review -Carnival Liberty 1/20/07 kinda long!

[Patdmoose]

Cruise review – Carnival Liberty 1/20/07

Costa Maya - Limon, Costa Rica - and Colon , Panama

 

In general – this was the best cruise ever!

We had a group of 18, all friends and family. We range in age from 1 teenager to my Dad who is 81 years old. (I am 54 and my wife is 53) I am really awed that I can put together a cruise and invite people and they actually want to come along. The cruise Director for this sailing was Todd Wittmer. We also sailed with Todd on the shortened post Rita Conquest cruise. He is not among my favorites as a Cruise Director. At the Welcome Aboard party, one of the guests who came up on stage said that he thought that Todd must get paid by the word. Wow, was that prophetic. He could talk longer and faster and without taking a breath, more than anyone that I can remember. Toward the end of the cruise, a fellow seasoned cruiser said he was going to the debarkation talk. I told him that I could read the info that they left in our cabin in about 3 minutes, but that Todd would take at least an hour to say the same thing. My friend later told me that it took him 1:15.

We had all of our dinners in the dining room, and had some breakfast from room service, and some from the Lido deck. We had all of our lunches on the Lido. The choices were great. Standard buffet – omelets – Mongolian grill, Deli, Fish and Chips, and of course pizza and ice cream.

 

Pre-cruise

A small group of us flew in on Friday, and stayed at the Comfort Inn and Suites on Federal Highway. My wife, Brenda, and I arrived at FLL at around 6:30. The hotel shuttle was prompt and we were soon at the hotel. I had looked online for a good place to eat close to the hotel, and had found a pizza place called Anthony’s. It is Zagat rated and very busy on a Fri. night. Their coal-fired pizza is great! It is only about 4 blocks from the hotel and right on Federal highway.

 

Embarkation and first day

We were signed up for the 11:00 AM shuttle bus to the cruise port. It was a few minutes late, but got us to the cruise port in little time. It was not too hot and the line moved very quickly. We checked all of our bags except my camera bag and immediately went up to the Lido and had lunch. Our balcony room, #1006, the most forward cabin on the Panorama deck (port side), was ready to go after lunch and all of our bags were delivered in plenty of time for our 6:15 seating in the Golden Olympian dining room. We were seated at tables 157 and 159 on the lower level, our wait team was Joze (Yo-szay) from Slovenia, and Candito, from Honduras. Joze was, in my opinion, the best waiter we have had on any cruise. He was young, energetic, ALWAYS smiling, and efficient.

 

Sea Days – MON - WED - FRI – SAT

My favorite part of cruising. Hanging out with family and friends

bingo

casino – the first night I won $30, I gave it all back + before the week was over.

Great meals, etc

 

Costa Maya

We had booked online with Otto, for the Tequila Beach Resort. I presume he is the owner. He actually called me before we left to confirm our reservation and ask if we had any last minute questions before we left. We booked a snorkel tour and a day pass, which included soft drinks and snacks. Tequila beach is great! It was overcast and we had occasional rain, but the location is great and the food and service were outstanding. One of those with us commented on the French Fries and how good they were. We decided that they must not be fried in some cholesterol free (healthy) oil, but in lard!!! They were great!! One of my friends had some trouble after starting the snorkel tour. He was having trouble catching his breath, and had to return to the boat. He scared all of us for a while. They sent out another boat to bring him back to shore. I went back with him to make sure he was OK. He was fine after resting on the beach for a while. I was impressed with their quick response. The tour manager even met us at the dock to see if they needed to contact a medical team.

 

Limon, Costa Rica

 

We booked a zipline and sightseeing tour with Charlie Soto from okeydokey tours.

He sent us with Carlos in a 15-passenger van. There were only 9 of us, so we had plenty of room. Ziplining is the BEST excursion I have ever taken anywhere. The Jungle Breezes sold us a CD with over 400 pictures of our group plus the local scenery and wildlife. It was $20 and worth every penny!

We also went to the rain forest, a banana plantation, the canals for a boat ride, and to a Costa Rican grocery store to buy coffee. Carlos also stopped at a Post Office so that my wife could purchase postcards, stamps and mail them to our grandsons. Like most of Charlie’s tours, we got back to the boat just in time. We did not get a chance to shop, but we saw more in less time than most we spoke with later.

 

Colon, Panama

 

I usually will not book a ship’s tour. But in this case we prebooked the ship’s excursion for the Panama Canal tour. We had read a lot of reviews that this tour is crowded, hot, boring…

It was none of the above. Yes, the bus trips to and from the canal were full, but the ferry itself was not crowded where we sat. We stayed on the lower level, with outside seats. It was shady, there was a good breeze and we could move around and see anything we wanted. Seeing the Panama Canal is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We arrived back at the port after the ship’s sailing time, but they did wait for us.

BTW, if you take this tour and get a US citizen named Jill as your tour guide, you will not be disappointed. Her family has been in Panama for over 100 years. Since she was born in the Canal Zone, she has dual citizenship. I love history and could listen to her tell stories and expound on Panama for hours.

 

Wrap-up

As I said before, this was a great cruise!

