Carnival Liberty June 27, 2016 - It went without a hitch

[Naomi John]

Not really a "review", the cruise was a been there done that for us for the itinerary. Given the Liberty's problems and situations prior to our cruise, it caused a little worry, particularly for one person in our group. Had a great time. Minor things which made me go "Hum". Pictures will be mostly of our excursions. Therefore, here I go.

 

We booked this cruise in December of 2015. Along with several family members. Not my first choice, a 5 night to Progreso and Cozumel, again; out of Galveston, again; thankfully Carnival and the Liberty made the cruise a little more exciting. First, Carnival changed the ports and times, second, the Liberty and her problems.

 

We booked early saver and saved about $300 with price drops. Used Carnival's 110% guarantee for Progreso, and with the Carnival MC, added $400 in OBC.

 

Changing of the ports: Cozumel first, Progreso second. No biggie, liked the fact we were in Cozumel longer, did not like we were going to Progreso later. Our pre-booked excursion for Progreso transferred quickly; those that pre-booked an excursion for Cozumel were not so lucky. After a month of waiting, they decided to cancel as it did not transfer by that time, and booked Mr. Sancho's Beach Club for Cozumel. Fine with me. Now on to pre-cruise stay.

[Naomi John]

We chose to stay at the Galveston Hampton Inn and Suites on Central City Blvd. They do have a park and cruise price, which we did not use. I was able to obtain an upper floor facing east. From my window, (with the use of binoculars), I was able to see the Liberty coming in at 6 am in the morning. DH woke up at this time as well and suggested we hit the road. We drove to the end of Seawall Blvd to Fort San Jacinto and enjoyed the Liberty and the sunrise:

 

 

We went to Harbor House to watch it dock, then back to our room at the Hampton. This was our view from our room.

 

 

We were on the top floor facing east.

[Naomi John]

After getting our hotel room bag packed, we headed to the port around 10 am. We did have 4 extra checked bags with us for our cruise mates. They needed the car space, so we took their bags for them. No problem dropping the bags with the porters. I noted their bags were marked with FTTF, where ours were marked with Priority, (we plats), the porter said it did not make a difference. The Porter also mentioned the problems they were having with the new "check in times", and said glad they stopped it. (???). We used Galveston Park and Cruise as always for parking.

 

Once we were parked and carted to the curb, (they cannot take you to the port entrance, but it's covered parking), we carted our carryons. Found the priority line, (noted several people waiting outside),was through chick in and up to the lounge in a few minutes. The remainder of our party were also through the process and seated in the masses, waiting for FTTF, right behind us.

 

Easiest Galveston check in I have ever had. By 11:15 am they were lining dias/plats/suites to board. Here is where one problem occurred. A couple asked the port agent escorting us priority people if their "friends" could board with them, ie: non Dias/plats/suite people, not in the same room, from what I could tell, met via the site that cannot be named. The port agent agreed and followed them through the boarding process. I had to speak my mind and stated, "hey, I have 6 family members sitting over there waiting to board with the rest of the masses, can I pull them with me as well?". No comment from anyone, but it made those working take a second look.

[Luluwa]

nice job Naomi keep it up

[riclop]

Not really a "review", the cruise was a been there done that for us for the itinerary. Given the Liberty's problems and situations prior to our cruise, it caused a little worry, particularly for one person in our group. Had a great time. Minor things which made me go "Hum". Pictures will be mostly of our excursions. Therefore, here I go.

 

We booked this cruise in December of 2015. Along with several family members. Not my first choice, a 5 night to Progreso and Cozumel, again; out of Galveston, again; thankfully Carnival and the Liberty made the cruise a little more exciting. First, Carnival changed the ports and times, second, the Liberty and her problems.

 

We booked early saver and saved about $300 with price drops. Used Carnival's 110% guarantee for Progreso, and with the Carnival MC, added $400 in OBC.

 

Changing of the ports: Cozumel first, Progreso second. No biggie, liked the fact we were in Cozumel longer, did not like we were going to Progreso later. Our pre-booked excursion for Progreso transferred quickly; those that pre-booked an excursion for Cozumel were not so lucky. After a month of waiting, they decided to cancel as it did not transfer by that time, and booked Mr. Sancho's Beach Club for Cozumel. Fine with me. Now on to pre-cruise stay.

Glad you enjoyed it.

