Liberty's Memorial Day Review (photo heavy) - Including Extra Days in San Juan!!

[smitty89]

Trip, is there still a desk to book another cruise on the Liberty? I know there was last time I was on her, but want to check for our upcoming cruise. I'm happy to wait if it's coming up in your review. :) Thanks!

[trippingpara]

Trip, is there still a desk to book another cruise on the Liberty? I know there was last time I was on her, but want to check for our upcoming cruise. I'm happy to wait if it's coming up in your review. :) Thanks!

 

Smitty, unfortunately, there is no longer a desk to book future cruises on. I asked at GS as Trippette wanted to look into possibly booking another cruise (we created a monster!) but alas, no desk.

[Dirkgun]

unfortunately for me...I am too big for the kayak...do they have any other tours ..I would hate for my wife and son to miss this unbelievable sight because of me

 

 

Try searching for Bio Bay Fajardo, they are on the "book" :) That is who we went with this last January and they were great. Also pretty much the same cost (within $2 a person) definitely a must see.

[trippingpara]

Sorry guys. I was so excited about the Piña Colada's at Barrachinas that I completely forgot to mention that they actually serve food there...and it's really good! The last time we were in San Juan, we pigged out on mofongo so we opted to try something else this time.

 

Lady Trip selected the Chicken Caribeno ("It's delicious," she declared!)

 

 

Since I was chilling out drinking an awesome Piña Colada on Calle Fortaleza, I opted for the Steak Fortaleza. It just seemed the right thing to do.

 

 

Both dishes were served with fried plantains. Yum!

 

Trippette had heard some rumors that plantains did not taste good (don't know where she heard such blasphemy because we love plantains!) so she opted for something a bit more "normal" for her...shrimp fajitas. Like the rest of us, she declared her food as "Pha-nom-a-nal! (Yes, I know that is not how you spell phenomenal, but I warned you'll that I write like I talk...)

[Shih-tzu]

I keep looking for the "like" button :D

[griz400]

Sorry guys. I was so excited about the Piña Colada's at Barrachinas that I completely forgot to mention that they actually serve food there...and it's really good! The last time we were in San Juan, we pigged out on mofongo so we opted to try something else this time.

 

Lady Trip selected the Chicken Caribeno ("It's delicious," she declared!)

 

 

Since I was chilling out drinking an awesome Piña Colada on Calle Fortaleza, I opted for the Steak Fortaleza. It just seemed the right thing to do.

 

 

Both dishes were served with fried plantains. Yum!

 

Trippette had heard some rumors that plantains did not taste good (don't know where she heard such blasphemy because we love plantains!) so she opted for something a bit more "normal" for her...shrimp fajitas. Like the rest of us, she declared her food as "Pha-nom-a-nal! (Yes, I know that is not how you spell phenomenal, but I warned you'll that I write like I talk...)

 

We have been lookin into Barrachinas and we will be there in September on the Valor, did you see anyone eating the paella ?? we here its like the best there .. 40.00 or so for 2, also, nice review u got goin on :)

[trippingpara]

SUNDAY, MAY 24th - San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

Today is the day that we get to board our new home for the next week. But before we did that, we had some unfinished business to attend to in Old San Juan. We needed breakfast! Luckily for us, one of the best breakfast joints in the world just happens to be located a couple blocks down the street from where we were staying. Cafeteria Mallorca! If you haven’t been there yet or aren’t planning on stopping there you better check yourself! This joint belongs on Diners, Drive-in and Dives! As our good friend Guy Fieri would say “shut the front door! This stuff is the bomb!” They offer a variety of mallorcas to choose from all the while listening to some nice jazz played by a trumpeter in the corner as you sit among 50 or so locals that inhabit the place.

 

A ham, cheese and egg mallorca

 

Trippette excited to try her mallorca. “Delicious” she declared!

 

Lady Trip was loving her ham and Swiss cheese mallorca

 

The mallorca bread is freshly made and all of the juices are freshly squeezed. Here is my advice: Go here. Order a mallorca. Eat. Smile. ‘Nuff said. Now, after we gorged on some delicious mallorcas, we headed back to Cervantes and packed our gear up to move into our next pad. Luckily we still had plenty of time so we lazily strolled back and generally took our time packing our stuff up. It was then time to waltz around the corner so Trippette could see the big lady for the very first time…

 

There she is!

 

Trippette shouts for joy at the sight of her new “home” while Lady Trip celebrates at Trippette’s new found excitement.

 

As you can see Trippette was rather excited to see Liberty for the first time. “It’s huge,” she shouts…”and pretty!”

Yep! Time to get a’ walking. Let’s get down there so we can board her. We still have some more unfinished business to attend to!

