My Cabin

I was assigned to cabin no. 1426 on the Riviera Deck. It is a Cat 1A which is an inside cabin. It had only 1 twin bed with a bunk hidden in the ceiling. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this cabin. In addition to the twin bed, there was a mini frig, an upholstered arm chair, a small eating table, two closets and the dresser-safe-TV-desk & chair unit. Because there was only the one single bed, there were loads and loads of floor space. This cabin would be great for a single parent traveling with a child, two teens or even two adult friends as long as one didn’t mind using the upper bunk (hidden in ceiling during the day). There was more than enough floor space for two people to get dressed without bumping into each other. My cabin steward was wonderful and very friendly. He remembered my name from the first day. He allowed me to collect my towel animals so that by the end of the cruise I had a complete towel zoo in my cabin. I had a dog, swan, turtle, bear, seal, and an elephant. The bathroom was very nice, quite a nice improvement from the bathrooms on the older ships. The usual amenities were found in the bathroom. A/C in the cabin was good and adjustable. The TV had the capabilities to show your folio account charges, book excursions, check out the dinner menus and order PPV movies ($8.99). Remember this cabin number (there is its twin on the odd numbered hall). 1426 is a great, cheap way to cruise the Liberty. Both my cabin and my Steward get an A+.

The Food

Carnival Liberty had the largest variety of food selection of any cruise I have been on, to date. There are at least 12 different stations in which to get food in the Emeril Dining Room (Buffet). There is a “stir fry to order”, Chinese food, sandwich, pizza, burgers & hot dogs, “region of the day”, fish & chips, as well as carving boards and regular buffet staples. There are at least 4 ice cream stations positioned in the corners of the buffet area. There is also a good sized dessert station. The eating areas are broken up into two separate dining areas, plus there is a second floor dining space. This is where you find the fish and chips spot. All in all, no matter what time of the day, whether at sea or port, the buffet never felt crowded nor did the food look “picked over”. To be honest, I think I preferred the buffet food to the dining rooms offerings. Just my personal taste.

The formal dining rooms were beautiful. I had an 8:30 dining time in the Golden Dining Room. Service was a bit slow at first but it picked up nicely later on in the week. The food was pretty good. Not great but not bad either. I split my meals pretty evenly between the buffet and the various dining rooms.

I also enjoyed Harry’s Supper Club one evening. The food in that venue is delicious and beautifully prepared and presented. It is well worth the $30.

Carnival Liberty’s food offering get an overall A- with the Buffet getting an A and the Dining Room a B.

Camp Carnival

Sorry but I have no small children so I have not take on this program but the parents I spoke to onboard all seemed happy with it and the kids seemed eager to get to camp each day.

My Personal Take on the Carnival Liberty

People can say what they want about Carnival Cruise line and their ships, passengers and zany games. However, cruise once on the Liberty and you will truly come to understand that Carnival “gets it” and “get it right.” They have worked it out to a science. They know how to keep it fun without slipping into trashiness. They know how to make 3,000 plus people feel like they are having the time of their lives without feeling crowded or overwhelmed. I picked the big show in the Venetian so I missed the trio near the Lobby Bar. Oh well. If I opted for a late night movie, I would miss the Piano Man. Well, . . Maybe tomorrow I will get to see the Piano Man. That is how the thinking goes on the Liberty. You are never upset that you missed anything. You are too busy in awe of what you did participate in.

Since I have been back I have been telling people that I just spent 8 days with over 4,100 of the nicest, friendliest, most congenial people ever. This is in great part to the hard work of the 1,100+ staff members who have got this cruise vacation thing down to a science so all of the passengers are all happy, smiling, friendly and just having a good time with little or no worries. They are well pampered, cared for, happy campers.

Add me in that number. Can’t wait to cruise again.

Any questions, ask away. On a scale of 1 to ten, with ten being the highest, I would give this cruise a 9.75. I don’t know if it gets any better.

IB,

Great review! Perhaps you will post it to our Cruise Reviews section? Here is where to do it.

Your review has everything in it that makes Carnival a favorite of mine. I agree about the buffets....very well done. The choices are vast and it is always good.

Ditto, great review. IBC, was this your singles group cruise?

Cheers, Neil

quote:

Originally posted by TrvlPro:
Ditto, great review. IBC, was this your singles group cruise?

Cheers, Neil

No, I did this cruise solo. Loved every minute of it.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Beers:
IB,

Great review! Perhaps you will post it to our Cruise Reviews section? Here is where to do it.

Your review has everything in it that makes Carnival a favorite of mine. I agree about the buffets....very well done. The choices are vast and it is always good.

I will post my review in your review section now.

quote:

Originally posted by IBCRUZIN':

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Beers:
IB,

Great review! Perhaps you will post it to our Cruise Reviews section? Here is where to do it.

Your review has everything in it that makes Carnival a favorite of mine. I agree about the buffets....very well done. The choices are vast and it is always good.

I will post my review in your review section now.

Thank you! Bear in mind it won't immediately appear over there. Tom will have to download it and format it. May take a while. But we appreciate you letting us post this great review.

IBCRUZIN - Thanks for the review - I sail the Liberty in September! Now I can hardly wait.

IBCRUZIN', very thorough, well-thought-out review. You really did your homework. Thank you.
A'ndrea

Once again, thanks for a great review. Very detailed.

For sake of space, I did not go into the various ports. If anyone has any port questions re: the Liberty's Eastern itinerary, just ask away.

IBC, I too really enjoyed both parts of your review. This was my ship of choice for this year, but the cruise friends wanted something different. How was Antigua and did you take the trip to Virgin Gorda?

Thanks,
IslandCruz

quote:

Originally posted by IslandCruz:
IBC, I too really enjoyed both parts of your review. This was my ship of choice for this year, but the cruise friends wanted something different. How was Antigua and did you take the trip to Virgin Gorda?

Thanks,
IslandCruz

I didn't care much for Antigua. It is a poor island nation and the homes and people show the lack of prosperity. The beach I went to was called Turner Point which was a very nice clean beach with mild waves and clear water. The sand on Antigua is a bit more coarse than other islands but the beach was still enjoyable. Otherwise, most of the island was more than a bit shabby.

I did not go to the Virgin Gourda. I read the description and the "slippery rocks" that you had to climb over turned me off. In fact, one lady on my ship did indeed slip on the rocks and broke her arm. She was put on a ferry and brought back to the ship where the ship's doctors reset her arm. I ran into one of the physicians later on during the cruise and he told me that they had a very sophisticated trauma center on the ship that beat what most of the islands had.

Rather than go to the Virgin Gourda, I opted for Cane Garden Bay which is a beautiful beach on Tortola with several small restaurants, a small vendor's market and chairs/umbrellas to rent. Absolutely breathtaking. I enjoyed Tortola a lot. Beautiful island.

Welcome back IBCRUZIN'
Thanks so much you did an excellent job. That was an excellent review
Sounds like you had a wonderful time. I'm looking forward to going on the Liberty some day.
Sandy P