise. Why take the chance of blowing the whole trip because it’s raining in another state and your plane can’t make it on time. Now for my experience………

DAY 1

We arrived at the cruise terminal about 11:15 or so. We checked in and got our sail and sign card, then were directed to the lobby to wait to be called on board. Because we had the FTTF, we were among the first called and were on the ship, eating lunch by noon. Also note that because of the FTTF, our room was ready, so we were able to drop off our wine and carry on bags in our room first. Our luggage was in the room before 1:30 so while others were just getting on, we were able to unpack and set up our room. Our room Steward, Waynan met us in the hall way and our first schedule was on the bed, telling us the time and place of each activity that was going on for the day. I noticed that the Muster Drill was scheduled 15 minutes before sail off. We found Waynan, who told us where to go to report for the Muster Drill. I wondered how this was going to work out. So let me not keep you in suspense.

No one likes the Muster Drill. It’s hot, you stand for almost 30 minutes and you’re packed in like sardines. However, pay attention. Crap happens and when it happens, you want to be sure you know where and how to get there to get away from it. There is not getting out of it. They close the lido deck, it’s that important. And don’t complain about it to the stewards. It’s the law and it’s for your safety. Just get it over with as quickly as possible and don’t keep your other passengers waiting, because they won’t start until they feel everyone is accounted for.

After the Muster Drill, we watched as Miami faded out of our site. We were on our way!

We explored the ship and I went down to play a bit of Super Trivia, while Jeff took a nap. With the Super Trivia, we were put into groups. My group had some really fun people and we named ourselves "The Smooth Operators". The Super Trivia had been split up into three days. I had reserved a place for us at the Steakhouse. Because it was sail day, I got a free wine bottle. They opened it there, but corked it later, so that I could enjoy it in my room. Jeff doesn’t drink, so it was all mine. The food was amazing and the staff was awesome. Earlier that day, I participated in a tour of the spa, and they had a raffle. Several people won but I was not one of them. I had reserved two massages for after dinner. I had buyer’s remorse the whole trip after. The massage experience was no different than the ones I have at home, but way more expensive.. The first day I learned:

· If at all possible, get the Faster to the Fun (FTTF) option. Note that the cost of $49.99 covers two people, so you only have to buy one (that’s $25 per person).

· You can bring up to 12 soda’s and one bottle of wine per person as a carry on. But you must carry it on. I brought my little wine cork with me.

· Do not get a massage the first day on the ship. They get cheaper as the trip goes on.

· Use a highlighter to note important information on your “Fun Times” bulletin or schedule. Each day there are drink specials, sales in the Fun Shops and Massage specials, as well as fun events each night.

· Use your “Fun Days” loosely. If you make it to something, great, if not, your still on vacation in the middle of the ocean. You can’t beat that.

· When you come on the ship, your excited and everything seems like you have to have it. Other than the drink you have to have during "sail off", I would advise to give yourself 24 hours before spending money.

I'll break this off and post more tomorrow!

[RetesGirl3]

Would love to hear:) more about your cruise! Keep it coming!

[luvcdays]

It sounds like someone is hooked on cruising :D Glad you had a good time and can't wait to read more....

[Shelly196731]

I'm most definitely hooked and have been talking it up all day to my co-workers. The saga continues.....

Day 2 Fun Day at Sea

This was the day that worried me the most when I was planning for our trip. I wondered if I would be bored. What in the world would they do with 2000 passengers all day long? No worries, they have plenty on days at sea to keep you entertained. Jeff was not impressed with the TV Selection. They have 10 channels, and 5 of them are dedicated to Carnival Cruises. We did like the channel that showed where we were and how fast we were going. I know that laying around watching TV on a cruise isn’t what most people have in mind, but Jeff doesn’t get to do that much at home. He did finally catch the whole James Bond movie, so he was pretty excited about that. During the day, there were Ice sculptures, seminars, trivia contest….. All kinds of things. Jeff slept most of the day, and I spent some time getting some sun at the adult pool. I do have to say that I was surprised that the pools and hot tubs were not overly crowded. And there were plenty of available chairs when I went to lay out. For lunch, we had the Guys Burgers, which was amazing. I pretended that since it was “free”, it didn’t have any calories either.

