Another Liberty review

[howison]

My husband and I were also on the Carnival Liberty.

 

I won't go into a long review because there is already one posted.

 

I do have a few suggestions and comments to add.

 

We travelled to Rome a couple of days early. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza. They provided transportation to the Vatican and downtown though it was a limited time schedule. Taxi fare was not expensive from the hotel, 12 euros to get downtown.

 

The day before the cruise we took the train to Civitavecchia, we picked it up near the vatican. The cost of the train was 3.60 euros each. It took about 45 minutes and runs fairly regularly. Once we arrived at Civitavecchia we were able to walk to our hotel. It was about 300 metres down the street. We stayed at the Hotel Mediterraneo, it was clean, airconditioned though not very well, very nice. Breakfast was included for 130 euros.

 

The next day we walked to the port entrance with our luggage as we could not get a taxi, again the walk was maybe 15 minutes and got the bus to the ship. We were on board by 11:30. Civitavecchia is a very pretty town and we enjoyed having the chance to visit it. Certainly much quieter than Rome.

 

Once on board the ship, we checked to see if our dining arrangements were as requested. We had asked for late seating at a large table. We were given late but at a table for 4. The maitre'd was able to change us to a large table.

 

We dined in the Silver dining room on the upper floor. We were at the aft near the window. It was very warm and and the lighting was poor for reading the menu. By the end of the cruise the airconditioning was working better, however I hear the first level was very cold. Our wait staff was wonderful and did everything they could to please us.

 

We had an aft cabin, 8461 I was a little disappointed that the cabin was narrower than the balcony cabins on the sides of the ship. Because of the decrease in size our large closet rod went front to back instead of across the closet, so we lost a lot of hanging space. I also didn't like the fact that there was very little overhead coverage on the balcony to protect against sun or rain. You also could see into the balconies on either side. If you want privacy I don't suggest you take the type of cabin. Our cabin steward was wonderful and kept our room immaculate.

 

We only took one tour through Carnival and that was to Pompeii. Great place to see I highly recommend it.

 

Dubrovnik was one of my favorite places. We walked from the ship to the walled city. It took about a half an hour. I would definitely recommend walking the wall. The views were magnificent.

 

This was our third visit to Venice in the last 3 years, and we still loved it. I would not recommend taking the gondola ride tour through Carnival. We were told by a couple that for the $100 US they paid each they walked 45 minutes to the gondola and then were to share it with 2 other couples. They were then to walk back the 45 minutes. They were told it was a 3 hour tour but it ended up being mostly walking. The gondola's to rent on your own are only 80 euros and that is for two people. The tour was getting $600 for one gondola. You do not need to do this through a tour, just go on your own. They are every where and you will not have trouble getting one. The couple we talked to did not end up taking the gondola ride, they complained to Carnival and they refunded them their money.

 

We had booked a tour in Messina to Tindari. We were told it was a 1/2 hour bus ride but were left a note the night before telling us it was a 1 1/2 hour ride. The tour was only 4 1/2 hours so 3 hours was on a bus. We spoke to the tour desk explaining to them that we did not feel this was worthwhile taking now and they refunded us our money in full. We ended up just walking around Messina which we enjoyed very much and were glad we hadn't missed it by taking a tour.

 

In Barcelona they had quite a problem with getting people from where the ship was into the city. We waited about a 1/2 for the bus and then decided to walk. It took about 1/2 hour. We took the subway to the Sagrada Famalia. It was amazing to see. From there we went to the Ramblas shopping. It was difficult to get back to the ship, taxis did not want to drive there. We ended up walking. The day was a little rushed. A lot of people were late getting back and they actually delayed sailing until all had returned. They knew that there were significant problems with the transportation. I am sure they will correct this in the future.

Cannes was another port I really liked. I wish we had taken our bathing suits, the beaches looked really nice. Shopping was great. Transportation from the ship was by tender and was very well done.

