Liberty 3-day Trip Report with Pictures

[CruisinCrow]

 

 

 

 

Just in case you don't know where you are :)

 

[CruisinCrow]

The ship was scheduled to set sail at 6 o’clock, which meant everyone was supposed to be back onboard by 5:30. Ron and I decided that we should leave Sandals at 4 to give us plenty of time to get to the port and maybe do a little shopping at Festival Place before boarding. We took the bus back since the $2.50 bus fare was a lot less painful than $25 for a taxi. All went well until we passed the east end of Cable Beach. Then suddenly, the bus driver turned off the main road and started to weave through residential neighborhoods. Uh oh... We’d accidentally gotten on the #10A bus instead of the #10! Both buses ended up downtown but the 10A took a much more circuitous route.

 

After about half an hour of stopping at what seemed to be every few feet, I started to get really worried. I had no idea where we were or how far we still were from port. I could just picture us on someone’s YouTube video, running down the pier yelling “Wait!” as the ship slowly pulled away from the dock. Ron didn’t seem very concerned though. He said if we missed the ship, we’d just spend the weekend in Nassau. With no passport, money or clothes? No thank you! FINALLY after 45 minutes, we crested a hill and I could see the smokestacks of the cruise ships below. What a relief! No time for shopping. We were back on the ship with 15 minutes to spare. Moral of the story: not only should you give yourself plenty of time to get back to port, make sure you get on the right bus!

[CruisinCrow]

SIDE NOTE - we weren't even close to being the last ones back on board. We were on the ship at 5:15 and Guest Services was still paging people after 6 o'clock. At 6:20 there was still one missing man but we left port anyway. I don't know if they found the guy or not. I hope he was just sleeping in his cabin or something. That was too close for my comfort though!

 

Here's a random picture of the pool deck in the morning before all the chairs were taken:

[mrpayroll]

Love your pictures. We are taking our two grand kids ages 10 and 8 on Liberty in August.

[redstapler7]

Yes, Donkey is still the cruise director. We didn't eat at the steakhouse because I wanted to try out the new (for us) dining room menus. If it had been a longer cruise, we would have.

 

I believe the movies change each month. Someone recently posted the June movies but I don't remember what they were. You could do a search. They showed odd movies on our cruise - Nacho Libre for Cinco de Mayo and Sea Biscuit for the Kentucky Derby. I think they normally play more current ones.

 

Have a wonderful cruise with your son!

 

I think the themed movies is a pretty neat touch. Had no idea they ever did that!

[Crusin Karen]

Liberty is my favorite ship decor wise. LOVE all the lights that change colors! Wish she did better itineraries.

[KPfromCT]

Thanks for the great review and pictures.

We've been to Sandals Montego Bay 4x and Sandals Royal Bahamian once.

Love Sandals!!!!!!!!!

Patiently waiting for your next post:')

[Silent Penguin]

Sushi At Sea counter. Apparently, Sushi At Sea was just added to Liberty in the past few months. It offered four different kinds of sashimi for $1.50 each, as well as rolls for either $5 or $7.50. I had the spicy tuna roll and it was pretty tasty.

 

 

 

We're sailing on the Liberty for the first time in August. I'm thrilled to learn there's sushi!! Enjoying your report very much.

[seafoy]

Thanks for your pics on Sandals resort! I wasn't sure if day passes were still available as there have been no remotely current reviews of, and there is nothing on thier website referencing them either. Did you contact the resort and pre-purchase or just show up and purchase onsite? Last price I saw was $110pp....is this still correct? I think I saw another thread lately with bus info on it....hoping not too difficult to figure out, as it would certainly be more cost efficient than the $25 taxi there and back! Thanks for any info!

[CruisinCrow]

Thanks for the great review and pictures.

We've been to Sandals Montego Bay 4x and Sandals Royal Bahamian once.

Love Sandals!!!!!!!!!

Patiently waiting for your next post:')

 

We just rebooked our "Mexico trip" except the hotel we wanted to go to was full. So now we'll be going to Sandals Royal Caribbean instead. We love Sandals too. Mexico will have to wait till next year.

