Carnival Liberty B2B Eastern then Western Review

[afcj1]

Paul,

 

As always, thanks for your great review and pictures. I LMAO when you mentioned porter 150 :D The minute you wrote that you were looking for him I remembered your story! I'm glad that #149 was a better experience.

 

Thanks again,

Annette

[Papasaurus]

Paul,

Great review and pics. We sail the Liberty in October for a Western cruise. We have an 8a balcony on the upper deck. Which deck were you on, Empress or Veranda etc. WE have no idea what to see in any of the ports so maybe you can drop a couple of hints. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

Terry and Joni

[Froufie]

I loved the Liberty and am loving your review- esp with the pics!

[missabbi]

Paul,

 

As always, thanks for your great review and pictures. I LMAO when you mentioned porter 150 :D The minute you wrote that you were looking for him I remembered your story! I'm glad that #149 was a better experience.

 

Thanks again,

Annette

 

I'm new, so I need to hear the "Porter #150" story.....:eek: :D

[Guest Mary49]

Hi Paul, beautiful pictures of your family and vacation. Liberty looks like a beautiful ship. I also found a nice picture of "Music Boardwalk" LOL Mary49

[PaulMedik]

Hi Paul, beautiful pictures of your family and vacation. Liberty looks like a beautiful ship. I also found a nice picture of "Music Boardwalk" LOL Mary49

 

 

Mary49,

 

I wish I'd have listened to you and discovered them earlier in the cruise because they were great. I noticed that all the other ships musicians were in their audience which is a very telling tribute to their skill.

 

Your message was delivered and I also captured a video sample of them for you;

 

CLICK on Link below;

 

http://good-times.webshots.com/video/3084577550065094172iFGgdN?vhost=good-times

[mosaic_mom]

Hi Paul. I always look forward to your reviews. This one is especially nice because it is bringing back some wonderful memories of when we were on Liberty Eastern itinerary back in March/April out of Fort Lauderdale. Liberty is a beautiful ship and your pictures are awesome.

 

Can't wait to hear more.

[rzyjzq]

Can't wait to read more of your review and see the pics. Sounds like it was a great trip and may help me to chose my next itinerary.

Susan

[PaulMedik]

great review so far! I will be on her in 22 days!!!!! The pics of the food are great Keep 'em coming! Any chance you got menus to share?

 

Molly BPOE,

 

Sorry, no menus. I think they're available online though and I may have a link. I'll post it if and when I find it. Carnval Liberty is using the new menus that went into effect on Carnival Freedom in April.

 

Paul, you've developed a style of review we can all aspire to. It leaves me grinning from ear to ear! :D

 

As I told you once before, your previous review (with words and pictures) is what inspired me to try so hard on my Egypt trip review. Obviously I didn't have the patience to splice in all the appropriate pictures, and just posted them on a seperate site. Maybe next trip I'll do better...

 

But seeing it all put together so nicely -- seemingly effortlessly (although I know better ) sure makes for a great read for ALL of us!

 

Thanks again for taking us all along on the ride!

 

 

seafun,

 

Thank you. I'm usually grinning as I type.

 

Paul, been reading your adventures over the last couple of weeks, am going on the Liberty at the end of November after a 10 year absence from CCL. So bring it on I have enjoyed everything I've read and looking forward to more.

 

dfishner,

 

Thank you.

 

 

pe4all,

 

Our boys will all be old enough to ride the horses next year and we've been looking forward to them.

 

Luanne21, boundingmaynard, Froufie,

 

Thank you.

 

 

ileene,

 

Britt, our seven year old, pretty much stayed at Camp Carnival for most of the first week. He even opted to stay on board in San Juan to go to CC instead of visiting the Forts.

 

Spencer, our eleven you old, picked through the Camp Carnival weekly capers and decided what he wanted to participate in. I would estimate that he spent half his free time with CC activites and the rest of the time with his older brother.

 

Bryson, our 13 year old, only did a few of the organized activities. He mostly visited the deli, pizza shop, ice cream machines, and the arcade during the first week. He did venture out to most of the shows and on board activities the second week when he had friends his age on board with him.

 

 

afcj1,

 

Porter 149 was a much better experience.

 

 

Papasaurus,

 

Thank you.

 

We were on Upper Deck on the Starboard (right side) side at the aft (rear) of the ship. Once you're on board, just remember odd numbers are on the right and even are on the left and the numbers get higher toward the rear and you'll be OK.

 

 

 

missabbi,

 

Porter 150 is a porter at Port of Miami who likes to run his mouth and mess with peoples luggage. That's the short and polite answer. CLICK HERE for a thread with more details. I have pics that I think are of him that I'll post later on. I never got to speak with him on this trip, but eventually I'm sure I'll run into him again.

[PaulMedik]

mosaic_mom,

 

Thank you. Thus far, Liberty is also our favorite. We sailed her when she was new on the eight day exotic Western out of Port Everglades and had a great time.

 

 

rzyjzq,

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our first full day on board was also our first day in port, or at anchor since there's no pier for ships in Half Moon Cay.

