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hstrybuf
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Posted: Mon Oct 29th, 2007 12:58 am | 1st Post |
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Background - My husband and I are in our early 50s, married for 30 years and have two grown daughters. We live in a Kansas City suburb in Kansas. I have been on 9 cruises now and my husband on 8. This was our fifth cruise on Carnival with 2 previous cruises each on Princess and Royal Caribbean. Our next cruise, who knows?
Pre-cruise (Friday) - We were up bright and early for our 7 a.m. non-stop flight from Kansas City to Ft. Lauderdale aboard Midwest Express. We met up with Lynne and Peewee, Bobbi Jo and Ryan, Amy and Reece for this flight. Everything went off without a problem. The seats were two across, wide, leather and very comfortable. I had a hot breakfast on the plane, only the second time for me and a definite improvement in airline food of the past. They take credit cards only. No cash.
Ft. Lauderdale was hotter and more humid than it was at home and we were walking all over the area looking for the Publix to buy soda and beer. Waaaay too hot for jeans. We found it at the Harbor Shops area and returned to the hotel to change our clothes. Heading poolside, we met a number of people and chatted the afternoon away, meeting more people as they arrived.
Many in our group, Saints and Sinners III and Rich and Jeri’s group from Carefree Vacations, had opted to stay at the AmeriSuites which had recently been bought by Hilton and was undergoing renovations. At the time I booked the room, I was not smoking but my husband was and I was able to book a smoking room with a king bed. By the time of our arrival, the hotel had gone totally non-smoking and I had started smoking again. We’ve stayed at this hotel three times now and the experience has always had some negative aspects compared to our stays at other hotels in the area. No ice, no vending machines, no smoking, no bar, the pool area was dirty and lots of areas were still obviously being renovated this time around. Little things I suppose. However, I will say that the manager made every effort to make our stay as pleasant as possible. Ice had to be brought over from the Embassy Suites so we were fine sitting poolside for the rest of the afternoon with people from both groups. Our room was somewhat lacking in amenities, but was spacious and comfortable as well with a newer flat screen TV. Breakfast was small, but did have some hot items which was an improvement over the old continental style they used to serve in the mornings. We were billed incorrectly but it was fixed. Despite the positives, I would opt to stay at Embassy Suites or another hotel the next time.
Finally, several people decided to meet up with the biggest part of our group at Sloppy Joe’s/Howl at the Moon/Beach Place. We had to walk back to the Harbor Shops to catch the trolley. On the way, my calves began to cramp up and I wasn’t feeling well. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, drank soda and two mudslides at the pool and had been out in the heat much longer than normal. On the trolley, I really began to feel ill and put my head on my husband’s shoulder. Next thing I knew, someone was calling for an ambulance. I had passed out cold for the first time in my life! I felt fine when I woke up, but allowed the EMTs to check me out. They blamed this one-time occurrence on dehydration. A lady I had just met, Bernadette, was walking by at the time and very kindly gave me her bottle of water. The EMTs called a cab and we grabbed some fast food before returning to the hotel. I was asleep by 8 p.m. I normally drink a lot of water at home and should have known better not to continue to do so in such heat. I’m waiting for the bill for this bad judgment on my part.
Embarkation Day (Saturday) - Having been asleep so early the previous night, I woke up at 3:30 but decided it was too early to crawl out of bed so I tried to sleep until 5. That early, the temperatures were very comfortable so I was in and out of the room until my husband woke up several hours later. (My trips outside provided me the opportunity to meet many people from both groups as well as an interesting gentlemen who had just returned from Singapore where he recruited workers for the laundry rooms on several cruise lines.) We grabbed breakfast and continued to meet more people. We were in no hurry to get to the ship as we knew the groups alone would be keeping two shuttles and various taxis quite busy for a while. By the time we were ready to leave, there were only five of us on the shuttle: Rich, Jeri, Jane and of course, us.
With a ship the size of the Liberty which had approximately 3,000 passengers this trip, long lines are a given. Despite that, the embarkation process went quite quickly. For future reference, Bahamas and B.V.I. immigration forms must be filled out for each person. We headed for the oyster bar for lunch, checked out some of the ship and finally made it to our cabin shortly before 1:30.
