live2vayk

Regarding the shows, how early did you arrive, and when did it really start filling up? 15 minutes? 30 minutes? 5 minutes? Thanks!

We arrived about 15 minutes early, but honestly the show never reached more than half full at any point. Not sure if it is because on three day sailings folks are not as into the shows? No idea, big reach there on my part, but I was surprised that the one show I did attend, was not at all well attended.

Can you tell me how much the shuttle to port canaveral costs and how you booked that? We have family in Daytona that can drive us to port if we fly into Daytona. But usually flights into Orlando are cheaper. Just trying to compare the two costs with adding transportation to the port. Thanks!

I booked online with a shuttle company called "Go Port Canaveral". They would have picked us up at the hotel, or at the airport. The hotel pick up I believe was $40 pp. From the airport it was I think $17.00 pp. Or maybe $20.00 pp but no more than that. Since we were a mile from the airport, we took the free hotel shuttle back to the airport the next morning, and hopped on the shuttle, which was a large bus. Very comfortable. They played a movie from the airport to the port about the area and about cruising to keep people entertained.

There are other shuttle services, in the past I used a company called "Cortrans", they were good too. They picked us up at our hotel, and I think that was $27.00 or so pp. Their pick up time that I wanted was booked this time around, so I went with Go Port Canaveral. I had good experiences with both.

If they are still on board, do not miss the violin trio in the atrium. They are there a lot and they are tremendously talented. I never thought much of violin music being a rock & roll child of the 60's but these young people changed my mind. Until you have heard the Rolling Stones "Angie" and the legendary Led Zepplin "Stairway to Heaven" on violin you are culturally deprived :D.

 

We were always able to find a good spot on Serenity. On port days you can have a hot tub to yourself or use the water slide with no wait.

I can't believe I forgot, yes, the violin trio!! AWESOME!! My daughter and I LOVED them! I did notice Serenity looked very nice and inviting, but I had kids with me so I didn't partake on this voyage. Next time I hope!

I wonder if taking away all the tablecloths in the dining room is contributing to the sound levels increasing....kind of like when carpeting insulates sound in a room over bare floors.

 

I know it was frustrating for you, but the way you told the Pac Man story made me LOL.

 

I'm on LIberty in 35 days and can't wait!!

Glad you got a chuckle! In almost 20 cruises, it was my first experience with a cabin noise issue, so I feel lucky! And it we were out of the cabin most of the time, so it was just a problem at night, and with my pillow over my head it was workable! LOL!

We are on the Liberty next spring, so you have the fun times you could share ?

Sorry, I don't! I used to keep them, but as I approach 20 ish cruises, I just don't keep them anymore. I should think to snap a pic for these boards, but I didn't do that. Enjoy your cruise in the spring!

Thanks a honest review. I will be on the Liberty in December. I’m so excited.

 

 

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You will enjoy it! Overall, the staff was great, there is always something to do, and no cleaning or cooking, it is all good! :)

I recently sailed on Carnival Liberty. This cruise was for my daughter, niece and nephew who had a few days off from school, and they wanted a break. They are excellent students, and very busy with extra curricular activities, so when I saw they had a few days off prior to the weekend, I booked this quick getaway for them. Another niece joined us that is older and out of school, so we had two in one balcony cabin and three in a balcony cabin next door.

Because it is hard for them to miss any school, we flew out after school on Wednesday and arrived in Orlando at midnight. We stayed at a Holiday Inn that is very close to the Orlando airport, and we took a shuttle out the next morning to Port Canaveral. We boarded the ship Thursday morning. We arrived at the terminal around 11, and check in was pretty quick. We had to sit in the waiting area for maybe 20 minutes or so, then we were allowed to board. Rooms of course were not ready, so we headed to the Lido. Some of us had a Guy's burger, and some had burritos from the Cantina. After getting a bit of lunch, we began exploring the ship.

This is only my third Carnival cruise, and while I enjoyed the first two, I found both to be garish and tacky from a decor point of view. This ship was a tad bit better, but still fairly tacky. The color schemes and decor of Carnival just isn't pleasing to me. Honestly I don't care what it looks like, but I do notice. I also noticed on this walk around that several areas on this ship could use a good cleaning. I realize outside windows are going to be dirty, it is a cruise ship that sails in salt water all the time. but there are areas I noticed around the lido deck, and in some public areas that need attention in the cleaning department.

