Cruise Critics you (Ahem) Lied

[tekdiva]

Naturally everyone has a different opinion and one persons good experience may be some one else's bad, but I am afraid too many negative posts will scare people away from the experience of a lifetime!

 

One think I always look at is the date of the critique. Things usually have a way of changing over time....especially when there are "complaints" lodged.

[MonaCK]

I think that the best reviews are the balanced ones. Things happen. Things are -never- perfect. I tend to have little gripes here and there about my cruises, but I can't say that I've ever had a bad cruise overall. However, when I write reviews, the little things that have gone wrong have already left me, and I tend to focus on the positive.

 

Comes from having a positive outlook on life, I guess. is it balanced? Maybe not. But what it says to me when I read a review that is overaly positive is that they didn't get the negative get to them. When I read a review that is overly negative, than they didn't let the positive get to them.

 

I'll take an overly positive over overly negative any day of the week.

[jessemon]

I've been a member of this board for a long time. And I rely on a lot of the information given here. But when I read negatives about an upcoming cruise ship, I try to take them with a grain of salt, since there are always negatives, and I have never had a bad cruise. But I read quite a few bad things about the Liberty and I just got back (March 15-23rd) and boy did you negative posters have it wrong.

 

FOOD: One of my favorite cruise experiences is the fantastic food I get to eat things on a cruise that I would never have at home. So I was a little concerned with all the posts about carnivals dull, boring and bland food lately. Particularly those posts that singled out the Liberty. My husband and I found the food to be fantastic. Nothing bland there. We ate most of our dinners in the dining room, 1 dinner and all but one lunch on the lido deck, and high tea on the sea days. Any of the dark choclate deserts are so rich, they were incredible, the lamb melted in our mouths, I ate a lot of Seafood and it was all good, the lobster was very good and tender. I also love the garnishes and accompanying vegetables. Only once did I find something I didn't like and that was the fried plantains, which were cooked dry and hard.

 

ACTIVITY'S: A couple of people posted that they were disappointed in the lack of activities on the ship. I found plenty going on all the time, even the last night before docking. We only got to 2 shows, but those were really good, they had the usual gmae shows but plenty of them, lots of bingo, the pool etc. My only complaint was that bingo and high tea often coincided and it was a scramble to get to both.

 

POOL CHAIRS: A major complaint I read was about the saving of pool chairs. Yes there were a lot of saved, empty chairs, but I never saw a time when there were not plenty of chairs available as well.

 

SMOKINESS: I agree that you could smell smoke in the casino, but it never was smokey to look at. And a litttle smoke odor in some of the lounges, but not overwhelming.

 

SERVICE: I read a couple of posts that said the Carnival people were not very friendly or helpful as in the past. I don't know where those posts came from, but not the Liberty. I have never had such great service. And no I'm not an enraptured newbie. This was our 8th cruise.

 

One thing I have never been aware of in the past but tried hard to spot on this cruise were all the rude senior citizens I read about and the obnoxious children ;) . I never really noticed before, maybe because I wasn't looking for it, but there were a ton of kids on this boat and I have to say with the exception of one monster on those "tennis shoe skates" this was the most well behaved bunch of kids I've seen in a long time. I did not meet any rude seniors either. I did have one Mario Andretti in a scooter chair ram me but she looked to be about 40 so that doesn't count and I did see one guy who probably was a senior who was rude and obnoxious to the Purser's desk attendent cause he had overspent his credit card and they wouldn't cash a personal check, but his rudeness had nothing to do with his being a senior. He was just plain rude.

 

Naturally everyone has a different opinion and one persons good experience may be some one else's bad, but I am afraid too many negative posts will scare people away from the experience of a lifetime!

I was on the Liberty in the fall...thought is was great. Everyone has an opinion. Try when you look at posts by people to see how many cruises they've taken, and on how many different lines. That will usually give you an idea of the info you get.....;) ;)

[JoshGrrrr]

I think that the best reviews are the balanced ones. Things happen. Things are -never- perfect. I tend to have little gripes here and there about my cruises, but I can't say that I've ever had a bad cruise overall. However, when I write reviews, the little things that have gone wrong have already left me, and I tend to focus on the positive.

