Pictorial Review of the Liberty Looneys CC Cruise - 1/15 - 1/22/2011

[dodger501]

I wrote the review of Day 1 then found out there is a limit of 6 images per post, including emoticons (is this something new?), so I have to break this up:

 

This was our first 'group' cruise. Admittedly we got into it solely because of the sweet deal ($25 pp down, $100 OBC) but it turned out we got in with a great bunch of folks and I am here today to declare this is our fourth (all CCL) and best cruise ever!

We were accompanied by my neice Kelly and her SO Mitch, this is gonna be great!

No b***h fest here, everything went pretty darned good. I spent 4.5 years in the Navy and took plenty of 'cruises' so I am guessing it does not take as much to impress me as it does a lot of other people.

That's my opinion. The food was great (mostly), staff well-trained, hard-working and friendly. As in any other endeavor, some are better at it than others but we lucked out with our room steward Wayon and head waiter Romelito in the Silver Olympian DR.

No sewer or smoke smells, our OBC showed up on time so no billing issues - we never once visited Guest Services. Plenty of soap in the bathroom. Come on, there's got to be something to complain about! Everybody has something to complain about, don't they? We shall see . . .

Let's get right into it. No hotel room or food pictures because I don't care for them myself.

 

Day 1, Jan 14:

Well of course we go down a day early, we live in the Great White North where a sudden storm can bury an airport. This is what we left:

 

 

Up at 4:30 for a 7:30 flight at MSP. Everything's packed, we got our stuff together. For a change. I keep my passport, license, docs, money in a little wallet that goes around the neck while traveling. I took it off to brush my teeth and forgot to put it back on!

Halfway to my FIL's house several miles away (he is going to the airport with us and drive my truck back), I realize what I had done. We picked up Dad and scooted back home. Luckily I had put an extra 45 minutes of time padding into our schedule. This burned up 15 of them. Still 30 left.

We get to the airport, curbside check-in so instead of 2 big lines to stand in, we only have to stand in 1. Our bags are not overweight, yay! Off they go to MIA.

Quick, let's get out of this 4-above frigid cold wearing our light Florida jackets and into the terminal. The line to security is a mile long!

We get through it but the last 30 minutes of padding is burned up and then some.

Dash through the terminal like OJ to the gate. We get to the gate, it has the signage up for our flight but it's not our gate!! It's the next one over. Dash to the other, we just make it on and off we go:

 

 

 

$15 cab ride to Holiday Inn-Port of Miami. Okay, here I have something to complain about. We booked this thing almost a year ago and they give us a 4th floor room overlooking - they bay? No, the roof of the restaurant. Lovely. Some of our fellow Liberty'ers got upper floor rooms overlooking the bay. To add insult to injury, we have a noisy family next door who decided to yak it up with their kids well past midnight. I call the duty manager, he sends security. Now I can sleep. But at 6AM they are back at it. Great.

But meanwhile, the night before, we toured the Bayside Marketplace:

 

 

 

A street mime was performing around the area where the band was playing and Mrs. Dodger got in on the act after putting some bread in his box:

 

[dodger501]

Then we met our first CC'ers, Joan, JoAnne, and Donna from MA. They recognized Mrs. D, probably because my galleries are loaded with pictures of her:

 

 

Then they all got into the act with the mime:

 

 

 

Mrs. D wanted to pose with the birds. Hint, it wasn't free . . .

 

 

Then we met up with some fellow Looneys and Roll Call folks at Bubba Gumps. Gumps is not equipped for large groups so it took them a while to arrange something for us. They got it done and we had a good time:

 

Looneys PoofyTheCat (real name Mimi), CathyP, Kenny:

 

Poofy, with her new husband, Andy. They were the youngest of the group, delightful people - I am glad to have known them:

[dodger501]

Continuing at Bubba Gumps:

 

Joan & Donna:

 

This is Myssie (cc name MAO), the driving force behind the Roll Call. She even started a Facebook page for the group:

 

Me & Mrs. Dodger (Karen):

 

Looking down the table:

 

Our waitress did a Forrest Gump trivia game with us. Kenny was one of the winners. Kenny just retired as a shipbuilder at the Norfolk Navy yards and he and his excellent wife Cathy just moved to FL:

 

Afterward, we wandered around a while longer:

[dodger501]

 

Then back across Biscayne Blvd to the barn for the night (and rendezvous with our noisy neighbors):

 

The area is nice, we felt completely safe. This evening was fun, now we know some folks and have them to look forward to on the ship. Other than our first cruise with my brother Kevin and his wife, we have sailed solo.

