Carnival Cruise Lines - Liberty Review

The Carnival Liberty may be the largest cruse ship. At 952 feet long it is the length of three football fields. It is 116 feet wide and weighs 110,000 tons. The website gives the number of passengers as 2,974 but in fact we were told that the Liberty holds 3,700 people and there were 3,500 on our cruise. The lower number may not take into account the third person in a triple room. There are 1,160 crew. It has 12 accessible decks.

The ship was immaculately clean. This was the first time I saw tissue paper next to the public restrooms to use to open the doors as you leave the restroom.

The Carnival line does not dump anything at sea although it is allowed in International water.

The ship is handicapped accessible. There were quite a few wheelchairs on board having no problem getting around.

Our stateroom:

All the rooms except for the first and second decks have balconies. This was a major draw for us. We chose the Liberty because it was new and had a balcony, not for the itinerary.. Along with the nicely decorated appearance we had a room for three. The comfortable couch becomes a twin bed. We had lots of storage and a refrigerator.

The bathroom was amazing. Other than the fact there was a high raised threshold I had no complaints about the bathroom.

Amenities:

There are two pools on board. I thought the pools to be on the small side but one had a water slide which my husband took advantage of and thought it fun.

The spa was not as inviting as I would have expected. Tip: If you wait until the last day or days in port you will get specials on these treatments.

The gym was impressive and faces the ocean.

Other rooms:

All the shows were held in the large Venetian Palace Lounge. This large room with a second floor held as many people as those wanting to attend.

There was a lovely library called the Antiquarian Library that has tables and chairs as well as books.

Karaoke was in the Victoria Lounge.

Piano Man was an amazingly decorated room that looked like a piano and of course had one.

We spent considerable time in The Stage. A group called Music Society played different types of music and they were really excellent. Their Beatlemania night was standing room only. The dance floor is too small though.

There was a teen disco room called Cub O 2 for those around 15 - 17 years old. Camp Carnival was for the little ones.

The Casino was large enough to make everyone happy. We were here every night even if only for a half hour.

The gift shop had everything you could need.

The shows:

Four out of six shows were excellent. Two were Las Vegas style dancing and in my opinion of professional quality. One night there was a ventriloquist who was very good and had us laughing so hard tears were streaming down our faces.

The food:

Make sure you bring clothes that stretch.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the dining rooms. Only at dinner will you have an assigned seat. There was one formal night. Many dressed up in gowns and tuxedos; many did not. There was one formal optional night as well.

The food in the dining room ranged from good to excellent. Most often it was very good. The shrimp dishes were my favorite. The food is served gourmet style meaning small portions but you can order as much as you like.

Our six table mates chose to eat at Harry's Supper Club. This will cost $30 per person. These six thought the meals wonderful and said that they were $100 to $300 meals so well worth the $30.

There were two buffets. I found the food to be good and though there are lines the wait wasn't long.

You will also find a 24-hour (no charge) pizzeria; a deli (no charge); a fish and chips counter (no charge); a Chinese food counter (no charge); and a grill (no charge) serving burgers, chicken sandwiches and fries. If you want soft serve ice cream it is available 24 hours in a dispenser as is true of iced tea, coffee, water, ice and lemonade.

Don't miss the chocolate buffet. It was held on the last day at sea during lunch. I have never seen anything like it. We skipped lunch and just did chocolate.

Twenty four hour room service is available at no charge.

Our Itinerary and Excursions:

In Freeport we took a $5.00 each way per person cab into the shopping area and shopped. In Grand Cayman we swam with the stingrays. Don't miss this. We decided to book a bamboo raft trip in Montego Bay through Carnival while on board. My husband thought this trip to be a little goofy but I enjoyed it. However at $49.00 it is overpriced.

The service:

We could not have asked for better service. We were waited on promptly, offered suggestions, treated royally, and always with smiles on their faces.

90% of the time no matter where we were served or how we encountered the crew we were greeted with hospitality and friendliness.

Answers to questions you may have:

You can change your seating time and table.

Tips are automatically applied to your Sail & Sign account for the dining room and the stateroom services. This is $10.00 per person a day. You can adjust this amount if you want at the Purser's Information Desk.

Laundry services are available for a fee but there are also washers, dryers and irons on various decks.

The drinking age is 21; the gambling age is 18.

Phone calls to the USA are $6.99 per minute; $9.99 for all other countries.

The temperature on board fluctuated. We were very warm some places and cool in others such as the dining room and Venetian Palace so dress accordingly.

Jo's Viewpoint

I like it!