Just back from Liberty

[singjenn]

Hey everyone! I am back from our beautiful Valentine/Husband's birthday Liberty cruise.

 

We had a BLAST and we met some wonderful people.

 

Here is a semi-short review of our cruise. Please feel free to ask any questions.

 

 

 

Flight In

Our plane left Charlotte, NC at 9:45. We arrived in Ft Lauderdale at 10 min ahead of schedule 11:38. We were able to get a taxi very quckly and we were at the port within 10 minutes.

 

Embarkation

Although this was not the fastest embarkation, it was very fast. We signed up with our credit card online and did the fun pass so that took of some time. After arriving at the port we were on the ship within 45 minutes. Not bad for the ammount of people there....it was very crowded.

 

Our room

Our room was ready when we got there, but we didn't know it so we went to eat first. Our room was an inside room on the empress deck (7). It was very clean and we loved it.

 

Food

This is always my favorite part :D The food was fantastic and I didn't get one thing I didn't like. Everything I ordered was phenominal! Since my last cruise in July they have added a ton of new food. Not sure if it was because my last cruise was a smaller ship, but even since my last cruise on the Valor there was alot of new food.

The potato strips that came with a chicken dish were excellent!! I could have eaten a ton of them. I can't decide what my favorite food was but I reeeeeeally love the chocolate cake you get from room service (#29). I ordered so many of them!! They had it on the first day for lunch but didn't offer it again in the buffet or dinner. The filet mignon is fantastic and not to be missed! I can't say enough about the food.

 

 

Key West

This was our first port. I was here in July and loved it. We rented trikes from Sunshine Rentals again and I was really glad we did. We were able to see more this time because the last time I was there me and my friend got lost. The Southern Most Point marker is smaller then I expected. We went to Ft Zachary Taylor and walked around. I love old things like that so I really enjoyed it there. My husband did too. We spent about an hour there.

We were so tired and couldnt decide where to eat lunch so we ate at Wendy's. :) We were going to eat somewhere else, but all the neat places had long lines and we didn't want to wait. The weather was beautiful and it didn't rain at all. After we ate we went shopping and then back to the ship.

 

Grand Cayman

Port #2. I had so many plans here, but we ended up only doing a few of them. The first thing on our list was to walk to the wreck of the Gamma and snorkel around it. The walk was soooooo long. Nothing like I expected. Maybe because it was so hot??? When we got there, I realized I had forgotten to buy water shoes. BIG MISTAKE. However, I put on my flip flops and walked over the rocks. My foot got stuck, but after I got it out I kept going. I was so afraid I was going to fall. I was more afraid of breaking my camera. My husband came to help me and when I got to the snorkeling spot I felt like I wasn't going to be able to do it. I was really disapointed because I had been looking forward to it for a long time. But the water was rough, the rocks were jagged and the wrecked ship was sharp and rusty. I feel like I made the right decision, but I was still sad. I played in the water a little bit then we left. I was sooooo thirsty and felt like I could pass out at any second. I ate breakfast but for some reason I felt like a wet noodle. We decided to stop at Burger King for a drink and some rest. The next thing on my list was to go to Sea Grape beach but we decided against that. We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and site-seeing.

 

Ocho Rios

I think both of us had the most fun here. We had an excursion planned with Yardie Tours for white river tubing. WOW!!!! What an adventure!!!

I am hoping to go back and do it again, but next time take a longer tubing trip. The ride to the river was a little scarey. Traffic was horrific and it doesn't seem like they have any traffic laws. Everyone goes as fast as they want and they pass you whenever they want. People walk out in the road even when there are cars/vans/trucks/etc. coming and cars pull out in fornt of you! We drove through all kinds of areas...middle of town, shops, schools, college, shopping areas, communities. It was very sad. The area is dirty and run-down. All of the dogs I saw were boney and it broke my heart to think they weren't taken care of. The tubing place is at the end of a street that people live on. They dropped us off and we got our tubes and they took us down to the water. WOW!!!! It was soooo gorgeous. I left my camera on the bus and I was sooo glad I did. I had an underwater camera for this excursion. The water was freezing but it didn't take long to get used to it. After a brief wait we were on our way. There were two water guides with us...Randy and Shawn. They were fantastic!!!!! I got stuck alot and they came to get me. The area was gorgeous and I can' say enough about this excursion. It was clam at some places and other places it was fast!!! I got water splashed on me alot but I loved it and screamed the hole way! The only thing I didn't like was that we stopped about half way down so they could try and sell us things. After about 15 minutes we were on our way. The second half was not as fast as the first half. It was so much fun I would love to go back and do it again! It was worth what we paid and more!