That night was Elegant Night, so we dressed to kill and headed into the dining room. Along the way, there was plenty of opportunity to have our pictures taken. I talked Jeff into stopping for one set. No one pushed you into it, or jumps out at you when you walk by. We had “My Time Dining”, so when we arrived, there was about a 20 minute wait for a table. Jeff put the pager into his pocket and we walked out onto the lobby deck. Not many people were about and we had a great time talking. Jeff reached into his pocket and noticed the pager was red. It didn’t vibrate, so we have no idea how long it was paging us, so we scurried right in. That night we had lobster. Jeff was amazed that we could eat there and leave without paying a bill. I don’t think he believed me when I told him we could just go. He kept looking back, like some Samari Bouncer was going to chase us down with the check. We wanted to get to bed, as the next day was the day at shore and we wanted to get started early. I was so excited to find our bed turned down, and our first towel animal on the bed! Plus, Waynan had brought us the Fun Times. I eagerly highlighted all the points of interest for the next day before I went to bed.

· Don’t panic when the water gets all over the floor during your shower, like I did. The floor has a drain that collects the water. I used most of my towels because I was so horrified about what happened.

· Our room was in the middle, deck 1. I loved it because we were close to getting off and the lobby. Also, we didn’t feel the movement of the ship at all. I did notice the movement at the theaters in the front and rear of the ship a little bit.

· The food at the buffet is pretty good, but not out of the ordinary. I’m pretty sure the breakfast eggs come from a carton and the bacon was way too thin and fatty. For me not to care for it, says a lot about it. The theme restaurants and the Pizza Pirate are really good.

· When eating at the dining room, you can ask for whatever is on the menu, as much as you like. If you want two shrimp cocktails, you just order them with your dinner.

· In the dining room, they don’t offer you lemonade or tea, so if you aren’t partial to water, you have to ask for these things. There are no additional charges for having lemonade or tea, it’s all included.

· I did take my pop with me for breakfast and lunch. I like Coke Zero with my breakfast, and this worked out really well for me.

· In the dining room, if you don’t like it, ask for something else. They will bring it to you, no problem.

· Unless your purpose is to party on the ship, have a few drinks but refrain from getting too trashed. Oh, I enjoy watching those who do not take this advice, but you’re paying a lot of money to see new places. Doing it with a hangover can’t be pretty.

· If you don’t like to eat in a crowded room, take a stroll to the adult section in the back of the ship, or there is a little place that looks down upon the dining room, where the Fish and Chips are. Behind the dessert bar, there is a set of stair that will take you up a floor. There is almost no one there and you can get a nice, quiet table with a great view of the ocean.

· Make a trip to the casino and ask to have a lanyard for your Sign and Sail card….. Even if you don’t intend to use the casino. They will punch a hole in the side of the card for you. This makes it easy to carry around your neck, while you are traveling around.

DAY 3 Cozumel

After breakfast, we headed down to floor zero and out to investigate Cozumel. At this stop, we had to have our card and our driver’s license or passport. We had made reservations on-line to visit the Chocolate Factory in Cozumel, but there were no Carnival Shore excursions that would take us there. We decided to follow advice and take a taxi. Getting off the ship was pretty easy. One thing I noticed is that at all the stops we made; it appears that the cruise ships have created their own small shopping areas that are nice and pleasant. We had our own plans for the day, so we walked right out of the cruise ship village to where the taxis were lined up. Now everyone on these forums recommended the taxis and I do have to agree with them that driving in Cozumel probably isn’t the best thing for newcomers. The prices for the taxis were posted, $90 for an Island tour and a trip to the Mayan Ruins and $80 for just an island tour of 3 hours. We negotiated a price of $80 to take us to the ruins and to the chocolate factory, as this was the two things that we really wanted to see.

At the Mayan Ruins, it was $8 per person to get in and another $18 for our guide, Angel. He was amazing. He did his best to paint a picture of how the ruins were used long ago. He explained some of the Mayan myths and was a great source of information. These Mayan Ruins do not have the height like Tulum or in Mexico, but there is a lot of history here. A couple of the ruins still had finger prints left by the people who lived there long ago. The tour lasted about an hour and was worth every penny.

Our taxi was waiting for us, so off we went to the chocolate factory. Our taxi driver knew a little English and I knew some Spanish, so we were able to communicate pretty well. During our trip, he told us that the sticks in the beach indicated that turtle eggs had been found. He explained that it was illegal to disturb the eggs, which I thought was great. Since we had a little time to kill before our Chocolate factory tour started, he drove us around the island. He stopped at one of the beaches with a restaurant and I asked him if he had lunch. He kind of indicated that the place would give him for bringing us there, so we went up to order lunch. I noticed that the place had a different menu for tourist than regular customers. Margarita’s there were about the same price as the ship, however were a lot larger and had more tequila in them. Of course I ordered one. The beach was amazing and nothing that can be seen in the United States. The water is so clear, you can see straight to the bottom. And it’s as blue as I’ve ever seen. The whole sea around Cozumel looks like God poured blue dye into it; it is truly a sight to behold.

