Honey I shrunk the room :) LOS review 09/24 Med cruise. Long with some pics

[Verfai]

Hello all,

 

Here is my review of our Liberty OTS cruise 24th of September.

 

First some background, we are a couple in our early 30s and we recently got bitten by the nasty cruise bug. As some of you know, we already did this cruise in the beginning of June, but we got off the ship more tired than we got on…Don’t get me wrong, this was a good thing :D. So, we wanted to book a second cruise for the end of September. After going over all options, the best choice (also pricewise) was going back to LOS, so we did so.

 

In June we worked via a travel agent, but we came to a painful conclusion that the travel agent we used did not bring any advantages (whilst it was an extra 300€), so this time over we booked everything ourselves.

As we are from Belgium we don’t really have a separate RCI representative, so all was done online (booking, payment, questions, etc). And I have to say, we will always work this way as of now (more info to compare to doing everything via a TA, please read my 06/11 review)!

 

This time over we wanted to treat Liberty as luxury hotel, so we had no busy port schedule (except for Naples), slept in and spend a lot of time at the pools…More on that later.

 

So were off! (I tried to put headers per chapter, so you can choose what you want to read)

 

-Embarkation day:

 

Arrived at Barcelona airport the day of embarkation at 8:30am, as always with this wonderful airport by the time you walked form the gate to the luggage claim, the bags where already being dropped on the conveyor belt, by 9am we were already outside terminal 1, following the clearly marked taxi signs(one floor down from the language claim area).

At the taxi area, there is a queue of about 30 taxi’s waiting at all time, there is somebody to direct you to the first available taxi (they do have poor language skills, they only speak Spanish and pretend they don’t understand a word of English, thankfully there is always signs language)…Anyhow, at 9:20 we were in the cab and on our way to the dock. The drive took about 30 minutes, so something before 10am we were at the dock.

 

At the pier, we were one of the first passengers to arrive, porters where already available, so we made our luggage tags and dropped of our bags, we had to wait till 10:30 before the check in counters would open…But seeing the ship back, no more bags, our vacation officially started that moment :D.

 

Strict 10:30am the counters opened, 15 minutes later we had our sea pass cards and on our way to the ship.

 

As we well new our way around, we skipped all those mouth open, eyes wide open first time Liberty cruisers and made our way to café promenade for two cokes and a few of those awesome ham and cheese croissants…We felt right back at home.

 

Went to the upper decks to refresh our memories on how beautiful the sight is form up there and made our way to the windjammer for a lunch just before noon.

 

-Windjammer for first lunch:

 

Windjammer, I have to say, they still haven’t learned from last time…Foods where basically the same dishes as in June, but what I had hoped, is that they now would be able to give me a good burger or hot dog with some fries…

Sorry people, this was even worse than in June, a major disappointment. The fries where in the serving dish for so long, when you wanted to pick some up, you took the entire dish with you as they were all sticking to each other!? Burgers and hot dog buns are dry as Death Valley, burger meat was missing taste, hot dogs sausages where not that bad.

The room:

 

At strict 1 pm the rooms would open up, so by the time we had our lunch we were able to make our way to our room. This time we chose for a promenade state room on deck 7 (7293)……..

NEVER, EVER again will be book this kind of room. We were amassed how small the room was compared to our balcony room we had in June, when you see the numbers in square feet of both rooms we thought it wasn’t going to be a major difference…Boy were we wrong, everything in the room was in a smaller version.

AND the noise, boy the noise….But this will come as a surprise to most of you, the noise DID NOT come from the promenade, but from the adjoining room and the hallway, it was a disaster.

Strangely other people we met, that also had a promenade room, did not have these complaints, but there rooms where on the different deck, so it might be only deck 7.

 

We specifically chose this room, as it had a central location, so far away from the two stairways…yet again a wrong assumption…the amount of people that passed by our room was amazing, and what was even more amazing is how many people passed by as school kids, stamping, making loads of noise, running…This whilst there were hardly any kids onboard.

 

We also had some minor pluming problem in the sink, it just wouldn’t drain very fast.

By the end of cruise, we also had a defect in our cold water supply…It was strange as most people complain they don’t have any hot water…We had to complain that we didn’t have any cold water, but let our room attendant have somebody from maintenance come over to fix it.

