Carnival Liberty

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nuguy

Guest
Hello to All:

We are going on our first cruise Feb. 7th on Carnivals Liberty. We will be among ten other cruisers, that have some experience with cruising. I believe most of them are first timers on Carnival as well. Tell me about the ship and any must do and don'ts. We are heading to San Juan as our first stop. Unfortunately, we will be there only 7hrs, coming in at 5p. What would you recommend to do for that short stay? We were thinking about a tour of Old San Juan. Carnival doesn't have a tour of Old San Juan for our time slot. Who would you recommend as a tour guide for Old San Juan? Good places to eat?? From there we go to St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Any suggestions on good places to eat and shore excursions for those two places? Spending a day at each one of those stops. From there, its the open waters for two days back to Miami. I know its a boring itinerary for experienced cruisers, but as our first, it is exciting. Looking forward to the new experience. Thanks for any and all replys.
 
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icemaiden

Guest
I'm on the same ship and itinerary as you but leaving Feb 21st :)

I've been on 2 other carnival cruises (Triumph, Miracle) and can't wait until this one.

From what I've read, Puerto Rico has alot to offer if you just stroll around the shops, etc around the pier. One of the forts is within walking distance also (maybe 15 min). The reviews I read about touring the Bacardi Museum say save your money. Considering it is free to get in, charging $77 a head seems a bit much. If you are into kayaking the Bio Bay (bioluminesence bay) tour sounds absolutely amazing. I so want to go on it, but I'm travelling with my 60 year old mother with poor knees and hips.......so I won't be. Search the web on this......I found lots of sites.

St. Thomas we are doing the Coral World and Magen's Bay excursion. Magen's bay is listed as one of the top 10 beaches in the world.

St. Maarten's I've been to on another cruise itinerary. There are lots of shops right at the port, as well as a water taxi to take you downtown to shop. Taxi's are plentiful when you get off the ship so if you want to go to a beach you could catch one of those. Last year I did the Divi LIttle Bay Excursion through carnival, but I don't see it listed anymore. Orient Beach is always popular although its beach is shared with a nudist resort so you may see alot more than you ever wanted to (of all ages, sizes etc). There are some nice snorkel or scuba excursions through carnival I believe.

Not sure if I've helped. My best advice is to do independent research on the internet of each location and find out what the popular places and popular excursions are. You can usually get cheaper rates through booking privately than if you go through carnival. Only downside, leave lots of time to get back to the ship because it won't wait for you. If a Carnival excursion comes back late the ship is held. The same doesn't apply to private excursions.

I know you'll have a great time!! St. Maartents is beautiful :)
 
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iluvcruzin

Guest
I was on the Liberty in December. There's not much to do in San Juan on the short stop. It was dark by the time they cleared the ship when we were there which was after 6:00pm. You can walk around town and visit the little shops or head to a place like Hard Rock or Carols and Charlie's. The waterfront is lit up so it's perfectly fine to walk about. DO NOT waste your money on the Bacardi tour. It's more of a taste sampling tour and not what it used to be years ago - i.e. touring.

St. Thomas - I usually recommend if you want to enjoy a nice beach - check out Sapphire. Just hop a cab as you depart the ship. Ask the taxi driver if they will pick you up and give them a time. They usually will do this for you. If not, there are ample cabs ready to take you back to the ship. Just allow extra time on the return as the traffic can be a mess. We head out early morning and ask for a pickup around 2pm. I've been to Megan's once many years ago. I prefer Sapphire & Coki as I enjoy snorkling. If time permits and you are adventurous - a water taxi to St. Johns is a great way to spend the day. Visit Trunk Bay as it's breathtaking.

St. Maarten - I've been there so many times but for someone new - I recommend Orient Bay (which is the far end of Orient Beach). Or a trip over to Margot is nice. There is a beach next to the airport called Maho where the planes in the afternoon come so close the sand will pellet you. It sits at the end of a runway. It's actually fun. Don't want to go far? Just take the water taxi into town and walk around. Visit Nick Malley's art gallery "the yoda guy". He has some great stories. Want to beach it? There are chairs for rent at the beach right next to the downtown area.
Beers are cheap and it's a nice place to just enjoy the day. That's what we've done the past few times.

The ship is not boring. I would highly suggest traditional dining. I heard the anytime had terrible service. I can't say enough good things about our dining experience. Great food, great service, loved the casual atmosphere (It had been years since I cruised with Carnival). The Captain's cocktail party was nice because they opened up multiple rooms. Most cruiselines everyone is crammed into one area. I can't say much about the entertainment onboard as we skipped the shows. There was many other things to do. We really loved watching movies and sporting events on the outdoor wide screen. We sat in hot tubs watching football a few nights. It was great.

If you have any specific questions, let me know.
 
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amylynn24

Guest
Hello there,

As for San Juan, I would have suggested the Bacardi Factory Tour, but I will probably not be available due to the late arrival. Other than that, I must say that San Juan has awesome shopping, especially for the women. There is a very nice shopping district very close (walking distance) fromt the dock. Recommended Stores: Del Sol--its a store that sells color changing merchandise, when your clothing hits sunlight, it changes colors. Very cool store, especially for any youngsters. Linen House--sells very nice linens for very very reasonable prices, great store for the women.

Those are two stores we visit EVERY time we go to San Juan and we have been there 4 times.


As for St. Thomas, I would definately recommened the SkyRide to Paradise Point. Its a gondolla that takes you up a mountain and it offers the BEST view. There is some shopping and a restaurant on the top of the mountain. Here is one of the pics I took from the top::

st2.jpg




...I think this picture pretty much says it all.



I have not been to St. Marteen, but I hear its alot like St. Thomas.



As for the cruise itself, I have been on that ship. VERY NICE SHIP.
Carnival is a great cruiseline for newbies and experienced cruisers. We still continue to cruise Carnival after 6 cruises.



Hope this helps :)
 
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Eskie398

Guest
We're going on this cruise also and it's our first cruise too. We are going to wing it in San Juan mostly due to the late arrival. In St. Thomas we're doing a catamaran and snorkel for half the day and then will figure out what we want to do when we return. As for St. Maarten, we finally decided on a tour with Bernard Tours. There were many options but thought that going with this tour covered the things we wanted to see and still allow us plenty of beach time. Also, we picked them based on many members of the various cruise message boards. There were no negative comments about this tour and plenty of praises. You can view their itinerary at http://www.bernardstours.com/interest.htm

I would say look at the various message boards, do some research and ultimately enjoy! We're so excited for our first cruise that we're planning to get mostly packed today! We're coming in a day early so as not to worry about any delay issues.

Good luck and maybe we'll meet on the cruise.

Ramona and John
 
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duskbat

Guest
I will hope to see yall onboard the feb 7th sailing. I will be the guy hanging my sister off the railing :) of the other way around. Looking foward to this cruise. much needed warmth int he Caribbean. Full moon will be out one nite to on this sailing.

Duskbat
 
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