Carnival Liberty - FULL REVIEW from SanFranBayCruiser

[jeno]

Thanks for a great, informative post!

 

I am sailing on Liberty 8/25 with my two boys (15 and 16).

 

In Cannes, do you suggest a 'beach' day or touring? We're the beaches accessible from the ship? We're they clean and safe? We're there facilities (bathrooms/rereshments)?

 

I have information for a private tour that includes EVERYTHING to see for 240 euros for the 3 of us.

 

Thanks again.

How long is the tour in Cannes? Is the tour for just the three of you or would there be others on the tour with you? Thanks

[Ciao_Bella]

Hello there,

I will be cruising on August 13 and I have some questions regarding the money exchange.

Should I bring US traveller's cheques or Euro dollars?

Did you bring both?

Do you remember what the exchange rate was on the ship versus on shore?

Did you ever exchange money on land?

Did any places accept Euro's only?

Thank You,

Irene

[Emelar]

I have read many reviews about the inaugural sailing re: ports, food, kids club etc. But no posts about the disco. Do they play half-way decent music or is it all hip-hop?? We love to dance and interested in music in disco or if there is any other areas for dancing onboard? We are in our 50's & early 60's.

 

Or is everyone in bed by 10pm????:(

 

Mary

[malahide]

Hi Sanfranbaycruiser,

we are first time cruisers from Australia. We will be sailing on the Liberty on the 30th Sept 2005 and taking our two beautiful daughters 1 x 7yrs and 1 x 3 yrs. Your report and that of others on this site has helped us so much as it has taken a lot of the guess work and plain "don't Knows" out of our trip. I feel we will now look a little like we know what we're doing. If I could ask just one thing - We want to go to Harry's 2 times but don't want it to be on the formal nights. Do you have the 'Capers' still so we can plan and book as soon as we get on board.

Thanks again.

P.S. Is anyone else out there going on the 30/09/05?

[Juliadlf]

Hi Sanfranbaycruiser,

we are first time cruisers from Australia. We will be sailing on the Liberty on the 30th Sept 2005 and taking our two beautiful daughters 1 x 7yrs and 1 x 3 yrs. Your report and that of others on this site has helped us so much as it has taken a lot of the guess work and plain "don't Knows" out of our trip. I feel we will now look a little like we know what we're doing. If I could ask just one thing - We want to go to Harry's 2 times but don't want it to be on the formal nights. Do you have the 'Capers' still so we can plan and book as soon as we get on board.

Thanks again.

P.S. Is anyone else out there going on the 30/09/05?

 

Yes, there are quite a few of us going. Here is the roll call thread you may want to check out and say hello. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=84156.

[malahide]

Hi Joyce (Queenslander),

we're from Buderim on the Sunshine Coast and on the same Liberty cruise as you 30/09/05. We were wondering where you were from. We would like to meet up on board.

Leave us a message. P.S. We're new at this as it is our first cruise.

[howison]

I have read many reviews about the inaugural sailing re: ports, food, kids club etc. But no posts about the disco. Do they play half-way decent music or is it all hip-hop?? We love to dance and interested in music in disco or if there is any other areas for dancing onboard? We are in our 50's & early 60's.

 

Or is everyone in bed by 10pm????:(

 

Mary

Hi Mary

 

We were on the Liberty in July. We too like to dance. We enjoyed the Stage where a couple called just Duet performed. The floor was small but their music was great. They could play anything you want ie: cha cha, rhumba, waltz. Not many people new about them so there wasn't always a lot of people there. Check them out and tell them Cathy and Steve say hi. There was also dancing in the main lobby. The floor was bigger but there wasn't always good dance music. As for the disco we never went in there. Most of the musicians played until 12 or 12:30.

 

We too are in our early 50's and never made it to bed before 1am.

[BillnBobbi]

We were on the 8/1 cruise. I'll be posting my own review as soon as my jet lag dissipates. I'm still six hours off course.

 

Best cruise we ever took btw.

 

BnB

[BillnBobbi]

Wow, thanks for the review.

 

Could you recommend a time for returning flights the day of debarkation?

 

DH and I are planning on taking the train to the airport when we disembark, I know that's about 1 1/2 hours but not sure how much leeway to leave. I'm thinking a 2:00pm or 3:00pm return flight would be good.

 

How was the ship temperaturewise? Was it a freezer or comfy?

 

We figured on a return flight for 2PM and then discovered that we could have left much earlier. The ship arrived back in Civitavecchia about 5:30 am. I'm an early riser and the ship was already in port when I awoke at about 5:45.

I'm sorry we didn't book a 10am or 11am flight because you could disembark if you had an early flight by 6am and we would have arrived at Rome airport (worst airport I've ever been in - more in my review) by 7:30 or 8. As it was we had a 2pm flight out of Rome with a changeover in Amsterdam (best airport I've ever been in - more in my review).

 

I wouldn't recommend taking a train to the airport. Trains are iffy. Either book a private car or take the transportation offered by the ship which is extremely reliable and convenient.

 

The ship was very comfortable temperature wise. The airtemps in each of the ports approached 90s. First day at Naples (we went to Capri) was 100s.

 

BnB

[BillnBobbi]

SanfranbayCruiser:

 

I first want to thank you for the time and energy that you put into your trip report, I didn't realize how long it was until I printed it :) .

 

Info about us: Dh (39), Me (35) and DD (9). We currently live in Germany, DH is in the Air Force.

 

Rome: Thanks for the info about the festival, it looks like a lot of fun. How did you get around Rome, walk, underground, bus? Did you have any fried artichokes?

 

Embarkation: We intially planned to arrive about 11, we are driving from Rome, do you think this is too early? My intial plan of attack once aboard was to make our Harry's Reservation (for the last night), Salon and Spa Reservations, then grab lunch...should I reverse the order? Did you use the salon?

 

Comment on the Ugly American Tourist...you are so right. People need to remember we are guests in their country and things will be different. Also as an American living overseas we make it a point to not even where Americana Clothing, ie American Flag t-shirts. It is just a simple safety precaution we take, although according to most europeans Ameircan standout even without wearing Old Glory.

 

My Comment:

[ Did not encounter too many ugly americans, however those who are upset over the ability to speak English by either crew members or people in the ports should ask themselves how well they can speak: Italian,Croat, Spanish,French, Indonesian, Philipino,Hindi,Chinese,Greek,Swahili,German,Japanese,Dutch,etc.etc.etc....

Americans are the LEAST educated in the world when it comes to abilities with foreign languages. We made an attempt to speak Italian and Spanish as much as possible, and French (well I speak that fluently anyway). You find that folks are very friendly to you when you make an attempt to speak their language, even if you goof a bit (they help you out).

