8 day Eastern Liberty vs. 8 day Southern Sunshine ?

[kah1829]

We have taken one Carnival cruise on the Freedom 6 day Western last Christmas and we really had a great time! We are planning another cruise for next year and having a hard time deciding! We called a TA (who shall remain nameless) who told us she REFUSED to book Carnival and RCI is too much $ for us and NCL just doesn't fit what we want SO we are doing it on our own! I'm hoping you very knowledgeable CC peeps can help us out! We are a family of 4, DH and I early 40s and 2 boys, ages 8 and 11. We mainly want relaxing beach days at the ports, maybe we will do 1 tour. Our boys LOVE the beach or a great pool and on our last cruise we did very busy activities at every single port and we were exhausted! We are trying to choose between the Liberty which is Grand Turk, St Thomas (or Nassau depending on date), San Juan and St. Maarten VS. 8 day Southern which includes Grand Turk, Aruba, Curacao both leaving from Florida (San Juan departures are too expensive from CO). The Southern itinerary is $500 more for a balcony which we really like having. Not a deal breaker but not sure if it's worth the cost ?? We are easy going, laid back and just want to enjoy beautiful beaches and relax. Thank you VERY much for any advice! We are on a budget and can't afford to cruise or vacation more than once a year so want to make sure we are making the best choice.

[rockbock]

Personally, $500 is a lot to me. I would opt for the Liberty for that much of a price difference. The Sunshine will be a newer looking ship and has a gorgeous Serenity Deck. Your kids might also like the waterpark and ropes course on it. However, I'm not sure I see those differences being worth $500. If you loved the Freedom, you'll be amazed by the Liberty. They are sister ships, but the Liberty is soooo much nicer than the Freedom. The Freedom is my least favorite out of all of the Carnival ships I've been on.

Edited November 21, 2013 by rockbock

[MikeM]

Take a peek at the Sunshine April 6, 2014 repositioning trip Nola to Port Canaveral. Great price for a 11 day to Southern Caribbean. Good ports and time at those ports.

 

Mike/Cheryl

Edited November 21, 2013 by MikeM

[soulsistah007]

Good for you for booking on your own!!

 

I'd recommend the Liberty - you get an additional port and it's a great itinerary. San Juan would be the best place to do a tour and the rest you could do beaches. It's very easy and economical to do beaches on your own at these ports. Your boys would probably get a kick out of Maho Beach in St. Maarten (where the planes land and depart very close to the beach). They would definitely love Grand Turk - beach right where the boat docks and there's a Margaritaville pool with a flow rider machine they can have fun with.

Edited November 21, 2013 by soulsistah007

[golfadj]

Liberty without a doubt. Beautiful beaches

[Blueboss]

We are doing the Liberty Nov. 7, 2014. We are mid 40's, empty nesters. Grand Turk is a beach day for us, St. Maarten is Maho Beach, St. Thomas is snorkeling. Not sure about San Juan since that was not on the original itinerary when we booked. Looks like that will be a tour port for us. Can't speak about the ships, haven't been on either one yet. While doing my research of the ports, I used CC port threads for some great info and ideas, used Google Images for pictures of the ports and Google, in general, for any scrap of information that I might have missed. It was a toss up for us between the two itineraries and ships as well, but it came down to the dates as the deciding factor. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

[ibcnusoon]

Good for you for booking on your own!!

 

I'd recommend the Liberty - you get an additional port and it's a great itinerary. San Juan would be the best place to do a tour and the rest you could do beaches. It's very easy and economical to do beaches on your own at these ports. Your boys would probably get a kick out of Maho Beach in St. Maarten (where the planes land and depart very close to the beach). They would definitely love Grand Turk - beach right where the boat docks and there's a Margaritaville pool with a flow rider machine they can have fun with.

 

I agree! Book the Liberty, if you want beaches the itinerary has some of the best! On St. Maarten, take a taxi over to Maho Beach, grab a lounge chair and watch the planes fly in. My DD who is well into her teens had such a great time there and has since begged me to book a land vacation so she can hang out on the beach at Maho! :)

[skrufy]

I would take the Liberty, lots of beach opportunities.

