Review - Liberty OTS - Barcelona 5 day (9th May 2011)

[craig0304]

Hi All,

I’m going to post a review over the next day or so here, to start I thought some might like to see the Cruise Compass from our sailing.

I have some other info to scan and attach shortly.

Any pressing questions, feel free to ask, and I’ll do my best to answer.

 

Craig

CruiseCompassDay01.pdf

[craig0304]

Day 2

CruiseCompassDay02.pdf

[craig0304]

Day 3

CruiseCompassDay03.pdf

[craig0304]

Day 4

CruiseCompassDay04.pdf

[craig0304]

Day 5

CruiseCompassDay05.pdf

[craig0304]

Departing info

Departing.pdf

[craig0304]

"Behind the name tags & other important info"

behind the name tags001.pdf

[craig0304]

one last attachement - spa, salon & fitness centre flyers handed out day 1

spa & salon002.pdf

[wcook]

I thought some might like to see the Cruise Compass from our sailing.

Heck yes we want to see them. Very cool. Thanks a ton.

[alexkrn46]

Thank you so much, did you have a good cruise?

[zooma]

You are terrific -- thank you for taking the time to post all these! We have been anxious to see them. Are there separate compasses for teens/kids, or do they just work off these? (I saw just one or two Teen activities each day; I assume there are more, but perhaps not listed on a Compass?)

 

Can't wait to read your full review! Would be great if you could post parts here, since it seems to take 10 days or so to get reviews up here. Thanks!

[Robbo66]

Thanks for taking the time to post this info! Would love to hear about your cruise any tips for embarking in Barcelona. How was the tender at Villefranche. Did you really have to wait until 1100 if not on a tour?

[craig0304]

Background

To start I’m going to give a little background to set the scene for why we were on the cruise, etc.

My wife had a week booked off work, and we both really needed to get away for a short break, so about three weeks out we booked this cruise. Previously we have sailed on the Hurtigruten in Norway for a couple of nights, and on Celebrity Equinox for 10 nights last June on a Greek isles cruise (Kussadasi port, not Istanbul). Having done a week in Lanzarote last November, and being very disappointed with the hotel, we turned back to cruising as the Celebrity experience was far superior. We didn’t expect RCL to be the same as Celebrity, but being the same line thought we had an idea what we were in for. The time and price was right for this cruise so we just booked it. I’ll go back to a comparison of Equinox v Liberty at the end.

About us, I’m 35 and my wife a couple of years older. We live in Scotland, but I’m Australian.

 

 

Pre cruise

We arrived from the UK the night before the cruise (8th May) into Barcelona Terminal 1 on British Airways at about 19:30. Having booked the Barceló Sants Hotel which is above the Sants Train station, we took the bus transfer to T2 and walked the bridge across to the train station (although the bus ended up going to the train station I think). At the train station we bought a T10 ticket which is good for ten trips including the airport train and metro in Barcelona for about €8. (Note you can use this for two or more people at the same time like my wife and I did).

With the timing of the transfer bus, and the train running at 30 minute intervals, we didn’t arrive at the hotel until about 21:30.

Barceló Sants was nice enough for the price €100 including breakfast, but the booking appeared to have been messed up from Expedia, and I had to argue for the room type and breakfast we had booked. The style of the rooms reminded me of an IKEA showroom.

That night we walked to the Magic Fountain, and ate Tapas style at a nice Catalunyan bar on Carrer de la Creu Coberta (it was between the roundabout and Carrer del rector Triado on the south side of the road). Sorry I can’t remember the name, it’s the one with about a hundred hams hanging from the ceiling above all the tables. The bill only came to €45 for 2 glasses of Cava, a jug of sangria, and three four dishes. The food was excellent quality and our waiter very friendly and helpful despite a bit of a language barrier.

The next morning we visited Parc Guell spending a couple of hours walking around. It was easy to get to using the metro, but is a steep walk up the hill although for some of the way there are escalators.

At about 1pm, we got back to our hotel, and decided with bags it was easier to catch a taxi to ship cost was €18 from Sants station to the cruise terminal.

[craig0304]

Embarkation & Day 1

Arriving at the cruise terminal 1:30pm, it was fairly busy. There are a lot of check in desks, but they had it segregated into floors. Being in 8244, we should have gone to the line for 8th floor, but were directed to the Diamond line. Then we were told to go sign the forms over at the chairs before we got in the line. Having taken two minutes to sign the forms, we were then told to line up at the floor ten line as it was smaller at that point (they had just moved a load of people into the diamond line). When we got to the floor ten line, we were then directed to the floor nine line. Anyway, you get the picture, they were trying to get people through ASAP, but creating unnecessary stress in doing so. It only took about 20 minutes to get past the check in desks in the end so wasn’t really too slow. I would advise arriving earlier than we did to avoid the queues, pre 12pm would be my choice in future.