After the beach, we traveled downtown to go to the Chocolate Factory. I had read the reviews on Trip Advisor and knew I had to come to this place. The taxi driver had a little bit of trouble finding the place; it’s not a large factory. As a matter of fact, it is a family owned business, tours done from their home. I want to mention that I’ve been to Hershey PA and to the chocolate factory there. This tour was just as good. We were greeted by the owner, who took us to the demonstration room. A short movie explained how the beans were picked and grown. The owner explained to us how chocolate was discovered and evolved from a bean to the wonderful treat it is today. He explained the difference between real chocolate and processed chocolate, how coco butter is made and about white chocolate. He showed us how chocolate was ground in the past, and told us that now it is sent to a factory to be ground. He provided us with some amazing samples and sent us home with what promises to be the best hot chocolate known to man. If you love chocolate and history, you can’t go wrong with this tour.

After the chocolate tour, we were back at the cruise ship village. We looked around some of the shops there and headed back to the ship. Our intention was to watch the ship depart from Cozumel from the third level walkway; we had no idea what we were in store for. Which is a perfect time to lead into my tips:

· Please remember that there is no tourist’s bubble that protects you from harm or being arrested. Carnival has no way to protect you from immigration or not using common sense. I have learned in my life that common sense is not so common. Coming back to the ship, we noticed an ambulance and had heard that someone had way too much to drink and had passed out. Apparently instead of completing the cruise, they were headed to the hospital. I cannot imagine the expense the tourist is going to incur as a result of this. Coming onto the ship, we heard the hysterical crying of someone who had decided to bring aboard their own smoking substance. For the record, I have nothing against this, but it is now legal in Washington state and Colorado, so if this is important to you, smoke it while you got it, or travel to a pot friendly state. But whatever you do, do not bring it on the ship, THEY WILL CATCH YOU. At this port, we also witnessed someone being escorted off the ship by security. I have no idea what this person did, but from the loud conversation heard from the 3rd level of the ship, she wasn’t happy about having to find a place to stay while they arranged transportation home. Also, while in Cozumel, a woman was standing IN THE MIDDLE of the road to take pictures. She must have thought her tourist bubble would prevent a car from coming along and running her over. I felt like getting out and handing her “the sign” (reference Bill Engvall joke).

· It gets warm in Cozumel, so I would recommend doing the ruins the first thing in the morning. And most definitely bring bug spray. Again, bring bug spray. I can’t say it enough, bring bug spray. We did and were thankful for it. Speaking of creatures, note that you are in a tropical climate and may see iguanas and other wild creatures. Great photo opportunities, but always remember the above information. A shark in the water is still a shark in the water. If you go into the water to get a better picture of the shark, you will probably be eaten.

· Angel was a wonderful guide and well worth every penny we spent for the time with him. We could have skipped the money for the tour and read the information on the sheets. But he gave us history that wasn’t on the signs. Of course we gave him a large tip. He was well worth it.

· If I had it to do over again, I would have asked the taxi to take us to the ocean after visiting the ruins and gone snorkeling before or after the chocolate factory. The water there is amazing and I’m sure we would have seen some really great things.

· If you like chocolate, visit this Chocolate Factory. The tour was so interesting and the chocolate was amazing.

· I know that in most countries, people speak English, but I’m a firm believer that you should try to at least learn tourist language if you are visiting a non-English country. It does help when there is something that they have trouble translating into English and you are a guest of their country. When in Rome, do what the Romans do kind of thing.

· It’s better to purchase your souvenirs outside the Cruise ship village. The cost is slightly less expensive and the vendors will negotiate with you. It also helps the people in the community. In my experience, the posted price is more of a suggested price. They will come down a little bit.

· Be sure to be prepared for any type of weather. Since we were visiting during the rainy season, we brought disposable ponchos and kept them with us, just in case.

[Shelly196731]

Day 5 Mahogany Bay

This is another day I wasn’t sure about. As I previously said, being a red-head, I wasn’t much of a beach person (this seems to have changed as a result of the cruise). I looked at the Carnival Shore Excursions and couldn’t find one that had a promising review that didn’t involve water activities. I’m going to be honest right now. I was scared to death I would be stung by a jelly fish. Sharks were the least of my worries, I was sure I would be stung. My husband was stung as a child and had told me several time how painful it was. I was determined not to get in the water. At the last minute, I booked the Carnival Excursion for Mahogany Bay Beach Escape with Snorkeling. That morning, we woke up and had breakfast, then walked right off the ship. Because we were the only ship in port, it wasn’t crowded at all. We took our tickets over to the “Magical Flying Chairs” and they told us that once we got to the beach, we could turn our tickets in and receive our arm bands. Now I’m not a lazy person, but I did like the view from the chairs. We could clearly see the “Swim with the Dolphins” just to the left side of the bridge. Once we arrived at the beach, we went to the booth and received our arm bands. I had to turn in my Sign and Sail card as a deposit for the snorkeling gear and for the locker we purchased for $10.00.

