Carnival Liberty Southern Caribbean review with pics (Aug. 2-9, 2015)

Well, here I go again... This is my review of my sailing ***** the Carnival Liberty on the week of August 2-9, 2015 on is Southern Caribbean itinerary out of San Juan, PR. It's been over a month since I took this cruise but time balancing between work and other personal things has been tricky. But I finally got around to do this. Since my last cruise, I got divorced so this time around, the vacation would have a different focus since I was doing it with just my daughter. There's also a certain repeat Cruise Critic reviewer on the Liberty as I write this so I had to jump the gun before my review got lost on the shadow of his....lol.

Planning and waiting:

Ok guys here we go!! Second cruise, second review. Let’s see how this comes out. This was somewhat of an unplanned cruise at first since my original sailing goal was for Sept. 20, 2015. I also had a week long trip to Washington DC planned from Jul. 21-28 along with my 12 year old daughter. Those plans both fell through. But I was able to work out the situation in order to kind of have my cake and eat it too. Early in the month of May I was almost ready to book my flight and car rental for DC but prices for airfare had rapidly gone trough the roof, even using Southwest which is the cheapest (baggage fees considered) to fly to the DC/ Baltimore area from Puerto Rico. So, I was kind of at a crossroads between diving into a trip that was already looking at costing me quite a bit more of money than originally budgeted or postponing for next year (again!!) and dealing with the wrath and disappointment of my daughter. Then during the same month, I was informed by my boss that I’d be going on an all expense paid business trip to Vegas whose departure date was the same as my cruise arrival date. That meant that I’d be getting off the ship with a suitcase full of laundry and catching a flight by 1pm on the same day. It would be a clothing logistic pain for me, since I had to get home, make a new suitcase for Vegas and head for the airport. By the way, I live in Puerto Rico and the port is 25 minutes from my house and the airport is half way so that wouldn’t that much of a hassle. It was also a scheduling nightmare for my boss at work who basically let me know that it would be a stretch for me to be able to make both trips (in short, it was either Vegas or the cruise).

After a day’s worth of thinking (as if there was really that much thinking to do) I decided to cancel my cruise plans, keep Vegas (a place I’ve never been to) and concentrate on my DC trip. Besides, IT’S VEGAS BABY!! The trip to DC then had gone grossly over budget and I figured that with less money I could take the cruise instead even at the tail end of summer vacation period. I talked to my daughter and offered to postpone DC for 2016 and take the cruise instead with her and my daughter’s eyes just about popped off her head with excitement. This would be her first cruise BTW, second for me and second on the same itinerary. I picked the Liberty because even though I had visited these islands before, my daughter hadn’t and I was planning to do some things I had not done on my previous trip since I was more cash strapped at that time and since it was my first cruise I had not planned very well what to do on the islands. So with that in mind and having spent months previous on Cruise Critic just absorbing info I went ahead and booked the trip and started the count down.

From here on I will try to describe the things we encountered trying my best to not be repetitive from my previous review since this would be the second time doing the same itinerary, but on a different ship (last year was on the Valor).

I sat down one day with my kid and talked to her about all the possible things to do on the islands and we came up with the idea that one of the things we wanted to do was to visit at least one beach and snorkel on each island. We wanted to see the sights and learn about the cultures in our neighboring islands. So we did some thing on our own (St. Thomas, Barbados…kindda, St. Maarten) and some private tours (St. Luica, St. Kitts). Since we live in Puerto Rico I will be open to questions about places to visit in Puerto Rico and answer them to the best of my knowledge. And just like my last review, at the end, I will post pictures and impressions of some points of interest. As a disclaimer, my opinions on things are just that… my opinion. Your experience may be or might have been different from mine and that’s perfectly fine. Also, you can find the Fun Times for this itinerary posted on KatPem's excellent review here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2259391 . They were basically the same since our sailings were three weeks apart with the exception of the Dive-in movies which will have changed again anyway by the time you read this. So with that said, I hope you enjoy my review.

Sunday: Embarkation day

We had done all our packing the previous night and had everything by the door before going to sleep so we got up around 10am to get ready to be picked up and taken to the dock. Last time I sailed out of San Juan in 2014, I had received an Email stating that due to the debarkation/embarkation process and the limited seating space inside the terminal that I should arrive no earlier than 3:00pm. Even though I tried to get to the terminal earlier that time I was unable to do so before 3:30 and it was a mess in the terminal. The line was huge and it took me almost an hour from the back of the line to my cabin door.