 

-The room attendant:

 

Our room attendant, she did do a good job, but she didn’t go all the way…Room was clean, but not spotless, the TV had some dried up white stuff (do not ask me what it was, but my best guess it might show up on one of those blue CSI lamps you see on tv) sticking on it that was there for the entire cruise, we didn’t say anything as we were wondering if she would see it…not.

Same with dust on the TV, on the dresser, after the bed…Like I said, not spotless.

 

She did go south when she called maintenance for the cold water problem…There were two workers fixing the problem (in full dirty uniform and boots), they used a lot of water for testing so the bathroom was dirty…When the problem got fixed she did not bother to clean up after them.

We had to ask and requested all new towels (most were used by the maintenance crew, they even placed some towels in the bin).

 

Before somebody asked, yes we did tip her a small amount the first time we met her, just so she knows we are willing to tip extra when it is deserved….Guess she didn’t get the point, no extra tip at the end of the cruise except for the prepaid check in the envelope.

 

-Cruise critic:

 

We were with 32 registered CC members this cruise, as the meet and mingle is only on the last day, we decided to meet up on the first day, 3pm Olive and twist bar…This was fun as always to finally meet the people you where talking to online for such a long time.

 

The official CC meeting was on the last day, 10:15am also in the Olive and twist bar…There where complementary pastries, thee, coffee and orange juice, so not bad. It was funny to hear stories differ from the first day to the last day.

 

Most of them had extremely busy port days, so we did not run in to each other often, except for one couple we ran into every night…Even gotten a picture with the captain with them, fun, fun, fun!

 

-Set sail:

 

By this time after we had our unofficial meet and mingle and the muster drill, the ship was ready to set sail, last time we could not fully see the set sail party pool deck due to early seating for dinner, this time we were on the late seating 9pm.

 

Again the ship departed without any announcement or horn blast…The set sail party itself is also still one big joke especially those animators doing the flag dance in the beginning...its just stupid.

What we did see as a difference from June was that now the DreamWorks characters did do a tiny weenie bit of interaction with the kids…At least giving the kids a good time.

 

So now we are really sailing again.

 

-Dinner:

 

We were in the late seating, so that was 9pm for this cruise. The head waiter escorted us to our table and that was the last we saw of him for a while. Our waiter and assistant waiter came to introduce themselves, what wonderful staff, we had Sonny from Mauritius and Dharma from Bali…they went out of there way for us, we had loads of fun with them and would defiantly recommend them.

 

We were at a table for 6 on deck 4, two people never showed up the entire cruise, our other two table mates where by coincidence from Holland, meaning they spoke Dutch our native language…Which was a very good thing, they were also our age so that made for even more fun.. When we looked at the tables around us, we were very glad we were sat there.

The head waiter only showed his face 2 more times to do some small talk, the one we had in June came by almost every night, so we were disappointed with that, especially as you have to tip him …Which brings us to the next subject.

 

-Passengers:

 

It became pretty fast and clear to us that the average age on this cruise was a wee bit older than the June cruise, also except for non school obligated kids, which were quite young, there weren’t a lot of kids or teenagers present.

 

We really could see some cultural differences that we felt as a disappointment, like it came clearly visible on the two formal nights…where we were “normal dressed” in June, this time we felt really overdressed…When on a cruise, you know there are formal nights, so I don’t get how some people, especially the men can think that slacks and shirt (even in polo version) can pass as formal attire (no tie, no vest, wrong shoes)…But that might be me, we didn’t let it come to our hearts…AND there were still enough people that did dress correctly over all nationalities.

 

Majority of passengers were from the US, it was mostly among them that we saw real “hillbilly’s”, there were a lot of Spanish and Portuguese with no manners what so ever (guessing also from Brazil), Germans, Norwegians and surprisingly a lot of South Africans.

Funniest where the Asian types, which also had a pretty strong delegation, they had no idea how things went onboard, disco night was very un-understandable to them...Also mingling with others at dinner looked to be not so easy for some.

 

-Animation:

 

What we really noticed this time is the lack of party feeling, not only due to the higher age average, but also in ships atmosphere…for example, In June we had lots of music at set sail, this time is was quite.

