Liberty Feb 5-13 Trip Journal with Pictures

[CruiserTK]

Thank you for the wonderful review and pictures. I can't wait until you post more on the weekend. Why does work have to get in the way?

[polarbear03]

Thank you SO SO MUCH for posting the pictures and all the info. I will be on the Liberty in March and can NOT WAIT to leave!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thank you again

[CLSmith]

Great pictures and review. CLSmith

[critterchick]

Nice review, we were told Gordon Whatman is the CD on our Liberty cruise 2/27'

 

I remember him from Monarch a few years ago. As I recall, he's terrific! Good to know since we're on the week after you!

 

Newbcruiser1, thanks so much for posting all of this - now I'm really psyched for our March 5 cruise!

[Cruzface]

Just an awesome review. My DW actually screamed when she saw Puss in Boots:eek: I can't wait to see her embarass herself on the ship.:o

[Newbcruiser1]

Day 6: Puerto Rico

 

Some views from the ship:

We ate breakfast at the Windjammer again today and it was good, as usual.

[Newbcruiser1]

We then got off the ship and walked around Old San Juan for about 4 hours and did a bit of shopping. We were going to wait for the free shuttle that goes around Old San Juan, but after waiting for 15 minutes and only seeing 1 full one go by, we gave up and decided to walk. Walking is the best way to get around Old San Juan if you're able to do it as it's a pretty small area with a lot of traffic. Just make sure to wear comfortable shoes as the streets are all cobblestone.

San Cristobal Fort:

[Newbcruiser1]

 

We returned to the ship around 1:30 and then watched the latecomers running down the pier after 2pm, as well as this woman waiting to un-tie the ship's ropes from the pier:

[Newbcruiser1]

We had lunch at Johnny Rockets which was great - they started with fries and onion rings with a ketchup smiley face and ranch dip, then I had a burger with cheese and bacon, a chocolate milkshake (gotta love those buy one get one free coupon in the Crown and Anchor book!), and just a taste of apple pie a-la-mode.

[Newbcruiser1]

Johnny Rockets was an excellent place to watch sail away while dining outside, and gave us a great view of El Morro Fort.

 

 

 

After lunch we went to the pool for a bit and hung out in the shade. The weather was great today, at least until 5:20 when I came inside. They were calling for PM showers though.

The show tonight was another production show at 7pm - Ever After. It was pretty good and not quite as weird as I expected based on previous reviews.

[Newbcruiser1]

On my way to dinner, I found King Julien walking around the Royal Promenade, and he was happy to have his picture taken with me.

 

 

Dinner tonight was in the main dining room, and it was the second formal night. I had Caesar salad, the mushrooms in puff pastry, and the fisherman’s plate (and the waiter kept bringing extra ones!), followed by the dessert sampler (loved the flourless chocolate cake, but didn’t care much for the other two), and cherries jubilee. I think this was the best dinner in the MDR that we had on this cruise so far.

 

The Fisherman's Plate (the first of a few!):

 

 

Dessert Sampler, featuring flourless chocolate cake:

 

After dinner was the “Friendly Feud” game show at 10:30, followed by late night comedy with Butch Bradley at 11:15, both in the Platinum Theatre. This was the first time I’ve seen Family Feud on a cruise and it was great. The comedy show started off a bit slow but he turned around soon after and it was good as well.

 

 

I then went back to the room to meet our newest towel friend and jump into bed for a good night sleep for Labadee the next day!

 

[Newbcruiser1]

Day 7: Labadee, Haiti

 

 

I woke up to see the mountains of Haiti in the distance:

 

 

We ate breakfast in the Windjammer as we pulled into port - it was a beautiful arrival!

 

This entire peninsula is Labadee:

 

 

 

Once we were docked, the crew was quickly starting to unload supplies for the BBQ's onto the loooooooong pier. Here was the view from our balcony:

 

 

The view of Columbus Cove Beach from the ship:

 

[Ashland]

Noticed your arrival time into St Maarten (Cruise Compass) was 9:00am..We will be on this same cruise March 19th and our arrival time says 7:00am..But then you speak about early tour time with Bernard..Why was the Cruise Compass incorrect ??

