CruiseDad-NYC

Does anyone who was on last week know if they did Best of the Best the last day on the Flowrider? I looked at the cruise compass from the previous week and I didn't see any mention of it. I know Navigator wasn't doing it while in Galveston, so I'm hoping Liberty hasn't followed suit.

I don't recall seeing that or hearing about it. I was the third-to-last person to do boogie boarding on the Flowrider before they ended it for the cruise on Saturday afternoon (it was just stand up after that), and I don't recall it being announced.

I appreciate your long review and my teen is also very excited about the new slides! I hope all the slides are working when we sail end of April 2016. We are also on the same itinerary as you, and i was wondering about the tendering process in Belize. Did you have to obtain tickets for the tenders and if so, where did you get them from? I have heard the entire process is a nightmare? I have booked a private cave tubing excursion and need to get to off as soon as possible.

Do you have cruise compass including the Teen one to post? My 15 year old daughter is very interested in joining the club.

Are the water slides open during port days or are the hours restricted?

Any not to be missed shows? I think there was a Tribute to the Beattles show?

Did you use the internet? how was the speed?

Thanks for your help.

Your family is going to love the ship! I am sure the slides will be working, though I don't know about the Boomerango. Parents can do the slides, too!

I didn't have to get tickets for the tenders, because we booked a ship excursion, which left directly from the ship (i.e., the boat to Rendezvous Cay picked us up directly from the ship, so we didn't have to tender into the city first). I had heard the tendering process is a challenge, too, which is why i booked our excursion through the ship, which I generally don't do, because the cruise line inflates the excursion prices.

The only show we went to was a "Love and Marriage" game show that was like the Newylwed Game. It was actually hilarious and entertaining and good for some R-rated laughs.

I didn't use the ship's internet this time, though I believe I had heard the internet upgrade to Voom won't happen until the summer (apologies if that's incorrect info). What I did this time was contact my cellphone provider in advance and told them I was going on a cruise out of the country. They asked what ship I was going on and inputted into their system. For $40 for the week, I was able to check email, receive and make calls and texts. That 's for the basic package. You can pay more for more data, but I wasn't using it for anything heavy. It was super convenient this time (except it didn't work while we were in Belize), although I had trouble with it when I went to Bermuda on the Summit last May. I would definitely look into as a possibility again.

I don't have any Teen compasses, but it looks like some other posters have chimed in with info. I would suggest that your daughter makes sure she goes the first couple of nights, because it seemed it was easier for kids to meet then, and it looked like everyone was having a nice time when I poked my head in to check in on my son.

Enjoy your trip!

Wow, thanks for this information! I think my daughter & I will do this one day.

I do not remember but is the solarium open air or covered?

The solarium is open air in the center where the pool is. On the sides, it is covered and shady. This is also where the overhanging hot tubs are.

We were in our chaises in the shady part toward the upper right hand side of the Solarium, next to the window. In front of us, there were 2 swinging chairs that looked out onto the water and, additionally, there were 2 sets of 2 chairs and a small table in case you were laying out in the sun somewhere else and wanted to sit up and have lunch in the shade.

$15 for lunch, $25 for dinner.

Whoops - thanks for that correction Nana and Wolfgang! I had the idea of $50 in my head as pp, not for the two of us.

Very nice review, since you are from NY , did you try the pizza and how was it?

Yes, had plenty of pizza, both up in the Windjammer and at Sorrento's on the Promenade deck. It's not like NY pizza, but still enjoyed it and it was readily available.

Incidentally, Sorrento's had small salads with grilled chicken on top at lunch time. They were served in containers. On one of the sea days, my wife and I were up in the Solarium. She went down and picked us up a couple of slices and each of us one of the salads and we had it in the Solarium and were able to avoid the crowd of the Windjammer (and, frankly, was a good alternative to all of the heavy eating!)

Great review, Thanks. Where is the diamond lounge located? Do you know if there were any discounts for the drink package for diamond members? Thanks

The Diamond Lounge is up on the Crown Lounge deck, tucked back in the corner behind the Crown Lounge bar. The room is small and was crowded the first 2 nights and the last night, but so bad the other nights. I don't do the drink packages, so I don't know if they offer discounts. But, if you are a Diamond level, they put 3 free drinks on your account and you are able to order them at almost any bar on the ship except for the restaurant bars, I believe. Just ask for the "Crown and Anchor" drink menu during those times at the bars, and you will see what you can get (it is not full access to everything, but the selections were very good, I thought).

