Carnival Liberty Review (5/23) Eastern Caribbean

[brendak28]

OK! Let me start this by saying that this is my first attempt at adding pictures to posts, so I hope this works!!

Quick rundown of our group. Myself (37), Hubby (46) and our Son (15). This was my 3rd Cruise, Hubby's 2nd and Son's 1st.

We drove to Miami Florida from Birmingham, AL. MAN THAT IS A LONG DRIVE!! But, we had family near Orlando, so we wanted to visit with them, so it was a good stop off. I will try to break this review up so that it is easy to follow. **Once again....first review and first time trying to post pictures, so please bare with me. Also, if you have any questions, I will try me best to answer them!!

 

MIAMI

Miami without a doubt has some of the worst drivers on the face of the planet. Once we got to Miami we stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. It was a very nice hotel, and it was directly across the street from the Bayside Market. When I made our reservation for the hotel in February, I requested a room with a Bayside view. They put on the 10th Floor overlooking the bay, so we had a view of the cruise terminal. SWEET. The room had a king size bed with a sleeper sofa. I would definitely stay there again!! On Friday evening we talked to the Bayside Market for dinner and to look around. WE decided to eat at Bubba Gumps. The food was good, and it was a fun place to eat!! WE got up on Saturday morning, grabbed some breakfast, packed up and got ready to check out. Then it started to pour down rain, so we waited for it to slack off. WE were afraid that it would rain the entire trip, but it didn't!

 

OK......Can't get the pictures to post, so I will stop here and try to figure out how to do that. If anyone can help, just let me know!!

 

 

[loveshack]

Hi There!

 

I am really looking forward to your review! We live in Bham and are going to be on the Liberty in November. We, too, are driving. We planned on leaving on Thursday and spending the night halfway. Finish up on Friday and spend the night in Miami. We are also looking at the Holiday Inn - Port of Miami.

 

Can't wait to read the rest!!!!

[direfun2000]

More!!!

[RaMar]

Looking forward to more!

[MzOhioLady]

I'm looking forward to more as well. Good start though for someone who's writing a review for the 1st time. The firsts are always Sweet and Memorable! ;)

[brendak28]

Ok, Here are a few photos of the review of Miami and Holiday Inn Port of Miami

 

Picture of the Holiday Inn Port of Miami (they have a few parking spaces around back). Our room was on the top floor and our room was the second step back room on the Left. Really nice room!! This picture was taken from the Bayside Market.

 

 

This is the view from our hotel room window. We were on the 10th floor on the Bayside of the hotel. This is actually the liberty coming in to turn around at about 6:30 on Saturday Morning....getting ready to unload so we could get on!!:cool:

 

[WAcruisers]

More please!

[RaMar]

Keep it rolling! :)

[brendak28]

Embarkation.....

 

We left the hotel a little before 10. We were only about half a mile from the port. We never found the drop off place for our luggage. So, we decided to find a place to park. There were no parking decks labelled for Terminal D (which our ship was in). :eek: So, we rode around the block about 2 times before we just decided to park. Parking was $20 per day. However, it was in what appeared to be a safe and secure area. We unloaded the truck and headed off for the terminal with all of our luggage in tow! We weren't parked too far away, so it was ok. Once we got to the terminal building it was busy. Most of the people getting off the ship were still sitting outside waiting on people or taxis to pick them up. We found someone that worked there to find out where to check our luggage and then we entered the building. IF you have any open containers you must throw them away before you can enter the building. We had our carryon bags Xrayed and we were sent up the escalators to the waiting area. We were checked in, filled out our health forms and had our sign and sail cards in hand by about 10:20. They assigned us Group numbers for getting on the ship. We were zone 8, but we were on the ship by 11:35. :cool:

The ship is really pretty and my son was just blow away by how large it was. We entered through the lobby. It is pretty standard Carnival looking. Very high with glass elevators. However, they have a blue and green chandelier in the lobby. It was very pretty!

Then we were up to the Lido deck to have some lunch. I had a rueben sandwich from the deli. It was SOOO GOOOD!!!

[brendak28]

OUR CABIN

We were able to get in our rooms about 1:30. We were on the Empress Deck (Cabin 7348). It is a standard balcony room (our first balcony...but won't be our last!!):D

 

Sorry but for some reason, I can't get any pictures to attach to this review anymore.:eek: I will post those pictures when I figure out what the problem is!

[brendak28]

OK....this posting pictures is harder than I thought it would be, I'm going to work through it!!

 

These are pictures of our cabin #7348. It was nice and roomy enough for the 3 of us, especially since we weren't in there too much!!

 

 

 

This picture is of the balcony!!

 

 

The pictures are rather large, but at least there are pictures!

