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

[pghsteelerfan]

Once we got to the buffet, I figured since we’d be eating larger meals later on, I decided to keep it light. They have scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, and pretty sure both pancakes and French toast. They also have toast, bagels, and pastries, fruits, and cheeses. Even though I wasn’t a fan of the scrambled eggs the last time, I decided to give them another try and I also had a little bacon and potatoes and a piece of toast. I decided to make a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. The eggs were much better than last time, so we might have it the buffet at a bad time or someone may have forgot to add seasonings or whatever the reason, but they didn’t have much taste. Much improvement on this batch. DH had pretty much the same but he also had sausage in addition to the bacon, French toast, and a couple pastries. The table we were seated at was one row over from the large windows and it is just a very pretty setting. We could see the ocean from our table.

 

View from our table

 

 

 

Since we had our cameras with us, we walked out to the beach to get a few more pictures after we finished breakfast then went back up to the room to finish packing our packing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was so pretty down here this morning, so much so that we were tempted to stay but missing out on our Liberty cruise was not an option.

[pghsteelerfan]

Let me correct the “we” when it came to packing. I had to finish packing, DH didn’t have anything to pack really. His new clothes went into my suitcase. I also had to get together the things I’d need in my carry-on to take on the ship, since a carry-on for a cruise ship and an airplane are totally different.

While I was doing that, DH tried checking the website to check on the status of his luggage that he was provided (no updates), then tried calling but was getting endless recordings and gave up. Once luggage rearranging and attempt at luggage status check were finished, we went back out to the balcony to get more pictures before gathering our luggage and heading down to check out. It was about 10:30am. We left a little earlier than planned since the part of “that other” roll-call that stayed at the Sheraton were getting ready to check out and walk to the pier.

 

Pictures from our last balcony visit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

A few more balcony pictures. It was just so pretty since the colors of the water where changing by the minute.

 

 

 

Getting our last few items together before checking out

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Hotel checkout was easy and we didn’t have to wait as long as the last time, but we waited till 11:45am the last time. We were checked out by 11:35am and the hotel porters got a taxi for us since the taxis were right at the entrance waiting. The cost from the Courtyard to the pier would be $23.00 ($19 for fare to zone 1; $2.00 gas surcharge; $2.00 for luggage since they counted my carry-on since DH was carrying it out for me and gave it to the driver to put in the back). Once everything was loaded and we were in the cab, we were on our way to the cruise pier, and Carnival Liberty. I could tell when we were getting close and kept my eye out for Liberty. Pretty soon, I caught my first glimpse of her and got a few pictures. Not the best quality since we were in a moving vehicle, but these are my "first sighting of Liberty" pictures.

 

I spy a "tail"

 

And there she is....Liberty!!!

 

 

Almost there!!!

 

Shortly after that, our driver got us up to where the taxi unloading area is, we got out and our driver got our luggage for us and DH paid him and added a tip and we both thanked him. He was very nice, as they all had been.

 

The gathering area at the pier was crowded and we noticed that there were still passengers from the previous cruise still walking down the covered area leading to the terminal. There were porters there collecting suitcases, so I handed mine over and then we started to look for the others on “that other” roll-call. I had an idea what some of the others looked like, but we didn’t think to set up a main meeting area. DH suggested we get at the end of the line, which was forming along the wall to the right as you’re facing the ship.

 

Liberty from where we were in line along the wall

 

View out over the San Juan harbor from where we were in line

[Jenny in TX]

We do too, but not on an old ship like Fascination/Fantasy?

Hardly ANY balconies on that ship.

I still cannot wrap my head around the fact they are putting an old small ship down in San Juan.:mad::mad:

 

If the Liberty was still going to be there next summer, that would have been our itinerary. Instead, we booked the Magic from Port Canaveral. But I am ITCHING to do the San Juan itinerary. Never read a bad review.

 

I agree! DH and were hoping to do this itinerary next year but once I saw the Fascination was going to be there we decided to wait until a newer ship is there. I guess that's what we get for waiting too long!! We are probably doing the 8 day on the Conquest that goes to San Juan, Grand Turk, St. Maarten & St. Kitts. We loved the Magic!