Even on a Sunday morning? [emoji16]

Probably not on Sunday morning (I was thinking of when we flew in on Friday night and landed at 5:45 pm). We had no traffic at all on Sunday morning, but I heard it can get busy in the port, probably after 10ish.

Don't know how large your group is, but we have used Super Shuttle to Galveston before.

 

Also try the Gulf Coast Departures forum:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=414

The hotel also mentioned a bus service called Galveston Express, but I had decided just to take a cab and did not look into it.

Great review. We just went on our first cruise on Liberty December 2015 and will be going again January 2017 with total of 9 of us! Really looking forward to the water slides! I was wondering if you went to or heard anything about the new restaurant, Sabor. Also wondering what other Cozumel excursions are good. Would like a beach day. Last time we went we did Chichen Itza, which I'm glad we did once, but I don't feel the need to do that pilgrimage again - lot of bus and not much park time. Thanks again for the review.

You are going to love the slides! I am sure the Boomerango will be up and running by then. I walked by Sabor, which used to be where that small night club was near the front of the ship. I thought the menu looked good, but I thought the charge was expensive for what it was (I think it might have been $50 a person).

Chankanaab is a good excursion (you don't need to do it through the ship. Just hop in a cab, and it is about 10 minutes away). There's a lot of info on it here and elsewhere, and I would be happy to go back there even though I've been a bunch of times. There are some other beach clubs, too. There was a club called Mr. Sanchos a few hundred yards down the beach next door to Nachi Cocum. It was more crowded with more activity (which is a plus for some people, me not so much) and had water floats and stuff to play on out in the water. You could look into that. I walked over to it and while it would not be me first choice, I would probably do it if I couldn't get into Nachi Cocum. In terms of crowds, Mr. Sanchos seemed kind of like Magen's Bay in St. Thomas, in case you have been there. It was the same stretch of beach, and very beautiful.

They also have some small ruins on the island that I visited way back in grad school, but they will pale in comparison to Chichen Itza, which I went to a long time ago.

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks for the review! I have booked the Drury Inn too and I wondered about the airport shuttle, when arriving. How was it? Any other hotel specific comments?

I was looking forward to the slides and even more so after reading your review! :p

The shuttle was easy and the driver was friendly (as was everyone else at the hotel, as I had mentioned). Once you get your luggage, you call the hotel, and the van arrives in about 10 minutes.

The hotel also has a happy hour that runs, I believe, from 5:30 to 7. They had pasta and meatballs, nachos, salad, free drinks. On the second night, they had macaroni and cheese and, I believe, chicken wings in place of the pasta and meatballs. Nothing to get too excited about, but we just had that as our dinner, because there was no where else to go nearby. There's a Courtyard by Marriott right next door (different from the Marriott I mentioned in my review). I have stayed at those places before, and they tend to have some fairly good dinner options if the happy hour food won't tide you over.

My kids (and I) enjoyed the indoor pool and jacuzzi.

We usually bring on board 2 bottles of wine that we like to drink on our balcony over the course of the week. There aren't any wine stores nearby, but there is a "Hong Kong Food Market," which is a big Asian food market in a dumpy shopping center about 3 blocks away. I was surprised to find I was able to buy wine there. There were also a couple of Asian food restaurants in that complex. The neighborhood is kind of industrial and not great, so use your judgment and don't walk there at night.

As I said, the hotel, wasn't fancy, but it was clean and nice with friendly service, and I would definitely stay there again. The breakfast was convenient as well (hot and continental).

Enjoy your trip!

Thank you for taking the time to submit this well detailed review. I am glad you and your family had a great cruise vacation.

 

Did you happen to notice if they still had the "suite guest" reserved seating at the main pool? We will have to compete with the chair hogs in April, but splurged for our first GS this November.

Yes, they had suite guest reserved seating. They also have a suite lounge up on the Crown Lounge deck.

Enjoy your suite!

thanks!

 

I have a 13 year old boy and 2 girls 15 and 17. I thought they separated 12-14 and 15-17 for things? I was worried about my 13 year old being alone but agree it's a wide age range.

I just asked my son, and he confirmed that on this cruise, the 12 - 17 year olds were all in one group in the same room. The 12 and 13 year olds found each other and kind of separated out on their own. Some of the activities included ice cream eating contests, scavenger hunt around the ship, ice skating night, Flowrider night, and one hour of sports per day. The lady and the guy who ran it were very nice and friendly. Your kids will love the slides!