We played a round of mini golf, and after that it was time to check out our room. We were in cabin 6388. The cabin layout was fine. We did find a dirty tissue by the bed, and one of the drawers was off the track so when pulled out it fell out, it was broken. Other than that the room was a good size, had enough storage and the bathroom was clean. I had three in my cabin, I expected a pull down but there was not a pull down in this room. I checked out the couch, which had seen better days, and realized it is a pull out, so I assumed that the steward would pull it out and make it up. Wrong. He made it up, but didn't pull it out. I slept on it as a made up couch. Not a big deal, I can roll with it.

What I could NOT roll with however, was the Pac Man game that kept making noises every 3 minutes or so, whether or not it was being used. And you could hear it in our cabin. It drove us nuts. BEWARE of cabin 6388 on Liberty unless you don't hear well, then maybe it would work for you. I noticed it the first night after we settled in, and turned the TV off. At that point, I assumed it was coming from a nearby room, and that it would stop at some point. But it didn't. It wasn't until the next day that I noticed we were somewhat over the arcade and it was a Pac Man game making the noise. The weird part was that there were several noisy games in the arcade. But the only one we could hear was Pac Man. Over, and over, and over again. So I did some investigating, and I found the power switch. So that night I went down before bed, the arcade was empty, so I turned it off. That was about 11. Someone turned it back on around 1, so I put my pillow over my head and did the best I could. The next night I shut it off before bed, and it came back on, so I got up and dressed at 2 am and went down and shut it off again. It was back on at 4 am. Really??? Who the heck needs to play Pac Man between 2 and 4 am?? I probably should have asked Guest Services to turn it off in a way that would keep it off for reasonable hours at night, but I didn't. We suffered through, but never again will I book a cabin near an arcade. That was my mistake.

I should note here, that the room steward introduced himself and asked right away if we wanted AM or PM service for our room. I don't care as long as we have fresh towels so I told him whatever suited him worked for me. So he took care of our room once per day, while we were at dinner. That was fine, I really honestly don't need them to do a thing in my room, we keep it tidy. I just want to be sure to get clean towels. And if we bring back sand with us I do appreciate a quick vacuum, but other than that we are self sufficient.

We ate dinner at the MDR using MTD each night. The first night we sat next to a table of drunk people. Didn't love that, but it is what it is. And the room was LOUD. I don't know why, but I could barely hear over the din in the room. And there is not a thing wrong with my hearing. The atmosphere was chaotic. Food was OK, but dinner took 2 hours. Which normally isn't a big deal to me, but with the noise level, and the table of drunks next to us, it was pretty much torture. The next night was better, the drunks didn't show up, and the last night was the best night, we sat in a different area and it was much better. Often people refer to short cruises as booze cruises. I don't always find that to be true. The table of drunks was the only time we saw out of control drinking/behavior. I have see that on longer cruises as well however.

On the Sea day we had brunch in the dining room. Again, it was a bit chaotic, but the food was fine, and it was enjoyable to have brunch.

Our only stop was Nassau, and we spent the day at the Colonial Hilton. I would do that again. The pool area and beach was nice. Not big, but nice, and I liked that we could easily walk to the hotel.

We didn't attend any of the comedy shows. Dinner took too long, and the later shows were for ages 18+. I had kids with me, so I didn't go. I did go to the casino a few times, made my usual donation. My daughter and my niece got a massage and said that was a good experience. On the final night we attended a show, the title was something about Rock music. We got there early, and I was excited because the music they were playing prior to the show to get the audience excited was right up my alley, classic rock. But then, the show started. And the singers were likely too young to know the music, let's just say I really did not enjoy this show. And the outfits and the way they danced, I felt like this should probably should be rated 18+. Pretty suggestive. Not a big deal, we could have just left, but I was dissappointed. Usually I enjoy the shows.

I realize from this overview, it sounds like we did not have a good time, but that isn't the case. I spent time reading on the balcony, I love that, and this was the very first cruise for my nephew and he wants to go again already, so he enjoyed it. All in all it was fine. There are always postivies, and hey, any day on a cruise is better than a day at work!

I don't know if it's just my browser, but anytime I do a search I can never really see the 1st cruise listed. When I scroll down it goes all the way past the 1st option practically. It's very strange....

I have the exact same thing happening....

Neither the cruise line nor the airline provided refunds when my family had to cancel a cruise due to a death in the family. So there's at least one situation that insurance would have paid.

 

 

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Same. My Mom died while we were mid cruise. The cruise line didn't care, nor did I expect them to. Insurance paid our last minute very expensive flights home and for the unused portion of our cruise. That was 12 years ago. Last year my father in law died three days prior to our cruise. Again, cruise line nor airfare could be refunded and I wouldn't expect them to. But my insurance policy took care of it. To each their own, but I will never travel without insurance.

