Did Our “Suite” Family Survive A Weekend Party Cruise On Carnival Liberty? Spoiler: YES! Plus Video of Aft Vista Balcony

[amygutman]

BACKGROUND

Our family (DH, 14 yo son, myself) are unashamedly Bougie cruisers. I HATE lines and crowds when I should be on my balcony being brought French press coffee by our butler 🥰. We have not sailed in anything other than a suite in 10 years, so how did we end up on a 3 night “booze and party cruise” in a balcony room? Honestly, not an A—hole, I just like what I like. I’m a night shift ED doc and time off = destressing & shutting off my brain. With a new job, personal craziness, and no cruise since September, I needed a cruise, STAT.

 

The only thing that fit our schedule was a Carnival three nightery out of Canaveral. Living in Orlando, we can be at Canaveral in 45 minutes so I reached out to our TA Donnie who we adore. He says “No suites available but I found a great balcony and you can get ‘faster-to-the-fun’ for like 70$ and it’s the Super Bowl so should be a great party “. Good lord…a party cruise jam-packed with drunk brawlers? Yikes…I asked him about the ship: “The Liberty is old and small. Minimally refurbished. Really ugly orange and pink staterooms. Not awesome reviews overall but everyone raves about the crew and the service”. So…not my style of cruising, no suite, crowded, people everywhere but for a cheap price 45 minutes from home? Well, any day on the water is better than a day at work so why not?

 

I furiously scrambled to “suite-it-up”. Tipping our hat to @Sthrngary who espouses the “NCL Haven-Lite” cruise method, we got the non-alcoholic package, cheap wifi, pre-paid tips, 2 nights in the steakhouse and Faster-to-the-Fun for <500$ (for the three of us). Booked the Aft Vista Suite Wraparound Balcony for embarkation in Canaveral, port day in Nassau, sea day, then back home. Our travel agent has never steered us wrong but a sense of dread started to fall.  

 

BOARDING

We usually book “stay-and-park” hotel package but it didn’t make sense for a shorter cruise and booked at Port Parking (https://www.parkportcanaveral.com/) for 60$ for the 3 nights. 5 mins from the cruise port and shuttles every 15 minutes. Polite, professional and on-time. The Carnival terminal was well marked, customer service agents everywhere, and no lines >5 minutes. Very accessible as well with elevators / escalators right at the entrance. The notorious drug-sniffing port dogs were there (though by the amount of stinky bud we smelled on the ship, not sure if the doggos were off their game). Through the check-in process and into the “Faster-to-the-Fun” waiting area in 12 minutes for a 15 minute wait until 1034 when our 1030 boarding group was called. From there, we passed the photographer gauntlet and directly to our muster station in under 10 minutes. Muster man was lovely: “You guys know how to use a life-jacket, right? Put it on, strap yourself in, and pretend you are Leonardo Dicaprio” (I gently reminded our muster leader that Dicaprio actually died in Titanic, but whatever…). FTTF allowed us to drop off our bags in our not quite ready room, met Nengah our cabin steward, and we were eating lunch in the buffet a few minutes later after admiring NASA / SpaceX in the distance. It took < 60 minutes from shuttle to lunch. Super-efficient and our first glimpse at the consistent and genuine friendliness of the Carnival crew.

 

BTW: there are very few options for lunch on embarkation other than the Lido buffet until noon when the smaller venues open. More on that later because there are some hidden gems on board!

 

THE SHIP

Aside from the cabins (to be discussed later), this really is a gorgeous ship with “ocean-liner” vibes. It is not a style for everyone: DH dubbed it “art deco-Venetian-New Orleans” mash-up. It really is pretty, but with some very odd choices (like random platinum hands holding up a ceiling in a bar) and some wear-and-tear in some areas on the carpets, decks, and quite of bit of rust externally. The glass elevators are cool and showcase the skylights. It is 180 degrees opposite of minimalism but it is a very happy mess.