[brendak28]

Time to Sail away!!

 

Well, when the time finally came to sail away, it started to rain and storm. I got a couple of cool pictures from the deck as we sailed away. Less crowded than on the Lido anyway!

 

That evening we went to dinner in the Golden Dining room. We were set at the table with 3 table mates (very nice people). The food was very nice. Dinner dress for the first night was COME AS YOU ARE. Which was nice not to have to dress up.

 

 

After dinner we were off to Club O2. This will be about our only mention of this Club since my son didn't like it very much!! Since he was 15 and traveling with a friend, he didn't think that he fit in there. It was a very cute club with lots of video games, a dance floor and a video wall. However, my son preferred to spend his free time at the pool (must have been some girls around). He did play in the arcade quite a bit, but didn't really care for the "dance parties".

 

We went to the Welcome Aboard Show. It was very entertaining but reminded us a lot of the show (if not the same show) that we saw on the Legend last year. We of course "donated" some money to the Casino. Did see some people who appeared to be winning, but we didn't do very well.

 

Oh here is a picture of the Chandelier from the Lobby of the Liberty. I just loved this light!!

 

[brendak28]

OK! I am going to take a break and work on this review tomorrow. I left my notes at home and don't want to tell you anything incorrectly.

 

In case I forget to mention it later....we absolutely LOVED our cruise director Butch. He did an awesome job. We had a great trip overall, there were some complaints, but very few and most of them had nothing to with Carnival or the ports....people are so rude!! Anyway, more to come!!:rolleyes:

[Piatt1011]

Love the review so far. Can't wait till I am on the Liberty this Oct.!!!

[DofDTC]

We are doing the Eastern Caribbean on the Liberty in February.

Any info and photos are welcome!!!

[junebug8]

Great review so far! We are on the Liberty in Oct.

 

Loved the storm picture and Holiday Inn at Port of Miami. It is bigger than I thought. We will be staying there Friday night also.

 

Keep it coming!:)

[harleysmama]

Great review keep it coming getting excited for ours in July.

[Kissyfur19]

Great review so far. We are going on the Liberty 3 months from today - can't wait!

[RAVI360]

OOOOOO thats how my room is going to look im in 7341 cool are the chair comfortable???? on the balcony.......

[brendak28]

HALF MOON CAY!!!

 

Half Moon Cay was one of our favorite stops. It is absolutely beautiful!!! We rented a cabana (Purple #6) when we first got on the ship. The cost was $225 (which included the cabana (of course), 4 float mats, 4 snorkle equipment, 8 sodas, 2 large bottles of water, and some food). We will DEFINITELY rent a cabana if we ever make it back to Half Moon Cay...worth every penny!!:cool: Half Moon Cay has a beautiful white sand beach. Our cabana was just far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the bar area (which was very crowded). We were right near the restroom and a path to the eating area! The second swim area (closest to our cabana) was never crowded. There would only be 10-20 people out there at a time...everyone else crowded toward the main area.

[brendak28]

 

OK..I think I have figured out the picture posting AGAIN. On with the review! My son (15) loved Half Moon Cay. The water is the most beautiful color. It is crystal clear...you could stand in the water up to your neck and still tell what color nail polish you had on your toes. We all with we could live there FOREVER!!! This was the swim area in front of our cabana!

 

 

 

Our Cabana and the food that was waiting for us!!!!

 

And just for good measure.....here is a picture of the Liberty taken from Half Moon Cay.........(did I say that I want to go back??)???:confused:

 

 

NEXT FUN DAY AT SEA!!!

[brendak28]

FUN DAY AT SEA

 

Sunday was our fun day at sea. (Forgot to mention that we didn't attend the comedy show on Sunday night - heard that we didn't miss anything though). Breakfast on the Lido Deck. Husband had the Omelet Station every morning but 1. He said that they were awesome!!! I grabbed a bagel which was also very good (kind of hard to mess up a bagel with peanut butter though). Son at Pancakes most mornings and liked them as well. The lines were long (of course), but they moved quickly. Tables were hard to find during peak hours, but we managed. There were more than a few people that I wanted to help understand the definition of standing in line. They didn't feel that they should have to wait, because the only wanted one item. Sorry, but it is a pet peeve of mine....wait like everyone else.

 

After breakfast we walked around the ship....trying to familiarize ourselves with where everything was. It is a large ship, but easy to navigate, except for decks 3 and 4. Can't get from the front of the ship to the back on these floors due to the galley for the shared dining rooms! Finally learned that on about Friday before returning on Saturday!! Oh well!!

 

Our son hung out at the arcade or the pool pretty much every moment that we were on the ship except for dinner (which we made him eat with us). He loved the pool (and the girls there).

