SWEET LIBERTY! The cruise that almost wasn't! Sept 20-27, 2015 review

[valentinebaby1]

We ordered a variety of foods, and a variety of cuts of pork. It was kind of overwhelming to me to be honest. Hardly anyone spoke English, it was definitely more locals than tourists. I was so overheated and overstressed to really enjoy it.

 

We decided in the end that it wasn't really worth the drive. We laughed that the pinchos we had the day before were just as good, if not better than the pork we had that day. It was still a very interesting experience though. We ate at El Rancho Original, which was very pretty with a lot of seating outside by a little mountain creek.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[valentinebaby1]

We did a little shopping before deciding to make the drive back to Luquillo.

 

We decided...er, I insisted, that we drive back on the main highways even if that meant a longer route. The main highways are a little better marked, although there are a lot of tolls.

 

 

I have to admit, regardless of my anxiety, the drive to "central Puerto Rico" was beautiful.

 

 

After getting back to the condo, we decided that since it was our last day in Luquillo we had to spend it at our own beach.

 

 

The beach at Playa Azul was very nice! The sand is a unique really golden color. Right outside the condo the waves were a little rough, but once you got past the break it was pretty calm. The water was clear and there were live sand dollars everywhere in the water.

 

 

If you barely dug your toes into the sand you could find them buried. If you picked them up you could feel them moving and when you set them back down they would quickly bury themselves right back under the sand. If you see from the photos taken from our condo balcony, there was a point to the east of the condo and right around the other side of the point is La Pared, which is more of a surf beach. To the west the beach is better suited for snorkeling, so hubby headed that way.

 

 

 

[valentinebaby1]

There was a lot of sargassum seaweed on the beach, but it wasn't bothersome too much, you just had to step around it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[valentinebaby1]

Hubby wanted to snorkel, so he wandered off to the west. After awhile, we decided it was getting a little cool in the ocean and we wanted to check out the swimming pool before it was dark and we realized we had a sort of dilemma. The condo rental only included one set of keys and a key was needed to get back into the gate to the condo, as well as the key needed to get into the pool. If we left to the pool, hubby didn't have a key to get back into the condo. We finally decided that we would head to the pool anyway and just check back for him periodically. Hubby tends to loose track of time when he wanders off! But as it turned out we saw him walking towards us on the beach so we just waited for him. He said the snorkeling was pretty good!

 

 

He found this rather large sea cucumber. ew.

 

 

 

 

 

[valentinebaby1]

The pool at Playa Azul is very large and was quite nice! Although the security guard chewed us out for hanging our towels on the fence :rolleyes:

 

 

The area is full of feral cats...well maybe homeless cats is a better way to describe them because they weren't really feral. There are also many homeless dogs but I think the cats have figured out that they are safe from the dogs within the fence of Playa Azul so there were always cats in the parking lot and around the grounds. One was even in the pool area!

 

 

The evening was gorgeous, and we stayed in the pool until it was nearly dark.

 

 

 

We headed back into the condo and hubby went to pick up some more delicious pinchos for dinner and he whipped up some rice and hamburger mixture for us to eat with the pinchos. Dinner was delicious! We headed to bed early because tomorrow as EMBARKATION DAY!

[valentinebaby1]

I hope you are all enjoying my review so far! Please let me know if you have any questions or want any additional pictures of anything!

 

Day 5: September 20, 2015 Sunday

EMBARKATION DAY IS FINALLY HERE!

 

We woke up excited for the day! We pretty much had everything packed and ready to go. We loaded up the car around 10am and started the drive back to San Juan!

 

Is that the Liberty I see?

 

 

It is!

 

 

We sort of had a plan to meet some new friends from our roll call at the port at 11:30. The problem was that we didn't have an exact place to meet and the port was absolute chaos!

 

 

 

 

 

We pulled up, still in the rental car and hubby dropped us off with all the luggage. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed without him there to take charge. We found a porter and right away were able to give him the luggage. I knew the process but it was still a little overwhelming traveling with 2 people who didn't know what was going on. Once we got the luggage settled, we were just a little unsure of what to do. We didn't know where we were supposed to meet the roll call friends, we didn't know how long it would take hubby to drop off the rental and catch the shuttle to port, it was seriously hot..so we were off to a sort of rocky start to the process.

