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Great Cruise on Liberty - 10/10/09 - Review

Beanie01

By Beanie01,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Beanie01

Beanie01

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My sister and I were traveling together. She's 51, I turned 50 on the day of sail.

We were on D-7 in a Promenade cabin. We did feel that the cabin was rather small, smaller than on Carnival, our previous cruise. However, the bathroom and closet space was fine, and bags fit under the bed. The Promenade view was the best! Constant people watching. No problem with noise. We also had one deck of cabins between us and the Promenade. The curtains stayed closed without any problem. We were right across from the General Store - a main area in the Promenade. Hoof & Claw just to the right, Cafe Promenade just to the left.

We had My Time Dining, which was the best. We sat in the same area each night, and met fantastic people at each meal, sometimes more than once. One night, we had Australia, Holland, and Scotland all at the same table. The most we had to wait for a table was 5 minutes. That was when 4 of us requested our own table. We ate dinner one night at Portofino's. 5-star. My opinion is no comparison to the main dining room, and mind you, I'm not a foodie! In the main dining room, I felt portion sizes were appropriate, not over sized. Food was just OK. Same in the Windjammer. But I'm happy with the basics, like salads, oatmeal, fish and such. Food is not the reason I cruise, as long as it's edible.

Dress - My sister and I dressed for dinner every night. This is not absolutely necessary. However, for the later diners (8:00+), there were many, many people nicely dressed. Women in nice dresses and heels, men in nice slacks. I did change after dinner on a few occasions to more comfortable clothes, like capri leggings with flat sandals. Capri's and sandals, simple skirts, or slacks were also common at dinner. You can be comfortable dressed up or more casual. You'll fit in either way. Most were dressed to the nines on both formal nights. Long dresses, cocktail, evening pants outfits, suits, tuxes. Very classy. Everyone strolled the Promenade like in the movie "Easter Parade", showing off their Sunday best, so to speak! Champagne and hor d'orves were handed out, and live classical music was played. A few younger guys, like two 30-ish guys we met from Holland, did the jeans thing, but with a sports jacket. There were a lot of Latin and Europeans on this cruise, and many of them dine late and dress well.

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Beanie01

Beanie01

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The first 2 sea days, I had no problem getting a chair out of the sun by the main pool or adult pool area. The last day was a challenge. The rock climbing was great. I went on the 2nd sea day. It opened at 11:00. I got there at 10:45, and was on the wall by 10:50 (made it to the top, by the way!). Flowrider was very entertaining to watch, but didn't try it. Lots of guys playing basketball. The gym is state-of-the-art.

The ports were nice - great weather in each, in fact for the entire cruise. Labadee is the best. Took a chair in the shade, floated on a mat, and drank labadoozies. Gorgeous scenery with lush, green mountains all around, blue/green water as calm as a lake, and the ship in the distance. Paradise found. The other side of the beach, where the zip line is, was rougher without the mountain view. The ship brought in a barbecue lunch. There's a large pavilion with lots of picnic tables. I don't eat meat, so the salad and fruit were fine. The vendors at the small market were not at all aggressive, as I had heard they used to be. Old San Juan was fabulous just to walk around and window shop. Colorful buildings and tree-lined streets. We took a driving tour of St. Maarten, which was only $24 for 2.5 hours, went back to the ship for lunch at Sorrentos, then took the water taxi (right by the dock)across to a beautiful beach, and walking distance to Front Street, the main shopping street ($6.00 r/t for water taxi).

Evening venues are endless. We were out until 1:00-1:30 every night. Big band music in the Sphinx, disco in the Catacombs, live salsa music in Boleros, and a packed house, standing room only, every night at the Schooner piano bar. Saw the Ever After show. Just OK. Midnight comic was good. Not raunchy, but a lot of fun. Headliner show was a family act from Las Vegas. Very good! The Quest is fun to see if you've never seen it. Very active. But you can sit in the back and just drink martinis and watch. It's held in Studio B. The view from Olive or Twist, especially at night when the kid's water park is all lit, is amazing. Lemon drop martinis were enjoyable. Listened to a very good female rock singer. 70's party in the Promenade - fantastic!!! Two bridges come down from the ceiling doing Saturday Night Fever and the Village People. The crowd was like Times Square on New Years' Eve (which I've been to)! 80's party was fun too. Held in Studio B. Ice floor becomes a dance floor, and music and videos from the 80's are played. The ice show is spectacular.

