Funship 2.0 (Liberty) Review w/Lots of Pictures

[pyroguy]

...My Ribeye...

 

...The Chocolate Sampler...

 

Honestly, I didn't like the chocolate sampler all that much. (Sorry guys, but I really didn't). There were some weird combinations like mango & amaretto in there that I didn't care much for. Would have rather just had WCMC. Others we talked to LOVED it though...so maybe it's just me.

[Froufie]

Well now I am SICK with excitement about my upcoming Liberty cruise! Thank god you got that card back cuz your pictures are AWESOME (and adding to my anticipation!).

 

We are also doing the Segway tour and Jack's shack :D

 

Wondering if you kept copies of your Funtimes?

 

Also did you visit the piano bar at any time? If so how was it? What about the Fun Farewell Party?

[TakeMeAway1001]

I love everything about this review, great job!

We're cruising on her in May and are staying in cabin 9272, two cabins down from where you were. Other than the smoking issue how did you like the location?

[pyroguy]

The next day was an at sea day and it was pretty cold and windy. We stayed in for the most part and people watched. They did do the Chocolate Extravaganza, which I honestly thought was pretty weak. The desserts were sweet, but not chocolatey at all...not very rich. Not really what we were expecting (exept the white chocolate cake and fudge...those were both very good).

 

...Chocolate Extravaganza...

 

...Menu...

 

...White Chocolate cake in the middle...

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-b57Cu4zRIYE/Tt9PIh0_xAI/AAAAAAAAaDg/nqeELCplju4/s640/DSC_3784.JPG

 

...everything here looks great, but looks can be deceiving...

 

...the fudge was rich and very good...

 

...another piggy patty (can you tell I love those things?)

 

That was about it for the pictures. Disembarkation was a breeze. We chose early because of our flight our of FLL at 11:50. We met in the V room that’s forward (see, it’s still confusing to me) with about 14,000 other people but getting off was a cinch.

 

***SIDE NOTE***

We talked to guest services the night before about getting off and what customs would look like. He said that this trip (eastern) was the first half of a whole trip, so customs only does the full check on the last half (western) of the trip. So, he indicated that customs would be a breeze and we would likely be able to make our flight with no problems.

 

He was correct. We got off the ship by 8:30, as soon as we were outside the terminal, I called SAS, they told me where to stand. About 3 minutes later, the van came and picked us up. They took us directly to the airport and off we went.

 

When we got back to KCI, it was pouring down rain in economy parking. As we ran to the truck, I noticed my radar detector was blinking “low voltage. Oh no, I left it on the whole trip. yep, battery was dead. 30 minutes later, we had a jump from the parking lot security and we were on our way home.

 

All in all, we had an awesome vacation. Carnival does a great job catering to their guests. I can definitely see the cheapening down of the food at the buffet, but not so much in the MDR and not at all at the Chef’s Table or the Steakhouse. We had a wonderful time meeting others from our Roll Call and are kind of happy we decided to go alone because it “forced” us to be outgoing enough to make friends, which we did!

 

 

Closing Notes:

The water was a little rougher than we had anticipated. I am not sure if it was the weather that time of year, or the location (this was our first Eastern itenerary cruise). Someone from our roll call mentioned that it was because we spent more time in the Atlantic and that was why it was so much rougher. There were a few times that we were woken up by large waves jolting the ship and rolling us over in bed. We saw several people with the little motion sickness patches and heard it was rough on quite a few people. Taren took Dramamine (even bought more in St. Thomas at K-Mart), but neither of us had a problem with getting sick...but it was very rough except when we were pulling into ports.

 

The TV's (flatscreens now) on the Liberty don't show what channel you are on. Sometimes we knew where we wanted to go (by the guide), but couldn't find it because we had no idea where we were and couldn't just hit the number keys to get to the right channel. Weird.

 

The booking number for us was actually under my wife's name and I was the guest. Every purchase I made with my S&S showed up on her account and mine both, but her purchases only showed up on her account (from the TV menu). Was a little confusing because we thought we were getting double charged. Guest service explained to us that we weren't, but that's how the system works. FYI for others who may have the same issue.

 

I really would appreciate it if Carnival could come up with a way to let us know that the people in front of us were smokers at the time we booked our room. They had booked theirs already, and we certainly would have moved somewhere else if given the opportunity. I know this would open a can of worms with the upsell fairy and people moving last minute, so there's probably no perfect solution, but I would really like to be able to know prior to booking, if the room is already booked, are they smokers? Again, it didn't ruin our vacation, but we certainly could have avoided some unpleasantness if there were a system in place.