After check in, we skipped the boarding photos, and went straight for duty free. There is a wine shop on the right as you go past the couple of shops, we went in and bought two bottles of wine, one cava (€10), one white (€8). The girl asked if we knew the policy, and said put it in your bag. I had been prepared for this after advice from other CC’s and had an almost empty rolling carry-on bag just for the purpose. No problem in getting on the ship, there is only scanning pre duty free.

We headed straight to our cabin to drop off the luggage, and then headed for the Windjammer. Our cabin was at the front of the ship, so when we came out the lift, we got roped into the “spa tour” for the chance of winning $500 of spa treatments. The spa looks nice enough, but very overpriced in my opinion. I really wanted a massage, but didn’t want to pay near enough $200 for it. The tour took about 20-30 minutes and we had to be present at the draw at 530 for a chance of winning.

Arriving next at the windjammer, it was beyond busy and we struggled for a while to get a table. We ate at the windjammer, a few times for lunch, and once for dinner. The lunch was not great, but the dinner was excellent. Comparing to the buffet on Equinox, lunch on Liberty wasn’t a patch on Equinox. But the dinner was far superior on Liberty. Dinner involved Sushi, a range or oriental salads, and curries, roast pork and a load of other choices. The quality and choice was available at dinner, but neither was there as far as I was concerned at lunch. We also did breakfast in WJ once, and it was pretty much the same food as the MDR.

From lunch, we headed to check out our table in the MDR. Having asked for a 2 when booking, and heard no different I thought we might get it. After a bit of a wait, we were showed a cramped 6, and asked to change. We could waitlist for a two if we wanted, but it didn’t seem like the waitlist meant anything to me, apart from getting us out of their way. We asked to change to a four, and were given a choice of tables with one other couple all ready at them. I would have expected the maitre dee to say “sorry you’ve no chance of a 2, what about a 4 would that be suitable?”.

We then decided to check on our shows, having heard the times were not what you booked on line. They had honoured the reservations we had made, but at 715 for both shows, which was never going to work with a 630 slot in the MDR. It was no problem to change the times, I would advise not booking online, but going to the sphinx when it opens for bookings on the first day.

From here all bookings had now been sorted and it was time to relax. So of to the nearest bar please. We wandered along the Royal Promenade, and got a very cold pint of Heineken from the Hoof and claw. We sat outside, as it was far too smoky inside.

I like the feel of the Royal Promenade over the entertainment levels on Equinox, but the Celebrity smoking policy suits us a lot better. If only Celebrity had built the low level entertainment a bit more open.

After a bit more wandering, we got ready for Dinner took a glass of wine down to our table. I had booked a bottle for our room through Gifts & Gear so we had glasses and a chilled bucket waiting in our room. Dinner on the first night was nice enough, probably even with the worst MDR meal on Equinox. We missed the show the first night, as it was only the welcome aboard show, and had already started at 8pm before dinner was finished. We had a drink in the Champagne bar, where they give you a tray of canapés with your drinks, which is a great touch we didn’t get on Celebrity.

I think we watched Mastermind in 3D the first night in the platinum Theatre, but it doesn’t seem to be on the Cruise Compass. We found it off the interactive screens near the lifts, we used these screens a fair bit, and found them a great help.

[craig0304]

Day 2.

I’ll try to keep the waffle down this time.

 

Our first stop was day 2, Cannes the day before the opening of the film festival.

We ordered room service coffee and pastries on day one, as we had a balcony and wanted to sit out and enjoy our arrival into Cannes. Although we still went to the MDR for breakfast.

We spent the morning on the ship and only went ashore via tender after lunch. There was no line and no wait for the tender to leave, four large tenders were operating, and I can’t imagine anyone waited long at all, even first thing.

 

 

After a stroll along la Croisette, we sat down at a table on the beach for a half bottle of Champagne. Unfortunately, no celeb's, just workmen preparing for the next day. We were back on board around 4-430 and really just had a relaxing day, sitting by the pool, or on the balcony. The pool wasn’t crowded so I guess most people were off the ship during the day.

 

 

This night was formal night, and we had booked into Chops Grille. The food in Chops was much better than the MDR, and the portions were enormous. I enjoyed Chops, but ate way too much. Comparing to Equinox, where we ate at Murano Equinox would win hands down, it’s just another level of dining.

 

 

Day 2 was also Saturday Night Fever. Do yourself a favour and see it. We thought it was as good as any show we have seen on land, if not better, as did anyone we spoke to about it.

[craig0304]

Day 3.

Next stop Livorno for Florence.

