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

[pghsteelerfan]

Hi Holly! I finally finished reading your review (got a bit side tracked for a few weeks, but I didn't forget about you! haha) Bummer that you didn't get to eat at Patio de Sam, but I guess that's an excuse to go back to Puerto Rico for another cruise hehe It looks like you had amazing weather for your vacation! I am OBSESSED with these two sunset photos!! I hope I get to see a sunset like that on my next cruise :D Thanks again for taking the time to write up another great review

 

Hey there! I know what you mean about being side tracked...I finally had to crack down and start getting ready for Christmas. It's been warm, 60's today and 70's tomorrow and Christmas Day, and warmer over all this December. It just seemed I had more time. LOL!!! No complaints about it being warm, we need a break after the past two winters.

 

Oh, I definitely think not getting to Patio de Sam this time is a great excuse to go back. I'd actually like to spend a week in San Juan and see all of Puerto Rico that I've been dying to see, in addition to either Vieques or Culebra islands (or both). If embarkation wasn't so late this time, we'd have had time. I saw Liberty from our hotel window before 5AM that morning, so I know Liberty was on her regular schedule. I've heard a few different reasons as to why she was late getting to the pier. But there will definitely be a next time, it's just a matter of "when".

 

Yes, we did have amazing weather. Only a little "liquid sunshine" in Barbados, but it was far from being a washout day. The water was so calm this time too, the calmest we've had, and right smack in the middle of hurricane season. We sure lucked out. So glad you like those two sunset pictures, it was a beautiful sunset. I forgot to take my camera's zoom lens with me but DH had his and one of his pictures is spectacular. I also missed out on being able to get a nice, zoomed picture of the island of Saba, so I had to crop some of the ones I got but cropped is never the same. It would have been a great picture. I'll be sure to remember the zoom lens from now on. Thanks again for reading and glad you enjoyed it. I've always enjoyed your reviews and am looking forward to your next one. :)

Edited December 23, 2015 by pghsteelerfan

[josefina022]

What a great review, loved the beautiful pictures! Enjoyed reading every bit of this & am sad that it's over, lol

[pghsteelerfan]

What a great review, loved the beautiful pictures! Enjoyed reading every bit of this & am sad that it's over, lol

 

I've been spending the last two hours reading other reviews and comments and just saw that my review popped up again. Thank you for your kind words about my review and I'm glad you enjoyed it. I was sad when our cruise was over but the memories of this one will last forever.

[tmt3698]

Hello, really enjoying your review I'm going on the Carnival Liberty Jan. 31st. I know some of the fish in your pictures: Blue Tang, Blue Wrasse, Butterfly Fish. :)

[pghsteelerfan]

Hello, really enjoying your review I'm going on the Carnival Liberty Jan. 31st. I know some of the fish in your pictures: Blue Tang, Blue Wrasse, Butterfly Fish. :)

 

I am so jealous, I'd just love to be going on this cruise again! :D Thank you for ID'ing some of the fish and happy you're enjoying the review. I hope it passes the time for you and hope you have just as good of a cruise as we did on Liberty.

[onecutemoocow]

What a great review!! We leave in 6 days and cruise in 7. Using the same itinerary you did. I took many notes from your review! We live right outside Pittsburgh!

[pghsteelerfan]

What a great review!! We leave in 6 days and cruise in 7. Using the same itinerary you did. I took many notes from your review! We live right outside Pittsburgh!

 

Thank you and so happy that this has been helpful to you in planning your upcoming Liberty cruise. I'm sure you will have a great time on this itinerary - our favorite. :) DH and I are both from the Pittsburgh area...I'm from Greensburg and DH from Murrysville but living in VA now, but only 4 hours from the 'burg. I hope you have a wonderful cruise on Liberty.

[tomsuelaw]

Thanks for posting another great review. I took your advice and booked with Spencer in St Lucia! Super excited, can't wait to sail Liberty in 28 days!!

 

Hope you guys had a great Holiday!

[Shih-tzu]

Enjoying your review - so far I'm on page 13 but hoping to read the rest tomorrow. I'm on the Liberty in February and can hardly wait.....