 

Strolling on down to the pier (it was a 2 block walk from Cervantes to the pier)

[trippingpara]

We have been lookin into Barrachinas and we will be there in September on the Valor, did you see anyone eating the paella ?? we here its like the best there .. 40.00 or so for 2, also, nice review u got goin on :)

 

I almost ordered the paella there. It was $45 or so for 2 people but Lady Trip was really digging the thought of the chicken caribeno and that steak fortaleza kept calling my name so the paella lost out. It did look good though...

 

If I remember correctly, they had the regular seafood paella but also had a seafood with chicken, pork and beef paella. Aww crap, now my mouth is watering with the thought of that and nobody serves paella around here! Thanks buddy!

[trippingpara]

We quickly handed our bags over to a porter and headed inside the terminal. It was about 11:00 am and there were about 80 people in the terminal already. Since we had purchased FTTF, we headed straight up to the counter. We felt special! (keep in mind that “feeling special” and actually “being special” are two distinctly different things!).

 

Looking across the waiting area towards to boarding check-in. The waiting area is very small and quickly packs up. This was taken around 11:30 am about 30 minutes before priority boarding began.

 

Any ways, we got our new cards and I headed over to the liquor store while we waited for the boarding call (boarding started at noon for priority boarding – which we were right after them). From what I understand, regular boarding didn’t start until 2:30 (or at least that is what they had announced while we were sitting there).

 

Apparently Trippette doesn’t like a fun gloater either! The funny thing with this photo was, Trippette never saw the sign above her head, she just gave me a dirty look. Such a fitting pose!

 

A few minutes after 12:00 pm, they started boarding all priority guests (Diamond, Platinum and suite holders). About 10 minutes later, they then announced all FTTF guests could now board. I was surprised to see such a large group of FTTF people. This is definitely a cruise that you can easily get away without FTTF since the boarding process is so drawn out (you essentially have all day to board) and there are no tender ports. We got it because of our timeline. We really wanted access to our room early because we had an excursion in San Juan planned for that afternoon and did not want to haul our carry-ons around and we wanted to get off the ship early when we returned at the end of the cruise. We also really wanted tickets for the Behind the Fun tour and was afraid of it selling out before we got there. Of course, the express lane for Guest Services was a really nice touch too (which we utilized a couple times). Would I do it again? Probably. It was nice to get on the ship early before the masses, loved the immediate access to our cabin and the express lane at Guest Services was really helpful (not to mention the express lane at the cruise terminal too). We felt the cost was pretty reasonable for what we got from it. Any higher cost and we would probably not partake in it.

 

We quickly made our way through the security line and then walked across the gangway to the ship. Our last trip here was on the Victory which was boarded on Deck 0 so I was caught off guard when the gangway went directly to Deck 3. I was expecting to go down a couple flights of stairs with plenty of time to put my “purchase” into my backpack. Plus the security guys put an orange zip tie on my wife’s backpack because they thought her bottle of port wine was hard liquor (I joked about how the bottle looked more like a whiskey bottle than a wine bottle – guess the security guys agreed with me!). Just as we were about to turn and cross the last few feet onto the ship itself, I hurriedly shoved my “purchase” into my backpack and grabbed the handle of my wife’s backpack and carried it onboard covering the zip tie. There was no way that the Carnival security guard did not see me (I was about 12 feet away standing next to a floor to ceiling glass wall in direct view of him). I thought for sure he was going to point me to the desk next to him to turn in my “purchase” and my wine that looks like a whiskey bottle. Nope, he just smiled and welcomed me aboard.

 

I know, I know, let the flaming begin. I’m quite certain that World War II did not begin by the invasion of Poland but by the two warring factions on Cruise Critic concerning the pros/cons of smuggling alcohol onboard ships. This review was not designed to restart the war but to simply recall the events of our wonderful adventure on the Liberty. I will admit that there are pros and cons to it and everyone is fully entitled to their opinion and beliefs on this matter. For all those that are hurt or offended by my actions, don't worry, I still purchased a ton of drinks at the bars and gave all the bartenders plenty of tips. In no way was Carnival left out of any money as we only drank what we brought on in our room when we wouldn't have bothered to go to the bar to grab a drink to bring back to the room (or order from room service). I know, I know now everyone hates me. I'm sure everything will still be alright though. Cool? Cruise on!

 

…back to boarding the Liberty. Of course in typical military fashion, I almost stopped short of the deck and requested permission to board from the security officer but I couldn’t find the American flag to salute. This then promptly reminded me that I was no longer an active serving member of the Marine Corps and this was not the U.S.S. Wisconsin battleship. Whew, what a relief as I was clearly not in the proper uniform of the day!