After this we went to Margarittaville beach and I went snorkeling. My husband wasn't feling well so he sat on the beach while I snorkeled. I saw fish and crabs. It was so relaxing. After that I changed in the bathrooms there. It was neat bathroom. It has open ceiling showers and changing areas. After that we went shopping in island Village. It was very pretty there and they have many shops, but nothing that I was looking for. On the way out I found most of what I needed at the white tent in the parking lot.

 

Days at Sea/Activites

There wasn't that much to do. We had late seating dinner and all of the good things were scheduled during our dinner time. I did volunteer for the hairy chest contest. I didn't really have to do much but stand there. The guys were so funny and they really tried hard to win. Hehehehe

 

Shows

Fantastic!!!! The best Crusie ship female singer was on this ship. Seriosuly....I haven't heard anyone better on a ship. The shows were really great, although I did see a few repeat things. The Full Monty that I saw in July was also on this ship. A couple of things that were odd was that they only had 4 male dancers and the first night they had a different female singer. Hmmm???

 

Variety Shows

I didn't go to the comedy shows, but I did go to the hypnosis show. That were sooo funny!!! They had two shows..two nights in a row with the same hypnotist. It was very entertaining.

 

Debarkation

Wow, was this fast!!! They have changed some things since my last cruise and I really liked it. We pulled into port early so we were able to get off early. For self assist they give you an hour to get off with your own luggage. We have to go down to deck 0fwd and that's it! We waited until the last minute because we didn't want to be at the airport all day. We didn't have to wait for a taxi and we were at the aiprort in no time.

 

 

I ended up taking 2,224 photos and I am going to try and get them on a website soon.

I am hoping I can get up enough guts to fly to CA/HA to go on a cruise to Hawaii. My husband and I reeeeeeeally want to do that next. :D

[Senoj84]

I really miss the Liberty. Welcome back and thanks for the great review.

[disneylynn]

singjenn,

 

My family just got off the Freedom, Our ships were sailing side by side on Friday. It was so cool. We were on the Liberty in 2006. The Liberty is my favorite Carnival ship.

Lynn

[MISSSNOOPYGIRL]

Thanks for all the great info! I'm like a sponge!

 

How did you like the big outdoor TV screen? Watch any movies? Who was the cruise director? Did you like him/her?

[ubouu]

Sounds like u had fun,did yoy go to any Formal nights how are they??

[deborahjo]

Always good to hear good reviews of the Lioberty. I loved her in October. I would sail her again in a heart beat. Glad you had a good time.

[cruisinsly]

Glad to hear you had a great time. Going on her in Oct and cant wait.

[beavergoat]

my best friend and i are going on liberty in may 4, 2008 do they have blow dryers in your room (the bathroom). i am worried about jamica did you feel safe? when i went with my husband last year i felt very uncomfortable about the vendors?

[singjenn]

singjenn,

 

My family just got off the Freedom, Our ships were sailing side by side on Friday. It was so cool. We were on the Liberty in 2006. The Liberty is my favorite Carnival ship.

Lynn

 

 

Yes!!! Our ship made an announcement that we were sailing next to you. I have photosif you would like some.

[singjenn]

singjenn,

 

My family just got off the Freedom, Our ships were sailing side by side on Friday. It was so cool. We were on the Liberty in 2006. The Liberty is my favorite Carnival ship.

Lynn

 

 

Yes!!! Our ship made an announcement that we were sailing next to you. I have photos if you would like some.

[singjenn]

Thanks for all the great info! I'm like a sponge!

 

How did you like the big outdoor TV screen? Watch any movies? Who was the cruise director? Did you like him/her?

