Review of our Spring Break '12 Cruise on Carnival Liberty

[PaulMedik]

Karen checking out the setting sun;

 

 

 

Sorry to bore you with more, but I really like this one;

 

 

 

Another one that I personally like that will have very little meaning or purpose to anyone else;

 

 

 

Thank you all for indulging me for one last sunset pic;

 

 

 

This pic is an after sunset pic. Granted it's of the same area as the sunset pics, but after the sun is gone the light and atmosphere comes alive;

 

 

 

 

The light that danced through the sky after sunset eventually follows the sun;

 

[PaulMedik]

Sometimes people ask me how I get my sons to agree to take so many pictures. Here's the answer;

 

 

 

And if that doesn't work, then apply this liberally;

 

 

 

The most disagreeable people will agree if presented with the correct amount of influence;

 

 

 

Britt captured the above pictures and while I do believe in spanking children, this was NOT an actual punishment nor a spanking. We weren't posing for the camera, but anyone who has been around my family can attest that we do enjoy horseplay. I would also strongly caution anyone against attacking Bryson in a similar manner; he know's how to counter most any attack. Practice makes perfect.

 

My least favorite pics are of luggage in the hallway. It's not that the pics are bad, but it means that our cruise is nearly over. When on a B2B luggage day is just another day, but given that this was a seven day and not a B2B, the luggage in the hallway omen is a bad sign. Here's our bags packed and ready for pick up (And no I did not beat Bryson and make him stack our luggage outside, or if I did I don't recall doing so);

 

 

 

Karen and I went for a late night stroll around the ship. The Blue Iguana looks rather bland without people out and about;

 

 

The Salsa Bar with no salsa nor anybody salsalizing;

 

[crusinpsychRN]

You all really pakced the day in Roatan! Thanks for all the work on this review.

[soccersharon]

Paul,

 

Even I'm sad seeing the end of your cruise :(

 

Wonderful review, as always. Really enjoyed the sunset pics - they are always my favourite.

 

We are really looking forward to seeing the Liberty again in December - all dressed up for the holidays.

Edited July 29, 2012 by soccersharon

[PaulMedik]

 

The picture above is my final room service deliver; BLT and chocolate cake Now I'm hungry!

 

 

Good morning Miami;

 

 

 

It looked like North Miami was really getting drenched;

 

 

 

 

The dock was full of activity as our luggage and those of our fellow passengers was off loaded;

 

 

 

FishEye of Triumph aft taken from our aft;

 

 

 

 

FishEye looking down at the dock and South of Miami;

 

[PaulMedik]

You all really pakced the day in Roatan! Thanks for all the work on this review.

 

 

CrusinpsychRN,

 

We sure had a good time there. Can't wait 'til our next visit!

 

Paul,

 

Even I'm sad seeing the end of your cruise

 

Wonderful review, as always. Really enjoyed the sunset pics - they are always my favourite.

 

We are really looking forward to seeing the Liberty again in December - all dressed up for the holidays.

 

Soccersharon,

 

Thank you.

 

The only thing good about my taking so long to finish this review is that our next cruise isn't nearly as far away as it was when I started this review. Doing the review helps to lessen the final day let down....some. Not a whole lot, but some.

 

 

**************************************************

 

 

Fisheye looking forward from our balcony;

 

 

 

Fisheye of Karen, Triumph, and Miami as Karen came out to see if I fell overboard;

 

 

 

 

Sticky Buns, Bear Claws, and something else that I liked but don't know the name of;

 

 

 

 

Nothing like a late morning breakfast to start the day off;

 

 

 

The boys insisted on a pic with King Tut as we left our room for the last time;

 

 

 

The lines to disembark weren't bad since most had already left the ship;

 

[cruisinsly]

As always, your review is fabulous. I hate to see this one come to an end, but I cant wait for the next one!!!

[PaulMedik]

As always, your review is fabulous. I hate to see this one come to an end, but I cant wait for the next one!!!

 

 

Cruisinsly,

 

Thank you very much and I'm certainly ready for my next one!

