We asked our Facebook followers to share any questions they have about taking a cruise. We’ll address some of these questions as we share our cruise ship experience with you.
A big misconception about cruise ship travel is that you’re stuck eating buffet food at every meal. While there’s a buffet open at most hours of the day, there are several other dining options on board the ship.
All food on the ship is included. except for the Jardin Cafe (specialty coffee shop) and Harry’s Steakhouse. You don’t need tickets or wrist bands, you just walk up and take whatever you like.
The Carnival Liberty has a Guy’s Burger Joint. created by Food Network’s celebrity chef Guy Fieri, that serves up some tasty beef burgers with all of the fixings. It’s nice to be able to walk up to the grill and order whatever you want without having to pay. But use caution – eating delicious bacon cheeseburgers every day is dangerous!
Alcohol and soft drinks are NOT included. You pay extra for these beverages. Each guest has a passenger ID card that allows you to charge drinks to the room (kind of like a credit card). You settle the bill with your credit card at the end of the cruise. A detailed description of what you ordered will be provided at the time payment is due.
The ship also has Blue Iguana Cantina (fast-food bar with Mexican cuisine – tacos, burritos, etc), Pizzeria del Capitano. fish and chips, and the Carnival Deli that serves handmade deli sandwiches made to your liking.
The deli serves dairy free all beef hot dogs, which was a big hit with our boys. I’m pretty sure they had a hot dog every day, but who’s counting?
Food options are always a big concern for us. Connor, our youngest boy, has an allergy to dairy and eggs, so we have to be very careful when we travel. The last thing we want is an unexpected visit to the emergency room in a foreign country.
Buffets are a great option for kids, especially picky eaters and those with allergies. Not only can you clearly see what food options are available, you can eat when you want.
All of the buffets (breakfast, lunch and dinner) serve a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables. The hot food options changed every day and there was always something interesting to eat. When we were not sure what was in the food, we asked. The kitchen staff was very helpful and would check the ingredients for us. We had no food allergy issues on the ship.
There are also multiple self serve soft ice cream machines on the ship. Getting a bowl of chocolate vanilla swirl became a daily ritual that Braydon looked forward to each day (okay, maybe a couple times a day). We typically did an ice cream run when Connor was napping, because he can’t have dairy due to his allergy.