Thanks for the review. I've been thinking about trying out Liberty next year or the year after.

 

 

 

 

Holy crap! Really? I just booked a cruise out of Ft Lauderdale for Presidents week 2017. I knew it was going to be expensive but that's crazy. It looks like we may be driving. :rolleyes:

Yep, really that expensive. Terrible. Now that my 13 year old is in junior high, I don't think we'll ever be taking a cruise from Fort Lauderdale or Miami because of the airfare. It would have been cheaper to fly to Europe! From the NY area, I know people who will drive to Baltimore and fly from there. Boston and Hartford can also be much cheaper alternatives at that time.

Good luck!

We're flying in and out of IAH and wondered what taxi fares might be. Ouch, pricey. Thanks for that info. We're part of a larger family reunion group and looking at chartering a bus to bring down the cost per person.

That might be a good way to go. Incidentally, I understand that traffic in the Houston area can be pretty bad, so obviously try to keep that in mind if you're going to be doing that part of the trip around rush hours, because IAH is on the far side of the city.

Thanks for the review! We're going in November and we have two teens and a toddler so I'm thinking the new water park features are going to be a favorite in our favorite. Any signage or rules about swim diapers for babies/toddlers in the water park area with the new equipment and area?

I think your teens will really like the ship, particularly the water slides. As to signage or rules about swim diapers for babies/toddlers, I don't remember those signs, but I wasn't looking for them. My sons, however, seem to recall a sign about no diapers, but I can't say for certain.

Enjoy your trip!

Well written review, thanks.

 

Interesting that the cab was $92 one way and $107 the other way.

Thank you. I had wondered about that, too. Could be that the ride back was about 10 or so minutes longer, because we had left from the hotel on the way to the ship. Incidentally, I saw that taxi fares from Galveston to Intercontinental had a listed fare of $160 in case that is of interest to anyone.

I am just off the Liberty of the Seas’ Western Caribbean 2/14 – 2/21 cruise from Galveston. This is the second cruise since returning from dry dock. If you have kids or are an adult who loves water slides, you’re going to love the new Liberty.

About us: I was traveling with my wife and 2 sons (ages 11 and 13) in a superior balcony cabin on deck 9. This is our second trip on Liberty, the other one being 5 years ago. We also went on Independence 6 years ago and have been on Celebrity about 8 times. We usually leave out of Fort Lauderdale or San Juan, but $1100 per person to fly from Long Island to Florida on Southwest from Islip sure seemed like a lot of money to me (its school break in the NY area and the airlines always program the break into their systems so they can triple the airfares and gouge families trying to avoid taking their kids out of school. Thanks, airlines). We’ve never left from Galveston before, but we had loved Liberty the last time, and the prices all worked out for us.

Pre Cruise Stay in Houston: We flew in on Friday night before our Sunday departure. We stayed at the Drury Inn near Hobby Airport. I had never heard of Drury before, but they had an indoor pool and free breakfast, 2 things I always look for on a pre-cruise stay. Plus, for $104 per night, we had a one bedroom suite and were able to have the kids sleep in the living room. The hotel was not fancy, but it was clean, nice, and updated. The staff was really friendly. Restaurant choices are essentially nil within walking distance or a close cab ride. We walked over to the Marriott for lunch, which had a nice, well-priced restaurant, but we had to walk a few hundred yards on a sidewalk on a service road, which wasn’t awesome. All-in-all, I would definitely stay here again pre-cruise and would probably try to go the Johnson Space Center next time if we had a full day like we did this time.

If you’re flying into Houston, Hobby is much closer to Galveston than Intercontinental. I wasn’t sure until we got to Houston how we were going to get to Galveston. Uber was just banned from Galveston, and I wasn’t sure whether getting a taxi would be convenient or cost-prohibitive. As it turns out, I asked the front desk at the Drury, and they called a cab. It was a mini-van and cost $92 for the 40 minute drive, which felt smooth and easy. The cab picked us up at 9:15 am, and we were at the cruise port in Galveston at 10 am. We sped through check in and were ready to board at 10:15 am, although they didn’t let us board until about 10:45 am, which still felt plenty early to us. I heard from our cab driver that it sometimes has taken him an hour during peak period just to get from the entry to the cruise port up to the passenger drop off, so keep that in mind.