The open air party on the second formal night staid at the main pool in June, it was a blast until 3am, with still a party in the Catacombs afterwards. This time the party changed location from the main pool to the solarium at 1am…why!? I don’t have a clue, but it broke the atmosphere, and no party in the catacombs.

Music of the DJ also changed from day to night between the main pool and the solarium…So we left that for what is was and went to bed.

 

We did still catch a snack at Sorrento before it closed…

 

-The food:

 

I read a few posts on the boards about Sorrento’s pizza being cardboard and ketchup…On the first two days I would have to agree, the pizza was horrible! However, as of the third day something changed, all of a sudden there was more cheese on the pizza and the crust looked better…And indeed it tasted loads better.

 

Café promenade, still the same great sandwiches and desserts, no complaints what so ever, the cinnamon cake was excellent…If only I could make it so fluffy at home.

 

Windjammer, breakfast was the standard drill, nothing to add what so ever. We never had problems to find seating (than of course we where late compared to those that had busy port days).

 

Windjammer for lunch was a disaster…They really should fix this, We only went the first two days…The second day we decided to not get a second plate and go to Sorrento’s, which we kept on doing for the rest of the cruise.

We did not go to windjammer or Jade for dinner.

 

MDR, was excellent, at least what we ordered, on the official CC meet and mingle, we heard some complaints from the food. The only bad thing I had was the lasagna that was over salted. And then there is the American way of cooking meat, we really couldn’t get a good steak, as we in Europe like it to be a bit bloody inside…this was apparently impossible due to hygienic reasons, very strange explanation that I got for this from the maitre in Portofino

 

Portofino, was still excellent stuff, really great food. It is for us so funny when we order our steak to me medium rare, they look at us like we want meat that still has a heartbeat…Trust me, you will get the same look over here when you order a well done shoe sole.

 

Johnny rockets, I have to admit last time we did not like the burgers, it was better this time. Milkshakes where more than excellent.

 

The biggest rip off was Ben & Jerry’s, what you get compared to the money you have to spend on it, it is a joke…I had a craving for some chocolate ice cream one night, but the small scoop that I got for more than 3 Dollars was a joke.

 

Drinks in the bars, are like always of very decent quality and good poor’s…Sometimes even to much spirit in the drink.

 

-The staff and crew:

 

The staff willing to help at any time, excellent job. The officers I have to say, they where mingling a bit more than in June but still not a lot. Cruise director, we never ever saw him except for when he is performing an act…So still not good, he is getting off the ship before the trans Atlantic.

 

-The ports:

 

I am not going to go into the subject for long, we only did one excursion this time via RCI. We chose to do “exploration of Pompeii” which was good. All the other ports we just went for a walk, except for in the industrial ports like Pisa and Rome.

 

-The ship:

 

She was starting to show the wear of the salt and busy cruising…I think the return to the ship made us extra aware of this.

BUT, they were giving the ship an over hall, all woods where being repainted, the outside decks where repainted, we saw a lot of things being taken apart to be refitted and so on…So they are giving her the new look back, my guess they want here spotless before she docks in Florida.

 

-Overall:

 

We had a real good time, we will defiantly go back to RCI, but we had it with the stops that Liberty is doing in the Med after two times, which I think is very normal. The other thing about the amount of stops, is the announcements when the ship docks, they just wake you up when you want to sleep in…So when you treat the ship more like a hotel, this might be a down side. But for the service that you get, the great food, the lovely ship and ports you would just keep coming back.

 

If there was one thing that we found to be a downside this cruise, it was the strictness of timing…Whatever event on the ship, it always started and ended on the dot…Which is a good thing in work life, but on vacation I found it to be a bit ridicules.

And then there was the choice of our room...

 

I hope you enjoyed reading this review feel free to ask any questions.

[Verfai]

Pictures:

[Verfai]

[Verfai]

[Verfai]

 

 

 

Thanks for reading!!!

 

Greets

[cb at sea]

Never pre-tip! If you get good service, feel free to tip additionally at the end of the cruise, but pre-tipping can be considered a "bribe", which is insulting...or they may think that's ALL you will give them. Best to stick to the common way of tipping, which is done the last night of the cruise!