[Newbcruiser1]

The shuttle boat to Columbus Cove is free, and operated by RCI:

The Jet Ski Excursion started bright and early!

We headed off the ship for a beach day in paradise! Labadee was beautiful and it was our favourite day of the cruise. We took the free shuttle boat to Columbus Cove, although we soon realized that we could have walked there just as quickly. We decided to find a spot to sit on the beach just beside Columbus Cove (to the left after getting off the boat) - I’m not sure if it had a name, but it was great - smooth sand, (a couple small rocks but not as bad as expected based on what I read here - I did not need water shoes!), beautiful calm water, no sea creatures around, close bathrooms, a bar, and it was only a 2 minute walk from “Café Labadee”, one of the 3 buffet areas on Labadee.

The view of the water activities at Columbus Cove from the shuttle boat:

The chairs at the beach were all stacked at the back, but there were people around to help you move them, bring a blue canopy for shade, etc. RCI discourages tipping them in the cruise compass, but we did see people giving them as much as $1 per chair.

This beach was beautiful:

[Newbcruiser1]

After a nice swim and a walk around to explore the area, we had lunch at the buffet, which had a large covered seating area with picnic tables. They had all different kinds of food… various salads, burgers, turkey burgers, ribs, chicken, corn, baked potatoes, etc, as well as cookies, cake, and fruit for dessert. There was also an area with iced tea, lemonade, and water. The food was good - better than in the Windjammer.

 

[Newbcruiser1]

There were a few shows put on by locals, bands scattered around the island, and a nice kids area with a pirate ship and all kinds of fun activities run by Adventure Ocean.

We did not do any paid activities here but they had everything from parasailing, jet-skiing, and kayaking, to zip-lining and the 2-person rollercoaster. Everything looked like a lot of fun!

The zip-line:

The landing platform:

 

We took a few more dips in the gorgeous water, and then walked around to explore some more on the way back to the ship. There’s a tram that runs frequently, however we found it very fast and easy to walk.

[Newbcruiser1]

The paths are all concrete and smooth to walk on, and there’s a lot of shade thanks to the trees. The walk from the beach we were at (the second furthest away) back to the ship was only 5-10 minutes (at a very slow pace). We also got some Labadoozies on the way back, however the price of $6.75 for a virgin drink was outrageous thanks to the plastic souvenir cup. I know I could have gone to the bar and got a regular glass, but whatever… I’m on vacation! As a side note about the beaches, I’d recommend the beaches on the right side of the paths versus those on the left which were much rockier, rougher, had more seaweed, and had warning signs for various sea-creatures like jellyfish, sharks, etc. The beaches on the right beside barefoot beach, the gold seapass only beach (including Columbus Cove) were much more calm and clean.

Adrenaline Beach (there were warning signs here about sea-creatures including sharks, baracudas, etc), and there seemed to be more seaweed and rocks than on the other side:

Another beach on the same side:

Barefoot Beach:

The clouds started rolling in in the late afternoon, so we went back to the ship.

[Newbcruiser1]

 

Back on the ship, we watched sail away from our balcony while getting ready for the show and dinner.

Tonight’s show was at 7pm again for second seating guests, and was “Abbacadabra”, an ABBA tribute band. It was excellent.

On the way to the main dining room, I found Alex wandering around in the logo store, looking for Dreamworks toys. I chased him down and he ducked through the door to take a picture with me!

 

[Newbcruiser1]

Dinner was pretty good tonight. I had lentil soup, fried cheese sticks, and the roast beef, followed by the caramel pecan tart for dessert which was amazing.

The Quest game show took place after dinner, at 10:30, however I only popped my head in to watch for 10 minutes as I was exhausted. It looked like Mike, the cruise director mixed things up from the regular Quest on most ships which was great. There was also a 3D movie tonight, but I opted out and went to bed somewhat early to meet another towel friend.