[pghsteelerfan]

Thanks for posting another great review. I took your advice and booked with Spencer in St Lucia! Super excited, can't wait to sail Liberty in 28 days!!

 

Hope you guys had a great Holiday!

 

Thank you for reading and I really do appreciate the kind comments. I hope your day with Spencer is as good as ours was. Great way to see St. Lucia, it is just beautiful. We had a nice holiday and I hope yours was too.

 

Enjoying your review - so far I'm on page 13 but hoping to read the rest tomorrow. I'm on the Liberty in February and can hardly wait.....

 

I'm happy that your enjoying it and hope it helps you pass the days before your cruise on Liberty.

 

 

I noticed you both are going on Liberty in February...I hope you both have beautiful weather and calm seas.

Edited January 5, 2016 by pghsteelerfan

[Rollar11]

Who was your snorkeling in Barbados booked with?

[pghsteelerfan]

Who was your snorkeling in Barbados booked with?

 

Our snorkeling was part of an island tour that we did when in Barbados, so we didn't book it directly. We used Patsie Nurse with JP's Taxi Service for the day since we wanted to do the snorkeling/swimming with turtles and also visit the east coast of Barbados (Bathsheba and other sites) and she can set up customized tours.

 

I found out about Patsie Nurse through another review of the southern itinerary out of San Juan when Valor was on that route. It was Dirkgun's review in which they were able to do different things to get the most out of their day in Barbados. They had been to Bathsheba on another cruise but also had beach time. On their Valor cruise, they did the snorkeling/swim with turtles and did something different in the afternoon. Since we wanted to do both (snorkel/swim with turtles & tour of Barbados' east coast), I got the contact information for Patsie from him. We were very happy with our day in Barbados and I highly recommend her.

 

Patsie charges a set price for the day, so the snorkeling/swimming with turtles was included. We paid her directly at the beginning our our tour and she handled payment to the snorkel boat operators (we did tip the driver on our own). If there is something you'd like to do in the afternoon, she will work it in, time permitting, and if you just wanted to spend the day at the beach, that can be arranged to with pickup whenever your ready to head back to the ship. She was great with communication (we communicated with her through email) with our original inquiries, booking and follow up.

 

Her email is Patsitaxi@hotmail.com; Cell #1 246-264-7413; Cell #2 264-571-8291.

 

The beach we snorkeled/swam with turtles at was Paynes Bay Beach, which we thought was just beautiful. There were others there but it wasn't crowded. There is also so much to see and do in Barbados, and if you're interested in other sights and the time can be workable, she can arrange it. She was very reliable and had everything scheduled so we were back at the ship with plenty of time. Sorry the response is so long, but just wanted to fill you in on the details since we didn't actually book the snorkeling/swimming with turtles directly.

[love_my_puggle]

Hello! I LOVED reading your review! I will be on the Liberty next week and cannot wait. I think I remember reading somewhere in the post about a small upper deck with lounge chairs and a "showerhead" sprayer that you spent some time on, away from the crowd. I can't seem to find the post again, and would love to check this spot out on our sea day, as I want to just relax and read, and maybe cool off with a spray of water every now and then. :)

thanks!

[Stinger-pr]

Well I have started re-reading your review. First of all I love reliving our time on the Liberty and that awesome week with my DD. And second to get some new ideas of thing to do and see because......eehhh, well....... not one to gloat but........I'm on the Fascination doing the cycle once more in 8 months!!:D:D:D. Got an new partner in crime (and life) who's been listening to me go on and on and on about my cruise experience and about how Carnival's got this nice promo going for so long that she finally flipped and told me to just book the darn thing if we can afford to go already!! So the numbers added up and I followed her advise and booked.

 

Funny thing about women: I break her the news and she somewhat jokingly said "you did what??" I simply but seriously said "Hey, you told me to!!! LOL:D

[pghsteelerfan]

Hello! I LOVED reading your review! I will be on the Liberty next week and cannot wait. I think I remember reading somewhere in the post about a small upper deck with lounge chairs and a "showerhead" sprayer that you spent some time on, away from the crowd. I can't seem to find the post again, and would love to check this spot out on our sea day, as I want to just relax and read, and maybe cool off with a spray of water every now and then. :)

thanks!

