Just booked a family cruise on Liberty....is it really as bad as the reviews say?

[lizzyplague]

People are never happy, so they'll find fault with something if they aren't happy. We've never had a bad experience on any of our cruises. Liberty was our first Carnival cruise, and we're still going with them, so it must have been okay. :)

[the_lovely_voyage]

Thank you everyone for your feedback! We are getting ready to board her in a few weeks and it was nice to read positive things! I was not at all sure what to expect after reading so many negative things !!

 

I wrote a review about my Liberty trip in April, but photobucket ruined the photos so now the review is hosted on my blog. The link is in my signature, please feel free to enjoy if you haven't seen it yet! We had a really fun time, and I agree cruises are what you make of them. There were some less than positive things (such as we didn't really enjoy the MDR food) but we were able to find other places that had great food, so overall there's not much room to complain.

Have a great time!

[BallFour4]

Our resident mariner and ship expert Cheng75 (hope I got that right, he's an encyclopedia of ship knowledge) will forgive me as I attempt to explain the window of bad reviews, so here goes.

 

The Liberty is a beautiful Conquest class ship that was most recently here in Galveston. The problem arose when one of the electric drive motors lost a winding. Motors have two and loosing one will reduce the speed which it can push the ship. That's not good.

 

The run to Cozumel from Galveston requires a on time, speedy run to make port after a day at sea and return. The itinerary they ran was a 5-5-4 day rotation with Cozumel and Progreso being the ports of call. With the reduced power it was a mess. Carnival had a fix by switching the Valor and Liberty. Both are the same class ship with very little in amenities between them. Problem solved, and complaints went away.

 

Does this make sense? Hope so.

 

 

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[croix153]

Our resident mariner and ship expert Cheng75 (hope I got that right, he's an encyclopedia of ship knowledge) will forgive me as I attempt to explain the window of bad reviews, so here goes.

 

The Liberty is a beautiful Conquest class ship that was most recently here in Galveston. The problem arose when one of the electric drive motors lost a winding. Motors have two and loosing one will reduce the speed which it can push the ship. That's not good.

 

The run to Cozumel from Galveston requires a on time, speedy run to make port after a day at sea and return. The itinerary they ran was a 5-5-4 day rotation with Cozumel and Progreso being the ports of call. With the reduced power it was a mess. Carnival had a fix by switching the Valor and Liberty. Both are the same class ship with very little in amenities between them. Problem solved, and complaints went away.

 

Does this make sense? Hope so.

 

 

.

 

Has the problem you mentioned since been repaired?

[BallFour4]

Has the problem you mentioned since been repaired?

 

No, and it doesn't need to be as long as the daily distance the ship needs to make is attainable at the slower speed.

 

It's been posted that more than one ship has the same situation, but for a eastern sailing port and shorter itineraries you'd never know.

 

 

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[sjcruiser]

We sailed on the Liberty last Christmas, and the weekend right before the July 4th holiday this year, which was my birthday weekend. We had a great time onboard both times and enjoyed the ship overall, the food, and the service. Except for the casino being tight, and the theater shows (which we don't enjoy due to bad singing and dancing), the ship is a great one to sail on. It has most of the features of the newer ships and is great for a 3 or 4-day cruise. Some complain about the pools being small, and kids swimming in the hot tubs, but that's not something that would ruin my cruise, or call for the ship to be rated badly. As someone said previously, your cruise vacation is what you make it. I would go in with a positive attitude, and youre sure to have a good time. Enjoy

[SkyPiglet]

Our third cruise was on Liberty. Liberty, like the other Carnival Vessels I have been on is a great ship, with lots to do, without any major problems (we did have one operations problem, but the cruise was not severely affected). Go in looking forward to the good things, and you will love it. That being said, of the five ships I have been on, Liberty was my least favorite. This is not a bad thing, it is still a great ship. I just like the other four better. A lot of reviews are written with a bias like that. As other posters have mentioned, go in looking forward to a great experience, and you will have a great time. I would have no problem booking Liberty again. You will have a great time!

 

One word of advice about your itinerary though. We booked a 4 day Bahamas on Conquest last year, to Nassau and Freeport. Nassau has plenty to do, but Freeport can be disappointing if you don't plan ahead. It is more of an industrial shipping port, and not really much of a tourist spot. I would HIGHLY recommend doing a shore excursion there to get out of the port itself. Just something to think about :)

Edited July 21, 2017 by SkyPiglet

[jsjjkelly]

We were on the Liberty when it went out of San Juan. The ship is fine. There will be plenty for you to do onboard and you should all have a blast.

 

The itinerary is what you make it. We cruised when my kids were little, and you just choose excursions that are fun for the whole family. Realize kids aren't going to sit for tours (mine are now 17 and 13 and still complain about taking tours), but the beach is always fun. The great thing about cruising with that age is you control what you do, and you can pick things your kids would like.

 

Don't fret all the reviews. Picking a smaller ship for your first go round was absolutely perfect. My kids find something to do no matter what size ship we pick, or what ports we go to.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[bunnyette]

Research the ports & plan what works for your family...that goes a long way to a great cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[gottaluvcruises12]

People always post the negative. The trip is what you make it. I posted in another thread who had the same concerns. I felt the same way about Splendor and a lot of people have said they love it and I am excited to go on her in September before she leaves for the west coast. Talk to the people on cruise critics. Some of the stuff people complain about I have never even thought about it or paid attention to. Enjoy your cruise.

[stev5138]

Lowest rated ship in the CCL fleet.

[Keys2Heaven]

Cruise is in April 2018, with stops in Freeport and Nassau (we've never been to either). Kids will be 2 and almost four by then.

 

We are very excited for our first cruise as a family, however the reviews on here make it seem like a less than ideal cruise.

 

Is that true?

 

So you booked something that you've read to be bad (according to a few) and then come here asking if it will be bad?

 

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::confused::confused::confused:

 

Do you want for all of us to tell you that you booked the perfect cruise and you won't have one single issue? smh

 

 

You said it...you booked it because you've never been to those ports before. You don't say when in April, as it could be a Spring Break cruise and the issues you encounter may not have anything to do with the ship.

 

 

Reviews are just other people's opinion and your cruise will be what you make of it.