[pghsteelerfan]

Once in line, I started looking for the others. It was only about 11:10am at this point. There was a group who got in line behind us and the line started moving, so we let them go ahead. DH didn’t want to wait any longer, saying we could meet up with the rest of the group on the ship. Right around that time, I noticed a group coming up, with luggage I recognized from one of them posting a picture of her luggage all packed on “that other” roll-call. I immediately recognized one of the gals from “that other” roll call, so I went over and introduced myself and DH was right behind me. We did our introductions then one of the others mentioned that the group coming in from Luquillo should be on their way. One was going to drop the three others and luggage at the pier and go and turn in the car they rented and make his way to the pier. We waited around for about 10 minutes getting to know each other but saw no sign of the others yet, so we all got back in line to check-in.

 

 

The line moved quickly and before we knew it, we were going through the “maze” to get to the counters. There were plenty of Carnival check-in representatives, so the line moved fast and soon it was our turn to check-in. We already had our “Public Health Questionnaires” filled out (we’d done that right before checking out of the hotel), so once we got to the counter, we handed our representative our “Fun Pass”, identification (we used passports), and the “Public Health Questionnaire”, the rep verified everything then handed us our Sail and Sign Cards and let us know that cabins should be ready and that lunch would be served on Deck 9 (Lido). He also informed us that boarding hadn’t started yet but it would be soon and instructed us to find a seat after getting our embarkation picture and we were boarding group Zone 1. Sweet!!!!

 

This is an example of the Health Questionnaire

 

 

Since all 10 of us walked in together and finished up at the check-in counter at almost the same time, we got in line for embarkation pictures. DH and I went first, then the other two groups of four followed. After individual pictures taken, we asked if we could all get a group photo. That was no problem, so we all posed for a picture but the photographer took a couple to make sure there would be at least one that we’d all be happy with. Once that was done, he asked if we wanted to do a “funny face photo”. Sure, why not! That came out good. I’d post those, but since there were others besides DH and myself, I’m not going to as to respect their privacy.

 

For anyone new to cruising on Carnival: The Sail and Sign card has several purposes. It’s the room key to your cabin door; it’s tied in with a major credit card or you can put cash down on it and it’s to be used for all on-ship purchases; it’s also your ship identification in that you will need it to get off and on the ship. The Sail & Sign card will have your muster station location (more on muster drill later); you dining table number (at least for early and late seating, which is assigned); your VIFP Number (Carnival’s loyalty program); and Folio number. It will NOT have your cabin number on it, for good reasons. Once the cruise is over, it makes a great souvenir.

 

 

Since one of the groups had a suite cabin, they were not Zone 1. They had priority boarding, along with Platinum and above cruisers and those who purchased FTTF. They were escorted to another room with a large seating area. That group would be the first group called to board Liberty. Since seating was limited, the only space left for the rest of us lowly peons was standing room only. We all plopped down and took a seat on the floor and ended up talking to pass time. We were seated near the embarkation photo area and behind us was the “glassed off” security section.

 

This is where my camera and I got in a bit of trouble again…I took a picture of the sign for embarkation photos, the “Strike a pose” sign with “You’re almost onboard. What’s the password? Say ‘cheese’” sign.

 

 

I wasn’t getting pictures of the security area, I know that is a “no no”. Wouldn’t you know it, one of the staff saw me and came running over letting me know that no pictures are allowed inside the area. I apologized and he was really cool about it.

 

He started talking with us and one of the group asked if it would be much longer to boarding and he said it should be soon. This was 12:10pm, according to the date stamp on the picture I was not supposed to take. I did get a picture of one of the ceiling fans and a selfie of DH and me. Wink, wink.

 

 

 

We waited and we waited, but there was no sign of boarding anytime soon. I will only be referring to the others on our “that other” roll-call site by first initial if mentioning one of them individually, again to respect their privacy. The group coming from Luquillo posted on the “that other” roll-call site that they were told when they went to get in line that they wouldn’t start boarding until 2:30pm, so the four of them were at Senior Frogs, across the street. They were smart. Sitting at Senior Frogs having a drink sounded much better than sitting on the floor of the cruise terminal. Remember that email from Carnival I mentioned earlier about boarding at 2:30pm? Well, they actually meant it this time!