I got the same Email this time but saying no earlier than 2:30. I said no way!! I got to the pier and handed over our luggage to a porter along with a tip and onto the terminal. I was inside the terminal before 2:00pm and it was much, much simpler than last time. Basically all the spaces for guest service agents had an employee and the little line that there was moved lightning fast. In less than 15 minutes since I walked into the terminal I was with an agent setting up my account. First small snag: I had pre-purchased in the course of the previous weeks some Cruise Cash ($100 worth) but it was not showing on my account. The agent said I would show a bit later during the day, at the most the next morning. Reluctantly, since it was the first time using Cruise Cash, I said OK and deposited some more cash money into the account. We had our pictures taken and were handed our Sail and Sign cards and off we went to another more annoying snag.

I had brought a 24-pack of soda cans (12 cans, 12oz. allowed for each of us). When I arrived at the X-ray machine and checkpoint, We put our bags in the conveyor belt and suddenly one of the agents stopped me and said that I was not allowed to bring in the cans packed the way they were packed ( they were in their original packaging for crying out loud!!). The lady stoically said I had to show up with the cans divided and that we had to each carry on 12 cans separately. I looked at her and actually said "you're joking, right?" My daughter is 12 years old and I wasn't gonna make her carry that extra weight on top of her carry-on. I told them that if THEY wanted to open the packaging, inspect and divide the cans between both backpacks we had it was fine with me but that it was ridiculous. We were a party of two carrying our allowance of soda. What was the issue here? They came back with the excuse that it wasn’t about an inspection but that I being one person could not carry on 24 cans and had to be divided. At one point I had to take a step back when I felt my daughter grab my hand and softly say “daaadd, settle down”. All this time the line was dead stopped and people were getting impatient since they weren’t being allowed to change lines to continue on. After a few minutes of back and forth stupidity from terminal (not ship) security and two supervisors’ one of them decided to wave me off with my pack of cans untouched. I was so mad!! I carried the 24-pack on my arms again into the ship, past the liquor police desk at the end of the gangway, which simply smiled and said "hello" as I walked by. I still fail to see why; if you're not going to actually inspect how many cans (or the contents) I am carrying, why the cans have to be divided between the two persons if we are traveling together. Anyway we were finally “dinged” in and we were officially on our cruise!!!

This brings me to my third annoyance of the cruise. I had requested Any Time Dinning when I booked online but was on a waitlist with an “alternate” assigned time of 6pm which I was NOT into. I had called Carnival and a PVP told me that the waitlist issue could be resolved at check-in and that if they could not address it to take it up with the Maitre D’ on the ship. At check-in I was told I was assigned the early sitting so, as soon as we boarded I headed straight to meet with the Silver Dinning room Maitre D’ who, at 2:35 was nowhere to be found. A waiter went and got me a lady who identified herself as his assistant. I requested a change in time either to my original requested time or to the late seating. I was simply dismissed with a: “I will relay your request” line and that a card would be slipped under the door the next morning with the decision. Next morning I got a card alright. It said sorry but no, and that I was still assigned for the early seating. That was not good for me but I rolled my eyes and kept a happy face for my daughter, although this assignment would come into play later in the cruise. So far it was a shaky start to our cruise.

The ship:

I found the Liberty’s decoration to be more subdue than that of the Valor which is a very “Americana” style of decoration. The Liberty’s lobby also had color changing illumination which made for a cool sight. Public areas were always kept in tip-top shape and you could always spot someone cleaning something somewhere at any time of the night or day. Being that the Liberty is a Conquest class ship like the Valor, I was still a bit familiarized with the layout and we quickly went back into the aft elevators (which BTW are the only elevators you can catch to get to the Silver Dinning room since it does not connect with anything else on either deck 3 or 4) on to Empress deck 7 and straight for our cabin 7357. I decided on this location since it was almost mid-ship, rooms above and below, close to the laundromat (which I never got around to use) and close to the aft elevators (only way to get to the Silver dinning room). Sorry, I totally forgot to take pictures around the cabin. The cabin was ready, clean and, for what we needed, comfortable. It was set up as two twin beds, leaving enough space between the beds to not be tripping over each other. We were so eager to get out and explore that I never got around to taking cabin pictures without our stuff laying around. This time one of the beds did have the luggage pad (last trip we never saw it). Bathroom was standard Conquest class fare as well as the three closets. Same as last trip on the Valor, I had problems with the mini fridge during the whole trip. Upon arrival I took pictures of the contents of the fridge and moved everything to one of the shelves inside the closet and proceeded to stock the fridge with soda cans and some of the water bottles that I had purchased trough Carnival and that were waiting for me in the cabin when I arrived.