We had a balcony cabin category C, port side on deck 8 and slightly toward the aft, but close to the central elevators. This was very convenient for going to the buffet or the Lido Deck pool bar just one deck up. Sometime during the first two days we received our plate of chocolates and a bottle of champagne from the group travel agent. Our steward was Issara from Thailand, a friendly and happy young man who made our stay a good one. We unpacked, attended muster and sail away with our group, donated a small amount to the casino and met up with our tablemates Pamela, Richard and Allen for the 8 p.m seating. We were in the Silver dining room, table 526, all the way aft by the windows on the second level. This was the only place where I could feel the vibrations as the ship moved through the ocean. Our waiter was also a friendly gentleman, Tilsu from Columbia. He was always eager to please and after the first night when Allen ordered anchovies, they appeared on the table every night thereafter for him and my husband to share. On this particular cruise, we were early to bed and early to rise so we called it a night shortly after dinner.
Day at Sea (Sunday) - This day was all about relaxing and not pushing ourselves, especially myself, too much. We had breakfast in the dining room and met some new people outside our group. We then explored the ship and found our favorite spots to spend time, the Lido Deck Bar, the casino and Gloves, the sports bar. I must say that I’m glad Joe Farcus toned down his design on this ship. The Liberty is much prettier than those on which we have sailed before. The others, while interesting, were very much “in your face, Las Vegas glitz” style and not especially attractive.
At 4:30 our group met in the Lobby for the group picture then some of us participated in a state gift exchange which had been suggested by Old Medic (Bill) and Sweetnell. I found this to be quick, easy and lots of fun. The gift I chose was from Bonnie, a Boston calendar that will see a lot of use in the coming year. She selected my gift which was a Wizard of Oz themed mouse pad and candy coated sunflower seeds made locally. This was also our first formal night. We did not attend the Captain’s Cocktail Party, choosing instead to spend time chatting with others and resting.
San Juan (Monday) - Since we had been to this port twice before and as our arrival was late in the afternoon, we chose to stay on the ship. We slept in late, had breakfast and spent the day as we had before: gambling, chatting, meeting more people and relaxing. This night, our tablemates and Jessemon (Jeff) had dinner at Harry’s. (Jeff fell in love with the Russian waitress!) Having enjoyed the veal chops on the Miracle last year, I opted to try those again. Dinner was, as expected, excellent and the service impeccable!
St. Thomas (Tuesday) - This was our fourth trip to the U.S.V.I. On previous trips I had shopped, taken a tour with a friend who was living on the island at the time and had ferried to St. John. This time we bought cigarettes then grabbed a taxi to Coral World at Coki Beach. We had originally scheduled a helmet dive there, but had cancelled before leaving, deciding that I wasn’t up to it physically. Instead we toured the area on our own. The cost is normally $18, but we received a coupon from our taxi driver for $3 off and another $1 off for being on a cruiseship. We hadn’t done anything like this since our children were small and especially enjoyed the area where you can go beneath the surface to see the divers, fish and coral. The iguanas and lorikeets I found the most interesting on the land portion. I bought the requisite t-shirt, not the cute one with the iguanas that didn’t come in my size, but a nice one with lorikeets. We returned to Charlotte Amalie and headed to a deli recommended by Jeff in building IV of Havensight Mall. Shopping in town . . . didn’t happen. Been there, done that, bought the jewelry.
Our days took on a sameness. Sleeping in, breakfast in the buffet, lunch there as well or at the hamburger or deli stations, dinner in the dining room, most nights in bed early. We spent our free time relaxing, meeting and chatting with all kinds of people and donating to the casino. We weren’t interested in being on any schedule but our own. The activities offered were something we’d seen or done before or just weren‘t interested in at the time.
