My 1st Cruise Report Ever - Liberty Of The Seas 5-Night 3/8/2012

[NeuroQueen]

You are doing a fantastic job with this review. I have been laughing out loud at several places. I loved the boyfriend comment in Cozumel. Keep up the great work!!!

[lgonquin]

You are doing a fantastic job with this review. I have been laughing out loud at several places. I loved the boyfriend comment in Cozumel. Keep up the great work!!!

 

Agreed. This is cracking me up. Great sense of humor. Loved the Spanish accent.

 

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[F27TW]

Found a LaQuinta Inn for a decent price. We will be booking 5 rooms for our cruise next spring. They shuttle from airport to hotel and then from hotel to Port Everglades. This will work great for our group as some will be driving down and some will be flying in. Loving your reveiws.

 

Thanks for the info -- I'm going to remember that for next time. No more Hilton!!

[F27TW]

Agreed. This is cracking me up. Great sense of humor. Loved the Spanish accent.

 

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Thank you! To be honest I thought afterward that I might get a little hate mail over that, but I'm glad you liked it .. it's all in fun !

[F27TW]

You are doing a fantastic job with this review. I have been laughing out loud at several places. I loved the boyfriend comment in Cozumel. Keep up the great work!!!

 

Thanks, NQ ! I appreciate everyone's encouragement!

[F27TW]

I love the way Russ is smiling in the photos! How can someone look so happy :D

Great start Tony, keep it coming.

Nice sail-away photos too!

 

Sinny

 

Thanks, Sinny .. he is definitely one of the happiest people you will ever meet.

 

He's been through so much with his health over the years, so his ability to always be so positive and to enjoy his life as much as he does inspires me every day!

[F27TW]

Hi Tony! Awesome job so far, I'm loving your review. Thank you for taking the time to post your perspective on this cruise. You have me cracking up over here, your wit and humor are making this a great read. Can't wait to read more!! :)

 

Hi Chrystal! I'm very flattered you're enjoying it ! Your reports are always incredible!

 

I can't believe we were on the same cruise. I didn't realize that until I saw your report on here ! I just went back through your report and pics again to see if i could spot us in any of them .. LOL!

 

Thanks much for the kind words!

 

-Tony

[stephanie1]

Hi, Really like your review and pics. By the way - for future cruisers from Port Everglades - Its ridiculous to spend so much money at the Hilton and other places like it if you are only coming in for the night. On 1 occasion I stayed at the Hampton Inn at the airport. It was $99. You got free breakfast, free airport pickup and free shuttle to the ship. The room was 2 beds and clean. Nice lobby with free internet and pool and most people that stay there are the cruisers - pre and post. You really cannot get better than that price and amenities. if I was staying a few nights to enjoy Fort Lauderdale I would stay somewhere closer to the Beach on Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd with all the hotels across from the beach. I have heard of LaQuinta Inn & Suites that are very reasonable but I do not know their proximity to the pier.

[jakesmom04]

Hi, Really like your review and pics. By the way - for future cruisers from Port Everglades - Its ridiculous to spend so much money at the Hilton and other places like it if you are only coming in for the night. On 1 occasion I stayed at the Hampton Inn at the airport. It was $99. You got free breakfast, free airport pickup and free shuttle to the ship. The room was 2 beds and clean. Nice lobby with free internet and pool and most people that stay there are the cruisers - pre and post. You really cannot get better than that price and amenities. if I was staying a few nights to enjoy Fort Lauderdale I would stay somewhere closer to the Beach on Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd with all the hotels across from the beach. I have heard of LaQuinta Inn & Suites that are very reasonable but I do not know their proximity to the pier.

 

The LaQuinta in Hollywood is about 5-6 miles from the port. Our rooms where 139.00 a night and we are putting 4 people to a room. We are all family and a few friends so grouping up is not a problem for us for 1 night.

[Mewissy]

So glad to hear that the waitstaff was so helpful. They can add so much happiness to a cruise!

[F27TW]

I love this pic. Its that area on Deck 4 that suspends out around the side of the ship just outside the MDR. Very cool ! Would have been a great spot to watch the running of the drunks in Cozumel from. Oh well ... next time !! :D

 

[F27TW]

Here’s the last installment of my Report!

On our last sea day, Mum and I took the All-Access Tour. This may have been the real highlight of the entire trip for me. It was an incredible experience and I highly recommend it.

 

From reading the suggestions here on CC, I knew we had to go right to the Excursions Desk on Day 1 in order to book it, since it is not possible to reserve in advance. They have only 15 spaces available on the tour and if they have fewer than 8 people, they cancel it. It was $150 but worth every dime! We had a very friendly guide from the Cruise Director staff named Mauricia. We began our tour near the forward elevators on Deck 10. It turned out there were only 7 of us, as one person cancelled at the last minute, but they decided to run the tour anyway thankfully!

 

We began by walking through the officers corridor on Deck 10 which led to the bridge. Security escorted us during this part of the tour. Views from the bridge over the bow and from the bridge wing were incredible and we had a good 15 minutes up there to take pics, ask questions of the Officer in charge who could not have been more than 24 yrs old (and um … vurrry cute!). His name escapes me, but he was from Honduras.

Cute or what?

 

Thats looking down at the bow from the port bridge wing. How's THAT for a view?!

 

I forget the order now, but we also saw the anchor-machinery area. You know where those doors are that swing downward up near the bow of pretty much every ship? We went there too. That’s where the machinery is that controls the rope lines that tie the ship ashore, as well as the anchor.

You get to look directly down INTO the anchor shaft. That was incredible .. and a little spooky too! When you look straight down, you can see the water below rushing by. That is one of the gigantic links in the anchor chain.

