NCL/Royal Caribbean Cruiser Sails Carnival Liberty

[snownyet]

Oh NO!:eek: We just met our room steward on our Liberty cruise and it is ROMERO! We are in cabin 2390 I will lier you all how it goes!

 

Play with Romeo a bit.. set the tone by saying right up front "no Im not pregnant so dont ask and no I dont want to buy anything"

[jules815]

Oh NO!:eek: We just met our room steward on our Liberty cruise and it is ROMERO! We are in cabin 2390 I will lier you all how it goes!

 

 

No way! You'll definitely have to let us know how it goes! :eek::)

[bruisin4cruisin]

Stinks you didn't get to enjoy breakfast. The only time I eat at the buffet for breakfast is on the last day, other than that we eat it in the MDR.

As far as how long it takes to eat, 1 1/2 hours is fine with me because I have nowhere else to go. I am a fast eater, I usually finish my food before others have really tasted theirs, and I do not mind the amount of time we are seated there.

Hope all else goes well for you. I did enjoy your honest review very much.

[Venusleo1]

Oh NO!:eek: We just met our room steward on our Liberty cruise and it is ROMERO! We are in cabin 2390 I will lier you all how it goes!

 

 

Hahahaha that is TOO funny!!! Good luck my friend and happy sailing! Please come back and let us all know if Romeo was just having an off time with me or if he really is bat crap crazy.

[Venusleo1]

That my friends is what this site is all about...... An honest review written in a very easy to read format with great information both good and bad. In fact it is so informative and unbiased I see no need to read the many comments that I'm sure this review will generate:D

 

Cruising on Liberty in 2 months so to Venusleo1 I say thank you for arming me with a list of do's, dont's, and maybe's:).

 

Applestacker

 

Thank you and you are very welcome. Happy sailing, I hope you have a great time on your cruise and don't draw the Romeo straw like me and GROUCHPUSS did! lol

[SMSACE6]

Well at least you know now, that Carnival is not for you! Sure isnt for everyone! I still think they have some really great prices though for 7 day cruises. And as they say, you get what you pay for. I have always felt that I have gotten my money's worth and more on my Carnival cruises. And I have also enjoyed wonderful cruises on NCL and Celebrity. Every line is different, and now you know that you are better suited to other cruiselines! Happy cruising!:)

[DAG4954]

Stephanie, my son, DIL and I were in the room next to you (2382)!!! We also asked Romeo to keep our ice bucket full, as we had brought our own "refreshments" and only had that happen the last 2 days of the cruise. However, we saw him very often and he always was friendly and remembered our names. NEVER tried to sell us a towel LOL, in fact, after we had used the beach towels that were in the room to start with, we had to ask for more every day. Our MDR experience was the same as yours, terrible service, never had that issue on past CCL cruises. The buffet food was poor quality, in the survey they sent when we got home I said they should have Guy's Burgers and the Blue Iguana cantina open at dinner time to give guests more options. The burgers were great! We all agreed we would not go on the Liberty again, and definetly not sail out of Miami, it took way too long to get out of there.

[Sh1035]

Great review and got your point across without bashing carnival. At least you gave it a shot. I did the same with celebrity and enjoyed lots of it but felt like I was living at home when they called lights out at 9!

 

I must say as far as buffets I find RCL and carnivals both crappy cafeteria food. If that's my option I know they can't screw up a salad bar. I did find the pizza on RCL gross and not bad on carnival if you just order a slice. Also, RCL makes their burgers in bulk and sits them in a warming tray and lord knows when they make them to boat over to coco cay? The last savior is the deli for me and miss not having one on RCL. I want to be out on deck and not sitting in a dining room during the day.

 

But now I just sail whatever fits my schedule, either or no big difference to me.

 

My last cabin steward on RCL actually drank my beer. I offered and sure enough he did. In fact he brought random beers and put them on ice and at night they were gone ? Then he kept reminding about the customer survey and his tip.

 

 

Trying princess next and then I guess it's ncl Epic!

[katiel53]

I just want to say that we have cruised many times on Royal Caribbean and NCL. To get the same size balcony cabin as we get on Carnival or Royal on NCL, we need to book a JS.

 

I think the food in the MDR on NCL is without a doubt, the worst I have ever had on any cruiseline and the service was also the worst ever. To have a decent meal on NCL, we would have to go a specialty restaurant every single night. I know this and if we were to cruise again on NCL, we know it's part of the cost of the cruise.

 

I used to think Carnival food was better than Royal, but now that Carnival has taken away some of the things we love, and Royal has new menus, I am no longer sure which is better.

 

OP, I do think you missed out by not going to the deli for lunch. They have the best ever turkey sandwiches and if you like Reuben's, they are supposedly good too. I think Carnival's lunch buffet is terrible, so we don't go there.

 

I guess we have learned what to expect on each line. If DH would not hate dressing up nightly, we would sail Royal or Celebrity all the time. He prefers being casual so we sail on Carnival and NCL and do the occasional switch off.

 

Just think how lucky we are that there are different lines that suit different tastes. To each his own.

[Bashlin]

I stopped reading at no salmon for the bagel.. :rolleyes:

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[chill6x6]

I enjoyed your review! In fact I tend to give more weight to reviews from folks such as yourself that have cruised multiple lines. We are trying Princess in November so that will be three lines for us! Thanks for the review.