Antigua (Wednesday) - That’s An-TI-ga! I had been here before but my husband had not so I booked a tour online with Lawrence of Antigua. $35 per person for a 3-hour tour that actually lasted closer to four. His competition was charging $30 per person/per hour. Lawrence gives an excellent and informative tour! Two thumbs up! There were only seven others with us from our group: Laura and Scott, Jeff, Mike and Barbara and one other couple whose names escape me. (I’m great with faces but terrible with names!) We saw the normal tourist things: Nelson’s Dockyard, Shirley Heights, Clarence House (from a distance), the rainforest, a lot of the countryside, both the Atlantic and Caribbean side of the island and a short stop at Turner’s Beach. Lawrence started something new with our tour, complimentary drinks about an hour into the tour and again later. He had fruit punch, rum punch and the local beer, Wadadli. I found the beer quite tasty.
Returning to St. John, we stopped at an open air bar in the center of the shopping area so the guys could have a beer. I chose soda so as not to overdo it in the heat. I had a few stores picked out for shopping but walked away with little that I liked. Hubby was happy! Different night, same routine and we skipped the Past Guest Party. This was our fifth cruise with Carnival so we didn’t think it worth the effort as they’re always the same.
Tortola (Thursday) - This was our first time at this port. We took a taxi to Cane Garden Bay and were dropped off between Stanley’s and Myett’s. The beach was beautiful and the water so nice that I hated to get out. Umbrellas and chairs were $5 each for the day and the area was patrolled. Music played in the background, shopping was minimal and bars/restaurants were available. This is where I got a good (bad?) sunburn on top of the bit of color I had from the other ports. We ran into several people from our group and Rich and Jeri’s group here: Donna and Dan, Shelly, Allen, Kat and her mom, Bonnie, Peanut, Paulie (asleep), Rich and Jeri, Donna and Lou, Gino and Louise and Jane. There were others but as usual, names don’t come to mind.
We grabbed an almost full taxi back to town. The ride is really something with the steep roads going from one side of the island to the other. We asked to be dropped off at the vendor’s area as several of us wanted to shop before returning to the ship. I found t-shirts for myself and our girls and a small bamboo basket to add to my collection. We were almost back to the ship when I blew out a sandal. I limped to a shaded area and my husband kindly gave me a sock to wear so I wouldn’t burn my feet on the hot asphalt. I asked him why he removed both socks and he said it was enough that one of us looked like a dork! Gotta love his sense of humor!
We had paid for an additional cocktail party for our group in the afternoon, but I slept through it. It was also the night of the ship’s Halloween party, but was scheduled too late for us to stay awake. I think this was the night that Jeff joined our table for dinner (or was it Friday? Saturday?) but two of our tablemates had other plans so we were four for dinner.
Sea Day (Friday) - The usual routine. We managed to make it to the shared group cocktail party this time, but left early. This was our second formal night.
Nassau (Saturday) - We arrived in port early, about 11 a.m. The Fascination and the Regal Empress were already in port when we arrived. The Sovereign of the Seas, which is being transferred to Pullmantur, arrived shortly after us so we watched them turn around and back in next to us.
Our third trip here, but we hadn’t seen any of the city away from the pier area. Allen, Barbara and Mike went with us on a walking tour that passed by some interesting buildings then on to the Queen’s Staircase and Fort Fincastle. On our way up we ran into Gramps, Amy, Teri, Bonnie and Paulie. (Did I miss anyone?) With frequent rest stops for me and plenty of water, I made it! Young Mike ran up the 66 steps while the rest of us plodded along. A very pretty area with a few vendors at the Queen’s Staircase and more vendors at the top at the fort. The view was very nice from above and a different staircase/walkway behind the fort was a bit easier to navigate on the way down.
Mike and Barbara left us after this and the three of us remaining headed for the Pirates of Nassau Museum and Pub. Pub first, museum second, pub and shop last. The “pirate” who met us at the entrance was really into his part and made an excellent pirate! Allen and I are both students of history, but I think my husband enjoyed it as well. It was very similar to many small museums of its type, informative and entertaining. While the guys enjoyed several beers they hadn’t tried before, I shopped. Their t-shits were overpriced so I chose instead a mouse pad with the skull and crossbones and Pirates of Nassau on it for work.
