Liberty Review Just off on 10-25-08

[pnjkeith]

Short Review.

 

Just out of dry dock. Ship was very clean. Only thing I could tell done to ship was reconfiguration of the Golden dining room. Tables all set for 2 and 4 people. You can tell its ready for the anytime dining, starting next week. We were assigned table in Golden. We had to change waiters for the first time ever. Went from the worst to one of the best. SHE WAS LAZY!!!!! Food was not as good as we remember, but that might be because service for first 3 nights was so bad.

 

Room Steward was "OUTSTANDING". Thanks Natan!

 

Did not go to Grand Turk, went to Nassau instead. Half Moon Cay tendering was really bad with long lines. We was not off ship till 11:30 am. Liberty not going back to Half Moon due to tendering per ship personnel. All other ports were great.

 

Shows were OK but not great. Debut of Just Rock was best show of the week. Fhat Kat, Alan Graves and Magician had the same shows we've seen in years past.

 

Getting on and off ship was very easy. On ship at 10:45am and off by 8:30am.

 

Elegant night was really a change from Formal night. Capers said it was OK if you wanted to wear Tux or Suit and Tie, but dress shirt and pants were all that was required. Will not be taking Formal clothes on Carnival anymore. I took a Tux and wore it only once. I even saw a guy in shorts and "Sandals" on Elegant Night. Big change for us, wife was really sad in the change.

 

All in All a good cruise, but would not say any area except room steward exceeded my expectations. They only meet my expectations.

[IMSAILING]

We were on the Liberty in July and Natan was our room steward as well - He was fabulous. We also had to change wait staff as ours were "miserable" the first couple of nights. Your experience in the dining room can make the whole trip.

[Tar Heels]

What time did you get to the port to be on the ship by 10:45? We are leaving on the Liberty this ayurday! :p :p

[Flip2cruise]

Just out of dry dock. Ship was very clean. Only thing I could tell done to ship was reconfiguration of the Golden dining room. Tables all set for 2 and 4 people. You can tell its ready for the anytime dining, starting next week.

 

Thanks for this info, I was pretty sure they were going to use Golden for open seating. Shouldnt be hard to get a table for 2 now :D

[CruiseCentric]

What time did you get to the port to be on the ship by 10:45? We are leaving on the Liberty this ayurday! :p :p

 

The OP was probably able to board so early because the ship arrived empty from drydock. Normally boarding doesnt usually start until 11:45-12:00. Many people head out around 10-10:30

[MIgal04]

Hi!

 

Thank You for the review, just found out today that we will be on the Liberty no instead if the Pride in April 2009. One of our ports is Half Moon Cay which I was really looking forward to. Just wondering who said the ship was not going there anymore? Can you elaborate anymore?

 

I would be really disappointed if they don't stop there, that is one of the only reasons I booked this specific itinerary.

 

Thanks ;-)

[pnjkeith]

Hi!

 

Thank You for the review, just found out today that we will be on the Liberty no instead if the Pride in April 2009. One of our ports is Half Moon Cay which I was really looking forward to. Just wondering who said the ship was not going there anymore? Can you elaborate anymore?

 

I would be really disappointed if they don't stop there, that is one of the only reasons I booked this specific itinerary.

 

Thanks ;-)

 

People in charge of tendering, and Pursers office. But the only people that really know is Carnival Big Wigs!

[AdrenalineRush]

People in charge of tendering, and Pursers office. But the only people that really know is Carnival Big Wigs!

 

Im sure what they mean was after your sailing Liberty Eastern schedule is going to be San Juan, STT and SXM.

 

This was before Carnival decided to have Liberty take over Pride's itinerary next spring.

[marci4tony]

Hi!

I would be really disappointed if they don't stop there, that is one of the only reasons I booked this specific itinerary.