 

Another note on smoking - and I have posted this before. There are "no smoking" signs all over the LIDO deck eating tables and at many bars. More than once I saw people using these little table tents as ashtrays. Even though smoking is officially not allowed, in actuality it is because the rules aren't enforced. If you are sensitive to smoke, be prepared to hold your breath as soon as you get off the elevator on Deck 5 (Promenade), or just don't use it at all. On our cruise, it was very strong from the Atrium back to the Sushi bar the entire cruise.

 

Lost and Found - as mentioned earlier, I left the SD card with these pictures in the safe. I eventually got it back, but we took multiple avenues and I am pretty sure the one involving Monica was the ultimately successful one. First, our TA called Carnival and opened up a L&F report. Second, we called the ship (at $9.50 per min). Third, I emailed Monica since she had emailed us in the past about our reservations and introduced herself to us on the ship.

 

Within 15 minutes, Monica reported they had found the card and when the ship docked next it would be taken to CCL corporate L&F dept. A couple days later (prior to the ship docking), we received a call from CCL on the report our TA opened stating that they looked for our card but they couldn't find it anywhere. (??) What? Did they even look for it? If they had, the guests in our room would have told them it was found already and returned to guest services. We told them that it was found, and the lady was a little angered about it and quickly got off the phone.

 

Then, getting it back once the ship docked proved a little troubling. We heard conflicting reports that the "bullet" as they called it had not been opened yet, and others that yes, they looked in it but our card wasn't in there (hence my last post about CCL not getting it together). The ending of the story is good news, but I think our persistance and Monica's personal service was what did the trick.

 

I do have more pictures of things and more to share about the experience - so if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

[pyroguy]

Well now I am SICK with excitement about my upcoming Liberty cruise! Thank god you got that card back cuz your pictures are AWESOME (and adding to my anticipation!).

 

We are also doing the Segway tour and Jack's shack :D

 

Wondering if you kept copies of your Funtimes?

 

Also did you visit the piano bar at any time? If so how was it? What about the Fun Farewell Party?

 

Froufie, yes, we did keep all the funtimes for the kids. I will see if I can scan them and post for you.

 

You know, every time we went to the piano bar it was empty. I dont know if it was the timing or what, but every single time we went there. I got some pictures of the bar itself, but never with anyone in it.

 

Have fun on your cruise!

[pyroguy]

I love everything about this review, great job!

We're cruising on her in May and are staying in cabin 9272, two cabins down from where you were. Other than the smoking issue how did you like the location?

 

We loved that location! No problems at all, and it's right outside the atrium, where it's easy access to the LIDO activities (aft) and the Lobby Atrium elevators right outside. No noise complaints that I can think of...even though guest laundry services were right across the room.

 

And it's just down the hall a little way to the "secret" doors leading to the front ;)

[LBumb]

excellent review.

i really enjoyed it.

[OceanDreams]

What a great review! Thank you for sharing. You brought up our excitement level for our cruise.

OceanDreams

[Froufie]

Froufie, yes, we did keep all the funtimes for the kids. I will see if I can scan them and post for you.

 

You know, every time we went to the piano bar it was empty. I dont know if it was the timing or what, but every single time we went there. I got some pictures of the bar itself, but never with anyone in it.

 

Have fun on your cruise!

 

Thanks for the info and would LOVE to see a recent copy of the Fun Times as we are doing the same itinerary! :)

[mrpayroll]

We will be on liberty Jan. 21st doing same itinerary. Thanks for the review. The pics were fantastic...

[Crusing Nut]

Great pictures! Great review! Thanks so much...

[w8ing2cruz]

Awesome review and pics!! Liberty Eastern was one of my favorite cruises!! Did you get a chance to catch the band Blood Power? They MADE our cruise :D

[pyroguy]

Awesome review and pics!! Liberty Eastern was one of my favorite cruises!! Did you get a chance to catch the band Blood Power? They MADE our cruise :D

 

You know, I dont think I ever saw or heard from them. The guy singing in the atrium was pretty good. They also had a duet husband/wife who sang and played in multiple venues, both of them were pretty good.

 

We went to an 80's type show one night and I feel bad for thinking this, but I honestly thought the people were guests that had been recruited for the singing because the sound and voices were kind of bad (for the male anyway). Found out later that wasn't the case, the "Legends" show was on the last night I believe.

