Back From Liberty 3/26

[casanova]

We just came back today from the 8 day crusie to Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica. It was wonderful!

 

Here is a short review....

 

Embarkation was crazy but typical. We arrived around 11 AM and were eating lunch by 12:30. Just be patient and have a good attitude. That motto will keep you happy all week long. Every line moves...even if it moves slowly.

 

We ended up having 4 days at sea because at the last minute we could not get into Costa Maya due to the high seas. That's life. Some people were upset, but we were fine with it. As a past cruiser, I know there are no guranteed ports. Have a good attitude and enjoy the 25 dollar credit per person. We did!

 

Costa Rica was great. We did a private tour (arranged prior to arriving) from information gained here. It was awesome. I will post it on the port of call boards. We saw the city, visited a banana plantation, took a river boat ride, went swimming at the beach and had a late lunch. We did all this for 50 dollars per person plus lunch and tip. It rained as we arrived at port. Once again, have a good attitude.

 

In Panama, I had a friend meet me...so not much of a review here except that we had to hire a driver to take us to the Pacific side. She took us to the Miraflores lock (which I highly recommend) and around Panama City. I will post the name of the driver and his business in the port board as well. He was very nice, a safe driver (as safe as you can feel around there), and very punctual. I would not hesistate to arrange your own tour.

 

Matter of fact, the Carnival tour to cross the canal via ferry was canceled because the night before we had a power outage for a couple hours...which put us behind schedule. Once again, it is about your attitude. Some people were very angry about the power outage but I must say the ship kept us informed every 10 minutes. Being from Florida, it did not scare me. Also there were plenty of emergency lights on. Many people were sleeping....it was from 10 PM to about midnight. It was an electrical problem and that happens. It wasn't fun, but you have to understand that the ship is a "city" of 5000 people. FOr us, it was no big deal.

 

Sea days were fun...we enjoyed the Lido deck, the waterslide, reading, eating, napping and talking with others.

 

Food: lots of variety, lots of choices...some good some not so good. I have cruised for years and it is not the quality of years ago, but it is fine. I liked the choices, especially at lunch. I especially liked the deli and the oriental stir-fry. Pizza was always a winner with our kids as was the ice cream machine. I too liked the ice cream. The dining room was nice...nothing great but overall enjoyable. It is fun to order several items and try new foods. If you can, do Harry's one night. We did not mind paying 30 dollars per person because it was EXCELLENT. Give yourself three hours for dinner..just a tip.

 

Overall, I give this cruise an 8 or 8.5 out of 10. We had a very nice time and we enjoyed ourselves. Most shows were good. Bingo was fun. The ship was clean. I am happy being served, not having to clean up, and having time to watch shows, read books, and simply do nothing.

 

If you have questions, feel free to email them to me. I will do my best. My email is greico@nova.edu. Enjoy the Liberty!

[redskin80]

Great post and review. Glad you didn't let a little rain ruin the whole trip. You are right about the attitude. Thanks again fro the review. Your right we did Harry's last year and loved every minute of the experience and the food was great.

[DebNJoe]

Thanks for taking the time to post on your first day back. You are so right about having a good attitude, if you are looking for problems, you will never be happy!

 

We leave this coming Saturday and can't wait. We were on the Liberty in the Med last Sept, so I know about the ship, and Harry's. We are definitely going back to Harry's!

 

Some questions I do have are...

Is John Heald still on board as CD?

Who is the Piano Man?

Which night did they have the Past Guest Party?

 

Thanks again, glad you had a great cruise.

Debbie

[casanova]

Hi Debbie...

 

John is still on the Liberty. I enjoyed him very much.

 

Duane is the Piano Man. My brother and sister in law went a couple times. They said it was not very good...compared to other piano bars they had visited. Our favorite thus far has been Bert Stratton on the Caribbean Princess.

 

Not sure about the past guest party. My mom and dad went and said it was just ok but enjoyable. I think it was either Wednesday or Thursday.

 

Have a great trip.

 

Lilly

[palmtre2]

Thanks for the review - I'll be checking out the port boards too. We'll be on this itinerary in 2 weeks, and we are beyond excited. Thanks again for the look ahead!!!

[richfret]

I too was on that cruise and agree with every thing you said. Your 8 to 8.5 grade was right on. I will be doing my review shortly.

 

Just wanted to add that we got off the ship easier than on any other of my 9 cruises. We were off the ship and on the pier at 9:30 am. I have to add, however, that it had a lot to do with what deck you were on. We were on Deck 8 and it was the third deck to be called. I imagine you could add another hour if you had several decks to go. I found the arrangement of the suit cases much better organized than on previous cruises.

[meluvtogocruise]

Thanks for your review of Liberty. Sounds like you enjoyed yet another cruise vacation. Portabello in Panama is pretty - did you happen to go there?

 

mel

[chief_k]

My wife and I were alson on the 3/18 sailing of the Liberty. This was cruise #10 So we got the perks of priority embarkation and debarkation. Embarkation from Taxi to Room 15 minutes. Debarkation, self assist we were at the airport at 7am. Worked out great because we got on an earlier flight. Pretty much agree with previous posts. Would've like more of an explaination of the power outage and why the ship was not moving for 2 hours, but it wasn't the big deal that some people made it out to be.

 

I'd be curious to know how many times ships have to bypass Costa Maya. We had a couple of problems with our cabin, shower drain and A/C, that were never fully resolved. Again, these problems didn't affect our enjoyment of the cruise. John Heald (CD) is as good as always. We enjoyed meeting everyone at the Cruise Critic pre sail party.

 

Good time overall, no major complaints. Just like everything else in life if you're looking for something bad, you'll find it. Relax, enjoy, your on vacation!

[DebNJoe]

Hi Debbie...

 

Duane is the Piano Man. My brother and sister in law went a couple times. They said it was not very good...compared to other piano bars they had visited. Our favorite thus far has been Bert Stratton on the Caribbean Princess.

 

Have a great trip.

 

Lilly

Thanks for the info.

 

I was hoping that Duane had left by now. He was the piano man on the Miracle last year, and we did not enjoy him.

 

 

5 days and counting! :D

[petersonwith3]

Did your Kids utilize Camp Carnival activities?

 

If so, how did they like them? Also, where was your cabin? Any suggesstions?

[martdm]

Thanks to OP and everyone else for sharing your experiences. Sorry you had a few bumps in the road but happy you all seemed to enjoy the cruise overall!

[martdm]

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