 

 

******************************************************

 

 

 

We used our #1 Luggage tags for our bags we placed out the evening before, but rolling out to get there right after our bags doesn't make much sense when our hotel won't be ready for us so we took our time and departed the ship leisurely. Most people don't see the gangway this vacant as they're getting off the ship unless they're first in line;

 

 

 

One last pic of the ship from the gangway before the post cruise review;

 

 

 

Those towel animals sure look like they miss their owners don't they?

[Sugar67]

I love your reviews Paul and that is a FABULOUS picture that Britt took of you and Karen !

[KenMo]

As usual Paul, another great review!!

 

A question about the Roatan cabanas...

 

Do you get to pick the one you want? If so, which would you recommend?

 

TIA!

[PaulMedik]

I love your reviews Paul and that is a FABULOUS picture that Britt took of you and Karen !

 

Sugar67,

 

Thank you.

 

 

As usual Paul, another great review!!

 

A question about the Roatan cabanas...

 

Do you get to pick the one you want? If so, which would you recommend?

 

TIA!

 

KenMo,

 

Thank you.

 

We didn't get to pick which cabana, but I assume they would give us our choice if it wasn't already taken. We arrived right behind the folks who got the first cabin on the left so I assume that's where they start. On board they just gave us one ticket and then we had to present that ticket to the follks in the rental shack @ Mahogany Bay Beach. The folks there want to keep a S&S card in exchange for a key to the cabana. I declined to let them keep my S&S card because I knew we had additional plans for the day outside of the port and would need it for port entry. They suggested that I drop the key off for them to hold in exchange; I declined. I said that if we opted to lock our belongings that I would not want anyone to have the key but me. They were hesitant though they finally agreed to not require me to leave my card. I'm really surprised they haven't encountered the same scenario before, but apparently they haven't.

 

Our cabana was the second from the left as you are facing them which would make it the second from the general beach area for everyone on the ship. I wouldn't choose the first one on the left, but I think the furthest right might be the best location; furthest from the populated area of the beach and a nice view of the ship across the cabana area as well as a nice view toward the wooden pier area at the far end of the beach. IMO the only two that would be least desireable would be the center two that has the access walkway in between. Those two would have the most foot traffic going be right beside them and would also back up to the main walkway. I'm not sure how you would go about requesting a particular cabana at the rental shack because they are known by fruit names instead of numbers (Or at least I think it was fruit names ?). Perhaps if you requested the furthest right you would get the right one, but that request might not translate well. :confused:

 

One thing for sure is that we'll be getting a cabana on our next visit to Roatan even if we have additional plans - which we likely will ;) . With that said our first stop on our next cruise is @ Grand Turk and I'm not planning to rent a cabana there. They're nice cabanas, but they are too close to the pool to be any more relaxing than being @ the pool IMO. Our plans for GT are subject to change though. :D

[cantwaittwogo]

Sugar67,

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

KenMo,

 

Thank you.

 

We didn't get to pick which cabana, but I assume they would give us our choice if it wasn't already taken. We arrived right behind the folks who got the first cabin on the left so I assume that's where they start. On board they just gave us one ticket and then we had to present that ticket to the follks in the rental shack @ Mahogany Bay Beach. The folks there want to keep a S&S card in exchange for a key to the cabana. I declined to let them keep my S&S card because I knew we had additional plans for the day outside of the port and would need it for port entry. They suggested that I drop the key off for them to hold in exchange; I declined. I said that if we opted to lock our belongings that I would not want anyone to have the key but me. They were hesitant though they finally agreed to not require me to leave my card. I'm really surprised they haven't encountered the same scenario before, but apparently they haven't.

 

Our cabana was the second from the left as you are facing them which would make it the second from the general beach area for everyone on the ship. I wouldn't choose the first one on the left, but I think the furthest right might be the best location; furthest from the populated area of the beach and a nice view of the ship across the cabana area as well as a nice view toward the wooden pier area at the far end of the beach. IMO the only two that would be least desireable would be the center two that has the access walkway in between. Those two would have the most foot traffic going be right beside them and would also back up to the main walkway. I'm not sure how you would go about requesting a particular cabana at the rental shack because they are known by fruit names instead of numbers (Or at least I think it was fruit names ?). Perhaps if you requested the furthest right you would get the right one, but that request might not translate well. :confused:

 