[beachbum53]

We have taken one Carnival cruise on the Freedom 6 day Western last Christmas and we really had a great time! We are planning another cruise for next year and having a hard time deciding! We called a TA (who shall remain nameless) who told us she REFUSED to book Carnival and RCI is too much $ for us and NCL just doesn't fit what we want SO we are doing it on our own! I'm hoping you very knowledgeable CC peeps can help us out! We are a family of 4, DH and I early 40s and 2 boys, ages 8 and 11. We mainly want relaxing beach days at the ports, maybe we will do 1 tour. Our boys LOVE the beach or a great pool and on our last cruise we did very busy activities at every single port and we were exhausted! We are trying to choose between the Liberty which is Grand Turk, St Thomas (or Nassau depending on date), San Juan and St. Maarten VS. 8 day Southern which includes Grand Turk, Aruba, Curacao both leaving from Florida (San Juan departures are too expensive from CO). The Southern itinerary is $500 more for a balcony which we really like having. Not a deal breaker but not sure if it's worth the cost ?? We are easy going, laid back and just want to enjoy beautiful beaches and relax. Thank you VERY much for any advice! We are on a budget and can't afford to cruise or vacation more than once a year so want to make sure we are making the best choice.

 

Isn't that $500.00 more for a balcony (on the Sunshine) per person? That would make the total cost $2000.00 more. Yikes! Unless you've got unlimited funds, go with the Liberty. We did the Eastern itinerary earlier this year, with stops at St. Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay (Carnival's private island). We had a really great time, and I would book it again without hesitation. So far, the Liberty is our favorite ship. We've cruised on her twice since the 2.0 upgrades, and really like that ship. If you go to the "Ports of Call" board on here, you'll find lots of helpful information about beaches and other things to see and do at each port. St. Thomas has some really nice beaches, and some that aren't so great. On our last visit, we went to Magen's Bay, and while it was okay, we weren't all that impressed with it. Old San Juan is a fascinating place, and one of our favorite ports. We've already decided that the next time we go there, we're going to take a horse and carriage ride. Grand Turk has a large beach area, as well as a pool at Margaritaville. It might be helpful to call Carnival and ask for a PVP (personal vacation planner). Hopefully, you'll get someone as knowledgeable and helpful as the one we have. Wish I could mention her name, but we're not allowed to on here. I've found that the key to having a relaxing, stress-free cruise is to do your "homework" thoroughly, and if not everything goes according to plan, just take it in stride and don't let it ruin your vacation.;):)

[kah1829]

Thank you all for your info! It's $500 total more for the Sunshine - not per person. Unfortunately the April date won't work for us - we are looking at November 2014. I think it will be the Liberty! We can put the $500 towards fun times at the ports and maybe save the Southern itinerary for our 3rd cruise!!! Thanks so much for the great ideas!

[wantocruisemore]

Definitely Liberty over Sunshine, based on ports and ship!!!

[Georgiagolfer]

We have taken one Carnival cruise on the Freedom 6 day Western last Christmas and we really had a great time! We are planning another cruise for next year and having a hard time deciding! We called a TA (who shall remain nameless) who told us she REFUSED to book Carnival and RCI is too much $ for us and NCL just doesn't fit what we want SO we are doing it on our own! I'm hoping you very knowledgeable CC peeps can help us out! We are a family of 4, DH and I early 40s and 2 boys, ages 8 and 11. We mainly want relaxing beach days at the ports, maybe we will do 1 tour. Our boys LOVE the beach or a great pool and on our last cruise we did very busy activities at every single port and we were exhausted! We are trying to choose between the Liberty which is Grand Turk, St Thomas (or Nassau depending on date), San Juan and St. Maarten VS. 8 day Southern which includes Grand Turk, Aruba, Curacao both leaving from Florida (San Juan departures are too expensive from CO). The Southern itinerary is $500 more for a balcony which we really like having. Not a deal breaker but not sure if it's worth the cost ?? We are easy going, laid back and just want to enjoy beautiful beaches and relax. Thank you VERY much for any advice! We are on a budget and can't afford to cruise or vacation more than once a year so want to make sure we are making the best choice.

 

Here's another vote for the Liberty, plus DW and I really like the ease of traveling out of port Canaveral over Miami. As for the TA, I would never use a TA who says they refuse to book us on any mainstream cruise line.:confused: They are in the service industry, and doesn't sound like they are offering very much service.

[Colorado Kat]

You get Grand Turk (my favorite beach) on either itinerary. I would probably choose the Liberty. San Juan is a fun spot. Love the forts.

[kah1829]

We have only taken one cruise and that agent moved away so I was VERY surprised when this gal who works for a cruise only agency flat out said she refuses to book Carnival. And she tried to DOUBLE our budget for RCI. We definitely are NOT using her! She tried to tell us how awful Carnival was when I told her we had taken a Carnival cruise just last Christmas and were very happy!!! We have to be on a budget so the other cruise lines would mean we could only go every 2 or 3 years... We are down to earth people who loved Carnival!