 

When it was getting close to 1:30pm, “M” from the group of four who had priority boarding came over and asked if anyone wanted to go outside to see what was going on with the line, if there was a line or if others had gone to Senior Frogs. I decided I could use some air, so I went with her. There was still a line and the sun was still out, which was good since I know it can get cloudy and rain suddenly in San Juan. We headed back upstairs and right before getting on the escalator, we saw the other four and officially introduced ourselves and talked with them on the way up the escalator. Once we were at the top, DH comes up looking for me…they were getting ready to let us get on Liberty!!! We went back to where the others were and remember the fella who told me that we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the terminal? He knew they were getting ready to board but they hadn’t started calling people yet. He came to get us and get us a spot at the front of what would be the line for Zone 1 boarding!!! The others were already there and DH and I got in line behind their group to go once Zone 1 was called.

 

 

Priority boarding was called first then almost immediately after, they called Zone 1. That was us!!! We all went through security at the same time and ended up in the line to get on Liberty together and were now just waiting to make our way up to, then onto Liberty!

 

DH mentioned that he wanted to go to Guest Services first to let them know about his luggage, that it was to be delivered to the ship, and to find out how that would be handled since it wouldn’t have the Carnival luggage tag we printed off on it. The others with us decided to do the same since ALL of their suitcases also had to be flown in and delivered to the ship.

 

Once we got to the front of the line to get on Liberty, we handed our S&S card over to be officially “dinged” onto Liberty. Even though we were just on her last year, stepping into her lobby/atrium was just as exciting for us as it was last year, maybe even more so. We love Liberty and I said it in my previous review, Liberty wins as our favorite in ship décor. When entering Liberty in San Juan, we enter on the port side of the Lobby Deck 3, right into the “Flowers Atrium”. At the entrance, the Excursion Desk is immediately to your left. Guest Services is on the starboard side of the ship, directly across from the Excursion Desk. Normally a ride up the forward elevators to the deck our cabin would be on if late enough for a chance the cabin is ready and accessible or Lido Deck 9 would be our first stop. Today our first stop would be Guest Services.

Edited November 3, 2015 by pghsteelerfan

[pghsteelerfan]

I will apologize for the spacing issues. I now how to space breaks in paragraphs. This is where I'm having technical difficulties. When adding the text, I'm putting the appropriate spacing in, not 5 spaces. When I go to "edit", it's showing the appropriate spacing. I've tried "preview", but when I go back, everything in that post is wiped out and I have to start it again. So again, I apologize. Taking a 5 minute insanity break.

[Wags67]

Omg, Holly... I started to panicked when they said they were going to start boarding and you and M were outside... I looked at Dave standing there with the luggage and camera equipment... I told him I felt bad he had to stand there with everything while we started to board, but he said he had to wait for you anyhow.

I loved how the carnival security man would come back to us to keep us informed.

Lol... yeh, you getting busted taking pictures...just meet you and the next I know you were already getting in trouble!! (I just didn't get caught ;) )

[pghsteelerfan]

We all made our way over to Guest Services were there wasn’t much of a line yet. DH explained about his suitcase and they told us that once delivered to the ship, they’d get it to our cabin, even without the Carnival luggage tag if there was visible identification on the outside of the suitcase, they’d be able to easily get the cabin number by DH’s name. He did have identification, but whether it was still affixed to his suitcase or not, we didn’t know. We were told where to go (forget which section of the ship) if there was no visible identification on the outside. The airline was supposed to call us once our luggage arrived in San Juan, but we never heard from them. The others went through the same spiel with another Guest Services rep then we headed all headed to the forward (front of the ship) elevators.

 

For anyone not familiar with a Conquest Class ship, there are three sets of elevators/stairs, forward (front of ship), mid-ship (middle), and aft (back of ship). The other group from our “that other” roll-call site got off on Deck 7, or Empress Deck and we continued up to Deck 8, Verandah Deck. Even though it was now 2:00pm, the doors in the hallway were closed. I was on my way back to the stairs to go up to Lido Deck 9, but DH had an idea…go across to the other side of the ship, walk down the hallway until we get to the mid-ship elevators where there would be another hallway access to the starboard side of the ship, where our cabin was. We did that and bingo…no closed doors, we could get to our cabin.