One thing for sure is that we'll be getting a cabana on our next visit to Roatan even if we have additional plans - which we likely will ;) . With that said our first stop on our next cruise is @ Grand Turk and I'm not planning to rent a cabana there. They're nice cabanas, but they are too close to the pool to be any more relaxing than being @ the pool IMO. Our plans for GT are subject to change though. :D

 

ooooo say it aint over. paulmedik

[KenMo]

We didn't get to pick which cabana, but I assume they would give us our choice if it wasn't already taken. We arrived right behind the folks who got the first cabin on the left so I assume that's where they start. On board they just gave us one ticket and then we had to present that ticket to the follks in the rental shack @ Mahogany Bay Beach. The folks there want to keep a S&S card in exchange for a key to the cabana. I declined to let them keep my S&S card because I knew we had additional plans for the day outside of the port and would need it for port entry. They suggested that I drop the key off for them to hold in exchange; I declined. I said that if we opted to lock our belongings that I would not want anyone to have the key but me. They were hesitant though they finally agreed to not require me to leave my card. I'm really surprised they haven't encountered the same scenario before, but apparently they haven't.

 

Our cabana was the second from the left as you are facing them which would make it the second from the general beach area for everyone on the ship. I wouldn't choose the first one on the left, but I think the furthest right might be the best location; furthest from the populated area of the beach and a nice view of the ship across the cabana area as well as a nice view toward the wooden pier area at the far end of the beach. IMO the only two that would be least desireable would be the center two that has the access walkway in between. Those two would have the most foot traffic going be right beside them and would also back up to the main walkway. I'm not sure how you would go about requesting a particular cabana at the rental shack because they are known by fruit names instead of numbers (Or at least I think it was fruit names ?). Perhaps if you requested the furthest right you would get the right one, but that request might not translate well. :confused:

 

One thing for sure is that we'll be getting a cabana on our next visit to Roatan even if we have additional plans - which we likely will ;) . With that said our first stop on our next cruise is @ Grand Turk and I'm not planning to rent a cabana there. They're nice cabanas, but they are too close to the pool to be any more relaxing than being @ the pool IMO. Our plans for GT are subject to change though. :D

 

Thank you for the info. Much appreciated!!

 

Oh, and I don't believe they'll be getting my S&S card either. Maybe they want it in case something gets "lost"? It seems it would be kind of obvious if one were leaving the beach with a lounger or floatie mat.

[tlw440]

Thanks Paul for another great review, great pictures. I always enjoy reading your reviews, your boys are growing up fast.

[PaulMedik]

ooooo say it aint over. paulmedik

 

 

cantwaittwogo,

 

The crusie part of the review is over; the memories we shared as a family will last a lifetime. I'll get the post cruise review completed ASAP.

 

Thank you for the info. Much appreciated!!

 

Oh, and I don't believe they'll be getting my S&S card either. Maybe they want it in case something gets "lost"? It seems it would be kind of obvious if one were leaving the beach with a lounger or floatie mat.

 

KenMo,

 

As I recall she mentioned they wanted to make sure they got their key back since they'd lost a few. The value of their key wasn't worth the hassle of swaping cards for key on our way in and out. :o

 

Thanks Paul for another great review, great pictures. I always enjoy reading your reviews, your boys are growing up fast.

 

tlw440,

 

Thank you.

 

Yes they are growing up too fast which makes our time now even more valuable. While I enjoy seeing them grow up, it sure would be nice to see them just stop growing for a while.

[Chrisdemo]

Great review.. Took a couple of days for me to go through it. I'm planning on doing this ship in October.

[gambee]

great review thanks for posting. I just spent a few hours going through your review. I am thinking about taking a cruise in the liberty, but I am just not yet sold on ship. I guess I have a little more research to do prior making a decision.

 

Great pics by the way, you got me thinking that I should buy a fisheye for my cam.

[rhenzejr]

wow...thank you for such a great and honest review. Just booked the Liberty recently and was looking for a review and yours just knocked it out of the park. Also gave great ideas for port activities, although my wife will want to shop

[gelo7]

Nice review.

[ch27088]

Jim,

 

Thank you.

 

I see that you're doing Breeze next year in April. We're sailing her in March / early April and I might do the bloggers cruise solo if Mach ever emails me back details.

