First-timer’s review of Carnival Liberty holiday cruise

[ScottVan]

I'm posting this in hopes someone finds it useful, as I did the many posts here while I was planning our cruise.

 

 

Summary: Family of 4 in 1 stateroom; had a wonderful time. Sailed on Carnival Liberty 8-day E. Caribbean, 12/24/2010. I’ll provide more details in several categories below, but feel free to respond to the post if you’d like more. This is not intended to be an in-depth review, just some highlights that might help people who’ve never cruised on the Liberty (or, like us, never cruised at all).

 

 

Travel arrangements: We didn’t decide to go cruising until about 2 months prior to the cruise, so airfares from the NE to Miami were either nonexistent or hideously expensive. Since we were pressed for time, we had a travel agent do some searching and she’s the one who suggested checking with Carnival to see if we could get something affordable regarding the airfare. Carnival found us flights for slightly less than we (or the agent) had found, including transfers. When Carnival makes the air arrangements, they also promise to get us to the ship somehow if something goes wrong, so we took the plunge. There are 2 things here I’d do differently next time: (1) book the cruise much earlier to get a better rate on the cruise; and (2) book the airfare myself, flying down the day before and back the day after.

 

 

Carnival’s arrangements had us flying down the day of sailing, arriving 1:49 in FLL for a 4PM Miami sailing. Return, after an 8AM Miami arrival at the end of the cruise, was at 12:20PM from FLL. Based on my research here, it seemed like making the ship’s sailing could be a problem, but we were lucky and there were no problems with any of our flights and everything worked out great. We were among the last to board, and the ship sailed 20-30 minutes late. It was quite a relief to step onto the ship!

 

 

Food: we all thought it was delicious. We had dinner at the early (6PM) seating in one of the main dining rooms, and this worked out well, since we “buffeted” it for most other onboard meals. The dinner menu varied nightly, though some things were on the menu every day. On a few of the port days, we opted for room service breakfast so we could dine quickly and hit the beach; this worked out well. Note that the room service menu is not the full menu, but it sufficed for us. One family we met thought the service was a bit below par due to the ship being crowded, but having no point of comparison, we really didn’t notice anything wrong (except occasional slowness of bringing desserts/drinks in the main dining room). By picking our times and dining locations carefully, we never had to wait in much of a line.

 

 

 

The ship: we thought it was beautiful, with plenty to do and plenty of places to go. Our kids did some activities with the relevant on-board “clubs” for their age groups, and enjoyed most of those. We let our 15-year old basically run free, with a 2:30 curfew (except on New Year’s Eve). The younger one was usually with one of us, but sometimes on her own. Both our daughters made friends easily on the ship and our 15-year old spent much time hanging out with them. We attended comedy shows (both PG and R rated) as well as several musical-revue-type shows in the main theatre: they were all well-done and entertaining. On at-sea days (vs. in-port days), we sent someone up early to snag us some chairs up on the open deck near the swimming pools. The Liberty has 3 swimming pools and 5 hot tubs, with 1 of the pools and 2 of the hot tubs restricted to adults (these are in the stern). For the 4 of us, we usually got 3 chairs, which was sufficient. By 9 or 10, most chairs near the pools were taken, but there were always plenty of places to get sun (and chairs) by going up one or more decks. We wanted to be near the pools since our 9-year old is a fish and we wanted to be near her. We were pretty good citizens about the chairs: we didn’t just throw a towel on them and then return 3 hours later; we almost always had at least one person there using them (Carnival’s rule is not to leave your chairs unattended for more than 30 minutes, but it was broken regularly). Anyway, we never had a problem since we sent someone up early to get them.