 

Thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. I'd love to be packing for another Liberty cruise right now...two weekends ago we were buried in snow and they're saying we can get more this week. :eek:

 

I can't remember where I posted that, but the showerhead sprayers to cool off under are on Panorama Deck 10, both sides of Liberty. I can't recall if there are more than one on each side or not. If you're on Deck 10 overlooking the main pool, they are along the sides just toward the back. There are loungers along both sides as well. I looked through pictures to see if I had some good ones of the showers I did find two that they are in. I've added arrows pointing to them since they don't really stand out in the pictures.

 

This is the starboard (right) side. It's also right within the smoking area, so if that would be a problem, there's another one on the opposite side, same location.

http://s934.photobucket.com/user/H_B_G/media/IMG_9587-1.jpg.html

 

This is the port (left) side. This picture was taken after dark, but it's actually a better picture. There are loungers along the railings in front of it. I think we did this on Valor in 2013 since our loungers were on that side and right in front of the glass doorways.

 

It is more quiet and relaxing in those areas of Parnorama Deck 10 since the Lido Deck by the pool is where all of the action, and crowds, are on the Sea Day.

 

There is also the Serenity area, which is adult only (21+), at the front of Liberty and is located on two decks, Sun Deck 12 and Sky Deck 14. We've never gotten to spend time here, but it's very nice. I don't know if there are showerhead sprayers to cool off under in Serenity since we just walked through a couple of times for pictures.

 

I hope you have a wonderful time, and great weather, on your Liberty cruise next week and thank you again for following along. :)

[pghsteelerfan]

Well I have started re-reading your review. First of all I love reliving our time on the Liberty and that awesome week with my DD. And second to get some new ideas of thing to do and see because......eehhh, well....... not one to gloat but........I'm on the Fascination doing the cycle once more in 8 months!!:D:D:D. Got an new partner in crime (and life) who's been listening to me go on and on and on about my cruise experience and about how Carnival's got this nice promo going for so long that she finally flipped and told me to just book the darn thing if we can afford to go already!! So the numbers added up and I followed her advise and booked.

 

Funny thing about women: I break her the news and she somewhat jokingly said "you did what??" I simply but seriously said "Hey, you told me to!!! LOL:D

 

I'm so happy to hear that you're going again and that you have a new "partner in crime" in your life. And no, not gloating...I think I made a similar comment on Dirkgun's Valor review right after we booked our Liberty cruise. I'd love to be going again and trying a new ship. I know we'll be doing it again but just don't know when yet. Next time, I'd really love to spend more time in San Juan. I really don't expect that we'll be cruising in 2016, but maybe 2017. We're probably going to be going to South Carolina, twice, this year. Once with my family and again later in the summer with friends.

 

Funny you mention reading this again...I was just re-reading your reviews (I really love the pictures you have) and a couple of others to get a "cruise fix" since we got a blizzard two weeks ago that left us with 30 inches of snow. Most is melted now, but more on the way this week.

 

I hope your new partner in crime (and life) enjoys cruising as much as the rest of us here. Sometimes all it takes is one cruise to get that addiction going...it did for us.

 

Two weeks ago - DH with the snowblower on the first round of clearing the driveway and sidewalks

 

Edited February 6, 2016 by pghsteelerfan

[pghsteelerfan]

Hello! I LOVED reading your review! I will be on the Liberty next week and cannot wait. I think I remember reading somewhere in the post about a small upper deck with lounge chairs and a "showerhead" sprayer that you spent some time on, away from the crowd. I can't seem to find the post again, and would love to check this spot out on our sea day, as I want to just relax and read, and maybe cool off with a spray of water every now and then. :)

thanks!

 

Thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. I'd love to be packing for another Liberty cruise right now...two weekends ago we were buried in snow and they're saying we can get more this week. :eek:

 

I can't remember where I posted that, but the showerhead sprayers to cool off under are on Panorama Deck 10, both sides of Liberty. I can't recall if there are more than one on each side or not. If you're on Deck 10 overlooking the main pool, they are along the sides just toward the back. There are loungers along both sides as well. I looked through pictures to see if I had some good ones of the showers I did find two that they are in. I've added arrows pointing to them since they don't really stand out in the pictures.

