Liberty 9/13/2008 Review--western Caribbean!

[valancy1]

 

 

 

 

 

Dunn's River Falls is one of those things that you want to see. We saw old & young alike climbing the falls. Phil told us what to expect--it was nice: he said not to tell people your names or where you're from because someone is likely to etch your name into a piece of wood and pressure you to buy it. Since we were prepared, we had false names.

 

Tell them "no" and they won't bother you. Phil was very very VERY good about showing us how to avoid the craft market (even though the "hawkers" were saying "This way to the bus" (which was invariably through the craft market) and we avoided that.) He was punctual. Phil, without a doubt, "had our backs". He is a local and told us what we needed to know to have a wonderful day and not be concerned with all the stuff we'd heard here on Cruise Critic.

 

Next, we went tubing down the White River... I have to say this was an absolute BLAST. Let me again say, my SIZE DID NOT MATTER. They had tubes for every shape and size. When we got there, Phil was very specific: "You only need to take your water camera". We left everything else on the bus. You absolutely can trust him--we had absolutely nothing amiss by doing what he said.

[valancy1]

 

 

 

This was hugely incredibly fun! The guys doing this tubing business, go along with you the whole way; they make sure that if you spin off to the banks of the river, you get back in the flow of the river. They sing, and all sorts of stuff. They were BUSY the whole time (we were part of a party of 13) making sure we had a great time.

 

One thing--about 1/2 way through, there was this old guy taking pictures on the bank. You go around this curve, and they stop the rafting saying it is a "stretch break". But what they want is for you to go up the bank in the forest and buy some trinkets. Since PHIL TOLD US TO NOT BRING ANYTHING, we legitimately told them we didn't have any money! THANK YOU PHIL!!

 

Then we continued down the river. The water was completely clear and felt so refreshing, even though it was high noon.

 

When we finished, I tipped the guys some money. I asked them to split it evenly. I felt they earned and deserved a tip for all the help they offered us when we were stuck (it happens!) and they were more than gracious and hard working.

 

After this, Phil took us on a driving tour of the island. We got to see a lot and he definitely loves his country. It was fascinating if you like that sort of thing (which we do!). At one point, we were stopped and the merchants along the road brought their trinkets and held them up to the bus windows. Phil said that if there was anything that caught our eye to speak up because he could get us a better deal there than in the shops at the port. No one bought anything, but I saw a hank of material that was tie-dyed that was lovely that caught my eye. I'll remember it for next time.

 

As we were stopped, we waited for a 4x4 vehicle to come ahead of us. It was Keith Richards (the Rolling Stones guy).

 

By the time we got done with the tour, it was 1:30. Time for lunch and to go back to the ship.

 

I can't recommend this enough. My personal observations about Jamaica is it is an island that CAN be explored in safety--they've cleaned it up quite a lot--with a tour. Take a tour (Phil WILL customize tours based on what you want) and then at the end, if you choose, he will drop you at a secure shopping area OR take you back to the port. This is when you pay him... at the end.

 

It was a great time. I would do the tubing again in a heartbeat. It was a blast.

 

 

Oh, a note about Grand Cayman and Soto Tours--you pay before you go out, and you can pay in cash. We tipped at the end. There is a tip bucket on the boat, but since there were only 4 of us, we just handed Randy our tip.

[valancy1]

Tonight was our last formal night. It was fun to see everyone dressed up and standing for pictures.

 

Here are more dinner pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

YUM-O. Cherry Cream soup, Chateaubriand, Baked Alaska... oooh, it was gooood. Barry and I ate the same thing this night, so less pics. The food was divine. There was dancing and singin' and movin' to the groovin'....

[valancy1]

The next day was our last day and it was a sea day.

 

It was also another ART AUCTION, so you know what that means (ahem). LOL. I got some more Kraznyansky and have been told that now I am an official "collector".

 

I went to Bingo. They had a chance to win a cruise! I missed it by ONE number:

 

 

Then they had a debarkation talk (Steve Knicely did it). Again, first-time cruisers, I highly recommend it. They showed how to fill out the customs form, explained everything in a fun way (Steve Knicely is a riot), and then brought out representatives of all different service lines on the ship--AND Funship Freddy accompanied them!

 

 

 

 

The captain came down from the Bridge to say a few words... I loved hearing him speak (he's Italian and love his accent)...