 

 

Cabin: We didn’t really feel crowded in our cabin. It had a king-size bed, a couch that the steward converted into a bed, and another bunk that dropped down from the ceiling (we just left it down all week). We had plenty of storage space (there were 2 huge drawers under the couch/bed and room for all our suitcases and snorkel gear under the main bed). We needed a few more coat hangers, but our steward brought us some within a few minutes of asking. The minibar refrigerator was big enough to hold a couple bottles of champagne we brought with us, in addition to the stuff it was already “stocked” with. Note that on Carnival you can bring 2 bottles of wine onto the ship at embarkation, but anything else you bring on from any of the ports (including more wine), they will ask you to “check” with them so they can keep it until the end of the voyage. We bought a couple bottles of champagne (yes, that was a definite theme on this cruise) on St. Thomas, and they found it when they X-rayed our bag of snorkel gear as we reboarded the ship. They asked me to check it in with some crew at a table set up for that purpose, but I forgot. So it ended up in our cabin refrigerator again.

 

 

 

We were in cabin 1225, Riviera (lowest) deck, with a large oceanview window. This was near the bow of the ship. There were sometimes noises from below, but nothing that bothered us or kept us awake. In general it seemed a very quiet area of the ship, and we were pleased with it. Even though we were on the lowest passenger level, the window was still probably 20 feet above the water line, which made it all the more impressive one night when it was a bit rough and the water level (not just spray, but the tops of waves) would come up to the window. This was fun to watch. Probably wasn’t all that rough for experienced cruisers, and none of us got sick, but it was a bit exciting for us. They drained the swimming pools that night, but not before we saw some pretty good sloshing. One of our waitresses told us the next day that she got seasick. One of my daughters and I began feeling a bit queasy, but we each took a ginger tablet and were fine.

 

 

In-cabin movies were available for $9. We let our kids get one, but it took a few calls to the guest services desk to get it to work properly.

 

 

 

Ports: We went ashore at each port (St. Maarten, St. Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk) and enjoyed every one of them. Our approach was to try to get off as early as possible to maximize beach time, and we never waited more than a couple minutes to embark or disembark. Note that Carnival requires you to be on board 30 minutes before scheduled departure time. We were also told to make sure we had both our “sail/sign” card (that’s the combination room key/onboard purchasing tool) and a picture ID to enable us to reboard. Not every port asked us for a picture ID, but at least one did (San Juan). A driver’s license is sufficient for this: we kept our passports in the in-room safe, but I brought photocopies with us onto shore. Note that many of the onboard shops are closed during port days. At all of our ports we docked (not anchored), so we didn’t have to take tenders to the port. This was a good thing, as it gave us more time in the ports (tendering takes more time than simply walking off the ship).

 

 

 

This post is getting longer than I wanted (and probably longer than you wanted too, if you're still reading), so I’ll save more detailed port descriptions for another time.

 

 

Crew: outstanding. They really did seem to be dedicated to helping us have a great time, from the captain to the singing maitre’d to the steward.

 

 

Time zones: It wasn’t always obvious whether the ship was going to stay on Miami time or change time zones to “island time”. I called Carnival before the cruise to ask and was told the ship’s time would change to match island time. This was wrong; the ship stayed on Miami time. If any announcements were made in ports about the time differences, we missed them. So be sure to verify ship’s time before getting off at a port (there are clocks, or ask a crew member) and be clear that the sailing time they tell you is ship’s time (which may or may not be the same as island time). Take a watch with you onto shore!

 

 

Insurance: we bought travel insurance from our travel agent.

 

 

 

Sail/sign card: We placed limits on the amounts that our kids could spend using the sail&sign cards; that can be done at the guest services desk pretty easily.

 

 

Currency: we were told there is no currency exchange on board; all ports we visited accepted $US (it was the official currency at all ports except St. Maarten).

 

 

Luggage: We had 5 total suitcases (on the airplanes, 4 were carryon and one was checked). I had labels and zipties ready so I labeled them at FLL baggage claim so Carnival could take all 5 of them to our cabin for us. When we disembarked, we put 4 of the 5 outside our cabin door the night before, and left one in the room for last-minute stuff. We picked up the other 4 at the port then went through customs. On the way home, we checked all 5 onto the airplanes since we were flying Southwest on the way home and there was no extra charge. I also did Southwest’s “early bird checkin” before we left for the cruise, so I wouldn’t have to checkin online using the ship’s facilities. To me, that was worth it, as it was one less thing to worry about and gave me more time to enjoy the ship.

 

 

Useful things I brought (mostly thanks to advice from this board): on-the-door shoe holder (was very helpful with 4 people in the room; probably not necessary with 2 people); power strip (there’s only one outlet in the room); hand sanitizer; four 8-oz. sunscreens (we used 2.5 of them between the 4 of us); antiseptic wipes; bandaids; ginger tablets; gallon-size Ziplocs; about $800 in cash (various denominations to deal with tips allow quick bar/restaurant exits and avoid dealing with change).

 

We enjoyed the cruise immensely, and plan on doing another.

[goodtoglow]

Thanks for the review! Can't wait to sail this ship in October!

[Hershey13]

Nice Review. If you have pictures please post them.

 

Thanks

[finoky]

Reviews are one of my favorite things about Cruise Critic. Thanks for posting yours.

[t1adams]

Thanks for the review! Please post pictures when you can! Just add them here on this thread. We'll be on the Liberty 4/2 for the 7 day cruise with almost the same ports (except instead of St. Mart. we're going to the Bahamas). We're also a family of four staying on that same deck. 1236 is our room number. I assume it's on the same calm side of the ship.

 

If you can't post pics, please post your comments about some of the ports and excursions you did. We're totally confused about what to do and see (I see so much on here but I'm just not sure which is best, etc.).

[t1adams]

Thanks for the review! Please post pictures when you can! Just add them here on this thread. We'll be on the Liberty 4/2 for the 7 day cruise with almost the same ports (except instead of St. Mart. we're going to the Bahamas). We're also a family of four staying on that same deck. 1236 is our room number. I assume it's on the same calm side of the ship.

 

If you can't post pics, please post your comments about some of the ports and excursions you did. We're totally confused about what to do and see (I see so much on here but I'm just not sure which is best, etc.).

[capndinghy]

Thank you for posting such a nice review!

[ScottVan]

Pix may or may not become available later ... sorry for the delay. But someone requested info. about the ports, so I thought it would be useful to hear what a first-time cruiser did ...

 

Generally, we were lucky: the ship docked at all 4 ports (no tendering), and there weren't very many ships in port at any of our destinations (I checked ahead of time at cruisett.com so I'd had some idea of what kinds of crowds to expect). We also had great weather the whole time.

 

St. Maarten: At about 9:30AM we took a cab from the pier to Orient Beach. This is easy, and it was about $6-7 pp one way. There is a cab stand at the pier with different locations marked for common destinations. The wait was short, and the drive 20-30 minutes. It dropped us at a place called Bikini Beach (a restaurant/bar), where we rented 3 beach chairs and an umbrella. Beautiful sand and water, and when we got thirsty or hungry the victuals were right behind us. The beach is very long and great for walking. Food service at the restaurant was slow, but that might be just me not being used to "island time". Parts of Orient Beach are clothing-optional, and we walked a little ways into that part as well (that was an eye-opener for our kids, 9 and 14, but no big deal). We didn't do much all day other than swim, sun, and drink, but that was sort of the point. We loved this beach. We got a taxi back to the cruise ship dock around 3PM (a couple hours before sailing), and it wasn't hard; there were taxis waiting at Bikini Beach to take people back. Note that on St. Maarten the cruise ships dock in the Dutch part of the island (official currency, Neth. Antilles Guilder) and Orient Beach is in the French part of the island (official currency, Euro), but US dollars were accepted everywhere we wanted to spend them.

 

St. Thomas: Here we also did a beach day on our own; this time we took a cab to Secret Harbor, where there is great snorkeling (saw stingray, barracuda, lobster, many fish) and a restaurant/bar. This is not a large beach, and it's owned by the resort there, but you can rent beach chairs (and snorkel gear, but we brought our own). We sat in the shade of a palm so didn't need an umbrella; we were there to swim, snorkel, sun, and eat/drink, and we succeeded. It's a beautiful spot, and we can see why people might spend a week there. To get back (we arrived mid-morning and left mid-afternoon again), there was an open-air van going back with another family from our ship, so we jumped into that. It took the scenic route and we got some beautiful views of the island and the cruise ship pier on the way back. I think we paid about $8 per person to/from Secret Harbor. Note: they drive on the left side of the road in St. Thomas. We arrived back at the pier in time to take the cable car to the top of a mountain, but it was getting a bit windy so we skipped it.

 

San Juan: the cruise ship dock is right in "old town" San Juan, which seemed more like a European city than a Caribbean one. We wandered around the city walls and ended up at El Morro fort, which we spent a couple hours exploring; it was well worth it. After that we had some lunch at a place called something like "La Bombanera" which was loud, and crowded but seemed authentic and was very enjoyable. I suffered through some shopping that the rest of the family insisted on, then we went back to the ship. There's much more of Old San Juan I would have liked to wander around in, but seeing the fort was worth it. No cabs were necessary for us here.

 

Grand Turk: This was where did our only ship-organized shore excursion: we signed up online well before the cruise for the horseback riding on the beach, and it was a highlight. The stop at Grand Turk was relatively short (arrived 11AM), but there is a beach right at the pier with free chairs (all taken by the time we got out the door, but there is plenty of beach if you head left off the pier: it was a short walk to get past the crowds, and the water was about the bluest I've seen anywhere. We walked as far as a place called Jack's Shack where we had a drink. There was only time to "hit the beach" for about an hour before we had to gather for the bus ride to our excursion. It was a short ride (with good narration) that went the whole length of this tiny and very flat island; we saw wild horses, cows, donkeys, and pink flamingos. The guides on the ride were great; it involved a walk around a lighthouse followed by an optional gallop along the beach (3 of us did that, since we all ride at home). Then we switched horses/tack and cantered in the ocean. Back at the pier, we went to Margaritaville for a drink (and some food for one of our hungry munchkins). We were in a bit of a hurry to make the ship, and we told our waitress this, and we got the food faster than I've ever seen food arrive at any restaurant anywhere. The drinks weren't cheap, but we enjoyed them. Grand Turk seemed like paradise to me; I'd go back again in a minute.

 

Hope this helps; feel free to ask more questions if there's anything I can clear up.

[SenatorsFan]

Glad you enjoyed Liberty. We did the same itinerary in Aug. except we went to Half Moon Cay instead of St. Maarten. It was nice to see both San Juan (we went to that fort, too) and Grand Turk (yep, Jack's Shack and Margaritaville, too and my DH and 2 DS did the Flow rider).:)

Heather

[spideyfam]

Glad you had a great cruise!

[ree1009]

Thanks for the review! Please post pictures when you can! Just add them here on this thread. We'll be on the Liberty 4/2 for the 7 day cruise with almost the same ports (except instead of St. Mart. we're going to the Bahamas). We're also a family of four staying on that same deck. 1236 is our room number. I assume it's on the same calm side of the ship.

 

If you can't post pics, please post your comments about some of the ports and excursions you did. We're totally confused about what to do and see (I see so much on here but I'm just not sure which is best, etc.).

 

In St. Thomas we did the Ultimate Island Experience. We all loved it. You get to see some beautiful views and Megans Bay is beautiful. There are swimming pools at Blackbeards castle so be sure to have your swimsuits ready there. There are small changing rooms. After that we toured the city ourselves and did a little shopping and took a taxi back to port. Then a few of us did the Skyride to Paradise Point. It is BEAUTIFUL! I could stay there all day! It is a short walk from the ship to the skyride. We are going again in May and I cant wait! Enjoy!

[Robkatcruisers]

Thanks for the review! Please post pictures when you can! Just add them here on this thread. We'll be on the Liberty 4/2 for the 7 day cruise with almost the same ports (except instead of St. Mart. we're going to the Bahamas). We're also a family of four staying on that same deck. 1236 is our room number. I assume it's on the same calm side of the ship.

 

If you can't post pics, please post your comments about some of the ports and excursions you did. We're totally confused about what to do and see (I see so much on here but I'm just not sure which is best, etc.).

 

 

 

In 2007 with RCI we went to St. Thomas and St. Marteen. St Thomas you have to do the Sky Ride Gondola thing...it is right near the dock and we did it at sunset. It goes up the hill to "paradise point". Back then we paid 17.00 a person. At that time I checked online for tickets and they were the exact same so RCI was not making money on it. It was inexpensive and my husband and I were told about it from friends of ours that have cruised. My husband and I will always remember it. When we first got off the ship we took a private (not with cruise line) tour with Godfrey who was highly recommended from this site. He was great it was fun and about 25.00 per person. He took us to the "mountain top", Coki Beach etc. Then before we came back we did the sky ride thing.

 

St. Marteen we took the water taxi to the beach right near the streets of down town. We rented beach chairs and sat at the beach across from a Oulachi restaurant (its their beach gear) and got a small pizza and drinks. After a few hours we then changed in their restrooms and wandered safely downtown....in and out of shops etc.

[Mary Ellen]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[t1adams]

In St. Thomas we did the Ultimate Island Experience. We all loved it. You get to see some beautiful views and Megans Bay is beautiful. There are swimming pools at Blackbeards castle so be sure to have your swimsuits ready there. There are small changing rooms. After that we toured the city ourselves and did a little shopping and took a taxi back to port. Then a few of us did the Skyride to Paradise Point. It is BEAUTIFUL! I could stay there all day! It is a short walk from the ship to the skyride. We are going again in May and I cant wait! Enjoy!

 

Sounds GREAT! Okay, what did you book your excursion through? Sounds like something my kids (12 1/2 and 8 1/2 yr olds) would like in addition to me, my dh and my mom. Thanks!!!

[bahama daydreamer]

How much was the cab ride to Secret Harbor? We took a tour a few years ago and they stopped there for lunch and a little beach time. We'd like to take a cab there this time. How long was the drive?

[KCMarie]

Thank you for your review! We just booked the Liberty on an Eastern Caribbean route in October. I am really looking forward to St Thomas now.

Hope you'll be able to post up some pictures.

Glad your first cruise was so good and you've gotten hooked like the rest of us!

[mrpayroll]

Thanks for the review. Looking at Liberty for our next cruise with Half Moon Cay instead of St Martin.

[Shelbyjane56]

We will be sailing the Liberty May 14, going to Hmc and have a cabana booked, then we have a day at sea

, from there Its St Thomas where we were last year while on our sons wedding was on the beach (have been there quite a few times) from there it was San Juan and the following day will be Grand Turk then back to Miami..typically we prefer more sea days, but we have wanted to go to HMC and we are both excited about it, it will also be our first time as a VIP. Will try to take a lot of pics and post them when we return.

[excited1sttimer]

We will be doing this itinerary in three weeks! We will be calling on Half Moon Cay rahter than St. Maartin. I was curious if your stateroom had good views when docking. How were the views coming into each port? I'm wondering if I booked the wrong side of the ship! :eek:

[chachi]

Glad you enjoyed your first cruise!

[amcankid]

Does anybody know the best side for cabins (views of where you stop) on this itinerary(eastern caribbean) on the Liberty.

[ScottVan]

To try to answer a couple questions that have come up:

 

Secret Harbor cab ride was 25-30 minutes, about $8 pp one way (these are ball-park numbers).

 

Which side of ship has best views? Here are the sides of the ship that we docked on, to the best of my recollection:

 

St. Maarten: port-side tie-up

St. Thomas: can't remember

San Juan: port side tie-up

Grand Turk: starboard tie-up

 

But at Grand Turk and San Juan, there are docks with tie-ups on the other side as well, so I wouldn't assume anything. As for views coming into/leaving the ports, I mostly enjoyed the 360' views from up top, so I don't have any really good advice. My best guess is that it doesn't matter much: what might be good for one port would be less good for another, etc. Sorry I can't be more help.