 

Our cabin was on Deck 8, Verandah Deck. We had cabin #8353, which is a balcony cabin on the starboard (right) side of the ship and just a couple doors down from the mid-ship elevators (convenient) and the laundry room, which would be very convenient for me this trip since I’d need to iron my dress for formal night. We picked this location since it was mid-ship and very convenient (easy access) to Lido Deck 9, where we’d be spending a lot of our time while on Liberty. For this itinerary, a balcony is a must for me. We had a very similar cabin, #8331, when on Valor and loved the location. Liberty and Valor are both Conquest Class ships and have the same layout, so cabin #8331 is actually just a few cabins down the hall from our current cabin. The location is just under the seating area along the windows of the indoor seating of the buffet area, right near the doors that lead to the main pool deck area. Below us are other cabins.

When we were booking this cruise, we originally tried to book directly through Carnival, but most of the balcony cabins that were available were on Deck 6 (Upper Deck). We wanted to try to avoid Deck 6 because it’s just above the Promenade Deck where a lot of the ship’s night life goes on and we didn’t want noise from the clubs and bars keeping us from sleep. That’s when my husband went through the TA that specializes in cruises. They had a better selection of cabins and had exactly what we wanted available. This is just speculation, but we are both guessing that TA’s book blocks of cabins well in advance of a cruise, so that may have been the reason those cabins were available through them but not through Carnival. I guess that is one of the problems we face when we decide to book a cruise last minute.

 

Now for the reason a balcony is a must for me. It’s mainly, for this itinerary. The islands we’re going to are a lot different from the Bahamas, Grand Turk, and most of the islands in the western Caribbean, which are mainly flat. These islands are mountainous and if the weather is clear, they are just gorgeous to sail into in the mornings. I love going out on the balcony as we sail past and then into these beautiful islands. We also sail past a lot of other islands at night that aren’t on the itinerary and again, early in the mornings before reaching port. Our first edition of the Carnival “Fun Times” was waiting for us.

 

New to cruising with Carnival? The “Fun Times” is a daily flier that is fun but also important. Each edition contains the daily list of activities and times they are scheduled; the hours for restaurants/bars/and other are listed; drink specials; sunrise and sunset times are listed at the top; and importantly for port days, it will have ship arrival time, back onboard time, and set sail time, and much, much more.

 

Today's edition of the "Fun Times"

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Omg, Holly... I started to panicked when they said they were going to start boarding and you and M were outside... I looked at Dave standing there with the luggage and camera equipment... I told him I felt bad he had to stand there with everything while we started to board, but he said he had to wait for you anyhow.

I loved how the carnival security man would come back to us to keep us informed.

Lol... yeh, you getting busted taking pictures...just meet you and the next I know you were already getting in trouble!! (I just didn't get caught ;) )

 

OMG, that was just too funny. He came running up as soon as he saw us and "M" scrambled off to where the rest of her group was. We ended up right behind you guys in line, so it worked out.

 

That's funny about being busted for the picture taking and it actually worked in our favor because that guy was just so sweet and he really helped us out. And yes, I know, you guys didn't get caught! :D I loved how "S" was using the selfie feature and got pics of security. I was tempted but I'd have been busted. I didn't want to risk getting kicked off the cruise before we even boarded. :eek: LOL!!!

[pghsteelerfan]

Also waiting for us, on the dresser, was our Gold Member VIFP “Welcome Aboard” flyers with the attached “Appreciation Drink” coupons for a free drink which was supposed to be used anywhere on the ship after 5:00pm on the last day of the cruise; our complimentary 1 liter bottles of water; and our Gold-Level, year specific, pin. We were also given a free Carnival pen, but the style of the pen has changed since our last two cruises. Not a bad change at all, only different from the ones we’ve received on our past few cruises.