 

Oddly, there are few hand sanitizer stations and I could not find many AEDs. I know, it’s a strange observation but as a physician and former cruise doc I know there should be more public AEDs than I saw. The womens’ bathrooms were very clean (I even took a photo of the “folded” toilet paper), but hubby said that with the exception of the theater WCs, it looked like wild buffalo had used the majority of the mens’ toilets. Huh.

 

ITINERARY

Canaveral, Nassau, Sea Day, Home...We've been to Nassau many times and although we love the hidden stairs and the Fish Fry area, we stayed on the ship due to safety concerns. The new port looked lovely though and will probably try out on our next swing through. I think a lot of people in the same idea as the ship seemed fairly crowded to me for a port day. Even so, kiddo had free reign on the slide and we never had a problem getting space in the hot tubs or a wait at the restaurants / venues.

RESTAURANTS

Only one negative: this was the first ship we have ever been on without a “washy-washy” greeter in the buffet. Not only that, no hand-washing stations which was certainly strange.

 

Onward to the good: We did not have a bad meal…actually, not a single bad bite on board. Literally, we missed out on so many of the smaller locations because we had so many awesome options. Cannot review Guy’s Burger Joint, The Seafood Shack, Blue Iguana or the Pizza Palace as we never ate at any of them - lines formed early. Surprisingly, even though the lines were long, they appeared to move quickly and there was no obvious pushing-and-shoving in the queue with good-sized portions being served. That being said – the Seafood shack plates looked awesome and they were clearly a hit even as a non-complimentary option. The pizza crust smelled fantastic and the pizza slices were flying out of the kitchen.

 

Silver & Golden Olympian: We had breakfast and dinner at each. Beautiful in a very Art Deco cool way. Service was outstanding – comparable to our suite restaurant experiences on Celebrity, NCL and MSC. Attentive, professional, and proactive. We could never get our drinks down to half-full as a waiter would sneak up and refill glasses before we could ask. Allergies double-checked, the wait staff continually checked on us, different dietary options discussed, and our steaks and seafood cooked perfectly.

 

Carnival Deli: “almost perfect” free option for deli sandwiches, only limited by long lines due to not enough chefs. The creations coming out though looked amazing and kiddo declared the fries “the best”. It’s hidden on the starboard side of the main buffet.

 

BBQ: OH MY LORD!!! Hidden gem alert. This venue is on the 10^th floor right above the main buffet. It’s only open for lunch with a very limited menu. We nearly had it to ourselves day 1 and 2, but by day 3 it seems like everyone and their mother found it. It’s slap-yo-momma good. Kiddo nearly ate his weight in mac-&-cheese and DH broke his diet with their sides. Tip: ask for double meat portions…trust me on this one. Apologies for lack of pictures… the food never stayed on my plate long enough for me to actually get photographic evidence.

 

Diamond Steakhouse: Paid venue at 49$/person and worth every penny. Service and food were incredible. Everything cooked to perfection, our waiter Walter’s (both nights) recommendations were spot-on. Offered free glasses of wine or but sadly turned them down. Our neighbor’s bloody Mary looked amazing though. DH said by far the best thing he’d ever eaten on a ship were the roasted clam-stuffed mushrooms. Not a fan of raw seafood on a ship, but I had to order the smoked mussels after watching how it was presented the night before…holy moly, the taste and the aroma were epic! We booked two nights as we were skeptical about food in the main dining room after watching some YouTube videos, and as good as it was, I honestly feel we would have had a great meal in the main restaurant as well based upon our night one experience.

 

 

Bars: there are so many bars on this ship – only went to the Serenity area and aft adult bars. Service was quick and efficient. The pool bars looked crazy busy as did many of the other bars – but keep in mind, this was also Super Bowl weekend. There is wait service in the comedy club and theater which was prompt and accurate. Weird thing: all drinks (and meals) have paper receipts. Haven’t seen this for years on ships. It’s so strange to sign a “0$” charge, but there is always a tip area so maybe that is why. We usually tipped in cash though so it goes right to the specific server.