 

In Livorna we decided to take the train to Florence and stop at Pisa on the way back. We got off the ship right away and took a taxi to the train station. The cost of the taxi was 15 euros. We caught the 8:11 train. The round trip fare for the train was 12 euros allowing us to get off at Pisa. We arrived in Florence in about 1 hour 15 minutes. The train station was within walking distance to everything we wanted to see. Florence was great, we would have like more time but we wanted to see Pisa as well. We caught the train at about 1 to Pisa, the ride was approximately 1 hour. We walked from the train station to the tower. It was great to see. We walked back to the train station to get the 4 oclock train, we had to be back on the ship at 6:30 and the train ride was only 10 minutes. This train seemed to be cancelled so we were going to take the next train at 4:30. We waited on the platform with several other people from the ship. This train did not show up. They kept announcing that they were delayed. There was another train at 5 and it did not come either. Needless to say we were getting worried. Fortunately one of the singers and the comedian from the ship were with us as well, so we were pretty sure they wouldn't leave without them. At about 5:30 we found out there had been a fire on the train tracks because of the heat and all trains had been stopped. We decided to take taxis and all of us (about 30) shared rides back to the ship. We arrived in plenty of time ( the fare was only 40 Euros). Unfortunately for some they were stuck on the train coming back from Florence. The ship was notified and they waited for them. We left about an hour late. This is an unusual occurance according to the two costume designers we shared the cab with. They told us they had travelled all over Europe by train and had never had this happen. Would I do it again on my probably. I really like the freedom to do things as I please. It is a risk but if you are on your own make sure you bring the contact number for the ship so you can notify them if you are in trouble.

 

So much for a short review. There just seems to be so much to say.

 

If you have any questions let me know and I will do my best to answer them.

 

For all of you still to go, I know you will enjoy every minute.

[SleevesEnd]

Thank you Howison,

 

I'm living vicariously through these posts until next summer. :)

 

Mary

[bobbi3]

I will be on the sept 6th voyage. I am a first time cruiser.

It seems like you did alot on your own, which is what I'm planning to do. Did you do a lot of "homework" before you went, as far as train schedules and stuff like that? Or did you wing it? I'm trying to gather as much info as I can. It sounds like for you it was pretty easy to get around on your own, except for maybe barcelona.

Thanks again for the info.

 

P.s> If I'm staying near the Pantheon do you know which station I should go to catch the train to the port? Or should I just go to the main termini station?:)

[Learning the ropes]

Thanks Howison for the info. We are in the same room as you, but on the Upper Deck (two floors below). My questions relate to that area of the ship...

 

- were passengers in the aft part of the ship assigned to the 'aft dining room' for that reason?

- did your room, although narrower, also have a sofa area?

- did the stairwells at the very aft connect to other floors? I have read somewhere that they did not?

 

If you have any photos of your room/balcony that you could email me I would be most grateful.

Send to gwiazda@zing-net.ca

 

Notice you are a fellow Canadian. How was the coffee in your opinion? What flight arrangements did you make?

 

Thank you - glad to hear you enjoyed your trip.

[winewanderer]

Howison,

 

Thanks for answering questions. DH and I are planning on taking the train from Rome to port as well (don't go until next May so lots of time to plan). Can you tell me how much luggage you had and if there were only stairs in the train station or other "people movers"?

 

Also, were you able to keep your luggage close to you on the train? Any problems with possible pick pockets?

 

Thanks

[floofyfish]

Thanks so much for your review. I liked that it was long!

 

I am a little confused about the situation in barcelona that you described. Does Carnival offer shuttles to las ramblas? or were they private companies on their own? I wanted to visit the aquarium that is just off the base of las ramblas and if the shuttles/taxis are too complicated i was thinking of walking from the ship, is this too far?

[howison]

I will be on the sept 6th voyage. I am a first time cruiser.

It seems like you did alot on your own, which is what I'm planning to do. Did you do a lot of "homework" before you went, as far as train schedules and stuff like that? Or did you wing it? I'm trying to gather as much info as I can. It sounds like for you it was pretty easy to get around on your own, except for maybe barcelona.

Thanks again for the info.

 

P.s> If I'm staying near the Pantheon do you know which station I should go to catch the train to the port? Or should I just go to the main termini station?:)

I didn't really prepare as much as I should have, and would definitely do so next time. I was prepared to take Carnival tours but after the first one to Pompeii we felt we would rather do things on our own then have to follow a group. The other couples we had dinner with felt the same way as well, the did Pompeii, Capri and Sorento and felt that all they did was rush from one place to another with little time to do anything else.

 

As far as the train station you should take from Rome I would ask your hotel and they will direct you to the closest one. This web site will give you train schedules http://www.trenitalia.com/home/en/index.html

 

Good luck

[howison]

Thanks Howison for the info. We are in the same room as you, but on the Upper Deck (two floors below). My questions relate to that area of the ship...

 

- were passengers in the aft part of the ship assigned to the 'aft dining room' for that reason?