Thanks ;-)

 

That is quite frustrating. We booked Legend back in January so we could get Roatan...And then we received notice that we are going to Costa Maya instead. CM was devistated by Hurrican Dean and there have not been any ships back to port there yet (although I understand that Friday, 10/31, is D-DAY) We will be one of the very first back to CM - but we booked to go see Roatan...

 

Whadaya do???

[dclark]

Liberty is so gorgeous that it was hard to believe that it was CCL Conquest class ship. It looked more like a Princess ship! I never tired of how nice it looked.

Half moon cay was the highlight of the cruise.I hope you go there as hey, you don't need to spend $ on an excursion as it is all there for you!

If you do Turk Caicos, also nice beach it place, you can gaze at your ship while you relax.

[pnjkeith]

Im sure what they mean was after your sailing Liberty Eastern schedule is going to be San Juan, STT and SXM.

 

This was before Carnival decided to have Liberty take over Pride's itinerary next spring.

 

No what they meant was simple. Tendering at Half Moon Cay Sucks, and they said that everyone was tired of the People complaining about long lines, etc. They were glad to not be going back!

[MIgal04]

Thanks everyone for your comments and answers, this is actually my first cruise ever so this is just my luck this is happening to me. Like I said before, I picked this specific cruise for the ports. These are the ports we are supposed to stop at:

 

San Juan

Half Moon Cay

Grand Turk

St.Thomas

 

 

If we don't do Half Moon Cay, does anyone know where we would go instead? Maybe an extra Sea Day?

 

I did sooooo much research before I booked the cruise on all the ports and things to do there because there are 10 of us going. I just love this itinerary and hope it stays the same. I just went on the Carnival website and the page that had the cruise information with my ship and itinerary is down :-( Sucky!

 

Thanks!

[ubouu]

Well we just got of the Liberty ,we did not go to Turks ,instead we went to Nassau which was not good at all,but we did go to Half Moon Cay.

[jaybeedee]

IN GENERAL:

We had a great time aboard the 10/18/2008 sailing of the Carnival Liberty. I will outline the highs (many) and lows (few) of our experiences. In general, we will cruise again because this vacation met or exceeded our expectations in all but a few areas.

THE SHIP:

The Carnival Liberty is a beautiful ship and we were throughly impressed. Rarely did it feel crowded even though there were 3,000 pax. and more than 1,000 staff on board. The public spaces were decorated in a flashy, but pleasing manner. The layout of the ship could be confusing at times. The map provided on board and at the elevators was not as detailed or easy to understand as the map used in Carnival brochures/online when choosing your cabin. I suggest bringing one of those maps until you get the layout. Most floors can be walked from front to back, except 3, 4, 11, 12. Floor 5 with the casinos and nightclubs may seem like the only option, but one can walk the floors with cabins.

ON BOARD ACTIVITIES:

DAYTIME ACTIVITIES: I was actually surprised at how few activities were planned on the Lido deck or otherwise. I had heard that Carnival was the "party" cruiseline so I thought there would be more silly/tasteless activities. However, I did notice that these onboard activities would be replayed on the TV to encourage the purchase of a cruise-made video, so this may make people think these activities occur all the time. We enjoyed laying out at the pool, especially the aft (Versailles) pool with the sun roof (when raining) and the adults-only whirlpools (enforced). At sea days had many more activities planned, of course. Teatime was offered both sea days, the day I went I was disappointed because the tea is in bags, not brewed as the Brits take their tea. The sandwiches and treats were all right, but not fabulous. The service was attentive; however, everything was served rapidly so I felt rushed. The company of the other passengers at tea was first rate and I enjoyed my conversations very much.