 

Welcome aboard flyer

 

We had two other flyers with the "Fun Times": the "Good to Know" flyer

 

The reverse side of the "Good to Know" flyer with the room service menu

 

The "Fun Shops" flyer

 

Reverse side of the "Fun Shops" flyer

 

And almost forgot, our "Sail & Sign" cards

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

There was one more flyer included, the "Fun Finds Shopping"

 

Reverse side of "Fun Finds Shopping"

 

Almost forgot, our "VIFP" Gold Member Pins

 

The Carnival Liberty Deck Map we get when checking in

 

The "Cheers" Beverage (alcohol) program card (front)

 

The "Cheers" Beverage (alcohol) program card (reverse)

[pghsteelerfan]

Carnival provides laundry service, called "Valet Service" for anyone not wanting to use the laundry rooms while on the cruise. Laundry rooms and locations. We didn't check the front or the back elevator areas, but at the mid-ship elevators, there are laundry rooms around the corner on each side of the ship. There should be a sign above the laundry room door. There was one almost directly across the hall from us.

 

The "Valet Services" laundry form

 

Before continuing with the main part of the review, I'm attaching the scans I got of the "Punchliner Comedy Club" bar menu. We were also able to order drinks that weren't on the menu.

 

"Punchliner Comedy Club Menu"

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

***For anyone new to cruising, this is a question I see asked often here on Cruise Critic. Shampoo and shower gel will be in labeled dispensers in the shower. A bar of hand soap is provided for the bathroom sink. There is also a small hair dryer provided and it’s usually located in one of the dresser drawers. In standard cabins, it’s in the top, left drawer. If you have hard to work with hair (I have very thick, wavy, and frizzy hair), I definitely recommend some conditioner or styling product from home. On cruises where the weather is generally warm and humid, I don’t even bother drying it, it goes up in a ponytail but I do use the little dryer to dry my bangs. There would be no use drying and styling my hair because it would be wasted time, because it would look like a rat’s nest within minutes of me stepping outside.***

 

The hair drier in dresser drawer

 

We dropped off our carry-ons and grabbed our cameras but first we got pictures of our cabin.

Hallway right outside our cabin

 

Our cabin, #8353

 

 

Balcony views

 

[pghsteelerfan]

The bathroom

 

 

 

[JKirkN]

Omg, Holly... I started to panicked when they said they were going to start boarding and you and M were outside... I looked at Dave standing there with the luggage and camera equipment... I told him I felt bad he had to stand there with everything while we started to board, but he said he had to wait for you anyhow.

I loved how the carnival security man would come back to us to keep us informed.

Lol... yeh, you getting busted taking pictures...just meet you and the next I know you were already getting in trouble!! (I just didn't get caught ;) )

 

 

I was so disappointed that we missed the meet and the picture!!! :( We got to the port area in plenty of time, but the cars were backed up so bad, it took us FOREVER to get up the the drop off area... And then it took forever for me to get the car dropped off and get back. I was pretty sad about it...but I was so happy to meet Holly and M. when we we heading up the escalator.... M. went right in for the hugs! :) I knew she would.

 

And Holly.... I've spoken with you so many times on here and FB that meeting you was like meeting a long time friend that I just hadn't seen in a while... :)

 

I remembered from last time about the camera (I got "spoken to" about it as well). So this time, I brought my little Polaroid cube to record our entire walk from the top of the escalator all the way to through check in... Unfortunately, since I was trying to be sneaky about it, it turned out mostly being a "butt cam"... Some of the scenery and video was interesting, but mostly it was pictures from waist level and I probably won't be able to post it... (Kendra calls it my "creeper cam" and now I understand why...but it was mostly her backside... LOL)

 

We actually had a family cut under the ropes and skip ahead of us too. I could not believe how rude they were... They did it over and over and just kept laughing about it. I made sure they heard my comments about their behavior...but my DW reminded me that we were in a "security" area and that it would probably be best if I didn't make a big stink and end up getting myself in trouble. So I just grumbled a lot... loudly... Believe it or not, but those jerks ended up in the cabin right next to my sister-in-law's cabin... ***!!!!!

 

We found out that the reason for the late boarding was that the ship was very late coming into port... it seems there was some law enforcement trying to track someone down and I believe that's why the Liberty came into port so late...waiting for the cops... So they had to delay dis-embarking until that matter was resolved...

 

One nice thing though... when we went through the security scanners, they completely skipped putting the "alcohol" tag on our bags... :) Not that we had a lot...but we did have quite a few of the small 50ml bottles...they were nicely packaged in my DW's makeup case though...so maybe they just figured it was makeup stuff and ignored it...and our two wine bottles... So we didn't have to remove anything and walked right into the ship.