Saw a couple of jingoists all decked out in old glory T-shirts and hats on the ship. Don't know if they wore those on shore. However, Americans are fairly easy to spot among the Europeans. (We tend to wear T-shirts with pictures or clever sayings, ball caps - with pictures or clever sayings - , shorts, and WHITE SNEAKERS WITH WHITE SOCKS - that's the dead giveaway. We couldn't keep our reservations for The David, had to get back to the ship, and easily spotted two Americans on the long line (non reservation) and gave our tickets to them. Made their day.

 

Also, Americans should remember that there are plenty of Europeans on this tour. We encountered, Canadians, Brits, Irish, French, Spanish and Italians!!- BnB ]

 

Naples: We also have booked the Amalfi tour but was starting to get nervous when I read a post by someone who took a private tour, do you wish you would have booked a private tour instead? Where there any kids on your tour? WHich side of the bus is the best?

 

Croatia: Do you know if it was easy to get into the City on your own?

 

[ It's about two and a half hilly miles from the ship dock to the old city. Definitely take either a cab or a bus - 10Euros round trip on the bus]

 

Venice: Was the Casino open while you were in port overnight?

 

[ The ship Casino is NEVER open while in port. Any port.]

 

Barcelona: We were planning on getting off the ship and walking to Las Ramblas is this possible if not were there plenty of taxis?

 

[ It's about a mile and a half to the Columbus monument at the port end of Las Ramblas. Either take a taxi or the shuttle buses. We took a private taxi at 7:15am to the farthest point we wanted to see - La Sagrada Familia - and worked our way back through L'Eixample - where several other Gaudi buildings are- , the Gothic Quarter, then over to Las Ramblas - to the Central Market and back down. We walked back to the ship, but if you are considering this bring LOTS OF WATER. ]

 

Pisa: We are planning on taking a Taxi to Tirrenia, did you notice if there were Taxis at the port?

 

 

Ship Questions: Internet info, was there wireless? How was the ship photographer?

 

[ The internet was out for a few days - that's probably a good thing. The ship has loads of photographers. Some are better than others. ]

 

I think that is it. Thank you once again!

 

 

We had a wonderful time. Hope you do as well.

 

BnB

[BillnBobbi]

Any tips on exploring Barcelona on your own? I am a fluent Spanish speaker and I think it should be easier on me to get around. I am not happy with the shore excursions offered, so I was thinking of finding other means to see the city.

Thanks and I can't wait till Oct. 12th!!

 

We did it on our own. It was very easy. Barcelona is VERY cosmopolitan.

Get one of those excellent laminated road maps of the various cities. You can get these at Barnes and Noble, Borders or Amazon.com. Our map was extremely detailed, also had their subway stops shown as well. Take a taxi into downtown from the ship, from wherever you chose to start and have fun.

You have about 8 hours to do the entire downtown area which is plenty.

 

BnB

[BillnBobbi]

SFBC a huge thanks from your neighbor here in San Diego, for taking so much time and effort to let all of us waiting with baited breath know of your experience on the Liberty.We sail Sept. 30 also with a 3 day pre cruise stay.

 

I really appreciated the detail port info.I have heard that shorts for men and women are really not accepted while in ports, did you find this to be true. I know that while touring the churches it is not appropriate but for other sites.

Did you happen to attend the repeat passenger party? If so what date and time was it held. I am also wanting to know if they gave out the ship pins with the invitation or at the party. I have a collection of the Carnival pins so if you did get one and any of you are interested in parting with one please email me.

Thanks again

rdonte@cox.net

 

It was close 100 degrees in most of the ports when we went (8/1 cruise). Everyone was wearing shorts, EVERYONE. Men were allowed into the churches in Venice and Barcelona in shorts. No tank tops for anyone. Actually in Cannes, there were some women walking around JUST OFF THE BEACH without tops. The repeat passenger party was on the third night. We missed it because even though we received an invitation, we were doing something else. Friends of ours went and said the appetizers and drinks were very good. I have two pins. Only need one of them. DW thinks they're tacky.

 

BnB

[queenslander]

Hello Malahide,

 

Glad to have you along! My husband Les and I are from the Gold Coast and have joined up with others on our thread ( the one that Julia gave you )for tours and a get together on board. Perhaps you would like to post your next message on our Sept30th thread as I check that all the time.

Look forward to meeting you on board:)

 

Cheers

 

Joyce

[BillnBobbi]

Thank you for the review. Is Carnival continuing the singing-by-staff performances in the dining room on the Liberty? If so, how often did that happen?

 

EVERY NIGHT!!!!! And frankly it was novel the first two times and then it got tiresome and then it got VERY old, very fast.

 

We didn't like the lights going on and off just as we were having dessert, and didn't like that our dessert was delayed because our waitress was one of the eager participants. As it was we had late seating; some nights 8:30 was pushed to 8:45 because of the excursions, and we didn't get dessert till well after 10pm.

 

We complained to the maitre d' who told us that "most of the passengers like it". Well, no one took a poll on that all week, and we did see people leaving before it started in a sort of rush to avoid the noise.

 

I didn't know people still did "Hot-Hot-Hot". Maybe Carnival tells the waitstaff that if they are good enough, they'll get a spot in one of the productions.

 

The good news is they don't do that in Harry's or the Lido.

 

BnB

[BillnBobbi]

Great review !!! I was wondering about changing our money into euro money

I plan on charging as much as I can I was told that you get the best exchange rate on credit cards, but I will need pocket money Do you have any suggestions on how much money I should exchange and where is the best place to do so ?I

Also Is it true that we are not allowed to wear shorts at the vatican?? Thanks for your time

Lucy in Malta

 

 

The ship offers the same exchange rate (currently at about 1.30 dollars to 1 Euro) as banks in the US. It's very convenient and they open about 6 hours per day at two hour intervals. Get there early because the line forms down the Promenade corridor. If you run out of US dollars and still need Euros, there is an ATM machine down by the Purser's desk on deck 3 in the atrium.

Get the cash you need, then go up to deck 5 to exchange.

Alternatively, the Purser will cash up to $250 in a personal check (backed by either an American Express card, or use a travelers check) once during the cruise, and then go up and exchange for euros.

 

We took about $500 in Euros, and then found that after Sicily needed another $750. We tried not to charge on small purchases. We charged on large purchases (Murano glass statues). The only port where the locals were ready to accept US dollars instead of Euros was Dubrovnik, since they aren't in the EU. They ask for Euros first but if you say "US?" they'll go "ok".