Kelly is the eldest daughter of Kevin and my Goddaughter.

 

Next up: Day 2, Sailaway!

[dodger501]

Up and at 'em, not too early though. After all, we don't have to be out of the hotel until 11. Breakfast downstairs, not bad. Mrs. Dodger wanted to order off the menu instead of buffet and the delivery was still quick. HI-POM doesn't have an airport or a port shuttle (then why did I pay so much?) so a $10 cab ride across the bridge to the port:

 

 

I can see it! I can see it! The Destiny is in the center and the Liberty is on the right. Hey, how come they parked us backwards?

 

 

Upon first entering the terminal (the timestamp on this picture is 11:20 ET), the lines were fairly long but not bad. There were 3 lines, one of which was the VIP. The VIP line was pretty sparse so we got pulled out of our common-folk line and put into it. Sweet, upstairs we go. At this time, the terminal is not that crowded:

 

 

We breezed through the kiosk and got our S&S cards at the counter in no time at all. Very, very soon after, this changed and the room was wall-to-wall people. We were Zone 13, had a little wait. Oh well.

Before we knew it we were on board and up on the Lido with D0D in hand. So was Myssie and her travel buddy Linda:

 

 

Karen makes her last calls while we still have cell service:

 

 

We both love the free ice cream:

 

 

Just killing time until the cabins opened at 1:30.

[ATL2LAS]

Great review so far...keep it coming:)

[jstcruizin]

LOVING Day one so far and I LOVE, LOVE , LOVE the pictorial review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The liberty was our second CC in 05 number 7 coming up in April on the miracle

[dodger501]

Kelly and Mitch made it:

 

I took a few pics with the Sigma 12-24mm ultra-wide. To those that have sailed out of Miami, these will look familiar:

 

 

 

NCL Epic. Big boat . . .

 

Kathi & Steve (cc name LoveToRide):

 

Geez, I'm at my pic limit already . . .

[Cruisin Christi]

Very nice...One day I will be on a cc cruise, it is my dream as I am a people person. Can't wait for more. For some reason seeing everyone meet and have fun got me misty eye'd.

[dodger501]

Very nice...One day I will be on a cc cruise, it is my dream as I am a people person. Can't wait for more. For some reason seeing everyone meet and have fun got me misty eye'd.

 

It made a huge difference. To have new friends already made prior to the cruise even starting, seeing them out & about on the ship and even on some of the same excursions is priceless. This was a great bunch.

[dodger501]

I forgot to mention a near-catastrophe - my luggage was almost lost at MIA!

Mrs. Dodger's bag showed up on the carousel but mine didn't.

So we go to the baggage area where leftovers are stacked. The lady says it ain't there. Oh, lordy. I am playing all the scenarios in my head such as getting a cab, going to Target/whatever. Oh, the expense! Getting sick to my stomach now.

I waited in baggage office over half hour waiting for sole clerk to get to me.

Wow, very unhappy, very unpleasant customers whose luggage really was lost or misdirected -- I could not do that job.

After a while a 2nd clerk shows up and scans my claim ticket and says "Oh, it's right here in Miami" . . . did someone take it by mistake? He goes out to leftovers area and finds it. Thanks a lot, first baggage lady for the heartburn and anxiety.

Back to the sailaway. Here is the aft pool area. There were not many kids on this cruise so this area stayed adults-only:

 

Nicole and Andres (nidaco on CC):

Andy & Mimi (Poofy), wearing their Liberty Looneys shirts:

There were 5 ships in port all leaving that day. The Destiny is the first to go:

The Liberty is underway, we have to go to the turnaround area. Passing the Celebrity Century:

The Celebrity Eclipse:

[dodger501]

Your reviewers, very happy to be cruising:

 

These folks don't need no steenking cruise ship:

 

The sun is pretty low now, casting a reddish-yellow light over everything.

I tried to catch the glint on the windows of these high-rises:

 

Leaving Miami behind:

 

 

One last shot of the sunset then time to get ready for our first night in the MDR. We knew Kelly & Mitch would be there but who else would be our tablemates?

 

Up next: First Sea Day

[oncruisecontrol]

Keep it coming. Keep it coming. We are contemplating booking the Liberty this year. Great review and photos. Thanks.