 

[valentinebaby1]

We couldn't begin the check in process because I had all the paperwork and we needed hubby there. There was no place to sit in the shade.

 

 

 

Our plan for the day originally was to get checked in, have lunch on the ship, drop off luggage and then head back to explore Old San Juan and stop at CVS to pick up sodas and wine. We had tossed ideas around such as going to Senor Frogs, the forts, Coach etc.

 

Our day was not going as planned, however. The heat was just making wandering around impossible.

 

We decided that since we needed a bathroom and shade and water to drink that we'd head to Senor Frogs to wait for hubby there. While my sister and I were in the bathroom, my brother in law ordered some appetizers. I had been looking forward to having a Guys burger, so I didn't want to eat at Senor Frogs, but I felt bad that he ordered food. Our day just wasn't going as planned.

 

Hubby finally caught up with us and we had decided it was just too hot and we were not excited about the idea of wandering around Old San Juan so we decided to just go to CVS since we were already half way there, get our stuff now and then head back to the ship and get checked in. That meant carrying our soda and wine with all of our check in items...probably not the best of ideas.

 

We purchased 3-8 packs of soda and 2 bottles of wine and a couple other little items we thought we might need. I also purchased water pills in case I needed them (I had major swelling in my feet/legs on the first cruise).

 

The next time we cruise, I think we'll skip this and just suck it up and spend the money on the ship. We never ended up even drinking our wine on the ship, and we had about 10 cans of soda leftover after the cruise. The 14 cans of soda we drank would have cost us $28 if we had just purchased them on the ship. I'm not sure it was worth the hassle to save just $28.

 

We had also purchased 4-12 packs of bottled water prior. They were waiting for us in the room. I purchased with my sister and her husband in mind, I figured a 12 pack per person...but we had a full 12 pack leftover and a few other bottles too. We left them in the room because we just didn't want to take them with us. Hopefully someone enjoyed them!

 

After dragging the purchases from CVS and our check in luggage back to the ship, we were all exhausted, overheated and cranky. This was not how I wanted the cruise to start.

 

We had received an email to wait to check in until 2:30. We received a similar email the last time and I've read from so many people that they received emails like that and got to the port earlier and were able to check in. So we figured it was just a way they were trying to spread it out. It was now around 1:15 and we got back to the covered area and started through the port.

 

We got all the way up to the doors to enter the building and they stopped us there. They said the building was full and that no one was entering the ship yet (not until 2:30) and we had to wait outside until 2:30.

 

This was not the news we wanted to hear.

 

The line started to form behind us very quickly:

 

 

 

 

We couldn't take photos in the building, but trust me...it was complete wall to wall people and just utter chaos. People were very cranky and upset at the wait.

 

(I read after the fact that the Liberty came in about an hour late that morning, and that some Coast Guard issue and something about a search for 2 guys delayed the disembarkation of the Sept 13 sailing. I'm not sure if that's what really happened, but I can understand there might have been some delays simply because it was her first post-fire sailing).

 

They let us into the building a little earlier than they had said they would. It was so crowded. At this point we weren't even in the mood to have an embarkation photo taken. We started into the line that winds back and forth to get to the check in desk and people were cutting in line and no one was stopping them. One group in front of us kept adding more and more people after they had jumped ahead but cutting under the ropes. Once we finally got to the check in line we kind of got separated from my sister and brother in law. We met up again in the lines waiting to go through the security check, but of course we got into different lines and they got through a lot quicker than our line did.

 

They were waiting for us when we finally got through security and we walked into the ship together.

 

We knew exactly where we were going, since the Liberty's layout is the same as the Valor, and we booked the same room. We were in balcony cabin 1059 and they were next door.

 

We didn't need to stop and ask for directions although there were plenty of people there in the lobby for that purpose. Now after the delays and the heat and the chaos of the morning, let's just say that one member of our party had reached their boiling point and as soon as we entered the elevator to get to our rooms, they kind of just exploded. It was not the way I wanted to start the cruise :(

 

 

 

 

 

 

[valentinebaby1]

Once we got into the privacy of our room, I just burst into tears because of the blow up in the elevator. I had wanted to have this magical moment entering the ship. I wanted to see the joy on my sister's face and the wow factor. This moment had been kind of ruined for me on the Valor cruise because of my toothache and the severe pain I was in that day, so I was sooo looking forward to this re-do moment and yet again it was ruined. :(

 

We took a few minutes so that I could compose myself before leaving the cabin. I'm not sure if all the cabins were ready, but we just walked right into ours and no one said anything. It was around 2:30 pm.

