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Liberty “Funship-Two-Point-'WHOA'!” Review; Eastern Caribbean; 31 March 2012; Pics

MisterMom

By MisterMom,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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MisterMom

MisterMom

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I loved your review. Thank you for taking the time to post. I'm considering the Liberty for an August cruise and it looks great.

 

We picked the Liberty for the itinerary and, bonus, it was the first ship with the 2.0 upgrades! Any itinerary with Half Moon Cay is worth it, in my opinion. Book a cabana as soon as possible or go AS FAR DOWN THE BEACH as possibe to avoid the crowds. So peaceful.

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poptart

poptart

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A little late, but loved your review. The liberty is on our short list for next year.... if CCL will ever out up their 2014 schedule.

 

I live north of you just south of Chattanooga, TN. We are hoping to drive to the port of Miami. Sounds like a long drive though. Do you think it's do-able?

 

Dh won't fly, and we'd either leave from Chattanooga and change planes in Atlanta or drive to Atlanta and fly from there. That's a real hassle.

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Sparky2

Sparky2

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Yes definitely a good idea to hide the card in the room somewhere in the cabin so everyone can have access as required.

 

Another tip I learnt on these boards is to keep your hotel room key cards. They both should be encoded the same therefore either card should be able to open the safe...and you can each carry your own!

 

Great idea, Froufie. We'll have to save the room keys from our pre-cruise hotel, if they let us.

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Sparky2

Sparky2

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A little late, but loved your review. The liberty is on our short list for next year.... if CCL will ever out up their 2014 schedule.

 

I live north of you just south of Chattanooga, TN. We are hoping to drive to the port of Miami. Sounds like a long drive though. Do you think it's do-able?

 

Dh won't fly, and we'd either leave from Chattanooga and change planes in Atlanta or drive to Atlanta and fly from there. That's a real hassle.

 

I had no clue that this review was from April of 2012. Thanks, poptart, for bringing it up to the front. Thanks, MisterMom, for such an excellent, informative review.

 

We're booked on Liberty doing a B2B in January 2014. One of the itineraries is what this review is about.

 

We did a B2B on Liberty in 2008, way before 2.0 upgrades, so we're looking forward to almost a new ship for us.

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Froufie

Froufie

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Great idea, Froufie. We'll have to save the room keys from our pre-cruise hotel, if they let us.

 

I think they should - not sure if they always care whether you return them or not? Good luck! :)

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cherjoe5

cherjoe5

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I think they should - not sure if they always care whether you return them or not? Good luck! :)[/quote

you can use any old gift cards for the safe......or just get one from the store without adding money to it.......i have a burger king card i use.........

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MisterMom

MisterMom

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A little late, but loved your review. The liberty is on our short list for next year.... if CCL will ever out up their 2014 schedule.

 

I live north of you just south of Chattanooga, TN. We are hoping to drive to the port of Miami. Sounds like a long drive though. Do you think it's do-able?

 

Dh won't fly, and we'd either leave from Chattanooga and change planes in Atlanta or drive to Atlanta and fly from there. That's a real hassle.

 

Hrm. Atlanta to Miami in one day is kinda' pushing it for me - even though I break up the trip with cool roadside attractions! If I were you, I'd probably find a cool place in Florida midway between TN and Miami to overnight.

 

I had no clue that this review was from April of 2012. Thanks, poptart, for bringing it up to the front. Thanks, MisterMom, for such an excellent, informative review.

 

We're booked on Liberty doing a B2B in January 2014. One of the itineraries is what this review is about.

 

We did a B2B on Liberty in 2008, way before 2.0 upgrades, so we're looking forward to almost a new ship for us.

 

So jealous! I would LOVE to do the B2B itineraries on the Liberty. I really think you'll like the upgrades. When you go to Half Moon Cay, seriously, if you haven't booked a cabana, go as FAR down the beach as you can go to have some peace and enjoy the tropical paradise (without obnoxious crew and their loud music). :mad:

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Pellaz

Pellaz

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I live north of you just south of Chattanooga, TN. We are hoping to drive to the port of Miami. Sounds like a long drive though. Do you think it's do-able?

 

I'm from north of Atlanta (NE side, near Athens) and I drove to Miami last year for a cruise on Liberty. We opted to stop about halfway between Atlanta and Miami on the way down and also on the way back. (For the details, there's a link to my cruise review below.)

