Just off Carnival Liberty 6-6-09

[Specter]

Hey guys-

Had a great time on Carnival Liberty! Here's a few tips/tricks/review of it- I'll be adding more as I remember it all...

 

Butch (Cruise Director) was hilarious!

 

Don't need magnets for the balcony doors/AC shut off system- they don't use it. You can keep your balcony doors wide open and the AC stays on!

 

Different juices (guava, fruit punch, etc) are only served on Lido deck early in the morning. They take them away quickly and leave behind lemonaid, tea and water the rest of the day.

 

You can see the 'Adults Only' deck from the mini-golf deck- kinda odd.

 

Comedians SUCKED. I hope they get better ones in the future.

 

Piano guy SUCKED. Too much ego, HORRIBLE voice. Doesn't know most songs you request. Piano bar was DEAD the entire trip for a reason.

 

Dancers were not that great, technically, but they gave a decent show.

 

RUM RUNNERS WORKED PERFECTLY!

 

Fish & Chips bar is awesome- and most people don't know about it so hardly ever any wait.

 

Live Entertainment at the pool, 'Ocean Flame' was just 2 guys. They played THE EXACT SAME BEAT for every song- just changed the lyrics. I really believe that the piano was just a pre-programmed beat, and the guy was just acting like he was playing. I'm not kidding. But it wasn't HORRIBLE- just wish they had something better all week.

 

Security was very relaxed with check-in process at all ports. I had a Dive Knife in my scuba gear and it passed through check points 3 times without a word said. I also bought a few bottles of alcohol in Jamaica- they never said a word, never asked me to check it in.

 

Live entertainer in Casino Bar was horrible and annoying.

 

Casino Dealers were HORRIBLE! No personality, no fun, no smiles whatsoever. The casino was brutal all week- I don't think ANYONE won any money that week.

 

Food was excellent both in the Dinner Seating and Lido deck.

 

Sit Down breakfast served in restaurant is the same exact thing that's served out on Lido Deck, except the Eggs Benedict and the French Toast seemed to be more fresh at the sit down restaurant.

 

730am Dat at Sea the gym was DEAD QUIET. Perfect time to get in and work out by yourself.

 

Spa/Lockers/Showers were excellent.

 

Room Steward was good, but not superior. I have no complaints.

 

Overall, an EXCELLENT experience on this ship. The only complaint is that their entertainers are definitely lacking skill, and Carnival needs to take a hard look at replacing them completely. However, it was still somewhat enjoyable and it won't effect my decision to sail w/ Carnival in the future.

[jimbug]

Thanks for the quick review--too bad the piano bar was dead--that's always my favorite place! :)

[Specter]

Yeah, I was disappointed as well. The player was pretty bad to be honest. He played random stuff- not any of the popular piano bar songs. He loved hearing himself talk, too. You would thing that if he saw the place dead, he'd play some popular songs to get everyone in there, singing, laughing, having a great time which would then attract more people. Nope- he continued doing his own agenda. It sucked to be honest. Maybe the next cruise will have a good one.

 

All entertainment on this ship was pretty bad, but I guess that's how it goes sometimes. Overall tho- the experience was great, I can't complain.

[Bernie388]

I thought Carnival did away with the Adults only deck?

[Specter]

Nope- still on there. Kinda funny if you ask me.

 

BTW- they completely canceled the Bamboo Beach Club in Jamaica. The notice said they will not be offering it in the future. I wonder why...

[cruisingagentone]

That is so funny. We had the same two guys at the pool on the April 18th sailing. Every song starts out like the song "there is superstition" I mean every song and they only played it once!!

[Specter]

Yup! Then they had a button they pushed that triggered a laughing voice. Played it 3-4 times in every song. Oh- and every song was 'the #1 requested Song for this week'! And they played the same songs, the same tracks, the same beat, the same song order- it was the EXACT same every day. Too funny. Time for Carnival to step up and bring in some quality acts.

[Elaine515]

What did you do on Jamaica & Grand Cayman. I'm leaving Saturday on the same trip and only have Fins & Flippers planned for Roatan... Any help would be great...

 

I'm so sorry to hear about the casino... That is what we really enjoy at night....

[LTC loves to cruise]

What did you do on Jamaica & Grand Cayman. I'm leaving Saturday on the same trip and only have Fins & Flippers planned for Roatan... Any help would be great...

 

I'm so sorry to hear about the casino... That is what we really enjoy at night....

You will loooove Fins and Flipper. When we got there we went snorkling, it was good. Several were snorkling at this time. Went snorkling again before we left, only two others were out there and we saw so many fish, eel it was wonderful. I think they may get scared off when more people are out. Fins and Flipper has a guide wire with coke bottles tied to it to quide you out to thru the reef.

Jamica, we did Dunn River Falls and Dolphin beach, not near as nice as Bamboo Beach, Carnival needs to bring it back. Dolphin Beach is really rocky, hurts your feet going out in the water.

Grand Cayman we did Nativeway, rays, reef and rum point. The sting rays were great. A must. Some people on the ship said they walked off the ship at 11 and got the rays and snorkle for $40 and only 15 on board the ship. Sounded like a really good experience. Nativeway was good, could have done without rum point easily and done some shopping instead.

[Specter]

Oh man-

Yeah, we went Scuba Diving in Grand Cayman and Roatan. However- in Jamaica...

 

We did NOT book thru the ship. I did the Dunns River Falls before- it's really not that great to be honest. Then you have 400 people there at the same time- they are VERY aggressive with tips/vendors/begging, etc. Plus, the ship excursion buses all stop at various shops and force you to do shopping while you're on the way there/back. It SUCKS.

 

We got off- found a taxi driver on our own out at the street. It MUST have a red license plate to be safe. This guy charged us $15ea (there were 7 of us) and he was our personal driver all day. He took us first to the Coyoga Falls (an extra $10ea but VERY worth it!) We were the ONLY ones there, it was AWESOME! There's a nice Nature Preserve/Park that they take you on a tour, then up the falls. It was AWESOME. Then we went to a beach for a couple hours, had music, food, water sports- again, perfect. Lastly, he took us back to some quick shopping and to Margaritaville for a little bit before boarding the ship. This was our BEST day by far. For $25, we had NO crowds, our personal driver willing to take us anywhere we wanted, and it was MUCH better and cheaper than anything the ship could offer. I HIGHLY reccommend doing this! Trust me, you and your family will love it. BTW- the snorkeling at the beach area was AWESOME! Negotiate the prices with the guys on the beach. 4 of us did it for $20ea. Totally worth it.

 

Hopefully the dealers will be in better moods for you- we gamble a lot as well- and it just wasn't that fun. We did well on slots, believe it or not. OH- and try the 'Face Up Black Jack' table. It's only open occasionally at night- but pretty good, we all did well on that.

[Specter]

BTW- I heard snorkeling in Cayman was great.

 

DO NOT do the Historic Tour of the Indigineous people in Roatan. I hear it was really boring. They talk about how poor they all are, meanwhile the kids in the back of the shops are sitting on their iPods and whatnot. Some of our family did the thing where you can go visit the Monkeys- said it was pretty good.

 

If you're into it- the Sting Rays in either port should be a good thing to do, too...

[Georgiagolfer]

DW and I were on this same cruise. We however, liked "Papa T" on the Promenade in the Casino Bar area. We sat in the bar area each evening and had cocktails, danced, and people watched before going to the tables. Can't comment on shows as we did not attend any.

 

I also found the casino staff very friendly. By the 3rd day, most dealers were calling me by name and asking how me and the DW were liking the cruise. I only drink bottled water at the tables, and the pit bosses bought for me each night after the 1st night. I actually ended up $150 for the week at blackjack. Did the Fun 21, not regular. I do not like the shuffle machines where they reshuffle each hand.

 

As for Grand Cayman, we did the Sting Ray City/Dolphin Encounter excursion and had a blast.

[dapaddo]

I thought Carnival did away with the Adults only deck?

It is now the Serenity deck, adult only but not the old topless they had years ago...More laid back quiet, nicer chairs softer music. More relaxing then the lido pool.

[Specter]

I don't think that's the same deck. This Adults Only Deck is right on top overlooking the pool and Lido Deck, right behind the Big Screen.

[gracie65]

Thanks for the review, we go in Oct. but The Eastern Caribbean. I was hoping someone would report on the new Cruise Director, say he was pretty fun?

I think the Piano Guy leaves at the end of July, hopefully someone fun will replace him as that's also one of my favorite places to hang out.

[Specter]

Yeah- Butch is great. He's a goofy guy, but in a good way. Great attitude and personality, YAH!

 

By the time of your cruise- they'll have completely different piano guy, entertainers, etc. I'm very open you'll have a great cruise! I LOVED ours!

[MemaSue]

I just booked Bamboo Beach excursion for our June 13th excursion..wonder if it is still on.........?

[JeffersonSea]

We did Dolphin Cove (the "Touch Encounter") in Jamaica, it was probably the highlight of our trip. We have a 3 yr old, and he was in heaven kissing the dolphin. Got great pics and video of it. The "Swim Encounter" looked like a lot of fun too, worth the price.

 

In Cayman, we just shopped and lunched at Margaritaville. We thought it was a ripoff at $86 for lunch. 3 margaritas, two appetizers, two sandwiches. Ouch.

 

We thought Roatan was beautiful, and did the Gumbalimba Park. It was interesting, but a little bit too long and hot for my 3 yr old. However, he LOVED the monkeys and parrots, and they do have a pool and some beach water sports there.

 

[gracie65]

We did Dolphin Cove (the "Touch Encounter") in Jamaica, it was probably the highlight of our trip. We have a 3 yr old, and he was in heaven kissing the dolphin. Got great pics and video of it. The "Swim Encounter" looked like a lot of fun too, worth the price.

 

In Cayman, we just shopped and lunched at Margaritaville. We thought it was a ripoff at $86 for lunch. 3 margaritas, two appetizers, two sandwiches. Ouch.

 

We thought Roatan was beautiful, and did the Gumbalimba Park. It was interesting, but a little bit too long and hot for my 3 yr old. However, he LOVED the monkeys and parrots, and they do have a pool and some beach water sports there.

 

 

Yes, just about anyplace to eat in Grand Cayman is expensive. We learned when we go there & Ocho Rios to eat at that Margarativille, it would have been about 1/2 that.

[kdrew88]

I agree that the Casino was pretty brutal. I was down over $100 until about day 5 when the Craps table was on fire! I made back most of it then, but didn't have much luck after that. Ended up down about $40 or so, not too bad.

 

I agree that the dealers could have more of a personality though.

 

What did everyone think of the last show where they have guest from the cruise perform? I thought the show was pretty good, some performers were great, others were so-so, but it was definitely entertaining!

[Nezmo]

It is now the Serenity deck, adult only but not the old topless they had years ago...More laid back quiet, nicer chairs softer music. More relaxing then the lido pool.

There's no Serenity area on the Liberty.