 

Holly, did you keep the door sign? I didn't even think of that for a souvenir... I wish I had thought of it!!! :)

[pghsteelerfan]

After we got the pictures we wanted, we went up to Panorama Deck 10 for pictures of Liberty and of San Juan. I had been kicking myself after both our Glory cruise (had a stop in San Juan) and our Valor cruise because I failed to get a picture of Castillo San Cristobal from the ship. This time I was making sure I did so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next stop was Lido Deck 9 for a “Funship Special”, which is the Drink of the Day or according to Carnival’s “Fun Times”, the “Daily Special”. I will still refer to the drinks as DOD’s (Drink of the Day). The “Funship Special” has always been the DOD on the first day of a cruise. After everything we’d been through with travel plans that included crazy flight times, the “would we or would we not” cruise, DH’s lost luggage, the delay in boarding (that we were notified about), sweating it out over every little “tropical wave” (potential hurricane), I had really been looking forward to being on Liberty’s Lido Deck with my first “Funship Special” in my hands.

 

We went over to the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar to order the drinks and I also purchased a “Blue Iguana” Tervis Tumbler. I was able to get one of each (they also have one for the “Red Frog” for sale at the Red Frog Rum Bar), but we love them and they do keep cold drinks cold and hot drinks hot. We also planned to use them on this cruise and didn’t want to haul the ones from home on the cruise. I got the Blue Iguana one first, since it was the hardest one to get on our Liberty cruise in 2014. Wouldn’t you know it, but they didn’t have any stocked. You’re kidding!!! We just go ON. I didn’t say that but was thinking it. One of the bartenders told me they had them, they just hadn’t been stocked yet, and he said he’d go and get them.

While we were waiting, “L” of our friends from the “that other” roll-call site who went to Guest Services with us about their lost luggage, came over to let us know they had a table right by the Blue Iguana Cantina and asked us to come join them. Remember, for privacy of the others, I’m only using initials here. I told her I’d be right over since I was waiting for tumbler and told DH to go ahead. Right after that, the bartender who went to get me one of the tumblers came back with a box of the tumblers and the lids for them and handed me a tumbler and a lid to go with it. Both were still wrapped in plastic, brand spankin’ new! Once I had that, I went over to the table with the rest of the group.

 

Since we were there, we decided to eat lunch. I knew that we wouldn’t be having a Mallorca this time, but was still hoping to try the Mofongo and Trifongo at “Patio de Sam” after the forts instead of dinner on the ship. I was going to skip lunch to save room, but DH was hungry. We didn’t get to try Blue Iguana on our last cruise because on sea days there was always such a long line and it was easier to just grab a burger from Guy’s. I believe Blue Iguana is normally open from noon – 2:30pm, so we couldn’t try it on port days, well, since we were in port. Now would be the time and there wasn’t much of a line yet, so I broke down and went up to order a burrito with DH. We each got a burrito, which is very similar to the restaurant chain “Chipotle” with similar items that they are filled with and also the way you order them. Once we got our burritos, we went back to the table with the others. I didn’t get pictures of it but it was definitely good. We love Chipotle and the burritos we got at Blue Iguana were just as good. By this time, our drinks were empty and a bartender was making his rounds, so we all ordered another and did a toast to finally being on Liberty.

 

Our "toast" to finally being on Liberty (concealing faces behind glasses for privacy of the others)

After I finished the burrito, I went to the self-serve ice cream station and got myself an ice cream cone. We spent about an hour talking with them and we all decided to go ahead with the rest of our plans. We were hoping to see some of the other to see if anyone was still game to go to Barrachina’s for a Pina Colada, but we never did. So we decided to go on with plans and the other decided that they’d stay on the ship at this point. DH and I stopped down at our cabin to drop off my Blue Iguana tumbler, grab our wallets and cameras (and his video camera) and head up to Castillo San Cristobal. I got a few pictures from our balcony first.