 

BnB

[Europebound]

What a great thing you did posting that review for all of us soon to be Liberty Cruisers! We had watched you all last week on the webcam and were itching to hear how it was.....thanks again for your help. We are on the September 6th sailing - Did you happen to hear from others on board about other of the ship excursions? We are trying to decide about Tuscany (Livorno) and have booked Taormina (Sicily) and St Paul de Vence (Canne) - and the Train Ride to Monserrat outside Barcelona?

 

Appreciate your posting - know you must be tired - Happy Sails to you!

 

Hey dbhudgins--I was so excited to see someone else traveling on the Liberty Sept. 6th! How cool! We are a group of four couples and are so looking forward to this cruise (most of us have cruised before together). Really appreciated the information by SanFranBayCruiser.

 

Let me know if you want to stay in touch and meet on the ship.

 

I am new to these threads and have become addicted.

[Europebound]

How many formal nights and semi-formal nights?? The rest I assume are casual. How long did you have to wait in line at the Vatican??

 

We are going on the 9/6 cruise and are going to Rome 3 days early. When you say expensive in your review for restaurants, what type of price per person in euros for dinner??

 

Thanks

Cheryl

 

Hi Cheryl: We too are going on the 9/6 cruise and am happy to see posts from others posting threads that are going that date. Would enjoy keeping in touch.

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

Thanks for the absolutely wonderful review ! - Forgive me - I might get the stupid question award for this one...:p

 

Which side of the ship is best for viewing Venice ? - Some posters have said definitely the "port" (left) - others have indicated the right (starboard) side for viewing Venice when you enter the port.....I keep driving Carnival nuts with changing room reservations - from one side of the boat to the other ...would appreciate your input on this....

 

THANKS

[moe2k]

After finally catching up on lost sleep I can finally write a review of the cruise.

First, The pros:

the ship was very nice, if you sit in the flower Bar on Deck 3 be sure to watch the lights above as the color show they put on is very nice. Our balcony cabin was great, plenty of room for clothing and moving about. The ports were spectacular. It is amazing to see all the buildings and be in awe that they built these buildings without modern technology. The cruise director was awesome. he was very entertaining and funny and did his best to make it a great cruise. As a non smoker I was pleased to see that Carnival finally has made a genuine effort to have more non-smoking areas. I did not feel like I lived in an ashtay for 12 days! The dining room staff was great and very hardworking. One of the smoothest and fastest getting of a ships that I have experienced as a cruiser.

Now the cons:

1. The internet was a big problem. It was very sporadic and left many people frustrated because of the long lines. Considering the amount of passengers, there were not enough computer terminals to service people adequately. Also the WiFi for people with laptops was extremely frustrating as it did not work most of the time.

2. Activation of Sail & sign cards was a big issue. Apparently there was some computer problem and our cards along with many other frustrated people did not work for 3 days. It surprised me that a system that works wellon their other ships caused such a problem with this one. I have been on Carnival before and have never experienced the problems I had on this ship. We actually had a run in with a bartender who refuse to serve us because our card didn't work! this was after we had been to the purser's desk 4 times to reactivate the card!

3. We had the late seating at 8:30. The food was at times was dry like it had been cooked earlier and reheated. The ceasar salad was salty and soggy. I don't know if it was due to being the last seating but I did speak withother passengers who had earlier seatings and they said the food was also dry at times.

4. Currency Exchange- long lines to do this with not enough staff or staff that was just staring off into space rather than servicing people. On the last full day (8/12) they refused to exchange american dollars into euros even though it was advertized in the capers that they would.

 

I think the ship and the ports were great but they have a lot of issues they need to iron out. Most of this was due in part to being a new ship. I would definitely be more careful not to book on a new ship or a new itinerary again.

I think if carnival had just made an announcement on the ship that they were experiencing some problems due to being new and they were sorry for the incoveniences, it would have made a lot of people feel better. Instead they acted like everything was fine when it was not. A lot of people were unhappy which is too bad because I think Carnival does give you a lot for the money. Hopefully they will learn from their mistakes.

[howian]

This was a beautiful and memorable trip. The ship was beautiful, the food excellent, the entertainment surprisingly good. Some overall tips:

 

1. You're in Europe, the currency is the Eurodolla. Official exchange is about .8 Euros to the dollar but if you go to an exchange place it goes down to .75. My son had diffficulty using his "Visa as good as cash" card. So bring Euros.

 

2. Food was wonderful on ship, lunches were very good with a Chinese station, Carnival soups are good, a deli and a nice buffet. Dinners were impressive in the dining room. The casual dinner buffet on the 9th floor was less impressive the one night we dined there. We saw no need to spend extra on Harry's the special dining place which costs 30.00 per person.

 

3. There are many people of all ages. We were a family with a 23 year old and 15 year old and both found plenty of friends, and spend the last night up till 2:00 A.M remincesing.

 

4. The Sammy David show (where a performer sung accompanied by a video of Davis was impressive. Happy ___ is a very funny comedien.

 

 

1. Rome, July 31, 2005. We stayed at the Marriot Flora, a nice hotel. The restaurants in the Via Venete strip were unimpressive. Get recommendations for restaurants; food will not be bad but just pretty good. Note that Frommer's guide lists many restaurants closed in August so check.

 

 

 

This review is going to be VERY long and, I will include as many details as possible. If you have questions please ask and I will try to answer! If you hate long, detailed reviews, then you might want to skip this one. Lastly, be advised I am telling it like it is...no sugar coating...the good, the bad, the ugly and the funny!

 

About Us - My husband and I are both in our late 30s, we've been married 7 years and, we have no kids. My husband was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. I was born and raised in NYC. We currently live in the San Francisco Bay area. We traveled to Europe with two sets of friends. One couple from California, the other couple from NYC. All of us are professionals - in our group we have a doctor, an accountant, an engineer, two attorneys, and, a retail manager for a major upscale department store.

 

Pre-Europe, Saturday July 16 - My husband and I flew to NYC to spend a few days with my family. For this reason, I am considering the officially starting point of our vacation to be JFK airport. For a Saturday, we got to the airport incredibly fast from Manhattan and for anyone familiar with the Van Wyck, this was a miracle all in itself! Check in was fast and easy!

 

Pre-Flight - After a fair dinner, we checked out some of the shops, bought some magazines to read on the plane and on the ship and made our way to our departure gate. We finally boarded the plane for our long awaited trip to Italy and our cruise on the Carnival Liberty. The Alitalia crew was friendly but, some of the flight attendants have very heavy Italian accents and were hard to understand at times, however, our flight went off without a hitch. And business class was worth every penny!

