foodsvcmgr

Liberty OTS - 5 Night Bermuda in May

This seems like an old notation from early Covid days when Argentina was closed to tourism.

Does paying in full early make that cruise non refundable at that point? Key question that would highly impact my decision.

Is the issue more a very dated decor style or very heavily worn and poor condition?

Certainly not a setup conducive to discussing nuclear secrets but it still is preferable to a large table in that while you are free to converse with your neighbors you are not obligated to do so.

Interestingly I’ll be going on Liberty in May as my return to cruising post Covid and my last sailing was Coral Princess in February 2020 so I’ll be in a similar situation. Hope the food improves by then.

Thanks for your report. It seems spot on but to be fair Royal Caribbean is generally slotted as mass market and Princess as Superior mass market so they are never intended to be fully comparable. Celebrity vs Princess would be more apples to apples.

Seajets sold one of the Holland America ships to an upstart French firm for about a $20M profit and they are holding the mortgage supposedly. No news on any of the others, not even rumors, silence.

For the cruises requiring testing are these still government mandates from the ports or is this HAL making their own rules?

Lots of complaints on food quality, variety, and other cuts in Royal Caribbean and various Carnival Corp. boards. For those recently on multiple lines including NCL how is NCL holding up in this era of cuts? Seems like far fewer complaints here. Considering changing Royal to NCL for Bermuda this spring.

In my line of work I am keenly aware of todays food cost and supply chain issues. I understand the need to charge for extra high cost entrees. I just hope they don’t take it too far with limiting choices each day or further reducing portion sizes below industry norms or downgrading ingredients. Guests can and do understand changes, they just can’t all be obvious in your face cheapening of what is expected.

Or it may mean that “some” revision will go into use January 1st, not necessarily what was tested and hopefully taking the negative reaction into account and not dismissing passengers wishes.

Thanks Jam - fortunately my cabin is Deck 7 far forward. Appreciate your input.

Hi Jam - could you elaborate a little further on the condition of Liberty? Concerned how much the wear and tear impact the rest of the cruise experience. Thanks for the outstanding reviews.

For another option Norwegian Star is doing a number of sailings in this region the next two summers.

We would like to sail Cunard more than once every few years but the repetitive and uncreative itineraries with less ports than similar length cruises on other lines are not appealing. Good pricing can be found, QE next October from Barcelona at $899 for a balcony cabin is hundreds less than HAL, Princess, or Celebrity and in my mind a somewhat better product.

Italian Line “Marconi” from New York in 1979 had a 10 day itinerary to San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Antigua. I sailed in early April.

Look at the variety of 7-11 day itineraries that NCL offers from New York. Yes it can be done but requires sailing faster. Then the debate about whether the ship or the ports are the greater attraction for the majority of passengers etc.

We are booked in May on Liberty to Bermuda. With all the poor reviews, primarily related to being very worn and beat up, now considering change to Norwegian Joy. Is the poor condition of the ship negatively impacting the rest of the experience? Thoughts?

Seems far too large for Celestyal, I’m surprised they have not picked up anything from Seajets idle fleet yet as they are in desperate need of newer tonnage. Who else could utilize a ship of this size?

Just curious if the testing and masking are still required by any of the ports or if this is strictly cruise line policy? I would be interested in this itinerary in the future, will follow your reports. Already did BA-Santiago and it was outstanding. Have a great trip.

Mary - couldn’t agree more, while things can happen to any of us at any time and the lengths the cruise lines go to for medical issues are greatly respected, there are selfish people as you say who are tempting fate with zero concern for anyone else.

Shop employees taking up scarce seats in Holland America buffets has irked me for years. On the other hand, singers and dancers often have additional responsibilities during the day that may entitle them to more privileges.

Did anyone ask Front Desk for a tile? I had to do that a couple times pre-pandemic even. Or are they going away?

Re: port times, I was once told by HAL that they cut the day in HMC short so that passengers don’t get too much sunburn!!!!! Checking superior and mass market schedules it seems Cunard and HAL are now sailing the slowest between ports where NCL is maximizing ports, times plus number of ports in same or shorter itineraries. Princess and RCL somewhere in the middle. Remember the 7 day ABC cruise that is now either 8 or just two ports?