 

Comes from having a positive outlook on life, I guess. is it balanced? Maybe not. But what it says to me when I read a review that is overaly positive is that they didn't get the negative get to them. When I read a review that is overly negative, than they didn't let the positive get to them.

 

I'll take an overly positive over overly negative any day of the week.

 

I'd prefer them just give it to me straight without focusing primarily on either. I read reviews in hopes of getting REAL information. Maybe that's just me though.

[WeBeCruisin']

There are going to be whiners and complainers and negative people..... even in Heaven. :rolleyes: Although I hope they are sent the other direction.

 

You can't please everyone..... and a cruise line shouldn't have to try to do so.

 

I've been on quite a few cruises and have never had a cruise where I felt I would be justified in complaining. I've had a few disappointments, but they were either politically- (like having Casablanca, Morocco, and Kusadasi, Turkey cancelled) or weather-related (like missing Mykonos, Greece, because of a 104 mph wind shear which almost capsized the Brilliance and caused the port to be closed).

 

I consider myself somewhat of a Foodie and I also do all my own cooking, and I think the food on cruise ships is excellent, considering the vast number of diners and their varied tastes and preferences.

 

Although I love seared foie gras and black truffles force meats and other "icky" offeringsl, I would never expect to find those delicacies on a cruise ship. Okay, I did find them on Sea Dream, but you pay dearly for that experience. :) And, if Carnival DID serve seared foie gras and black truffles, the majority of people would probably scream "Ewwwww!!!!!" and slam Carnival in their reviews. I"m amazed that they still have the cojones to offer escargots in garlic butter.

 

My only two Carnival cruises have been on the Liberty and its sister ship the Conquest. I absolutely loved both of them... the food, the service, the atmosophere, the activities, the entertainment..... everything!

 

Don't let the whiners keep you from having a great time on a great ship!

[JoshGrrrr]

I don't expect foie gras or truffles on a cruise ship either. But, the lobster is almost always overcooked. The steaks are usually not very good either. It's not what they cook, but how they cook it (even though they do use the cheapest ingredients possible and cook it in mass quantities). The soups are almost always just stock with little or no other flavor. I could go on and on about how the food isn't that great. It's good food, but it's not great food. It's not so good that I expect everyone who goes on a cruise to be impressed by it. I can get better at numerous local restaurants. I'm sure most people can and have as well.

 

You and I seem to think differently. You seem to think of anyone who says something negative as a complainer or a whiner. I see them as someone who's telling about their cruise how it actually happened in reality. I don't expect people to walk around with their head in the clouds and lie to themselves. No offense, but IMO people like you are worse than any "whiner" on these boards. I would rather go on a cruise knowing of the possibility of something negative happening than to go on expecting everything to be perfect. It's better to be pleasantly surprised than to be let down. I'm sure the cruise line has an easy time pleasing people like you. The cruise director could break into your room and beat you with a stick then throw you overboard and you would probably still insist that you had a good time. Not everyone can be or even wants to be like that.

 

You actually hope complainers and whiners go to hell? Wow.

 

BTW, you are complaining and whining about complainers and whiners. What does that make you?

 

As I've said before, I've never hated a cruise. But I've definatley had things happen that I could complain about. Here are just a few examples:

 

My brother and I had to confront one of the DJ's on the Monarch of the Seas after he kept buying my 18 year old sister liquor. She drank a few, but said that she didn't want anymore. He continued to try to pressure her to drink. He then started putting his hands on her and ignoring her polite requests for him to leave her alone. She was creeped out by him for the rest of the cruise. The only reason he finally left her alone was because we threatened him

 

I've seen a casino manager curse a woman for bumping into the machine that pushes the quarters off of the platform (can't remember the name of that game). He assumed she did it on purpose and was actually cursing her. I tried to tell him that I was watching and that she didn't do it on purpose and he actually told me "shut up and mind your business".

