Back from liberty today...good cruise

[AmberTeka]

I will write a review this week. I did not take pictures. I will try to be honest about the food...American Table. entertainment. Service. Activities staff. shore excursions. I had a lot of questions before we sailed, I read a lot of helpful reviews, and promised to write what I saw. I will say.... I was very pleased. It was not the Dream, my favorite, but it was a nice, well kept ship. American Table was what I had questions about so I will try to answer that. I liked the old menu better. But the American Table had more appetizers than I expected. I did see cold fruit soups and I had two. Salads were offered almost every night, with Cesar salad offered nightly. Soups were on the menu. I saw chicken noodle. Pumpkin. Lobster bisque. Clam Chowder. Minestrone. and others. Shrimp cocktail nightly. I did ask for the fresh fruit one night, and that was not a problem. The desserts were good. Someone is putting more sugar in them. The popcorn pot of crème was delicious. The entrees I had were flat iron steak, spaghetti carbona, grilled shrimp, sweet and sour shrimp and all but the spaghetti were good. We ate in the buffet one formal night, and the pizza was totally excellent. As were the chocolate chip cookies and the ice cream. We had a guy's hamburger. It was OK. Hot Dogs were served on the Fourth of July. they were good. Breakfast, with an omelet, was always good. lunch was always on the Lido deck. I thought the salad bar was very good. The Ranch dressing was good. My husband ate the salmon fillet almost every night, and he liked that. He also ate the fish choice on the buffet daily for lunch, and he was pleased. He also had the shrimp creole one night and liked that. I admit it. I was impressed. They did have the chocolate buffet the last sea day, but we got there so late, that the pickings were slim. One of the servers did make me a swan out of cookies and strawberry ice cream. I appreciated the effort. The bread was excellent. They had a biscuit like bread stuffed with cranberries. That was excellent. The chicken flatbread appetizer was very good. So on Food...............I would give the Carnival Liberty an "A-" . The minus is because the bacon seriously needed more cooking. but all in all, I think future passengers will be pleased. We always asked for a table for two. We always received one. usually very close to other tables, which was fun, because you talked to them. The wait staff at every table was very good. Some times the food came very fast, but it was never an issue with it being a very long time at any table. It was hot every night but one. And then it was lukewarm. Still one out of eight nights is not bad. There was a short line when the MDR opened, but it moved quickly. A very personable young lady was on the desk, and she was a dear. She and the other co workers kept the lines moving, while being very pleasant and attentive to every one. Not an easy thing to do. I was impressed with the cheerful atmosphere, for lack of a better word. It made dining there a pleasure. Tomorrow.....Entertainment. And I will already say............that was also a very pleasant surprise.

Edited July 6, 2014 by AmberTeka

[vivavegas]

Welcome back! Looking forward to reading your review!!:)

[Tutontow]

Thank you. We sail her in September and we are so glad to hear about The American menu. We sailed the Legend and the Sunshine recently and my wife commented "what is it with Carnival and hot soup" so it is good to see what you reported.

[babyclaytonmom]

Cant wait to read the rest. Leave on Liberty in less than 2 weeks.

[elainmir]

We were on this cruise with you! :D I can tell you the best appetizer on that American Table menu was the FRIED OYSTERS! OMG...fab.u.lous! The flat iron steak was good. Our first night our waiter Rey was awful..we were like an after thought. But we had Nathaly after that and she was phenomenal.

I agree with you that Guy's burgers were just ok. And I had the breakfast burrito at Blue Iguana..oh yeah it was great! As were their fish tacos ..the chicken taco was nasty! It had the chipotle seasoning in it and it was not good.

And the bacon was indeed in need of much more cooking! The last day was the only day it was crisp..the rest of the time..limp and undercooked. The bacon police were in full force also...it was awkward trying to shove your plate under the sneeze guard to get some without taking out the crocks of jams and jellies below!

My favorite things were the tilapia and the shrimp creole on the Lido buffet..we had some delicious salads all week as well. The fruit was hit or miss, either great or not ripe enough.

The chocolate buffet was great but there were no strawberries by the time we got there:eek:.

[SMSACE6]

Glad you enjoyed the Liberty. My favorite of the five Carnival ships I have been on (followed closely by Freedom).

 

I have not yet experienced the new menu, but there are lots on it that I would like to try.

 

I am looking forward to your full review.:)

[OCruisers]

Wow! Nice review! Very much enjoyed reading since I've never been on Liberty! :)

LuLu

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[ThuviaRN]

Thank you for your post! Looking forward to more! My husband and I sail on the Liberty August 9th!

[jillpra]

I hate to disagree but we requested Rey after we had him our first night! We thought he was very attentive but I will say that the kitchen was extremely slow all of the nights except the last night!

 

 

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Jill

[rooster1961]

thanks for the info,looking forward to more

[PathfinderEss]

Looking forward to your full report.

[Keith1010]

Glad the cruise was good.

 

Keith

[elainmir]

I hate to disagree but we requested Rey after we had him our first night! We thought he was very attentive but I will say that the kitchen was extremely slow all of the nights except the last night!

 

 

 

Oh no don't feel that way , each person experiences something different;) But to compare we got there late around 8 pm and were seated by a family of four, he went out of his way for them and us sitting right beside them could not help but notice the comparison of how we were treated. The comparison between how we were treated the first night and the nights we had Nathaly was like night and day. She definitely redeemed our dining room experience. I can't say what made him more attentive to the table right beside us. We are quiet, respectful and dressed accordingly so were the family beside us...???