 

As for icecream...it's avail. at no charge in the MDR every single night for dessert!

[Verfai]

Never pre-tip! If you get good service, feel free to tip additionally at the end of the cruise, but pre-tipping can be considered a "bribe", which is insulting...or they may think that's ALL you will give them. Best to stick to the common way of tipping, which is done the last night of the cruise!

 

As for icecream...it's avail. at no charge in the MDR every single night for dessert!

 

Ah great, now I am bribing people :D…….Anyhow I am not starting that discussion on tipping ;) lol

 

And I agree, ice cream in the MDR is good enough and there is always the frozen yogurt stand :D whooooohoooooo...But when you have a craving ;) lol

 

Greets

[Merion_Mom]

Never pre-tip! If you get good service, feel free to tip additionally at the end of the cruise, but pre-tipping can be considered a "bribe", which is insulting...or they may think that's ALL you will give them. Best to stick to the common way of tipping, which is done the last night of the cruise!

 

As for icecream...it's avail. at no charge in the MDR every single night for dessert!

 

Horsefeathers. :rolleyes:

[IBookHePays]

Horsefeathers. :rolleyes:

 

I love your way of communicating! :D

[nobog]

Majority of passengers were from the US, it was mostly among them that we saw real “hillbilly’s”

Great quote ! .. how true :D (and I'm from Wisconsin...)

 

Jim

[jazzydoors]

Verafi, You can always call room service for ice cream.

[queenofhearts]

For starters, I'm from the US and an FAR from a hillbilly...

 

My job requires that I dress on a regular basis - formal black suit, white dinner jacket and black tie are the norm.

 

I love dressing up for galas and the theater.

 

I go on vacation to RELAX - I prefer not flying from the US with multiple suits or tuxedos.

 

While I totally agree that shorts, jeans and t-shirts are not appropriate dress for dinner and will often chose a more relaxed option on formal night, there is NOTHING wrong with slacks and a collared shirt for dinner ANY NIGHT.

 

Formal night is a suggestion not a mandate....

 

 

Wanneer u voor mijn vakantie betaalt kan u mij vertellen hoe te kleden ;)

[Cushing985]

Ah great, now I am bribing people :D…….Anyhow I am not starting that discussion on tipping ;) lol

 

Chicken!:D Great write-up and pictures. Thanks for taking the time!

[Verfai]

Majority of passengers were from the US, it was mostly among them that we saw real “hillbilly’s”

Great quote ! .. how true :D (and I'm from Wisconsin...)

 

Jim

 

For starters, I'm from the US and an FAR from a hillbilly...

 

My job requires that I dress on a regular basis - formal black suit, white dinner jacket and black tie are the norm.

 

I love dressing up for galas and the theater.

 

I go on vacation to RELAX - I prefer not flying from the US with multiple suits or tuxedos.

 

While I totally agree that shorts, jeans and t-shirts are not appropriate dress for dinner and will often chose a more relaxed option on formal night, there is NOTHING wrong with slacks and a collared shirt for dinner ANY NIGHT.

 

Formal night is a suggestion not a mandate....

 

 

Wanneer u voor mijn vakantie betaalt kan u mij vertellen hoe te kleden ;)

 

Hm, google vertaler of heb jer ergens Europese conncecties? :D

 

Whow guys :D, as I said, “among them that we saw real hillbilly’s”, that does not read as “all Americans on the ship where hillbilly’s” :P, please don’t be offended :).

I myself, as you clearly see in the pictures, don’t bring a tux, just one plain suite...the other couple in the picture with us and the captain where also from the US, he to just had a suite on...Which I find to be more than decent for formal attire, I will probably never bring or hire a tux.

For me personally, when you cruise, you know there are formal nights (mandate or not), so you where something formal and go with the flow..A pink Lacoste polo with the collar turned up in the neck, grey slacks with white Nike sport shoes are not fitting in my opinion...And there were plenty similar examples amongst all nationalities.

[Verfai]

Verafi, You can always call room service for ice cream.

 

Dam, I need to start reading that room service menu more :D

 

Chicken!:D Great write-up and pictures. Thanks for taking the time!