Again we had coffee on the balcony, but Livorno is not a great port for sitting out on your balcony.

We took the LV01 tour into Florence, which visited the Academia museum for the statue of David, the only thing I didn’t get to see the last time I was in Florence about six years prior. The tour started with a 2 hour drive to the lookout above Florence, which is a great view, and then a short drive on to the Academia museum. From here it was on to Ponte Vecchio, and lunch at Il Bargollo(Piazza della Signoria) which was very good for a tour lunch. Lunch Included a glass of Prosecco, large (1.5L) bottle of Chianti between six, Vegetable Lasagne, a meat course, and tiramisu with coffee. Next stop was Santa croche and shopping in the square nearby. We enjoyed the tour, but it was very rushed and focussed a bit too much on providing shopping at expensive stores. The ride in from Livorno is really too long to have a good day sightseeing in Florence. If I was on a ship going into Livorno again, I’d think about the winery tour which would be much nicer use of the day.

Day3, we saw the ice show. There were a couple of stumbles, but the ice was the issue, sitting near the front we could see it was breaking under the pressure of the performance. Again it was excellent, and you should take the time to see this show.

I noticed as the ship left Livorno, a Princess ship was docked next to us, and two other smaller ships around the corner in the harbour. If your looking to organise a tour with a large ship that’s in Livorno at the same time, I would think it will be right next to you, and in any event it will be near enough.

[craig0304]

Day 4.

Civitavecchia for Rome.

We had planned on taking the train into Rome, which is very easy to do.

But having felt a bit too tired after a full day in Florence, and a big night we decided to just take it easy and laze around the ship again. We did 5 days in Rome 2 years ago, so not like we havent been there at all. We ended up taking a walk around Civitavecchia late mroning, and eating at a Pizzeria on the sea front, before stopping for Gelato and returning to the ship.

 

Our table mates took the train into Rome and had no problems, but the train was full coming back, no seats left from San Pietro station.

 

The show for today was “Emperors of Soul”, again very good. They got the audience up and dancing toward the end and clapping along. Again a great night of entertainment.

[craig0304]

Day 5, at sea.

 

Our only sea day was great to relax before heading home, although it might sound like we did nothing some days, there was always something going on, and w never spent that long in one place in the ship.

 

We had breakfast in the MDR, with our waiter from Dinner (Joel) and he made sure we got looked after. We still had coffee on the balcony first though, I just couldn’t resist.

 

Unfortunately we missed lunch in the MDR, as we'd over slept on the nap a bit after trying the flow rider. I liked the flow rider, and if we do RCL again, I will try the stand-up surfing, only did the boogie board this time which was very easy but you really take a battering when you come off if you’re trying some tricks while kneeling.

 

Dinner in the MDR was fairly good tonight, but lamb shanks is not exactly rocket science.

I missed saying in previous days, I was fairly disappointed in dinner on day 4. No one’s dinner at our table of four looked great this day. As a result I think we all picked something pretty hard to mess up on day 5.

 

Entertainment on the last night was "in the Air", a circ de Soleil type show. Not quite as good as the others, but still worth seeing.

[craig0304]

Disembarking

The ship arrived into port as our wakeup call went off at 535 am, and the gangway opened just before the allocate 615, from memory.

We had breakfast in the MDR, after going to bed about 1130-1200 the night before not wanting to have the holiday end. Our flight was at 11am so we were in group 10 for 715 departure. We were still having breakfast at 7, when they called our group. We took our time and got off around 720.

I don’t like having carousels at a port, there are far too many bags. In Civitavecchia when we got off the equinox, the bags were just waiting in groups, this is much easier than waiting for your bag to come around the belt and thinking it’s not there.

Leaving the terminal, there are no cash machines (as only one of the terminals has a cash machine apparently and is a long walk). We lined up for a taxi, having seen dozens from lined up at 7, we thought we would be in trouble as none were around for 5-10 minutes. All of a sudden 14 showed up, followed by about another 30, so no need to worry really. The ride to the airport was about 20 minutes and we arrived in plenty of time for our 11am flight. If We did a Barcelona cruise again, I’d definitely book an early afternoon flight and sleep in a bit longer.

[craig0304]

In summarizing our experience;

Food – Breakfast

Breakfast was fine in the MDR, not spectacular, but for the price its better than a lot of hotels.

The first morning, we were duped into thinking it was only buffet by a lazy waiter.

When ordered off the menu it was better and you got a good choice.

Food – lunch

Not great, the windjammer is usually all that is available, and the choice is limited.

Some days the choice for me was better than others

 

Food –Dinner

Chops was good quality, and huge portions, well worth trying

MDR, was hit and miss

WJ, the one time we went for Dinner was very good, wished I’d eaten here on day 4 as well.

