9/6 Liberty -- Thoughts/Observations

[CTMak]

DW and I sailed on the 9/6 Liberty celebrating 30th anniversary (we are 52). What I will try to do here is try not to repeat what others have said (thank you all), but perhaps come at it from a slightly different viewpoint. So I won't talk about decor, chair hogging, or the biographies of our wait staff. But maybe some different stuff that I wished I had known.

 

FYI: This is our 4th Carnival cruise. We also sailed on SilverSeas twice (the Cloud and the Whisper) and the Sea Goddess 3 times.

 

OVERALL: Absolutely fabulous!!!!

 

CABIN: TA suggested oceanview vs. balcony due to more cabin space. While we did like the larger room, if I were to do it again I would definately book a balcony room. I would have liked to sit outside sipping a glass of wine while we left the ports.

 

GUESTS: Much older crowd than other Carnival ships. And a much older crowd than previous Liberty sailings due to the dates -- 9/6 after school began. Literally, I did not see 1 kid in the pool the whole cruise. Hard to imagine. My understanding is that during the summer 600-to 800 kids were in Camp Carnival per sailing vs like 10 on this trip -- including the Captain's son. So if "kidless" is what you are looking for book after school starts. Also, in general people on this cruise have sailed before -- this was not their first cruise. Not everyone, but most people I talked with.

 

DINNER: We had the later of the 2 late seatings (8:30) and in my opinion the late seating is definately the way to go. Ideally the 8 vs 8:30 seating would be best, but definately the late vs early seating. After getting back from the ports at 4 -5, the thought of getting ready for a 5:45 or 6:15 dinner was not appealing. DW and I would go up to the sushi bar, have a glass of wine, and relax as the ship left port. To me, much more appealing than rushing to get ready. However, if you are sailing with kids, perhaps a different story.

 

HARRY's SUPPER CLUB: Just do it. Great!!! $30 extra pp includes everything but drinks/wine.

 

EXCURSIONS: On your own or through Carnival? Which ones to take? There was a couple at our table who booked excusrsions through Carnival in every port. They loved it. Another couple at our table did not book a single tour through Carnival, nor did they book privately. They simply did trains, busses, rented cars (in one case they rented mopeds), and they loved it.

 

We booked 2 tours though Carnival: in Naples and in Messina. The rest we did on our own as we have been to most of the ports. In general, my advice is that if you have not been to the port, book the "headline" tours: Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, Florence, Pisa etc. Booking through Carnival vs private makes it a lot more convenient in my opinion.

 

In Venice and Dubrovnik -- in my opinion -- no need to book a tour even if you have never been there. Do it on your own,

 

Also, if you have never been to Florence and/or Pisa go there. But if you have you may want to try San Gimiagnano in Livorno. We have been there like 3 times before. It's one of our favorite places in the whole world. You can rent a car from Hertz right on the pier (and that's where you return the car as well.) It's about 100 euros. The Hertz lady is very nice and helpful will give you a map and outline the route. Carnival also has a tour that includes San G.

 

Remember though if you rent a car it is standard shift. If you don;t drive a stick or haven't for a long time, learning/re-learning in Italy may not really be a good idea.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: Overall the lounge acts and piano bar were fine. People were having a great time.

 

Don;t miss any show that John Heald does. Especially the Welcome aboard show. Stuff happens that becomes a theme throughout the entire ship for the entire cruise (Mushroom and Willie -- that's all I'll say.) True, you can see it on your TV thoughout, but it's better to be there. Funniest thing ever.

 

The first production show was disappointing. Seemed to me like just a vehicle to show off costumes. The London rooftop set looked great, but Chim-Chimeny was a boring song 30-40 years ago and it still is. Again, seems like they built a nice set and needed a song to fit it.

 

The Broadway show was much better.

 

The Legends show -- well I can't opine as I was selected as one of the Legends performers.

 

COULD BE BETTER: The dining room food was ok -- not 5 star but not awful in any sense. It met but did not exceed expectations. To me, it was inconsistent -- my entree would be great; DW's would be tough. even the same entrees -- 2 steaks both ordered medium -- would come out different with one ok the other overcooked. In general the soups and appetizers were really good.

 

The first night of the cruise I ordered wine from the list -- they were out of the firt 2 I selected -- on the first night. The next night the same thing. I asked why and they told me they didn't restock until Barcelona (why? who knows we were in Italy for Crisakes). I finally started buying my own wine in port and bringing it down. No problem brining wine on board. And they didn't charge me a corkage fee.

 

They ran out of diet Coke as well! Can you imagine?

 

Anyway, I hope this helps. Again, It was FANTASTIC!

 

Feel free to post questions here or e-mail me.

 

 

CTMak