 

ROME! FCO Airport, Sunday July 17 - Airport, Italian Style!! It took at least 40 minutes for luggage to start coming off the plane and the airport was hot!!! However, between getting off the plane, getting our luggage, doing the customs thing, and then finally finding our driver (we hired a private limousine for a transfer to our hotel in Rome), I'd estimate we spent about a total of 1.5 hours in FCO airport to our hotel in the center of Rome. All things considered, I say we did well. No hassles at customs, no lost luggage, our driver met us and had the car ready and waiting... Pretty easy! It took about another hour to get from FCO airport to our hotel in the center of Rome. I can recommend http://www.romelimousines.com - cost was about 190 Euro for an airport to hotel transfer (that included tip).

 

ROMA! - traveling into Rome both my husband and I remarked how much the Italian landscape looks so similar to the California landscape...we felt right at home immediately. We booked 3 nights at the Rome Marriott Flora. I had a ton of points with Marriott built up and we figured this was an excellent opportunity to use them. The Marriott is located on Via Vittorio Veneto which turned out to be an excellent location! Upon check-in we were warmly greeted by the front desk but, then my heart stopped for a moment when the young lady told us we had a message waiting for us. This is the moment where a thousand horrible thoughts flood your mind all at once, LUCKILY the news wasn't all that bad, our friends from California had a flight delay due to some type of mechanical problem and they wouldn't be checking in until very late that evening.

 

PHEW! With that we proceeded to our room - we were VERY PLEASED! This Marriott is pricey but, if you have the means, it is clean, the staff is friendly and highly knowledgeable and the area is wonderful. We took a few moments to refresh ourselves before heading out to explore Rome.

 

We stopped by Conceirge desk to ask for recommendations for places for lunch. I guess a look of horror must have crossed my face when the Conceirge told us there was a Hard Rock Cafe very close by...I didn't travel thousands of miles to eat at a burger joint I can visit anytime I'm home and, the concierge picked this vibe up... So quickly the concierge told us about several other restaurants in the immediate area. We were starving and it was approaching noon at this point so we decided to lunch first. Just as we were heading out, our friends from NYC who had taken a different airline and flight were coming in. We hugged and told them we'd wait while they checked in and got settled. After about 15 or 20 minutes, they met us in the lobby and off the four of us went for our first Roman meal. We ended up at a restaurant called Cafe Veneto (http://www.cafeveneto.it) - very, very price but, excellent food. We enjoyed a long lunch there.

 

With our bellies full and feeling a bit jet lagged we decided we wouldn't push too much today. So, we did our own walking tour of the area we saw the Trevi fountain, did a lot of people watching and window shopping and, of course, went to the Spanish Steps. While both the Trevi fountain and the Spanish Steps are very touristy, both are “must see” land marks.

 

On a side note - ladies, everything you've heard about the Italian men are true. They are VERY flirty and VERY persistent! My friend Beth and I went off on our own for about 30 minutes and we were approached no less than 10 times!! Just firmly tell them no and, most will leave you alone. If not, just briskly walk away. They mean no harm, it's just the nature of the local men!!

 

Late Sunday afternoon in Rome in July can only be described as warm. I mean that both literally meaning the temperature and figuratively...we saw lots of families having picnics in the park of Villa Borghese, couples strolling hand in hand...it just gave us all a feeling of peace and happiness to witness the Roman lifestyle on a weekend afternoon. And, yes, it was very hot but not unbearable.

 

We headed back to the hotel to rest and refresh ourselves. Once again we stopped by the concierge for evening meal recommendations. We were thrilled to find out that there was a bit of a festival taking place at Castel Sant'Angelo so that's where we set out to go. We found a cab and off we went...the location was across the Tiber river near the Vatican. What a unique experience! There was folk music, clowns, jugglers, guided tours and yes a place to eat! Admission was 8 Euro's per person - not including our dinner, we thought it was money well spent. Unfortunately, we were all very tired and, it probably would have been wiser to save this experience until our second night. This festival is running until August 15th. Visit http://www.castelsantangelo.com for more information. However, I am giving this a thumbs way up!

 

While we were at the festival, we found out that during the summer, the banks along the Tiber turn into a “beach” called Tevere Village and it is set up on both sides of the river between Ponte Sant'Angelo and Ponte Umberto, complete with sand, showers, changing rooms and 2 swimming pools. You can also play mini golf, boccio, billiards and get a workout. There are two bars and two restaurants as well as live music. We never did back to try it....

By the time we got back to the hotel, our friends from California had arrived, and, our group was now complete.

 

Monday, July 18 - The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel and set out for our first full day in Rome. We are all Roman Catholics, so, going to the Vatican was high on our list of things to do. So, after a good night's sleep and breakfast we found a cab and headed over to the Vatican. Now, I cannot stress this enough - the lines before noon are LONG!! To get in without much of a wait, go after 1:30pm. All I can say is that is a wonderful, uplifting experience to visit the Vatican. To see it on television is one thing, but, to see it in person...I'm still overwhelmed by the artwork, the details and the beauty. And, no we didn't see the pope, it wasn't one of our goals, but, I am truly glad to have had the experience of visiting and, I recommend it for Catholics and non-Catholics alike! You can easily spend the entire day here and we did! One side note - we were warned that the restaurants in this area (near the Vatican) are tourist traps and indeed they are...so just be ready for overpriced and just “ok” food.

 

That evening we ate at Birreria Peroni which is basically a beer hall with food. It was very enjoyable due to the fact it was a place were locals go and not many tourists seem to know about it. A great place to spend an evening after a long, hot day of touring. This restaurant is on the Vatican side of the Tiber river. We were pretty beat after dinner and called it a day at 10pm.

 

Tuesday, July 19th -The next morning we all agreed that we wanted to sleep in and did just that...we met at noon for lunch. We ate at the famous Cafe Doney. This place is EXPENSIVE but, it was money well spent, we had a wonderful outdoor table, in the shade - the food was excellent, the service was flawless. And what a place to people watch!! Ok, now we were ready to shop!! Ladies, clear up those charge cards before leaving home, you'll have so many shopping choices you won't know where to begin! After about an hour of shopping the men told us girls that they had enough and they were heading back to the hotel for drinks. So, husband free...we were off and running! I won't even tell you how much I overspent!! :D

 

Our last evening in Rome...and we haven't any pizza! Ok, our quest was to find a pizza place, but, how do you pick? There is a pizza place everywhere you look, so, once again we asked our concierge for a recommendation and we were sent to the Pizzeria da Ricci - now you have to look for this place because it is on a dead end street but, wow is the pizza good...but they are small so order two each! So with pizza in hand at a local place, we can truly say we enjoyed our brief stay in Rome but, now we were excited, tomorrow is Wednesday and we head for the ship! Our home for the next 12 days!!