[CruisinCrow]

We're sailing on the Liberty for the first time in August. I'm thrilled to learn there's sushi!! Enjoying your report very much.

 

I thought it was a nice alternative to the buffet or dining room and not too expensive. It was open from 12 pm to 10 pm every day so you could have it for lunch or a snack too.

[CruisinCrow]

Thanks for your pics on Sandals resort! I wasn't sure if day passes were still available as there have been no remotely current reviews of, and there is nothing on thier website referencing them either. Did you contact the resort and pre-purchase or just show up and purchase onsite? Last price I saw was $110pp....is this still correct? I think I saw another thread lately with bus info on it....hoping not too difficult to figure out, as it would certainly be more cost efficient than the $25 taxi there and back! Thanks for any info!

 

Day passes are still $110 a person. We called the day before (from Cape Canaveral) to make sure they had availability. The number is 242-327-6400. We paid at the front desk when we got there. I don't think you can purchase in advance.

 

If you take the bus, just make sure you get on the #10, not the #10A or #10B. We've taken the bus several times so we should have known better. :) When the bus pulled up, the driver said "Downtown", which is where we were going so we didn't look close and hopped on.

 

I read that the taxi rates went up on May 1. I need to look for the current prices.

[CruisinCrow]

Time to finish up Day 2...

 

 

That night was Elegant Night. We watched a pretty sunset from the balcony while we got dressed for dinner and then headed to our assigned dining room, the Silver Olympian Restaurant. We were seated at a table for four but no one else showed up so we ended up with the table to ourselves. Since our Victory cruise, Carnival had rolled out a new set of dinner menus called “American Table/American Feast” (American Feast for Elegant Night and American Table for the other nights). When the menus first came out, there was a big hullabaloo on Cruise Critic because tablecloths were no longer going to be used on American Table nights. A lot of people felt (strongly) that tablecloths were part of what made cruise dining elegant and special. I figured I’d reserve judgment until I’d had a chance to check things out myself. Honestly, I was more interested in the food than the table decor. I hadn’t been impressed with the first night’s American Table menu and was hoping American Feast would be better!

 

It turned out that the American Feast menu was the same menu they’d started using in 2015 for 3 and 4-night cruises (the one I called the “no more lobster menu”). I ordered the scallop risotto appetizer and grilled shrimp, which were both good although on the small side. The only new item I tried was the malted chocolate hazelnut cake for dessert, which I liked a lot. It had a warm, crispy crust on the bottom and was topped with chocolate hazelnut sauce. Ron went with his old stand-by, the chocolate melting cake. Thank goodness Carnival hadn’t gotten rid of the melting cake. I could only imagine the outcry on Cruise Critic if that ever happened! :)

 

The problem with dinner was that it took FOREVER. It’s hard enough for me to wait till 8:15 to eat, but our appetizers didn’t even get to the table until 9. I was getting pretty cranky by then. Fortunately, there was a large group of guys sitting at a table behind us who kept us entertained. Every time the waiters started to sing the “Happy Birsary” song, the whole group would get up and run over to “help” sing. There were a lot of birthdays being celebrated that night so I don’t know when those guys got to eat their dinner. The waiters seemed to get a kick out of it though.

 

Here's a link to the American Feast menu: http://www.susancrow.com/pdf/AmericanFeastMenu.pdf

[CruisinCrow]

By the time we finally got out of the dining room, the comedy show I’d wanted to see had already started, so we went to the piano bar instead. Liberty’s piano bar was decorated in black and white, with tables and chairs that looked like piano keys. I thought it was cute. Better than the creepy hands in Sensation’s piano bar, anyway! It was a full house around the piano and the musician, Tommy G, had everyone singing along, especially when he played “Come Sail Away” by Styx. He could really hammer those keys! At 11 o’clock he switched to the adult portion of the show and played “The Pussycat Song”. I’d never heard the song before and apparently neither had the girl next to me. We both got the giggles and couldn’t stop laughing. Tommy G pointed out that there are no actual dirty words in the song. It’s just your warped mind. :) We stayed at the bar until 11:30 before calling it quits.

 

Tommy G

[redstapler7]

Time to finish up Day 2...

 

 

 

Stunning sunset shot! That's background worthy!