One night late, several of us were sitting by the Lido deck aft pool eating ice cream. I looked around the pool and noticed that there were 4 light bulbs that had burned out. I told everyone that my cruise was ruined, and that I would have to report that to CruiseCritic. We all laughed, because we have seen the reviews that focused in on the negatives, and let them ruin their cruise vacation. Yes, I could write about some things that were not quite done like I wanted or expected, but WHY?

 

I will start a new thread with a link to my pictures and videos after I get them all uploaded and arranged. Right now I have over 700 to go through.

 

One last note, since the FEMA debacle after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, I have included in my CC signature, a line that read “Proud Member of Bob’s Grumpy 5%”. I have been asked about that several times and have always voiced my opinion. Some of you have agreed with me and others have not. That’s OK.

I have deleted that line from signature.

I emailed Bob D about 3-4 months ago with a picture of one of the little ‘blow-up’ Carnival ship toys. It has stayed in the toy box in the room that my grandsons use when they stay with us. We bought this toy on our second cruise in 1999. We have never added air to it and it is constantly being played with when the boys are here. Bob D was amazed at our story. He sent a very nice bottle of wine and some chocolate covered strawberries to our cabin.

Thank you Bob Dickinson, and thank you Carnival for an great vacation!

[LouLou921]

Great review! I was on this cruise too and completely agree about Todd. What a windbag. We had a pretty good time. I even participated in a few activities and was hypnotized at the 10:30 show.

I have to mention the Grand Marnier souffle I had on the last night for dessert. It was incredible! :)

[Lib0007]

Pat, thank you for your comments regarding your Liberty cruise and I'm so happy to hear that you and your clan had such a great time. It must be fun with such a large group.

 

We will be on the Liberty in March for the eastern trip.

 

Thanks!

 

p.s. My son has one of those blow up ships also - from our first Carnival cruise on the Legend several years ago!

[dotheyes]

great review.

going on the same cruise in Sept. your infor helps alot.

Was the shuttle at the hotel you stayed included in the price or was there an extra cost.

Thanks again

ole ole Dot

[Patdmoose]

dotheyes

they picked us up at the airport and took us to the cruise port for no extra cost. We did tip the driver $1/bag each time. The rooms are pricey for what you get, so the shuttles are not really free.

[vacruizer]

Thanks so much for the review! We're on the same itinerary in October and considering the same excursions you did in Costa Rica and Panama and reading your thoughts was great. A couple of questions...

 

Was the Panama Canal tour a "full transit" on the ferry? The Carnival website is a little vague on that one. I've been told by a friend that actually going through the canal is not to be missed, no matter what the price but were just curious.

 

Also, just how tight on time was Charlie Soto's tour? We'd really like to use him after reading the reviews but are nervous as everyone seems to report making the ship "just in time." We had a close call getting back to the ship with Nativeways in Grand Cayman last year and don't want to go through that stress again!

 

Thanks again - only nine long months to go!

[billsrobb]

Great review! I was on this cruise too and completely agree about Todd. What a windbag. We had a pretty good time. I even participated in a few activities and was hypnotized at the 10:30 show.

I have to mention the Grand Marnier souffle I had on the last night for dessert. It was incredible! :)

 

I was on the Conquest Sept 2006 and I really enjoyed Todd. I thought his humor was great. He really made the cruise great. I can't see why anyone would say negative things about him. Welcome aboard night I got picked to go on stage and I gave him a hard time and just rolled with it. I am going on the Liberty in Sept and one of the reason is the fact that Todd will be the CD.

Robb

[GioFamily]

Hi, We leave on 2/17.......just a few ?? please.....

What movies or events were played on the big outdoor screen?

Did you hear of anyone booking "my friend Mario" for tours? critique?

Thanks so much! mags

[maggie27]

Thank you so much for your review. We are going in a few weeks.:) Can you tell me which nights were your formal dinners?

[Patdmoose]

vacruizer

the canal transit is a partial. They bus you to the Pacific side. You board the ferry and go thru the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks. You get off the ferry at Gamboa and reboard the busses to go back to the cruise port. You can reach out and touch the walls of the canal while they are changing the water level. It is really Cool! Except for the actual locks, the canal looks nothing like what you are prepared for. It looks like a river.

 

Charlie or Carlos with okeydokey Tours will get you back to the ship in time. They will keep asking what you want to do if time gets short. We opted not to go to the beach and skipped lunch. Tell them what you want and they will adjust. We wish now that we had dropped one more activity so that we could have had some shopping time at the cruise port. If that is what you want they will make it happen.

 

 

billsrobb

Even Todd's staff made fun of him when he would come on for announcements and just keep going, and going, and going...

 

 

GioFamily

They showed NFL playoffs on Sunday

During the day, they showed lots of Caribbean scenes with music.

Some of the movies were Master & Commander, Chronicles of Narnia, Pirates of the Caribbean,Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Independence Day, and Ice Age 2 + multiple Music videos

 

 

maggie27

formal nights were Monday and Friday

[BRLady31]

We will be on the Liberty in March for the eastern trip.

 

 

 

 

Lib0007 do you plan on writing a review on your cruise as I will be the Liberty for the eastern trip in July. Would love to hear about the ports and any other little tips you may have after you get home!