 

Again, I thought this was really beneficial to attend, and it was so great to see all the different people that helped make our time so wonderful.

 

They have comment cards and they ask everyone to fill them out. They are hoping for "Exceeded Expectations" rather than "MET Expectations". There's a place for written comments and they give away another cruise for completing them. No, I didn't win. <G>

[valancy1]

There was a chocolate buffet today. Here is a picture of some of our selections:

 

 

This was "pudding", but think Chocolate Grenache instead. It was SO RICH and yum-O.

 

We hung out with Brent & Sally for a little bit. This was my birthday and all sorts of people wrote well wishes on my door sign, which I thought was nice. Brent & Sally made me a birthday card... Hey Sally, did you get the purser his highlighter back yet? :)

[valancy1]

I walked around the ship and took pictures of some of the details. Those of you who've sailed Liberty might have fun trying to figure out where some of these came from; newbies might want to see if they can find these...

 

 

 

 

 

[valancy1]

For my birthday, we went to Harry's Supper Club. Very little narrative is needed. The pictures say it all; however, I won't ever miss the last night in the dining room again. I loved loved loved Harry's. I just don't want to miss the dining room on the last night.

 

For those that do not know, Harry's is a Supper Club where you pay $30 each and have the finest of a fine dining experience.

 

Without further adieu...:

 

Entrance to Harry's (on Panorama, Deck 10)

 

Harry's pays homage to Harry Winston and all the decorations in the club imitate jewelry. You can read about it in detail on the ship, but this is what you're looking at.

 

 

Lobster Bisque

 

French Onion Soup

[valancy1]

They prepare Cesar's Salad before you if you order this:

 

 

 

 

 

[valancy1]

 

 

The table setting when we first walked in...

 

This was a sweet tray they brought to us after dinner "compliments of the chef"

 

 

I've been to 4-star restaurants before; this food was better than what I have had at a very prominent 4-star restaurant in Houston. I can promise you I paid WELL more than $30 for my dinner. I think everyone should try this experience... it was so delicious.

[valancy1]

The entertainment this evening was the Carnival "Legends" concert. People on the ship auditioned and had costume fittings and rehearsals. They portrayed a Legend... James Brown, Elvis, Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton (lol--that was Steve Knicely and it was hysterical), Madonna, Britney Spears, Aretha Franklin, etc.

 

My snaps aren't that great, but I'll post them here... this was really a FUN night of entertainment.

 

 

 

 

 

[valancy1]

More little things from the ship I'd like to share....

 

 

 

Oh! I had read other reviews where people weren't happy with the Piano Bar and how it was dead on their cruise. This was NOT the case on this cruise. Every night we paid attention on our cruise, the piano bar was PACKED.

 

 

 

[valancy1]

Our last morning...

 

Sunrise in Miami

 

Our last stroll on the Lido

 

 

 

Our last breakfast

 

[valancy1]

Time to leave... SIGH.

 

Our zone was called.

 

OH MY GOSH, I nearly forgot! Luggage Express! If you have a flight after 2 pm you might be able to participate in the Luggage Express program. This is where Carnival arranges all your "stuff"... you get your boarding passes, your luggage stickers, etc. You put your luggage outside your door by 10:30 pm and you see it the next day at your home airport. It worked GREAT!!! It was $20 pp and worth every single penny to us. They let you know earlier in the cruise. You cannot wait until the last day to decide to use this--you have to decide when they first talk about it.

 

Once again, being a first-timer, I played "dumb" and had Barry take pictures of the lines in immigration/customs before someone came with their arms waving saying NO PICTURES!! (hee hee):

 

We shared the cost of a limo to FLL with Mona & Kenny (KenMo)...

 

 

It was time to go home. We made some GREAT new friends and I know we'll cruise together soon (yay!), and made memories to last a lifetime. Words can't do this experience justice. I so totally love cruising. Now that I'm finished with this review, I can now start planning and looking at our next one!

 

So, here's some of what I learned:

 

• Size does not matter. You will see every shape and size on this ship. We saw old people in wheelchairs having as good of a time as the fully-tattoo'd woman right next to them. One thing my waiter Dennis did for me was get me a more comfortable chair--the ones with arms set my legs at a funny angle and I was very uncomfortable. Dennis did that for me without even having to ask and that chair was there for me every night in the dining room
  
• The ship is BEAUTIFUL. CLEAN. I always saw someone cleaning--even scrubbing the numbers on the carpeting outside the elevator doors.
  
