Review: Carnival liberty – september 20, 2015 – southern itinerary out of san juan,

[pghsteelerfan]

Tonight was my absolute favorite dinner that Carnival has, Spaghetti Carbonara. I had only had it once before, on Glory in 2010, when it was actually served in the buffet on formal night and I loved it, so that was my main dinner selection. For my appetizer, I got the Caesar Salad. For some reason, Carnival’s Caesar Salad is better than any Caesar Salad I’ve had elsewhere (I give that an A+). DH ordered the Prime Rib and Caesar Salad. On American Feast nights, there are no sides offered on the menu. DH and I aren’t really seafood fans but we’d only tried lobster once several years ago on vacation when my mom prepared it. I remembered it being good. DH told Marko that he wasn’t a huge seafood fan would at least like to try the lobster. Marko told him it was not a problem and he’d bring both. DH and I figured we could share the lobster. When our meals were brought out, I got pictures of it since it was just DH and I at the table. Yes, food porn!!! So here ya go, some food porn pictures. I was going to get pictures of DH's dinner, but he gave me a funny look and said I'd already humiliated him enough for one day. I did use the smart phone for these so it wasn't obvious.

 

Caesar Salad

 

My favorite, Spaghetti Carbonara (there is a lot more here than it looks like in this picture)

 

The Lobster

 

 

The Spaghetti Carbonara was just as good as I’d remembered (that is an A+ for me). Now in the picture I got, it doesn’t look like there’s much there, but believe me, the portions were large. I ate most of the Spaghetti Carbonara. DH said his Prime Rib was OK, but not the best he’s had. We tried the lobster and it was OK, but again, we’re not really seafood fans. If you want to try it, a cruise is the best time. We each had a few bites but ended up leaving most of it. There was also shrimp served with it, and we each tried it. Again, it was OK, but remember, we’re not big on seafood. DH is definitely a meat and potatoes guy.

 

While we were eating, our wait staff did a performance. We didn’t see Marko though. When he came around with the dessert menus we asked him why he wasn’t up there dancing too, teasing him a little. He said with Jorge off tonight, he was just too busy. OK, we can understand that. Our bar waiter, Yoki, came around with tonight’s selection of cordial shots. I think the liquor was Limoncello and it was in the blue shot glass. I ordered one. For dessert I passed because I was full. DH got the Vanilla Crème Brulee. Again, I’m not a fan of rich, sweet desserts, but I tried DH’s and it was good (so, an A from me).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

 

 

 

 

DH's Vanilla Creme Brulee

 

When we finished dinner, we didn’t have much time because we had a plan tonight. We went back to our cabin so I could get changed out of my dress and into some more comfortable clothes. DH decided to stay in his dress pants and dress shirt, but took his tie off.

 

I know there is a lot of discussion on how others dress up, or fail to dress up, in the dining room. To be honest, I don't even pay attention because it’s none of my business what others are wearing. What they wear is up to them. With that said, DH said he noticed a few guys wearing jeans.

Edited November 7, 2015 by pghsteelerfan

[pghsteelerfan]

When we finished dinner, we didn’t have much time because we had a plan tonight. We went back to our cabin so I could get changed out of my dress and into some more comfortable clothes. DH decided to stay in his dress pants and dress shirt, but took his tie off.

 

A quick picture before heading out on Panorama Deck 10 since I wanted a picture exiting from here.

 

Next stop was Red Frog for a Captain & coke then walked to the back of Liberty on the Lido Deck, going through Emile’s restaurant. I stopped for a few quick pictures with my cell phone then went over to the buffet to see if they were serving the Spaghetti Carbonara there. They weren’t.

 

 

We were at the aft (back) of Liberty and just took aft elevators back down to Promenade Deck 5, to the Victoria Lounge (Punchliner Comedy Club). Tonight’s 10:30pm comedy show was Diane Ford. DH remembered seeing her perform on TV a while back. He described her to me. I’m always interested in seeing a female comedian. We normally hear a male’s perspective on things, but I also like to hear comedy from a woman’s perspective.