The chairs are covered in a shell, which can be retracted to get more sun, but we didn’t sit in them one time. We spent a lot of time snorkeling. The water wasn’t as blue as Cozumel, but it was still pretty clear. I wanted to note that there was no one at the dock to explain how to snorkel, we were on our own. We’re pretty smart people and figured it out pretty quickly. I was glad they gave us the floating devices; it helped us float around the top of the water, to see the things below. The lady on the deck mentioned there was a barracuda that lived near some rocks, but I thought it was best we didn’t go investigate. She assured us he didn’t bite, but I still took a pass. We did see amazing fish and a stingray. After a couple of hours, we turned in our snorkeling gear and got our floats out and relaxed in the water.

This is a short visit and we returned to the ship at the required time. After getting cleaned up, Jeff joined me in the Trivia games and we went to the casino and played a couple of hands of Blackjack with the dealer. We spent some time at some of the shops. I think this was the night that several people were lined up for the watch sale. I also think this was the night they had the comedian/juggler at the Venetian Theater. We had a wonderful evening.

· Because of my fear about the jelly fish sting, I Googled what to do “just in case” and was pleased to discover that if I was stung, Jeff would not have to relieve himself on my leg. I packed a bottle of vinegar, just in case. Web MD said if it is a box jelly fish, to call for emergency help. The Beach manager did mention that she had been stung a couple of times earlier that week (thought I don’t think it was on this beach). In any event, look it up and be prepared, just in case.

· The cost of the locker was $10 and well worth having our items secured. There are about 300 guest visiting that beach at one time. Since this excursion doesn’t come with the tourist bubble option, it’s just better to keep everyone honest by eliminating temptation.

· When you leave the ship, the time you should return to the ship is posted as you leave. It always seems to be about 30 minutes before sailing.

· Carnival ship time is always the same as the port of departure. Please note that the time may be different at the ports you visit. Cozumel was an hour behind and I think Grand Caymans was 2 hours behind. So if you have a tour on your own, keep in mind that you may have to keep track of the time difference.

[Shelly196731]

Day 4 Belize

This is our first Carnival Sponsored Shore excursion and the one that I really didn’t want to miss. I had booked the Xunantunich Ruins with Lunch on-line several weeks before the cruise. All of my Carnival Shore Excursion tickets arrived with my Fun Times on Sunday night. These included information on where we were to meet up to meet our tour group. We were processed pretty quickly and didn’t wait long in the theater before our group was tendered ashore. Our guide Lynette, was waiting and we were promptly loaded onto the air-conditioned bus, with a bathroom. The trip took about 1 ½ to 2 hours, but because of the guides, time flew by. On the way, she explained about Belize, the history and plans for the future. While driving through Belize City, she explained that some of the houses are in poor shape, as Belize averages at least one hurricane each year. Each time a house is rebuilt, it is blown down again by the hurricanes. We unloaded onto a ferry that was hand cranked across a small stream and loaded on a van to be taken to the “visitor center” of the site. Bug spray wasn’t needed here. We had the option to walk or ride in a van up a small hill to the site. These ruins were also breathtaking. Lynette explained that most of the things you learn about the Mayan culture are 50% based on evidence found at the sites and 50% BS (basic speculation). Angel in Cozumel said pretty much the same thing. Lynette explained the buildings and the significance of each ruin. Then for the grand finale, the big climb. I’m 46 and the climb seemed pretty easy. I have short legs and kind of did a crawl climb, as the steps are pretty high up. For those who didn’t wish to climb, not worries, they were lead around to a meeting place. The view from the top was amazing, you could see Gaugamela (about 2 miles away) from the top of the ruins. During our climb, Lynette pointed out that a Howler Monkey was in the tree next to us. We were at the ruins for about 1 ½ hour before we were led back to the vans and taken to lunch. Lunch was at a local restaurant that makes their own Cashew wine. They offered free tastings of all their wine, and I didn’t really care for the wine, so I passed on buying some. Food is like beauty, it’s all in the eye of the beholder. Both Jeff and I loved the lunch, while the couple next to us didn’t care for it. I’m looking for a recipe for Jerk Chicken and red beans and rice made with coconut milk on-line. After lunch, we had a few minutes to look at the vendor goods and purchases. Lynette asked if we had any questions during the ride back and there were a few. Again, the ride back wasn’t boring and I was glad we took this excursion. Well worth the money.

