never sailed Carnival, have many questions

[Jax129]

Hi, I've sailed twice with Royal but am thinking of doing Carnival Liberty Eastern Itinerary. (love the itinerary) I'm looking at prices & it doesn't include gratuities & cruise insurance the way Royal does. Is there an option to buy that at time of booking? What restaurants on Liberty are free? Besides the steakhouse are any extra $$. Any advice about sailing with Carnival is welcome. I'll be devouring the threads getting familiar, I love to cruise & plan!!!!:)

 

Thanks!!

[KPfromCT]

Hi, I've sailed twice with Royal but am thinking of doing Carnival Liberty Eastern Itinerary. (love the itinerary) I'm looking at prices & it doesn't include gratuities & cruise insurance the way Royal does. Is there an option to buy that at time of booking? What restaurants on Liberty are free? Besides the steakhouse are any extra $$. Any advice about sailing with Carnival is welcome. I'll be devouring the threads getting familiar, I love to cruise & plan!!!!:)

 

Thanks!!

 

Yes, you can pay for gratuities and cruise protection when you book.:D

I BELIEVE the steakhouse is the only pay option on the Liberty. I don't think they have the Cucina del Capitano, but if they do, it's a free pasta bar for lunch, and dinner is $12pp. From the reviews I've read, it's well worth it.

We'll find out in July, as I've booked it.

Welcome to Carnival.

Liberty gets RAVE reviews!!! I am sure you will have a fantastic cruise!

Enjoy!:D:D

[Jax129]

Thank you!! I just joined the VIFP club. I think I'm going to go watch sail away today & get really excited!

[HawkIVette]

Very good direct answers from KP. I second everything he/she said.

Enjoy your cruise. I have never been on Royal Caribbean, so I can't compare the two. But I have always been happy with the fun and energetic atmosphere of Carnival.

Liberty is a good ship and have had a great time on it. I love this class of ship as it is not too big and easy to find your way around.

[JerseyHorseLover]

I have been on both RC and Carnival. It is as informal as RC is. You will find that RC has more activities, but you will still have fun.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Hi, I've sailed twice with Royal but am thinking of doing Carnival Liberty Eastern Itinerary. (love the itinerary) I'm looking at prices & it doesn't include gratuities & cruise insurance the way Royal does. Is there an option to buy that at time of booking? What restaurants on Liberty are free? Besides the steakhouse are any extra $$. Any advice about sailing with Carnival is welcome. I'll be devouring the threads getting familiar, I love to cruise & plan!!!!:)

 

Thanks!!

 

I am booked on a RCI cruise for this November. Gratuities and insurance weren't included in our price. We had to pay for them separately just like on Carnival.:confused:

 

 

Bill

[pacer1]

Hi, I've sailed twice with Royal but am thinking of doing Carnival Liberty Eastern Itinerary. (love the itinerary) I'm looking at prices & it doesn't include gratuities & cruise insurance the way Royal does. Is there an option to buy that at time of booking? What restaurants on Liberty are free? Besides the steakhouse are any extra $$. Any advice about sailing with Carnival is welcome. I'll be devouring the threads getting familiar, I love to cruise & plan!!!!:)

 

Thanks!!

 

Hi Jax129,

 

Greetings from Melbourne..you can come wave to me on Friday 5/9 .This will be my second trip on Liberty. Looking forward to seeing the upgrades. I'm definitely a Carnival fan. :) Generally speaking, the cabins are larger and I find the food better than RCI and Celebrity.

 

The steakhouse is definitely worth the s/c and if you go the first nite, you get a free bottle of wine. The Chef's Table is amazing. At first, the $75 fee was off-putting but I considered as a shore excursion. It's worth every penny and includes generous servings of champagne and wine throughout. :D

 

I recommend that you follow a couple of Roll Calls for the Liberty to pickup lots of good tips.

 

Susann :)

[Frank12]

Great input by all. Nothing to add really. Just tell the agent when you book that you want to pre-pay gratuities and purchase cruise insurance. You have chosen a wonderful ship! I think you will be pleased.

[apey9995]

If you go to carnival's website, you can do a "mock booking" and see what the total cost would be with taxes and gratuity before having to pay. I never buy travel insurance through carnival, we use travel guard... $79 for 2 adults for a 7-day cruise (when we used it). And that included coverage for our flight and travel before/after our cruise. Much cheaper and better coverage also.

 

We just sailed that itinerary on the Liberty last October, and had a great time!

 

The steakhouse is the only restaurant with a charge.

[pcl_cruiser]

I've done both! My favorite line will always be Carnival. Tips and insurance are not included automatically with either. However, you can have them added on either line and once the cruise is pd off it's all taken care of!

 

 

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[BenjiRodney]

We found the activities on our First Royal cruise in Alaska to be lacking, much prefer Carnival, but we are going to give them another shot next month in Bermuda, hope to have a better experience.

 

 

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Edited May 5, 2014 by BenjiRodney

[S.S.Oceanlover]

We found the activities on our First Royal cruise in Alaska to be lacking, much prefer Carnival, but we are going to give them another shot next month in Bermuda, hope to have a better experience.

 

 

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Both Alaska and Bermuda are more about the ports. It isn't the same as a Caribbean sailing so I would bet the activities will be lacking on this sailing too if you are on a Bermuda sailing that is docked there for 3 days.

 

Bill

[BenjiRodney]

Both Alaska and Bermuda are more about the ports. It isn't the same as a Caribbean sailing so I would bet the activities will be lacking on this sailing too if you are on a Bermuda sailing that is docked there for 3 days.

 

 

 

Bill

 

 

We get there on a Sunday and leave on Tuesday, already booked excursions for each day, but any day on a ship is better than a day at work.

 

 

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[JimAOk1945]

We have cruised on Carnival and RCI and enjoyed both. For us, cruising is all about the itinerary. You will have a great time!

 

Happy sailing

[mchlhaystead]

Do u have a website for travel gaurd?

 

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[S.S.Oceanlover]

We get there on a Sunday and leave on Tuesday, already booked excursions for each day, but any day on a ship is better than a day at work.

 

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I certainly can't agree with this either. lol

 

Try a 5 day cruise to nowhere with Noro running rampant on the ship.

 

I would have much rather have been in work. YMMV!:)

 

Bill

[apey9995]

Do u have a website for travel gaurd?

 

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http://www.travelguard.com

 

or you can call them (I prefer to do this), and they will give you a quote over the phone and can answer all your questions. Their # is 1.800.826.4919. Have your carnival booking info in front of you-- you'll have to tell them the total amount you spent on the trip, the date you booked the cruise, exact travel dates, etc.

Edited May 5, 2014 by apey9995

[Terre]

Your questions have been answered, but I just wanted to say that the Liberty is my favorite of all the Carnival ships. You will love and have a great time. See below in my signature for my most recent Liberty photos. I like both RCI and Carnival.

Edited May 5, 2014 by Terre