 

When we walked in, with about 10 minutes to spare, there was seating left and no lines, we just walked right in. Most of the group from “that other” roll call were also in there and called over to us. The table they were at was filled (eight of them). The table next to them only had one couple seated, so we asked if it was OK for us to sit there, which was fine with them. We sat on the end next to our friends’ table.

 

Our friends informed us that they were at the earlier “Rated R” show and before the assistant cruise director introduced Al Romero and made his speech, the “Hairy chest” contest, and specifically DH, was brought up since he was contestant #7 and went down first. Great!

 

Although photography and video recording aren’t permitted in the comedy show, I had my phone and took a picture of the stage with “Punchliner Comedy Club” and DH reprimanded me. He said “No pictures”. Well, the actual show hadn’t started yet, so I thought it was OK.

 

 

Yes, me and picture taking, again (eye roll). Our drinks were still almost full when the bar waiter came around but “L” from the rest of the group ordered a Chocolate Mocha Getaway. That’s right!!! I’ve been meaning to try one of those, but not tonight, not even when I finish my drink. I was still just too full.

 

 

 

Our assistant cruise director again came out, said a few words and without any mention of the “Hairy chest” contest this time (whew!!!), then introduced Diane Ford. As soon she walked out, DH leaned over and said she was the same one he’d seen on a comedy special on TV, or HBO. She was just as he described her.

She was hilarious, had me laughing practically the whole time. She also used crowd involvement in a lot of her comedy, which kept it really interesting. We have seen comedy on our last four cruises, several nights of comedy since that is what DH really enjoys and looks forward to. Diane Ford definitely ranks as one of my favorites.

The other favorite of mine was Jason Blanchard’s show from last year’s Liberty cruise. He had us laughing the entire time, and at the end to close his show, he incorporated one of the “naughty towel animals” in relation to what he’d just been talking about. I thought that was very clever and totally unexpected and also hilarious. I don’t know if he still does comedy for Carnival or not, but if he’s ever performing on your cruise, I recommend him. Just don’t volunteer unless you want to be humiliated. I also highly recommend Diane Ford if she’s every performing and again, if you don’t want to be unwillingly pulled into her act, don’t sit up front.

 

 

When Diane Ford finished, we were again permitted to stay in our seats as there was no line of people waiting outside to get in. We all decided we were going to sit through the next comedy show, again by Al Romero, the comedian we saw last night. We had about 15 minutes before his act started at 11:30pm. We spent the time talking to our friends. Since the area was empty and we were at a table fairly close to the doors, I took my phone to get a quick picture of the Conservatory Atrium, which is the atrium at the aft (back) of Liberty. It starts on Lobby Deck 3 through the Panorama Deck. It’s really pretty. I’m a little surprised, but the pictures from the phone camera have been coming out really nice, especially the interior pictures. I got my picture and went back in.

 

 

The Conservatory Atrium

 

When the bar waiter came around again, DH and I were both ready for another Captain & coke. They were delivered to us right before Al Romero’s show got started. Again, the assistant cruise director took the stage first, and said a few words before introducing Al Romero. Nothing again was mentioned this time about the “Hairy chest” contest.

Al Romano came on and had a different show than he did the night before but brought up the topic “things that annoy me” once again. I do remember last night’s show, before I nodded off, that it was funny at first and he had some great observations, but he dragged the subject on a little too far and took too long. I saw maybe 15 minutes, but guess what? Yes, again! Apparently tonight I wasn’t the only one. A few others, initials won’t even be mentioned, also dozed off.

 

 

When the show was over, about midnight, DH asked if I could stay awake long enough to have a “night cap”, another Captain & coke, since I still had most of mine left. We took the aft (back) elevator to the Lido Deck because I wanted to see if the cover was still over the aft pool and it was. DH had never seen it closed either. I got a picture with the phone, to compare, and it came out better.

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

We went to Red Frog where DH got a Captain & coke from Joseph and we talked to him for a minute or two, but there were other passengers at the bar, so we moved along after that and went up to the Panorama Deck. We could see the moon shining on the water on the starboard (right) side and got a couple pictures with our phones.