Once we returned to the ship, we had dinner in the formal dining room (Jeff was a little less hesitant this time). There was no wait and we were led to a table for two. After dinner, it was Action Hero night at the dive-in theater, so we went outside by the pool and pulled up lounge chairs and enjoyed the show.

· If you pick only one shore excursion, Belize would be the place to do it. Driving through, there didn’t appear to be much to do around the cruise port.

· This excursion is awesome and worth every penny. Just be cautious of yourself and other passengers, if you climb to the top of the ruins. Remember what I said about the tourist bubble.

[Yankeegirl]

We were on the same sailing (oct. 5-12). Enjoy hearing you perspective. We really enjoyed the Liberty and are already researching our next cruise. What did you do in Grand Cayman?

 

 

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[Shelly196731]

DAY 6: Grand Cayman

I booked this tour in March, when it was dark and cold in Ohio and really was looking forward to the sunshine. One of the things we love to do is take tours and learn antidotes and history about different places. For several weeks, I pursued Trip Advisor and the Carnival website to see what would be the best way to explore each place we visited. For Grand Cayman, there were several options. We had considered renting a car, but the cost was almost $100, and that didn’t include gas or the cost of getting into attractions. I had looked at websites that offered tours, but they were the same cost of the shore excursions offered by Carnival. So I had debated on the amphibious bus tour that included a history tour, but didn’t seem to stop anyplace, and snorkeling or the Pedro St. James, Hell and Beach tour. The first tour had a higher rating, but Pedro St. James had a great review on Trip advisor, and I really wanted to see it. So I booked the Pedro St. James, Hell and Beach shore excursion through Carnival. We had our typical buffet breakfast, this morning electing to have omelets made. Then we proceeded to the Venetian Theater, to get our stickers and wait for our tour to begin.

We boarded the tender about 10 and it was only a five minute trip to the port. When we arrived, it was a mess. There was a guy that was holding a sign with our excursion, but he directed us to go to the green tent. We didn’t see a sign at the tent, so he told us to wait by the middle bar holding the tent up. People were going all over looking for the right excursion. We had expected to be gone about 10:30, but didn’t board the buses until after 11. We still had a wait for 4 people who didn’t show. I have to say that I loved Pedro St. James. The view of the ocean and the grounds is unbelievable. The presentation was very well done and the Pedro St. James guide was very knowledgeable and really told the story. We did get to stop at the Rum factory, but it was pretty crowded. The rum cakes were pretty good and I enjoyed the samples of the different varieties of run. We were only there for about 20 minutes. We then went to Hell, which has a strange rock formation in this place of beauty. I would like to recommend this excursion, but the guide was awful, in my opinion. I should have known better, as other reviewers of this tours warned us about this particular guide. I had taken a chance that I would get one of the better guides and I lost. Other tours I have been on pretty much give a running commentary during the trip. This guide told us very little about Grand Cayman. I even asked him about Blackbeard the pirate, as several businesses are named after him. The guide said that the only thing he knew was that once a year, they had a pirate festival. He didn’t offer much information about the island at all. I really enjoyed the places we went. Let me explain how clear the water at the beach is. My husband is 6’2 and was standing in deep water. I could look down and see his shoes. The water is as clear as any pool water. The beach didn’t have lockers, but one of the bus drivers who were with our group opened up our bus and allowed us to put our things in the bus. I noticed there was coconut water for sell and I had to try it. It wasn’t as sweet as I thought it was, but it was okay. I did buy a Rum Punch at Calico Jacks and I think it put hair on my chest. I have a pretty good tolerance of alcohol, but trust me, one glass of this will definitely let you know you’ve had rum.

Because of our late start, we didn’t return to the port in enough time for me to get cleaned up from the beach and back out to explore Georgetown and Grand Cayman. I was a little disappointed, because I had wanted to see the museum and some of the sights downtown. So when we returned to the ship, I took a shower, then took a nap for a couple of hours. When we woke up (Jeff doesn’t believe in letting me nap alone), we went to the dining room for dinner. This was the second elegant night and I was ready to take my new tan and show it off. I carefully dressed up in all of my finery and off we went to the dining room. There was no wait to get in, but while we were waiting for someone to come seat us, I looked down and realized……. I hadn’t changed out of my slippers. So here I am dressed for success wearing old house slippers. We giggled on our way back to the room, so that I could slip into something more appropriate.