[LizaMM]

OH MY GOSH.......I am SOOOOOO LOVING your review!!!

 

I just booked the Liberty again this week.......sailed her in 2009 and had a fabulous time!

 

I CANT WAIT for the rest of your review!! Thank you for my fix :D

[*Libby*]

I'm loving your review and photos - we sail the Liberty in 10 weeks, doing the same itinerary! Can't wait!

[dodger501]

Thank you kindly, Libby, Liza, and everyone.

First full day on the ship. Our room steward, Wayon, introduced himself to us the night before - "if there's anything you need, let us know."

This guy was a master towel animal-maker as you will see later. No complaints there.

We had late dining in the MDR and our table-mates, besides Kelly/Mitch turned out to be fellow Looneys Mike and Sherri with their friends Pete and Dale.

I am chagrined I don't have a picture of just them as I never took my camera to the MDR.

At any rate, it was all good. They are all Washington state Air Guard members and Mike & Sherri are still rotating to Afghanistan. My son is currently there, in the Army, with the 183rd Maintenance Batallion.

The Liberty is just the way I left it a year ago, we really like this ship. This day was a hot, lazy day and everyone (it seemed) was outside hunting for deck chairs.

I think because almost everyone was outside that chair hogs, while still there, were a lesser factor than usual. There were 2 times during the cruise I moved towels and sandals that had sat for hours - and I'm not even talking about by the pool but a couple levels up in the stadium seating area. No hassles, though.

Mrs. Dodger is a sun worshipper. Me, not so much. While she is soaking it up, I toured the ship and took pictures. But first, our Liberty Looneys Leaders, Marie & Chelle (shell' ee) organized a Meet & Greet for the gang. It was in the Tapestry Room, on Deck 4, tucked under the Promenade. They prepared a grab bag of sorts for every cabin and sashes for the event leaders (Slot Pull, Nachi Cocom, etc.). Quite impressive and well-organized group.

 

 

After which we all piled out onto the stairs for a group photo. I have done stuff like this many times before at weddings and other events and they are usually like herding cats. Not so this group, everyone got in place, make sure you can see me so I can see you, here we go:

 

 

Not bad, huh? Wait, how come your reviewer is not in the picture? Well, after having used my tripod all day at Bayside the other day, I dig out the L-plate that attaches to the camera to attach to the tripod and the screw is in practically sideways and the threads are stripped. No L-plate, no tripod. So any time a picture of me is taken, either Karen has to do it or a fellow cruiser. The Nikon D700 isn't like a point-and-shoot, folks, it requires setting exposure, focusing and framing. Other than focus, I do everything manual, including aperture and shutter and exposure.

I like doing High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography and that works best with a tripod so I had to do all that hand-held throughout the cruise. Just one more disaster to deal with.

Ok, let's go outside - boy is it HOT out here!

 

 

Then began the Mixology Contest where cruisers compete with their own drink recipies. This was run by the Cruise Director, Todd Wittmer.

A word about Todd: This is just my opinion but I found him engaging, personable, approachable and he was everywhere he needed to be during this cruise. I have to say that because I have seen less than flattering reviews on these boards and I reject them.

 

 

The winner, in the last frame, is Cassandra. She competed against her boyfriend, Theron, who came in second. Cassandra's drink was called 'Cassandra's Carnival something something' I forget exactly but Todd dubbed it The C4. I tried it later, too fruity for me.

What do you say we take a tour of the ship? First the Gloves sports bar:

[dodger501]

Looking down to the atrium lobby from Promenade (Deck 5):

 

The Gift Shop:

 

Entrance to the Venetian Palace, the ship's theater:

 

The shows haven't changed much in the past year. The welcome aboard one was good but the others fell flat. Legends was lame. The Rock and Roll show was a disappointment to me because there was too much emphasis on pop/Top 40 stuff over the years instead of actual blues-inspired rock & roll. That's just me. At least one of us attended all of the shows.

The Spa:

 

Formalities:

 

Looking in to the Casino:

 

Neither of us are gamblers and the place is very smoky, so . . .

[Cobra1365]

Ok, let's go outside - boy is it HOT out here!

 

 

.