 

Things happen. The staff on cruise ships are people. They make mistakes and show poor judgement at times. Talking about it when it happens to you doesn't make you a whiner.

 

EDIT:

A cruise line shouldn't be expected to try to please everyone? Are you serious?

[WeBeCruisin']

I don't expect foie gras or truffles on a cruise ship either. But, the lobster is almost always overcooked. The steaks are usually not very good either. It's not what they cook, but how they cook it (even though they do use the cheapest ingredients possible and cook it in mass quantities). The soups are almost always just stock with little or no other flavor. I could go on and on about how the food isn't that great. It's good food, but it's not great food. It's not so good that I expect everyone who goes on a cruise to be impressed by it. I can get better at numerous local restaurants. I'm sure most people can and have as well.

 

Taste is such a personal matter. If a steak is served cooked "medium", close to half the people will complain that it's undercooked and the other half will complain that it's overcooked.:) I, too have had better meals at expensive restaurants and I have paid accordingly, usually the equivalent of the cost of two or three days of a cruise's total.. Many people feel that the soups, particularly the chilled ones, are outstanding on Carnival.

 

You and I seem to think differently. You seem to think of anyone who says something negative as a complainer or a whiner. I see them as someone who's telling about their cruise how it actually happened in reality.

 

Ah, and here's the catch.... reality is usually a perception rather than a finite actuality. If you are of a personality type which expects to be unhappy and disappointed, you will not be let down. Conversely, if you have a positive attitude and a cheerful outlook on life, you will expect to be pleased and almost always will be.

 

No offense, but IMO people like you are worse than any "whiner" on these boards.

 

I have to scoff at that inanity.

 

I'm sure the cruise line has an easy time pleasing people like you. The cruise director could break into your room and beat you with a stick then throw you overboard and you would probably still insist that you had a good time. Not everyone can be or even wants to be like that.

 

I seriously hope you realize how infantile that sounds and how laughable it is, but somehow I doubt if you have a sense of humor either.:rolleyes:

You actually hope complainers and whiners go to hell? Wow.

 

I don't hope that. But when I go to Heaven I certainly hope the whiners and complainers will be somewhere else. Maybe in Limbo or Purgatory with you?

 

BTW, you are complaining and whining about complainers and whiners. What does that make you? :confused:

 

An intelligent and astute observer of the flaws in some people's logic and personality? :D

 

As I've said before, I've never hated a cruise. But I've definatley had things happen that I could complain about. Here are just a few examples:

 

My brother and I had to confront one of the DJ's on the Monarch of the Seas after he kept buying my 18 year old sister liquor. (your older sister?) She drank a few, but said that she didn't want anymore. He continued to try to pressure her to drink. He then started putting his hands on her and ignoring her polite requests for him to leave her alone. She was creeped out by him for the rest of the cruise. The only reason he finally left her alone was because we threatened him

 

Instead of threatening the DJ, a more mature person would have immediately complained to the cruise director and anyone else in a position to curtail such behavior (if it actually happened in the way you subjectively describe it.... and since you're the kind of person who sees only what you want to see, the jury is indefinitely out on that one.

I've seen a casino manager curse a woman for bumping into the machine that pushes the quarters off of the platform (can't remember the name of that game). He assumed she did it on purpose and was actually cursing her. I tried to tell him that I was watching and that she didn't do it on purpose and he actually told me "shut up and mind your business".

 

Perhaps the woman WAS trying to make the quarter game pay off to her advantage. I'm sure there was more involved to it than just her accidentally bumping the machine or it wouldn't have led up to the confrontration in which you were told to "shut up and mind your business".... which, based upon the aggressive and negative personality you show in your posts, was probably excellent and very fitting advice.

Was this woman perhaps related to you, also?

 

A cruise line shouldn't be expected to try to please everyone? Are you serious?

 

I'm very serious. They can't be expected to please everyone because it's totally impossible. Their goal, and they generally accomplish it quite well, is to please as many people as possible and then try to put out the fires ignited by volatile whiners and complainers like you.

Why do I have the feeling you're 25 or under? :rolleyes:

[JoshGrrrr]

Taste is such a personal matter. If a steak is served cooked "medium", close to half the people will complain that it's undercooked and the other half will complain that it's overcooked.:) I, too have had better meals at expensive restaurants and I have paid accordingly, usually the equivalent of the cost of two or three days of a cruise's total.. Many people feel that the soups, particularly the chilled ones, are outstanding on Carnival.

It wasn't a matter of being over cooked or undercooked. The steaks are usually tough. They taste like they aren't quality pieces of meat. When I say I've had better meals at local restaurants I'm not talking about expensive restaurants. I've had better meals at Ruby Tuesday's and the local Indian restaurant. As I've said before, the cruise food is good but it isn't great and I dont' expect people to be blown away by it. I've had enough bad dishes to understand why someone with high standards may be dissapointed with it.

Ah, and here's the catch.... reality is usually a perception rather than a finite actuality. If you are of a personality type which expects to be unhappy and disappointed, you will not be let down. Conversely, if you have a positive attitude and a cheerful outlook on life, you will expect to be pleased and almost always will be.

Reality isn't always just perception. If the ship smelled of sewage, that's an actuality. If the water is brown, that's an actuality. There are negative comments that have absolutely nothing to do with opinion.

 

I have to scoff at that inanity.

Scoff if you like. There are PLENTY of people on these boards who would agree. You are condescending and rude to anyone who does anything other than rave about Carnival. I don't see a person like that as an asset to these boards.

 

I seriously hope you realize how infantile that sounds and how laughable it is, but somehow I doubt if you have a sense of humor either.:rolleyes:

It was meant to be laughable. Maybe you are the one with no sense of humor?

 

I don't hope that. But when I go to Heaven I certainly hope the whiners and complainers will be somewhere else. Maybe in Limbo or Purgatory with you?

A person who truely believes in heaven should wish for all people to go to heaven. Myself, I don't believe in heaven, hell, or purgatory. I have no fears about where I will go when I die. I definately won't wish an eternity of torment upon someone just for disagreeing with me.

 

An intelligent and astute observer of the flaws in some people's logic and personality? :D

A pretentious, pseudo-intellectual? ;)

 

Instead of threatening the DJ, a more mature person would have immediately complained to the cruise director and anyone else in a position to curtail such behavior (if it actually happened in the way you subjectively describe it.... and since you're the kind of person who sees only what you want to see, the jury is indefinitely out on that one.

Of course, assume I made it up. That's the route the cheerleaders always take when someone says something bad about a cruise and they can't disprove it. It happened as I said it did. I even forgot to mention that the guy was in his mid-30's. You may have chosen to "whine and complain" to the cruise director, even though you say you hate whiners and complainers. My way worked as well. It has nothing to do with maturity. When you see a 30 year old man trying to get your sister drunk and putting his hands on her it tends to make you angry. I'm fine with the way I handeled it.

 

Perhaps the woman WAS trying to make the quarter game pay off to her advantage. I'm sure there was more involved to it than just her accidentally bumping the machine or it wouldn't have led up to the confrontration in which you were told to "shut up and mind your business".... which, based upon the aggressive and negative personality you show in your posts, was probably excellent and very fitting advice.

Was this woman perhaps related to you, also?

Here you go again, trying to call me a liar because you refuse to believe that a person on a cruise ship acted any way other than perfectly. I was not related to the woman. We were talking to the woman when it happened. She didn't even notice the machine was there until she bumped it. The man kept demanding her to open her purse and show her what she had taken from the machine. She refused. That got him angry. When we stepped in and tried to tell him what we saw he immediately said what I quoted above. He was definately in the wrong. We actually complained about this and recieved an apology from him and the cruise line as well. By the way, how is your post any less aggressive and negative than mine? If you notice, my first post to you was free of personal insults. Your's was not.

 

I'm very serious. They can't be expected to please everyone because it's totally impossible. Their goal, and they generally accomplish it quite well, is to please as many people as possible and then try to put out the fires ignited by volatile whiners and complainers like you.