The Ship: As I mentioned, we were on board by 10:45. We walked around the ship, had lunch in the Windjammer and were allowed in our room at 1 pm. Our luggage showed up 1:15, which was several hours earlier than we had expected, which was great. We had had the superior balcony before, and it is a large-sized room for a cruise ship, and we were really happy with it.

My kids wanted to see what was new and were excited to see that the H20 Zone had been replaced in the same footprint by new water features and renamed “Splash Away Bay”, that include a tower and 2 child-size water slides that still seemed really fun, even though they were smaller than the new slides off the back off the ship (more on them below). The circular wave pool (I don’t know how else to describe it) that had been in the H20 Zone the last time was gone. The new Splash Away Bay is the same footprint as the old one, just different stuff. Your kids will love it.

On the back of the ship, there are 2 new water slides where the mini-golf used to be. These slides were a HUGE hit with my sons and with me. They are substantial slides with a lot of twists and turns and are about 3 stories tall. During peak times, the wait to go on them was about 10 or 15 minutes. But, at other times, it seemed the wait was only a few minutes, and there were 500 kids on board. In my mind, the addition of these slides is a home run for Royal Caribbean and for Liberty. Kudos (and thanks!), Royal, for adding them. Whenever we’ve been on Royal or Celebrity and seen Carnival or Norwegian ships and their slides, my kids have always asked if we could please try those cruise lines (interesting how quick they’d be to jump cruise lines for slides). I’ve always said, sorry, that’s not going to happen, because I just don’t think those cruise lines would be for us.

To all the grouchy gusses who are going to complain that the slides are going to “ruin” the Liberty, you’ll have to find something else to grouse about. The slides are in a contained activity area of the ship, on the portion of the back of the top deck where the rock climbing walls, basketball court, and Flowrider are.

The mini-golf has been replaced with a new and improved “Liberty Dunes” mini-golf on Deck 13 at the bow of the ship. We had a lot of fun with this, too.

The companion to the water slides is the Boomerango (sp?). It was not in use on this trip, and I had heard that it is not ready for passengers yet. Apparently, it is too fast and needs to be tweaked before it is safe for passengers (from what I heard, the rafts hit the side of the feature and it is not working as intended. Engineers from the manufacturer are working on it, but I have a feeling it is going to be awhile before this is ready. My oldest son was disappointed, but more than happy with everything else we did, including the Flowrider. Incidentally, I had been nervous about the Flowrider on my last 2 RCCL cruises, but gave it a whirl this time and had a total blast on it. Any dads (or moms) out there should give a try, too.

Adventure Ocean: My sons (each of them newly 11 and 13) get along great and have always done the kids clubs together. (Interestingly, they have always enjoyed the Fun Factory on Celebrity more than the programs on RCCL, because Celebrity has fewer kids and the programs are not as crowded. But, that’s a topic discussed before in other threads). My 11 year old thought Adventure Ocean was just fine. My 13 year old, however, has aged out of it and had to do the Teen Program, which is for 12 to 17 year olds. My 13 year old didn’t love the teen program, but he did go to it. 12 to 17 is a big age range, and I really wish they broke it up.

The Food: The main dining room was actually rather meh. We used to enjoy the pageantry of the main dining room back when we were newbie cruisers. Royal Caribbean has definitely scaled back on the main dining room experience, and I understand that the newest RCCL ships don’t even have a main dining room. They cut out one of the courses since the last time we were on Liberty (which actually might have been one of our best ship board dining experiences ever), so you get a starter, main course, and dessert only. The number of menu choices was smaller, and the menu in general was very uninspiring. I’m not a big eater and am not the type of passenger who gets excited about cruise food, but the food choices and overall experience all seemed very average to me and nothing special. We actually ended up eating 5 out of the 7 nights up in the Windjammer café, because the selection was better and the meals were quicker. Maybe because we had MyTime dining, but my impression was that the poor waiters in the main dining room seemed understaffed, over-worked, and there was a lot of rushing around. The service actually seemed rather frantic to me on the 2 nights I was there.

Diamond Club: we were able to carry over our elite status from Celebrity and were given access to the Diamond Club this time. The appetizers were good (much better than the cheap, fried stuff Celebrity gave) and the free drinks during 4:30 and 8 was a nice touch. The bartenders up in the lounge were super friendly and attentive and the Diamond Club host was very helpful in helping us book our 2 shore excursions and answering questions about disembarking.