 

Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - FINALLY CARNVIAL LIBERTY! Once again, we made arrangements with Bob's Limos (http://www.romelimousines.com) for our hotel to pier transfers. Our limo arrived on time 11am and we packed our things into the mini-van they sent for us and off we went. We had a few traffic delays, not bad at all, it took just about an hour to get from the center of Rome to Civitacecchia. And there she stood, gleaming white and just waiting for passengers, the Carnival Liberty but, we were early...very early. It was only a little after noon, so, we had to wait.

 

Finally embarkation started!! Since we were some of the first people in line...I'd estimate there were maybe 50 people ahead of us, checking in only took about 15 or 20 minutes. In the meantime, we chit-chatted with the people around us, most had come straight from the airport and had that overnight flight daze in their eyes, but, we were all happy and excited to be at the ship!

 

Onto the grand vessel!! Wow! I've been on many cruise ships but, the Carnival Liberty really has a “wow” factor and I mean that in a good way! The Carnival Liberty is one of the prettiest ships I've been on within the Carnival fleet. It's more refined than the Destiny class ships - very little neon; and, more on par with the Spirit class ships regarding decor. We made our way to our cabins on Empress Deck. No complaints here!! Within minutes our cabin steward appeared and what a happy, pleasant person! We knew we'd be taking care of him! He told us how to reach him by beeper and that he'd be happy to help us in any way possible. We had a Category 11, mini-suite.

 

While we've had mini-suites and suites on other cruise lines, this was our first time in a Carnival mini-suite. Was it worth the extra money compared to a regular balcony cabin, for us the answer is yes. We had a full bathroom, complete with tub/shower combination...to me that's a luxury! Our balcony was larger (note this is longer but, no wider than other cabins), and we had LOTS of storage room. Our friends booked regular balcony cabins, also on Empress Deck and they were the standard balcony cabins - still plenty of room and storage space but, missing the upgraded details and extra square footage of our Category 11. Needless to say we spent our social times together - like having pre-dinner drinks in our cabin since we had the extra room.

 

MOO! Time for lunch! Can you tell I've sailed with Greg Kneale?? :D Anyhow, we made our way to the buffet. Lots of confusion...there seemed to be more first time cruisers than normal on the ship or if not, we had a knack of finding them! Anyhow, as usual, Carnival had an excellent selection for the embarkation buffet, so, we ate, had dessert and then sat back to make our game plan. Us girls figured out what we wanted to do at the spa and the guys were figuring out if they were going to golf or not.

 

So, we left the guys and headed for the spa. We all booked massages for our first day at sea. Turned out to be money well spent. More on that later. The guys promised to make reservations for the alternative restaurant and to find out about golfing shore tours.

 

My husband and I booked our shore tours online prior to leaving home, but, we agreed to remain flexible and take any losses for canceling our prepaid shore tours (if necessary) in stride. Keep in mind, canceling pre-booked shore tours have HEAVY cancellation fees (25% cancellation fee). Turns out the guys decided not to golf since none of them brought their own clubs and, so, our shore tours remained in place. Our friends were able to book some of the same tours we were on but, were disappointed to find out some of them had already sold out.

 

So, moral to this story. If you want a specific tour - book it before you leave! Otherwise, you will end up taking second or even third best. It was a bit disappointing that we wouldn't have our friends with us on certain excursions but, we made the best of it.

 

The Ugly American Tourist - We met the guys after getting our chores completed for a drink in main lobby bar - where the glass elevators are located. Well, we weren't there long when some loud, big mouth was boarding and “jokingly” said “these people need to learn to speak English”.

Not funny. Not assuming. Certainly not a comment to make aloud. People please realize WE are the foreigners in the country and yes, at times there are going to be language barriers. Don't promote the image of being the “ugly American” by making such comments in public. I felt bad for his poor wife (or girlfriend...who ever the poor woman was)...her face grew beet red and she grabbed him before he could make a further A** of himself.

 

At 4:00pm we had our Welcome Aboard and Discover Europe talk with cruise director John Heald in the Venetian Place. I knew right away that I was going to enjoy John Heald's sense of humor. He kept it brief, the presentation lasted about 40 minutes. The lifeboat drill took place around 5:15pm.

 

No show scheduled for the first night. People were too tired and, most went to bed early. However, the dinning room did serve regular sittings (no open sitting, you go to your assigned table). If anyone wants a great wait team ask for Kenneth and Isabello!

 

To give you an idea of John Heald's sense of humor, they ran the movie “Titanitc” on the outdoor movie screen. Not many people attended but, we did and we really enjoyed the movies under the stars. Popcorn is available and is $1.00 per bag.

 

Thursday, July 21, 2005 - NAPLES

You are going to be warned and warned again about pickpockets and beggars throughout this review and also on the ship. They are very real and you need to keep yourself very alert in all ports of call, Naples is no exception. We switched our original plans and took the Amalfi coast tour. I've seen the photos and documentaries on the Amalfi coast but, no words or photos can describe the beauty of this area. It is a must see!

 

This was a long tour worth every penny. We stopped in the town of Sorrento for a break and lunch. It was great! It's a beautiful town and the lunch was very nice. Nice shops to visit. We then proceeded down the coast with a few stops for photos and then your final stop before heading back was the actual town of Amalfi. Again, very picturesque! Overall, this is an easy tour for those who might have a hard time walking or for those who really enjoy just sitting back and relaxing and enjoying the scenery. I can highly recommend this tour.

 

Back on board, they had the Welcome Aboard Show. I will try to get all the Carnival Capers scanned to share. However, I didn't get the dinner menus, sorry about that but, I can tell you that the food was very good to excellent every night.

 

You dock in Naples.

 

Friday, July 22, 2005 - DAY AT SEA

Seems like everyone took advantage of this much needed day at sea. Even with 3 days in Rome prior to the cruise, we were all still very tired and decided to sleep in...

 

At 11am John Heald gave a talk on Dubrovnik, Croatia. Very informative. Lots of activities throughout the day.

 

Out by the pool, they held trivia games and had CNN (British version) during the mornings. By the way, the movie screen outdoors worked out very well!!

 

Formal night! I'd say 90% of the passengers conformed to formal night. Most had on long gowns or cocktail dresses, and, I applaud the gentlemen, I saw lots of tuxedos, maybe 10 - 15% of the men decided to wear tuxes.

 

Lobster was good, not great but, we all ordered two!

 

PS - if you want something fun and silly to do at days at sea, try one of Butch's Dance Classes, they are fun!