 

Why do I have the feeling you're 25 or under? :rolleyes:

 

Actually I'm a 30 year old college instructor. I didn't say I expected the cruise line to please everyone. You completely ignored the word TRY. I'm willing to bet that if you call them and ask them if they try to please everyone they will side with me. I fail to see how I'm a volatile complainer. Where have I complained without reason?

I would like to thank you for showing textbook cheerleader behavior. You are exactly the type of person I was referring to with my earlier posts. If anyone says anything negative about a cruise line, even if they have good reason, you start insulting them, calling them a liar etc. In my opinion, you and the few others like you are the most negative part of these boards. These boards should be for open discussion of both the good and bad in relation to cruises. People should be able to post about their cruise, as well as their opinions without being attacked. If you browse these boards you will see argument after argument that starts with a cheerleader attacking someone.

[Socref124]

I've been a member of this board for a long time. And I rely on a lot of the information given here. But when I read negatives about an upcoming cruise ship, I try to take them with a grain of salt, since there are always negatives, and I have never had a bad cruise. But I read quite a few bad things about the Liberty and I just got back (March 15-23rd) and boy did you negative posters have it wrong.

 

FOOD: One of my favorite cruise experiences is the fantastic food I get to eat things on a cruise that I would never have at home. So I was a little concerned with all the posts about carnivals dull, boring and bland food lately. Particularly those posts that singled out the Liberty. My husband and I found the food to be fantastic. Nothing bland there. We ate most of our dinners in the dining room, 1 dinner and all but one lunch on the lido deck, and high tea on the sea days. Any of the dark choclate deserts are so rich, they were incredible, the lamb melted in our mouths, I ate a lot of Seafood and it was all good, the lobster was very good and tender. I also love the garnishes and accompanying vegetables. Only once did I find something I didn't like and that was the fried plantains, which were cooked dry and hard.

 

ACTIVITY'S: A couple of people posted that they were disappointed in the lack of activities on the ship. I found plenty going on all the time, even the last night before docking. We only got to 2 shows, but those were really good, they had the usual gmae shows but plenty of them, lots of bingo, the pool etc. My only complaint was that bingo and high tea often coincided and it was a scramble to get to both.

 

POOL CHAIRS: A major complaint I read was about the saving of pool chairs. Yes there were a lot of saved, empty chairs, but I never saw a time when there were not plenty of chairs available as well.

 

SMOKINESS: I agree that you could smell smoke in the casino, but it never was smokey to look at. And a litttle smoke odor in some of the lounges, but not overwhelming.

 

SERVICE: I read a couple of posts that said the Carnival people were not very friendly or helpful as in the past. I don't know where those posts came from, but not the Liberty. I have never had such great service. And no I'm not an enraptured newbie. This was our 8th cruise.

 

One thing I have never been aware of in the past but tried hard to spot on this cruise were all the rude senior citizens I read about and the obnoxious children ;) . I never really noticed before, maybe because I wasn't looking for it, but there were a ton of kids on this boat and I have to say with the exception of one monster on those "tennis shoe skates" this was the most well behaved bunch of kids I've seen in a long time. I did not meet any rude seniors either. I did have one Mario Andretti in a scooter chair ram me but she looked to be about 40 so that doesn't count and I did see one guy who probably was a senior who was rude and obnoxious to the Purser's desk attendent cause he had overspent his credit card and they wouldn't cash a personal check, but his rudeness had nothing to do with his being a senior. He was just plain rude.

 

Naturally everyone has a different opinion and one persons good experience may be some one else's bad, but I am afraid too many negative posts will scare people away from the experience of a lifetime!

It is great to see that your glass is definately half full...:D

[Ripper4]

I guess you can have a bad time anywhere, if you choose only to see the bad things that happen. :p

 

 

So true!

 

Some say the glass is half empty, some say it's half full; I say slam it back and order another!

 

Cheers!

[Socref124]

On our first cruise, our expectations were so high that it was virtually impossible for the crew of the ship to meet or exceed them:o . After the third day, when everything was going wrong from the time we boarded the ship, we decided to laugh everytime there was a screw up. We ended up laughing :D a lot. Here is a brief synopsis:

1. Every shore excursion, booked 3 months in advance, was screwed up.

2. We ordered a honeymoon special massage for two. While DW was getting a massage I waited in a seperate room and visa versa.