[Naomi John]

We went to our rooms to drop off our carry ons then up to Lido for lunch. Guy's Burgers of course, this was the first ship we have been on that had them. They were very good and the toppings bar was a nice added bonus. Spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the ship. It's a Conquest Class, so we knew it fairly well. The teens of our group went swimming and sliding. All of our bags arrived prior to the safety drill. Our two cases of water also arrived in a timely manner. Fridge was emptied of the alcohol. We did bring one 12 pack of soda with us as well. Went out on our balcony and spotted a momma dolphin and her pup.

 

 

Room was a standard balcony.

 

Photo from the hall door:

 

 

Photo from the Balcony Door:

 

[Naomi John]

First, I call it that because my spelling is not the greatest. I didn't want to type a condiment.

 

Around 3:30 PM, the sounds for the drill began, and we waited. Unlike our previous cruises, where your station was inside in one of the venues, the Liberty's was out on deck 3. We waited until the last minute so we would not be smushed in the back. Once outside on deck, we waited some more. As an avid watcher of Cruise Cams, I was using my phone to watch the ship as well. The Drill dragged on as I watched the lines being pulled up one at a time. Come on folks, let us go to enjoy sail away. As I watched, (and felt), the ship slowly pull away from the dock, they released us.

 

We made a sign to tell our family "See ya Later", and it was captured on the Cruise Cam:

 

[Naomi John]

Dh and I booked the Steakhouse the first night. Good food and free wine. I have to say the service was not the same as our previous cruises. They did note my mushroom allergy and were able to advise me which foods were either cooked with mushrooms, or had mushrooms in it. Something about it was not the same. After our dinner, we joined the rest of our party in the Silver Olympian dining room just to meet our wait staff and see where our table was at. We arrived in time for desert, but were too full to have some.

 

One thing about dining. We had late assigned dining, which we prefer. We have tried ATD on our last cruise and did not care for it. I do not understand how they assign dining rooms. It seems every cruise, if we have an AFT room, we are in the FWD dining room, and vise versa for when we have a FWD room.

 

The first sea day was also the first day we could use CHEERS. We pre-purchased this prior to the cruise. If you are sailing out of Galveston, the TX liquor laws prevent CHEERS from being used the first day.

 

After our sea day brunch in the dining room, I lathered up the sunscreen, grabbed my book and plopped my self on a lounger on deck 10 aft. I enjoyed some drinks and sun. It was never crowded where I was. The Mid-ship area was packed, and all the pools, fwd, mid and aft were always packed. Around 2 pm, I had enough sun, and I noted some rain showers in the distance.

 

 

The ship sailed right through it, cleared out the Serenity Deck, found a clam shell and finished reading.

[Naomi John]

Is Elegant Night. No lobster on 5 day cruises anymore, but I had one in the Steakhouse the night before. We took some family pictures, met the Capitan and Staff, then to the dining room. Feel bad as I cannot remember the names of our wait staff, we had a Head Waiter, his name started with an A, one team member named Suki, who was pretty much our head waiter, and another assistant, who was basically the water and fetch guy.

 

Here they are with our girls:

 

 

After dinner, they entertained the girls with some napkin folding:

 

 

Edited July 9, 2016 by Naomi John

[Clarea]

Enjoying the review.:)

[Naomi John]

Enjoying the review.:)

 

Thanks

[Naomi John]

The original itinerary for this Cruise was Progreso first, from I think 8am-4pm, then Cozumel from 8am - 5pm. Sometime in either February or March, it changed to Cozumel first from 9am - 6 pm, then Progreso from 10 am - 5pm. We pre-booked an excursion through Carnival for Progreso,(and used the 110% guarantee), which was changed very easily for the new itinerary. Some in our party also booked an excursion for Cozumel via Carnival, which was not showing switch over. They waited a month before cancelling the excursion. I am not sure if it ever transferred. The whole group decided to book Mr. Sancho's AI. My family has been there several times so we knew it was a good deal. AI means "All Inclusive", for $55 per Adult, it's all you can drink and eat, (except lobster). For $12, you can enjoy the water park, and for $65 you can parasail. they also have kyacks and snorkeling equipment. We were there from about 10 am until around 3:30 PM. We got our money's worth. Here are some photos:

 

Kyacking:

 

 

Water toys:

 

 

The beach area:

 

 

Parasailing:

 

[Naomi John]

Laundry

[Luluwa]

keep up the good work Naomi John [emoji1360]

[My6Dogs]

[emoji106]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Honeybear]

We chose to stay at the Galveston Hampton Inn and Suites on Central City Blvd. They do have a park and cruise price, which we did not use. I was able to obtain an upper floor facing east. From my window, (with the use of binoculars), I was able to see the Liberty coming in at 6 am in the morning. DH woke up at this time as well and suggested we hit the road. We drove to the end of Seawall Blvd to Fort San Jacinto and enjoyed the Liberty and the sunrise:

 

 

Naomi John, I really enjoyed your review! Did you stay at the Galveston Hampton Inn and Suites by the airport? If so, how long did it take you to drive to the ship? And most of all, in what condition was the hotel? This is where we are staying, if it's the same Galveston Hampton Inn. Thank you for your reply ... Deena Harris

[Keith1010]

Enjoying your report.

