Wet and great!!

Item: Carnival Liberty
Rating: 4.4
Author: AxSnakexA

Carnival Liberty Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

AxSnakexA

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 38

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5

4 Night Bahamas (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 13, 2018

Ship: Carnival Liberty

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 6261

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Overall, great experience. Unfortunately, weather ran us out of both of our Port of Call and the sun ONLY came out during our sea day. But that obviously is nor Carnival's fault. Me and my wife had an excellent time, even with these bumps. Cannot expect everything to go right. I have experienced better, but it can't be the best every time. I do hope your culinary experts do a better job to better your foods. I will tell you, no one has been better than Royal Caribbean when it comes to food and after seeing a review on how they work their kitchens and pick their products, I can see why they're the best. But Carnival has the potential to be just as good or better.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Fast and seamless. We never stopped on the way in, except at the TSA checkpoint (which is expected). Same goes for debarkation. Somewhat organized, but from the moment our floor was called to the actual exit, was less than 30 minutes.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Unfortunately, food was really a hot or miss. Coming from a culinary background, I felt most of the food items offered by the main dining room and buffets were bland and lacking flavor. Some items were very delicious and cooked perfectly, but something as simple as a flank steak that had not even a hint of salt or pepper, which are a basic rule for meats and poultry. Baked potatoes that were blackened or rotted on the inside. Which I understand, that is not the cruise line's fault, but I would expect simple quality items when offered in such a fancy setting in the main dining room and that is the line's responsibility. I have done plenty of trips with other lines and Norwegian is my worst culinary experience, but some of these items from the Liberty were as, if not worst, than Norwegian's. As for alcoholic, I was very impressed with the loose hands of the bartenders. It is very refreshing that whe nyou order a heavy drink such as a Long Island Iced Tea, you can clearly taste the alcohol you're paying for, rather than just getting lemonade juice like usually. I was very pleased with that.

Mongolian Wok

3 out of 5

Love Mongolian Wok's, but this one lacked the basics. Items were decent, fresh. I've never seen a single Mongolian station that doesn't use Soy sauce, so that was surprising to us and the attitude of the chefs that day, made me question the trust in my food. But hey, everyone has a bad day in the kitchen, that I know.

Silver Olympian Restaurant

4 out of 5

Most of my food experience was spent at the Silver Olympian and Gold Olympian, one for our breakfast and one our dinners. Both experiences were great. Waiters were amazing. But then we go back to the food. All breakfast items were perfect. Definitely had no issues there. As for the dinner items, it was a hit or miss. Some of the items ordered were great. Lots of flavor. Well cooked and great combinations. But the bad ones, definitely outweigh the good on this one. Out of the four nights, only two my meals were perfect. First night, a flank steak with baked potato... probably the worst I've ever had in a restaurant. Flank steak looked like something out of frozen meal and I could find more flavor in water (not exaggerating). Felt like cardboard. A little salt and pepper go a long way. But I could forgive that, until I cut open my baked potato... half rotten on the inside. Now on any restaurant, I would've raised hell. But honestly, when you're trying to relax on vacation, that's the last thing I need. I let it go and went finish off in the buffet where I was not even close to being better of. Let's just say, major overlook from whoever your food quality in charge is. Menu items need a big culinary review.

Guy's Burger Joint

5 out of 5

Amazing burgers. Juicy, big and all the best toppings to have. Definitely a keeper here.

Pizzeria

2 out of 5

Toppings were great. Good flavor, except the marinara sauce. Felt like water and the lack of it on the thin crispy dough, made it seem like I was eating cheese, prosciutto and arugula on a piece of thick paper. Could definitely be better. Plus your pizza service system was all over the place. You were only at the mercy of whatever came out next. Waited 20 minutes for mine after seeing at least 18 pepperoni ones go out to whoever didn't want to wait enough for any other one.

Grand Buffet

2 out of 5

Felt like cafeteria food. No exotic options or attempt at a immersive culinary experience. It was literally fried chicken, mashed potatoes and pot roast. With your typical salads, breads and miscellaneous items that offer no flavors or fusions or attempt to share passion. This was my biggest disappointment coming from a culinary background myself.

BlueIguana Cantina

5 out of 5

Definitely a great experience. Their burritos and tacos were delicious. No complaints there.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Too small and crowded. But due to weather, we got sun just ONE day, so it is not entirely the ship's fault. But the lack of quality shows, will push people out to these areas, essentially making them more crowded.s

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Venetian Palace Main Lounge

5 out of 5

Favorite entertainment spot on this trip. Only complaint, too small. If you weren't there at least 30-45 minutes before a show. Unlikely to find a seating spot. But not the venues fault. More like the lack of great things to do, forces people to go to whatever good thing is available, which meant, full shows with no where to sit.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Nelson, our room steward was amazing. Always on top of everything and his speed in getting the rooms ready was unchallenged. I've never seen a steward turn around a room that fast.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Very clean. A little tight in some areas, making it very difficult to enjoy ourselves or relax. But, nothing that was overwhelming.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5