 

Great review so far, but I'm thinking a lot fo the guys on this forum are upset you chose to make the pic of the young lady on the right one of the smallest pics in the bunch!!:(;)

[remharri]

I wrote the review of Day 1 then found out there is a limit of 6 images per post, including emoticons (is this something new?), so I have to break this up:

 

This was our first 'group' cruise. Admittedly we got into it solely because of the sweet deal ($25 pp down, $100 OBC) but it turned out we got in with a great bunch of folks and I am here today to declare this is our fourth (all CCL) and best cruise ever!

We were accompanied by my neice Kelly and her SO Mitch, this is gonna be great!

No b***h fest here, everything went pretty darned good. I spent 4.5 years in the Navy and took plenty of 'cruises' so I am guessing it does not take as much to impress me as it does a lot of other people.

That's my opinion. The food was great (mostly), staff well-trained, hard-working and friendly. As in any other endeavor, some are better at it than others but we lucked out with our room steward Wayon and head waiter Romelito in the Silver Olympian DR.

No sewer or smoke smells, our OBC showed up on time so no billing issues - we never once visited Guest Services. Plenty of soap in the bathroom. Come on, there's got to be something to complain about! Everybody has something to complain about, don't they? We shall see . . .

Let's get right into it. No hotel room or food pictures because I don't care for them myself.

 

Day 1, Jan 14:

Well of course we go down a day early, we live in the Great White North where a sudden storm can bury an airport. This is what we left:

 

 

Up at 4:30 for a 7:30 flight at MSP. Everything's packed, we got our stuff together. For a change. I keep my passport, license, docs, money in a little wallet that goes around the neck while traveling. I took it off to brush my teeth and forgot to put it back on!

Halfway to my FIL's house several miles away (he is going to the airport with us and drive my truck back), I realize what I had done. We picked up Dad and scooted back home. Luckily I had put an extra 45 minutes of time padding into our schedule. This burned up 15 of them. Still 30 left.

We get to the airport, curbside check-in so instead of 2 big lines to stand in, we only have to stand in 1. Our bags are not overweight, yay! Off they go to MIA.

Quick, let's get out of this 4-above frigid cold wearing our light Florida jackets and into the terminal. The line to security is a mile long!

We get through it but the last 30 minutes of padding is burned up and then some.

Dash through the terminal like OJ to the gate. We get to the gate, it has the signage up for our flight but it's not our gate!! It's the next one over. Dash to the other, we just make it on and off we go:

 

 

 

$15 cab ride to Holiday Inn-Port of Miami. Okay, here I have something to complain about. We booked this thing almost a year ago and they give us a 4th floor room overlooking - they bay? No, the roof of the restaurant. Lovely. Some of our fellow Liberty'ers got upper floor rooms overlooking the bay. To add insult to injury, we have a noisy family next door who decided to yak it up with their kids well past midnight. I call the duty manager, he sends security. Now I can sleep. But at 6AM they are back at it. Great.

But meanwhile, the night before, we toured the Bayside Marketplace:

 

 

 

A street mime was performing around the area where the band was playing and Mrs. Dodger got in on the act after putting some bread in his box:

 

 

 

Love your HDR photo, I really need to learn how to do that.

[salty dingo]

Excellent pictures! Please keep it up!

 

Thanks for being our official photographer! The pictures are bringing back so many good memories, and not that long ago!!

[cruisingirl75]

My DH and I are booked on the 4/30/11 Liberty cruise. Can't wait to read the rest of your review.:D

[dodger501]

Love your HDR photo, I really need to learn how to do that.

 

Regina thanks, I will give a quick mini-lesson later on in the review.

[dodger501]

My DH and I are booked on the 4/30/11 Liberty cruise. Can't wait to read the rest of your review.:D

 

This was our 2nd time on the Liberty, we really love this ship. I think you will, too.

[dodger501]

Excellent pictures! Please keep it up!

 

Thanks for being our official photographer! The pictures are bringing back so many good memories, and not that long ago!!

 

Thanks, Phil. Mrs. Dodger and I agree this was far and away our best cruise ever.

[dodger501]

Great review so far, but I'm thinking a lot fo the guys on this forum are upset you chose to make the pic of the young lady on the right one of the smallest pics in the bunch!!:(;)

 

Imagine the tap dance I had to do with Mrs. Dodger when I tried to explain those pics were for the benefit of the lechers at work! It's the truth :o

Seriously, I would stand up on deck 10 or 11 with the zoom wide open and just snap interesting looking people.