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Review & FAQs Answered: Liberty 10/11

Lovefuninthesun

By Lovefuninthesun,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Lovefuninthesun

Lovefuninthesun

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We returned a week ago from our 7-day cruise aboard Liberty -- in a nutshell, GREAT CRUISE! The ships is gorgeous -- beautifully clean and well-maintained. DH and I think it was the best service we have ever experienced on a cruise -- every crew member we encountered was delightful and very helpful. Our cabin was great -- lido balcony, port side; perfect location in our opinion.

 

It was supposed to be an eastern Caribbean itinerary -- Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Maarten. St. Maarten is actually why we selected this cruise, since we hadn't been there for several years. Well, an unpleasant fellow named Gonzalo (literally) rained on our parade! Just as we departed Nassau on Day 2 the captain announced that we would have to reroute to the western Caribbean, since the hurricane was making a beeline for St. Maarten. :( We were very disappointed as we have been western so many times, but what can you do? Nobody wants to be in a hurricane situation, so western it was. We determined to have a great time anyway, which we did. And, consequently, we had glorious weather for the entire 7 days.

 

Now, I'm not into taking pictures of food and you've all seen a million pictures of the lido deck. So I thought I would respond to comments and threads that have been recurrent over the past several months as I have prepped for the cruise.

 

FTTF: We purchased, and again, we thought it was totally worth the $50! We were on the ship and in our (ready) cabin by 11:30. Our bags were there by 1:00, allowing us lots of unpacking time before safety drill. We were off the ship by 8:00 am. And since we (surprise!) ended up with a tender port (GC) we made good and speedy use of the priority tendering perk.

 

Noisy cabin: Not! :) There was a thread about how noisy this cabin was, especially on the balcony, because of a vent located above it -- it was a non-issue for us, as we never noticed any noise out of the ordinary.

 

Room temperature: Contrary to what some others have said, it was plenty cold for us -- in fact we could turn the temp down to the "meat locker" range (brrrrr) if we chose.

 

Bed: Our bed was very, very firm, but not uncomfortable, as some have reported. We didn't think that the mattress was quite as thick as in the past?

 

Cheers: It was total of $603.75 for the 2 of us for the duration (that's 37.50 per person/per day plus 15%). We bought it the second we boarded, but you could wait until Day 2, and only pay for 6 days. Tried it as an experiment (can we break even?) and will do it again -- win! I kept meticulous records and at the end of the week, we were $150 ahead. But, if the itinerary is port-intensive (we had 3 sea days) it might be a challenge. LESSONS LEARNED, contrary to what other posters reported or theorized: 1.) We were NOT allowed to get a can of soda -- on the program it was fountain, only, into a glass; 2.) The after-dinner shots in the dining room were NOT included, with or without the fancy shot glasses, so we paid extra for those.

 

Your Time Dining: We only waited one night, the first elegant night. The other nights we were seated immediately -- and that was with us asking for same waiters and a table for two. Definitely 2 thumbs up.

 

New Menu: Not a fan. The food was prepared well, and tasted fine, but we missed the variety from previous cruises. I realize that my choices are impacted by the fact that I am allergic to shellfish and fish, but DH can eat anything, and he thought the choices were boring, too.

 

Serenity: On decks 11 and 12, aft. We loved this area. We were a little surprised that many of the woman were sunbathing topless. It didn't bother us, just didn't expect it -- have not encountered that since the "olden days" of the topless deck up by the funnel.

 

Lido Deck music: In the mornings, the music was canned, was a lower level, and more to our taste. In the afternoon they had DJ music which was at a ridiculous ear-splitting, ear-bleeding level; it was impossible to even try and carry on a conversation. That's when we went in search of Serenity Deck.

 

I think those are the major points I wanted to address -- let me know if you have any questions. Bottom line -- highly recommend this ship!

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Lovefuninthesun

Lovefuninthesun

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Where were you able to get fountain soda?

I MUCH prefer fountain to a can.

This is great news.

Thanks for the review. We are looking at Liberty out of San Juan next summer.:D:D

 

Every bar had a soda gun-- and insisted that is what I could have with Cheers. (I much prefer cans, plus was wanting to taking one back and drink it on my balcony)

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Lovefuninthesun

Lovefuninthesun

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Your reive just goes to show what so many of us say "there's just something special and magical about Liberty" her sister ship are jot like her for some reason.

 

We also loved our Freedom cruise a couple of years ago.....Liberty was just a cut above, service-wise, IMO

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Lovefuninthesun

Lovefuninthesun

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Do you know if the band Music Mix played nightly in the casino? I think they are Filipino's, but I am not sure. They were so good and I hope they are playing there again next week.

 

There was a very good and very popular band playing outside the casino --- but don't remember the name! Sorry.

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Lovefuninthesun

Lovefuninthesun

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Hello!

Wondering what you did in the ports. Any recommendations?

Did you stop in the piano bar at all?

Thanks!

 

Spent few minutes in the piano bar, but more actually next door at the Alchemy Bar.

 

Since the ports were ones we have been too lots of times (after the switch due to the hurricane), the only excursion we did was in Grand Cayman -- went to the Turtle Farm. We had been there many years ago, but they have really expanded and improved it -- it is lovely. You can even snorkel with the turtles now. We had a great time.

 

In Nassau we just walked around very briefly, then had the ship to ourselves.

 

In Cozumel, we walked the main street in town that runs along the water (Avenida Rafael Melgar). Then we ended as we always do at Pancho's Backyard! :)

Edited by Lovefuninthesun
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