Food – Equinox v Liberty

Equinox wins hands down. Liberty had two good points though, cheese was better than Equinox, and the dinner buffet on the night we ate there better than the usual buffet on Equinox (Don’t know if this is usual for Liberty though)

Entertainment

Liberty is so far ahead in its shows, it’s just not funny.

There was always something to do on Liberty, Equinox was hit and miss, we ended up watching the glass show a lot. We like the hot glass show, but would have done other things too if there was more to do. I think Gordon, the cruise director on Liberty, so show the Celebrity guys how to run the entertainment. There were Lectures and things on Equinox that you couldn’t see if you wanted to get off in port, they never repeated them as far as I saw.

 

Cabins

The Liberty cabins are fine for the price, Equinox is much nicer but you get what you pay for.

In room TV was disappointing on the Liberty, I couldn’t find any music apart from one music video channel. On Equinox, music is available via TV on demand (no payment).

Provided toiletries, on RCL are just nasty, take your own.

I felt the chairs on the balcony on Liberty were a bit cheap and nasty, considering we paid for a balcony, would be good to see chairs more like the Equinox.

 

Drinks

Liberty was a bit disappointing on the drink front.

Price with service charge and VAT added are extortionate. I’m sure they were cheaper on Celebrity (and then the VAT gets added for Spain!)

Wine, although both Celebrity and RCL don’t seem that interested in doing wine properly, Celebrity has a much more extensive wine list, especially by the glass. The fact they allow you to bring bottles on is even better, removing the need to flout their rules (well, when boarding anyway :D).

At least Celeb does drink specials.

Both lines should remove the wine bars, don't have a wine bar if your not interested in selling the wines! Celebrity should change the wine bar to a Champagne bar, and make it open with the martinin bar, but have the canapes they have on Liberty.

 

 

So what’s the verdict?

RCL is great for families, and younger people wanting things like the flow rider.

The entertainment is fantastic on RCL.

It comes unstuck at the food, and drinks though for me.

Therefore we have a next cruise voucher with Celebrity. Caribbean 2012, here we come.

(Just need to sort out transferring the cruise director to Celeb for our cruise)

 

 

I hope this helps, its all just my opinion and experience of my holiday:cool:. If there's anything I can do to help you on yours, let me know.

 

 

 

Happy to answer any questions.....:confused:

[craig0304]

Thank you so much, did you have a good cruise?

 

Great short break.

(hope the review doesnt come across too negative at times)

[craig0304]

You are terrific -- thank you for taking the time to post all these! We have been anxious to see them. Are there separate compasses for teens/kids, or do they just work off these? (I saw just one or two Teen activities each day; I assume there are more, but perhaps not listed on a Compass?)

Dont know sorry, not that I saw.

 

 

Can't wait to read your full review! Would be great if you could post parts here, since it seems to take 10 days or so to get reviews up here. Thanks!

I've posted here first as the last Liberty review didnt get posted before i went, which was a pitty

[craig0304]

Thanks for taking the time to post this info! Would love to hear about your cruise any tips for embarking in Barcelona. How was the tender at Villefranche. Did you really have to wait until 1100 if not on a tour?

 

Barcelona, get there earlier than we did (130 was too busy)

Duty free cava was great and dosent require a corkscrew!

Taxi was cheap enough for us at €18 and saved a load of hassle.

 

We did Cannes not Villefracnhe on our cruise.

They recomended waiting til after 11, but with 4 large boats it did not seem to be a problem in Cannes at least. Although we went ashore later, I did look over the side of the ship from the whirlpool and the tenders werent exactly being over run from what I saw

[liketocruise97]

Hi All,

I’m going to post a review over the next day or so here, to start I thought some might like to see the Cruise Compass from our sailing.

I have some other info to scan and attach shortly.

Any pressing questions, feel free to ask, and I’ll do my best to answer.

 

Craig

 

Hi Craig,

 

Thank you so much for the taking the time to post all of the information and you comments. that is really awesome!! We're sailing on the 28th and every day getting more excited and anxious. Now on to packing.

 

Thanks again!!:)

[zooma]

Thanks again, Craig. So helpful. Couple of questions:

Was it easy enough to walk around Civitivecchia and find good pizzerias and gelaterias? Were there also shops around for buying typical souvenirs, leather goods, etc.? And how about in Livorno (I realize you did the tour into Florence, but we are wondering whether it would be nice to just stay put and wander around there.). Are there good places to eat, drink, shop (eg, Tuscan pottery, olive oils), or do you really need to go into one of the close-by towns for that?

 

Finally, were there any drinks packages on board, other than the wine or soda or juice ones? I read some of the European itineraries offered others.