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

Noticed your arrival time into St Maarten (Cruise Compass) was 9:00am..We will be on this same cruise March 19th and our arrival time says 7:00am..But then you speak about early tour time with Bernard..Why was the Cruise Compass incorrect ??

 

There was a typo on the front of the Compass... we were actually arriving at 7am (as shown on the back), not 9am (as printed on the front). Bernard's tours start at 9am island time, which is 8am ship time if they don't adjust their clocks out of Miami. If we had actually arrived at 9am ship time as stated in the compass, we would have missed our tour.

 

Luckily everything worked out okay... our tour started on time, and Bernard waited for the latecomers.

[Newbcruiser1]

Day 8: At Sea

 

We woke up at 9am and headed down to the napkin and towel folding classes. While the napkin folding was interactive, the towel folding was just a demonstration by some room stewards and we were somewhat disappointed in this, although we still enjoyed it.

 

A napkin flower:

 

[Newbcruiser1]

After that we had breakfast in the Windjammer - it was a LOT less busy and a lot more enjoyable eating later, at 10:30.

I headed up to the Sports deck after breakfast to try to play some mini-golf, but it was very busy and there were no adult sized putters left.

I watched the flow-rider for a bit, then headed down to the pool. I managed to find one single chair at the pool, and I sat there and along the edge of the pool for a while, but the water was pretty cold and was uncomfortable for swimming today. I then headed back upstairs to play some mini golf and being lunch time, it was a lot less busy.

After a quick game, I got the courage and urge to try boogie boarding on the flow-rider. I signed the waiver, got my wrist-bands, and waited in line for about 10 minutes. The staff were excellent and helped me since it was my first time. I did well the first time and stayed on for a while and managed to pull myself to the side to get off and avoid wiping out off the back. I decided to try it again, this time on the other side of the divider. I stayed on for a while again, but the water was wild and I kept getting stuck at the bottom on the side. Once I was ready to get off, I dropped the board by accident and got tossed around, up and down for what seemed like forever until the staff grabbed my arm to help me up. I got somewhat bruised up, but nothing major. It was still a lot of fun and I’m glad I tried it! I got a great video of it as well which I'll try to figure out how to post soon!

After some more pool-lounging, it started to get very cool and windy outside, and the seas got rough, so I headed inside to shower, and ordered some room service for lunch (I had a honey-stung chicken craving). We had Caesar salad, spinach dip, honey stung chicken with sweet potato fries, a turkey and Swiss sandwich, and a chocolate pear tart. Everything was wonderful and of better quality than the food in the Windjammer. The water was very rough and the weather wasn’t nice for going outside, so I opted to stay in, watch some TV, and pouted while I started packing. I later discovered that they had actually closed off all of the doors to the outside decks due to the strong wind.

 

The show tonight was the farewell show, at 7 and 9pm. We went to the 7:00 show, where they showed clips of the Cruise in Review DVD which is sold for $30, did some cute skits, etc. It was a great last show! We then headed to dinner in the MDR. I had the raspberry-pineapple chilled soup, Moroccan style chicken salad, shrimp and mahi mahi tempura with stir fried vegetables, and the banana and crunchy nut parfait. The food was decent.

Moroccan chicken salad:

Banana and crunchy nut parfait:

[Newbcruiser1]

Some random shots from today:

After that, I walked around the ship, did some more packing, and went to the Gong-Show Karaoke at On Air to watch for a little bit. Then it was off to bed for an early morning. Our last towel animal was a blind anteater:

 

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

Day 9: Debarkation

 

We woke up at 5am, running on only 3 hours of sleep, finished packing, and headed to the Windjammer at 6am. They opened a few minutes late so there was a huge crowd and a bit of a stampede. Breakfast was great, as usual. We then went back to the room to get our luggage for express walk-off as we had an early flight. It was difficult to get an elevator as we were on deck 6, so we went up and came back down. The gangway was on deck 4 aft for us non-US citizens, and forward for US citizens. After one last “ping” of our seapass cards, we went through customs and were off the ship within about 5 minutes with no line-ups at all.