This elegant night didn’t include lobster, but still had really good selections on the menu. I noticed escargot was on the menu and was a little hesitant ordering it. I didn’t know if I could get the thought of eating snails out of my mind. Jeff said he wasn’t going to try it, but our waiter, Rey convinced me to try. Once they came, Jeff had to give it a shot as well. So here’s the thing. They tasted really good. But I’m an avid gardener and just couldn’t get it out of my head. I lived the experience, and that is enough. Since it was “Oscar Night” at the dive-in theater, and they were showing “Lincoln”, after dinner we got our popcorn (behind the Blue Iguana) and watched the show. I was a little put out because halfway through, this family sat right behind us and began talking loudly. I don’t think they were there for the movie, I thought it was kind of rude, because there were so many people trying to watch the movie. No worries, we picked up our stuff and moved to the other side. I’m not stressing out on vacation. When we returned to our room, there was the “Fun Times” with instructions on departing the ship.

· The dining room menu comes with a “didya ever want to try” feature. So now I have met my bucket list of trying escargot and frog legs. Both were good, but I don’t think I’ll be ordering them anytime soon. But what a great opportunity to say “Been there done that”.

· When looking into activities at the ports, I found that some of the tours offered are the same price as offered by Carnival. I was really glad that I bought the two packages in Belize and Mahogany Bay but didn’t really enjoy the tour in Grand Cayman. The reviews of the Pedro St James, Hell and Beach mentioned the same issues I had with the tour. I took a chance and lost out, I feel. So I would recommend paying attention to reviews and tips.

· I would suggest visiting “The Taste Bar” on the 5th floor. Each day, they offer samples of items prepared in the steak house.

· I don’t know if it was because we had “my time dining”, but we had a different waiter each night. My favorite was Rey, we had him twice and he was really sweet.

Day 7 Last Fun Day at Sea

By this time, Jeff was really getting into the spirit of the cruise. He wanted to check out the watches again and go to the Victoria Lounge to see a magic show. We’re still trying to figure out how the magician did some of his feats. We had $20, so we decided to try to get the $2,500 out of the cash box (a person tries to get the $ symbol in the correct hole, which pushes the money out). No luck there, so I headed to the Blackjack table. I did pretty good there. Later, while Jeff napped, I tried the video Black Jack and a few slots. I participated in the Trivia game and finished the last round of the Super-trivia. My group won 2nd place and I received another “ship on the stick” to add to my collection. This was a fun group and I enjoyed seeing them around the ship. One of the members of our team mentioned that Carnival used to hand out things that were useful, like hats, water bottles, things with their logo as prizes. Although I’m proud of my ship on a stick, I think it would be great advertising for them to start that up again. Just think of it, I win a tee-shirt and am wearing it after the cruise. Someone is going to ask me about my cruise. What a way to interest people in your product.

Not only were we provided with written instructions on how to depart Liberty, Karl with a K (our Cruise Director) provided complete instructions on channel 17. The last day, your room steward brings luggage tags to the room, with your zone number on them. The information in the Fun Times gives you an idea on what time your zone is scheduled to depart. Because we were Faster to the Fun, we were scheduled to be the first people off the ship. So now it’s more like “Faster to Returning to Reality”. We also received a letter that the ship had to pick up equipment, then would dock at port.

While Jeff was napping in the room, I laid out on the deck for about 45 minutes. I was walking across the Lido deck when I remember the promise to myself that I would go down the slide at least once. My motto is that while on vacation, let the kid inside out sometimes. I think Carnival has gone to the salt water filtration system because the water is very salty. You want to be sure it doesn’t get in your eyes or mouth. YUCK!

After dinner, we decided to pack our bags, put the luggage tags on and sat them in the hallway for pick up. We finally decided to stay up late enough to enjoy the comedy show. This would rival anything I’ve seen at the Funny bone, a local comedy club around here. We laughed so hard, my sides hurt. These guys were awesome and before each set, Sheena the comedy club manager asked us to raise our glasses and came out with a hilarious toast. Back at the room, I looked out our port window for my last look at the waves. This was the only night I could feel the ship move in my room. I could tell the ship was really moving that night. The waves were crashing against the ship as we plowed through. Jeff went up on deck and said the water was hitting pretty hard and you could tell the ship was getting wind. I was awakened about 3, when they stopped to load the equipment. Jeff slept right through it, and I fell right back to sleep.

· I’m not sure of other cruise ships, but the cabins on this cruise were larger than I expected. When we unpacked, we put our items in the closets and drawers and put all three of our suitcases under the bed.

· I’m a light sleeper and each night, I slept 7-8 hours, which is rare for me (I usually wake up at the 6 hour mark). Perhaps because we were at a lower floor, but other than hearing the occasional announcement from Karl with a K, the floor was really quiet.