[trippingpara]

Once onboard, we got to hear that fabulous “ding” as we slid our Sign and Sail card into the kiosk for the first time. There was a whole gaggle of people to welcome us onboard with representatives from just about every group available to answer any questions that one could have (we quickly confirmed our reservation for that evening with the maître’d from Diamonds Steakhouse). Comparing boarding the Victory on Deck 0 and the Liberty on Deck 3, I have to say that it was much more enjoyable stepping into the Atrium for your first view inside of the ship instead of the glum and boring guts of Deck 0. There’s a wee bit more of that “wow” factor in the Atrium! After that, Trippette and I made our way to our cabin while Lady Trip jumped in line at the Shore Excursions desk to purchase our tickets for the Behind the Fun tour since these cannot be purchase in advance online.

 

Trippette and I quickly unpacked, snapped a few photos of the room

 

 

 

 

and headed back down to the Main Deck to find Lady Trip still standing in line at the Excursions desk. There were apparently two large families/groups in front of her that had no idea what they wanted to do and were trying to make up their mind for every port all at once. Really? See that big book right next to you that lists all of the excursions and their prices. There’s even a copy of it in your cabin. Let’s try reading that first, argue about what you want to do in your cabin and then come back once you’ve made up your mind and know what you’re going to order. Neat concept, eh? Maybe Lady Trip and I are kooky but we think it’s rude to make everyone in line behind you to wait while you read a list of excursions, argue over which ones to do and then ask a gazillion questions (that are actually answered in the book!). The young lady working the desk was very relieved when we walked up and already knew what we wanted. She looked very flustered and exhausted after dealing with those two groups.

 

Sorry, jumping off my soap box now. Next up...Casa Bacardi

Edited June 15, 2015 by trippingpara

[mykeb14]

Following!

[trippingpara]

Here are the Fun Times for Sunday, May 24th:

 

 

 

 

[trippingpara]

GREAT start!! Looking forward to the pics and reading the rest.

 

Jamman54! Another one of my review idols! Thank you so much for the kind words.

[smitty89]

Smitty, unfortunately, there is no longer a desk to book future cruises on. I asked at GS as Trippette wanted to look into possibly booking another cruise (we created a monster!) but alas, no desk.

 

Oh no!! :eek: Thanks for the update Trip, this helps my planning quite a bit.

[CruiseCrazedQT]

Your review is great!! Loving all the details and pictures help me a great deal. I am going on Lady Liberty in August and I am SOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!! Ok I know you all have jobs and stuff to do but please hurry with the rest. I am waiting anxiously!!!! :):):)

 

Question: What deck was your room and how did you like the access you had to the rest of the ship from your room? (Elevators access, crowds, etc)

[jmcancruise]

Again thanks for the review. This has become my nighttime bedtime story. Then I can drift off to sleep dreaming of less than 12 weeks when I will be living my own review in the making.

[trippingpara]

Your review is great!! Loving all the details and pictures help me a great deal. I am going on Lady Liberty in August and I am SOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!! Ok I know you all have jobs and stuff to do but please hurry with the rest. I am waiting anxiously!!!! :):):)

 

Question: What deck was your room and how did you like the access you had to the rest of the ship from your room? (Elevators access, crowds, etc)

 

Thank you so much for the kind words. I'll be sure to tell my bosses that I have other, more pressing things to do during the day. I'm sure they won't mind!! I wish!

 

Our cabin was on the Panorama Deck (Deck 10) and was located right by the elevators and right next to the aft door to the Lido Deck - Cabin 1067. The elevators were roughly 10 steps away from our door as was the Lido Deck so access to the ship's main areas was phenomenal. There was surprising little to no noise from the crowds. I really expected to hear people waiting for the elevator or coming in and out from the Lido, or a constantly "ding" from the elevator or music pouring in from the Lido. None of it. I would stay there again in a heartbeat.

[trippingpara]

Again thanks for the review. This has become my nighttime bedtime story. Then I can drift off to sleep dreaming of less than 12 weeks when I will be living my own review in the making.

 

Glad I can help you out there mate! Let's see if I can whip up some more entertainment for you to catch some peaceful Zzzzzzs tonight.

[trippingpara]

After spending what seemed like eternity getting the Behind the Fun tickets, we got back off the ship and immediately headed down the block to Pier 2 to catch the ferry over to Cataño. The cost is only $0.50 per person (one way) and departs every 15 to 20 minutes. After a pleasant cruise across the Bay of San Juan, we grabbed a taxi for the short drive to the Bacardi Distillery otherwise known as Casa Bacardi. I believe the taxi was $3 or $4 a person. Sorry, my memory is a little fuzzy. Guess I sampled a little too much of their products!