 

 

 

At that point we decided to take the rest downstairs to finish on the balcony since the moon was out over the water. When we went inside, we noticed that the door to Diamond’s Steakhouse was open and it was empty. I had never seen the inside and always felt uncomfortable about just waltzing in for a look while others were dining. I went in and there was a female Carnival staff member cleaning and I asked her if I could take a quick look around and maybe get a picture or two. She took me on a tour, just the whole dining section, but it’s larger than I thought it would be. She was so nice, but again, I failed to see what her name was. DH was waiting for me at the entrance and when she saw him, she motioned him in and asked us if we would like for her to get a picture of both of us with my phone. I was happy to let her.

 

 

 

Diamond's Steakhouse

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went back down to our cabin and I got pictures of our towel animal, a dog, and the next day’s edition of the “Fun Times”, that were on our bed. They were there when we stopped by after dinner for me to change, but we were in a bit of a hurry then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to the balcony to finish our drinks and attempted to get pictures of the moon over the water. I was using the DSLR then, but I could not get a good picture. The moon was behind some mixed clouds but would shine through and wasn’t reflecting on the water at this point. I gave up. DH was using his camera and got some pictures that appeared to come out pretty decently in his camera’s display.

 

 

It was in the back of my mind that DH and I were both out on the balcony and I thought of what I'd told "L" and "M" when the "Hairy Chest" contest was going on...if they heard my name being paged, I'm over the balcony. I laughed and let DH know what I told them, jokingly. He had that look of the "light bulb" going on, then laughed. He'd never do anything like that...I hope. I guess if he would, tonight would be the night. But I'm still here to do this review...

 

 

 

After the attempts at pictures of the moon, we got ready for bed and called it a night. This will be a Sea Day to remember.

[pghsteelerfan]

Wrapping this up for tonight. Next up...Barbados!!!

 

[moniquet]

Thank you. Really enjoy all your posts and excellent photos:)

 

3 weeks tomorrow and we shall be boarding Liberty.

[jimbo5544]

Spectacular review and pictures! We loved the Liberty and have sailed her 4 times. Thanks for doing the review.

[cruisexlife]

Hello! It's great to be on the other side of the review, and finally be able to read a review written by you! Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to write the review! GREAT start so far! :D

[pghsteelerfan]

Thank you. Really enjoy all your posts and excellent photos:)

 

3 weeks tomorrow and we shall be boarding Liberty.

 

Three weeks!!! That time will fly. I'm officially jealous. :) Thank you so much and I am happy that you are enjoying the review and pictures. I'll have to admit, pictures don't do the beauty of this itinerary justice. I hope you have a wonderful cruise on Liberty and also wishing you great weather and smooth seas.

[pghsteelerfan]

Spectacular review and pictures! We loved the Liberty and have sailed her 4 times. Thanks for doing the review.

 

Thank you and glad you are enjoying the review and pictures. We just love this itinerary and I took more pictures on this cruise than I have any other, even our Valor cruise on the same itinerary two years ago. We definitely love Liberty and it was nice to sail on her again and hope to again in the future.

[pghsteelerfan]

Hello! It's great to be on the other side of the review, and finally be able to read a review written by you! Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to write the review! GREAT start so far! :D

 

Hey there! Being on the other side, I know...I have been enjoying your reviews and pictures for so long now. I feel terrible, you had the other Liberty review that I want to recommend and I forgot to mention it. I kept getting "timed" out looking for the past reviews that I recommended in my first post. I know there are others following with upcoming cruises that may be leaving before I finish.

 

I remember asking you if you were able to see Saba from St. Maarten and you mentioned that you had. We were able to see it this time! :D And the picture you got from Liberty in St. Thomas...one of my all-time favorites.

 

I've been checking out some of the itineraries for Carnival Pride. There is a 14 day cruise, round trip, that hits a lot of the islands that I love or would love to see. Dominica & Martinique, we visited both on our first cruise in 1992 but would love to get back. The only problem is that DH would not be able to get that many days off work in a row.

Edited November 7, 2015 by pghsteelerfan

[pghsteelerfan]

Getting ready to work on my review some more. I don't know how much I'll get done today, but getting ready to update.