· Not only do the room stewards replace your bathroom towels, they replace your wet beach towels. I don’t know why this surprised me. The first time I returned from the beach, I hung my towel with my bathing suit on the line provided in my shower (you pull it across and attach it by the shower head). I went to dinner and when I came back, the towel was gone. For a second I panicked, because they tell you they will charge $22 for missing towels. I came out and said “Jeff, someone came in and took our towel” before I noticed two new beach towels stacked neatly on our couch. Thankfully, he just shook his head at me.

· The bingo games are a bit more expensive than here at home. $20 minimum for 4 games that pay $100, $125,$150 and $200. The last night they had a much larger payout, but I didn’t go to that one.

· I would advise you to participate in the raffles, It seems that not many people come to the drawing and for most of them, you have to be present to win. For instance, the last night raffle for the free cruise, there weren’t more than 75 people present. Alas, I didn’t win.

· If you like to drink and dance, they have the Red Frog and Blue Iguana on the lido deck and Carnival plans quite a few dances there. In addition, there is what seems to be a couple of good dance clubs and bars on level 5.

· This cruise had plenty of family friendly comedy shows, juggling acts and magicians. When they say “Adult comedy”, that is exactly what they mean. They are going to use adult language and talk about sex. Happy and Cowboy Bill were hilarious, but if you are offended by curse words and sex talk, this may not be for you.

· If you are more on the quiet side, they do have a library that is open from 3-4. Serenity deck was almost never crowded and seemed like a quiet place to take your glass of lemonade and read a book in the sun, or the shaded area.

· For families, they have mini golf, board games in the library, Camp Carnival, swimming and movies.

· Did you know that typical Cruise employee signs a contract to be on the ship for 6 months? And they typically work 14-16 hour days. For instance, the waiter in the dining room night didn’t end at 9:30. They are responsible for preparing the dining room, and food for the next morning, often times not getting off work until about 5:00am. For this six months, they get no days off.

· I heard that the crew is welcome everywhere except the casino. Because of the long hours, many choose to sleep.

· A previous poster mentioned that if you are in the casino, you may want to stay away from the slots. Repeating what that poster said, In the US, most States require the local casino’s to pay out in slots to the customers a percentage of the winnings, as high as 90%. There is nothing requiring the cruise ship to have a slot payout. This applies to the video blackjack table. I played for a while and I figured every 4-6 hand, the video dealer would be dealt a black jack. The tables with the dealers give a fair shake.

Day 8 Time to leave

I don’t have to explain to those experienced in cruising the feeling of having to leave ship. Your envious of those who are starting their journey. We had planned to drive to Key West before flying out the next day to recover from our cruise. Jeff was skeptical if he would like the cruise, but has said that he would do it again. In this post, I tried to address some of the questions I had before I set sail. If after reading this, someone has a question that I haven’t covered, please ask. If I can’t answer it, I’m sure someone on Cruise Critic can. This cruise had such a variety of activities, I was not bored once. I see several more cruises in my future. My dad has a saying that “they treat you so many ways, you’re bound to love one of them”. That pretty much sums it up.

[Georgiagolfer]

Shelly,really enjoyed your review of the Liberty. I can almost see the excitement in your eyes from reading your comments. Glad you enjoyed your 1st cruise, and I'm sure you have now joined us that are "hooked" on cruising. BTW, DW and I have cruised Liberty 2 time (Eastern and Western routes), and she is 1 of our favorite ships.:D

[michelle1836]

Day 4 Belize

This is our first Carnival Sponsored Shore excursion and the one that I really didn’t want to miss. I had booked the Xunantunich Ruins with Lunch on-line several weeks before the cruise. All of my Carnival Shore Excursion tickets arrived with my Fun Times on Sunday night. These included information on where we were to meet up to meet our tour group. We were processed pretty quickly and didn’t wait long in the theater before our group was tendered ashore. Our guide Lynette, was waiting and we were promptly loaded onto the air-conditioned bus, with a bathroom. The trip took about 1 ½ to 2 hours, but because of the guides, time flew by. On the way, she explained about Belize, the history and plans for the future. While driving through Belize City, she explained that some of the houses are in poor shape, as Belize averages at least one hurricane each year. Each time a house is rebuilt, it is blown down again by the hurricanes. We unloaded onto a ferry that was hand cranked across a small stream and loaded on a van to be taken to the “visitor center” of the site. Bug spray wasn’t needed here. We had the option to walk or ride in a van up a small hill to the site. These ruins were also breathtaking. Lynette explained that most of the things you learn about the Mayan culture are 50% based on evidence found at the sites and 50% BS (basic speculation). Angel in Cozumel said pretty much the same thing. Lynette explained the buildings and the significance of each ruin. Then for the grand finale, the big climb. I’m 46 and the climb seemed pretty easy. I have short legs and kind of did a crawl climb, as the steps are pretty high up. For those who didn’t wish to climb, not worries, they were lead around to a meeting place. The view from the top was amazing, you could see Gaugamela (about 2 miles away) from the top of the ruins. During our climb, Lynette pointed out that a Howler Monkey was in the tree next to us. We were at the ruins for about 1 ½ hour before we were led back to the vans and taken to lunch. Lunch was at a local restaurant that makes their own Cashew wine. They offered free tastings of all their wine, and I didn’t really care for the wine, so I passed on buying some. Food is like beauty, it’s all in the eye of the beholder. Both Jeff and I loved the lunch, while the couple next to us didn’t care for it. I’m looking for a recipe for Jerk Chicken and red beans and rice made with coconut milk on-line. After lunch, we had a few minutes to look at the vendor goods and purchases. Lynette asked if we had any questions during the ride back and there were a few. Again, the ride back wasn’t boring and I was glad we took this excursion. Well worth the money.