[Lib0007]

Lib0007 do you plan on writing a review on your cruise as I will be the Liberty for the eastern trip in July. Would love to hear about the ports and any other little tips you may have after you get home!

 

 

Absolutely!!

[breenw]

I was also on this cruise (there is another thread farther down with my review).

 

We used My Friend Mario for our Panama tour and it was fantastic! I highly recommend his tour and we got back to the ship in plenty of time. Going to the real Emberra Indian village by canoe was one of our favorite excursions we have ever done.

 

I too defend Todd. I think all the cruise directors on all the ships are "windy" but I liked Todd's laid-back style and felt he was one of the best cruise directors. That goes to show how people can view the same thing differently!

 

For those of you who will be sailing the Liberty - you will love this ship. It was also great seeing the NFL playoff games on the big screen. Go Colts!!!!

[truecruiser]

Cruise review – Carnival Liberty 1/20/07

Costa Maya - Limon, Costa Rica - and Colon , Panama

 

In general – this was the best cruise ever!

One night late, several of us were sitting by the Lido deck aft pool eating ice cream. I looked around the pool and noticed that there were 4 light bulbs that had burned out. I told everyone that my cruise was ruined, and that I would have to report that to CruiseCritic. We all laughed, because we have seen the reviews that focused in on the negatives, and let them ruin their cruise vacation. Yes, I could write about some things that were not quite done like I wanted or expected, but WHY?

 

 

 

Just Love that bit above!:D :p thanks for the great review. am going on liberty for the very first time in december '07. itinerary is different (think Miracle is doing this itinerary in Dec), but am looking so forward to cruising on this ship!

 

sounds like they switched CDs. Wasn't John Heald on the Liberty? a lot of folks (not all, but many), weren't crazy about him either from some of the posts i read. i remember thinking dec is a long ways away. maybe they'll rotate. but, it looks like the rotation might have resulted in a worse situation. :( was the CD really that bad?

[sassykajun]

The cruise Director for this sailing was Todd Wittmer. We also sailed with Todd on the shortened post Rita Conquest cruise. He is not among my favorites as a Cruise Director.

 

Patdmoose - I have to agree with you about Todd. He was the CD on my first cruise last summer aboard the Conquest. My mom was sailing with me and from the first night when we met Todd, she kept telling me that he was nothing like the CD she and my dad had had aboard the Victory a few months prior, Malcolm something or another. I thought maybe my mom was just a bit biased, but I've recently returned from my second cruise, aboard the Fantasy this time, where the CD was Big Tex, who was totally awesome.

[jimbo5544]

We were on the Liberty in August on a western Med. Cruise. Do you happen to remember if a oriental couple names STan and Cindy performed in the atrium lounge in the evening? They were on our cruise and we loved them. We will be your same cruise Feb 17th. Thanks for the nice review.

[Patdmoose]

breenw

Differing views and opinions are what make the world go round. The only CD that I ever really enjoyed was Dave 'yee ha ha' Armour. The funny thing is that Todd says that he learned everything he knows from Dave. Go figure...

 

truecruiser

I don't think I ever said Todd was bad.

It is just that I have never heard someone talk for so long and so fast without really saying anything.

 

jimbo5544

The classical music in the Atrium Lobby was by a trio called Cassovia. We never sat and listened, but we did pass by many times when they were playing and they always had a crowd.

[truecruiser]

yeah, i saw lou's comment about him being a "windbag" LOL. :D i'll heed the advice (or rather, just follow what you did), and read the info i need in a matter of minutes, instead of sitting in a room listening to someone who loves to hear himself talk for hours, whenever possible, and all should be fine.:p

[Froufie]

Did you get a chance to visit the Piano Bar? Who is there? Any good?

 

Thanks,

 

Froufie

[LouLou921]

I hope Pat doesn't mind me answering in his post, but we did go to the piano bar a few times. Robert was playing. He wasn't bad but we weren't too impressed either. We ended up talking to him one night around 2am when we were getting pizza. He had a lot to say about Liberty and Carnival in general. I think he'd been hitting the bottle quite a bit too (so he and our friend talked for a couple of hours:eek: ) We finally left and went to bed.

[Patdmoose]

Froufie

You will have to use LouLou921's reply for the piano bar. We never made it in there.

[markandstacie00]

I have cruised several times though not yet on Carnival. The CD has had VERY little impact either way on my cruise. I am looking forward to my first Carnival cruise to see what these CD's do that matters at all. I am not being negative, I just don't get it. The other thing I am looking forward to is the Piano Bar. This sounds WAY more lively than Celebrity.

[nybumpkin]

We were on the Liberty in August on a western Med. Cruise. Do you happen to remember if a oriental couple names STan and Cindy performed in the atrium lounge in the evening? They were on our cruise and we loved them. We will be your same cruise Feb 17th. Thanks for the nice review.

jimbo - Have you joined our roll call for Feb. 17? It's at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=312095

 

Pat - Thanks for the review!

[BRLady31]

Absolutely!!

 

Thanks!

I will keep my eyes open for your review!!