 

Saturday, July 23, 2005 - Dubrovnik, Croatia

I honestly didn't know what to expect here. I was surprised how nice Dubrovnik turned out to be...it's pretty and the locals are friendly. Yes, there is lots of evidence of the war but, they are turning things around but, it is a very “new” city with the exception of the walled Old City.

 

We took a kayaking tour today. It rained as we hurried to paddle back but, luckily it was only a passing storm and it had stopped by the time we got back. This is a tour best recommended for those in shape. Some people were struggling in the end.

 

We had dinner at Harry's tonight. WOW! Be advised it is now $30 per person, but, worth every single penny. Allow plenty of time, we scheduled our dinner for 6:30pm and we had plenty of time to get to the show at 10:30pm. Excellent, Excellent, Excellent!! Highly Recommended!!

 

Show tonight was the singer Marcus Anthony...read carefully, NOT MARC ANTHONY. A few teenagers that sat behind us got the shock of their lives! Poor kids, they really believed that Marc Anthony was onboard!! (However, Mira Sorvino - the godmother of the ship, was onboard!!)

The show turned out to be “ok”, not exactly our type of music so we left and went to the casino.

Turned out to be a good thing...I won $100 on video poker!!

 

You dock in Dubrovnik.

 

Sunday, July 24, 2005 - VENICE, ITALY

I don't want to sound sappy but, tears literally came to my eyes pulling into Venice. I found it extremely moving and this is absolutely my favorite port of call for this cruise. I'm not sure you'll have the same luck but, we were lucky enough to dock only a few blocks from St. Mark's Square and we didn't have to dock with the rest of the cruise ships that were forced to dock further away.

 

We went on a short tour, just an overview of Venice by boat today. It was short, only 2 hours but, it gave a good tour but, why they took us past the garbage dump...that still boggles my mind. But, again, a very good tour for those with physical limitations.

 

We decided to eat at the Lido deck restaurant today because we wanted to get off the ship and explore Venice on our own. Ladies and Gentlemen, be advised, we eye-witnessed a purse snatching this evening. Please, for your own safety be aware of your surroundings!! Be aware of who is around you and if you stop at ANY vendors try to do it in pairs, one to keep an eye on who is around and one to do the purchasing.

 

Luckily, the police were right there (that's how brazen these thieves are...). They caught the guys two blocks away but, the poor lady was thrown to the ground, her purse stolen and while she was physically ok, she was very shaken. This probably the worst memory of this trip.

 

Monday, July 25, 2005 - Venice, day two

Today we took a tour that included the glass blowing at Murano Island and St. George plus the Gondola ride. This was a very nice tour. One of the funniest events of our vacation took place on this tour. On the gondola ride, we were hit by a power boat...believe me, it isn't as bad as it sounds but, the show put on afterwards was hysterical. There is nothing funnier than seeing two local Italian men yelling at each other, arms waving and the cursing...very, very funny!! No one was hurt, not even the gondola and we'll have a great memory of our gondola accident in Venice.

 

Leaving Venice was sad. There is so much to see and do here, we're planning to return to Venice soon, just explore it better.

 

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - DAY AT SEA

Spa day for us! While they did push products, it was well worth the money. I did get some spa prices and as soon as I am able to scan, I'll post them for you. Hint: try the warm stone massage!! It was EXCELLENT!!

 

Typical day at sea. Trivia games, etc. Do try to get to afternoon tea served at The Cabinet on Deck 4. Very nice way to spend 30 minutes to an hour in the mid-afternoon. Yes, you may go in shorts.

 

Tonight's entertainment - Hypnotist Chuck Milligan. We were NOT impressed, we walked out and went to the casino.

 

Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - Messina, Sicily, Italy

My family is from Sicily and growing up I heard all the stories about how “horrible” it was there...this is one of the reasons we booked the Carnival Liberty because it did stop in Sicily. Well, I have to tell you, this port was a pleasant surprise for me. We only took the city tour but, personally, I was impressed. Messina is clean, sane (compared to Rome) and the shops were tourist friendly. I was honestly expecting dirt roads and donkey carts but, that isn't true of Messina. While there isn't a heck of a lot to see or do here, I feel personally fulfilled that I got to see it.

 

We skipped the Guest Talent Show but, they ran National Lampoon's “European Vacation” tonight. Even though we must have seen this movie 10 times, it was great to see it on the big screen by the pool.

 

You dock in Messina.

 

Thursday, July 28, 2005 - DAY AT SEA

It sounds like a lot of time at sea but, the truth is, you really need these days to rest up. You are going to get your Debarkation information and have the meeting about getting off the ship today. I highly recommend attending this as the information is important.

 

We went to the show tonight called Rock Down Broadway. Again, we stayed for two numbers and walked out. I don't mean to imply that the shows are bad, they just aren't “our thing”. So again, we went to the casino and my husband won $600 at blackjack.

 

Second Formal night in dinning room.

 

Friday, July 29, 2005 - BARCELONA, SPAIN

Wow! This is one clean city! I would love to go spend a week in Barcelona just to see it better. We did this city on our own but, there was so much to see and do...we just didn't have enough time here. Please note, you do NOT dock downtown. Allow yourself at least 1 hour due to traffic to get to and from the ship!!

 

Shopping on Las Ramblas was great! Highly recommended.

 

Show tonight was a comedian, we were tired and skipped it.

 

Saturday, July 30, 2005- CANNES, FRANCES

Again, what a pleasant surprise! I was waiting for the worst...dirty streets, bad attitudes...it didn't happen. I was very impressed by Cannes. We took an easy day and just went to the beach and went to the local shops. The locals are pleasant and if you just use a few words in French, the attitude is immediately dropped. One of the best words of advice I received that I will pass along to you is that try to remember that the French treat their businesses like their homes...if you enter without saying hello or say goodbye leaving, you will be considered rude and treated that way. However, if you make the effort to say hello and goodbye, they will treat you warmly!

 

Be advised, you tender at Cannes.

 

Carnival Legends Show tonight, we skipped it and went to the casino.

 

Sunday, July 31, 2005 - Florence/Pisa

Sadly our last port of call. It seems that the combined Florence/Pisa tour was the most popular and it's the one we took. It's long but well worth while. Florence was incredible and I would have loved more free time here but, the schedule was tight. It took 2 hours to get to Florence from Livorno but, the bus stops for a rest stop after driving for about 1 hour. Florence was beautiful...the lunch...in a word...YUCK!! But, we didn't book this tour for the food and just took it in stride.

 

It took about another hour to get from Florence to Pisa, I was awed by the leaning tower. Pictures do not do it justice. I'm still upset that they gave the free time here rather than Florence but, live an learn. There isn't much in Pisa other than tourist vendors, so, the best advice I can give is go to a cafe and enjoy a gelato. It took another 40 minutes to get from Pisa back to the ship. It was a long day but very worthwhile. Highly recommended.

