Our Maiden Voyage...Liberty 9/20

[ragethjj23]

Hi! Thanks for checking out my review! Before I begin I have a few disclaimers. First, this was our first cruise, so I will be giving my opinion based on no prior experience and with out being able to compare it with a similar experience. And secondly, there will be spelling and grammatical errors. Sorry 

 

And with that its time too begin! First a little bit about us. My wife and I were married two years ago and this cruise was our honeymoon cruise. We life in southeast wisconsin and have two fur babies that we sadly had to leave at home.

The run up to this cruise was extremely stressful for us being first timers. First, with cruising this time of year can always be challenging with it be hurricane season and all, but that was not an issue for our cruise. Then of course the Liberty had the engine fire two weeks before our sailing so we had to first worry about being able to sail at all, and then if we would be sailing the scheduled itinerary. These, as it turned out, were nonissues. Our last precruise issue was with American Airlines. The day before our scheduled departure they grounded flights at ohare as well as miami international, the two airports that we were flying through. That caused all the passengers from the previous day to rebook on Friday, our departure date.

 

We arrived at the airport at 5am for our 7am flight and the security line was 2.5 times its normal length. Unfortunately we missed our flight by minutes. We were on stand by for the next flight to miami, when I looked up flights to san juan. I saw that there was a direct flight that left at 8:30, so I went up to the ticket counter and asked if we could switch to that flight. I think the ticket agent was surprised that I wasn’t yelling at her as most of the other customers have been, and she said absolutely. With tickets in hand, I went over to where my wife was sitting and said grab your bags we’re off. She was practically in tears, oblivious to the fact that I had asked about this other flight.

 

Finally on our plane! Our direct flight actually got us to San Juan earlier than we had originally planned on!

 

 

Flying over the Bahamas!

 

 

El Murro on the way to land in San Juan!

 

With all that behind us it is time to start our vacation! Next up, san juan!!

[ccahope]

I was on the Liberty cruise that had the engine fire. Excited to go on this cruise through you! Thanks!

[ragethjj23]

In san juan we booked la concha for two nights through the blind hotwire thing. La concha is a very “hip” hotel. You walk in and music is playing and you get the vibe of good times. At night, the street outside of the hotel was bustling with music, and there is a discotech across the street. Lots of fun to be had! Saturday night, in addition to the party scene outside the hotel, there is one in the hotel! Lots of people dressed up and had a good time there. It was located by the elevators. The room itself was great. It had modern décor, with a living room area where you walk in. then there was a little kitchenette area where there was a hot plate and fridge. The bedroom was large and our room overlooked the city. Only downside was that we were locked out of our room for over an hour an a half at 10pm the night before the cruise. They have scanners for door locks where you put your card key up to the sensor on the door and it should unlock. We went down to guest service numberous times and all they did was issue new keys. After about 6 times of doing this, they finally sent maintenance up to look at it. They had to reset the sensor and then it was fine. Why they didn’t do this from the get go, I have no idea.

The day before our cruise departed, we had a full day of activities planned. We booked a city tour through Arc Tours, and Karen was our guide. This was a great tour and even better than I expected. We were the only ones on the tour, so we got all of her attention. During the tour not only did karen talok about the architecture of old san juan, but she also talked about so much history. Karen has a wealth of knowledge and her tour helped us appreciate the city that much more. I cannot recommend her enough. There is a lot of walking involved so be prepared for that and bring water to drink.

We also did the bacardi tour with the mixology. The tour was ok and the mixology portion was fun. A good activity to do once, probably wont do it the next time. They have a gift shop and sell a good variety of items. I did manage to not buy the $150 bottle of rum with a little self control.

 

 

Our room-sitting area/kitchenette

 

 

The awesome shower!

 

 

King size bed

 

 

View from the room

[sweenbean21]

I'm excited for your review, as we sail the Liberty in a couple weeks :D

[brinvic]

We will be in San Juan on the 29th. Love that city. Sailing on Liberty Nov 1. Looking forward to more of your review

[silvercrikhix]

Great start, nice photos!

[ragethjj23]

 

Love the color and architecture of Old San Juan!

 

 

The wall by the old san juan gate. It was constructed to protect the city from invasion.

 

 

Awesome tree in old san juan!

 

 

Beautiful statue, and the story behind it is pretty cool!

 

 

A little chapel where people from all over the world come to pray for healing. Was being opened when we were there. Tons of pigeons around it though.

 

 

The thinnest piece of property in the city. It is 5 feet wide!

[ragethjj23]

 

View from El Murro.

 

 

El Murro from the Bacardi Factory.

 

 

From the distillery.

[ragethjj23]

Day one of cruise- embarkation

Decided to sleep in a little after our adventure getting in the room the previous evening, and checked out at about 11:30 . We heard on previous cruises from san juan that guests were able to board at 12-12:15. We had faster to the fun and definitely would get it again. As soon as we walked up to get our sail and sign cards we skipped the line and got them within 2 minutes. Unfortunately, they did not begin the boarding process until 1:15. After boarding, dropping off our carry ons at our room, we were off to lido for some lunch and some exploring!

A brief overview of our room; it is what you would expect. It was a balcony, 9263, and had minimal noise at any point. Good location, thanks carnival! We had originally booked a grand scenic oceanview cabin on the valor but with the dancing of the ships, Ms. Liberty doesn’t have that category. We were a little dissapointed with that but the balcony was nice. In the future I wouldn’t need a balcony as we only went on it a couple of times and only when we were docking at port.

 

 

View off of our balcony.

 

 

Barely used the chairs with all of the ports, but it was nice to sit on when we were out there.

 

 

The lobby. Very beautiful!

 

 

The library. The only time we were in here.

 

 

Chandelier above the lobby.

[ragethjj23]

 

The Piano Bar.

 

 

The dance club.

 

 

La Fortaleza as we sail away.

 

 

EL Murro At night from sail away!

[ragethjj23]

First port-St. Thomas

As we do for every port, we had an excursion planned and here it was an island tour by Godfrey. We were picked up a little late at the meeting point by Hadji. We chose to be picked up at 9am so that we had extra time to shop. Upon being picked up, we made sure that we woukld be back to the ship by 4pm as we were to be onboard by 4:30, and hadji thought we had to be back at 5pm. After that was cleared up we were off to the downtown area for some shopping. There were, of course, lots of jewelry shops as well as souvenir shops. After our shopping time we met back up for the tour. The tour basically takes you to the mountaintop and makes stops along the way. For most of the stops you stay in the vehicle so I recommend sitting on the left side of the truck as they don’t really stop on the way down. After the tour, you can choose to go to a beach and there are a few different options. Everyone on our tour chose megans bay beach, and that was definitely the highlight of the day. The water was crystal clear and the scenery was like one out of your wildest dream. Simply outstanding! For what it was the tour was ok, making few stops along the way to the mountain top. The price was fair at $45pp including one banana daiquiri and soda. But next time, I think we would just go to the beach! Hadji brought us back to the ship at 4:25 which was too close to comfort for most of us on the tour! Definitely had some angry folks around us on the bus back!

 

 

Pulling into port.

 

 

 

Senior Frogs! Wasn't able to go this time...

 

 

 

Ms Liberty from across the bay.

 

 

By the Square.

[ragethjj23]

 

From an outlook that we stopped at on the way to the mountaintop.

 

 

 

View of Megans Bay from the Mountain top where we got our complimentary Daiquiris!

 

 

 

Megans Bay Beach. Absolutely gorgeous. Now I know why it is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Could spend days here!

 

 

On our way out of port.

[ragethjj23]

 

Our first towel animal!

[ragethjj23]

Our Second Day was our one and only sea day. We slept in a bit, and then had brunch. I had the steak and eggs and couldn't pass up the bacon mac and cheese, my wife had the eggs benedict. Everything was great, as was the company that we met and chatted with during our meal. For today, we just relaxed! Did the mini golf, swam a bit, relaxed on deck. Well needed slow day! It was the first elegant night, and dinner was excellent! That evening we went to the punchliner for the adult only shows and the comedians that were onboard were hilarious. We had a great time there!

