Anyone been on the Liberty?

[KAWS]

I've just booked for next March break (Canada) for my husband and I and our 17 yr. old son on the Liberty. We'll be doing a 6 night Western Caribbean. I'm so excited (already) and so are the rest of us.

 

We've booked a suite on the Empress Level (near the middle of the ship) - the TA told us it was a good place to be for the stability.

 

I do know that there is a Teens Program for my son, but has anyone gone on the Liberty and had a teenager in tow? What facilities do they have for the teens so keep them busy? Any must do's and see's on the ship for us? Any excursion tips and suggestions (especially for the young un)? What are the shows like? Is it true that they have special teen excursions where the parents aren't with them and is there a director responsible for the kids on that trip? Anyone stayed in a suite before and if so, what was it like? One of the room descriptions said there's a butler in there and another just didn't say one way or the other, so I'm not sure. It's not a presidential suite, just a regular suite but it did say a whirlpool in the room? Is this right?

 

My ONLY experience with a cruise was a few years ago and it was THE nastiest ship going - something called the Sunbird and it really was terrible. All the drinks were British pound sterling so that meant 2.5 times our money at the time. There wasn't a lot for the kids do to at the time and at one port they actually sold my 16 yr. old vodka for $5 and my 12 yr. old cigars and cigarettes! Little B's got off at the port and there it was right at the bottom of the stairs. We were stuck below deck in an inside REALLY small room. I guess that's why I'm trying to find almost the direct opposite this time - it took several years to wipe those memories from my mind.

 

I know I've asked a lot of questions but really, anything that you have to say about the ship will be great. I haven't seen much in the way of reviews for this ship and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's because it's fairly new ship.

 

Anyway, thanks in advance.

 

Kim

[cubdaddy]

You will have a great time on this ship and not have the problems like you had on that other cruise.

 

There is a pretty nice gameroom, basketball, water slide, swimming, etc. A 17 year old will probably find stuff to do. In my opinion, the shows on the Liberty are the best we had seen so far. The service was good but could have been better. They just changed out the crew on the ship so that is probably why. I am sure this will be worked out by your cruise.

 

In Grand Cayman, I suggest Captain Marvins for Stingray/snorkeling. We have used them twice and they were great both times. Smaller boats and less crowded than the Carnival Stingray tour. Less expensive too!

 

In Freeport we did the Carnival snorkeling tour. There is some shopping here too.

 

Costa Maya: We were going to rent a golf cart and go to Muhaja (sp) beach. We got about 30 feet from the golf rental place and were stopped. They informed us that the ship was going to leave in an hour due to rough seas. That was the shortest tour I was ever on! One of these days we'll make it back there.

 

There is a review below in my signature that might help you get a feel for this cruise and ship.

[cubdaddy]

You will have a great time on this ship and not have the problems like you had on that other cruise.

 

There is a pretty nice gameroom, basketball, water slide, swimming, etc. A 17 year old will probably find stuff to do. In my opinion, the shows on the Liberty are the best we had seen so far. The service was good but could have been better. They just changed out the crew on the ship so that is probably why. I am sure this will be worked out by your cruise.

 

In Grand Cayman, I suggest Captain Marvins for Stingray/snorkeling. We have used them twice and they were great both times. Smaller boats and less crowded than the Carnival Stingray tour. Less expensive too!

 

In Freeport we did the Carnival snorkeling tour. There is some shopping here too.

 

Costa Maya: We were going to rent a golf cart and go to Muhaja (sp) beach. We got about 30 feet from the golf rental place and were stopped. They informed us that the ship was going to leave in an hour due to rough seas. That was the shortest tour I was ever on! One of these days we'll make it back there.

 

There is a review below in my signature that might help you get a feel for this cruise and ship. By the way, we had our 18 year old son and 14 year old daughter with us and they had a great time!

 

Sorry about the double post! CC is getting stupid again!

[BrendaB1]

Here's an excellent video shot by a CC member April 1st. It was an awesome cruise. www.gatorclaw.com/liberty

[Big Spanker]

We(My family Me 41 DW 39 and DD's17,&16) Sailed the same cruise in Late March 2006. We loved the ship and everything about it. We found the crew very attentive to our needs and enjoyed it. We rented adjoining balcony rooms and enjoyed the extra space. As to the ports I was somewhat disappointed. This is not the fault of Carnival however. We booked because of the price and time frame of the trip. We loved our vacation and will sail the Liberty again.

 

Freeport :( we went on our own to the straw market and it was really a drag(I would suggest an excursion here) Check out the boards. We were off the ship early, and back in time for lunch. Round trip cab fare was $40.00 plus tip for 4.

In the Caymans 7 ships were in port and the streets and shops were extremly crowded, no fun at all. I thought I was at a concert. We did the stingray city tour and loved it. We booked on our own and were on a catamaran with about 25 people. (Buccaneer Stingray city tour) They were very good with all on board, & I would book with them again. Most other boats had two to three times the number of people and some looked like they could sink. We got more personal attention with the Buccaneer tour.

Costa Maya:( , we had original booked a tour w/ David and Ivan for the ruins, but we were getting into port late and leaving early so we cancelled due to the time restraint. The shopping port is really a drag. We were tired from our Cayman excursion and just walked around the newly built port shopping area. again I would look for an excursion here, or a beach day.

We are looking to sail the Liberty in Spring 2007 again, but will go on the 7 or 8 day itenerairy rather than the 6 day. We loved the ship, but thought the ports were lacking, for us. We want to get to a less crowded part of the Carribean, and longer stays in port to get out a little bit. We picked the 6 day due to the cost, but would spend more to get to some of the farther away ports.

I took my lap top and was very pleased :) with the WIFI in our stateroom. I was able to take care of business while on vacation a few minutes each day (w/o/ dirty looks from my family) w/o having to search out the WIFI cafe. Contact us directly with questions concerning the Liberty

deanhamy@tds.net

Best Wishes

deanhamy:)

[cathyoo]

Before my Valentine's day cruise on the Liberty I had read some very unpleasant reviews .. bad food, lot of motion, bad service. I was a nervous wreck because I had planned the trip for my little group.

 

Each and everyone of us had a wonderful time. The ship was beautiful, we enjoyed the food (make sure to dine at Harry's), the service wonderful and we had no major problems with the ship's movement.

 

You are going to have an absolute wonderful time.

[aaaa]

You will love the Liberty. We were on the 6 day last March and loved it. We had been to Freeport and Cayman so we knew what to expect. I too would recommend an excursion in Freeport (snorkeling perhaps) and Stingray City in Cayman. We did the Jungle Beach Break in CM and had a blast. The kids swam with dolphins and took a ride on the banana boat. We thoroughly enjoyed our day at the beach. CM was our favorite port! We were back in plenty of time to enjoy a drink and some music at the port.

 

Your teen will have plenty to do. He will meet tons of kids since it is Spring break. The teen club was always busy when I went by.

 

We had a Cat 12 on Liberty (booked a Cat 11 G). This was our first time in a suite and the room is huge. Tons of closet space for the 4 of us. The bathroom was enormous. The seperate dressing area made it nice for DD and I when getting ready for dinner. The whirlpool tub was nice but we really didn't use it. Looked big enough for just 1 person. I liked that we had shower doors and not a curtin!

 

Have a great time!

 

-------------------------

Miracle - 3/2007

Liberty - 3/2006

Valor - 3/2005

Glory - 3/2004

Conquest - 3/2003

Fantasy - 3/2002