After cruising a number of times with inside and ocean view, we splurged for the balcony for the first time last month. Our kids were across the hall in inside cabins, and we thought everyone would love using the balcony. Honestly, we would go out there in the morning and watch the mooring crew do their thing, and we would step out there for a few minutes before going to bed just to take a look, and that was about it. The kids didn't come over much at all either. We decided that we'd probably skip the balcony next time and spend our money on other things. I know I'm in the minority, but it just isn't that special to us. Maybe it is because we are more social and big people watchers. I'd much rather read a book or watch us leaving ports from the upper decks than from my balcony.

I feel the same. I will spring for a balcony if the price is right, or in some circumstances. We wanted a balcony for Alaska to be sure we had the ability to see the views at all times, and we wanted a balcony for Hawaii because it was a 10 day cruise. But all things considered, on a Caribbean voyage I could care less if I have a balcony. I could/would book one if it meant that much to me, but it doesn't. So if the price diff is more than about $300, I don't bother with a balcony, I just don't feel the need to have one.

The shuttle is $20/pp. How are you getting to Cape Liberty?

Thank you! Glad it is still an option. That will be perfect. No need to pre arrange, correct? We are doing a repositioning cruise that starts in San Juan. It ends at Cape Liberty. Need to get to the airport from Cape Liberty, but we will not be boarding there.

I have been searching boards, and surfing other sites for information, and I believe I have determined the best way for my party of 8 to obtain transportation to Newark from Cape Liberty after our cruise is to go to the cab line area, and there we will be able to pay a per person fee for a shuttle. BUT, the last information I saw on this was from a post from 2010. I know Cape Liberty has changed a lot since then. Just wondering if anyone can confirm for me that there is a "shuttle line" for transportation to Newark after the cruise, and that I do not have to pre arrange anything....? And if someone knows the approx. cost per person I would appreciate it!

Thanks in advance!

The Liberty does not have the Cloud 9 Spa so there is no pass to buy. I do know there are Steam and Sauna rooms and large showers that are free.

It looks like your teens can book spa treatments but you will have to sign some forms. Here is the information that I found on Carnival's site:

 

 

Spa Carnival and Cloud 9 Spa

• Fitness Center and Studio: Guests must be at least 18 years of age to use the fitness facilities on their own. Minor guests (12-17 years of age) may use the facilities provided they are accompanied by a parent or guardian (subject to restrictions posted outside the Fitness Center).
  
• Salon: Salon services (hair, nail and facial services) are available to guests of all ages.
  
• Spa Facilities: Guests must be at least 18 years of age to receive treatments or utilize spa facilities, including the sauna and steam rooms (within the locker rooms) as well as use of the Thermal Suite and Thalassotherapy Pool at the Cloud 9 Spas.
  
• ZSPA: Teens (12-17 years of age) must be accompanied by an adult when they book treatments on board. Parents or a guardian must complete and sign the spa’s consultation form acknowledging their consent before services are rendered.
  

Thanks again!

Hello!

I am taking my daughter and niece on a short cruise on Carnival Liberty. Not the ship or itin I would normally pick, but it was the only one that lined up with school in service days. My niece is the top of her class, and in her senior year getting ready to go on to pre med school, so she isn't willing to miss any school days for fear of getting behind in her classes. I was very restricted with sailings that would work. And this cruise is for her birthday, so it is all about her.

I have searched the Carnival website, this site, and I even called Carnival, but I can't seem to get clear answers to my questions about the spa. I am hoping someone has recently sailed on Carnival Liberty and has some insight for me! Here are my questions:

-My daughter is 16, my niece 17. They want to use spa services. The site says 18+ is the age requirement, but I have heard that they have teen services? Does this include massages? Or is there a work around for my niece to be able to get a massage?

-I can't tell what the spa on Carnival Liberty actually has that can be used with a possible day pass if they offer one. A sauna? A whirlpool? Any relaxation room of any kind? Do they offer day passes for that area, or can you just use it if you purchase a service?

Thanks in advance for any light anyone can shed on this for us!!

I visited Pearl Harbor from my cruise ship in early May. We had booked the excursion through the cruise ship, it did not include a ticket to the memorial. Those are free, however, you must get there early to get a ticket. We were able to get a ticket, but the time of our tour was AFTER the excursion headed back to the ship. We ended up grabbing a cab and getting back to the cruise ship on our own. It was easy to do. With tip I paid $40.00 for the taxi ride back to the terminal.