 

 

 

 

 

If you have the slightest inclination to imbibe once and a while with rum then you need to get off your tushy and go visit Bacardi’s. It was originally my intention to have the 3 of us do the Mixology Tour (costs $35.00 per person) but since we got off the ship a whole lot later than planned (thanks indecisive groups at excursion desk!) and we had reservations at the steakhouse for early evening, we did not have the needed 2 hours for that tour. So we opted for the much shorter (and cheaper) standard tour. It cost us $12.00 each and included a free welcome drink (we ordered their Cuba Libre, aka a rum and Coke!) served in a souvenir glass and a 45 minute tour.

 

A Cuba Libre just tastes so much better at Casa Bacardi!

 

The ladies agree!

 

The tour was very interesting and just the right amount of information. Not too boring and not too much information. You don’t get to actually see the inside of the real distillery but you do get a demonstration on how it’s made (or at least was made in the 1800s) along with a lesson on all of their rum offerings (far more than I ever knew they made!). Of course, like all good tours, it ends in their gift shop where you can purchase their limited edition rum which is only available in Puerto Rico and have it engraved as well.

[trippingpara]

 

 

 

After our tour ended and we shopped our little hearts out, we grabbed a taxi back to the ferry docks just as the ferry was offloading. Perfect, just in time! We rushed in line to grab our tickets (don’t ask me why we didn’t ask for roundtrip tickets in the first place…). There was a family and 1 young gentleman in front of us. The family got up to the window and started arguing back and forth with the attendant who had the personality of a badger. Not the friendliest chap I’ve ever met in my life. They finally finished and then the guy in front of us got up to the counter and all he had was a $20. Of course, since we were in a hurry, the attendant could not make change so those two started arguing back and forth. What is it with all of the arguing? It’s a friggin’ ticket for a friggin’ ferry! C’mon people!! Finally I stepped up and offered to pay his fare. Anything to get this line moving so we could get on that ferry. At last we get our tickets, the guy thanks us profusely for his free roundtrip ride and we all hustle over to the boarding platform…where they promptly put a barrier up and declare the ferry as full.

 

Son of a….! We expressed in a polite manner to the gentleman at the platform that we needed to be back on our ship (pointing to the Liberty in the distance) by 6:00 pm (it was now 5:30). He looks at his watch, looks back at us, looks back at his watch, squints his eyes as he does the calculations in his head and finally bobs his head from side to side and says, “ahhhh….” Huh? What does “ahhh…” mean? I’m expecting for him to tell us that we’re out of luck but he then tells us to hold on a moment as he saunters off to talk to somebody onboard the ferry. He comes back a few minutes later and opens the barrier for us. The young man that we bought the ticket for did not seem very pleased that we didn’t get him onboard too. Sorry, be happy with your free ticket buddy! The ride back across the bay was crowded but uneventful.

 

 

This was actually taken on the way over to Bacardi's not on the way back. This is a training ship for the Brazilian Navy. I've toured it several times before in Boston.

 

 

As soon as it was docked, we headed back onboard Liberty and bolted to our cabin to clean up and change for our first dinner at the steakhouse. Coming up...Diamond Steakhouse!

[ATHENA3]

Great review and love your pics. Is that the same tall ship in Boston this week ?

Edited June 17, 2015 by ATHENA3

[trippingpara]

Before we went into the Diamond's Steakhouse, we grabbed a couple photos on the Panorama Deck...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruzinbabe06]

Thank you so much for doing this picture review!

 

You're getting me so excited!

 

More! More!:D

[trippingpara]

Great review and love your pics. Is that the same ship in Boston this week ?

 

Thank you so much! No, the Liberty is based out of San Juan, Puerto Rico and that's as far north as she goes. There are two cruise ships in Boston this week: The Norwegian Dawn

 

 

and the Holland America MS Maasdam

 

 

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 will be in Boston on July 12th.

 

 

If you've never seen her before, she is a sight to behold!

[trippingpara]

If you have never eaten at a steakhouse on Carnival, all I have to ask is…what’s wrong with you?? It was absolutely friggin’ delicious and the service was top notice. Well, I do have to put one caveat on the meal. Trippette’s filet mignon was overdone. As I mentioned in the Cliff Notes, this seemed to be a common thread when preparing this marvelous piece of meat. It should melt in one’s mouth not require a substantial amount of chewing. Very disappointing.

 

However, my Cowboy Steak was the bee’s knees! (do bee’s actually have knees? I always wondered that.) Any ways, it was one of the better steaks that I have ever had. Lady Trip’s Chilean Sea Bass was outstanding as well. I had Beef Carpaccio for my appetizer while Lady Trip had steak tartar and Trippette had escargot for the very first time. They also started the service with a little bite sized specials from the chef.

 

Chef’s special burger – it’s a wee little one!

 

Tomato bisque

 

Beef Carpaccio

 

Escargot

 

Steak tartar