 

Yep, one bribing Belgian chicken present....Sounds like a KFC menu item :D

 

Thanks, I like to post reviews here first, before I submit them to the site...gives me a chance to adapt if needed.

 

Greets

[CruisinGerman]

....except for the near racial profiling of the nationalities and behavior of your fellow passengers. I don't think that was called for.

 

Also, in my opinion, it is not proper to criticize how other people dress on RCCL, since RCCL in its cruise contract does not have any mandatory dress code (except for no shorts, hats, bare feet in the dining room), but rather all mentions of formal and other types of dress are merely suggestions.

 

We live in Madrid and have done Liberty several times out of Barcelona. When you go back to the same ship and itinerary so soon, you lose some of the original Wow factor, which converts more into a comfort factor.

 

I wonder which feeling you prefer?

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[Verfai]

....except for the near racial profiling of the nationalities and behavior of your fellow passengers. I don't think that was called for.

 

Also, in my opinion, it is not proper to criticize how other people dress on RCCL, since RCCL in its cruise contract does not have any mandatory dress code (except for no shorts, hats, bare feet in the dining room), but rather all mentions of formal and other types of dress are merely suggestions.

 

We live in Madrid and have done Liberty several times out of Barcelona. When you go back to the same ship and itinerary so soon, you lose some of the original Wow factor, which converts more into a comfort factor.

 

I wonder which feeling you prefer?

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

 

 

I don’t really feel that the comments are near racial, maybe you felt offended by the remark over the Spanish...But that was just the way it was and no offence was meant in any way.

 

Let me try to explain a bit:

There were a lot of large Spanish families present, that did not speak any other language to anybody, they treated the staff as dirt...Especially when they had a hard time understanding what they wanted, and we saw this on numerous occasions.

You cannot tell me that is that hard to ask for a drink in English whiteout having to use swear words to the staff!?

Also making loads of noise in the Olive twist bar, including bodily sounds are to be considered as having manners...Again Spanish speakers.

It even started at the muster, one middle aged man did not want to stand in the line, he shouted something to the muster master, in Spanish, he replied very politely that he didn’t understand, but he received the middle finger from the man...He just kept on shouting, the little I understood, something with a bad knee and that it needed to go faster.

We got passed by 2 times at the frozen yogurt stand by also Spanish speaking passengers whom I guess felt we didn’t go fast enough, one thing I can’t stand in life is others thinking they have priority wherever they are from or who they are.

 

So with situations like this, sry that I come the conclusions that categorize one group of people...

I am very sure some said, “look here are those two heavy drinking Belgians back on time in the bar as every night”, or look how much cleavage she dares to run around with, so typical European”...I basically don’t really care ;).

 

We went back to the ship just for the comfort of having the service, we had a few bad dealings with hotels in the past, we loved RCI LOS that much...So for the same money we preferred the cruise instead of doing a land based vacation...Certainly don’t regret it whatsoever, but I don’t think we will do this trip again.

 

Greets

[CruisinGerman]

You didn't offend me -- I live in Madrid among other places, but I am not Spanish.

 

In all fairness to the Spanish and your complaint about them not speaking English, the RCCL round-trip Barcelona homeport cruises are marketed to the Spaniards as Spanish-language cruises.

 

This is done because the natural market to fill those cruises comes from Spain, and also because there are several other Spanish cruise lines (Spanish language, Spanish mealtimes, Spanish food and entertainment) that compete on this route.

 

That being said, if there are crew members whose job is direct contact with passengers who cannot understand basic Spanish, I would shift the blame to RCCL and not the passengers, since the cruise is marketed by RCCL to the passengers as a Spanish language cruise.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[peteukmcr]

I have to thank you again for your comprehensive review, much appreciated. Sorry to hear your problems with your promenade stateroom and the attendant.

 

Nice photos too, thanks for sharing those too.

 

As for the passenger mix and their behaviour, I can only concur with your sentiments, regardless of what others may think. This is how it is with some nationalities.

 

Regarding the dress code, once again there will always be disagreements on what some people think is acceptable and you will never 'win' on CC. As long as you are comfortable on formal nights wearing a suit or tux, then go for it as far as I'm concerned. We don't travel with a tux, but rent onboard to reduce the baggage we carry.