In my experience, we could have grabbed a taxi easily to get to Pearl Harbor, but we had booked the excursion so we took the bus. If I had to do it over again, I would just take a taxi back and forth. Easy, and on my time schedule.

Hope that helps!

Great comparison. Be patient. The Mariner of the Seas will be coming to Miami, I believe next year, after a major refit. It will run 3 and 4 day Bahamas cruises. It's a Voyager class, and tops any short cruise any ship doing 3 & 4 days. The Independence, which is a Freedom Class, does 4 & 5 days out of Port Everglades.

Good to know! That would be great.

Were the MDR menus the new ones that are being rolled out fleetwide or the older versions? Thanks!

Hello! I am sorry, I don't know the answer to this, perhaps someone else can chime in?

For anyone who might be interested in bit of comparison, I recently have taken a short cruise on Majesty and a short time later a short cruise on Enchantment. Long story as to why I ended up on two short cruises within a little over three weeks apart, but since I did, I will share my observations of the two ships.

So, first up, I booked three cabins for a family sailing on Majesty with a sail date of March 31. It was my husband and I, my adult daughter and her boyfriend, and my sister and her husband. We had window cabins on deck 8. (Much to my daughters dismay, she is used to a balcony, but Majesty doesn't have many balcony rooms.)

My daughter wanted to take her boyfriend who had never been on a cruise, so that was the reason for the trip. I could have gone one of two ways, 1) he has never been on a cruise, so Majesty will be fine, or 2) he has never been on a cruise, I should book big and knock his socks off. Well, I went with option number 1. I needed a short cruise as my daughter is in college and had limited time she could be gone. Unfortunately you are pretty limited on ships for short cruises, I figured if he likes it we will go again and then we can go all out. And finally there is the $$ factor since I was footing the bill and there were flights involved.

I have been on Majesty before, so I knew going into it what the cabins were like, and what things we would be missing that are on newer ships. But, that was several years ago now, and I was frankly a little surprised at how beat up the ship looked. It was fine mind you, I don't get to worked up about rust, or wear or dingy/dirty windows. But it did really surprise me. Our cabin was very small, I knew it would be, but it was also frankly dirty looking, and the bathroom was really showing wear. The TV in the room was tiny, and the beds were pretty much cots. We didn't find them uncomfortable however.

Our MDR experience was fine. Not over the top, not even excellent, but fine. Along the theme of wear, one of the first things I noticed is that the menu holders are really, really beat up looking. Worn and tattered. Not a big deal, but odd to me. How hard/expensive can it be to get new ones of those? Are times that tough RCI? Our servers were EXCELLENT as always, and the food was good. Overall, we enjoyed the MDR for the important things. Menu holders are not important, but again, just my observations....

We always enjoy Johnny Rockets, which they have on Majesty but not on Enchantment. Also, there is a basketball court on Majesty, but not on Enchantment. Two things that my daughter had put in the plus column when looking at the Majesty or Enchantment. Lastly they really enjoyed late night pizza from Sorrentos. I don't recall that there was Sorrentos on Enchantment, but it could be that I never found it.

The pool deck was very small. When walking on the top deck, the walkway between the chairs on either side made the area VERY narrow. And the carpet, you guessed it... was very worn in places.

When we boarded Majesty, rooms were not yet ready, which is not a big deal at all, HOWEVER, we had to really look hard for an open restroom. Many were closed, one was overflowing. My daughter really had to find a restroom, so we started asking the crew where the nearest open one was, but they really didn't know. We finally found one, but it was a hunt!

They played movies on the big screen at night, but they don't have this figured out very well IMO. There were many people enjoying the pool deck, so my husband and I gave up and left because we couldn't hear the movie. On Princess, it is glorious to watch a movie on the pool deck. People are there to watch the movie so people seem to be pretty respectful of that by in large. Not so for us this time on Majesty.

Disembarktion seemed organized, but for some reason we waited in line for close to two hours. I have never waited that long before. Must have just been our timing. But we were not in a hurry, we didn't fly out until the following day anyway.

Overall, while I realize my review so far is not favorable for Majesty, the cruise was fine. The crew was great and we enjoyed ourselves. Would I go on this ship again? Probably not, but only because there are so many ships to choose from! (I am not a loyal to Royal person, I cruise many lines and am pretty happy with them all so far.)

Now, fast forward to April 20th. My sister in law wanted me to go on a short cruise with her. I had the time, so why not? She IS a loyal to Royal person (but I am working on broadening her horizons...) but for now we booked on Enchantment, and away we went.

