Carnival Liberty Western 10/5/2013 review--and a day at Disney too!

[LibrarianBecky]

Welcome! This is a review of my family’s vacation that included one night at Walt Disney World and a 7 night Carnival Liberty exotic western cruise. Not many food pictures—almost never remember to do that—but lots of detail and suggestions. So, if that is your thing, please read on!

 

My family consists of myself (mid-30s), my dear husband (mid-40s), and our 7 year old son. We started planning our trip in December of 2012. I’ve been on four cruises befor e (2 Carnival, 1 Royal, 1 Celebrity). My DH has been on three before, and my son on one cruise before (he was 3 years old, though, so does not remember much of it). I read about many ships, but in the end, the one that best fit our time frame was the Carnival Liberty. She consistently receives good reviews on this board, so we decided to book early saver in February 2013.

 

We loved the early saver rate. We originally booked an inside room on the Panorama deck, but because of price drops, moved up to an Oceanview room mid-ship on Riviera. We also received $180 in on board credit, which is always nice! We really liked the OV room! Very big, the sofa bed was very comfortable –I even slept on it one night, and it would be fine for an adult (not just a place to stick a kid). I’m not sure a tall adult would like it very well , though. My DH is over 6’0 and found it a bit short. At 5’2, I find almost nothing a bit short, so it was fine for the night I spent on it. Having a window was great. My son especially enjoyed looking out at the waves, seeing other boats while in boat, etc.

 

Here is a picture of him in the window seat:

http://images.photo2.walgreens.com/232323232%7Ffp53838%3Enu%3D7%3B38%3E5%3C8%3E237%3EWSNRCG%3D3%3B73835484328nu0mrj

[LibrarianBecky]

Hmmm...I wanted the pictures to just appear in the post, not as a link. Let's try again:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3ce02b3127ccef43b6b7cd93700000030O00AZt3LJu2ZNmIPbz4C/cC/f%3D0/ls%3D00106267297320131023181651520.JPG/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

 

We began our vacation with one night in Walt Disney World. This was not our original plan, but was something that we added a few months after we booked out ship. I was looking at airfare and getting frustrated at the price and the fact that there were no direct flights. I was also less than pleased with the hotel prices in Miami—we always fly down a day early. I joked with my husband that I wished we could just fly into Orlando—less expensive direct flights, cheap hotels, etc. Then, I saw that Disney was holding Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party on the night we would be flying to Florida.

 

We’ve been to WDW once, about two years ago. We’ve never done of the parties….so we decided that we should just do it! We booked our flight and hotel for the night before to Orlando, got tickets for the Halloween party, and booked a rental car. Our plan was to fly in to Orlando on Friday morning, check in to our hotel, go to the party at 4:00 p.m. (earliest you can get in with party tickets), stay until the party closed at midnight, get up the next morning and make the 4 hour drive to Miami. The difference in price in flights and hotel covered the cost of the rental car, and we had enough rewards on our Disney credit card to pay for most of the tickets, so it didn’t cost us any more to go this route. Time/driving it did cost us something, but I will say that the party was totally worth it.

 

We had an absolutely fabulous time at Magic Kingdom for the party. All three of us loved it! We rode every ride that we wanted to with almost 0 waits. We trick or treated, met some characters, and saw some awesome fire works and the Boo to You parade. It was a great way to start our vacation! We closed down the park at midnight, so we stayed the entire time. Love, love, loved our time in Disney.

 

Getting up the next morning and driving to Miami? Not as in love with that. The drive itself was very easy. It is highway almost the entire way. It was a Saturday morning, so not a ton of traffic, even when we got into Miami. Our problem came when we got off the freeway at the wrong exit, got completely turned around (no gps), and couldn’t find a gas station to fill up the car. We found the Budget rental office, and they were VERY nice. They gave us directions for where to get gas, took care of the paperwork for dropping off the rental with no trouble. We were able to get a taxi at the Budget office without any problem—there were several lined up there. I believe it was $15 for the taxi to the port, so very reasonable.

 

Our problem, though, was one of time. I planned on us leaving at 8:00 and being on the ship by 12:30/1:00 at the latest. We had Faster to the Fun, and wanted to get on the ship ASAP. The drive took us more than the planned four hours, because of stopping for tolls and two bathroom breaks. It took us longer in Maimi because we got lost, and we didn’t get on the ship until 2:30. Not a huge deal—ship didn’t leave until 4:00 so I never was worried we wouldn’t make the ship. However, it was a lot of stress/hassle. We loved our time at Disney, but if we combined a cruise/WDW vacation again, we would plan it from the beginning and sail out of Port Canaveral.

Edited October 23, 2013 by LibrarianBecky

[Jeafl]

Nice start, I'm looking forward to reading the rest. :)

[RetesGirl3]

 

Hi! Can't wait to hear about the ship!! Thanks for sharing!!:) Jane

[boaterette]

Nice start.

[michelle1836]

looking forward to reading the rest! did the same cruise on the Liberty this summer

[LibrarianBecky]

I"m going to review our dining experiences next. There are many different food venues! We enjoyed almost all of them--the buffet was so-so, but we had a more positive experience everywhere else.

 

Dining

 

Guys

We had these on embarkation day and agreed that they were very good. My husband especially liked them and had them several more times during the cruise. Toppings bar was great. Staff did a good job of keeping it stocked and clean.

 

 

Mongolian

I love the idea of Mongolian grill. I had it for lunch on a port day, when the line was shorter. During sea days, the line for it was so long, I wouldn’t consider it. My husband did have it on a sea day, waiting about 20-30 minutes for it. The day I had it, I tried the Thai barbeque sauce, which was listed as 1 pepper for heat….but I found it VERY spicy. So much so, that I ended up eating something else. I did taste good, but was just too spicy for me. I’m not a huge fan of spicy food though—mild-medium wings is all I can do!

 

 

Pizza

My son loved the pizza and had it several times throughout the cruise. I had it once and thought it was good. Whenever we went to the pizza place, though, there was always a line. I’m not sure if they just couldn’t get ahead of the crowd or if they want you to always have hot, hot, hot pizza, so they don’t make any ahead? The line went quickly, don’t get me wrong….but there was always 10+ people in line for pizza.

 

 

MDR

We ate dinner in the Main Dining room each night. We had Any Time Dining, which we loved. This was our first time with this kind of dining, but we thought it was fantastic. We never had to wait for a table. Our wait staff was very good, no trouble there. Everyone made a special effort to be extra kind to my son, which I appreciated. I had plenty of water refills; never had to ask for it.

 

The food itself was okay, with some high spots and a few things that we didn’t particularly enjoy. There were a few things that I really liked: the cured salmon dish on the ‘didja’ menu, the chilled soups, the tom ka gai soup. My husband loved the braised beef brisket. We both liked the filet/short rib dinner. For dessert, my son and I both loved the warm chocolate melting cake. I also enjoyed the black forest gateau. We thought the prime rib was just okay, same with the lobster. I had the seafood newburg and didn’t really enjoy the sauce with it. Overall, I wouldn’t describe the food as gourmet, but it was good.

 

My son had pasta and tomato sauce almost every night. He tried some of the chilled soups and liked them. He LOVED the warm chocolate melting cake and had it almost every night for dessert.

 

 

Buffet

I don’t have too much to say about the buffet. The breakfast buffet was good. I love having fresh fruit already cut up for me! We had pancakes, bacon, home fries, and all were fine. The two times I tried the buffet for lunch, I was not as happy with it and ended up with something else. We did not try the buffet for dinner, so cannot comment on that.

 

 

Deli

I had a Rueben sandwich from the deli one day for lunch and really enjoyed it. Very tasty and fresh. I didn’t end up eating here again, but I certainly would recommend it. The line can be a bit long, so go at off times to avoid that.

 

 

Room Service

We ordered room service several times on this trip. My son loved the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from there. Just a heads up to parents—they toast the sandwiches. This was fine for us, but if it isn’t for your little one, you may want to let them know to not toast them. I had the roast beef sandwich—very good, but it did come with mustard on it, which surprised me. I also had the shrimp salad sandwich. I think it was probably good, but perhaps shrimp salad isn’t for me. We ordered the chocolate cake both times—VERY GOOD. I would recommend this to everyone! We also loved the plates of cookies—great for nibbling.

 

The wait time for room service was a bit longer than I would have liked. Both times that we ordered it, it was a 45 minute wait for our food. Neither time we ordered was late at night or just after getting back from port….just random times during the afternoon. For us, room service wasn’t a particularly quick way to get something to eat, but it was tasty. I know that 45 minutes isn’t a horrendous amount of time to wait….but if you have a hungry kid, it can seem quite a bit longer! 

 

 

 

Fish and Chips

I didn’t have this, but my husband did have it once. He thought it was tasty. It is pretty hidden up on deck 10, so definitely check it out, especially if the lines everywhere else are long!

 

 

Blue Iguana

I had the breakfast burrito one morning and really liked it! I also had it for lunch one day and enjoyed that as well. Definitely a good choice and much better/fresher tasting than the buffet.

 

 

Diamonds Steak House

My husband and I ate here one evening. It was delicious! We have had good experiences at the steak house each time we have gone. I decided to get the surf and turf combo (4oz filet and 7 oz lobster), and that was actually a good choice. I was definitely full, but I still had room for dessert. I’ve ordered one of the larger steaks before, and that was not the case!

[LibrarianBecky]

Camp Carnival

 

My son enjoyed many of the activities that Camp Carnival had to offer. We looked over the activity schedule we received at orientation and marked things that he thought he would like. Some of the things that stood out for him: coloring a t-shirt, making candy ‘art’ (powdered flavored sugar, like a pixie stick, but he loved it), towel animal folding, and dancing/games with other kids. I thought the counselors did a great job. They were friendly and seemed to enjoy being with the kids. I was a little disappointed that some of the family activities (karaoke, for example), weren’t well attended, but this really isn’t Carnival’s fault. My son probably spent 1-2 hours at Camp each day of our cruise. It was a nice little break for my husband and I, but we still had plenty of time together a family.

[mlbarnhill]

I'm enjoying your post, as I will be on the Liberty on April. Great job so far...

[Sparky2]

Enjoying your review so far and looking for more.

 

This is the itinerary for the 2nd leg of our B2B next January.

[saltybones]

Great Stuff! Keep it coming, please.....

[Engineerstar]

Hello Becky? What cabin # did ya'll have? Was it quiet?

[KrystalWaters]

Hello Becky? What cabin # did ya'll have? Was it quiet?

 

would like to know this too :)