 

Our purchased water was there waiting for us. We had our "VIFP" bottles of water waiting for us as well. We didn't even drink them with all the water we had purchased. I would have much rather had a free drink!

 

 

The first view from our balcony:

 

 

After I felt composed, we decided we were gonna go get that Guys burger that I had been craving for months!

 

Our cabin was literally just a few steps down from the elevator and a few steps down the hall from the Lido deck, on the Panorama level so it was just a few stairs down to be on the actual Lido deck.

 

Our first step through the doors:

 

 

 

 

[valentinebaby1]

 

 

The line for Guys Burgers wasn't as long as I thought it would be. Once we got up there, hubby had read that there are actually 2 lines, but everyone was in one. He went to the other side and started the line there. So we didn't even have to wait and soon we were sitting down with our first burger of the cruise!

 

 

The fries were delicious! I tried a piggy patty first, which has bacon ground into it and it was super delicious! We loved everything we had at Guys and ate there almost every day of the cruise!

 

After we ate, we wandered around the ship a bit and went to check out the "secret" decks.

 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2015 by valentinebaby1

[valentinebaby1]

 

 

 

 

 

[valentinebaby1]

Hubby found the ships "coin" on one of the secret decks:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JKirkN]

Actually the ship's coin is right behind the water slide... pretty easy to find, but no one even noticed it... People probably thought it was strange that I was taking a picture of the wall... LOL

 

Hubby found the ships "coin" on one of the secret decks:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ktinnc]

Loving your review! We sail on Nov 1 on the same ship/ itinerary!!

 

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

[brinvic]

Where are the secret areas? We will be on Liberty Nov 1!!!!

[JKirkN]

Where are the secret areas? We will be on Liberty Nov 1!!!!

 

They aren't quite as "secret" anymore...but they are basically the decks on the front of the boat that you get to by going to the end of the hallways and going out a door... most people don't realize they are there, so you get lots of privacy... Here's a map to them on the Liberty...

 

[cruiser fanatic]

Great review so far! BTW: The Liberty did not come in late to San Juan. The ship was already docked several days earlier. The ship came back to San Juan early due to the fire.

[valentinebaby1]

Great review so far! BTW: The Liberty did not come in late to San Juan. The ship was already docked several days earlier. The ship came back to San Juan early due to the fire.

 

Thanks for reading :)

 

I was talking about her return on the 20th, not the 13th. The fire was on the 7th, but the first regular cruise that left out on the 13th, which came back on the 20th was rumored to have come in an hour late. I'm not sure if that is true or not, but there definitely seemed to be some delay in our embarkation on the 20th.

[ALWAYZCRUISEN]

Can't wait to read the rest :) I think I would have freaked at the size of those jellyfish! I hope they are gone by January!

 

Me too!

[ALWAYZCRUISEN]

We found another stop and wandered around. There was another gift shop and drinks available here as well.

 

 

 

 

We also stopped at La Coca Falls. It looked so different from the last time we were there. The rivers and waterfalls were very low due to a lack of much needed rain throughout Puerto Rico. This was La Coca Falls 2015:

 

 

This was the same place in 2013:

 

 

 

Wow, what a BIG difference!

[valentinebaby1]

Wow, what a BIG difference!

 

I know, right? I didn't think we were at the same place when we first got there!

[sachmo9085]

Thank you for taking the time to do a review! We leave in one week on her and I cannot wait! I am excited to have one more review to read before leaving; it should help pass the time =) I'm sorry the cruise didn't start off great; although I have loved cruising with family and friends in the past, sometimes it's just easier when it is only my husband and I. We know what each other expects from certain situations (ie I get all pumped up about getting on the ship, he doesn't care until we're in our room, he HATES lines, I couldn't care less about lines, etc) and we only have to coordinate with each other for what excursions we want to do or where to eat. Add more people in the mix? It's a nightmare for someone like me who loves to plan things out and who has anxiety. I am confident things turn around though and am excited for the rest of your review!