- did your room, although narrower, also have a sofa area?

- did the stairwells at the very aft connect to other floors? I have read somewhere that they did not?

 

If you have any photos of your room/balcony that you could email me I would be most grateful.

Send to gwiazda@zing-net.ca

 

Notice you are a fellow Canadian. How was the coffee in your opinion? What flight arrangements did you make?

 

Thank you - glad to hear you enjoyed your trip.

I don't believe that dining arrangements were made according to where your room is. Our table companions were from the other end of the ship.

 

Yes we had a sofa. If you have had a balcony on the sides of a Carnival ship you will find this room to be much narrower. Not a big problem I just wish that I had been aware of the difference.

 

The staircase to the lido deck (restaurant) is a short walk from the room. We definitely liked the location of our room since we were close to the dining room and the Lido deck pool and restaurant I am not sure what you mean by connect to other floors. We always found it easiest to go the the 5th floor and walk through the ship that way, as it was not possible to do this on most floors.

 

I can't help you with the coffee as I don't drink it. My husband does, he didn't complain about it I think it was just alright. He definitely enjoyed having expresso's when we were in the different ports.

 

I'm afraid I didn't take any pictures of the room, it really wasn't any different than any room I had had before, just narrower.

 

As far as flight arrangements, we used points with air canada, so we flew from Toronto to frankfurt and then to Rome on the way there, and from Rome to Frankfurt to London to Toronto on the way back. Our first flight home was at 2:30pm (Rome Time) and we didn't arrive home until 1:30am (Toronto time) It was a very long day.

[howison]

Howison,

 

Thanks for answering questions. DH and I are planning on taking the train from Rome to port as well (don't go until next May so lots of time to plan). Can you tell me how much luggage you had and if there were only stairs in the train station or other "people movers"?

 

Also, were you able to keep your luggage close to you on the train? Any problems with possible pick pockets?

 

Thanks

We took 3 pieces of luggage so it was quite a work out getting to the train platform. You had to go downstairs and then back upstairs to the platform (as the platform was on the other side of the tracks ) I noticed in Florence that there were elevators so I am sure there were in Rome as well. Once we were on the train we left our luggage near the doors and watched it from our seats. We were always cautious about pickpockets being sure to use money belts etc. but we had no problems at all.

[howison]

Thanks so much for your review. I liked that it was long!

 

I am a little confused about the situation in barcelona that you described. Does Carnival offer shuttles to las ramblas? or were they private companies on their own? I wanted to visit the aquarium that is just off the base of las ramblas and if the shuttles/taxis are too complicated i was thinking of walking from the ship, is this too far?

We walked from the ship. If you are up to it, it takes about 30 minutes. Keep in mind it is very hot and you will be crossing a bridge so it is a bit of climb. The buses were not provided by Carnival, they cost I believe 5 euros return, but I am not positive. There were just not enough of them for all the ships that were in port that day. We wasted a good 45 minutes before we decided to walk. It is also not possible to walk in and take the bus back you must have purchased your return ticket before. We walked back as well. Lots of people had to when they realized the wait time for the buses and that the taxis were not wanting to bring them to the ship because of the traffic congestion. I am sure they will have improved conditions by the time you go, they definitely knew they had a problem with transportation.

[sledhead]

Thanks for the info on your "itinerary", but what about the ship ? You said basically nothing at all and I really think that is what most people are interested in. How is it ? Whats it like inside ? etc. etc. etc..........

[LRene]

Not me....I've seen bunches of photos of the ship and heard a lot about that. The logistics you are posting here are much more valuable.

 

Do you know what night the past guest's cocktail party was held? I'm trying to arrange a private party in advance and don't want to conflict with that party in any way.

 

Also, we have a 12:10 pm flight out of Rome and a private car arranged to take us. What time did you get off the ship and is it feasible to make a flight this early? Carnival had indicated it was OK for anything after 11:30. Others have posted airport nightmare stories. Any info you can give about where Intl. flights leave from (terminal etc.) and anything else we need to know about getting out of Italy.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post. I've had a lot of my questions answered by everyone that has posted this week.

[howison]

Not me....I've seen bunches of photos of the ship and heard a lot about that. The logistics you are posting here are much more valuable.

 

Do you know what night the past guest's cocktail party was held? I'm trying to arrange a private party in advance and don't want to conflict with that party in any way.

 

Also, we have a 12:10 pm flight out of Rome and a private car arranged to take us. What time did you get off the ship and is it feasible to make a flight this early? Carnival had indicated it was OK for anything after 11:30. Others have posted airport nightmare stories. Any info you can give about where Intl. flights leave from (terminal etc.) and anything else we need to know about getting out of Italy.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post. I've had a lot of my questions answered by everyone that has posted this week.

The past guest party was the evening that we left Barcelona. We had late dinner seating so I believe it was from 7:15 to 8.

 

As far as return flights, people were let off the ship according to their return flights. We took transfers with Carnival, I think we were off the ship by 8:30 (it wasn't a two hour trip we just sat on the bus for a long time) and at the airport by 10:30. Our flight was at 2:30 so we had plenty of time. It was a little chaotic when we arrived there, they didn't bother to tell us on the bus that they would get us carts to carry our luggage so my husband had to go inside to get change for the cart. They also told us on the bus not to go in line any earlier than three hours before your flight. We did anyways and they checked us in fine. We were glad we did because the line became very long. I did notice that several airline lines (Airitalia and Air Canada) were quite lengthly. We were travelling Luftansa. I believe we left out of terminal B. I think you should be fine there were people with much earilier flights than you.

 

Have a great trip

[Cruzluvin]

what time are the dinner seatings...

early vs. late...

 

Also, we are planning to get to the ship around 4 45 pm (train arrives at 4:33 pm from roma termini). Do you think this id OK?

 

Thanks!

[howison]

what time are the dinner seatings...

early vs. late...

 

Also, we are planning to get to the ship around 4 45 pm (train arrives at 4:33 pm from roma termini). Do you think this id OK?

 

Thanks!

Early seating in the Silver is 5:45 the late is 8

Early seating in the Golden is 6:15 the late is 8:30

 

I would allow yourself more time to get to the ship. We experienced a train delay in pisa which found us scrambling for taxis to get us to the ship.

 

We took the train to Civitavecchia a day early so we would have no problems getting to the ship. The train ride is around 45 minutes but you still need to get to the ship from the train station. About a 15-20 minute walk to the port entrance where you will then have to get a bus to the ship. I would if possible plan an earlier train ride so that if anything happens you still have time to make alternate arrangements.

[george35]

I have a question about the casino, when you cash in your chips do they pay you in euros???

Can you use your credit card to get money at the casino if so do they charge you?????

[howison]

I have a question about the casino, when you cash in your chips do they pay you in euros???

Can you use your credit card to get money at the casino if so do they charge you?????

They pay you in american dollars. You can use your sail and sign card, I believe the charge is 3%.

[Juliadlf]

What time were the shows?

 

Thanks

[howison]

When there were two shows the first was at 8:30 and the second at 10:30. We had late dinner seating and found the 10:30 show to be very full. I am not sure if a lot of the early diners waited to watch the late show instead of the early show but it was always difficult to get seats after we had finished dinner which was usually around 10.

[skuttduck]

How is disembarkation? Seems that customs would be different being in Europe than coming back in the states. Is it?

[mafig]

Thank you for your review.

 

This is the first I've heard that the aft balconies are narrower than those on the side. Do you know by how much? Are they longer to make up for them being narrower, or is the square footage less?

[howison]

The cabin seemed to be about 6-8" narrower. I am only going by the fact that we could not hang our clothes in the width of the closet, the rod went front to back and we could not roll our suitcase into the room but had to turn it sideways.. If the cabin was longer we couldn't tell, but having more length didn't make up for losing width because that affected the closet. We also noticed that the light switch for the balcony was on the side wall instead of on the back wall (beside the door) as in the cabins on the side. The reason for this was there was no space between the door and the wall to put the switch. We spoke to our room steward and she did confirm that the room was narrower. Still had a great time would have just liked to have been told this when booking.

[howison]

How is disembarkation? Seems that customs would be different being in Europe than coming back in the states. Is it?

Disembarkment was easy. Unlike returning to the states (we are Canadian) we did not have to go through customs. We just walked off, got on a bus and went to the airport. Also when we sail out of the US they take our passports, they did not on this cruise.

[juliej2001]

We're a couple in our early 30th scheduled for the New Years Day cruise.

 

Our question is... how's the nightlife on Liberty?:cool:

[suezcruise]

Hello Howison:

 

So glad to read some reviews on the Liberty. We are thinking of booking an aft cabin on her.

 

How was the view from your balcony? And you stated that your room was narrower than the side cabins, was your balcony deeper?

 

Thank you.

 

Sue Z