The only excitement was their lies

Carnival Liberty Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 23

Overall rating:

2.3 out of 5
Carnival Liberty

3 Night Bahamas (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 25, 2022

Ship: Carnival Liberty

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 6337

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

I had a lame cruise but what's worse are the people who don't work on the ship and how little they care about your vacation. The following is what I sent to Carnival customer care after getting off the ship (which I was directed to do). "I am upset with the lack of information and service you have for younger guests right now. I am a single mother sailing with my 3 year old. For our vacation I debated booking with you or going to an all inclusive resort, both offering kids club options. I chose to sail with you because of your camp ocean program and the activities that includes for kids. Before sailing I called guest support to ask about covid testing and and camp ocean to get some clarification. I was unsure what my child would be classified as for vaccinations since there is currently no covid 19 vaccine for children under 5. The representative assured me that my 3 year old would be able to attend camp ocean as long as she was tested within 3 days prior- the same information available on your website currently. In pre check in I was able to enroll my 3 year old into the Penguin program and check the box that said she is unvaccinated.  Upon arrival to the port I was told my child needed to be covid tested again. A very frustrating process to do again with a 3 year old on the first day of vacation. The paper given to me during testing led me to question the availability of camp ocean. I asked guest services before getting on the ship and again was told that she can participate in camp ocean since she is negative. As soon as I got on the ship I went to camp ocean to check my child in because I had scheduled a massage. The camp ocean staff told me they were not accepting any children under 5. Even after pre-enrolling and being told by 2 different carnival cruise staff that she was eligible, I was immediately disappointed as soon as I got on the ship.  The lovely staff members in the spa were very kind and (Removed) offered to watch her during my massage. I cannot thank her enough for that.  But what is ultimately upsetting to me is the lack of information and communication about what my child was not able to do. I paid the same amount for her that I did for myself and she was not able to get off the ship without an excursion or attend kids activities, this in turn restricted me from attending adult only activities or any other late night activities. Not only that, but I check my account to find a $150 charge for the covid test that we had already had the stressful experience of doing 3 days prior to boarding. If I had been given all of this information beforehand I without a doubt would have chosen a different vacation. I understand having covid restrictions for safety and that some of those restrictions are out of your control. What is in your control is the communication and accomodations to guests who don't even have the option to be unvaccinateed. It's not her fault that there is not a vaccine, but carnival cruise allowed her vaccination status to take away from both of our vacations." Now I do my research. It was my first crusie and first vacation with/since the 3 year old, so I studied their website. It was a month before I got a reply that basically said "sorry you didn't understand" I have screenshots of their website where the incorrect information backed what I believed which I included in the follow up email. I also provided the information about the phone call where I told the agent "if there's no kids club then I will cancel, thats the whole reason we're going." And to that email, no reply. In addition to the multitude of lies I was fed about the wonderful things we could do on the ship- bingo was the main entertainment. Along with the comedy club I didnt get to go to. We stayed up a couple nights and there were hours before midnight when there was absolutely no food available that wasn't an additional charge. I really want to know why the deserts would close sooo early. This was a 4 day cruise and our activities included going to the hot tub (the pool was too cold), getting ready to eat in the dining room, and watching the 2 kid friendly tv channels in our cabin. Yay. Needless to say tye cruise was sub-par and we were bored a lot. The positives: the main dining was great! The crusie staff were awesome-they were the only actual entertainment for my child and I besides the hot tub. My friend told me the activities sucked because Liberty is an old ship which I noted. But I presented evidence support the fact that Carnival lied to me and they have shown no care in even replying. I will NEVER sail Carnival again. I ended up paying more than I wanted/should have and getting less than I planed/needed in addition to this disrespect.

Embarkation

1 out of 5
I was charged an extra $150 and was lied to a second time right before I got on the ship!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5
Main dining room was fantastic! The service was the only excitement on the ship, we were happy to see our servers always! The buffet was lack-luster and closed too early so we had to sit plates of food in our room so we could eat later.

Emile's Lido Restaurant

2 out of 5

Sub-par food that closes way too early. I would never eat there instead of the dinning room.

Silver Olympian Restaurant

5 out of 5

Great food and great service!

Grand Buffet

2 out of 5

Sub-par food. Closed too early.