 

AMENITIES

This is an older ship; for us, we have no need for bells-&-whistles, just a balcony to relax on but this may be a negative for some. The kids clubs looked, well, rather pathetic and other than the older teen area, were nearly empty the entire trip. They do have a “Green Eggs and Ham” breakfast for I think 4$ but definitely not for our eye-rolling 14 yo. One slide (no waiting!), miniature golf, basketball were always active as well as a dedicated unobstructed running / walking track which was a treat and rare to find on newer ships. The gym was clean and well-appointed, as were the locker rooms. Did not try the spa, but our balcony neighbors loved their massages. There were tons of actual TV channels, not just rerun sporadic show episodes, and although there were plenty of paid options, there were a ton of free movies. Huge bonus!

 

For the kids, the arcade was huge – more games than I have seen on ships twice this size. Tons of choices and at 2-5$ per game not terribly expensive. The adult arcade (AKA “casino”) was also large, and my only complaint was there were not a lot of “cheap” games. They did have live music every night in the casino which also had a windowed area (very unusual but lovely to see in a casino). There were a lot of happy screaming slots and table players so apparently well-paying too. I didn’t lose money so I was happy, and even on day one without accruing Player’s Points I was offered free drinks (I do not have the alcoholic beverage package so seltzer it was).

 

Pools were awesome, though the main one was closed after 1300 on Super Bowl Sunday due to the game and party. There was one other pool on the main deck and then one in the adult area, and at least 6 large hot tubs (two are adult only). Lifeguards and life-vests were plentiful.  

 

As for suite amenities:  Even if we had stayed in the suite, there are really no specific suite amenities other than larger room size and similar benefits as if you were to book FTTF. There are VFIP Loyalty perks, but of little impact on this ship (I believe dining times, drinks, priority embarkation / debarkation, shopping discounts, etc). FTTF did have a dedicated priority phone / waiting line at customer service which was helpful when I had a wifi question.

 

IT

We chose the cheapest wifi as nearly every YoTube review spoke about how bad it was, so I thought “why waste money”? We were shocked at how fast it was. Like, literally as fast as on land. At one point kiddo was streaming videos, playing music and playing Roblox with a friend online. There is also a texting option you can use through the app for 5$ / day – great deal. The app itself was user-friendly and worked like a charm. Meal check-ins, room service, charges, messaging, daily planner, notifications…way better than NCL or MSC.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

Blown Away. Just so much fun. We have never had so many options for trivia, dancing, comedy, singers, bands…literally every hour you had 3-4 choices. By far the best group at sea was Flying Fingers violin trio. They had the entire atrium dancing and singing for hours nightly – if you can, imagine Def Leopard and Europe played on electric violins, and if you can’t I have a short video clip.

 

Movies at sea were shown 3-4 times / day. Oppenheimer I think was an odd choice for a cruise, but all of the other movies were aimed at pure fun (and also available in your cabin for free).  The theater rock music show was cheesy, but performed enthusiastically. The cast met the audience before and offered photos and temporary tattoos. Cheesy or not, the crowd was singing and dancing so I would say it was successful. There was no theater show on the sea day as the Super Bowl was played on the pool deck, at the bars, and in the theater with a tailgate party before the game. Other than an initial sound issue, the room was filled with hundreds of screaming fans. Very cool.

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We loved the charity and appreciation events. There was a St Jude’s dance party and fundraiser, and a Veteran’s Appreciation gathering which was so touching and brought tears to our eyes. Later in the cruise Carnival also hosted an afternoon gathering for Vets which apparently they do each cruise in addition to giving great discounts to first responders and veterans. 

 

Adam (the cruise director) and Millie (the Fun Hostess) were EVERYWHERE and seemed genuinely happy to take photos, answer questions and chat with guests. Millie hosted all of the trivia and our kiddo won a “genuine 24 carat gold plastic trophy” when he smoked the competition in a trivia contest. The Love & Marriage show was a hoot (and as “Jerry Springer-esque” as Adam hyped it up to be), and the comedian PG-13 show was great. Wanted to see his “adult” show, but these adults fell asleep every night by 2300 missing the late snacks and midnight buffet (yes…they have a midnight buffet and pizza!!!).

