Review: Carnival liberty – september 20, 2015 – southern itinerary out of san juan,

pghsteelerfan · November 13, 2015

After I took my little stroll for pictures, I went back down to the lounger and DH went for more beer for each of us.

These were very good

I enjoyed the lounger and the views and when I finished my beer I went into the water. After a while, “K” from “that other” roll call came over. I knew they were going to be here after the island tour they took. I spent some time talking to her and asked her where the rest of her group was. They were all snorkeling and she mentioned that “J”, her DH, could spend all day out there. If we are ever on the same cruise as they are again, I'm snorkeling with them. If you've seen Valentinebaby1's reviews then you've seen their snorkeling pictures. Wow! They manage to see or find the neatest things snorkeling.

While hanging out in the water with “K”, “J” came over with two medium sized conch shells, both empty but they had the outer crud, they all will from being in the water. This isn’t like Grand Turk’s “conch shell graveyard” in which the discarded shells are up on the beach. They are in the water here but obviously not a lot like there are in Grand Turk. He gave those to me and I put them back at the lounger and asked him about the sand bar. He said it’s still there, that’s where he got the shells. He mentioned seeing sand dollars too. I asked him if he could show me, so I went and got the snorkel and mask and followed him out.

Fortunately I had a better seal on the mask this time. I finally saw some sand dollars, most were broken but I was able to find a smaller, whole one, already bleached white. This is a plus, no clean up, just let it dry…if I can manage to get it back in one piece. The shells “J” gave to me weren’t huge but a little larger than what I wanted. I’m thinking luggage + extra weight = $100.00 fee from the airline. When we were getting ready to head back in, I saw a smaller one. I thinking I could definitely manage this one with the luggage. Of course, the sand dollars and shells are about 12 feet down. We had to “free dive” for them. I ended up getting water in the snorkel, not a lot, but enough that I accidentally inhaled a little. More salt water down my nose and down my throat. I was glad we were heading in at this point.

DH had gotten me another beer and we had about a half hour left. I’d need that beer to wash down the salt water. “J” and “K” and crew were being picked up at the same time we were, so we all had to start getting dried off and start packing up our things. The smaller conch shell I found was empty, but had some crud on the outside from being in the water. I had the freezer zip-lock bags and double bagged it just in case it started to smell. DH had some kind of a rum drink in a plastic cup at some point, probably while I was in the water. I used the empty cup to temporarily carry my sand dollar in. I kept the small conch that “J” gave me, but left the bigger one, but only because I had to think about getting stuff back without letting my suitcase get over 50 pounds. Another guy that was in a lounger next to DH and I complimented on the larger shell, so I told him I could only take the small ones and let him know if he wanted it, it was his.

Jumping ahead again. The conch shell I found cleaned up really nice, the smaller one, not pretty but I like it. I also had one little baggie with some black sand. And the sand dollar…did it make it back to Virginia in one piece? YESSSSSS!!!! I managed to get the sand dollar home without breaking it. All are beautiful, free, and authentic souvenirs from St. Kitts. So "J" and "K", thanks for your help in showing me where to find these. As for souvenirs, I did purchase T-shirts, fridge magnet, Christmas ornament and shot glass the last time.

That little conch shell really cleaned up well. Its the color of a creamsicle

And the sand dollar. Notice the six holes in it. The Caribbean sand dollars have six holes while the the east/gulf coast USA sand dollars have five holes. The top picture is the front of it, bottom is the back (same sand dollar)

Regular review now in progress. Once we had everything, we headed back up to where we were to meet Vernon. It was about 2:25pm and he was already there, so we got back in the taxi with him and he drove us back to port. When we got back to port, Vernon let us out of the taxi and DH paid him what we owed him and gave him a nice tip and we both thanked him for the wonderful day in St. Kitts. I got a picture of Vernon with DH right after DH paid and tipped him. I asked him if he had a business card so we could use him if we ever get back and he gave one to us. We really enjoyed Vernon and if you ever get him as your taxi driver, you’re in great hands. He’s very reliable and timely and I definitely recommend him.