We had booked a shuttle with SAS for $13 per person to FLL, and they were right there waiting for us. They quickly loaded our luggage, we joined about 4 other people in the van, and were on our way. It was only about a 30 minute drive, if that, to FLL, and we caught a glimpse of the Allure of the Seas in Fort Lauderdale on our way. We arrived at FLL at 8:00 and waited in line to check in for our Canjet flight home to Toronto, we left on time, and arrived home by 4pm.

Overall we had a WONDERFUL vacation! While some things were not perfect (the entrees in the MDR really do need some work), nothing was bad enough to ruin our trip and we’ll definitely sail with Royal Caribbean again.

 

Some small observations/tips:

 

- There’s always something on the big screen by the pool from screensaver type underwater footage, to sports games and trivia. They could probably make better use of it by showing more movies, concerts, etc though. It is a great addition and really has potential!

 

- The D1 cabin was larger than I expected based on a previous E1 on a previous cruise on the radiance, and a promenade cabin on the Explorer. It had a ton of storage and plenty of space for 3 adults.

 

- The sofa-bed in the room wasn’t the most comfortable despite the room attendant putting 2 duvet’s down for me to sleep on with an additional one to cover up with, but I still slept okay despite waking up with a numb arm a couple times. It was HUGE though, and could easily sleep 2 for those like myself who would rather not sleep in a Pullman bed.

 

- The Windjammer is REALLY busy between about 8:30 and 10. If you want to avoid the crowds, try to eat before or after this period.

 

- The internet connection was hit and miss. I often got a limited or no connectivity message, and after a lot of confusion with Guest Services, they realized they needed to reset their IP address. This always solved the problem.

 

- The double chocolate-espresso brownies at the Promenade Café were amazing (and addictive!), as were all of the other treats!

 

- Chops is well-worth the $25 per person charge (get the filet mignon - it was even better than the ones I’ve had at gourmet restaurants on land!)

 

- The pizza at Sorrento’s is awesome! I only tried the BBQ chicken one, but it was great, as were the accompaniments like grilled veggies, tomato and mozzarella salad, olives, roasted red peppers, etc.

 

- Don’t drink your fruity drinks too fast - they are very generous with the alcohol! ;)

 

- Express Debarkation was very easy - I highly recommend it if you have an early flight… and yes, we EASILY made our 11:30 flight back to Canada from FLL with plenty of time to spare thanks to debarking the ship early and our pre-arranged SAS van.

 

I will try to post a few videos once I figure out the best way to do that! :)

 

[debshomespun]

Newbcruiser1-A great review. We were also on this sailing with you. You have done a great job in your review. I had great memories of our time on the ship while reading through this. Love your pictures.

 

We went over to St. John's from St. Thomas, and rented a jeep, and drove around for the day. A had a great time. Our second time over to St. John's from St. Thomas. For anyone wanting to do this, there is lots of time since we didn't leave until 8:00. In St. Marten, we rented a car, and first drove over to Orient beach, then around the island through Marigot, then stopping at Maho to enjoy the planes for the afternoon.

 

In San Juan, we also walked around old San Juan, and the fort. Did a little shopping at each port. In Labadee, we took in alot of the sunshine, and did a little shopping at the artisian market. Labadee is also our favorite port stop. We love the private island beach days.

 

We enjoyed the parades in the promenade, but mostly the sunshine. We had great weather for the week! Wish I was back on the ship right now!

 

We arrived at the pier by 10:40, and were on the ship before noon. We had cabin 6506 oceanview at the front of the ship. I don't normally eat pizza on the cruise ships (my favorite is deep dish pizza hut) but the pizza at Sorrento's was awesome. The had hard boiled eggs on top, tomatoes, just awesome. Also, the coconut macroon cookies were excellent!

 

Usually, we carry off our luggage, but were traveling with other family members, so sent our luggage the night before. I didn't get off the ship until after our appointed time, and it took way over 30 minutes to get out luggage. I would have thought it would be better if they would have had the luggage out by the time the passengers left the ship. I think that is my only complaint for the cruise. We had a wonderful week!