7 days on a Carnival Caribbean Cruise
St. Maarten
Over the last week, I decided to start my fall vacation early and experience my first Carnival Caribbean cruise. This cruise choice was for seven days aboard the Carnival Liberty. I was nervous at first, but ready for the adventure. The ports of call included: St. Kitts, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Barbados and St. Lucia.
Before we get into my experience with the ports, I want to mention the amazing service received onboard the Carnival Liberty. I honestly was expecting a burnt out staff from the thousands of people that had just come off the ship and due to the fact that they have seen these ports of call so many times over the months they have worked onboard. However, I was completely blown away by the warmth of the staff to the point where I remembered their names and if I can remember a name, it’s because they did something awesome. Our housekeeping staff was excellent. Edgar, our head stateroom keeper, cleaned my stateroom at least three times in one day and always left the cutest towel animals. He even left a Bunny one night that made me feel he may know who I actually am!
Towel Bunny
The food onboard was also excellent. I tried both the buffet and dining experiences. The buffet lines were long, but there was never a shortage of food. Nothing ever tasted spoiled or stale-always fresh. The Pizza Pirate was also an option when those 4AM hunger cravings kicked in. The Silver dining room gave the best experience during meal time. My waiter, Lucas, made sure all the meals were hot and gave incredible recommendations every evening to ensure I had the best experience.
Eggs Benedict with bacon and chicken sausage from the Silver Dining room.
Silver Dining room wait staff (Lucas is on the left).
One of the fabulous dinners from the Silver Dining room
During the first part of the cruise, I was excited to take part in the shore excursions Carnival had to offer. Carnival makes note that if you take their excursions instead of booking them on your own, if an accident happens, they won’t leave port without you.
Unfortunately, it rained in St. Thomas and St. Lucia. Barbados did not appeal to me as much because as soon as I got off the boat and walked to the taxi area, cab drivers were arguing over fares and passengers. None of them were willing to take me downtown simply because it was a small fare of just two dollars. Thankfully, I was able to walk a few miles after being taken downtown and found a beach eatery called Copacabana. I had a flying fish burger which was as excellent as it was interesting. As you approach Barbados, you can see fish jumping from the water to get out of the way of the cruise ship. They are very yummy indeed.
Copacabana Flying Fish burger (Barbados)
St. Lucia
Independence Square, St. Kitts
In St. Kitts, I got a chance to walk around the downtown area as it was not far from port, like a 5 minute walk. I enjoyed getting to view the historic churches and amazing open air areas.
St. George’s Anglican Church, St. Kitts
The final stop on the cruise was St. Maarten and I have to say that the best was saved for last. As Carnival offers many on shore excursions for each port, I chose to do the top ten for St. Maarten excursion and I’m happy that I did. We got a complete tour of the island with a great history lesson and a chance to taste the local food.
St. Maarten
Lunch from Rosemary’s Creole cafe in St. Maarten
While this was my first cruise experience, I can say that my expectations were exceeded. The meals, the service, the actual boat ride, were all amazing. I enjoyed the parties that the cruise had once we left each port, and when it was time to leave the boat, everything flowed and went smoothly. I can not wait for my next Carnival Cruise adventure in the future.