 

We also saw the Backstage Area where one of the shows was actually going on, the Carpentry shop, the Electrician’s shop, down to what they actually called “China Town” (the laundry .. and it is true – everyone was Chinese down there!) where they showed us the gigantic steam pressing and folding machines they use for the sheets, tablecloths, etc. We also saw where they do all the crew and passenger laundry and in another area we saw some young Chinese guys sitting down on a pallet stacking wash clothes manually. Struck us as such a departure from every thing else we saw being so automated, but these guys stacked and stacked and stacked. It was HOT down there too – and noisy. We were below the waterline at that point.

 

 

The galley tour blew my mind completely. You just can not imagine the scale of these kitchens. I have worked in restaurants in the past, but this is beyond comprehension the amount of coordination and talent that goes into feeding all the people on that ship every day all day.

 

A very informative presentation was given us by one of the Head Chefs (a hunky Hungarian! ). We saw the Provisions area a deck or two down from there. The liquor storage area, produce area, meet area. The scale is absolutely staggering. The chief of that area explained their rotation and ordering systems along with plenty of fascinating info about how they manage to feed so many people.

 

(Hunky Hungarian!)

 

Did you know that the Number 1 thing the company tells their ship provisioning managers NEVER EVER EVER to let the ship run out of? My guess was toilet paper. But he said it was RICE. Due to the large number of Asian crew on the ship, running out of rice would cause a mutiny! So that’s the answer for you if you are ever taking this tour and they ask that question! Fascinating stuff!

 

We also saw the Officers kitchen and Dining Room along with their Recreation Room and bar. Then down to the Engine Control Room. All fascinating stuff and so worth the money for anyone who has any interest in ships. Two things that stuck me most were how spotlessly clean every area was. I mean spotless. Even the area where the decking equipment was, naturally the kitchens. No grease or grime anywhere on this beautiful ship. The other thing that struck me was how genuinely friendly and proud all the staff are of their ship. Everyone who we ran into during this tour was beaming as they presented their areas to us. You can tell when someone is going through the motions, but everyone we encountered had such enthusiasm for their departments and jobs.

 

This was a must-do for me, this tour, and I can’t recommend it more highly! Oh .. and they gave us a cool “All-Access Tour” tweed souvenir bag with a Bar-B-Q apron in it to take home, too. I love souvenirs!

And the next morning we were back. Just like that .. to the bedlam that ensues when you disembark at FLL. I wasn;t ready for being accosted by the 500 porters begging you to let them take your luggage for you. But since we were parked 5 miles away (it seemed) down in that parking garage, we gladly let one of them drag us with our luggage to the parking garage.

I can’t thank RCCL and all the amazing staff we met that took such good care of us and who went to such lengths to make my brother’s trip a wonderful one.

I hope my report wasn’t too amateurish for ya!!

[KuffMUp]

 

the next time I heard “Senor …. What are joo looking for?” I said “MY BOYFRIEND!”. He walked right away from me! Fast! Wish I had thought of that earlier in the day!!

 

 

 

Luv the review!!!

[JBert]

Great review from another CT'er!

 

Definitely an entertaining write up! Thank you!

[jakesmom04]

Great review. I have been thinking about the all acess tour and now I think I will plan on doing that.

[F27TW]

Great review. I have been thinking about the all acess tour and now I think I will plan on doing that.

 

Thanks! And yes .. definitely do the All-Access tour if you have the chance ... it is worth every penny! Just remember -- get your name on the list as soon as you get on board since they limit it to 15!

[F27TW]

Great review from another CT'er!

 

Definitely an entertaining write up! Thank you!

 

Thanks, Justin! Glad you enjoyed it .. haven't run across too many other CT people on here!

[F27TW]

 

Luv the review!!!

 

 

Thanks, Kuff! (And i swear that really happened too!) :p

[Sinppu]

 

Luv the review!!!

 

LUV the photo!!! :D

It was a funny review (never too many of those!) so ty!

[Just The 3 Of Us]

Wonderful review, love the humor and the pictures, all were great!!!

 

 

Barb

;) (also from Connecticut)

[RazorbackIslandGirl]

O Honey... GREAT job!!! Fantastic review!!! I found myself wiping a giggle tear several times!;) Your humor is just twisted enough for me to enjoy!:rolleyes::D:cool:

[F27TW]

O Honey... GREAT job!!! Fantastic review!!! I found myself wiping a giggle tear several times!;) Your humor is just twisted enough for me to enjoy!:rolleyes::D:cool:

 

Wow thank you! I love compliments like that ... ya made my night !!

[BellaBaci4]

Another thank you for a terrific review. I was laughing out loud.......... Great Job!

Bella

[F27TW]

Another thank you for a terrific review. I was laughing out loud.......... Great Job!

Bella

 

Thanks, Bella! I loved writing it. Now I just need to get myself on another cruise so I can do another one! :D

[F27TW]

Here are some more random pics in no particular order. They didn't fit into the text of my report, but they were pretty good pics, so I thought they might also be enjoyed!

 

Guy in the starboard side hot tub ... he loved it in there, but it was too hot to me. I felt like a chicken in a stock pot in there!

 

 

Inside the bridge looking across .. that is one cool place !! Only thing missing was a bar! LOL!!

 

 

I LOVE him !! Look how cute .. the reflection of his little hiney in the slider!

 

 

What a pretty face !!

 

 

Looking over at Senor Frog's from the pier. You can walk right down those steps into the water if you want. So we did!

 

 

Just thought that was kinda cool -- just a carpet spelling out the name of the ship on a pillar.