3. We asked room steward to exchange a bottle of champagne to a bottle of Cabernet. He sidhe couldn't and sent us to a bar, that sent us to another bar, that sent us to another bar, etc. 40 mins later a bartender told us he was sorry that our room steward should have done this for us.

4. Server reaching over me to pour another pax a cup of coffee at a round table for 8.

5. Server spilling hot food on DW's lap.

6. Crew members talking negatively about NCL in fron of passengers.

Well, I think you see where I am going.

Even with this stuff happening, we had a good time and I will cruise NCL again if the price and itinerary are right:) . To be fair, the ship was beautiful, the food was great and the chocolate extravaganza was to die for and the pool deck cocktail server Alex was the best we have seen in all of our cruises.

 

What did we learn from this? We have lowered our expectations, we don't expect everything to be perfect and we know it wont be, and decided to have a great time in spite of everything that is out of our control. Since doing this, we have had four fabulous cruises and have another one coming up in 19 days.

 

I have questioned the motives of a lot of the negative posters that say they had a bad experience and will never cruise Carnival or another particular line again and I get bashed for being a Carnival cheerleader. If you read enough on CC you will hear from lots of people that say Carnival, RCI, Princess and NCL are about the same and what someone thinks is bad another thinks is good. Yes, they are entitled to their own opinion, but everything on a cruise cannot be bad. A half full glass beats a half empty glass any day, in my honest opinion.;)

[shortstop95]

As someone else put it.. check the signatures out to see how many cruises folks have been on. We've done quite a few on both Carnival & RCL. Less than desirable things have happened on both lines to us. Does it disuade us? NO. Ruin our vacation? NO. There are some folks that are going to fine fault no matter what. You can't change their minds. Simply take with a grain of salt and read the next review. It'll probably be better.

[hubofhockey]

I am a Liberty fan and I will be on my second Liberty cruise in less than a month. But for anyone to suggest that none of the criticism is justified isn't right either.

 

The Liberty has many great attributes. However, it has its shortcomings including: more than its share of chair hogging, long lines at the Lido buffet at lunch for both tables and stations, awful breakfast food in the Lido buffet(I suspect this is Carnival fleetwide), a tough layout of the ship.

 

I am not complaining about these things. I loved my cruise on the Liberty and can't wait another 25 days to get back on. But to me, and I guess others, those are the some of the shortcomings of the Liberty.

[wizdiz]

Well I just got off the liberty 2-15 - 2-24 and while had a great time I do agree about the food not being very good. The service was great and we ate in the main dining room 7 of the 8 nights I would say 4 of the meals we enjoyed. There was one night that everyone at the table agreed the meal was just bad. But then on other nights it was very good. I thought service the entire trip was great all around. The only rude people I had to deal with were the people at the art auctions that were just to high pressure sales people for my liking. My biggest complaints were that the place where the shows were was just too freaking hot. My friend and I stopped going to the shows just because of how hot it was in there. 2nd complaint were the open deck waiters. They never brought you a drink if you were using your fountain card. Don't get me wrong I would still book another cruise with Carnival. I would just book a few extra nights at Harry's because there the food was simply fantastic. My suggestion is just avoid any pasta dish in the main dinning area.

[caribbean dreams]

I also love the Liberty and have not complaints.

 

Cruising is a state of mind, if you fear things will happen....they usually do.

[DENNAS]

I am a Liberty fan and I will be on my second Liberty cruise in less than a month. But for anyone to suggest that none of the criticism is justified isn't right either.

 

The Liberty has many great attributes. However, it has its shortcomings including: more than its share of chair hogging, long lines at the Lido buffet at lunch for both tables and stations, awful breakfast food in the Lido buffet(I suspect this is Carnival fleetwide), a tough layout of the ship.

 

I am not complaining about these things. I loved my cruise on the Liberty and can't wait another 25 days to get back on. But to me, and I guess others, those are the some of the shortcomings of the Liberty.