[AmberTeka]

Entertainment. One...they had a live band. They were excellent. The difference in the stage productions with that live band was remarkable. It made me remember when all of the Carnival Ships had one. They should bring them back. The Liberty had a lot of dancers. I counted eight girls, and never did get the gents right. and that made a difference. I saw the Classic Rock Show and really enjoyed it. I saw the singer brought on for a night, backed up by the band, and that was good. I had to leave to met my DH before it was over, but I enjoyed it. The 'Around the World" Show with a patriotic salute on the 4th of July, was very good. My husband went with me, which is rare, and he enjoyed it too. The shows were like they used to be. A band. Lots of dancers. I loved it.

 

The casino was tight. At least on the slots. I lost and lost and finally quit going. I went back on the last day and lost and lost. It was never crowded in there. I wonder why. and I know some people did win. they always do. but no one I talked too was winning.

 

Activities. Mostly we dealt with Liz, the young staffer from Canada. I liked her a lot. She had to deal with small crowds, huge crowds on Super Trivia Day, different types of people and I thought she handled it very well. She was unflappable. And she did not put up with any nonsense either. Still, she was also nice and funny. that is a tough balancing act and she did it. We played a lot of Trivia. We met a family from S.Carolina that likes to play as much as we do, and they made the cruise activities a lot of fun. They were exuberant. Smart. A shout out to them. We won the Super Trivia 5 day competition and I will remember that for the rest of my life. It really was thrill. That might sound cornball, but I am being honest. I was tickled to death to win that. And every day, Liz made it something to look forward too. Corey was the Activities Director. He was everywhere. Shaking hands in the auditorium. On TV. Out and about. On the Lido Deck. He is very outgoing. everyone we interacted with on the Activities Staff was helpful and seemed to be enjoying their jobs. They were the best Activities Staff we have seen on Carnival for the past few years. they were that good.

they did have a lot of activities on the Lido Deck, pool parties, Deck parties that we did not attend, but from talking to people who did.............they had some parties that went on a long time up there. We sat by a man at Dinner who was in the legends Show.

 

The Cruise Director directs getting on and off of the ship. I give Corey "A+". Getting on was a breeze. We are Platinum. We arrived at about noon. We went right on board....got our cards and boarded. I saw the lines in the regular check in area, and they were not long. We have stood in lines that wound around the building. Nothing like that. Our cabin was a suite and it was ready when we boarded. We took the Upsell call. The bathtub and shower were great. The closet space was great. The balcony ditto. But for the two of us, I think a balcony will be our high point. We sail in any cabin near the mid ship elevators ( sea sick prone). If it meant sleeping in a lifeboat, we would probably go with that to make the cruise. Danny, who is on his way home to the Phillipines, was our cabin steward. He was the best every. totally. We tipped him extra and enjoyed doing it. GETTING OFF.......totally a breeze. We had a letter to be in the Persian Gardens Room at 8:15. We watched a small group of carry on luggage people depart. And they had small luggage. No pushing suitcases as big as twin mattresses. Then they came for us. a small group of Plats and Diamonds. I think the FTTF was in the room across from the Persian Room. Not a lot of them either. Getting off. If you had a big suitcase, you had to use the elevator. Going down the escalator...we went one by one with someone separating us. Well planned. Very organized. Very fast moving. I was impressed. The Liberty had getting on board. Getting off the ship.....totally under control. I did not see one incident. other than my DH dropping his S&S card on the way out. he got off of the ship, but that was nerve wracking. Embarkation. Excellent. Ditto for getting off.

[Jamman54]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. We are looking forward to sailing on the Liberty next month!!

[wantocruisemore]

Looking forward to the rest of your review. We loved the Liberty in May. They did not have the cold fruit soups on the menu then so it's nice to know they have added them.

 

I thought the popcorn de Creme was just ok. Did you try the white chocolate banana bread pudding? I had looked forward to trying that and it was so bad I just took a couple of bites.

 

Liberty is a great ship with a great crew. I'm glad they switched to Port Canaveral because that is driving distance for us.

[AmberTeka]

Looking forward to the rest of your review. We loved the Liberty in May. They did not have the cold fruit soups on the menu then so it's nice to know they have added them.

 

I thought the popcorn de Creme was just ok. Did you try the white chocolate banana bread pudding? I had looked forward to trying that and it was so bad I just took a couple of bites.

 

Liberty is a great ship with a great crew. I'm glad they switched to Port Canaveral because that is driving distance for us.

 

I ordered the pie of the day three times. I had cherry pie, apple pie and blueberry pie. All with a scoop of ice cream. They were all totally delicious. I don't think they had the white chocolate banana bread pudding. They had a bread pudding with white sauce that may have been the same. I was tempted. But I ordered the ginger cake. It was delicious. It was like a delicate gingerbread with a little white icing. I ordered pecan ice cream with it and as I sit here, I wish I had it now. I really think they add more sugar to their desserts now. they were improved from the last cruise we took. I also thought the baked eggs they serve on the breakfast buffet were better. I read in a travel magazine that those eggs are real eggs. They are just baked in very large trays which is why they taste strange. For the first time in our lives, we ordered 3 desserts one night. We hesitated over a choice, so the server just brought us the Pop Corn pot of crème. To me.......it was very similar to crème brulee. without the hard glaze. Or a Mexican Flan. It was sweet. My husband, who only likes Chocolate, took a taste and then ate the rest of the pudding like textured dessert. It was good. More sugar??

Edited July 7, 2014 by AmberTeka