We stopped in at Senor Frog’s on the way back to the ship, but I was tired from all the walking so we took a long walk back to the ship. Long for me! We had packed most of our belongings and souvenirs earlier in the day while we were still at sea, so I was able to rest before dinner. We tipped both our steward and our wait teams extra before dinner. They had all done an excellent job of making our cruise memorable. The remainder of the packing was done after dinner and our locked bags placed in the hallway. We then called it a night.
Returning home (Sunday) - The travel agent for our group had arranged for those of us with early flights to meet in a room off of the Lobby. Tag color didn’t matter. We were called around 8:30 to go through customs, about the same time as those with VIP tags. All baggage was arranged under the number we were originally given and was easily found as was a porter. We were in a taxi and headed to the airport by 8:45. Going through the long line at security was surprisingly quick considering the number of people they were processing. We ate lunch at some deli/burger place and it was awful!! The name escapes me as it was truly forgettable. The flight home was uneventful. The thing I really like, something very small, is the hot chocolate chip cookies they give you on this flight. Our daughter and one of my husband’s friends met us at the airport. I said goodbye to the people we had flown with and we were on our way home!
Notes - We had originally booked this cruise through Carefree Vacations but had to cancel. Although I looked for an alternate cruise, this one was the only one that fit our requirements so I rebooked with the S&S III group since I already knew many people from online or in person meetings. Rich and Jeri were both very helpful in getting things just right for us even though we were no longer booked with them. Meeting them and many from their group made our experience much more fun! Thank you for inviting us to your group gathering! We don’t normally book group cruises due to two previous experiences and probably won’t again. There was a good mix of people in our group of over 150 and most were as good or better than I had expected. Unfortunately, there were just too many to meet them all.
There was very little to complain about on this ship and cruise. One thing we agreed on was that the music on the Lido deck was too loud. The other being the way the food stations are set up which leads to confusion and long lines.
The crew and service were excellent, the company fun and entertaining and the weather cooperative. Although we spent some time with a few in the younger set, we tended to enjoy the majority of our time with people our age or older with similar interests and attitudes toward life or just the two of us. This cruise won’t rate #1 on my list, but it was still a good one!
Pictures here: http://travel.webshots.com/album/561150555XMrMhH
____________________
Deb
"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/hstrycrsr
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whatawonderfulworld
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| Joined: | Sat Feb 10th, 2007 |
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Posted: Mon Oct 29th, 2007 02:57 am | 2nd Post |
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Nice review - loved reading about your adventures.
Question - my very first cruise was a CTN on Carnival Legend. Is the Liberty similar to the Legend? I loved my cruise and was very happy I had chosen Carnival for my first time out of the gate. The best part was the personal cruise consultant at Carnival. She was terrific! Knew it was my very first cruise ever and guided me through the whole process.
The pictures were beautiful - would you mind sharing what type of camera you used?
Thanks again and welcome home!
Ciao,
WaWW
____________________
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” Mark Twain
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hstrybuf
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Posted: Mon Oct 29th, 2007 03:45 am | 3rd Post |
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whatawonderfulworld wrote: Nice review - loved reading about your adventures.
Question - my very first cruise was a CTN on Carnival Legend. Is the Liberty similar to the Legend? I loved my cruise and was very happy I had chosen Carnival for my first time out of the gate. The best part was the personal cruise consultant at Carnival. She was terrific! Knew it was my very first cruise ever and guided me through the whole process.
The pictures were beautiful - would you mind sharing what type of camera you used?
Thanks again and welcome home!
Ciao,
WaWW
WaWW, thanks!
The Liberty and Legend are two different classes of ships. The Legend is 88,500 tons while the Liberty is 110,000 tons. I've now sailed on both and found both to my liking. I like the size of the Legend better and it was much easier to navigate, but the Liberty was much prettier than any of the other Carnival ships on which I've sailed. I never felt crowded on either ship.
My camera is a Kodak EasyShare DX 7630. I've had it a couple of years and really like it. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles that you'll find on some cameras, but it suits my needs well.
____________________
Deb
"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/hstrycrsr
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kathy32259
Funnel Deck Cruiser
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Posted: Mon Oct 29th, 2007 12:07 pm | 4th Post |
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| Great review Deb!! Thanks for taking the time to write it and share your memories and your pics!
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gurlwithbaggage
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Posted: Tue Oct 30th, 2007 04:17 am | 5th Post |
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I's still jealous BTW!!LOL!!!
What a great review! I'm glad you and the others had a great time!
____________________
Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans~~John Lennon
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clgcruiser
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Posted: Tue Oct 30th, 2007 01:20 pm | 6th Post |
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Wonderful and informative review! Although I am very eager to meet and spend time with everyone else, I'm with you-on the ports at least I want some slower-paced time. I love going on sight-seeing tours, since it's all new to me, as opposed to being in the bars, although I will definitely check 'em out! Can't keep up with some of those guys!
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Cindy
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WeBeCruisin
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| Joined: | Mon Jun 19th, 2006 |
| Location: | Charlotte |
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Posted: Wed Oct 31st, 2007 01:28 am | 7th Post |
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| Great review, Deb!
____________________
Allen
Saints and Sinners 4 back to back on the Destiny, October 30 2008
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Saints and Sinners 5...Legend, October 18, 2009
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truecruiser54
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Posted: Wed Oct 31st, 2007 01:31 am | 8th Post |
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thanks for the review deb. i am sorry about the disappointment you experienced w/ AmeriSuites. i think i probably wld have been disappointed too.
you mentioned you wld opt to stay at Embassy Suites next time. i was wondering how much you know about that hotel. i am booked there (embassy on 17th street)for 12/1 (the night b/4 my Liberty cruise).
it isn't what i wld call super cheap (i think i'm paying a little over $261 w/ taxes for just one night), so i do expect to find a fairly decent hotel. is it?
if not, is there another you wld recommend?
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hstrybuf
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Posted: Wed Oct 31st, 2007 02:12 am | 9th Post |
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truecruiser54 wrote: thanks for the review deb. i am sorry about the disappointment you experienced w/ AmeriSuites. i think i probably wld have been disappointed too.
you mentioned you wld opt to stay at Embassy Suites next time. i was wondering how much you know about that hotel. i am booked there (embassy on 17th street)for 12/1 (the night b/4 my Liberty cruise).
it isn't what i wld call super cheap (i think i'm paying a little over $261 w/ taxes for just one night), so i do expect to find a fairly decent hotel. is it?
if not, is there another you wld recommend?
I thought Embassy Suites was very nice. They had a full hot breakfast, a restaurant in the hotel, pool and I think a bar. They also have the shuttle to the pier so you should sign up at check-in if possible. I wouldn't call it ritzy, but more upscale than AmeriSuites and they are within a stone's throw of each other. The lobby is quite nice as compared to the claustrophobic lobby right now at AS and has a very nice seating area. The central atrium soars to the roof and is very comfy and spacious with tables, chairs, greenery and I think a little stream running throug it. That is where they have breakfast and happy hour. I think you'll find this hotel worth the money.
____________________
Deb
"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/hstrycrsr
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truecruiser54
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Posted: Wed Oct 31st, 2007 04:02 pm | 10th Post |
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hstrybuf wrote: truecruiser54 wrote: thanks for the review deb. i am sorry about the disappointment you experienced w/ AmeriSuites. i think i probably wld have been disappointed too.
you mentioned you wld opt to stay at Embassy Suites next time. i was wondering how much you know about that hotel. i am booked there (embassy on 17th street)for 12/1 (the night b/4 my Liberty cruise).
it isn't what i wld call super cheap (i think i'm paying a little over $261 w/ taxes for just one night), so i do expect to find a fairly decent hotel. is it?
if not, is there another you wld recommend?
I thought Embassy Suites was very nice. They had a full hot breakfast, a restaurant in the hotel, pool and I think a bar. They also have the shuttle to the pier so you should sign up at check-in if possible. I wouldn't call it ritzy, but more upscale than AmeriSuites and they are within a stone's throw of each other. The lobby is quite nice as compared to the claustrophobic lobby right now at AS and has a very nice seating area. The central atrium soars to the roof and is very comfy and spacious with tables, chairs, greenery and I think a little stream running throug it. That is where they have breakfast and happy hour. I think you'll find this hotel worth the money.
thanks, deb!
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