Liberty 4/28/07 Review (long)

[sd1029]

Carnival Liberty Review 4/28/07 - 8 day Eastern Caribbean

We flew to Ft. Lauderdale on Thursday and stayed 2 nights at the La Quinta Inn Ft. Lauderdale airport/Hollywood. The hotel had a free shuttle pick up from the airport and was close to shopping and restaurants. This hotel was clean, had a free breakfast and was great for a pre-cruise stay. We took the hotel’s free shuttle to the cruise port. Their first shuttle left Saturday at about 11:15am and we were eating lunch on the Lido deck by 12:30pm. Check in was quick and smooth. Our room was ready at 1:30pm and luggage arrived by 2pm. We brought a few bottled waters to make baby bottles and had no problems bringing them onboard.

Saturday we unpacked and organized our room. We had a balcony cabin on the Empress deck-6 and there were 4 of us in the room. This was the cheapest balcony category (8A) but we thought the location was perfect. We were above the casino, but never once heard any casino noise. Me, DH, DH’s brother and my 7 month old daughter surprisingly had plenty of room in one cabin. They had a crib for the baby, but it took up too much space and she did not like it so we let her sleep in our bed and had them remove the crib. They had an infant life vest for her, but it was a bit too big. We brought one of our own that fit her perfectly. My brother in law slept on the couch instead of the overhead bed. We checked our daughter’s special travel car seat/stroller with our other luggage with the porters and when it was delivered to our room it was badly broken and unusable. I had travel insurance that will reimburse me for a new one. I was told to contact Carnival guest services when I get home and they gave me a reference number. They did offer to let me rent a stroller for free, but we brought another stroller that we used.

My daughter and husband were both sick with a cold the first few days of the cruise. We went to the Infirmary since we had the travel insurance we knew we would be reimbursed when we got home for the doctor visit. However the nurse told us there really was no reason to see the doctor unless we needed him to prescribe prescription medicine. They sold my husband some Theraflu and then the doctor came and looked at my daughter and said that since she was playing and happy she was fine and just had a cold. He did not charge us. I had never seen the infirmary and was impressed to see a small room off to the side that looked like a hospital room with Oxygen and high tech equipment.

We had the best wait staff in the dining room. Our head waiter Maro was the one pictured on the TV when you looked at the menu. We were in the early seating in the Silver Olympian dining room. They had a highchair set up for our daughter. The food was excellent in the dining room. The waits were not too bad at the Lido deck buffet and I enjoyed the food there too. It was nice they had separate omelet lines for breakfast. I ordered room service twice, each time it took less than 10 minutes to arrive, very fast. Our room steward was wonderful too. We were very happy they now have wireless high speed internet all over the boat so we could use it in our room with our laptop. The shows were fine and they had entertainment in the atrium that was enjoyable too. The waterslide was fun and the movie screen was cool. Every night they had movies shown on the big screen. When we pulled into port our big ship with the waterslide and big screen TV made the other boats look boring and not as fun. There was a kiddie wading pool with 1 foot of water right next to Camp Carnival. There was a sign that said no swim diapers or babies in the pool that were not potty trained. I don’t think many people knew the pool existed b/c we never saw it used by kids. We saw some adults dipping their feet in the pool though.

Sunday was a sea day and we just relaxed, went to the Captain’s party for free cocktails and it was formal night. Everyone was dressed up very nice and we got family photos taken.

Monday was a half day at sea and we arrived at Puerto Rico at 5pm. We watched and took photos of Puerto Rico as we arrived, then since we had early dinner; we ate and then got off the boat. Hardly anyone was in the dining room that night. We did not buy any tours here since they really only had walking tours. I have been here before and all ready did the night kayak tour, which I would recommend. We had wanted to book the night rainforest tour with Adventours, but they would not allow my 7 month old daughter so we passed. DH and his brother stayed at Senor Frogs for awhile after they walked me and the baby back to the boat.

Tuesday we arrived in St. Thomas and my daughter and I went on a tour to St. John. All our tours we booked through Carnival months before we left for the cruise. I prefer this, because then everything is all paid for before we leave for the trip. I am sure the tours could be booked cheaper directly through the tour companies. We were supposed to go to Coral World but we got notice on Sat. the tour was cancelled. We boarded a decent sized boat for a 45 minute ride to St. John. When we got there you could snorkel off the boat or take a small boat to shore to hang out on the beach. After we had been there an hour it started pouring rain. The beach and water were beautiful and we had a fun time even though it rained. DH and his brother were supposed to go on a tour where they drove small boats to an area to snorkel, but due to rough seas their tour was cancelled. However, they did not tell them it was cancelled until it was too late for them to catch another tour. But since we had all ready paid for the tour, the $200 credit to our sign and sail card was nice. We ate lunch on the Lido deck and then we went up the St. Thomas sky ride which had a great view.