 

ROOM

This was the source of my greatest concerns as I was not sure where kiddo was going to sleep as the only video I found online did not show the couch well. Ok, here’s the thing: it’s an old ship. It has old art, old furniture, and outdated fixtures. The TV is small, the colors are hideous, but it was so comfortable, so much storage, and yes, even the tiny bathroom was well-laid out. Kiddo said the pull-out couch was very comfy, and honestly the mattress was firm without lumps as many have complained of. Even fluffy pillows kept their fluff! The balcony? Glorious wrap-around and partially covered so well-shaded plus open sunny area. You can be seen by the upper decks due to the angle of the balconies so be aware. The loungers are old, no puffy padded seating, and the outdoor paint is rather rusted…but a similar room this size with a similar balcony on the Icon as a comparison is > 7 TIMES THE PRICE (with much less storage). There are only 2 outlets (& one for shavers in the bathroom which we never found but I am told is there) and neither of them are by the bed. Bring a European adaptor and a cruise-compliant multi-plug adaptor and you will be fine. If you need a CPAP by the bed, you will need a longer cord. This is the one we always use: https://a.co/d/0E5732L.

 

The safe was weird – you had to lock it with a credit card or driver’s license, both of which we would want to actually keep in the safe. Our balcony neighbors said they could hear the music from the bar right below us and the laughter from the comedy club, but honestly, we never noticed. Despite the online warnings, we never had a sewage smell (prepared by bringing solid air fresheners). We would book this room again in a heartbeat and filmed a video of my own. Pardon my errors: it apparently is a “double twin” (can be split), and the buffet is deck 9 above us on deck 6.

 

 

 

 

 

CREW

Cannot praise the crew enough. From Nengah our steward, the waiters (shout out to Walter), the cruise director Adam and Fun Staff Millie, the shops staff…everyone was pleasant, cheerful and chatty. The buffet and all of the restaurants had wonderful staff – 100% going above and beyond. Housekeeping crews were so helpful, and even security were super friendly. We spent so much time just chatting with staff & crew from around the globe and left every conversation convinced that this ship specifically hired people for their friendliness. We never heard the word “no”, and when my kiddo went down a slide backwards, the lifeguard at the bottom gently corrected him then sent him straight back up to the top to try again so he wouldn’t think he was in trouble!

 

That being said, remember the aforementioned “stinky bud” onboard? It wasn’t pervasive, but it was definitely noticeable. By Day 2, security was definitely cracking down but very quietly and professionally. I truly have no idea why anyone would risk being banned from cruising or being thrown in a Bahamian jail for weed but to each their own.

 

OTHER PASSENGERS

Have no idea what the “typical” cruiser was for this sailing as the only group we did not see well-represented was families with small (non-adolescent) children. Older, younger, singles, hen parties, bachelor parties, honeymooners, teens. All races and demographics. We heard that 85% were American, and primarily from the East Coast or Midwest. Many people we talked with were combining the cruise with a Disney / Universal Studios trip. Lots and lots of football fans. Shockingly well-behaved. No fights. Most people waited patiently in line, minimal shoving and line-cutting, no griping. Good buffet etiquette. There were some mild dust-ups at the bars, but the bartenders seemed to handle it very well.

 

DEBARKATION

FTTF and self-debarkation were amazing. We left our room at 0703, headed to the theater, waiting a few minutes then cleared to leave the ship. Quick swipe of ship cards, then a long walk to port customs. We have passports that we never had to show. Just walked up to an agent, smiled at the facial recognition machine, and voila…done. 5 minute walk to our shuttle, 8 minutes to departure then to our car, and we were headed back home to Orlando by 0748. That’s 45 minutes from cabin to highway. Incredible.