 

You dock in Livorno.

 

No show tonight.

 

Monday, August 1, 2005 - Debrakation

First of all, we all know the nightmare this can be...well, KUDOS TO JOHN HEALD AND CARNIVAL!! This was the BEST debrakation I have ever experienced. As promised, by 6:00 am, people began leaving the ship. We were the last group off the ship and they had us off by 9:40am!

Impressive!! They use a color and number system and it worked perfectly.

 

Rome airport - WHAT A MESS!! I'm not sure who to blame for this...the escorts on the bus really didn't tell us where to go and we were left on our own to figure out on our own. This was highly aggravating. We asked no less than 5 airport employees were we had to go, we received 5 different WRONG answers. Finally, we found out we had to go to Terminal B, this SEEMS to be the area for international departures - but check and double check. We stood in 3 lines only to get up to the counter and be sent into another line which turned out to be wrong. Finally, we got in the right line and luckily we still had time to spare.

 

This airport is crazy, the people are rude and it caused a lot of tension. Many, many people BARELY made their flights.

 

Overall

 

This was an excellent cruise! We really enjoyed the ship and the crew. I have nothing but the most positive things to say about them! In short here are my quick reviews:

 

Ship - Excellent

Crew - Excellent

Food - Good to Excellent...hint go to the dinning room for lunch and breakfast!

Passenger Mix - 95% American

Kids on Board - not as many on a typical Caribbean cruise, my guess is due to the cost of trip

Cabin - Category 11, EXCELLENT

 

I can highly recommend this ship and this itinerary.

 

Please post your questions and I will try to answer them, if I can! I will post Capers and Photos over the next few days! If I missed anything important, I apologize...still jet lagged here :D

[dbhudgins]

Hi EuropeBound. Several of us from the boards' Roll Call thread are meeting

at the Aft Bar by the pool and whirlpools at Sailaway on the 6th. We can

grab a drink and take the steps up top to get the best view on Sailaway. I

think there are about 30 or us who have been posting during the last 10-15 months that this cruise has been available. Try to see the 9/6/05 Rollcall

for Liberty on the Carnival Roll Call board farther down. Lots of couples and

a few singles - we are a family of 50 Something parents, 30 something son, DIL and two wonderful well-travelled grandkids 3 & 5. They love Camp Carnival and we are the usual babysitters so we had no choice but to bring them! We are so looking forward to this trip - have read the dire review from one poor traveler who had issues with the Carnival flying program - we booked our air on our own to save money - we have had flight changes and DIL had to drieve 250 miles to closest BAirways ticket desk to get tickets reissued - BUT - we are leaving here on Friday of labor Day weekend and staying three nights in Rome before sailaway - hopefully any lost luggage will arrive before we sail. I spent 4 days in Cancun this spring without luggage - whew that is hard! Join all of us at Sailaway - the Pizza place is right by the bar - few do the fancy dining room on first night - due to sailaway, etc.

See you soon! Happy Sails to you!

[grace4me2]

Good review SanFranBayCruiser! We sailed the second sailing beginning on Aug 1. I’ll go ahead & add to this discussion my thoughts on our cruise. I booked this cruise to celebrate my father’s 80th bday with our entire family (3 of us kids plus our kids for a total of 15 in 7 cabins). Unfortunately my father had to have an emergency pacemaker operation & could not depart with us on July 27 for a 4 day stay in Rome prior to the cruise. My brother & his wife stayed in Calif with my parents & the rest of us went ahead. We were unsure of the procedure for late arrivals to the ship so we said nothing until we boarded on Aug 1. We told the purser my parents had missed their flight to Rome (mostly true) & were told they could join us in Venice. As it turned out my parents could not make the trip but my brother & his wife did join us in Venice. So we continued with our party of 13 & called home daily. I rented an international cell phone thru Verizon & it was a blessing to have it available. Had service most of the time.

 

Our time in Rome was great! We stayed at the Hotel Concordia. Very clean & central location with a wonderful owner, Roberto who was friendly, kind, & helpful. Breakfast on the terrace was included. We walked a lot in Rome! This was the first trip for our 3 kids to Europe (18, 15 and 11) so we did all the usual things – Trevi, Spanish Steps, Via Veneto, Vatican, ancient Rome. The weather was hot & humid. We were told to buy bottled water at a grocery store – much more reasonably priced. We drank loads. We found a lot of discrepancy in prices for Coca Light & bottled water. We did an organized tour of ancient Rome & it was well worth it. Excellent guide. The Vatican was awesome! Seeing the Pope’s tomb was more of an emotional experience than I expected. We arrived about 1000 & the line moved very quickly. The 500 meter walk to the museums & Sistine chapel was hot & we were approached by lots of people handing out leaflets & beggars. Had to remind the kids to keep purse close to them & not take anything from anyone. We ate in the cafeteria in the museum building. It was fine. Don’t forget the dress code for the churches.

The hotel booked us transport from airport to hotel – 60euro for the minivan. Cab to Vatican 15 euro. We had a great pasta dinner with excellent wine at Café Romano. Ate at Toula one night – VERY expensive but lovely. You are never rushed during a meal in Italy! Sometimes we had to beg for the check because we couldn’t sit any longer!

I hate to admit it but did eat at the Hard Rock one night. I was out voted by the kids who were craving burgers.

 

We arrived at the dock before 2 pm so the line wasn’t bad. After boarding we were paged to the Purser & told there was a problem with our luggage. While being loaded onto the ship one of our bags had gone overboard! It turned out to be our 11 year old daughter’s suitcase. Everything was soaked & when she saw all her new outfits & shoes she sobbed. What a mess! They washed all the clothes & returned them that evening. A couple of things shrunk & the shoes took a couple days to dry out. The suitcase was also dried but will go in the trash as it just doesn’t smell the same!