[CruisinCrow]

Stunning sunset shot! That's background worthy!

 

Thank you! I wasn't expecting a nice sunset because it had gotten cloudy by the time we left Nassau. But the sun set right down in between the clouds. My desktop picture is also from the Bahamas - Cabbage Beach. :)

[CruisinCrow]

I read that the taxi rates went up on May 1. I need to look for the current prices.

 

Found the new taxi rates, for anyone who may want them: http://www.bahamas-treasures.com/bahamas/Nassau_Taxi_Fares.html

I'm not sure what zone Sandals is in, but it is past Cable Beach.

Edited May 28, 2017 by CruisinCrow

[debbie2000]

Enjoying reading about your Liberty cruise! We will be sailing the Liberty 3 day to Nassau on July 20. Love that Sandals is offering day passes, but this cruise we will have our grandchildren, so will do a kid friendly activity. Will definitely keep this all inclusive option in mind for future stops in Nassau!

[CruisinCrow]

The last day...

Sea Day

 

Sometime during the night, we sailed through the cold front that had followed us down to the Bahamas. We woke up to sunny skies and 25 knot winds, so we spent the day on the pool deck, soaking up Vitamin D and trying to keep our stuff from blowing away. The ship was definitely rocking!

 

All the other 3600 passengers seemed to be doing the same thing we were, which made getting a drink from the pool bars a real challenge. Sweet Ron braved the long lines to bring me a Ting mojito from the Red Frog Rum Bar. Ok, normally I’m a mojito purist. Ordering a raspberry mojito is like ordering a vanilla Frosty from Wendy’s. A Frosty is chocolate, period. And a mojito has rum, mint and lime. None of this raspberry or watermelon stuff. :) But I have to say that the Ting mojito was excellent. Ting is a Caribbean grapefruit soda that Ron discovered on his trip to St Kitts years ago and now we’re both hooked on it. What could be more refreshing than grapefruit mixed with rum on a hot day? I guess I’m just going to have to expand my mojito definition a bit.

 

We had lunch at the Blue Iguana Cantina and watched the Last Man Standing game going on by the pool. It looked like a fun game, sort of a cross between a scavenger hunt and musical chairs. By 3 o’clock, we were both getting over-sunned and over-peopled so we went back down to the cabin. We sat on the balcony, watching schools of flying fish skipping over the choppy waves. The water was that dark turquoise shade of blue – so beautiful. I was really glad we had a balcony cabin this trip.

 

 

 

[CruisinCrow]

Red Frog Rum Bar

 

 

[CruisinCrow]

That night we finally got to experience the infamous “no tablecloth” tables in the dining room. I really didn’t see what all the fuss was about. The tables were a warm, shiny wood and set with new square plates. They just looked a bit more contemporary. I still wasn’t excited about the menu though. No escargot! My seared tuna appetizer was yummy but really tiny. One thing I did like was the new option to order side dishes. It’s hard to get enough vegetables on a cruise since most of the entrees seem to come with one piece of asparagus or one carrot. :) The singing guys were back and doing their part to wish everyone Happy Birthday. I noticed they weren’t jumping up quite as fast as they had the night before. Probably they’d had a little too much sun and beer by the pool that afternoon.

 

After dinner, we went back to the piano bar but it was a quiet crowd so we didn’t stay long. Off to the cabin where we fell asleep to the rocking of the ship.

 

All in all, we had a good cruise. We didn’t DO a whole lot but that’s the nice thing about a cruise. You can do or not do - it’s up to you! I was just glad we were able to go somewhere and that I felt good enough to enjoy it. A couple of months ago, I could barely plan a trip to the grocery store, much less a vacation. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer before we can reschedule that trip to Mexico. Or maybe to Sandals. :)

 

~Happy cruising to all!

Susan and Ron

 

[MeganGC1983]

Really enjoyed your review! Thanks!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[mbrownferrier]

Thanks for the review. Enjoyed it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[redstapler7]

Thanks for the review and all of the photos! The blue iguana tacos made me hungry... and I just ate!!

 

Happy cruising!

[lazydayz]

Thanks for the review. I really enjoyed it.