NIGHTTIME ACTIVITIES: The shows in the main theater (Venetian Palace) were good to exceptional. We attended all but one night's show. The first and last night's shows were passable and featured our cruise director (Steve) and his social hosts and the on board orchestra/band (leader, Jimmy). Jimmy's ensemble were excellent musicians and adaptable to many styles of music. One evening we went to both shows because the headliner, Marcus Anthony, was so exceptional. The crowd at the later show was more enthusiastic which made the show even better the second time around. We did not gamble. The late night comedy shows were decent. The comedians seemed to struggle when delivering a PG set the first and last nights, but the late night shows were much better (rated R - don't get insulted because you are warned that it's adults only before it starts). The various venues like disco, karoke bar, and piano bar were all right. We enjoyed the ambiance of the piano bar; however, the piano man (Larry) has only a decent voice which turns passable with the more he drank and smoked on his frequent breaks. The waitstaff in the piano bar was slow and inattentive even when there wasn't a full house. The musician (Tony) who played in the casino bar was good and he plays almost every night. The musicians rotated in the atrium bar/lobby and were decent. They were usually more sedate. We enjoyed listening to the various musicians when stopping for pre- or post-dinner cocktails.

SERVICE:

We are pleased with the service recieved from our dining room staff and cabin steward. We were moved to add to the automatic gratuity for those three members.

The cruise director (Steve) was great when dealing with people in a large group format, or when on stage; however, he was not as appealing when dealing with him 1:1 or small group:1. I was much more impressed with the assistant cruise director (James)because he took time to talk to pax. He seemed to enjoy pax, where it always seemed like Steve was trying to withstand us and get away to be with other cruise employees. Steve and James hosted a daily live show (which replayed night and day) on TV. It was funny dropping to the level of Bevis and Butthead mentality.

SPA:

We enjoyed a couples' massage which was wonderful and relaxing. The room that was used is directly below the basketball court so I was started quite a few times. This was one of the few times where I wondered about the layout of the ship.

DINING ROOM:

Late seating in the Silver Olympian Dining Room (aft). The room was beautiful. We were seated with 1 other couple and had quite a bit in common with them. I had expected more than one couple, but this was very nice. We ate in the dining room all but 2 nights. The food was great, tasty, and presented beautifully. Many choices in starters and entrees so I imagine anyone's tastes will be accomodated. I especially enjoyed the Pumpkin Soup, Shrimp Cocktail, and Smoked Salmon as starters. I didn't like the stuffed mushrooms which looked awful and tasted drenched in velveeta. I especially liked Seafood in a Lobster Cream Sauce, Pumpkin and other vegetables with cheese in a potpie, and Veal Parmesean. I didn't like the Lobster (chewy like shrimp) and Sweet and Sour Tempura Shrimp for entrees. Deserts were passable - really nothing special. The chocolate melting cake was enthusiastically enjoyed by others' at my table, but I thought it to be rich. The consistency ranged from brownie-like to thick syrup. We preferred it more brownie-like (you know, baked). We ate breakfast in the dining room one morning. It was a nice way to start the day. We sat with 3 other couples that we continued to see throughout the cruise. This gave us a taste of what anytime dining would be like (coming so soon that the capers listed it one day) on the Liberty. You do get to know your every night dining companions well, but getting to know more people a little bit might be nice too.

HARRY'S:

We LOVED this experience. The surcharge ($30) is worth it. I would do this once on every cruise it is offered. The food was much better. I loved the Lobster, DH loved the 24 oz. Porterhouse steak. I also enjoyed my wasabi mashed potatoes. An assistant chef not only serves the food but she explains everything that you are about to eat just like on Top Chef. Deserts were delicious.

CASUAL DINING:

Great buffet options ranging from great: Fried fish, Stir Fry, Eggplant Tart, Shrimp Quesadilla, Empanadas, Pizza, Grilled rueben; to passable: Hamburgers, Oklahoma fries, steak fries, Chicken tenders, Ceviche, Fried chicken; and so much more. I can't imagine that one wouldn't be able to find SOMETHING to eat at any time of day. Lunch had the most options, then breakfast, then dinner. Breakfast was pretty much the same thing every morning. We really liked the made-to-order omlets but there was always a line.