 

At the beginning of my review, I mentioned other photo heavy reviews that I have enjoyed that also have some great information for anyone planning on a cruise on this itinerary, but forgot to mention another of my favorites by cruisexlife. They just posted and the link to their Liberty review (March 2015) is in the signature. If anyone following has an upcoming Liberty or Fascination cruise, I highly recommend this review as well.

 

Again, trying to get this finished as quickly as possible, but this one is taking me longer than I anticipated.

[pghsteelerfan]

[pghsteelerfan]

Today's edition of the "Fun Times"

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

The Spa & Salon flier (both sides)

 

 

 

The Comfy Cozy Cruise Souvenirs (front page) and Laundry Service flier (other side)

 

 

 

And almost forgot...this was in our cabin the previous evening, the letter informing us that balcony washing would be taking place today (9/23 - Barbados). Did I mention that they are always cleaning something?

 

[pghsteelerfan]

The Barbados edition of "Fun Finds" that is handed out when debarking Liberty in port

 

 

 

 

[momof4boys]

Looking forward to the rest of your review. Our group is booked for this itinerary in July, but the ship will be the Fascination. We have always wanted to do the Saints.

[pghsteelerfan]

Wednesday, September 23, 2015 – Barbados (Day 4)

 

 

 

 

We got up around 7:00am to a beautiful, sunny day and by the time I got out to the balcony, we were just arriving and getting ready to pull into the pier in Barbados. And yes, the “door slammers” in the cabin next to us were at it again, in and out, in an out. The water was very calm this morning. When arriving in Barbados, it’s not as mountainous as the other islands on this itinerary and the port itself is located in an industrial area, so it’s not a spectacular view. But, don’t let first impressions fool you here. We pulled into the outer pier this time, the one that is farther from the island. When we were on Valor, we backed into the pier closest to the island.

 

 

A few pictures as we were arriving in Barbados

 

 

 

 

 

We didn’t have to rush to get ready and get breakfast this morning since we were scheduled to meet for the tour we booked at 9:30am. We took turns getting ready then went up to the Lido Buffet for breakfast. This morning, we had the typical scrambled eggs, bacon, potatoes and the little pastry rolls and ate. After breakfast we went back to our cabin but still had time before we were to meet for our tour. I made sure I had everything I’d need for the day, we got our sunscreen on and stepped out onto the balcony to get pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Looking forward to the rest of your review. Our group is booked for this itinerary in July, but the ship will be the Fascination. We have always wanted to do the Saints.

 

This is our favorite itinerary as we LOVE the Saints. We did the same itinerary on Valor two years ago and I'd love to do it again in the future. I hope you enjoy "St. Somewhere" (that's my nickname for the itinerary) as much as we do. Thank you for following along. :)

[pghsteelerfan]

Since we pulled into the pier, our view was the ocean, which, as I mentioned earlier, was very calm and beautiful shades of blue. DH put the TV onto one of the ship’s channels and thankfully, no repeat showing of yesterday’s “Hairy chest” contest.

 

 

At about 9:00am, we decided to make our way down to exit Liberty and meet for our tour.

 

***Since Liberty was pulled in straight ahead when she was docked, the pier was on the starboard (right) side, thus the gangplanks to exit would be on the starboard side. As usual, to get exit Liberty, we had to use the forward (front of ship) elevators.***

 

We walked all the way down our Deck and got on the front elevators and took it down to “0”. Not much of a line to get off the ship, maybe a few others ahead of us. Our Sail & Sign cards were “dinged” and we were now making our way down the gangplanks for our day in Barbados, again bypassing the port of call pictures. We did say “good morning” and a friendly “no thank you” will work if you don’t want the photo. This is something that I may have been interested if Carnival could just come down in price a little or offer a nice package deal.

We noticed busses lined up and incorrectly assumed that they were for Carnival sponsored tours, so we started the walk to the cruise terminal. Since we were docked at the outer pier, it was a rather long walk. When we were about half way, DH said those weren’t tour busses and that he thinks they were being used as shuttles to get passengers from the ship to the cruise center. DH was correct. Oh well. We finished the walk and made our way through the cruise terminal to meet for our tour.

I had really been looking forward to today’s tour and this was one of our two “splurge” tours. With a five port of call itinerary, we will budget two islands to do nice tours on and the rest we just kind of “wing it”. I had seen pictures of Bathsheba, Barbados, which is on Barbados’ east coast. The coastline is very different from Barbados’ west coast. There are steep hills with some large rock formations in the water. The water is also a lot rougher than on the west coast. Some of those pictures I’ve seen of Bathsheba were in fellow Cruise Critic member, Dirkgun’s, Carnival Victory review from January 2010 (same itinerary out of San Juan, but instead of the sea day, they also had a stop in Dominica). I had seen other pictures as well and since I really like taking pictures, I thought Bathsheba would be a great place to visit.

On our Valor cruise in 2013, we thought we’d just take a taxi to Bathsheba and spend about an hour to an hour and a half there. When we inquired about a taxi and the cost on that cruise, we weren’t expecting how much it would cost. I forget now, but it may have been $80.00 USD, each way. Not in our budget. We ended up going to the Barbados Hilton resort and got a day pass to use loungers, etc.

 

In January of this year, well before we booked our cruise, CC Member Dirkgun and his family went on another southern itinerary cruise, on Valor, out of San Juan. This was shortly before Valor and Liberty swapped home ports. Another great review followed and I loved their day in Barbados. They had gone to Payne’s Bay Beach first, which looked beautiful, then during the second half of the day went to a location on the eastern side. I posted on his review asking if it was possible to do both a beach and Bathsheba and he let me know it was definitely possible. He used Patsie Nurse (JP’s Taxi Service) for a private tour for their day I was able to get her (Patsie’s) contact information from him.

 

 

 

I sent Patsie and email shortly after our booking, letting her know what we wanted to do, which was go to Payne’s Bay Beach, and possibly snorkel with turtles, for a few hours in the morning then over to Bathsheba and the east coast in the afternoon. I received a reply from her that evening letting me know that she was available and could accommodate us and gave us the pricing. It would be $200.00 USD total ($100.00 per person) and would include transportation to Payne’s Bay Beach, snorkeling with turtles and another stop at a shipwreck, then she’d pick us up after a couple hours and take us on a tour of Barbados’ east coast that would include a few stops, the overlook at Cherry Tree Hill Reserve among them, and Bathsheba. Awesome!!!

 

 

I talked to DH about it and he was fine with the plan and the cost. I replied back to Patsie to let her know to go ahead and sign us up and asked her how she is to be paid. She doesn’t ask for a deposit but would collect payment at the start of the tour. I made sure we had cash to pay her for the tour and extra for a tip. Patsie kept up with communication and I followed up with her closer to our cruise date, and she was excellent. She let me know that there was a group of 8 who had signed up to go to Payne’s Bay Beach and said her van was large enough to accommodate but said that she could have them go with another driver if we wanted. That group wanted to stay at the beach for the day and they would not be on the “east coast” part of the tour though. That was fine with us to share a van with them, but it was also very nice of her to ask. It was all set, our day in Barbados was planned.

 

 

Patsie gave us instructions to meet us at the cruise terminal and when we went to inquire, we were told to go outside the port area. OK, maybe since she’s a private tour operator she wasn’t allowed in. We went to the area just outside the gates and when someone asked if we wanted a tour, we let them know we had a tour book with Patsie. They knew Patsie and the one gal gave her a call for us. Patsie was inside the cruise terminal area, so we went back in and met up with her. I guess she's one of the ones that they allow into the cruise center. We apologized to her for being a few minutes late and let her know that we were directed to go outside the cruise terminal for a private tour. It wasn’t a problem.

 

 

We followed Patsie over to where her van was, but there was no other group. Her van is large and could hold a large group and we got in, just the two of us, and made our way to Payne’s Bay Beach. We immediately felt very comfortable with Patsie. She was very happy and nice and we liked her right off the bat. When we got to Payne’s Bay Beach, which was about 20 minutes from the port (on the west coast, to the north of Bridgetown), Patsie parked in a parking are right across the street from the beach entrance and called a guy over. I forget his name, but he handled the snorkeling with turtles/shipwreck and we had a set time for pickup for the rest of the tour, which was noon. Before we left, Patsie asked if we liked to drink beer. We told her we did and she said she’d go and pick up some beer and have it in a cooler for us to drink on the second half of the tour. She didn’t mention that she’d include drinks, so this was a nice surprise.