 

I'd have to say Liberty's 2.0 improvements were an improvement on an already fine ship and she also seemed to run a lot smoother even though I wouldn't have called our previous sailings rough. It seemed like there was zero vibration where there used to be a little at times.

 

You have done an excellent job on your review. I'm impressed with your pictures (awesome) and also the description of what' you're doing on vacation. I was greatly surprised to see a picture of the Destiny as she was sailing out. DH and I are scheduled to cruise on the new revamped Destiny, which will be the Sunshine next March. The countdown is ON!

 

Now back to your great review.:D

[trini_ras]

Great work, thanks for sharing.

Luv your pics of the ship, your family....luv your pics :)

[PaulMedik]

Great work, thanks for sharing.

Luv your pics of the ship, your family....luv your pics :)

 

 

trini_ras,

 

Thank you

[jhale]

 

 

One last pic of the ship from the gangway before the post cruise review;

 

 

 

Those towel animals sure look like they miss their owners don't they?

 

 

I think this is one of the saddest debarkation pics I've ever seen!

 

Great review!

[PaulMedik]

I think this is one of the saddest debarkation pics I've ever seen!

 

Great review!

 

 

jhale,

 

Thank you.

 

All debarkation pics are a bit sad, but those poor critters looked lost...

[eng4]

How do you secure these onto your luggage?

 

Cruisers were myself (Paul), DW Karen, DSs; Bryson 17, Spencer 15, Britt 11, and Janet AKA Mawmaw.

 

Janet has been our babysitter since Bryson was born and kept each of our sons on days when Karen and I both work. She's no longer our babysitter, but will always be our son's 'Mawmaw' and will always be a part of our family. We were all very excited to have Janet come with us and have her spend time with the boys all together again. Our youngest still goes to visit her frequently and she helps out with the two older boys when something comes up and Karen and I aren't available. I call it 'help out,' but the fact is that she considers our boys to be her boys too. She was always there to see them off to school, greet them when they came home, as well as diaper their bottoms when they were younger.

 

We sailed from Miami on April 7 and had port stops in Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, and Grand Cayman. All four are ports we have been to several times. This was our fifth cruise on Carnival Liberty and for sure won't be our last; in fact it's looking like we'll be sailing her again in 2014.

 

We had origionally booked Carnival Paradise for a B2B cruise over Spring Break, but airfare into the Tampa area was thru the roof so when we found decent prices on airfare into Fort Lauderdale we checked itineraries we liked and discovered Carnival Liberty was due to call in the port we were most looking foward to; Cozumel and Paradise Beach. Paradise Beach is our boys' favorite place to visit and our B2B was to call there twice. It had been a few years since our last visit to Paradise Beach and it's safe to say it has changed a LOT! (Not bad changes, just different).

 

For our past cruises we always used self laminating baggage tags, but earlier this year I bought a laminator from Amazon when it showed up at a steal in my 'Gold Box.' We have a lot of things we'd like to laminate, but never do get around to, but luggage tags have to survive rough handling so we always laminate them.

 

Britt is the official baggage tag laminator;

 

 

 

(Yes I know the times are wrong on that camera and were wrong for half the cruise) The correct date should be April 4.

 

We flew out of Huntington WV on April 5 via Allegiant Air. Allegiant Air offers direct flights, friendly crews, and great prices. They do charge for checked bags (and carryon now) and we again packed too many things and had five to check;

 

 

 

 

 

It's a good thing Karen has a Ford Expedition EL because our car service, Larry's Limo, sent a Ford Expetion EL for us for a couple of the transfers and we knew where everything would fit!

 

The flight to Fort Lauderdale was quick and smooth even though we flew above storms that had devistated Texas with Tornados just a day earlier. Of course our bags took a while;

 

 

 

Bryson was waiting by the luggage carousel and when I went to check on him I discovered he wasn't watching too closely for our bags;

 

 

 

 

 

Our driver from Larry's Limo called on my cell just as soon as I stepped into the terminal and was waiting after we had claimed our bags. Sometimes I think they position themselves in sight of the airfield because they always know exactly when we get off the plane and always call immediately. This car wasn't an Expedition EL, but the driver found room for all of our bags;

 

 

 

The ride from Fort Lauderdale to our Hotel (The Savoy) on South Beach gave the boys time to catch up with their FaceBook friends and update their FB status / locations;