 

As I mentioned earlier, we had a Cabana reserved on Half Moon Cay and the ship uses a tender sticker for getting ashore that requires everyone to first go to the Venetian Palace for a sticker then proceed to the gangway for tendering. From research here on CC, I knew that tender stickers weren't required so we headed directly down to deck 0 and walked right on a tender. In our case, if asked for tender stickers we were supposed to show them our Cabana reservation ticket, but nobody asked so I didn't offer.

 

Our first view of Half Moon Cay was across the aft of the ship. We had anchored and they were tendering ship's personel to shore to set up the beach and organize activities etc;

 

 

We had a quick breakfast then headed up to the front of Lido above the bridge to get a better view of the island. Here's a shot of the 'secret door' on deck 9;

 

 

And a shot of Britt pushing open the outer door. (On days at sea when the ship is under way, the outer door is VERY difficult to open and there's an immediate blast of air as you exit. Bryson was going out the door one day and the couple ahead of him had coffee and food with them and Bryson tried to get them to finish their food before going. They ignored him and their coffee was blown out and across the wall of the exterior of the ship and they were wearing their food. I saw the remnants of their coffee on the wall and saw them on the opposite side of the deck looking a bit embarrassed by their attire.);

 

 

Here's a shot of crew tendering to Half Moon Cay;

 

 

After seeing that the tenders were ready for passengers we headed directly to deck 0 and walked on board our tender. As we were exiting the ship we heard the PA announcement that tendering was about to begin and people with early excursions could then head to Venetian Palace;

 

 

[PaulMedik]

As we approached Half Moon Cay, the boys didn't know which way to look. Behind us was our ship and ahead of us was a beautiful island with many other attractive veiws along the way;

 

 

 

 

The Carnival photogs were set up and waiting for us;

 

 

 

[missabbi]

Thanks for link to the Porter 150 thread. I have sailed out of Miami many times and thankfully have never had a problem.

 

I can't wait to read the rest of your review. :)

[PaulMedik]

After posing for the Carnival photogs, I had everyone stop as we were about to enter the main area and pose for one more shot;

 

 

We went straight out to the beach area and just stopped on the steps and took it all in;

 

 

As we walked the beach and looked for our Cabana, we had to stop and pose for one more pic along the way;

 

 

From reading on CC, I knew that the first few cabanas were in the more populated areas of the beach so we were wanting one at the far end. The young lady at the desk offered that since I had three boys with me that I might want to be closer to the water toys. Without her advice, we would have been waaaay down the beach and had a long walk to check on the boys because they spent most of the day on the slides and in the water in front of the beach attractions;

 

When we located our Cabana (#2), the boys were very pleased to find that along with the drinks, fruit, chips, dips, and assorted snacks that Carnival provided us in our Cabana, they also provided snorkel gear for all five of us in our sizes;

 

 

 

The gear in my size was nice other than my mustache prevented a good seal on the mask. I had my mask with me and it didn't seal either;

 

[PaulMedik]

Since my mask didn't seal well, I found other forms of entertainment to amuse myself with;

 

 

 

Britt definately had a good time snorkeling;

 

 

Who needs a waterpark? The slides kept my boys occupied most of the day;

 

 

 

 

The boys of course turned the water slides into a form of water slide war / bumper boys;

 

 

I'm not sure how they didn't break themselves or the slides, but they survived and the slides appeared unscathed;

 

[missabbi]

Do you mind if I ask how much a cabana near the slides costs? My DH would be the biggest kid in the pack!! Are the slides for adults too? :p Are the drinks and snacks unlimited?

[missabbi]

Since my mask didn't seal well, I found other forms of entertainment to amuse myself with;

 

 

 

Britt definately had a good time snorkeling;

 

 

Who needs a waterpark? The slides kept my boys occupied most of the day;

 

 

 

 

The boys of course turned the water slides into a form of water slide war / bumper boys;

 

 

I'm not sure how they didn't break themselves or the slides, but they survived and the slides appeared unscathed;

 

 

Looks like your kids had a great time....ah, they sure grow up fast! ...seems yesterday my kids were that age.

[Molly BPOE]

Any pics of the inside of the cabanna? I am getting giddy looking at your pics and reading the review. I CANNOT wait for the next three weeks to go by!

[PaulMedik]

Do you mind if I ask how much a cabana near the slides costs? My DH would be the biggest kid in the pack!! Are the slides for adults too? Are the drinks and snacks unlimited?

 

 

missabbi,

 

I think it was $195, $199, or $200. I'll scan in my final bills for each week later and know for sure then. The initial price is for four people and each additional person is $45 more. I haven't checked yet to see if they charged us for an additional person or not, but I don't think they did. (The girl I took a pic of knew that a family of five should be four whereas the gentleman I was booking through didn't have a clue other than what was written down for him.)