The first thing that struck me was how much better/cleaner Enchantment looked. We had an inside cabin, but it was spacious, and while not new, it didn't look worn out. The TV was decent size, and the beds seemed more comfortable. We usually like to sail with balcony rooms, but we booked this one really late so we took what we could get, and it was fine.

This trip was all about relaxation. We enjoyed the solarium (something Majesty does not have) and we sat by the pool on the deck as well, as it was much more spacious. Our MDR experience was very good as usual, and we enjoyed the shows. The shows were not great, but they were OK.

There were movies offered on the pool deck, but we didn't go, so I can't compare that. There were plenty of activities and we participated in some fun trivia games.

Would I go on Enchantment again? Probably not, but again only because there are so many ships to choose from. I will say, I wish that a cruise line would offer at least one short cruise option (3 or 4 day) with a newer ship. I find myself going on several short cruises a year because many of the people I cruise with can't take more than a week off at a time, and when you have to fly to and from the North East, you need 8 to 9 days for a 7 day cruise. I have plenty of time, I am headed out on a 10 day cruise this Saturday, but usually it is 3 or 4 day cruises that are 5 to 6 day trips for us. I have done a few 5 day cruises on the Freedom class, but this time around the dates/departure ports didn't line up with what I needed.

Sorry I am a bit all over the place with this comparison. Hope you got something out of your investment of time to read it!

I am just back from a cruise from Port Canveral, and I do not believe there are car rental companies within an easy walking distance to the ship. I did not see any, I really do not think there are any there. The one we used was only a mile or so away. It was easy to drop the car off and take the shuttle over to the port terminal. I think this is the only way you will be able to drop your rental with any company you use. Drop it to the off site location, and take their shuttle to the terminal. It was easy to do if that helps at all....

Can't answer for sure about your question, but here's our experience. We took a Royal Caribbean cruise that began in Quebec with an overnight in Quebec and departed 5PM the following day. Muster took place about 3:30 the day we left Quebec. I'd assume a similar muster time relative to your sailing.

 

Thanks for your reply! I would also assume our muster timing to be similar.

 

Have a good day!

We are on this cruise also. In the past the muster drill have be held hours before the cruise ship departed. That being said the drill should be on May 8 in the afternoon as we don't leave port until 5pm. You should be able to come and go as you please from the ship on Saturday and Sunday up until sometime before the drill. The District Nightclub goes until 3am Sunday morning.:rolleyes::eek::cool: Some of the passengers might not even show up until Sunday. As they want all passengers to go through the drill.

Thanks for your reply! I think I will do the excursion the first night, sounds like the best plan. One thing the Celebrity rep did tell me is that the ship itin changed, and that sailaway was now 10 pm on the 8th. We shall see!

Thanks again, I appreciate the insight very much!

I am in hopes someone might know the answer to this, I have searched the boards, and I just called Celebrity, but no luck with an answer.

I am on the May 7th voyage on the Solstice from HI to Vancouver. Embarktion is on May 7th from 1 pm to 6 pm, with the ship not leaving until 10 pm the next day on May 8th. When will they hold the muster drill? And if I board the ship at closer to 1 pm the first day, will I be able to get back off the ship around 3:30? I am trying to plan an excursion. It is from 3:30 to approx 9:15, and I could do it either the first or second day. I am thinking that is a little late to be getting back to the ship for a 10 pm departure if I try to do it on the second night, but if I do it the first night, I have to be able to leave the ship by 3 pm, when they are not even finished boarding people (not sure that matters, but that is what I am trying to figure out) and if they hold muster after the boarding process finishes at 6 pm I would miss it.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me please? Thanks in advance!

I am very excited that my very first voyage on Celebrity is coming up! It is 4 night on the Summit. I have one in May also that is 10 nights on the Solstice as well, figured I would dive right in.... wondering about shows on the Summit. I read something about a "Sin City" show. Does anyone know if that is offered on the Summit 4 night? Or what shows are offered? Any things I should know about the Summit? Thanks so much!

But, they don't sail with half empty ships. I don't believe anyway. They can charge the higher prices because people will pay them. I won't, but people do. I will sail on RCI if the price is right, but they are not worth paying a premium for. IMO. Plenty of other good choices abound on many other lines!

Cruising on February 25th and looking for a place to spend the night before. Our group will need about 5 rooms. We do not need fancy but it has to be clean and safe. Cruise package will work but not necessary, as we can use a park and cruise lot. Any help will be appreciated.

We have stayed at the Country Inn and Suites. Clean, comfortable and safe. Plus, a decent breakfast buffet is included.