First Time Cruising On The Carnival Liberty? Here's What To Expect.
By Me. - September 26, 2019
Yes, I still have all of my Carnival stuff from my first Cruise. I might actually frame it, seriously. I have always said I would never get on a Cruise-ship but said F*CK-IT, and I went on my first Cruise in early March of this year. Since then, I've been planning my next one for March again of 2020. I will never Cruise after May because of Hurricane Season, and I encourage others who are on a budget and really want to go to a specific port to plan around Hurricane Season or it's a chance you won't make it there and you'll be highly disappointed. Not to mention the rough waters.
So lets get to the original topic shall we; So you're all booked or still searching for Cruises and it looks like you'll be on the Carnival Liberty, awesome. The Carnival Liberty is a beauty and if you're looking to party, you can expect one. Some people say it's a party ship, while some may say it's not. Truth is, it's a party ship. Atleast in my opinion.
BOARDING/CHECK-IN
Our check-in time was between 1:30 and 2:00 p.m. and it was a lot of people there, but the process between checking-in and boarding was probably an hour, and we did not have Faster to the Fun. When we first arrived at the terminal we decided to just carry-on our luggage since we didn't have much for a 3-day Cruise, and the process was simple. We showed our documents we were asked to bring, took a picture and went through security. Then it was off to Guest Services where we loaded our sign and sail card that they had waiting for us and we then took a seat and waited for our zone to be called. Your zone for example is like waiting for your flight number to be called, to put it short.
If you're a first time Cruiser, this is what your Sign and Sail card will look like. It's your room key, identification and basically credit card for the ship since you use it to pay for stuff. You cannot use cash anywhere on the ship, unless you're tipping. It's wise to get a lanyard so you don't lose it. You will also use it to get on and off the ship.
ENTERTAINMENT
Read these if you want to know what's going on and so you don't miss out on anything. You will get an updated one each day that will tell you about all of the activities going on. I found these to be very handy and it helped me keep track of everything.
This is just a sneak peak of how the inside look. It have the time and where activities are going to be. As you can see, you're entertained from sun up to sun down, including after hours, although I didn't take a picture of the entire thing.
So out of Entertainment you can expect to have a good time if you're an adult. I cannot speak for children since I don't have any children, so I didn't have to worry about making sure they had something to do. I will say teenagers appear to have a good time, while younger children spent most of their day running wild around the Lido Deck. The shows and live music are more geared towards an older crowd, not children. If you're looking for something that's more family friendly that gives everyone something to do, it's best to take a look at the other Carnival ships or look at Royal Caribbean or Norwegian. Oh, and Disney if you have alot of dough to spend.
The shows was amazing, karaoke was amazing, the live music and entertainment with our Cruise Director NoNo at the time was just all around amazing.
BINGO NIGHT
PRICES
The prices from candy to the gift shops aren't really that bad. The pictures and some of the jewelry are a bit pricey, but nothing outrageous. Just think about mall prices just to give you a hint, mall prices during those "so called" sales during the holidays. I waited until the last day to really do any shopping, and they had alot of handbags, tote bags, etc for $10. From what I saw the Alcohol wasn't bad either.
FOOD
The food was delicious, and fresh. I never had something that was cold because it sat out too long. Everything was fresh and hot. I ate mainly at the buffet. I ate at the MDR (main dining room) just once. While the dish I had was good, you could really feel the ship moving really good since it was at the back of the ship, so I stirred clear of there. Guy Burgers is also good, but nothing that backs up the hype. It's a good burger, that's it. The pizza place is good too
I did get me a pound of Snow Crabs from the Seafood Shack, which came to over $20.00, I know. But you only live once. Plus the Crabs were pretty big, nowhere near small. If we end up on the Liberty again, ill be going back for more.
The Guava Juice in the morning at breakfast is a must have. It's good. I made sure to fill up a big cup I brought with ice and Guava Juice before breakfast was over.
DISEMBARKATION
May I share how sad I was? I sat at breakfast with my dad and we ate as we pulled into port. We then went back and started to wait until our floor was called, but saw other people just heading to the front, so we decided to do the same and we glad we did. Once we got to the elevators it was so crowded. As you're getting off they will scan your Sign and Sail card to make sure you don't owe anything, so you might want to look over your account the night before so you can dispute and settle anything if you have to.
So in the end what can you expect? You can expect to have a good time and break out of your shell. Everyone was happy and had a good time. If you want to enjoy the pool and the Lido Deck in general without a major crowd, the best time to go is in the morning and in the evening. Don't forget at night they show movies, bring a sweater.
0 comments