 

 

 

We followed the guy who handles the snorkeling excursions down to the beach and he called out to a guy who was bringing a boat in. We would be getting on that boat from the beach. There was a ladder at the back and it was fairly easy for us to get in, but they help you. We got in with our belongings and the guy in charge introduced us to the guy driving the boat. His name was Carl (Karl?) or, as we called him, Captain Carl. He was kind of reserved (a little shy) but seemed nice. He let us know he’d be taking us out to where the turtles were and after that, out to a shipwreck where we’d be able to see a lot of fish. The boat had a glass bottom in the middle and there were bench seats surrounding it. There was also snorkel gear provided.

Glass bottom of the boat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

On the ride out, I got a picture of Carl. I don’t know if he was surprised or ticked, due to his expression.

 

 

Pictures from the boat on our way to where we'd be swimming with turtles

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

More from the boat. This water is just beautiful.

 

 

 

When we got to the area where we’d see the turtles, Carl stopped the boat and gave us brief instructions and then we got into the water. The water was nice and very blue.

Carl threw some bait into the water to attract the turtles and shortly after that, two turtles appeared. They were beautiful. We swam with them and got pictures but we didn’t want to scare them so we didn’t try to grab after or chase them. In addition to the two turtles, there was also a puffer fish that joined us. I had never seen a puffer fish before. He was so cool! I got pictures of him too.

There was a slight problem...dummy here (yes, that would be me) had my underwater camera on a regular setting for pictures out of water even though there is a specific setting for "Underwater". I thought I had preset that before the cruise. Obviously I didn’t. I had to edit the underwater turtle pictures some to get the color to come out and tried to get the color as close to what it they actually looked like and got a fairly close match. At the time, there were other boats around but none out where we were with the turtles yet.

 

 

 

 

That's DH, not a turtle

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Swimming with turtles continued...

 

The Puffer fish - I really liked these guys

 

 

Both going after the same piece of bait...the turtle got it

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Swimming with turtles continued...

 

 

 

 

 

After a half hour or so, we got back into the boat for our next stop. Carl told us that his boss called him up and informed him that there was another group that he had to go back to the beach to pick up for the tour, so we headed back to the beach.

 

Before I go on any further, and this isn’t really a complaint, but something I thought I should bring up as an observation for anyone in a small group (in our case, two people) doing any kind of a tour in any port. A lot of the tour groups do these tours to make a living. Taxis prefer to fill up with passengers before heading out, that’s why there is often a wait before they leave. I have seen so many comments about this here on CC. Drivers/tour operators prefer to get as many people as they can on a tour. I’m not saying they over booking or jamming a boat or cab so full of people that it’s uncomfortable, but with each additional person, there is more money to be made. This was just DH and I and the boat we were on could hold a lot more, so it just makes sense to fill it up. In this situation, it may have benefited us but then again, in another, it didn’t but I’ll touch on that later.

We picked up the other group and it was a large family of 10 or 12 people. They were nice and a lot of fun, so this was going to be a great time. We were heading out to the shipwreck first and once we got to the shipwreck, Carl gave us instructions and we all got our snorkel gear on and got into the water. Carl again had bait, which he tossed into the water. Before we knew it, we were totally surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of fish. It was awesome!!! I got a lot of pictures and that’s when I noticed my camera setting was not set to “underwater”, so I set it to the underwater setting and got more pictures. I’m not familiar with the names of a lot of fish but I do know what sergeant major fish are and there were a lot of those and a few other kinds. We were also able to see the shipwreck down below us. Two of the younger members of the other group went back to the boat to get bait from Captain Carl to keep the fish coming and they were swarmed.

 

Letting some pictures take over for a while

 

I know these are Sergeant Majors

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Fishy pictures continued...

 

 

 

This is where I realized I didn't have the camera set to the "Underwater" setting and corrected that