 

When you make the reservation you specify what drinks you want. The chips and dip were enough for 15 people. Two liter bottles of water and ten or twelve cans of soda. One plate of fruit and one of vegetables. I don't know if the refreshments were unlimited or not. They cleaned the cabana ten times or so while we were there. They swept the floor each time we tracked in sand and policed any garbage we generated. We took the leftover drinks back to the ship.

 

We ate burgers and buffet food from the Carnival food pavilion on the island. In hindsight, we should have skipped breakfast and snacked on the items in our Cabana.

 

The slides aren't very big, but I did notice several adults going down the slides too. They are sturdy so there shouldn't be a size limit.

 

 

 

 

There are all kinds of photo ops on Half Moon Cay;

 

 

 

 

The sharks are tame and will allow you to wrestle them;

 

 

Karen got in on the photo action by taking pics for other families we met on the beach;

 

 

The ship and water look more like photo backgrounds instead of real scenery;

 

[PaulMedik]

Any pics of the inside of the cabanna? I am getting giddy looking at your pics and reading the review. I CANNOT wait for the next three weeks to go by!

 

 

Molly,

 

Yes, here's a pic from our Cabana;

 

 

And a very poor panoramic shot;

 

 

I tried to get the lighting the same for all three frames, but couldn't;

 

 

There's a shower, a twised floor mounted mister, and the fan also is plumbed with water and sprays a water mist;

 

 

The mist doesn't show up in the photo, but you can see the floor mounted water mister and the fan that both combined to make the cabana deck very cool and refreshing to lay out on;

 

 

This pic is from later in the day after most of our bags were cleared out of the way. There's a refridgerator in the cabinet on the bottom left, a cooler full of ice on the bottom right and the AC blew very cold air;

 

[PaulMedik]

The container Spencer is opening is where the dips and salsa were kept to keep them cool;

 

 

The 'Private Oasis' is right by the tendering canal and just off the beach by the water toys. I think a cruise group from Floriday had the Oasis reserved;

 

 

Britt also enjoyed my hammock;

 

 

Our Cabana from the rear on one side;

 

 

And from the opposite side;

 

 

This 'rest stop' was located behind our cabana and down the beach a little (I had planned to have us all pose there for a pic, but we never got around to it);

[trvl_fanatic]

Great review so far & love the pictures!

 

Half Moon Cay looks fabulous. We'll definitely look out for an itinerary that has it for our next cruise :D

[missabbi]

Thanks for the info!

 

We are looking at booking a cruise in Sept or Oct for my birthday....I was looking at the Legend or Miracle. I may have to change my mind. Half Moon Cay looks wonderful!

[PaulMedik]

The buffet style cookout the Carnival provides is more than adequate to satisfy our appetites;

 

 

Our first cruise back in 1989 also had a buffet set up on the island and it brought back a lot of good memories of that cruise. Here's a pic from our 1989 island buffet;

 

 

Wow! Were we ever really that young?;

 

 

I guess the similarities with our first cruise are why we liked Half Moon Cay so well;

 

 

Premier's private island pic from our first cruise;

 

 

The tenders were also very similar except our tender way back then also had a bar and all drinks were included. Can you imagine if Carnival offered free drinks on the tenders?;

 

[PaulMedik]

Suffices to say the boys also had a good time;

 

 

 

 

 

As our day at Half Moon Cay was coming to an end, most of our fellow cruisers had tendered back to the ship;

 

[PaulMedik]

Our Cabana was an excellent investment for us and made a great port day all the better. If we'd just had beach chairs I'm sure we'd have had a great time, but I don't know that we'd have been able to spend the entire day there. The Cabana was nice in that it was cool, had snacks and cold drinks, and we could spray off the sand and relax in the cool mist. We did have at least fifteen people stop by and either want to rent something or want to use our Cabana. At first I wasn't sure what the confusion was, but later I noticed the rental building down the beach from us was also blue so that explained some of the visits. Some folks were upset with us that we wouldn't allow them to remove our snorkel gear, floats and chairs, or come in and use our table and chairs. One lady got real upset that I wouldn't allow her to use our shower on the deck when our beach bags were all laying in the corner under the shower. I gently explained that I wasn't going to move everything so she could shower when there was a shower she could use just up on the path.

 

We were well aware that we'd have visitors at our Cabana because we were near the majority of the people, but I'd choose the same Cabana again in a hearbeat. Our cabana was near where the boys spent most of their time and was near all the places we planned to go. From reading on CC, I also knew that we'd be getting visitors from time to time who didn't know the cabana wasn't there's to use.

 

Because we were among the last to leave, we also got to see several of the cabanas taken over by other groups to clean themselves up and spend the last hour basking in the sun.

 

Our Cabana at the end of the day;

 

 

The view back down the beach toward our Cabana as we were leaving;

 

 

After most people had left, our boys turned the slides into rocket slides by using the floats;

 

 

As we got back to the tender area, the Half Moon Cay Clipper was loaded with crew and equipment returning to the ship;

 

 

Can you tell they had a busy day?;

 

 

I had a very relaxing day. I also wore my new Father's Day shirt the boys gave me that morning. They also gave me a model Carnival Liberty ship;