Back on land and hating it! I will begin by saying that I was a 'cruise snob' against Carnival but I came back pleasantly surprised yesterday. The Liberty was a very nice ship with wonderful 'adventures' for my 12 year old granddaughter and her 13 year old friend, and because it was a birthday present for her, that's all that mattered to me.

But I jump ahead too soon I believe. We arrived on Saturday 7/14 for our overnight stay at Riverside Hotel and the reviews I read on it were right on....very quaint hotel with superb location for shopping and restaurants. We did a lot of people watching from the cafes along the strip....Great food and service at this hotel and I would recommend it highly if you don't want sand in your room all the time!

Dining was enjoyable but truthfully just because of the company among ourselves and around us. Leadft and her gorgeous nieces and daughter were across from us and we thoroughly enjoyed their little fashion show every evening. The food on the other hand was just OK.....sometimes not even. Buffet on Lido was adequate for a buffet but we found a little hidden treasure at the pizzeria. They had a pizza with mushrooms, roasted garlic and goat cheese that was superb! I know I'm speaking from the adult opinion about this specific pizza but I'm telling you....order it if you're over 18!! Hot dogs and hamburgers were very popular with our teens of course, as well as the pizza. I really enjoyed the pots of coffee delivered to our suite in the morning so we could relax on the balcony and watch out over the world. My friend and I were pretty critical of the food but truthfully, since everything was for the two young girls we took, they were very happy with it. We just tried to find a few things that were very good and stuck with it! I will say they had the best iced tea I've had in a while! Read more