 

This is the starboard (right) side. It's also right within the smoking area, so if that would be a problem, there's another one on the opposite side, same location.

 

http://s934.photobucket.com/user/H_B_G/media/IMG_9587-1.jpg.html

 

This is the port (left) side. This picture was taken after dark, but it's actually a better picture. There are loungers along the railings in front of it. I think we did this on Valor in 2013 since our loungers were on that side and right in front of the glass doorways.

 

It is more quiet and relaxing in those areas of Parnorama Deck 10 since the Lido Deck by the pool is where all of the action, and crowds, are on the Sea Day.

 

There is also the Serenity area, which is adult only (21+), at the front of Liberty and is located on two decks, Sun Deck 12 and Sky Deck 14. We've never gotten to spend time here, but it's very nice. I don't know if there are showerhead sprayers to cool off under in Serenity since we just walked through a couple of times for pictures.

 

I hope you have a wonderful time, and great weather, on your Liberty cruise next week and thank you again for following along. :)

[pghsteelerfan]

DOUBLE POST...one of the pictures in the first response wasn't showing up, tried to edit but ran out of time. This shows both pictures.

 

 

Hello! I LOVED reading your review! I will be on the Liberty next week and cannot wait. I think I remember reading somewhere in the post about a small upper deck with lounge chairs and a "showerhead" sprayer that you spent some time on, away from the crowd. I can't seem to find the post again, and would love to check this spot out on our sea day, as I want to just relax and read, and maybe cool off with a spray of water every now and then. :)

thanks!

 

Thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. I'd love to be packing for another Liberty cruise right now...two weekends ago we were buried in snow and they're saying we can get more this week. :eek:

 

I can't remember where I posted that, but the showerhead sprayers to cool off under are on Panorama Deck 10, both sides of Liberty. I can't recall if there are more than one on each side or not. If you're on Deck 10 overlooking the main pool, they are along the sides just toward the back. There are loungers along both sides as well. I looked through pictures to see if I had some good ones of the showers I did find two that they are in. I've added arrows pointing to them since they don't really stand out in the pictures.

 

This is the starboard (right) side. It's also right within the smoking area, so if that would be a problem, there's another one on the opposite side, same location.

 

 

This is the port (left) side. This picture was taken after dark, but it's actually a better picture. There are loungers along the railings in front of it. I think we did this on Valor in 2013 since our loungers were on that side and right in front of the glass doorways.

 

It is more quiet and relaxing in those areas of Parnorama Deck 10 since the Lido Deck by the pool is where all of the action, and crowds, are on the Sea Day.

 

There is also the Serenity area, which is adult only (21+), at the front of Liberty and is located on two decks, Sun Deck 12 and Sky Deck 14. We've never gotten to spend time here, but it's very nice. I don't know if there are showerhead sprayers to cool off under in Serenity since we just walked through a couple of times for pictures.

 

I hope you have a wonderful time, and great weather, on your Liberty cruise next week and thank you again for following along. :)

Edited February 6, 2016 by pghsteelerfan

[tmt3698]

Hello,

I just arrived home yesterday from my wonderful cruise on the beautiful Liberty. I would love to write a nice review like yours but I'm not sure how. Where do I write my review and post the pictures?

 

Thank you in advance :)

[pghsteelerfan]

Hello,

I just arrived home yesterday from my wonderful cruise on the beautiful Liberty. I would love to write a nice review like yours but I'm not sure how. Where do I write my review and post the pictures?

 

Thank you in advance :)

 

It sounds like you had a wonderful time!

 

It's pretty easy to write a review, but can be very time consuming, and you can do it right here in the Carnival Cruise Lines forum. To get started you just need to start a new thread. At the top of the Carnival Cruise Lines forum page is a blue button labeled "New Thread". You'll have to click on that to start a new thread and your thread will be your review You'll just have to come up with a title for your review. Once you get your title and the first page done, continuing a review is just like posting on another thread by clicking on the "Post Reply" button.