 

Now for some general impressions and random thoughts:

There are A LOT of people on this ship. We have cruised many times on various lines & ships & had actually been on the Carnival Conquest Feb 04. So we knew it was big! But this cruise seemed more crowded to me. Often bumping into people in main traffic areas on decks. And there were TONS of kids on our sailing. Lots of teens. The teen area was packed every night. There were kids running in the halls & playing on the elevators at times without adult supervision. The way this ship is designed can be confusing. You can’t get from here to there on certain decks. The pool area was crowded on sea days & we were only able to find lounges on the upper decks away from the pool. We booked Harry’s for a sea say. It was fabulous! The dessert was amazing, the martini perfect. Well worth the extra bucks. I had a massage one day & it was great. The gym was crowded. I waited one day for 30 minutes for a treadmill. People did not observe the 30 min. limit & no one from the staff said anything. Sea days were the worst. We had the 8 pm sitting in the Golden dining room. Our wait staff was excellent & fun. And yes, they sang every night. The food was okay with occasional excellent choices. The desserts were not that good. We had a balcony cabin on the Verandah deck. I would advise against. The Lido deck, pool is right above 8328 & we had to listen to chairs being moved along the decks constantly. This was not a quiet cabin by any means. I won’t stay on this deck again. Lesson learned. My kids had a blast & met lots of others their age. My 15 year old son enjoyed the O2 Club activities most nights. Get the individual schedule for the Club O2 – it’s not always in Capers. The casino was pretty crowded & the slots were not loose for me however I heard that someone won 20K one night. Wish it had been me! Photographs – we did some B&Ws that were great. Somehow we avoided long lines – there are several photographers in multiple locations. The backgrounds differ so you can choose what you like best. We did do the soda cards for the kids. I always feel a bit ripped off but it does add up. We probably could have just bought 2 instead of 3. We did have a medical emergency the night we sailed from Messina. A passenger had a heart attack. They turned the ship around & we stopped near some other island. The person was taken off in a lifeboat to shore. The ship made up the time by picking up speed & we were on time for the next port. Also a passenger was hit by a motor scooter in Messina crossing the street from the dock. Sprained ankle I heard. The Internet! Nightmare! They had lots of technical trouble with the WiFi & the internet café. It was down for 3 days. There were always lines. Lots of people couldn’t get connected on their own laptops. They brought a tech guy on in one port & after that it worked for the most part. Some people asked for refunds.

We did do shore excursions. Usually when it’s my husband & I we get a car & do our own thing. We were a little reluctant to do that with the ports being short & the risk of missing the ship. We did hear about one couple who’s car broke down & they missed the ship. So we played it safe. Naples we did the afternoon tour of Pompeii. Excellent. Dubrovnik we took the ship shuttle. Traffic was bad. We ended up exploring the old walled city & enjoyed ourselves. Made sure to get shuttle bus back timely. Messina – my father is from Sicily also! It was my first time in Sicily & I loved it. We took the tour to Taormina. It was lovely & so beautiful. We still had time to walk around Messina when we got back. The stores definitely close for 2 hours in the afternoon so we didn’t buy much! Venice we did on our own. We were docked outside the city & it was quite a walk to town. We rented a water taxi for our whole group & had a little tour then were dropped off at St Marks Square. Loved having the overnight. We had dinner ashore. Livorno we did the Florence/Pisa tour. I was very disappointed. We rushed thru Florence first – I so wanted to shop. The lunch I could do without. Then to Pisa where we were warned repeatedly about theft. I was getting a little paranoid! The tower is great but that’s it. I would rather have free time in Florence & reverse this order. My sister did Florence on your own which is basically a bus ride back & forth. She had a great day shopping. In Cannes we did the Monaco-Monte Carlo tour. Wow! Talk about big money! We went to the casino for a short time. It is beautiful & something to see. Postcard perfect. In Barcelona we did the Costa Brava tour. Bus & boat. It was okay. Kind of a long day but our guide was quite nice. The beach is beautiful & of course there are many topless women which the kids did notice!

Yes, they did have a past guest reception. It was Sat Aug 6 for our sailing. They dropped off the invite & the pins in our cabin.

The did have another water leak in the casino on our sailing. They closed the casino for about an hour.

I also liked cruise director John Heald’s humor.

Debarkation was done very well. We were told we could even carry our own bags off in the morning & we did. Piece of cake.

We did purchase transfers to the airport from Carnival for a pricy 65 a piece. You could do better booking your own private transfer. Try http://www.romaclick.com/shuttle-service/Rome-airport-transfers.htm

 

We wore shorts in ports. No problem except for the churches.

 

2 formal nights – the rest pretty much casual. I packed too many non-casual outfits. The Piano Bar guy is fantastic. The Victoria Lounge has karaoke.

 

I had room service every morning – it’s a continental type breakfast. They were always on time.

 

My sister had a fill on the ship. Don’t know the cost.

you pass the stromboli volvano on the way out of Messina about 7:45 pm

 

The problems with the Sail & Sign cards the first two days was a pain. I also stood in that Purser line a few times. Also if you have a magnetic closure on your purse, it will erase your card & you can’t get into your cabin!

[Liberty26]

Hi, I am preparing for Liberty sailing Aug 25th. Can you tell me if there is an iron in the cabin? Thanks, Melanie.

[DebNJoe]

Hi, I am preparing for Liberty sailing Aug 25th. Can you tell me if there is an iron in the cabin? Thanks, Melanie.

 

Irons are not allowed in the cabins. There are irons and ironing boards in the laundry rooms. You are permitted to bring the hand held steamers.

[Europebound]

Hi EuropeBound. Several of us from the boards' Roll Call thread are meeting

at the Aft Bar by the pool and whirlpools at Sailaway on the 6th. We can

grab a drink and take the steps up top to get the best view on Sailaway. I

think there are about 30 or us who have been posting during the last 10-15 months that this cruise has been available. Try to see the 9/6/05 Rollcall

for Liberty on the Carnival Roll Call board farther down. Lots of couples and

a few singles - we are a family of 50 Something parents, 30 something son, DIL and two wonderful well-travelled grandkids 3 & 5. They love Camp Carnival and we are the usual babysitters so we had no choice but to bring them! We are so looking forward to this trip - have read the dire review from one poor traveler who had issues with the Carnival flying program - we booked our air on our own to save money - we have had flight changes and DIL had to drieve 250 miles to closest BAirways ticket desk to get tickets reissued - BUT - we are leaving here on Friday of labor Day weekend and staying three nights in Rome before sailaway - hopefully any lost luggage will arrive before we sail. I spent 4 days in Cancun this spring without luggage - whew that is hard! Join all of us at Sailaway - the Pizza place is right by the bar - few do the fancy dining room on first night - due to sailaway, etc.

See you soon! Happy Sails to you!

 

Thanks so much for your post. I was having trouble getting back on this site the past few days, but think I'm ok now. I have located the roll call site and love it We do plan to meet you all at the aft bar pre-sailaway. We are four couples ages mid-40s to 60s. Some of us enjoyed the aft bar on the Victory several years ago. Her layout looks similar to the Liberty (and the pizzaria was in the same location too), so they may be sister ships. Not sure. Anyway, we'll see you all in 13 days. Hooray. BTW, we are staying two nights in Rome. Ciao!