Carnival Liberty Sept 23 - 27 2019

[Susan in Maine]

This cruise was a disappointment. My daughter and I enjoyed our cruise (she loved it!) but it was lacking in many ways.

 

Let me note that I was on a knee roller having broken my foot in early August, so there were a lot of things we didn't do and places we didn't go. Also - this is my 14th cruise on 4 different lines.

 

So....

 

The excellent:

I can't say enough about our wonderful servers in the MDR's. Sharme at dinner and June and Rosie for breakfast were the best!! Those meals were the highlights of our days!

Embarkation: Check-in was easy and I had a wheelchair escort - everyone was very helpful!

Fellow passengers! Everyone was so helpful and thoughtful when I was trying to get around the ship. (Note: Don't break your dominate foot six weeks before a cruise)

Kiss On The Lips

The cabin was decorated with our bon voyage package when we arrived

 

The good:

NoNo was a great cruise director and kept the ship hopping

Music in the main atrium was great, altho I don't ever remember hearing Led Zeppelin played by a string quartet before.

Towel animals every day

 

The OK: The food, except for that wonderful lava cake, was hit or miss. We had late seating in the Golden Olympian and a few things were delicious but most of the main courses were just ok. The braised dishes tasted alike and I couldn't tell if it was beef or lamb! Frozen broccoli florets were on almost every dinner plate. Seriously people? Appetizers were better altho my ceasar salad was pretty watery the first night and one night it took 50 minutes to get them. My daughter REALLY enjoyed the seared tuna appetizer - all three plates of it! The pizza was pretty good. Because of my mobility issues, we didn't eat at any of the other venues.

 

The bad: Our cabin was dirty and the balcony was so covered with salt I didn't really want to go out there. The glass door to the balcony and the glass on the balcony itself was so dirty and clouded you could hardly see thru it. There was visible rust and paint peeling on the sea-edge. The bathroom shelves were covered in dust, as were most of the other surfaces. I had to dust off clothes that we had put in the cabin drawers. In fact, the cabin looked like it hadn't been used for at least a couple of weeks. We hardly saw our room steward and it took until the second full day of the cruise to get the shower stool I requested.

The cushions on the couch showed significant wear and tear and there were stains on the carpet. All in all the cabin was just really sad and needs a major overhaul.

I am well aware that I could go to guest services for a lot of this but having been on several cruises I kept expecting the cleaning to get done. <sigh> Since it was a 4-day cruise, by the time I figured out nothing was being done, the cruise was almost over. Also, because of my broken foot and being in pain, just getting to guest services seemed like an ordeal.

 

Two "I know you're cutting costs, but seriously" category: 1) Only one chair on the balcony? If you promote your balconies as a wonderful private place, you oughta have a chair for each person. The room steward looked at me like I had two heads when I asked for another chair. 2) What's with no drinking glasses in the bathroom?

 

And finally, a couple of comments on ship design. Putting the galley in the middle of the ship with no way to get from one end of the ship to the other on that deck is a BAD IDEA. A REALLY bad idea. And am I the only one to find the decor on the Liberty incongruent with the name of the ship?

 

This was my third Carnival cruise, but there's a pretty good chance it will be my last.

Edited October 2, 2019 by Susan in Maine
needed to correct a mistake

[houseflipper48]

We were on the same cruise, and our opinions are totally different. Although we were disappointed the ship couldn't stop in Freeport, we made do and had a great time! Our cabin steward was fantastic and went above and beyond. Our balcony was washed down and the balcony glass was cleaned on the 2nd day, and yes there were 2 chairs on it. Every night in the dining room our servers were wonderful and the food was enjoyable, and if it wasn't our server was glad to get us something else.  The cruise director had high energy and I'm glad she will be on our Feb cruise on the Breeze. Overall, we had a great time...yes the ship shows wear and tear but it certainly didn't effect our cruise. Sorry it wasn't up to par for you.

[Fla Mike]

Susan, sorry you did not have the best of times.

 

Not sure but did you wind up getting the aft balcony?

I'm guessing no. But anyway the cabin steward sounded like a disaster, and may have been the root cause of the cabin problems.

 

We are taking two newbies on her next month, and we have adjoining aft balconies on deck 7. I hope the cabins are cleaner. They wanted to do something short, inexpensive, and fun. 

[Susan in Maine]

No, I didn't get the aft balcony - the reminder of how far away they are from everything made that decision for me!

 

Yes, the majority of the issues revolved around a cabin that wasn't taken care of and a steward who didn't seem to notice or care. Since I was not 100% physically, I spent quite a bit of time in my cabin. And when you can't go back to your nice quiet CLEAN cabin, it does affect how you feel about everything else.

 

Yes I could have called guest services for glasses in the bathroom and for someone to come and really clean our cabin or give us another one. The point is: I shouldn't have to.

 

This cruise wasn't BAD, it just wasn't all that great.