 

While I agree that there was plenty of chair hogging, there were long lines at the Lido Buffet at lunch (and breakfast....) and there was a tough layout of the ship, did you try the french toast at the buffet? It was "Delish", with a Capital D !! Also, in the buffet area, there was an egg/omelette station that was WONDERFUL, all made to order food. So, in fairness, there were still plenty of good choices in the buffet area at breakfast.

[SCDreamWeaver]

You got me - I spent a second or two trying to get that freakin' bug off my screen.............. HAHA!! Good one...

 

 

Actually I'm a 30 year old college instructor. I didn't say I expected the cruise line to please everyone. You completely ignored the word TRY. I'm willing to bet that if you call them and ask them if they try to please everyone they will side with me. I fail to see how I'm a volatile complainer. Where have I complained without reason?

 

I would like to thank you for showing textbook cheerleader behavior. You are exactly the type of person I was referring to with my earlier posts. If anyone says anything negative about a cruise line, even if they have good reason, you start insulting them, calling them a liar etc. In my opinion, you and the few others like you are the most negative part of these boards. These boards should be for open discussion of both the good and bad in relation to cruises. People should be able to post about their cruise, as well as their opinions without being attacked. If you browse these boards you will see argument after argument that starts with a cheerleader attacking someone.

[cruisin_fanatic]

I've been a member of this board for a long time. And I rely on a lot of the information given here. But when I read negatives about an upcoming cruise ship, I try to take them with a grain of salt, since there are always negatives, and I have never had a bad cruise. But I read quite a few bad things about the Liberty and I just got back (March 15-23rd) and boy did you negative posters have it wrong.

 

FOOD: One of my favorite cruise experiences is the fantastic food I get to eat things on a cruise that I would never have at home. So I was a little concerned with all the posts about carnivals dull, boring and bland food lately. Particularly those posts that singled out the Liberty. My husband and I found the food to be fantastic. Nothing bland there. We ate most of our dinners in the dining room, 1 dinner and all but one lunch on the lido deck, and high tea on the sea days. Any of the dark choclate deserts are so rich, they were incredible, the lamb melted in our mouths, I ate a lot of Seafood and it was all good, the lobster was very good and tender. I also love the garnishes and accompanying vegetables. Only once did I find something I didn't like and that was the fried plantains, which were cooked dry and hard.

 

ACTIVITY'S: A couple of people posted that they were disappointed in the lack of activities on the ship. I found plenty going on all the time, even the last night before docking. We only got to 2 shows, but those were really good, they had the usual gmae shows but plenty of them, lots of bingo, the pool etc. My only complaint was that bingo and high tea often coincided and it was a scramble to get to both.

 

POOL CHAIRS: A major complaint I read was about the saving of pool chairs. Yes there were a lot of saved, empty chairs, but I never saw a time when there were not plenty of chairs available as well.

 

SMOKINESS: I agree that you could smell smoke in the casino, but it never was smokey to look at. And a litttle smoke odor in some of the lounges, but not overwhelming.

 

SERVICE: I read a couple of posts that said the Carnival people were not very friendly or helpful as in the past. I don't know where those posts came from, but not the Liberty. I have never had such great service. And no I'm not an enraptured newbie. This was our 8th cruise.

 

One thing I have never been aware of in the past but tried hard to spot on this cruise were all the rude senior citizens I read about and the obnoxious children ;) . I never really noticed before, maybe because I wasn't looking for it, but there were a ton of kids on this boat and I have to say with the exception of one monster on those "tennis shoe skates" this was the most well behaved bunch of kids I've seen in a long time. I did not meet any rude seniors either. I did have one Mario Andretti in a scooter chair ram me but she looked to be about 40 so that doesn't count and I did see one guy who probably was a senior who was rude and obnoxious to the Purser's desk attendent cause he had overspent his credit card and they wouldn't cash a personal check, but his rudeness had nothing to do with his being a senior. He was just plain rude.