Wed. we arrived in Antigua. We took my daughter to Camp Carnival. While in port they offer babysitting for $6 an hour from when you arrive at port until noon (they also have babysitting from 10pm-3am each night). This service was great and Carnival is one of the only cruise lines (except I think Cunard) who will change diapers. All others they page you if a diaper change is needed. They give you a cell phone for the week and call you (when you are on the ship) if there are any problems. They never had to call me. We paid the same price when we booked the cruise for our daughter as we did for my brother-in law but did not have to pay a tip for the baby (Carnival still ends up cheaper than other cruise lines). In Antigua DH, me and his brother went on an ATV tour in the morning. This tour was wonderful. We took a taxi/van to the countryside and got on ATVs. We got to ride on the ATVs for 2 hours. We stopped on a big hill area and had a spectacular view of the area. After that tour we picked up our daughter from Camp Carnival and ate lunch on Lido deck. Then DH and I went on another tour called Private Island snorkel tour. DH’s brother watched the baby. We took a taxi to the water and boarded a small boat to cross to a very small private island called Prickly Pear Island. The island had umbrellas, lounge chairs and a small restaurant area with drinks/food. The water was clear and shallow. We snorkeled and saw some fish. The sand was very rocky, I would recommend those Aqua shoes if you take this tour. The rest of the beaches in the area were not rocky and had soft, white sand.

Thursday we arrived in Tortola and took my daughter to Camp Carnival again for the babysitting. She had fun at Camp Carnival, they had toys for her to play with and gave her lots of attention because they were not that busy. DH, me and my brother in law went on a 4x4 Safari tour that had a stop at the beach. We were on an open air 4 wheel drive vehicle and we rode around the island on very narrow, steep roads that had cliffs on the sides. It was like being on a rollercoaster ride and very fun. Although at times it was a bit scary cause we seemed very close to the cliff. Then we arrived at a beautiful beach with soft white sand and clear water. However, there were no facilities, no bathroom, no chairs, no umbrella – nothing. They had all you could drink rum punch and most people on our tour were drunk quickly. There was a shade spot under some trees with a couple big rocks you could sit on if you wanted to be in the shade. We were at the beach almost 2 hours before we drove back to the boat. People who drank too much ended up having to find a spot in the woods to “go” as they were not going to be able to hold it on the bumpy ride back to the ship. Thurs. night was also the past guest party with free drinks.

Friday was a much needed day at sea. This cruise was wonderful with all the ports, but we really missed having more days at sea where we got to relax. We slept in, ate breakfast and then watched movies in the cabin. We bring a portable DVD player and hook it up to the cabin TV. Although Carnival has new movies they show on your cabin TV each day. Friday was the 2nd formal night and we had a wonderful dinner in the dining room.

Saturday morning we packed up our suitcases so we would have them ready by midnight when we got back from Nassau. I booked a room at Atlantis several months ago so we could use the facilities there. It costs $150 a person for a day pass to use the facilities and the room (for up to 4 people) was cheaper, but still pricey. You can also book a room at the Comfort suites and are able to use the facilities at Atlantis for cheaper than booking directly with Atlantis. Next time I would do this as the Comfort Suites is actually closer to the main pool area then the cheapest Atlantis Beach tower rooms. We took a taxi from the pier to Atlantis and had some confusion checking in b/c our reservation was for the Beach tower, but they had upgraded us to the Royal tower. We had to shuttle over to the Royal tower to check in. The property is huge and the pool area and aquarium is really cool. They have the best water slides. We only spent a few hours there, but definitely want to plan a trip back there. One water slide has you on an inner tube and you go through a glass enclosed area that is surrounded by sharks and other fish. They sell a tour where you can get in the tank with scuba gear and walk with the sharks. They had a mile long lazy river with rapids. We had a great time here. We made it back to the boat in time for dinner and then we packed up our luggage.

Sunday we got off the boat and flew home. We had a 2pm flight so we did not have to rush with the baby.

Overall this was a wonderful trip; I give it 5 stars out of 5. It was my 3rd Carnival cruise and DH’s 4th. The ship was huge with lots to do. There was good mix of friendly people. We love Carnival and the friendly guests and cruise staff. It is great value for your money. We have a timeshare and every year end up trading in our timeshare points towards a cruise. Cruising with the baby went better than expected. With Camp Carnival’s babysitting we were able to do tours in the morning without her. We enjoyed being able to spend time with her and enjoy some adult excursions too.

[Jared19]

Thanks! i was just looking for a liberty review, and, in my luck, same itinerary! i love your suggestion bout atlantis but seems to pricey for us to do in june, because we want to do atleast one excursion at 120 PP

[Maddie444]

Thank you! What a great review!

We will be doing the 8-day eastern Caribbean cruise next year on the Liberty. I can't wait.

I am also booked on the 6th deck, mid ship. I was worried about the noise below (Casino) glad to hear it didn't bother you and your family. Glad to hear you had a wonderful time.

Maddie

[june1300]

thanx for the great review, we will be on this itenerary in june....

 

I do have a question....since first stop is puerto rico (us territory) did you have to do immigration in st thomas????? We have had to do this previously but that was when we did no US territory as first stop.

thanx

[cruisenk]

Great review. We were on the Liberty last year with our then 4 year old and 8 month old (and 9 other family members). We also stayed at the La Quinta pre-cruise. Reading your review brings back lots of great memories. Now we're trying to figure out which cruise to do next! Glad you enjoyed your vacation!

[woohoo4ue]

Thanks for the review! Do you have any info on the night rainforest tour? I tried to google it, but their site isn't very helpful!

 

Thanks!

[sd1029]

To answer your questions:

 

We did not have to go through immigration in St. Thomas. There were no tenders at any of the ports, we just walked off and on the boat with no problems. We did have to fill out 2 immigration cards before we checked in at the pier in Ft. Lauderdale and then again before we got off the ship the end of the trip.

 

The only info. I have about the night rainforest tour is from the website:

http://www.adventourspr.com/east/elyunque/elyunquenighthikes.html