[CruizCuz]

Susan, thank you for your honest review.  I don't think you are nit-picking at all.  In fact there were also a lot of positive comments written about the cruise and ship.  I was on the Liberty this past August.  In fact the hurricane literally chased us out of the Bahamas.  Our weather was great and seas were smooth.  I had previously sailed on the Liberty many times, including in October 2018, 10 months earlier.  My October cruise was amazing in every way.  For the August cruise, I had the same cabin but a different experience.  Our cabin steward was different for each cruise.  I had requested turn-down service both am and pm.  Now, before I get blasted, as so many love to do, I asked him if this was possible and he said yes.  I tipped him quite well for the extra trouble.  However, we never got 2 turn downs.  Any day.  Ok, that's fine, didn't ruin my cruise.  I noted the all around friendliness of the ship in August to be lacking.  Finally it was explained to me by a bartender, that most on the ship were brand new and stressed.  That certainly helped me understand.   My husband has cancer and we requested via Carnival, emailing the Maitre'd and our TA, to please allow us to have a table to ourselves.  When we checked, we had a booth, which literally crammed us there with another couple.  The Maitre'd explained they were part of our "group".  I called my TA and she said she never booked us as a group and called CCL herself.  We received a card under our door late that evening and we had been reassigned to a table for 2.  Now again, before I get blasted, most will say that it was only 1 night that we were in the booth, but on a 4 day cruise, that's a fourth of your nights.  We last minute scheduled dinner at the Steakhouse, which was great, for our first night.  I explain that to say I'm a "roll with the punches" kind of person.  But it was interesting to have such different experiences on the same ship at two different times.  Anyway, Susan, THANK YOU again for your review!  

[CruizCuz]

11 minutes ago, Susan in Maine said:

Yes I could have called guest services for glasses in the bathroom and for someone to come and really clean our cabin or give us another one. The point is: I shouldn't have to

I totally agree.  On the shorter cruises, having to contact GS's to complain or explain something, takes away valuable time on an already too brief cruise.  I imagine, if what I was told by our bartender, is that this had a lot to do with the newer staff in training.  Still no excuse though.  Clean room, clean bathroom, clean glasses are the MINIMUM of what a cruise ship (which is a floating hotel) should offer.

[Susan in Maine]

CruizCuz:

 

Thanks for the affirmation.

[sanmarcosman]

1 hour ago, CruizCuz said:

 However, we never got 2 turn downs.  

The cabins aren't turned down twice a day. If you ask for twice a day service your cabin will be cleaned during the day and turn down service provided in the evening. We prefer twice a day service as well and it's a shame your request was not met. 

[CruizCuz]

5 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

The cabins aren't turned down twice a day. If you ask for twice a day service your cabin will be cleaned during the day and turn down service provided in the evening. We prefer twice a day service as well and it's a shame your request was not met. 

Thank you for the correction.  I definitely meant that I was hoping the room steward would service our room twice a day.  I have never had a problem in the past.  Sometimes they have missed a day or two.  Our steward never made it to the cabin twice on the August trip.

[Buffalobills]

I feel the same regarding the Liberty. This was my 9th cruise with Carnival and I was never disappointed until this cruise. 

[cubicpond]

sounds to me you are looking for white glove treatmenton a discount criuse.

[dlphn501]

On 10/2/2019 at 2:24 PM, Susan in Maine said:

Putting the galley in the middle of the ship with no way to get from one end of the ship to the other on that deck is a BAD IDEA. A REALLY bad idea.

I totally agree with you on this!  It took us until dinner on the last night to figure out the correct way to get to our correct dining room.  Up or down a deck, over, and back up or down again!  It was a little annoying, but not enough to keep me from sailing her again in January 🙂  I actually noticed a very similar problem on the fantasy class ships as well.

Also seemed like we had to walk "through" (around) the casino (which smells like smoke) a LOT to get from one end of the ship to the other.

The weird layout is my only complaint though.  I love the Liberty!  I'm sorry you didn't have the best time 😞

[Djptcp]

DH and I did a 4-day cruise on the Liberty in Oct. and had a totally different cruise and I did submit a short review in this forum. I found the Port Canaveral ground crew to be rude and totally insensitive to my mobility issues (I had a rollator and needed a wheelchair to get on and off the ship). We are used to sailing out of Tampa the most and they have a wonderful, caring and friendly ground crew, the terminal has valet parking which PC doesn't so there was a lot of walking for me to do to even get to check in and then finally the wheelchair area.  We loved the ship and had a wonderful cabin steward. The food was very good,  especially the Steakhouse and the Steakhouse Selections in the MDR and we found the ship easy to navigate. We are booked on the Liberty again in April and can't wait!

[Susan in Maine]

On 11/16/2019 at 6:51 PM, cubicpond said:

sounds to me you are looking for white glove treatmenton a discount criuse.

No, I wasn't expecting white glove treatment at all.

 

I've cruised on 5 different lines, and am realistic about what Carnival can provide.

 

However, the cabin should be clean - seeing dust everywhere to the point of having to brush off clothes is over the top. The balcony was disgusting and never cleaned. This was the dirtiest cabin I've ever had in my 14 cruises!

[Susan in Maine]

Five months later I've been thinking about this cruise.

 

It comes down to a really bad cabin experience and that colored the rest of the cruise. Looking back, I should have requested that the head steward for our part of the ship to come to the cabin so I could explain the issues.

 

Unfortunately on a four day cruise, you don't want to have to take the time for that. And I kept expecting it would be taken care of - I didn't have this experience on previous Carnival cruises.

 

And thanks everyone for your supportive responses.