 

Keith

[Naomi John]

 

Naomi John, I really enjoyed your review! Did you stay at the Galveston Hampton Inn and Suites by the airport? If so, how long did it take you to drive to the ship? And most of all, in what condition was the hotel? This is where we are staying, if it's the same Galveston Hampton Inn. Thank you for your reply ... Deena Harris

 

I think this is the only Hampton Inn and Suites in Galveston. The hotel was fine. About a 5 - 10 Mins drive to the port. Breakfast was standard, eggs, waffles, etc. Room was clean. AC worked great.

[Naomi John]

As stated earlier, Progreso was the second stop from 10am - 6 pm. We pre-booked the Dzililchaltun Myan Tour through Carnival, then filed a 110% claim as Autoprogreso had the exact same tour, but $30.00 cheaper. If you plan to file the 110% claim, please make sure it is the EXACT tour, almost word for word and all that is included. If the Carnival tour includes a slice of toast, and the cheaper one does not, the claim will be denied, (this is an exaggerated example).

 

Our tour met at 11:45am at the dock, so we somewhat walked around the pier area for a little bit. It was very HOT. We thought about going back to the ship until 11:45, but we did not. It was nice once we were on the AC bus. It was about a 30 min drive to the ruins. This is one of the smaller archeological digs. We did not want to spend 2 hours in a Bus. There is a museum, structures to climb, and a nice little cenote to cool off in.

 

Here are some photos:

 

 

A village Hut:

 

 

Temple:

 

 

during the Solstices', the Sun shines directly through the opening.

 

A Stadium:

 

 

Various structures and wooded area:

 

 

Pyramid - climbed to the top!

 

[Naomi John]

There was this open area near the base of the Pyramid:

 

 

We found steps to go down, and inside was various carvings:

 

 

 

[Naomi John]

It's a natural watering hole. It was also a nice place to cool off. There are some caves inside as well.

 

 

Skip paying $15 for a fish pedi, get one here for free:

 

[Naomi John]

We returned to the AC bus at 3:45 for the 30 mins trip back. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to stop in Progreso proper. Back to the ship.

[Naomi John]

We opted to purchase Cheer's for this trip. Ships out of Galveston, Cheers starts the day after embarkation. It was right at $50 per person, per day if you purchased it online before the cruise, I think it was around $55 on the ship. Everyone over 21 years of age in your cabin has to purchase it.

 

For those who do not know, this is where you get 15 single alcoholic drinks per day where the single purchase price is under $50. Shots, buckets or pitchers of beer, and bottles of Wine not included.

 

We were able to either break even or surpass the cost everyday, except Cozumel. DH maxed out around midnight on the seadays, (this was over 12 hours). I was usually around 10-12 most nights, except Cozumel, I was at 3.

 

I say it was worth the price.

[Naomi John]

The production shows for this Cruise were "It's a Wonderful World" and "Just Rock". Seen both before, caught the end of "Wonderful Word", it was nice to see a full band in the orchestra pit. Did not see "Just Rock", but heard it was the same as the one I have seen before. What I found odd was I saw "Just Rock" in 2011 on the Elation, 5 years and nothing new?

 

The Comedians were Great, but the venues were packed. The first sea day we saw Sid Davis, R rated show. Progreso day we saw Merl Hobbs, R rated show. Both were funny, engaging, and although it was R rated, these two kept the subject matter Mature, without having to drop the "F" bomb every other word.

[Naomi John]

This was our first cruise since the change in the Past Guest Party. Wow!! It was held in the back lounge, maybe 20 people attended. Drinks and food were available. They had a few contests where guests could win a "Ploaster", (Plaque that can be also a coaster). It lasted all of 45 mins. Talk about a cut back. A very different vibe then in the past where it was all past guests.

 

Not sure if I liked it or didn't. It was just so different.