• If you can afford it, balconies are the way to go.
  
• If you want to participate in the last-day diamond sale, get there EARLY and don't move for anyone (ha ha)
  
• Bring your own water bottle and fill it on the Lido
  
• Buy water for your Cozumel and Jamaica day
  
• Formal night is a blast
  

 

Oh, and the best thing--even with all the eating that we did, I LOST WEIGHT on the cruise! LOL! Imagine my delight!

[valancy1]

Duplicate post. Don't know how that happened...

[ALSEAU]

Debra,

 

Thanks for the review and all the great pictures. I am just as sorry that your story is over as you are that your cruise is over. I felt like I was on the cruise with you. Oh well. I will just have to be patient and wait for my turn.

 

Good Luck in planning your next cruise.

[pe4all]

Thank you so much for your wonderful review and pictures. Liberty was our first CCL ship, and she holds a special place in my heart. Re-living your cruise brought back great memories. Hope you have many more wonderful cruise vacations.

[cathyoo]

Absolutely WONDERFUL review. Thank you so much. I actually feel like I know you and Barry.

 

The Liberty is our favorite cruise ship. We sailed on her in 06 and it was the last cruise with our cruisemate and BIL Steve. The Liberty will always have a special place in my heart.

[seashell36]

Debra, That was an absolutely AWESOME review and great pics! Now I know which ship I want to sail next - just have to figure out when:rolleyes: . Really glad that you had such a good time.

[valancy1]

Thanks so so much for your feedback!

 

I found some more pictures (very random) you might like looking at...

 

I finally got the picture of the captain to be vertical:

 

 

 

 

 

This is Jamaica when we just got into port. It was a beautiful scene and I was remiss in showing this before:

 

Succulents in Cozumel

[SpacemanSpiff]

Oh! I had read other reviews where people weren't happy with the Piano Bar and how it was dead on their cruise. This was NOT the case on this cruise. Every night we paid attention on our cruise, the piano bar was PACKED.

 

So you did see me on the cruise! That's where I was many evenings! :p

 

(I'm the large fellow on the right of the central bar, with DW Carol next to me.)

 

I can see how a particular pianist (and, to a lesser extent, the kind of crowd on a specific cruise) can affect how good a piano bar is; but Lorraine Ingle was a blast the whole week, and a group of regulars quickly became established there.

[Papasaurus]

That was a great review. We will be leaving on our first cruise soon. ( you can see the date.) Same cruise you were on as long as no storms decide to visit. I will take notes from your review to use. Only have one excursion so far in Cozumel. Having a hard time deciding on the other ports at this time. We may just roam aroun shopping and relaxing on the ship. Again thanks for the great review.;)

[valancy1]

That was a great review. We will be leaving on our first cruise soon. ( you can see the date.) Same cruise you were on as long as no storms decide to visit. I will take notes from your review to use. Only have one excursion so far in Cozumel. Having a hard time deciding on the other ports at this time. We may just roam aroun shopping and relaxing on the ship. Again thanks for the great review.;)

 

I hope you have as much fun as we did. And I hope so much that you'll go to Grand Cayman. We *loved* Grand Cayman and can't wait to go back.

 

Jamaica is wonderful if you have the right tour.

 

Let us know what you did after you return. We want to turn right around and get back on the ship!

[airlink diva]

Thanks for the wonderful review and pictures!! I love reading reviews and viewing the pictures. It really help other first time cruisers know what to expect and bring back memories to the vet cruisers.

I'm a plus size girl and always had fun on a cruise! I swim,snorkle and have fun.

Can't wait for the next cruise :D :D !!

Happy sailing!!

[jonniangel]

Wow, what a great review. Fabulous pictures! I feel like I know you and Barry too. SO glad you had a great time!! :D

 

Now I have to eat something, all your food pictures have made me so hungry. ;)

[dragnfli]

Thank you for that awesome review!!!

 

We are sailing on the Liberty for our very first cruise this Saturday and you have made me even more excited (if that's possible) than I was before. Thanks for all of the great pictures you took the time to post.