Liberty 9/1 Review with pictures

[Terre]

Liberty Review ~ Sailing 9/1 thru 9/8

Captain: PierLuigi Barrile

Hotel Director: Jose Pisa

Cruise Director: Karl with a K

Our Cruise History: 3rd Cruise on the Liberty; 10th with Carnival; 25th Overall

 

Day One: We got to the ship around 9:30 and were escorted to the VIP lounge. This was our very first time as VIP guests and we were excited! We were checked in within minutes and found a comfy loveseat on which to wait. We met some others from our roll call and some “old” VIP guests who assured us we’d be on the ship by 10:30, 11:30 at the latest.

 

We didn’t board until well after 1:30 and I had received an e-mail from Carnival the night before asking us to not come to the ship before 1:30. There were all kinds of excuses given from Customs didn’t send enough staff for those disembarking, to they were checking all luggage for drugs from Belize. I saw two Customs police-looking guys walk through the VIP lounge looking at everyone; don't know the real story.

 

Okay, so we finally boarded around 2:00 and began our cruise. We had an inside 4G cabin. Our steward was Robert and he took very good care of us, even vacuuming the sand out of my husband’s shoes!

 

Our first port was Half Moon Cay and we loved it. We were some of the first ones there and really enjoyed walking around and enjoying the beach and the water before it got too crowded. Lunch was pretty good, and after lunch we relaxed a little more and then headed back to the ship around 1:00 for a nap before dinner.

 

 

Our third day was a sea day and we spent that relaxing at the adult only pool, having brunch and attending our formal Roll Call Meet & Greet. Some people we’d already met in the VIP lounge and others we’d met the first day at an informal M&G. The brunch was okay…rotten service; our waiter disappeared just before our dessert and we never saw him again. The comedian tells jokes every 30 minutes, but I don’t think anyone listens...poor guys.

This was also our Elegant Evening. The lobster was great, I had two and Mike had both the lobster and the prime rib.

 

The fourth day brought us to St. Thomas. We’ve been there so many times so we didn’t do anything, just walked around at the shops. St. Thomas is very beautiful and there are so many things to do, I’m sorry I don’t have much for those of you who have never been there.

 

On day five we docked at San Juan. We’ve been here many times before, too, but this time we decided to walk to the fort. We walked up the back streets and finally made it to the fort. El Morro is so huge and so amazing…I just don’t know how they built that thing back in the day. Forts amaze me and this one was no let down. I love the history of the places I visit and San Juan has some history.

San Juan street

 

Day six took us to Grand Turk. We had never been there and I was simply amazed at how crystal clear the water is. OMG…you can see right to the bottom! We took a walk through Margaritaville’s pool area and down the beach to catch a tour with Doug and Gary (I think), two brothers who give free tours and then you give them what you feel it’s worth when you get back. Some people gave, some didn’t, but the money goes to help the island’s historical restoration or something related, so please do give something if you take this tour. It was a nice tour around Grand Turk and we stopped at the lighthouse…another thing I love! Grand Turk is a desert island with wild horses and goats, salt ponds and yep, that crystal clear water!

 

After the tour we grabbed some lunch at the little “restaurant” hut before making our way back to Margaritaville’s pool for a while before going back to the ship. This was our second Elegant night for those who care.

 

Margartaville's pool

 

Water so clear you can see the bottom

 

Our last day, was of course another sea day…again spent relaxing at the adult only pool. We never made it to the Serenity Deck, but we talked to a couple at dinner one night who had gone there and said it wasn’t very “serene”…it’s above the kiddie area and you can hear all the kids below. Not a good location!

 

Saturday morning was debarkation day and we were up early. Had breakfast in the dining room and since we were VIP (did I mention that?), we were able to get off very early. We were off the ship, in a taxi and at the airport and through security by 9:00. So we waited patiently until our 1:30 flight. We had thought about booking the 10:00 flight back home, but were a little paranoid about having an early flight; we've cut it close too many times before. I’m sure those on board the week before us missed many flights, so it’s a gamble. And it was full so there was no wait listing for us.

 

Dining/Food:

We only ate in the main dining room, Golden Olympian, and had My Time, Your Time, Anytime – whatever Carnival calls it – dining and we liked that. We went anywhere from 6:00 to 6:30 and were always seated with no wait. On the third night we found a waiter we loved – Savio. After that we asked for him every night. He was so good and we talked to him a while one evening when they weren’t very busy. He got teary-eyed talking about “his guests” and how he wanted everything perfect for them. He talked about how good his assistant waiters are and what a good team they are. Ask for Savio, his service is great, you will always get your food hot and on time.

 

Some of the foods we got were tilapia, red snapper, prime rib, chauteaubriand, flat iron steak, polenta, shrimp cocktail (I got this every night!), spring rolls, bitter & blanc, crème brulee, soufflé, and of course the world famous chocolate melting cake, my husband’s favorite.

 

We did eat in the Fish & Chips several times and we like it. It’s a quiet little “hide-a-way” on the second floor of the buffet area.

No explanation needed

 

Entertainment:

The first part of the week we had two comedians, Adam Hunter and Don McEnery. They were okay, but the second half of the week had better comedians. Happy Cole, who we’ve seen before, and Allyn Ball. We really like Happy Cole and thought he was the best of all the comedians.

 

We also watched Edge, who is a funny juggler and is very good. We did see the production show, “Wonderful World”, which we’ve seen three times now, if not more. It was pretty good and the same as the other times we’d seen it. We did not see “Singing with the Big Band” since we’ve seen it several times before and are not really into that type music.

 

We sat and listened to Mariann in the Atrium Bar area before dinner. She is a wonderful singer with a beautiful voice – do not miss listening to her. She has the voice for songs by Whitney Houston and Tina Turner. This girl can sing. The guy with her is not much to listen to, but don’t miss Mariann.

 

Overall Thoughts:

Loved the ship, loved the food, loved the entertainment, and loved the ports.

 

Complete photo album is below in my signature.

[kittycrusin08]

Enjoyed your review since we are thinking about this cruise for the Spring to celebrate by daughter's birthday. Sounds like a fun cruise. We sailed the Liberty about 5 years ago and wonder if you enjoyed the 2.0 upgrades? Thanks for sharing the pictures, too. ;)

[chipq]

Love your photos and a great review. Thanks for sharing.

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[vivavegas]

Welcome Back! Great review! Glad you had a good cruise...:)

[njoyndride]

Thanks Terre! Love a review with pics. :)

[Terre]

Enjoyed your review since we are thinking about this cruise for the Spring to celebrate by daughter's birthday. Sounds like a fun cruise. We sailed the Liberty about 5 years ago and wonder if you enjoyed the 2.0 upgrades? Thanks for sharing the pictures, too. ;)

 

Sorry, I did forget to mention Guy's Burgers. We both got burgers there and I thought it was okay...just another burger to me. They have a place with all the "fixins" and you can put what you want on them. Others we talked to loved Guy's.