PORTS OF CALL:

HALF MOON CAY: Absolute perfection. Soft, white sand with beautiful blue water. We rented a float mat ($9/day) and snorkel gear ($18/day) on the island. I loved the float mat. Snorkel gear was kind of a waste because there was nothing to see unless you wanted to walk to point or other side of the island. Food was decent. They do clean up at 1:15pm and then there's nothing to do but wait until you're back on ship. We were the 3rd tender; however, coming back we had to wait 45 minutes in the sun for a tender. Go back to ship immediately after lunch, or wait until the end. This is one port where if you are in line they will not leave you behind. Since so many people complain about the tendering, maybe the staff should figure out a way to make it less miserable. The lines are just not handled as efficiently as they could be. Just telling us to line up earlier isn't helpful. Water stations, roped areas to keep the lines in the market square -- something/anything-- I dont' know. I can't believe this is the way HAL cruisers are treated. Still, I'd tender again for the beauty of this island.

ST. THOMAS: Sonny Liston tour ($25pp) made our day. He was fun and musical and informative. We stopped at Sapphire Beach and enjoyed 2 hours on this beautiful beach. We rented lounge chairs ($7/day) and float mat ($9/2 hours). The restrooms were gross, so come in your suit and go back damp because Sonny doesn't mind.

SAN JUAN: Tour guide met us at the port ($20pp) to see New San Juan, Corandado Beach area (Stop 1), Territorial Capitol building (Stop 2), and drop off at San Cristobol Fort (final stop). We toured the fort ($5pp) and walked Old San Juan on our own. We stopped to eat lunch at Parrot Club on Fronteleza just steps away from the park/square from San Cristobol. Great and authentic PR food. We ate the empandillos and Carne y Fritos, drinks, and Guava Custard ($50-60 including tip). Be sure to walk along the old city wall and the sea for beautiful views. We were in port during the daytime.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS: (Substituted for Grand Turk) We took a Carnival excursion to snorkel which also included a harbor tour since this was a port substitution. Unfortunately, the sea was choppy and overcast so this wasn't the experience we thought it would be. Still, I would recommend this tour if it weren't for the poor weather. It was raining when we returned to port. We walked the shops a bit and returned to ship early.

MIAMI: We rented a car and drove to Everglades. We enjoyed the 2 hour tram tour ($16pp) in Shark Valley (the US National Park). The views from the tower were breath-taking. We saw wildlife including alligators. We ate at La Carreta, a cuban chain restaurant in Kendall. There is one in the airport too. Decent food, good prices, but Cuban food wasn't my favorite. We had a reservation with Hertz, but since the Food and Wine Festival was happening in Miami, they simply didn't send their pick up van to the port. We found out own way to their DT office, but we were told to just sit and wait and maybe in 2 hours they would have a car. We took a taxi to Alamo near the airport and got a car on the spot - paying 3 times in taxi fares and rental fees than our Hertz reservation. It was VERY FRUSTRATING.

EMBARKATION/DEBARKATION/IMMIGRATION/CUSTOMS:

All these processes went as smooth as could be expected. Embarkation took about 2 hours from drop off at port to walking into our cabin (about 11am-1pm). Lunch on Lido deck was very crowded and just be patient. Debarkation and customs was easy. We were one of the last groups to debark (around 10am) and it took about a half an hour until we were on the curb. Immigration was completed in St. Thomas with officers coming on board. Just follow the directions. It was simple, but again the lines can be long.

ADVICE:

(1) Bring your own insulated beverage cup so you can fill up with water or lemonade or iced tea at the casual dining and off ship. It was hot and we were glad to keep hydrated. (2) Research the ports for what to do and then figure you can only get 1/2 done/seen that you want to. (3) Bring less clothes and plan to dress casually other than elegant nights if you dine in dining room. We washed 2 small loads of laundry. (4) Be patient with embarkation/debarkation and tendering lines. They aren't pleasant but it doesn't help to yelp. (5) Make reservations with more than one car rental companies. They are not really saving you a car anyway and won't charge you (usually) if you just don't show up. I could have shopped around and had a better deal but was stuck when Hertz fell through. Also, if Hertz doesn't send their van, then they probably don't have a car for you anyway. Hop on any car rental's shuttle and go where there is a car.