[13cheermom]

 

Our cabin was on Deck 8, Verandah Deck. We had cabin #8353, which is a balcony cabin on the starboard (right) side of the ship and just a couple doors down from the mid-ship elevators (convenient) and the laundry room, which would be very convenient for me this trip since I’d need to iron my dress for formal night. We picked this location since it was mid-ship and very convenient (easy access) to Lido Deck 9, where we’d be spending a lot of our time while on Liberty. For this itinerary, a balcony is a must for me. We had a very similar cabin, #8331, when on Valor and loved the location. Liberty and Valor are both Conquest Class ships and have the same layout, so cabin #8331 is actually just a few cabins down the hall from our current cabin. The location is just under the seating area along the windows of the indoor seating of the buffet area, right near the doors that lead to the main pool deck area. Below us are other cabins.

 

So a quick question about choosing your balcony cabin, is their a reason you chose starboard instead of port for this Southern itinerary cruise? We usually always pick port side and have chosen one for our Southern itinerary on the Vista next year and wondering if I should change to starboard? Thanks for any input! Still loving this review!

Edited November 3, 2015 by 13cheermom

[pghsteelerfan]

I was so disappointed that we missed the meet and the picture!!! :( We got to the port area in plenty of time, but the cars were backed up so bad, it took us FOREVER to get up the the drop off area... And then it took forever for me to get the car dropped off and get back. I was pretty sad about it...but I was so happy to meet Holly and M. when we we heading up the escalator.... M. went right in for the hugs! :) I knew she would.

 

And Holly.... I've spoken with you so many times on here and FB that meeting you was like meeting a long time friend that I just hadn't seen in a while... :)

 

When we found out you guys all had comfortable seats at Senor Frogs, believe me, we were quite jealous!!! LOL!!! But I know, meeting you guys was like seeing friends I hadn't seen in a while either. And we "met" through two Valor reviews.

 

I remembered from last time about the camera (I got "spoken to" about it as well). So this time, I brought my little Polaroid cube to record our entire walk from the top of the escalator all the way to through check in... Unfortunately, since I was trying to be sneaky about it, it turned out mostly being a "butt cam"... Some of the scenery and video was interesting, but mostly it was pictures from waist level and I probably won't be able to post it... (Kendra calls it my "creeper cam" and now I understand why...but it was mostly her backside... LOL)

 

That is just too funny. Too bad you can't come up with some way to put it in a hat, but concealed.

 

We actually had a family cut under the ropes and skip ahead of us too. I could not believe how rude they were... They did it over and over and just kept laughing about it. I made sure they heard my comments about their behavior...but my DW reminded me that we were in a "security" area and that it would probably be best if I didn't make a big stink and end up getting myself in trouble. So I just grumbled a lot... loudly... Believe it or not, but those jerks ended up in the cabin right next to my sister-in-law's cabin... ***!!!!!

 

YIKES!!! :eek: Were they obnoxious neighbors? I'll be getting to our "neighbors" on St. Thomas morning.

We found out that the reason for the late boarding was that the ship was very late coming into port... it seems there was some law enforcement trying to track someone down and I believe that's why the Liberty came into port so late...waiting for the cops... So they had to delay dis-embarking until that matter was resolved...

 

I knew there HAD to be a reason, because when I saw her between 4 & 5am, she was on schedule to arrive on time. In the pictures I have with Liberty in them just after sunrise, it was like she was just sitting out there waiting to go in. But at that time, I didn't even notice her because I just assumed she was at the pier. I have heard that that's how a lot of folks with warrants get busted, they go on a cruise and their names are on passenger lists and they get nabbed when the ship arrives back in port.

 

One nice thing though... when we went through the security scanners, they completely skipped putting the "alcohol" tag on our bags... :) Not that we had a lot...but we did have quite a few of the small 50ml bottles...they were nicely packaged in my DW's makeup case though...so maybe they just figured it was makeup stuff and ignored it...and our two wine bottles... So we didn't have to remove anything and walked right into the ship.

 

Holly, did you keep the door sign? I didn't even think of that for a souvenir... I wish I had thought of it!!!

 

You mean the "Cruzing/Snoozing" sign? Found one on the floor right outside our door when we were coming back to the cabin at one point. When we got in there, ours was there, hanging on the wall. I slipped it in with some other souvenirs. :D

[pghsteelerfan]

13cheermom:

 

Hope you notice this - the "quote" feature seems to be a little tempermental again temperamental again.

