Enjoyed the Liberty

This was my 7th Carnival Cruise and my first on the Liberty, my second of this same itinerary...we sailed the same one on the Freedom in January 2016 with our kids.  

I liked the boat.  It was very similar to the Freedom.  It's got all the good stuff, which to me means it has the Blue Iguana and Guys.  Which is important.  That food is yummy.  The service was on and off.  The lido people were the friendliest I've ever encountered, but the dining room staff were the least attentive I've ever had.  Room steward did a great job on our room, but wasn't the friendliest guy around.  

The food was about the same as every other Carnival ship (the best being on the Valor).  We enjoyed the food at the steakhouse (Diamonds) and at Guys and the Blue Iguana.  The pizza place and the deli are good, too.  The dining room is hit or miss.  Room service is ok.  But the service was so slow.  And a couple of times the people who answered the phone were actually rude.  A bummer about the 5 day cruise is no lobster on the first elegant night for the Captain's dinner.  

The ship is clean.  The staff work hard all the time to keep it clean, which is hard because half the time there are drunks making a mess everywhere.  The smoke in the casino can be awful at times.  I wish they could figure a way to alleviate that.  At least on the Magic there are doors to a deck that open and that seems to help with the smoke some but it was pretty bad sometimes.  I wonder if some of the rooms that are above smell it.  

Progresso boasts the worlds longest pier.  You ride a bus from getting off the boat.  Once off the bus, you can walk a block to a beach.  In my opinion the beach is awesome.  You can rent chairs ($15 for two chair and an umbrella which also came with chips and salsa).  Of course people are walking up and down the beach trying to sell their wares.  But the wonderful thing about these guys is that they aren't pushy.  If you say no thank you, they move on.  They sell great massages on the beach...and I'm sure they aren't licensed therapists, mind you, but it still feels great.  And they are super cheap.  We paid $15/hr plus tip (so we tipped almost that much).   Of course there are also tons of excursions to choose from here.  I've always wanted to see the cenotes, but then I think I want to spend as much time as I can in the sun so I never do it.

Cozumel is great.  We usually go to Mr. Sanchos because of Ha Haak Paddleboarding.  Gina and Rene run it and it is wonderful.  Mr. Sanchos is all-inclusive food and alcohol and I think kayaks or something.  The SUPs are additional but I really enjoy them and they are so worth it.  

All in all a good cruise and the Liberty is nice.  We were in a regular balcony on deck 6.  This was our first time on deck 6.  It was okay.  I came to love the Cove balcony on the Magic.  I really thought I would love the Spa balcony, but it's awesome being closer to the water.  We actually saw dolphins somewhere on the way to Mexico this time.  We always see them leaving Galveston.  The cabin did seem like it was ready for some maintenance.  The loo needed some repair and the bedding was shabby.