 

If you are looking to have some fun, we took Butch's Crazy Disco Dance Class. He was a very entertaining guy! I don't dance, but the class was lots of fun....We also attended the Adult Comedy Special with Mike Panzeca. He was kind of funny,but not great!! The Wonderful World Show with the Liberty Dancers was very good. All of there shows were good!!

 

The AFT Pool (Adults Only..yeah!!)

 

 

Deck 3 outside covered deck. A few deck chairs were out there, but there was almost never more than 2 or 3 people out there. Sort of like having the ship all to yourself!

 

 

Of Course, you gotta have the Whale Tail!!

 

Next ST THOMAS!!!!

[brendak28]

ST THOMAS, USVI

 

We ordered room service so that we could eat while getting ready to leave the ship. We arrived in ST. Thomas at 8 am. The morning that we docked at St. Thomas, it was overcast early, but turned sunny. However, it was HOT and HUMID. We decided to take the sky lift to Paradise Point and then do some shopping. We went to Paradise Point about 10 am, which was a good thing, because it wasn't crowded and the heat of the day hadn't fully set in by the time we came back down. There is a nature trail and view point at the top of the mountain. There were a few shopping places at the top as well, along with a restaurant and bar. Very nice area with lots of Lizards. By the time we came about down (around 11:30) there was a huge line waiting to go up the mountain!

 

 

 

View as we approached St. Thomas (probably 6:00 or so)

 

There were lots of shops within walking distance of the Pier. We bought some alcohol (for really good prices), which of course were delivered to our room on Friday evening. Cut places to buy T-shirts!

 

Back on the Ship, we got ready and went to dinner. Dinner was fantastic as usual. The Liberty Dancers put on a show called "JUST ROCK". It was fun, sort of travelled through the different styles of rock and roll. Very entertaining.

At 11 pm, we went to WATCH The Quest (which is an adult oriented scavenger hunt). If you are easily offended do NOT attend this show. However, if you like to watch people do absolutely anything to win a game, you should definitely attend. This was the funniest thing I have ever seen. We got there early and ended up with front row seats. NOT TO BE MISSED by those that can enjoy some adult humor!

[junebug8]

Great review (and pictures). The skylift looks like fun but I'm terrified of heights so will not be doing that!:D

 

BTW, what kind of camera are you using? Your pictures are beautiful.

 

Keep it coming!:)

[brendak28]

San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

We arrived at San Juan at 7 am (actually I think we were a little early, but never mind). IT was the most beautiful sunrise that I witnessed on the cruise.

 

 

When we got off the ship, we were approached by all the Taxi and Tour Drivers trying to convince us to take a tour. The shops don't open until 10 am, but we decided to walk to The fort. It was another beautiful but hot and humid day. We walked along the wall by the water. It was absolutely beautiful!! While walking, we noticed some birds once we looked closer they were green parrots. I enjoyed the colorful buildings, and once we got on the walk around the wall it wasn't very crowded. The fort was ok, but it was moldy smelling, and crowded. After we went to the fort, we walked back through town and did some shopping. We ate an early lunch at Barrachina Restaurant (Home of the Pina Colada). It was a very nice place with a courtyard, fountains, and a parrot. The Pina Coladas were the absolute best I have ever had, and the food was great. The guys had burgers and a club sandwich, but I had Black Bean Soup (AWESOME!!). The drivers are crazy, and they will attempt to run you over, but I loved San Juan. Narrow roads (cobblestone) and narrow sidewalks, but nice!

 

 

 

 

 

Once back on the ship, we took a nap, because the heat really wiped us out!! ***NOTE - If you are going to walk to the fort, be sure to take water with you. WE did not an there was not a place to buy water or any drink until you reached the fort.** We went to the got ready for dinner and went to the Comedy and Hypnosis Show of Puck. It was very funny. My husband was one that was hypnotized. It was very funny!!!! Dinner was great as usual!! After dinner we changed and went to the Ultimate Lounge Fun Hop. They have carnival colors competition based on what deck your cabin was on (GO WHITE TEAM GO WHITE TEAM GO!!!). The Ultimate Lounge Hop was for all members of the family. Our team started out in the Disco (very cool place) and the team had to dance and sing karaoke, then you marched in a line to the Victoria Lounge for more karaoke. Our team was in 3rd place going into this competition, but we ended up winning it all. After the Lounge Hop, we all went to the Lido deck for the deck party (which was postponed for 30 minutes due to NBA Playoff Game). Then at midnight we line danced our little hearts out. This was also the night of the Mexican Buffet, but we didn't attend. Finally about 1:30 we were off to be, and boy were we tired. Good thing Grand Turk wasn't an early morning stop.

 

NEXT.....GRAND TURK!!!