This is Vernon with DH

pghsteelerfan · November 13, 2015

We went into the cruise center and we didn’t really need anything, but I wanted some post cards. DH waited with our stuff on a bench. I went into every souvenir type store I could see and none of them had post cards. Every other place we’ve been to on a cruise, actually every other tourist destination we’ve been to, has post cards. That’s usually one of the first things you see when you enter a souvenir store is the rack of post cards. None were to be found. I thought that was kind of strange. Having failed at that, I did get a couple of pictures of the cruise center as we made our way back to Liberty.

This is what it looked like in 2013

This time, 2015

2013 again...but the difference here isn't just the weather (and no, the difference isn't the "tail" or how the ship is facing)

Back to 2015 - see the difference? Someone else pointed that out in a comment

The difference is the roof on the building. There has obviously been a new roof added, but it was after Memorial Day (thank you Trip). It's also now red.

trippingpara · November 13, 2015

Is this the picture I had that you mean?

You know, I thought something looked different! But yes, the roof is actually red now. That is definitely a new roof.

I've been meaning to thank you for your help with our day here. I remember asking you if there was time for the fort and both Cockleshell and Shipwreck and we definitely had the time, just not the budget to do all. We definitely would have had enough time and I really do appreciate your help. :)

Yep, that's the one! I'm glad I was able to be of some help. I've always been able to gather a ton of great ideas from your reviews so its great to hear that I was able to return even a small smidget of that assistance back.

pghsteelerfan · November 14, 2015

I was hoping to get more of this done today, but ship happens. I will be updating over the weekend and next up will be sailing away from St. Kitts and the rest of our evening. I may, not promising, but may even be able to get started on St. Maarten. So until then...

Edited November 14, 2015 by pghsteelerfan

pghsteelerfan · November 14, 2015

Yep, that's the one! I'm glad I was able to be of some help. I've always been able to gather a ton of great ideas from your reviews so its great to hear that I was able to return even a small smidget of that assistance back.

Thanks! :) I've also gotten a ton of great ideas from other reviews as well but yes, because of your assistance, we had our day in St. Kitts planned out. I was a little bummed about not being able to get to Cockleshell Beach because it would have been beautiful, just as it was the day you were there. I love the pictures you got. I've also gotten the idea of Culebra in my head as well, but we need a longer stay in PR other than one night, pre-cruise to do that.

I'm just so glad I stumbled upon CC because we have gotten so much more out of our cruises since. There is just so much to see and do that I probably wouldn't have known about. The pictures in reviews have been helpful too.

I hope you have a great weekend.

Edited November 14, 2015 by pghsteelerfan

Wags67 · November 14, 2015

Continuing to Love your review, Holly.

Oh, I am missing this cruise, too. Beautiful islands and friends~old and new!

I can't wait to see your favorite photo!

However, you have So many breathtaking photos!

Crusin Karen · November 14, 2015

Holly, I hate to keep repeating and repeating and REPEATING myself, but your pictures are just amazing. And the WEATHER...:eek: I am glad you got it better this time. Funny because right at the beginning of your review I thought that you could probably hire yourself out at ANY of the islands, or even CCL, and sell your pictures to be used for post cards. And then you said you couldn't find post cards in St. Kitts...well, just print up a 4x6 picture and voila! :p:D:cool: Have a great weekend and tell DH to get that basement cleaned up and you can make a "cruise rememberance" room down there! ;)

JKirkN · November 14, 2015

I was very surprised at the erosion on Shipwreck beach! Last time we were there it had double rows of loungers and the beach...and there was a platform out in the water...

Apparently there had been a pretty big storm in the last year and it washed away most of the beach...

Here are a couple pix from our Oct. 2013 Valor cruise:

pghsteelerfan · November 14, 2015

Continuing to Love your review, Holly.
Oh, I am missing this cruise, too. Beautiful islands and friends~old and new!

I can't wait to see your favorite photo!

However, you have So many breathtaking photos!

Thanks Laura! :) I am really missing this cruise too, but I agree, beautiful islands and friends!