 

Once we returned to the ship, we had dinner in the formal dining room (Jeff was a little less hesitant this time). There was no wait and we were led to a table for two. After dinner, it was Action Hero night at the dive-in theater, so we went outside by the pool and pulled up lounge chairs and enjoyed the show.

· If you pick only one shore excursion, Belize would be the place to do it. Driving through, there didn’t appear to be much to do around the cruise port.

· This excursion is awesome and worth every penny. Just be cautious of yourself and other passengers, if you climb to the top of the ruins. Remember what I said about the tourist bubble.

 

we did this same excursion and loved it!!

[Flatlander204]

Fabulous review!! Thank you for sharing your experiences

[GTO-Girl]

We have never sailed the Liberty but have already booked her for Nov 2014 out of Port Canaveral and we cannot wait,

 

Thanks for such a great review,

[paytonjsplace]

LOVED your review! You actually were in the itinerary we took last year from Tampa on the Legend. We are Eastern Caribbean on November 9th on the Liberty and CANNOT wait!!! Thanks so much for giving us a window into your vacation!!! ANd, I had to say, I loved that you said that you had to have your "pop" in the morning -- as a fellow midwesterner, I understood you, but I know the southerners had to translate that to "coke".

[rebel7254]

Thanks for the review. We're doing the Eastern route in starting next weekend on the Liberty.

 

If you think Deck 1 was quiet, then you'd probably like Deck 7 (Empress) even better. Just passenger cabins above and below. It costs a little extra, but well worth it in my opinion.

 

Good to hear another positive experience with FTTF as well.

Edited October 20, 2013 by rebel7254

[Shelly196731]

Thanks everyone, I'm glad you enjoyed my review. When I first decided to take a cruise, I had no idea what to expect. It just didn't make sense to me that there would be enough to keep us from being bored, but I was kept entertained and had plenty of time to relax. I wanted to try to write a review that would help answer some of the questions that I had before I went on this cruise. I'm hooked on cruising and will be planning my next one soon.

[Vacationoholic]

Going on the liberty in less then a month!! So excited! Thanks for the review

Edited October 20, 2013 by Vacationoholic
Didn't realize the review was finished, want to save to read later.

[trini_ras]

Thanks for taking the time to share :)

[jaxcruiser66]

We leave in 40 days for our Liberty Western Caribean cruise...and all of your insight is super helpful in us getting ready. THANK YOU!

[Sparky2]

Enjoyed your review. You had a lot of excellent points for first time cruisers.

 

We also stay on Riviera midship, and love the quiet. It's also so easy for getting on & off the ship at the ports. Because of doing inside, lower level, we are able to do B2B cruises.

 

By the way, for future reference, with ATD you are able to request the same waitstaff each night, but you might have to wait for one of their tables to open up.

 

The itinerary you were on is one that we're doing next January. We're doing Western Exotic & Eastern Exotic.

[Engineerstar]

Great Review. Do you remember what Cabin # ya'll had???

[luvcdays]

Thanks everyone, I'm glad you enjoyed my review. When I first decided to take a cruise, I had no idea what to expect. It just didn't make sense to me that there would be enough to keep us from being bored, but I was kept entertained and had plenty of time to relax. I wanted to try to write a review that would help answer some of the questions that I had before I went on this cruise. I'm hooked on cruising and will be planning my next one soon.

 

Thank you for doing such a detailed review. I am so glad that you had a great time! :)

[maxwell'sparents]

Thanks for the great review. We're sailing on the Liberty in August and have heard nothing but positive things.

[Shelly196731]

No, I sure don't. It was 12 something, but it was right by the stairs and elevators. It was a wonderful room, didn't feel the ship move at all, until the last night when it was hurrying to get into port.