 

Yes, there is definitely a reason. On the morning of arrival in St. Lucia, St. Lucia will be on the starboard side, with views of the Pitons. The Pitons are basically straight ahead outside the balcony doors at 5:30am., but can still be seen for a while after that. The sunrise is also on the starboard side on that morning.

 

At night when leaving St. Lucia, you'll be passing Martinique, Dominica, and Guadeloupe at night, with all the lights on. Very pretty.

 

Morning of arrival into St. Kitts, I got up at 5:30am so I could see the other islands. Nevis was almost straight ahead, but we could also see the small island of Redonda and also Montserrat. Sunrise is also on that side.

 

I do have pictures of all of this and some times that I'll cover in a lot more detail later on.

[pghsteelerfan]

After I finished the burrito, I went to the self-serve ice cream station and got myself an ice cream cone. We spent about an hour talking with them and we all decided to go ahead with the rest of our plans. We were hoping to see some of the other to see if anyone was still game to go to Barrachina’s for a Pina Colada, but we never did. So we decided to go on with plans and the other decided that they’d stay on the ship at this point. DH and I stopped down at our cabin to drop off my Blue Iguana tumbler, grab our wallets and cameras (and his video camera) and head up to Castillo San Cristobal. I got a few pictures from our balcony first.

 

Before heading down to our cabin, I had to get a picture of this, it will be the first of many.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

It was almost 4:00pm when we got off Liberty, there were still a lot of people in the cruise terminal but by now it was just those in line to check-in. When we exited, there were still a lot of others arriving. I sure love flying in a day early. I got a picture looking down toward the entrance to the terminal and one of the workers (probably a porter) in a smaller forklift, drove by and waved to me and told me I could take a picture of him. Why not? So I did, but I don’t know his name. Very friendly guy though.

 

 

 

It was hot, they were busting tail, but he still had time to be friendly. Once we got out to the main road, I got a few pictures of Liberty and the little “Bahia Urbana” stone sculpture that’s right in front of the terminal. I have seen this from the ships’ webcams when in San Juan but never remember seeing it, but it had been there.

 

The Bahia Urbana stone sculpture

 

We all know who this is

 

Now a close-up

 

The cruise terminal entrance

[pghsteelerfan]

Now on our way, uphill, to Castillo San Cristobal. Did I mention it was hot? No complaints, I do prefer the heat to cold anytime. We arrived to the top right in front of the Capitol Building about 10 minutes, but we were walking fast since we were way behind our schedule and didn’t want to waste any time.

 

The Capitol Building

 

From there we headed over to the fort and arrived there a few minutes later. It’s not a long walk to get here, it’s just all uphill. While we were still outside the fort, I got pictures of Liberty in the same spot I was at getting pictures of Valor at two years ago. After that, we went in.

 

From just outside the entrance to Castillo San Cristobal

 

Beautiful Carnival Liberty

 

There is an entrance fee of $5.00 per person (according to their website, kids under 15 can get in for free) that gives you access to both Castillo San Cristobal and Fort El Morro. We the $10.00 for both of us and a gal was the cashier, but there was a man who also worked there and we ended up talking with him for about 10 minutes. He gave us a lot of great information but we also made small talk too. A very nice man and I enjoyed talking with him. There was just something about him that reminded me a little of DH’s late father. I wish I’d gotten his name, but I didn’t.

Inside Castillo San Cristobal (had to get Liberty's tail at that entrance)

 

This is a little better and the guy standing there moved

[pghsteelerfan]

As we were making our way through Castillo San Cristobal, we got more pictures of Liberty from one of the higher areas. We noticed the sky was looking pretty dark but it sure made for some great pictures. There were also a lot of tunnel like walkways with little rooms off of them and we got “lost” trying to find our way to the top, but finally got up there for more pictures of Liberty and of San Juan. There was actually a rainbow in the distance that I was able to get pictures of and it was the only rainbow on this trip to actually show up in the pictures taken from my DSLR. We walked through the fort some more and took a lot more pictures and video.

 

I'm going to let the pictures do the talking for a while. These are all pictures I got from Castillo San Cristobal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Castillo San Cristobal pictures continued.