We disembarked (reluctantly) at about 8:00. A porter took our luggage to the garage while I got the car, and off we went. This was a fantastic 5-star vacation.

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Beanie01

Beanie01

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Beanie01... thank you for sharing your Cruise. Looks like your sister and you had a great Cruise. We will be doing a B2B on the Liberty March 2011.

Oh, I'm so jealous! We're booked on NCL's new Epic 9/25/10. Got an amazing deal of $599 on D-10 and $100 OBC, a bottle of wine, and free trip insurance through the online agency we use! I'm looking forward to trying something different.

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Beanie01

Beanie01

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Beanie01, what great pictures. Thanks for posting. We are going on the Liberty July 2010. My son (12) now is more excited than ever to get on the ship. It looks incredible. I appreciate all of the information.

You're all going to love it! Your son is the perfect age for Flowrider!

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Friend100

Friend100

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James Andrews. He was all over the place. Hosting shows in the theater, games at the pool, 70's Night in the Promenade, the Quest game in Studio B.

 

I agree. Did he ever go to sleep? He has so much energy! My family and I had our first ever cruise on Liberty OTS this past summer and were we spoiled. I agree to most of the comment you have made, although I didn't try Portofino's :( We thought the foods at the MDR to be very good, and our waiter always gave us an extra appetizer or main dish. We'll want to cruise her or another Freedom class ship again. We'll definitely want to be on the Oasis one day. But now I am looking forward to try ships of other cruiselines and sizes.

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kathyr

kathyr

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Beanie01,

Thanks for the great review-as you can see we will be on the Liberty, for the 2nd time this coming Sunday. It is nice getting a good review right before we leave!!:D

again thanks for the review!

Kathy

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jgirl65

jgirl65

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Kathy,

Funny, we are on Liberty this Sunday also and on Oasis next Oct 30th. Are you from Jersey? That's when my kids have off for Election Day and Teacher's Convention?

 

 

Are you taking your kids on the Liberty this coming Sunday? We will be on board with our 6 year old son.

 

Jamie

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davekathy

davekathy

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We did B2B in Sept. & it was great. One heads up-- the balconies get power washed Sat am in Miami.

 

 

I’ve read that B2B’ers don’t disembark with those passengers not continuing on. What was your experience? Was it an easy and organized process? Any inside information would be greatly appreciated. We will have the same cabin for both legs of the Cruise.

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davekathy

davekathy

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Oh, I'm so jealous! We're booked on NCL's new Epic 9/25/10. Got an amazing deal of $599 on D-10 and $100 OBC, a bottle of wine, and free trip insurance through the online agency we use! I'm looking forward to trying something different.

 

Beanie01…Sounds like your TA is spoiling you. Good for you. Just think, less than a year and you will be enjoying your wine on a great ship. I ordered a brochure from NCL and along with the brochure they also sent a brochure dedicated to the EPIC. You may want to order a brochure (if you already haven’t) to get the Epic brochure. It gives you a sneak preview of what you’re about to experience.

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Beanie01

Beanie01

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Beanie01…Sounds like your TA is spoiling you. Good for you. Just think, less than a year and you will be enjoying your wine on a great ship. I ordered a brochure from NCL and along with the brochure they also sent a brochure dedicated to the EPIC. You may want to order a brochure (if you already haven’t) to get the Epic brochure. It gives you a sneak preview of what you’re about to experience.

 

I've got the brochure and the DVD! I think it's going to be a great experience. And like my sister said after having sailed on Liberty, and a smaller, older ship prior, there's no going back!

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