The ports:

Roatan: I think this was our 3rd time in Roatan. We’ve gone to Maya Key there the other 2 times and were open to doing something different. But, there were about 5 other ships in port, and I was afraid the West End beaches would be too crowded (plus, I’ve heard safety on Roatan can be sketchy). The first time we went to Maya Key, we were able to go on our own and paid $26 per person. Now, you can’t go there unless you buy it as a cruise excursion, which is now much pricier. It’s $74 for adults, $54 for kids, which is a lot. You get a mediocre lunch (fried fish, barbecue chicken that ain’t that good, and salad). Drinks are extra. That said, the island is very beautiful, and this is one of my favorite stops. There’s a nature preserve with rescue wildlife, the snorkeling is good, and it is very nice overall. I would definitely go back here, just liked it better before you had to buy it through the cruise line and could order the food you wanted instead of having this buffet (incidentally, the same exact buffet choices from 2 years ago).

Belize: We did the ship’s Rendezvous Cay snorkel excursion. It was $99 for adults. The ship tenders in Belize, and I didn’t want to take a tender into town and then get another boat. This excursion leaves right from the ship and is about a 40 minute boat ride to a small, 3 acre spit of white sand with a dock, bathrooms, changing rooms, and a small food stand where you can buy a hamburger if you feel the need to eat after you snorkel or a coconut for $2. Everything you may have read about this excursion is true: the snorkeling is crowded, and you have stay on guard or else you’ll get kicked in the face by an oblivious snorkeler in front of you. The snorkeling was OK: the water was clear, but we didn’t see a lot of fish. You snorkel for about 30 minutes and then hang out on the island for approximately another 30 minutes before heading back to the ship. I don’t regret doing this trip, but I wouldn’t do it again and would try to figure out something else to do in Belize. This location and shore excursion has potential if it is revamped, but it wasn’t awesome.

Cozumel: I know some people get bored with Cozumel, but it is one of my favorite stops, and this might be the 5th time we’ve gone there in addition to a spring break I spent there in grad school. We’ve gone to Chankanaab the other times, which we really liked a lot, but figured we would try something new this time. I am so glad we did. We went to Nachi Cocum, a private beach club I read about here on Cruise Critic. It is a beautiful white sand beach with palm trees, clear water, a pool, restaurant, and palapas for shade. They only let in 100 people, and I had made the reservations in advance (which was a good thing, because they were sold out). It was quiet, beautiful, and included a surprisingly delicious lunch (such a contrast to Maya Key!). Adults were $54 and it included all your drinks (although, I only drink beverages out of a bottle or can in Mexico, but enjoyed some ice cold Mexican beer and my wife had a glass of wine). My sons met 2 other friends of theirs from the ship and spent the day digging in the sand. If you like crowds and a lot of activities, you’ll want something else (e.g., other beach clubs that are nearby), but this might be my new favorite on-shore destination in the Caribbean.

Sea Days: We also enjoyed the sea days, as there is so much to do on the ship. Chair hogs were out in full force, and I forgot how very crowded the pool decks get on RCCL ships. It was impossible to find a seat the first sea day if you weren’t out really early. There was definitely room for more chaise longues, and it would be good if RCCL could place more of them, IMHO.

When we arrived back in Galveston, I was nervous that our flight time from Hobby was 11:15 am. We did the walk-off with your own luggage, which is the first time we’ve done that. The official walk-off time was 8 am, but they started letting people off at about 7:30. We were out of customs by 8, in a cab at 8:10, at Hobby by 8:50. Luggage check in and security took us until 9:30, which gave us plenty of time before our plane boarded at 10:45. The cab back was $107. I heard from our taxi driver that traffic around the cruise port can get bad and cabs harder to find, so doing the walk-off was key for us. I’ve also read that Galveston can get foggy (like it was this morning when came back) and cause late disembarkation. Our early flight worked for us this time, but I wouldn’t have done it if I had had an acceptable alternative.

All in all, it was a really fantastic trip, and we would definitely go on Liberty again!

I have 2 boys (now ages 9 and 11). We haven't stayed in a family OV, but we have stayed a number of times with 2 interconnecting cabins on the Freedom class. Having the 2 bathrooms was great and so was the extra privacy. My boys were younger then and went to bed early. We brought a baby monitor which we used when the door was closed (but not locked) and mostly closed. I would compare the square footage between the 2 cabin option and the family OV option and see where you net out. Originally, I was worried about the potential balcony safety issue, but it has not a problem with my kids.

Have a great time!