 

THE SUMMARY

Were there negatives? Sure. There is definitely wear and tear, and the rust needs a good scraping and repainting. Although the main areas of the ship are gorgeous in a very busy style, I’m sure it’s not everyone’s cup-of-tea. The cabins are decorated circa-1990 with truly hideous color palates and minimal updates. Few hand-sanitizer stations and no "washy-washy" crew. But we happily turned 180⁰ from what we thought a Carnival 3 nighter would be. Maybe it was just this ship and this sailing plus amazing crew, but we had so much fun at such a good price. Would book again in a heartbeat and although we will never give up our suite-loving lifestyle, were happy to be proven wrong about the Liberty. FIVE / FIVE STARS!!!!

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[pe4all]

Fantastic, well-rounded honest review!  We love the Liberty, and the conquest-class ships!  Welcome to Carnival.  Try a longer cruise next!

[Knights on the Beach]

Great review, thank you for posting! So nice to see such an objective yet positive review from an experienced cruiser. We live 2 miles from terminal 3 at Port Canaveral and mainly cruise with Carnival, but are planning to branch out soon and try Celebrity, NCL and Princess.

[Sunandslots]

Loved your review!  So helpful as we’ll be on her in a few weeks!  Thank you!

[MEUB1112]

Great review,  we actually use a gas station loyalty card as the key, hide it in a suitcase. Looks like y'all had a great time. 

[MEUB1112]

Plus,  aft wrap is our go to cabin, love them!!

[ktinnc]

Loved your review! Thx for posting!

[lasvegascruising]

Your Kiddo with his "ship on a stick", just so darn cute!!  I vote for you to take him on another Carnival cruise. 

[ninjacat123]

Great review!! I’m so happy that your Superbowl cruise was super!! Thx for posting 👍😁

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, MEUB1112 said:

Great review,  we actually use a gas station loyalty card as the key, hide it in a suitcase. Looks like y'all had a great time. 

An old Sail and sign card works for us 

[Riles34]

It was nice to read a review that was honest and upbeat, specifically from someone who doesn't cruise Carnival! Looks like you all hand a wonderful time! You will love your Mardi Gras cruise in 2025!!

[Bostwick girl]

Loved your review! We will be boarding Liberty for the 11th time since 2016 on March 4. It feels like coming home. And you are correct, Carnival has the very best crew, always super friendly and so efficient! Happy that you enjoyed your Liberty cruise!

[Frank12]

Liberty is our favorite " short weekend getaway cruise".  We've sailed her 6 or 7 times. Try one of the aft-wrap balcony cabins next time.  I think they are only on deck 6 and 7.  You won't regret it!

[amygutman]

On 2/20/2024 at 9:04 PM, MEUB1112 said:

Great review,  we actually use a gas station loyalty card as the key, hide it in a suitcase. Looks like y'all had a great time. 

That's an AMAZING Hack!!! 

OMG...I cannot wait to use that advice. 

Warmest Amy

[amygutman]

On 2/20/2024 at 9:08 PM, MEUB1112 said:

Plus,  aft wrap is our go to cabin, love them!!

I LOVED it...it was such a beautiful location for sunrises and sunsets. 

Warmest Amy

[amygutman]

On 2/20/2024 at 10:05 PM, lasvegascruising said:

Your Kiddo with his "ship on a stick", just so darn cute!!  I vote for you to take him on another Carnival cruise. 

Millie was just so lovely - "I now present to you....a solid gold, made of plastic, ship-on-a-stick" 😁

Kiddo has been to 23 countries so far...we love exposing him to different cultures and people, if only for a day. He loves cruising (as long as he has his wifi, of course). 

Next up for him: Allure of the Seas for his birthday. He's never been to CocoCay - I worked there as a doc when I worked for Royal and I know he will love it!

Warmest Amy

[amygutman]

On 2/21/2024 at 10:17 AM, Riles34 said:

It was nice to read a review that was honest and upbeat, specifically from someone who doesn't cruise Carnival! Looks like you all hand a wonderful time! You will love your Mardi Gras cruise in 2025!!

Cannot wait!