[valentinebaby1]

Thank you for taking the time to do a review! We leave in one week on her and I cannot wait! I am excited to have one more review to read before leaving; it should help pass the time =) I'm sorry the cruise didn't start off great; although I have loved cruising with family and friends in the past, sometimes it's just easier when it is only my husband and I. We know what each other expects from certain situations (ie I get all pumped up about getting on the ship, he doesn't care until we're in our room, he HATES lines, I couldn't care less about lines, etc) and we only have to coordinate with each other for what excursions we want to do or where to eat. Add more people in the mix? It's a nightmare for someone like me who loves to plan things out and who has anxiety. I am confident things turn around though and am excited for the rest of your review!

 

It was definitely a different experience traveling with others! The funny thing is that even with the rocky start, my sister and her husband have already booked not only their next cruise, but their cruise after that as well! They are taking a 5 day cruise at the end of Feb and another one in April!

 

I hope your week goes fast! I can't promise I'll have this finished before you leave though...lol!

[valentinebaby1]

After wandering around for a bit with hubby, I decided it was time to take a short nap. He wandered some more while I headed to the cabin to lay down.

 

After resting for a bit, we decided to head to the main dining room for dinner. We didn't have to dress up since the first night anything goes.

 

Now to warn you, we didn't take photos of our meals or the menus. Sorry! I will try to remember what we ate though. I have to say that we were somewhat disappointed with the American Table menu compared to the menu we had on the Valor. We missed some of the "didja" items, and when we found out that "bitter and blanc" was no longer on the menu we about cried!

 

We started out with several shared appetizers:

shrimp cocktail (basic but good)

chicken quesadilla (good)

strawberry bisque (I love the cold soups!)

flatbread with pear, walnuts, blue cheese (a little dry)

masitas de puerto fritas (from the port of call section, very good!)

 

For my main course I had pescado asada (also from the port of call menu). It was decent. I had mac and cheese for my side, which was pretty good.

 

We weren't thrilled about any of the desserts on the menu. I don't think we even ordered any that night.

 

After dinner we went back to our cabin to wait for muster drill. On the valor trip we were there pretty early and in the back row, waiting and waiting and waiting. This time we didn't want to be there waiting for 30 minutes so we basically went to muster at the last minute. We were in the front row and the wait was much better than the last time!

 

After we were dismissed from the muster drill, we headed straight to the top of the ship for sail away!

 

The domed roof is the port building...

 

 

and we're off!

 

 

We didn't stay too long for the lido deck party, since we knew we'd be up early in the morning. This became our "norm" for the week!

 

 

 

We headed back to our cabin to call it a night. At some point, I think shortly before muster, we met Jerald, our room steward. He was very nice, and took good care of us, although we were a little disappointed that we didn't get a towel animal on our first night. I think it was just a timing issue, that we happened to be in our cabin when he was around but we weren't sure why he didn't do our evening service while we were at dinner that night. But the rest of the week we had no complaints!

 

At some point that evening, we came back to our cabin and found these papers in our room:

 

 

There was one for each of us, promotional value of $25.

 

My hubby and I follow John Heald's page and blog. I know a lot of you don't care for him, but we find him funny and enjoy reading his posts. We had posted on his page asking about bitter and blanc and once we found out it was no longer on 7 day and shorter cruise menus, we asked if it was possible to place a request for it for our sailing. He had replied that he would do what he could, and also said to post again the day before we sailed, so we did.

 

We thought maybe the $25 "gifts" were something that Mr. Heald arranged and we were so excited about it!

 

Hubby decided that since the shops were now open, that he wasn't ready for bed just yet, even though I was. He took the papers down to the store so that he could get his ceramic ship and found out that the credit had already been applied to our sign and sail account.

 

As it turned out, the "gift" wasn't a gift after all. It was just a record of our onboard credit from a price reduction. We didn't get a paper like this on our first cruise so this was kind of a let down. Then we felt really stupid for thinking it was really a surprise gift!

 

Well, hubby wandered around a little bit more, got some pizza and ice cream and basically couldn't sleep, he was just too excited to be back on the ship, regardless!

 

Here are a few more pics from around the ship:

 

 

 

[valentinebaby1]

 

 

[bumbles]

Great review so far!! Sorry it didn't start off very well for you but it sounds like your sister is hooked!

 

Quick question - what's the general atmosphere at sailaway? Is it as lively as the afternoon sailaways?