We had a great time and hope that you will too.

[Weeler5]

I was also on the 10/18 sailing and it is amazing that we were all on the same ship and had such different experinces.

We loved Half Moon Cay. We had arranged to go swim with the stingrays so we were were on the first tender off of the ship and had no problems with tendering. The stingrays were very cool, and we loved that experience. What we did not love were the mosquitoes that were feasting on us when we tried to eat lunch. We dumped the lunch and ran for the beach where the mosquitoes were not bothering anyone. The beach was fabulous and I could have stayed there all day and just floated in the pretty water. My dh wanted out of the sun after awhile (and we were hungry from not being able to eat lunch on the island) so we went back around 1pm with no line for a boat to tender back to the ship.

We must have been with jaybeedee on the snorkel harbor tour in Nassau- The water was rough and choppy and it was not as much fun as it could have been. They did warn people of the conditions and offer to give refunds to the people who no longer wanted to go. We just made the best of it - I wanted to swim with the fishes, even if I had to get tossed around by some waves while doing it!

We were in the silver olympian dining room, great staff, great food, and great dinner companions.

Harry's was really good too. Very worth the extra money, such good food, we loved it.

We did not hang out at any of the pools, we prefered the casino during sea days and my dh and I took turns winning and losing money. We pretty much broke even with the ship and had hours of entertainment from both the gambling and the crazy people in the casino!

[Flip2cruise]

IN GENERAL:

We had a great time aboard the 10/18/2008 sailing of the Carnival Liberty. I will outline the highs (many) and lows (few) of our experiences. In general, we will cruise again because this vacation met or exceeded our expectations in all but a few areas.

Thanks for the review.

[CruiseCentric]

Thanks everyone for your comments and answers, this is actually my first cruise ever so this is just my luck this is happening to me. Like I said before, I picked this specific cruise for the ports. These are the ports we are supposed to stop at:

 

San Juan

Half Moon Cay

Grand Turk

St.Thomas

 

 

If we don't do Half Moon Cay, does anyone know where we would go instead? Maybe an extra Sea Day?

 

I did sooooo much research before I booked the cruise on all the ports and things to do there because there are 10 of us going. I just love this itinerary and hope it stays the same. I just went on the Carnival website and the page that had the cruise information with my ship and itinerary is down :-( Sucky!

 

Thanks!

Dont worry, you will be going to HMC as scheduled.

[earlethepearl]

Quote:

 

The cruise director (Steve) was great when dealing with people in a large group format, or when on stage; however, he was not as appealing when dealing with him 1:1 or small group:1. I was much more impressed with the assistant cruise director (James)because he took time to talk to pax. He seemed to enjoy pax, where it always seemed like Steve was trying to withstand us and get away to be with other cruise employees. Steve and James hosted a daily live show (which replayed night and day) on TV. It was funny dropping to the level of Bevis and Butthead mentality.

 

 

I will totally agree with you on Steve. I have posted about him on here as well, he is not much of a 1 on 1 person. If you would see him out he wouldn't speak (not trying to have a conversation, I mean just a simply hey how's it going in passing). Back in September on the Liberty, I had a little conversation with him one evening. He thought I was a little too close to some of the crew quarters behind the main stage in the showroom. He came right up to me and he smelled like alcohol and said well you obviously must be lost. I said nope, I know exactly where I am why? He said through that door is all crew quarters and you can't go in there. I told him oh really doesn't say anything about "CREW" on the door. He said yeh your A** is lost you need to go back that way. Kinda ticked me off. Now mind you, I was "STANDING" close to this "GOLDEN DOOR" waiting on my significant other. I didn't go anywhere I wasn't supposed to. I was more confused about his actions than anything because I was just standing there waiting, had no intentions of going in there. I was about 5 feet from this "GOLDEN DOOR" he was referring to. Never touched it or even opened it. Well he left and after about a minute or two I went through the "GOLDEN DOOR" and walked all through there. Passed some of the cast members from the show and NOBODY said a word to me. Steve-O has ticked me off with his little attitude by this point and I was seriously hoping to run into his Bald Head somewhere back there but never did to see what nuggets of wisdom he could bestow on me at this point.