 

Naturally everyone has a different opinion and one persons good experience may be some one else's bad, but I am afraid too many negative posts will scare people away from the experience of a lifetime!

 

 

I think one thing that you have to remember about these boards is that everyone has an opinion. Some of the posts reflect just that, the opinion of that person(s) experience from their point of view. So yes, you definitely have to take everything you read with a grain of salt and use some caution and your own judgment. I never wholly take anyone's positive or negative reactions and base my vacation on that, however, I step back and say oh that's what "they" experienced. But I would definitely experience things for myself. Even when I do make comments about my experiences, I try to point out the good and bad and not just one only. However, I hope the reader keeps in mind that just because I had that experience that they go and experience things for themselves. A negative post will never scare me from wanting to experience something, but it does make me use caution if I plan on doing it anyway.

 

I am glad you enjoyed your vacation, I plan to cruise the liberty perhaps next year.

[JoshGrrrr]

You also need to remember that not everyone has the same experience on the ship. I've had people tell me that I just HAD to be lying about my cruise experience because they were on the same ship a few months earlier and had a great time and experienced great service. Some people tend to think that the cruise is always the same, and the people's perception is what differs from one review to another. In reality, the cruise itself can vary quite a bit depending on who is serving you and where you spend your time on the ship. You could get unlucky and get a steward, and a server who both dislike their job and show it in their work. A cruise ship is like anywhere else. Not everyone working there tries their hardest to please.

 

It isn't always about perception and opinion.

[truecruiser]

Actually I'm a 30 year old college instructor....

 

okay...COMPLETELY off topic.

 

how many people have been tempted to smack their monitors because of josh's avatar???:p

[we2cruze]

okay...COMPLETELY off topic.

 

how many people have been tempted to smack their monitors because of josh's avatar???:p

 

Frankly, that bug drives me crazy!

Josh, you aren't trying to drive me crazy, are you? :D

[caribbean dreams]

okay...COMPLETELY off topic.

 

how many people have been tempted to smack their monitors because of josh's avatar???:p

 

LOL!! you have no idea how many times i have tryed to flick it off the screen.

Funny thing is, my cat gets up on my desk and tries to play with it while i'm typing.

[hubofhockey]

While I agree that there was plenty of chair hogging, there were long lines at the Lido Buffet at lunch (and breakfast....) and there was a tough layout of the ship, did you try the french toast at the buffet? It was "Delish", with a Capital D !! Also, in the buffet area, there was an egg/omelette station that was WONDERFUL, all made to order food. So, in fairness, there were still plenty of good choices in the buffet area at breakfast.

 

I'm not a fan of the omelets. The omelets were way too thin and were pretty greasey and definitely below the quality of any half decent hotel omelet station (and RCCL). I didn't have the french toast. I do think there is a lack of morning baked goods and variety. For me the breakfasts got so bad, that we started ordering bagels, lox (not available in lido), and cream cheese with juice and milk from room service and ate out on the balcony. Later this month, we actually may give the dining room a shot for breakfast. I plan to avoid that Lido buffet for breakfasts. I don't consider my issues with the Lido breakfast to be any major issue with the Liberty or Carnival, considering there are other options. But I do wish they would shoot for the quality of RCCL when it comes to their Lido restaturant.

[lcpagejr]

I read the thread with much interest and humor... Josh, your relentless, but I respect your comments and viewpoint. I have cruised 17 times on various cruiseline with the most (9) being Carnival. I am low keyed and choose to ignore the personal like/dislikes comments as everyone has an opinion and preference. What I do watch for is comments on the ships way of handling/scheduling things such as excursions, tendering, debarkation, embarkation, etc.

 

It should also be pointed out that Carnival is one of the cheaper priced cruise lines. For the life of me and do not understand how RCCL charges so much more and IMO the price difference does not equate to service or quality differences between the two lines. As a matter of fact the food on my Carnival cruises have consistently shown improvement and againIMO equal to if not better than RCCL (atleast in the dining rooms)...maybe not 5 star and white glove service...but if thats what you want try the upscale lines.

 

What I look for is good value for the money and Carnival continues to deliver.