[bcsurvivor05]

Loving your review...we leave in 49 days on lady liberty and I can't wait!! Keep it coming

[Dirkgun]

Great start to your review. Love this itinerary, so looking forward to your perspective on it. I really like your photos... keep up the good work. I am subscribing. :D

[ragethjj23]

Our second port of call was Barbados. We were not on land here very long as we booked Calabaza for our excursion. They have two cats that operate independently so if you have a group of a few couples and want to be together, let the know when you book. Let me just say that this was the best experience. It is $110 a person for the cruise and lasts about 6 hours or so. They pick you up at the port and take you the short distance to the harbor where the catamarans are docked. Once onboard the pampering begins. Just sit back and be prepared for the awesome crew to make your day memorable. They immediately great with an appetizer and anything you want to drink.

 

Once sailing is underway, you can go anywhere on the ship. We went to the front of the ship on the nets and enjoyed our sail from there. We sailed along the coast for a while and turned around as there was rain off in the distance coming our way. The other catamaran kept going the way we were originally headed. We sailed the opposite direction to the area out by the boatyard. That was the first snorkel stop. The crew was in the water helping those that needed it and had food for the turtles. There were a lot of turtles around us. It was amazing! They came so close you could touch them! The crew also had an underwater camera that they took photos with. Gina, the owner of the catamarans, will send a link to those photos for no charge!

 

After this stop, we went to the second stop. Here, there were a number of shipwrecks. There were a good number of fish swimming around it. After this stop it was lunch time. The crew prepared an amazing meal of curry chicken, fish, potatoes, pasta salad, salad and more! Again all the while the crew is happy to grab you a drink. After lunch we were given time to swim before the sail back. We arrived at the ship just before it started to rain. That was the end to a memorable time in port. Each catamaran is limited to 12 passengers so that it isn't crammed and there Is plenty of space. There were people of all different ages and swim levels on the catamaran and everyone had an excellent time. Cant wait to go back to Barbados to visit calabaza again.

 

Lots of Pics on the way here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ragethjj23]

 

 

 

 

 

[ragethjj23]

 

 

 

 

 

[ragethjj23]

 

 

 

[ragethjj23]

Our fourth day and third port was St Lucia. Here we planned the land and sea tour with Spencer Ambrose. They were very prompt and waiting for us at the port, where they took us on their speed boat to the location where the land tour was to begin. The tour took us to the mud baths where we could either dip in the sulfur springs or look at the volcano. We chose the volcano as we didn't want to smell like sulfur for the rest of our cruise. St Lucia was the most beautiful island that we visited on this cruise. After the volcano we went to the waterfall. On such a hot day dipping in the cool water was definitely welcome! On the way back to the speed boat we learned a lot about the island and about the vegetation that was on the island. Back at the boat we took it to Jalousie Beach. Here we took a couple hours to swim snorkel and relax. We had lunch of chicken, lentals, salad, bread fruit etc. After lunch it was time for the sea portion of the tour. All aboard the speed boat and we were off to see the sights. This was a great tour full of information and fun, definitely worth doing again!

 

 

Pulling into St Lucia.

 

 

 

 

On the speed boat looking back at the Liberty.

 

 

 

View Of the Pitons.

[ragethjj23]

 

The volcano.

 

 

 

The waterfall.

 

 

 

[ragethjj23]

 

 

Look Familiar?

[ConshyCrock]

Your pics are great. I'm doing this cruise in January and cannot wait.

[pghsteelerfan]

I'm loving this - another review of the same cruise we were on, Liberty 9/20 sailing!!! I am really enjoying your pictures, they are great, and seeing another perspective of the cruise we were on. :) We also did Spencer's Land and Sea tour, but you guys must have been in the other van. I am definitely following and looking forward to the rest.