Did you want me to email the "favorite" to you? I may have showed it to you since I had it on the phone but can't remember if I did or not.

pghsteelerfan · November 14, 2015

Holly, I hate to keep repeating and repeating and REPEATING myself, but your pictures are just amazing. And the WEATHER...:eek: I am glad you got it better this time. Funny because right at the beginning of your review I thought that you could probably hire yourself out at ANY of the islands, or even CCL, and sell your pictures to be used for post cards. And then you said you couldn't find post cards in St. Kitts...well, just print up a 4x6 picture and voila! :p:D:cool: Have a great weekend and tell DH to get that basement cleaned up and you can make a "cruise rememberance" room down there! ;)

Hi Karen!

Thank you again. I'm glad you are enjoying the pictures. And yes, the weather...so happy to finally be able to "see" more of St. Kitts this time. I knew it was beautiful but I didn't realize how beautiful...especially the green mountains against that blue sky. The pictures, I'm definitely not a professional but I do love taking pictures of vacations so I can enjoy the memories for years to come.

The post cards...check this out. I already made my own. I was going to do a couple more but their website is currently down for maintenance. I normally use Shutterfly but the only "collages" they have are greeting cards/announcements with their own "Greeting" on them. I did this one first, just to try it and see how the quality is and I'm happy with it. I scanned it to show you.

Yes, if hubby ever finishes that basement, he wants a sports theme but I told him I'd need an area for a beach/cruise room.

pghsteelerfan · November 14, 2015

I was very surprised at the erosion on Shipwreck beach! Last time we were there it had double rows of loungers and the beach...and there was a platform out in the water...
Apparently there had been a pretty big storm in the last year and it washed away most of the beach...

Here are a couple pix from our Oct. 2013 Valor cruise:

It's funny that you mentioned that. When I was talking to Kendra in the water that day before heading off to the sandbar with you, she told me that it had changed drastically in the two years since you were there. Believe it or not, I actually feel in love with the looks of Shipwreck from Kendra's Valor review. I still loved it there and would go back, but only if the water was calm. I could see where the loungers would probably be IN the water if it was rough. When we got back, I went back and looked at the pictures in Kendra's review again. There was a difference. I loved the views though, and those won't change.

pghsteelerfan · November 14, 2015

pghsteelerfan · November 14, 2015

Once back on Liberty, our cabin was the first stop so we could drop off our stuff off. We made sure we had our cameras then went up to the Lido Deck and got in line for Guy Burgers. We got our burgers & fries, got our toppings and found a table. Once we got a table, we took turns going to the drink station, DH for iced tea and water for me. There were a lot of others up there, but it wasn’t what I’d consider crowded yet as a lot of passengers were still in St. Kitts, so we didn’t feel we needed to rush as people weren’t looking everywhere for an empty table. We ate our burgers and sat at the table for a while as we finished our drinks. While we were finishing our drinks, I went over to the self-serve to get an ice cream cone. As soon as I got back, DH got up to get one.

When we finished our drinks, we went over to Red Frog and got a drink. All the guys were there (Antonio, Joseph, and Winston). I think I just had a beer for now and DH may have too. Once we had those, we went up to Panorama Deck 10 and walked around on both sides for pictures. I did notice a tug boat down at the pier, actually two tug boats, but again, they are there if Liberty needs assistance. We took in the beautiful views and got pictures and just stayed on Deck 10 till it was time to sail away.

Here's "Tug 1"...

...and "Tug 2"

***When sailing out of St. Kitts, you’ll get great views from either side as the ship pulls out and she’ll head straight out for a distance before she turns gradually to the right to head north. When we left, sunset would be toward the front of the ship. There will be more on the sunset later***

pghsteelerfan · November 14, 2015

Adding a few pictures from our Valor cruise in 2013 for comparison...

2013...it was POURING down rain shortly before sailaway

As these pictures show, there definitely wasn't much to "see".

Now back to 2015...

pghsteelerfan · November 14, 2015

As we sailed out of St. Kitts, we were back and forth between both sides for the views. The last time we sailed out of St. Kitts, we could barely see the island, only the bottom part at the base of the mountains. Today we were definitely able to see St. Kitts and it was a beautiful sail away. The sky was still clear and blue, but some clouds had developed that were above St. Kitts, but not covering the island. The water was very calm, I wouldn’t say it was like glass, but it was like a lake.

Letting the pictures take over for a while...

2015

pghsteelerfan · November 14, 2015