B2B Liberty 12/4 to 12/18 Review

[sopo1]

I have read many different reviews of these two cruises and will post my own review because everyone has a different perspective. First of all a little background. My DH and I are both 52 and cruise every year. This was my 17th and 18th cruises and the 4th and 5th on Carnival. Our last 4 cruises were with Princess and we hadn't cruised with Carnival for 10 years. We picked these cruises because of price and itinerary and the fact it was a brand new ship was a bonus. We flew into Ft. Lauderdale a day early and stayed at Extended Stay America on 17th St. We got the room for $53 online and the hotel is convenient to all pre-cruise shopping. The room was clean and comfotable but there is no shuttle from airport or to pier and no breakfast so taxi fares need to be considered. We bought soda and water and Budweiser products at Winn Dixie and Walgreens and had a great sub sandwich at Larry's Sub Shop which is in the plaza Publix used to be in before they moved to their new store accross the street.

 

Sunday morning we walked up to the bridge to have our first look at the Liberty. We had reserved a cab for 11:00 Sunday morning and waited outside the hotel for 45 minutes with no sign of the taxi. The front desk called and I called myself but still no cab. Finally my DH walked out to the road and flagged one down and we headed for the port. The Liberty was docked at the far end of the pier area and the traffic was terrible. A $5 cab ride ended up costing $11 as the meter kept running even while standing still. When we pulled up in front of the Liberty there were plenty of porters with their hands held out and the line outside the terminal was scary. TBC.......