By the next day nothing was even cool. Eventually my cabin steward said it was normal and that the fridge was designed to keep things cooled, not cold and that it would take a few hours more to cool everything (it had been 36 hrs since I had put things inside when she told me this). The cabin interior was standard Carnival fare although, contrary to the public areas, the cabin did show more wear and tear like the lamp shades below. That something that really should be as inexpensive for Carnival as this, the fact that they are in this condition was beyond me.

Back to day 1, we dropped our carry-ons and made a beeline to Guy’s Burgers. I think my daughter’s face says it all…LOL.

There weren’t many people aboard still so lines were minimal. The burgers are kindda made to order. They have a whole bunch of meat patties with cheese on the buns made and unless you ask for something else you’re in and out in a flash. If you go for any of the specialty burgers, you’ll have to wait to have it made. The toppings bar was the highlight of this joint. Everything from all-you-can-eat bacon (although shredded) to two types of onions (raw and caramelized), tomato, etc. its there! Of course, after we were done with our burgers it was time to explore the ship, ice cream in hand. We scoped the lido pool area, the water slides, where all the food was (and the ice cream machines!) and walked around most parts of the ship taking a few pictures and getting familiarized with everything.

Embarkation day cont. and Sail away:

That light yellow building in the center below is the Sheraton Old San Juan for those who ask about the distance from the pier or its overall location. It can sometime be pricy, but you can’t find a place closer to the ship to stay in OSJ pre/post-cruise.

We went back to the room for a while to find one of our suitcases had arrived (mine) so I started to unpack. A few minutes in our room stewardess knocked on the door and introduced herself. Her name was Sldana (sp?) but asked she be called “just Ana… it’s easier”. She was from Slovenia and while her service was mostly spot on, her appearance sometimes lacked a bit showing signs of the amount of work these people do to make our stay incredible. She always had a smile to give and addressed us by our names after our introductions were made never asking our names again.

I informed her that I had moved the contents of the mini-bar to the closet which she appreciated so she can properly keep inventory and asked her to fill a collapsible cooler I had brought with ice at least once a day and gave her a tip. I have to be honest and say that while the room cleaning was perfect, the ice…meehh. Sometimes she put ice in during the afternoon while we were away, sometimes during dinner time, sometimes she forgot. No biggie, if the fridge would’ve been working correctly so sometimes it was a small annoyance.

Anyway, we went to get some air and sunset pictures from the outside decks for a while. I can see sunsets in Puerto Rico whenever I want and be amazed every single time. But then again, it’s not everyday I get to see them from the perspective that being on the ship provides.

Sunset being done we went back to the cabin for a while. My daughter’s suitcase had arrived and she unpacked and we finally settled in our home for the week. We took a short nap and woke ready for our sail away party. We went to the Circle C orientation and registration process (which, being at 8pm, I thought was a terrible time for those having dinner after 7pm considering muster is at 9:30). We had skipped dinner since we were really not hungry (say what?!?!) and waited for muster to begin.

Compared to my last experience on the Valor, muster on the Liberty went much smoother. They had people lined up faster (at least on our side of the ship) and conducted the overall drill in much less time. Yes, it’s still done in English and Spanish.Yes it’s hot and humid and for some, the close proximity to total strangers might be a bit uncomfortable but it is what it is. Luckily, after muster was done our side was the first to be released (thank God!!!). We went to our cabin to get some soda and off we went to Lido deck for the sail away party. Now, considering this was during the summer and the ship was basically full, my first impression was that there weren’t as many people on this sail away as on the Valor which was during the month of Sept. But after a few minutes the atmosphere changed. The place was jammed packed with people by the time the festivities started.