 

As for posting pictures, I'm attaching a link to another Cruise Critic thread that I remembered seeing in the "Photo & Camera Discussions" section that's in the section titled "Digital Photography & Cruise Technology" where another member inquired about posting pictures. There is a great and very detailed description on on how post pictures in post #7. There are several additional pages and others have used that thread to "test" post pictures. That would be too long for me to type up here. :D

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1714741

 

The maximum amount of pictures per post is six. That includes the "smiles". If there are more than six, you'll get an error message when you hit the "Submit Reply" button. It's happened to me quite a few times. All you need to do is delete a link to a picture and just use it in the next post.

 

I really hope this will be helpful to you. It will be your review, your story, and it is a great way to relive a great cruise. I do hope you'll do a review...I'm really looking forward to reading as I just love reviews on this itinerary. Feel the arm twisting? :D

Edited February 8, 2016 by pghsteelerfan

[Shih-tzu]

Thought I'd let you know that I'm back from my February cruise on the Liberty..... your review was SO helpful and I'm so glad I read it before I went.... Especially grateful for your section on St Lucia - I booked the tour with Spencer Ambrose and loved it. They are such a wonderful family.

 

Again - thanks so, so much......:)

[pghsteelerfan]

Thought I'd let you know that I'm back from my February cruise on the Liberty..... your review was SO helpful and I'm so glad I read it before I went.... Especially grateful for your section on St Lucia - I booked the tour with Spencer Ambrose and loved it. They are such a wonderful family.

 

Again - thanks so, so much......:)

 

How was your cruise? I know that Liberty is currently on the repo cruise to Galveston, so I'm glad you were able to sail on her out of San Juan before she left. I kept thinking it would be March or April that she'd be leaving San Juan.

 

Thank you for letting me know that this was helpful in your planning. I have gotten a lot of great ideas, ideas of things to do that I wouldn't have even known about, if it wasn't for other reviews, so it's nice to know that this was helpful in your planning. I always enjoy reading reviews and getting ideas tucked away for future cruises, even when we don't have a cruise planned...like now. :D I'm also glad you enjoyed your day in St. Lucia with Spencer and family. They are a wonderful family and St. Lucia is such a beautiful island. Well, I think all the islands on this itinerary are beautiful.

 

Again, I hope you had a wonderful time on Liberty, enjoyed the itinerary, and hope the weather was nice for your cruise. :)

Edited March 15, 2016 by pghsteelerfan

[BettyGiggles]

Thank you so much for your review and tons of pictures! :)

Reliving our April 2014 same itinerary on the Valor with you and missing it too.

We had an aft wrap and spent countless hours on the balcony :)

[pghsteelerfan]

Thank you so much for your review and tons of pictures! :)

Reliving our April 2014 same itinerary on the Valor with you and missing it too.

We had an aft wrap and spent countless hours on the balcony :)

 

Thank you and I'm glad you were able to relive your Valor cruise though this. :) I love reading reviews by others, even of ships/itineraries we've been on to relive past cruises. :D We booked this one because we love this itinerary and wanted to relive our Valor 2013 (same itinerary) cruise...now I'm missing both. :)

 

I would have LOVED to have had an aft wrap for this itinerary! I spent time on our balcony almost every morning and sometimes at night for the views as we sailed past other islands. I couldn't believe how much we were able to see this time. On our Valor cruise, the weather was nice except for one day, and although clear, the air was hazier that time so we couldn't see as many of the other islands.

Edited March 16, 2016 by pghsteelerfan

[Shih-tzu]

Loved the cruise!! It was my 1st time to the Caribbean by ship. I also loved St Martin (Maho Beach) and the Boatyard in Barbados. I'm definitely going to cruise again.....

 

Yes, your review was very helpful - especially with all the photos - found my way around the ship no problem, recognized a lot from your photos so felt "at home". I believe it was also you that gave me the idea of using key chains for Christmas ornaments?? Paratripping's review was also a great help.

 

Loved St Lucia/Ambrose tour...