Golden Olympian Restaurant

5 out of 5

Fantastic! Service was incredible and so was the food!

Alchemy Bar

4 out of 5

I really like this style of bar. The drinks were delicious and I wish I could have tried more!

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5
Just bingo. That's all. The pool was too cold which isn't their fault but being a single mom who was lied to about childcare... they need more hot tubs and tv channels.

Spa Carnival

5 out of 5

The spa staff was incredible. I was crying canceling my massage because I had been lied to by Carnival (about the kids club) and the receptionist was so accommodating! She watched my daughter, painter her nails, got her a necklace... they became best friends and she went above and beyond!

Entertainment

1 out of 5
We tried to watch one musical act but it was a very dated show. Neither me (24) nor my child (3) were the least bit interested. The "house" show was lame.

Children's Programs

1 out of 5
It sounded great, especially when I confirmed with the CS agent on the phone a month before sailing. When I got on the ship though they said they didn't take kids under 5 despite advertising a whole "Penguin" program for them everywhere including in the room. My child was not allowed to participate in ANY children's activities on the ship aside from the 7 am coloring activity which we did not attend.

Camp Ocean

1 out of 5

SHAM!! They advertise a club Penguin for kids 2-5 and when you call they tell you about all the things kids this age can do. But my 3 year old was turned away because all the sudden club Penguin doesn't exist so neither do all the kids activities and this mystery kids buffet.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
The people on the ship were incredible! They should hire people like them to work for the customer care team. The staff was the entertainment! The waiters and steward were so kind and accomdating! The spa staff was also incredible, they watched my daughter while I got my massage because I was in tears on my vacation.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5
I think they should have given us a map prior. All I really needed to know is which elevator gets me to breakfast and which one gets me to dinner.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Ship tip

Don't. Unless you only like trivia and bingo and maybe being lied to.

Ports of call

Nassau, Bahamas

1 out of 5
We weren't able to get off the ship without paying $200+ for an excursion when we only wanted to feel the water. All because there's not a covid vaccine for kids under 5.

Disembarkation

1 out of 5
Excessive. Hope you had a great vacation now wake up at 6 am or don't eat breakfast. Even if you wanted to skip breakfast here's a loud voice in your ear.
Was this review helpful? 23

14 Comments

donf407    2 years ago

As someone who works for a major entertainment and resort company in Orlando Fl I can almost guarantee nobody took the time to read that extremely long complaint after the first few sentences they barely skimmed the rest it they even put that much effort into it sorry but that’s how it works

sassi    2 years ago

Will I had a Blast on liberty

AuntPinkie    2 years ago

Appreciate your feedback. Happy you notified Carnival directly and didn’t expect this review to reach them. Sorry this cruise didn’t meet your expectations.

GabeNSteph    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing

Frogboo95    2 years ago

Thank You. They just removed Covid testing for Cruises 5 days and less. Try again.

willwork4cruz    2 years ago

I'm sure your 3 yr old appreciated spending quality time with you much more than she would have in the daycare. Sorry you missed out on doing whatever you planned to do when your child was being babysat. Sometimes they are not lying when the rules change and they had to shut down daycare.

javawoody    2 years ago

Appreciate your comments

Itspeace4me    2 years ago

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Oops sorry 😞

woody20    2 years ago

As I said before do away with testing and vaccines. It doesn’t stop cover. Move on with cruising and with life. If you scared of getting covid ( DON’T CRUISE) . Stay home!

RetiredRay    2 years ago

Dadm    2 years ago

As already stated, your have to read everything, and this does not just pertain to cruising. As a beginner cruiser it is always best to call a Travel Agent. There are so many that do not charge a fee. Better Luck on your next cruise.

GoCCL    2 years ago

It's always frustrating and very sad when there is miscommunication. Before going on any vacation you must read and re-read all requirements and FAQ's and ask many questions of many people. Good thing you were on a cruise. You're situation could have been a lot worse if you and your 3 year old were in a hotel in another country. It's difficult for a company to offer some sort of compensation when they aren't the bad guys. All cruise lines operate under pretty much the same rules.

CruzeFan    2 years ago

Thanks for the review. It’s always important to read and understand the requirements for boarding and getting off the ship at ports, especially since Covid. Traveling with a young child until the Covid rules have been relaxed is not a good idea.

Other reviews of this sailing