Honestly, we were pretty bummed that our NCL epic transatlantic was canceled for November and the rescheduled date in October just doesn't work with our schedule.

The thrill of a completely new ship for an extended sea voyage is amazing. After the hospitality on our Liberty cruise, we're hoping to see the same happy spirit on the Mardi Gras but with a few more bells and whistles for the 6 or 7 sea days.

I've been converted... happily happily!!

Warmest Amy

[vanislandcruisers]

Great Review and Read!!!

 

Thanks!!!

[amygutman]

Had so much fun that we didn't want to wait for our Mardi Gras TA next year to have another Carnival experience - Booked the Celebration for December in an Excel Forward Corner Suite for a 7 night Caribbean cruise our of Miami.

 

Yeah - we went back to the suite life to get the corner balcony, but also loved the idea of the Loft 19 perk. That being said, I just found out I spent enough time in the casino to have a free balcony room on a 3-5 nighter, so keeping my eyes peeled for another bargain out of Canaveral. 

 

Warmest Amy

[Paelos]

Heading on the Liberty in April with my wife, so I appreciated your review! I'll give the BBQ place a stop by for sure. We've also booked the steakhouse on the first night, and I fully prepare to drink that free bottle of wine! Hopefully I have some good luck in the casino.

 

What games in the casino did you like to play? You had mentioned there weren't many "cheap" games, so what bet/denomination were you able to find that you liked?

[amygutman]

5 hours ago, Paelos said:

Heading on the Liberty in April with my wife, so I appreciated your review! I'll give the BBQ place a stop by for sure. We've also booked the steakhouse on the first night, and I fully prepare to drink that free bottle of wine! Hopefully I have some good luck in the casino.

 

What games in the casino did you like to play? You had mentioned there weren't many "cheap" games, so what bet/denomination were you able to find that you liked?

So, my habit is to find the 1 or 2 centers, then play "all of the lines", so that the spins are between $2.50 and $5.00. I find I can play for quite of bit of time winning some, losing some, and getting casino points. 

 

No particular favorites honestly - though the Buffalo game and one called "Queen's Gambit" were particularly nice to me 😇

 

I hope you have a wonderful time and are able to look beyond the rough edges. Such a great little ship with, and I cannot state this enough, one of the best crews we have ever had. 

 

Warmest Amy

[apugeau]

I absolutely loved and appreciated this review. Such a cute family!

[jimbo5544]

Nice review, we traveled many places on Liberty over the years, including our forst trip to the Med.  She will always hold a special place in our hearts, including couple trips in the Captain’s Suite.

[ninjacat123]

On 2/23/2024 at 6:28 PM, amygutman said:

Cannot wait!

Honestly, we were pretty bummed that our NCL epic transatlantic was canceled for November and the rescheduled date in October just doesn't work with our schedule.

The thrill of a completely new ship for an extended sea voyage is amazing. After the hospitality on our Liberty cruise, we're hoping to see the same happy spirit on the Mardi Gras but with a few more bells and whistles for the 6 or 7 sea days.

I've been converted... happily happily!!

Warmest Amy

When on MG, please check out Big Chicken (best chicken sandwiches EVER), Emeril's (Banana Foster Crepes and Muffuletta sandwich sooo good),  Street Eatz (selections change daily) and the gelato by the Shawarma station on Lido (selections change as well).  Bonsai Teppanyaki is great and a lot of fun (make reservations on your Cruise Manager because they could sell out).  Also, when I prepare to post pics on CC from my cell and I see that they are upside down, I remove said photo, go back to camera selection, screenshot the pic and edit so its just the pic and save to camera roll, go back to post and select that pic again and the pic should be right side up.  Something I figured out halfway through my Europe cruise LIVE review.

Hope you post a review on your MG cruise!!😸

Edited April 11 by ninjacat123

[amygutman]

On 4/10/2024 at 10:16 PM, apugeau said:

I absolutely loved and appreciated this review. Such a cute family!

@apugeau I may be biased, but I do think our kiddo is fabulously cute too!!! Thank you!