 

This wasn't the only thing on that trip with Steve-O. He just isn't like some CD's where he is like a regular guy if you run into him.

[red1der1]

I just found out from my TA that my cruise next year was just changed to the Liberty. Thanks for the info on your trip.

[scully28]

Quote:

 

This wasn't the only thing on that trip with Steve-O. He just isn't like some CD's where he is like a regular guy if you run into him.

 

I'm on the Liberty Nov 1. Is it a fair guess that Steve will be the CD? If so - I hope he's sober and pleasant :rolleyes:

[CarnivalCruzer]

I sailed on 10-18 too! :D

 

 

We flew down to FLL the day before & stayed at the Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon. It was a nice hotel, several restaurants & stores within walking distance, good hot breakfast. I have no complaints.

 

We used Steve @ SAS Transportation for shuttle service before & after the cruise.....he was great. Very reasonably priced. I plan to use them again next time we're in the area.

 

We left for the port around 10am, we were on the Lido having lunch by 11am. The ship was beautiful. We sailed on it last year so I already had a good sense of direction on it. I was booked on the Spa Deck in one of the 6E rooms....It was incredible!

 

Our room steward was just OK. He did a good job, room was always fresh & clean....but there really was never any interaction with him. Not like on my previous cruises.

 

Our waitstaff (Golden 1st seating) was good. They were great with the kids teaching them a new magic trick every night! We had 2 tables of 8 plus a table for 4 on the 1st floor.

 

I was not impressed with the Cruise Director, Steve. I remember Todd from our last cruise, he was great. Steve was just OK ~ not much personality.

 

The entire Camp Carnival staff was excellent!!!!

 

 

Half Moon Cay ~ We rented a Cabana. It was well worth every penny! We had priority tendering off the ship, so no waiting there. We had to wait in the line to get back on for about 15 minutes. They did have shade tents/canopys and water towards the front of the line. This has to be my favorite beach stop of all time.

 

St Thomas ~ We ventured out on our own since it was our 2nd time here. We went up the skyride to Paradise Point, shopped around Yacht Haven & then taxied over to Magens Bay. Excellent stop!

 

San Juan ~ Again, since we've been here before we went out on our own & didn't book any shore excursions. We walked around town & shopped the whole time before stopping at Senior Frogs :D I would love to go back to San Juan again, there's so much more I want to see & do here.

 

Nassau ~ Went over to Atlantis. Last year we stopped here & walked around the grounds a little more....this time we just went through the Dig & a few shops before heading back. It was raining a bit & the kids were getting crabby.

 

Miami ~ We booked a Day Rate @ the Sleep Inn since our flight didn't leave until 6pm. I probably wouldn't stay there again or recommend it. But, it was fine since it was just a place to keep our luggage & relax instead of sitting in the airport for 8 hours.

 

Overall it was an excellent trip & I can't wait for the next one. :D

[LizaMM]

WOW! Thanks for all the great reviews on thsi thread!

[earlethepearl]

I'm on the Liberty Nov 1. Is it a fair guess that Steve will be the CD? If so - I hope he's sober and pleasant :rolleyes:

 

I'm sure he will still be this weekend. Don't get me wrong he does his job and is on the tv all the time. He just really rubbed me the wrong way that night. Maybe he was having an off day or something. But you will have a great time, the Liberty is a great ship and both times I have been on her have been wonderful. Have a great trip! We are leaving in the morning for Mobile to head out on the Holiday!

[pnjkeith]

Steve the CD said on our cruise he was going to be staying on the Liberty. He is not the best!!!

[ubouu]

Yes he will be the CD.:(