 

I didn't get to watch anything on the big screen because we had late seeting dinner (which i didn't really like). The CD was Steve (can't remember his last name. he is blad with galsses. I liked him very much.

[singjenn]

Sounds like u had fun,did yoy go to any Formal nights how are they??

 

 

We went to both formal nights. Before I left I posted a question about formal nights. I couldn't ever find out if there would be two or one. Even after I asked for people to post only if they knew for sure, I still ended up with different answers. It was two formal nights, neither of which were optional. I always go to formal nights because that is part of the fun of crusing!

[singjenn]

my best friend and i are going on liberty in may 4, 2008 do they have blow dryers in your room (the bathroom). i am worried about jamica did you feel safe? when i went with my husband last year i felt very uncomfortable about the vendors?

 

 

Hello! They had blow dryers that are attached in a drawer that pull out. They are in the bedroom. They work pretty good, but I still used mine.

 

 

If all you feel uncompfortable about in Jamica is the vendors then you will be ok. The crime there should be more of a concern. Riding in the van on the way to our excursionn I did not feel very safe. It wasn't anything to do with the driver, it was just the areas we went through. There seems to be no traffic laws and that bothered me. I was also shocked to see people just sitting on the side of the road....not doing anything. I don't know what the employment rate is there, but it seems like alot of people are without jobs.

[disneylynn]

Singjenn,

On our ship they also made a announcement, They said it was very rare

that two ships sailed so close together. I was up on the lido deck watching for about one hour. I have pictures of the Liberty. I would love to share them. I'm just not sure how to.

 

Lynn

[tripdaddy0801]

We have less than 5 weeks left before we sail on her. I originally booked this cruise in late Oct. '07. I just found out that this cruise offered a military discount. I called and received it for us. Saved us $490. We also booked a balcony guarantee and got upgrade to an 8D on the Lido deck:D . It keeps getting better and better. Someone wake me up.

[cathyoo]

Thanks for the review. We loved the Liberty. On our cruise the second formal night was "optional".

[Sea Legs]

Thanks for the review. Will be on her in May and am counting the days. Did they have a Breast Cancer Walk while you were on board?

[ubouu]

So do you have to go to these Formal Nights ??

[singjenn]

Thanks for the review. Will be on her in May and am counting the days. Did they have a Breast Cancer Walk while you were on board?

 

Yes we did. They announced it and kept us up to date with how many more people they needed to sign up.

[singjenn]

So do you have to go to these Formal Nights ??

 

 

 

Well, technically you don't have to eat at dinner ever. On the second formal night i did not wear a dress. I felt a littel out of place, but it wasn't too bad. I have never worn pants on formal night, so that's probably why I felt weird.

[singjenn]

So do you have to go to these Formal Nights ??

 

 

Well, technically you don't have to eat in the dinning room ever. On the second formal night I did not wear a dress. I felt a little out of place, but it wasn't too bad. I have never worn pants on formal night beofre so that's proably why I felt a little werid.

[singjenn]

Singjenn,

On our ship they also made a announcement, They said it was very rare

that two ships sailed so close together. I was up on the lido deck watching for about one hour. I have pictures of the Liberty. I would love to share them. I'm just not sure how to.

 

Lynn

 

 

here ya go!!!

[SandyToes1978]

Wow! Thanks for the beautiful pictures! I cant believe you took THAT many! Thanks for the review too, sailing in September, in fact, hit the 200 day mark today and can't wait!!!! :D :p

[disneylynn]

WOW thanks so much for the pictures, They are beautiful they look like postcards.

[jimbug]

Thanks for your review...and your pictures of the Freedom are beautiful!

 

I hope we do the same when I am on Liberty in 3 1/2 weeks! Would you recommend getting to the port early or later? I will be picking up my mom and grandmother from the FLL airport at 10:00 a.m., and I know that is quite early, but maybe we could go grab a coffee or something before going to the port. (Or maybe earlier is better since we will have VIP? My grandmother will have a wheelchair, and I heard wheelchair guests get VIP boarding...hmmm...what to do....)

 

Thanks again for your review!