Anyone been on the Carnival Liberty Cruise ship ? Never cruised befor Going to Northern Europe...Any tips..??

Question

My husband and i are in our early 60's..we enjoy ourselves and wonder what to expect.

Answer 1

take a lot of pictures they will amaze you afterwards .where u have been. umm if sea sick easily than don't eat anything heavy before entering the ship. trust me. it is not pretty. if you like to watch the views, good idea get a high view,,,short? (like me 5'5")no problem get up early and walk around to see where you can be first to see EVERYTHING... hope it helps.

Answer 2

I have not cruised on the Carnival Liberty but I have been on many cruises and one of them was a cruise to the Baltic countries.  I think that is where you will be going.  Our Baltic cruise took us to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Poland, Eastonia, and St Petersburg Russia.  Our cruise was last May and the weather was pretty nice with temperatures in the mid 60's most days and we had one day of rain.  Our main enjoyment was visiting and seeing the countries and hearing about their customs.  In most places we did the city tour that usually included a stop at a museum.

Since you have not cruised before I'll give you the rundown on how it goes.  If you live in the US and are cruising out of Europe it's advisable to fly to your departure port city a day early so that you do not miss your cruise due to airline flight delays.  Check in at the cruise ports goes like this.

-You arrive at the port by car or bus and drop your luggage with a porter who works for the port, not the cruise line. So tip the guy a couple dollars at least. These people put all of the luggage in carts based on the luggage tags on your bags. The porters take your bags to the ship's doors and there ship's personnel send then through a scanner, one bag at a time just like at the airport, with someone watching content. I don't know for sure but my bet is they have dogs sniffing for bombs and other stuff too. Then your bags are delivered to your cabin door; but usually not until much later in the day about 5:00 PM.

Meanwhile you get in a line where they check first to see if you are even supposed to be there; many cruise lines use a self print pass that says you are to sail at that date and time.  Then you get in line to go to a window to have your passport and other paperwork checked and to give your credit card so they can set up your on board cruise account.  The ship is cashless and everything you buy on ship goes on the charge account.

-Then sometimes they take your photo at the check in desk and other will take it at a different location as part of the check in process.

-Then they issue you your cruise card which serves as your room key, pass to get off and on the ship in ports and your charge card for everything you buy on ship.

- Then you and all of your carry on things (including handbags, camera, cell phone, and all packages) go through a scanner just like at the airport. Everything you are carrying goes on a belt to go through an X-ray machine, just like at the airport.

-When you clear the scanner/x-ray machine you head to the gangway and there have your photo taken if they did not do it at the check in desk. The photo is an image that is on the magnetic strip on your cruise card so that when you enter or leave the ship they have your photo as well as your name.

Then there is usually another line to have a photo made of you boarding the ship.  They will probably will have a poster or mural for you to stand beside or in front of for the photo.

Now all of the foregoing may vary just a little on Carinval but that's been the process when I have cruised with Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, NCL and Princess.

When you first board the ship lunch will be ready for you in the buffet , whatever its called on your ship. In addition, the bars will be open for drinks, and gym, pools and hot tubs will be open for use. The shops and casino will not be open but you can walk through it and upon first boarding is a good time to tour the ship.

After all passengers are aboard and before the ship leaves the pier there is a mandatory safety (lifeboat) drill. Every passenger MUST go to their cabin and the the life vest provided and then go to the Muster Station (place on the ship) indicated on the back of your cabin door. All of the crew, including your room steward, will be helping you find your way to the proper location. This drill lasts about 15 to 20. After that the ship sets sail with music and dancing on the top decks around the pools.

Each day of your cruise you will receive a newsletter with the times and location of all activities on the ship.  There will be one in your cabin when you first board and your room steward will bring one for the next day each evening.  The ship will have a cruise director who will organize games and activities on the ship and those activities will be listed in the newsletter.  Each day there will be a show in the showroom that you can attend if you want.  All of the food and activities on the ship are free except you do have to pay to go to the spa to get a massage or nails and/or hair done.  But the gym is free.  Also, if the ship has a specialty restaurant you will have to pay a gratuity for each person each time you eat there.  But all of the food in the main dining rooms, the buffet, and room service is free.