 

Obviously looking forward to our TA and glad to hear that this has not put you off sailing with RCI in the future.

[peteukmcr]

Horsefeathers. :rolleyes:

Intrigued, are you saying 'rubbish' or 'nonsense'? Trying to work out the meaning as it is not a phrase I'm familiar with.

[Verfai]

You didn't offend me -- I live in Madrid among other places, but I am not Spanish.

 

In all fairness to the Spanish and your complaint about them not speaking English, the RCCL round-trip Barcelona homeport cruises are marketed to the Spaniards as Spanish-language cruises.

 

This is done because the natural market to fill those cruises comes from Spain, and also because there are several other Spanish cruise lines (Spanish language, Spanish mealtimes, Spanish food and entertainment) that compete on this route.

 

That being said, if there are crew members whose job is direct contact with passengers who cannot understand basic Spanish, I would shift the blame to RCCL and not the passengers, since the cruise is marketed by RCCL to the passengers as a Spanish language cruise.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

 

Crew and staff changes about every 4 months as we were told by our waiters (we really asked these question to them after we witnessed one of the situations I explained above with our table mates), there are only a happy few that survive long enough to go for a longer contract period, Most staff, like waiters and bar personal, begin with a 4 month contract, they can also opt for a 6 or 9 month contract, but no longer than that even for officers...So not really enough time to learn an extra language.

On languages, apparently RCI encourages them to be able to speak as many languages as possible, it is not a must...everybody speaks basic Spanish imo, it goes wrong when questions go more into detail...Even for some English gets to be a problem as we found out with our maintenance call, what we had to do to get an answer on how long they estimate the repair work would take, and this was with our room attendant and the two maintenance personnel...

It is not an easy life, so rude passengers dont really help.

[Verfai]

I have to thank you again for your comprehensive review, much appreciated. Sorry to hear your problems with your promenade stateroom and the attendant.

 

Nice photos too, thanks for sharing those too.

 

As for the passenger mix and their behaviour, I can only concur with your sentiments, regardless of what others may think. This is how it is with some nationalities.

 

Regarding the dress code, once again there will always be disagreements on what some people think is acceptable and you will never 'win' on CC. As long as you are comfortable on formal nights wearing a suit or tux, then go for it as far as I'm concerned. We don't travel with a tux, but rent onboard to reduce the baggage we carry.

 

Obviously looking forward to our TA and glad to hear that this has not put you off sailing with RCI in the future.

 

Are you kidding, none of these things came to our heart :D, we had loads of fun!

We wanted to look into Celebrity, so we went to the loyalty office to ask more info on the switching in cruise points between Celebrity and RCI...But is wasn’t that interesting imo.

So we will definitely stick to RCI, already looking for the next one :D.

 

Have loads of fun on you TA!

 

Greets

[RareBird]

Passengers like this (racial undertones) is why we cruise strictly US and caribbean.

 

I work hard, I talk all day in meetings, dress in business dress and last thing I want to do on my vacation is the same thing all over again! I feel Europeans just dont understand American work ethic.

[peteukmcr]

Passengers like this (racial undertones) is why we cruise strictly US and caribbean.

 

I work hard, I talk all day in meetings, dress in business dress and last thing I want to do on my vacation is the same thing all over again! I feel Europeans just dont understand American work ethic.

Without digressing too much from this thread, what is it you believe we Europeans do not understand about the American work ethic? BTW I have worked closely with Americans over the past 11 years as our UK company had an office in NJ.

[CruisinGerman]

It's funny how some people perceive the behavior of some nationalities as rude just because it is different from what you are used to.

 

And others (like the UK posters) seem to agree.

 

But your own nationality and behavior characteristic of that nationality doesn't seem to bother you.

 

For example, on any Voyager or Freedom class ship out of Barcelona, the Irish/British pub found on the royal promenade of these ships many times is overcrowded by Brits sitting there all night, getting drunk, getting very loud and behaving badly.

 

Perhaps the Brits don't perceive this, and only those of us of other nationalities do perceive this.

 

I have never been on an RCCL cruise where most people didn't behave more or less well, or what should be expected on a ship holding 3,000 - 4,000 passengers.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta