Carnival Liberty Cruise Review

Travelers: Myself and hubby, ages 43 & 41, son age 15 and mom age 67, who had her own cabin. Also joining us was my sister (who turned 40 on the cruise), brother in law, age 43 and nephew who was then 2 years old.

Cabins: Us- 8376/Mom(Grandma)-2428 Oceanview/Sister, Brother in Law and Nephew-8374. This was our first mid-aft balcony cabin and we had actually done the guarantee deal, which was really good. We were apprehensive about getting this type of cabin as it was our fourth Carnival cruise and we knew we preferred higher decks that were more forward. We received a cabin assignment right next to my sister, who picked her balcony room and paid a different rate. I was told by our Carnival PCC at the time that if you have family members who are tied to your account and you will be sitting with them for meals, etc. they will try to put the guarantee folks next to them if possible. My mom wanted an oceanview for this cruise and really liked her midship room on deck two. Being her first cruise she did feel some motion the first night but seemed okay after we got out in the open waters. The fact that she was low and in the middle of the ship certainly helped. We liked our cabin- it was a nice size and of course the balcony is such a treat. I don't think I could ever do anything else as I spend a lot of time sitting out and enjoying the vastness of our ocean and world!

Date: Thanksgiving Week 2014- Five Days

Staff- Gary Brierly was our cruise director and he was really the least exciting of all of our Carnival CD's. He did not participate much and after Noonan and Jen Baxter on prior cruises I was a little disappointed. The staff was otherwise great and my Mom's steward "Marta" was excellent and he took very good care of her!  

Dining- The food was all Carnival's upgraded 2.0 food- and we really love Guy's Burgers. The fixins bar is always well stocked and clean and the burgers came out perfect every time we ordered them! I personally loved the Blue Iguana Cantina as the make your own burritos were a wonderful complimentary choice for lunches- and breakfast! The main dining rooms were tasty and our server was helpful and competent. They did offer a traditional turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day in the dining room so I was able to feel like we had our usual! I love the cold soups Carival offers, and the desserts were better on the Liberty than they had been on the other Carnival ships- particularly the creme brulee offered one night. My only complaint about the food is the diminished hours Guys and Blue Iguana Cantina are open. Most days they were open 12-6 or on port days 2-6. These limited hours made for long lines and some grumpy people who really wanted more time to enjoy these unique dining options. I wish Carnival would make these venues be all day options for dining! We did not try the paid dining option- the steakhouse. The buffet always offered tasty options, and there was 24/7 frozen yogurt and soft serve. The only other all day/late evening food option was the pizza place- which while delicious was always packed and slow.

Drinking- We did not have a drinking package so we bought drinks as we wanted them. The frozen drinks were tasty, as was the specialty cocktails each day. Budget for $12-$15 per drink with tips. We tried the famous Alchemy Bar and had a few really good drinks there. They do not skimp at the Alchemy Bar, which is good because the drinks are a bit pricey. We were able to bring two bottles of wine and as they were screwtop we did not need to have them corked at the dining table- thus eliminating the corkage fee. I also won a bottle of champagne from a trivia contest and they opened that for us with no charge or complaints.


Entertainment- The shows were the welcome aboard variety show, a rock themed show and a Latin dancing themed show. They were all well done. There was also the Hasbro Game Show, which I loved since my son and I used to watch Family Game Night on cable when he was young! The final show was good- as was the comedian. Two nights there was only one show which was difficult to get to when timing dinner. The live music around the ship was entertaining and plentiful.


Things to Do- We played mini golf, shuffleboard and enjoyed the pools and hot tub. There is always lots of opportunities for Trivia on Carnival cruises and I won my fourth trophy for knowing TV themed songs! Good to know I have skills! :) The ports were due to be Nassau, Freeport and Half Moon Cay. Unfortunately we did not get to stop at HMC because the winds were too high. As we had been in May we were not too upset but my family members were not pleased as they were really looking forward to it. I do realize we were lucky to have been at all! My son enjoyed the teen club- Club O2. He had fun at the teen dance parties and karaoke nights. We all had a blast at the Dr. Seuss themed brunch. At $5 per person it was a wonderful event that made us all smile! We got photos with the characters, saw a parade and mini show from the servers and enjoyed a fun menu and colorful decor. The food was really good too. If you want to do this brunch be sure to make a reservation as soon as you get on the ship, as this is the only way you can do it and it gets booked fast. They usually do it one or two times a sailing.

The Liberty was a lovely ship and a relaxing and fun cruise for our family. It's home port is San Juan now so perhaps you can combine a cruise on her with a short (or long) trip to Puerto Rico to see the beautiful forts and visit the Bacardi Factory!