 

I should point out that at the time, my sister was not able to help out with the driving, so it was just me behind the pedal.

 

The short and sweet of it is that while I feel I could have probably driven all the way down in one day, the return journey would have been very hard. After debarking early in the AM, picking up our car at the Miami hotel where we stayed and then dealing with Miami traffic and wrecks, stopping at the 'midway point' hotel on the way back was a godsend because I was really tired.

 

I chose a hotel roughly midway between Atlanta and Miami...a Best Western just outside Jacksonville on I-10 in Baldwin, in what looked like a decent non-slum area (thank you Google street-view), easily accessed from the highway and relatively cheap. It worked out very well.

 

Dh won't fly, and we'd either leave from Chattanooga and change planes in Atlanta or drive to Atlanta and fly from there. That's a real hassle.

 

Agreed! If you have the time, make it a leisurely drive. After adding up all the costs, including airfare, parking, baggage fees, and comparing it to two nights at the 'en route' hotel and one night at the La Quinta Airport East in Miami (free parking during the cruise and free shuttle to the port), driving was the CLEAR winner financially.

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Kreuzfahrtneuling

Kreuzfahrtneuling

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Wow -- just found this review! Am only up to page two -- but immensely looking forward to continuing this great read! Very first same sex family cruise report I found on here. We'll be cruising with our 13 year old fosterkid in three weeks and this information is just priceless. Thank you so much!

 

...now back to reading your review:D....

 

Stef

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TvTech6

TvTech6

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It's as if you read my mind. I meant to include this in the "cabin" section above. The safe was a card-reader safe, which I found annoying. Begin rant - If we keep our passports, valuables and other important documents in a safe that only one person has access to (the person who has the card), what's the point in case of an emergency? In case of emergency and we're separated on the ship, our SOP is to go to the room and get the safe contents. We wait 5 mins or so for the other and if he hasn't arrived, we head to a safer location. Then, if the other returns to the cabin and the safe is empty, we know the other has been to the room and is elsewhere. So, if only one person can access the safe (and loses cards like we do!), the card-reader-type safe defeats multiple purposes. End rant.

 

DSC02289.jpg

 

I had not thought of using an old gift card instead of one of our credit cards so let's make that a recommendation! Thanks!

 

 

I read a suggestion on hear a few years back, and we now do it every trip. Our Casino Comp Cards. Every casino I have ever visited always gives me 2 cards. Since they match, I bring them and give you to my travel companion. I gave matching pairs to travel companions as well on the last cruise. Worked great.

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Froufie

Froufie

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I read a suggestion on hear a few years back, and we now do it every trip. Our Casino Comp Cards. Every casino I have ever visited always gives me 2 cards. Since they match, I bring them and give you to my travel companion. I gave matching pairs to travel companions as well on the last cruise. Worked great.

 

2 other options:

 

1) as mentioned if you have the same card it works - some keep their pre-cruise 'hotel room' key cards and use those for the safe.

 

2) My preferred option - esp when a few in the cabin is to 'hide' the card somewhere in the cabin - then if someone needs something from the safe they can access - then put the card back where it stays.....also avoids having to keep track of another 'card' besides your S&S card :)

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MisterMom

MisterMom

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I LOVED your review! We're going on the Liberty in 2 weeks but doing the Western.

 

And you've inspired us to do the Alchemy Martini class? What day was it and the cost?

 

Thanks so much for sharing!

 

I don't recall the exact cost but the quantity (and quality) of drinks served and the experience are worth it, especially if Adri is leading the class. Swing by Alchemy early in the cruise to sign up. Our course was on one of the later sea days.

 

Thanks for dropping by!

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2 cruzen

2 cruzen

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And from the ship….

 

DSC01474-2.jpg

 

DSC01755.jpg

 

And I leave you with my favorite pic. My buddy from the Alchemy Bar, Adri. Thanks for the good times!

 

DSC02338_1_-1.jpg

 

I think the whale tail picture should be your desktop pick. I'd use it! Doing this ship and itinerary in March. Had to re-read your story to get more tips. Just 201 days to go...sigh. I looked at the champagne sail in STT but decided to go a private sail with Tribal Sail. So excited about that. Love me some Bushwackers too

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