Sail Away:

After the party was done, my daughter decided to hang around with one of her best friends from school which by pure chance had found out they’d be sailing on the same ship and same trip just the night before. I got some ice cream and went to the cabin to start organizing our stuff for tomorrow’s day at St. Thomas. My kid came back like an hour later and we went to get some pizza around 12:30am. And so did a whole freakin’ lot of other passengers. There was a HUGE line for the Pizza Pirate and another a bit shorter for the grill on the other side were they served hot dogs, some sandwiches, cookies and the sort. This would be a recurring occurrence during the whole trip, although it was really the ONLY night when I saw so many employees making pizzas and having a “production line” like in the picture below.

This was the line for the aft grill:

And this is for the pizza place:

We managed to finally get some slices around 1am and went to bed around 1:45m. We were beat!

Some more sail away pics:

And some pics of the lobby area I forgot to post before:

Next up: St. Thomas!

Great review! This was my first ship/cruise ever on the the Liberty. We sailed out of Miami on her 8/3/13-8/10/13. Your review is bringing back great memories

I hope to hear that you actually calm down and enjoy the cruise as the review continues. Can't sweat the small stuff but I agree breaking down the case of soda into 12's is just stupid. Welcome to Puerto Rico!

Gorgeous photos and your daughter is a doll!! Sorry things didn't start out smoothly - hopefully they got better as the cruise went on. Can't wait to read more!

Excited to read your review! We sail the Liberty in November:)

Stinger - looking forward to the rest of your review. Great photos and those night shots are awesome! On my next trip back to PR you'll have to show me how to get such great nighttime shots!

great review I will be on the Liberty Nov. 15

Awww love this review. We were on this cruise and it's bringing back such awesome memories. You took some fab pics so far -- can't wait to see more!

Looking forward to the rest!

Keep it coming! We are on the Liberty in January :)

Great to see you are doing another review. Sorry to hear about your drama.... hope it gets better for you. As always your pics are great and make me miss my favorite place even more (San Juan and Puerto Rico in general). Keep it coming, Hope your daughter loved it as well. :D

We did this itinerary in May. Loved it. :)

Thanks for sharing these great photos and the crisp narrative.

Looking forward to more!

Norris

Great review! Love the nighttime pictures of Old San Juan! Been there many times but don't have such lovely photos!

Will be in San Juan again in a little over a week. Can't wait!

Love Puerto Rico!!

Those night photos are stunning! We were on the Liberty this past February but due to the weather we missed Puerto Rico. Loved the ship, though.

Enjoying your review - and that pizza line is insane!

Great review and looking forward to more. I sail on 10/18.

Great review and looking forward to more. I sail on 10/18.

Question? Was there a Sushi resturant on the Liberty?

Wow, your photos are amazing! Will check back for the rest, thanks for posting!

I hope to hear that you actually calm down and enjoy the cruise as the review continues. Can't sweat the small stuff but I agree breaking down the case of soda into 12's is just stupid. Welcome to Puerto Rico!

LOL...I did actually calm down and fully enjoyed the trip despite the small things here and there. I work at the hospitality/gaming business in Puerto Rico and, having high standards as to how guests are to be treated, I was being a bit uptight. But I realized I was on vacation and started to just roll with punches and enjoy.

Gorgeous photos and your daughter is a doll!! Sorry things didn't start out smoothly - hopefully they got better as the cruise went on. Can't wait to read more!

They did!! Thanks for reading.

Stinger - looking forward to the rest of your review. Great photos and those night shots are awesome! On my next trip back to PR you'll have to show me how to get such great nighttime shots!

Thanks!! Pics were a bit tricky but in the end they came out good. It took some long exposures, big apertures and some "hold-your-breath-and-keep-dead-still" moments along with some Lightroom retouching. I'll be glad to help you out next time your in town. Old San Juan is awesome to photograph at night.

Great to see you are doing another review. Sorry to hear about your drama.... hope it gets better for you. As always your pics are great and make me miss my favorite place even more (San Juan and Puerto Rico in general). Keep it coming, Hope your daughter loved it as well. :D

Thanks!! The drama was forgotten after the first burger from Guy's...lol. My daughter had a blast!! I almost had to drag her off the ship along with our suitcases. Now She's the one looking for cruises and dates and proposing sailings...haha