[crewsweeper]

Okay, so what happened tot he radar detector you left on at the airport?

 

Also, I had heard good things about Barbie's and am planning on stopping there when we do our golf cart tour of GT. Those conch fritters didn't look all that appetizing though. Certainly not the conch fritters you get on other islands or in Belize. So is this worth a stop? Or should we just mosey on down to Jacks and eat Tofer's cheeseburger?

 

Loved several of your San Juan pictures: the narrow street scene, old town at sailaway. Great colors!

[Anung Un Rama]

Great reveiw and AMAZING pictures! We were just at HMC and GT and will be on a different itinerarry on the Liberty in 51 days. I was gonna ask but Froufie beat me to it, can you please post the fun times? :D

[klmorg]

Excellent review & AWESOME pics, fellow Midwesterner! Can't wait for our next cruise on the Liberty. Thanks for taking the time to do this...

[pe4all]

Wow! Thanks for trying. Actually, yesterday I had decided I was giving up because the lady we talked to last week said they went through everything and they were sorry but it was gone. Then yesterday it showed up in the mail.

 

Thanks for trying! I hope you didn't spend too much time on it!

No problem. I am so glad you got it back! Your pictures are fantastic!

[MRVEGAS711]

Your review is great, you pictures are sick!!

Great Job.

[mimxmom]

What a great review! Really enjoyed all of your extra tips and the pictures were awesome!

[crusinpsychRN]

Fabulous pictures! Great composition. Are you a professional?

[cruiselover**]

Wow! Thanks for posting your very thorough review of the Carnival Liberty. I loved your pictures and enjoyed re-living your cruise with your daily report. My husband and I will be on the Liberty in another three months (our second time on her) and we are lookiing forward to all the 2.0 upgrades.

 

I'm so glad you got your SD card back. I have always been afraid of leaving things behind in the safe too, so I put all my items in a one quart plastic zipper bag. My husband and I each use one so we can keep track of our casino chips, cash, etc. Maybe you want to give one of the bags a try on your next cruise.

[bigsmooth]

Wow! Thanks for posting your very thorough review of the Carnival Liberty. I loved your pictures and enjoyed re-living your cruise with your daily report. My husband and I will be on the Liberty in another three months (our second time on her) and we are lookiing forward to all the 2.0 upgrades.

 

I'm so glad you got your SD card back. I have always been afraid of leaving things behind in the safe too, so I put all my items in a one quart plastic zipper bag. My husband and I each use one so we can keep track of our casino chips, cash, etc. Maybe you want to give one of the bags a try on your next cruise.

I 2nd all of that. Loved it. Happy New Year to everyone.

[pyroguy]

Okay, so what happened tot he radar detector you left on at the airport?

 

Also, I had heard good things about Barbie's and am planning on stopping there when we do our golf cart tour of GT. Those conch fritters didn't look all that appetizing though. Certainly not the conch fritters you get on other islands or in Belize. So is this worth a stop? Or should we just mosey on down to Jacks and eat Tofer's cheeseburger?

 

Loved several of your San Juan pictures: the narrow street scene, old town at sailaway. Great colors!

 

The Radar Detector, I just left it on in my haste to get on our vacation, and after running a week it killed the battery in my truck. Kind of a downer because we were really wanting to get home to see the kids.

 

Honestly, I would probably skip Barbies. I dont think I would go there again. It's kind a run down dive. Sometimes dives are awesome, but not so much at Barbies. Jacks is way better food. The only thing Barbies has going for it is that it's cheap. I think the fritters were only $3.

 

I would just head straight for Jack's Shack and grab some Cracked Conch and Jerk Chicken. Since they ran out of the chicken for me, Sheila and Joe shared some and it was very good.

[pyroguy]

Fabulous pictures! Great composition. Are you a professional?

 

Thank you! No, I'm not a professional. I have had people ask me to take them for weddings and such, but that scares the crud out of me. I've never asked for a dime for any of my pictures.

 

I really enjoy it too much - afraid if it becomes a job maybe I wont?

[pyroguy]

Well, I have tried to send Monica a little Thank You for her help, but she's thwarting my plans.

 

First, I asked her for a mailing address where I could send something. She said nothing was necessary. So, I friended her on FB because I know you can send gift cards over FB. She accepted, then unaccepted quickly. Shucks.

 

Is there anything else anyone can think of that I can do?