[Venusleo1]

DAG4954- I'm glad that Romeo was good to you guys. Maybe we got off on the wrong foot because he got in trouble that our room wasn't ready when we boarded, but that's not my fault, and we never even complained. I was really hurt by the pregnancy comment...and maybe since we gave him that extra tip that's why he thought he could talk us into a towel. I don't know but he was just a character. Like I said he kept our room clean and I've bucket full.

 

Bashlin, maybe you should have kept going cause I had alot of possitive things to say as well, but if you choose to stop reading not even 1/2 way through because you didn't like what I had to say then that shows alot about your character, and the review my fellow cruiser was not for people like you.

[MeloDrew]

Hey venusleo1...

 

I got my review coming soon...and its a doozie!

 

I agree with all your review..wait till you see mine!

And we have done 6 CCL cruises and 1 RCI...LIBERTY WAS AN EPIC FAIL!

[Venusleo1]

Drew, can't wait to read it!!! Lots of other people on our role call said they had a great time and others feel like I did. I'm wondering of we were all on two seperate ships!

[golfb4cruzing]

We cruised the Ruby Princess this past April and totally enjoyed the experience. 7 day cruise was cheaper than Carnival so it's out there. I hope Destiny doesn't let us down next month. OP thought your review was very unbiased and objective. Thank you for taking the time.

[nofishforme]

for breakfest you have hot and cold cereal ,fresh fruit an assortment of danish toast bagles(from New Jersey all other bagel suck if its not a water bagel)sausage links patties bacon cheese pancakes and french toast not made to order but not bad and the omlette station could .. The buffet start to close around 3:30 to prep for dinner the deli sandwiches are good i like the turky wrap and the ruban even the pastrammi is good i have never orderd a whole pizza pie just by the slize you can also order a calzone they way you want it and get a cesar salad there as well there is always something to eat other then a hamburger and hot dog room service is 24hrs a day and free .on my last cruise i was not happy with the waiter in the dinning room the food was good

[chill6x6]

We cruised the Ruby Princess this past April and totally enjoyed the experience. 7 day cruise was cheaper than Carnival so it's out there. I hope Destiny doesn't let us down next month. OP thought your review was very unbiased and objective. Thank you for taking the time.

 

Good to know! We'll be aboard the Ruby Princess in 50 days!:)

[golfb4cruzing]

Chill the Ruby was very nicely done. As a past pizzeria owner, I can vouch for the pizza. I missed the Oriental venue and the wife missed the deli but I found the food well done. The have a 24 hr cafe that rocks. I enjoy breakfast most of all. They had everything from Japanese soups to English bangers for breakfast. Some lines but they are controlled!! A little subdued but I saw some late night crazies. Hit the casino the first couple of nights and then it tightens up. We had a balcony and was nice. We enjoyed the shows but seating is tough.We are going out on the Caribbean Princess next April. You will have a great time.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Nice, well balanced review.

 

We have sailed MANY Carnival ships, and finally made it onboard the Liberty over July 4th of this year. If I had to pick one thing that the Liberty has going for it over most other Carnival ships, it would be the Guy's Burger Joint. That was our GO TO lunch on 4 consecutive days. Much better than their standard issue hockey pucks!

 

I also feel, as you pointed out, that the buffet pales in comparison on the Liberty (and other Carnival ships) to those on NCL - and Celebrity as well. Their layout/setup is not efficient, and I can't see why they haven't picked up on that. They need more stations rather than a couple/few main lines.

 

Carnival does have a tendency to deliver, as you experienced, overcooked Eggs Benedict. That's because they make so many up ahead of time and then let them continue to cook under the heat lamps. Rare is the occasion of getting an order without med-well cooked eggs. I picked up a method here on CC to give you a much better shot though... ask the server for the hollandaise sauce ON THE SIDE. That way the eggs are much more likely to be fresh.

 

On ships which have a steakhouse, we have stopped going to the MDR entirely. The servers have been stretched so thin over the last several years that you can no longer get the attention to detail as they once had - they are too rushed. Also, we REALLY REALLY REALLY don't care for the dancing waiters. While that's a "fun" thing for many first time cruisers, for most of us who have sailed a lot, it becomes an interruption. We try to leave before the "festivities"!

 

On that note, about the only part of your review that I really felt differently about - the steakhouse. Here, I only have NCL to compare with (of those you've been on). I have tried Cagney's on four different ships and must say I feel the ambiance, selection, and quality are superior on Carnival (I know, every time I say that I shock myself)! We have easily enjoyed 50+ meals in their steakhouses, and with the exception of some issues with staffing and such on the Glory, have always had very good experiences. On both NCL and Celebrity we also dine in the specialty restaurants each evening - and we prefer Carnival. Le Bistro is our favorite NCL restaurant along with Murano on Celebrity.

 

What Carnival has done on the Lido decks across their fleet is sad -- if you want to listen to a DJ, then head to the disco. Although we have never been "lay around the pool and drink all day" people, I can see where the bands of years past were superior. If I were a sun worshiper I would much rather listen to variations of island music than some crap that a DJ mixes up. If I want that, which I do on rare occasions, you can find me in the disco.

 

You may want to give some thought to trying a Celebrity Solstice class ship - they are REALLY nice. We'll be on our third this coming New Year's. I can 100% thank their casino department (Blue Chip Club) for that, as I received an email offer several weeks ago offering us a free balcony cabin on that holiday sailing (as a result of past play with them). I threw in a few extra bucks and upgraded to an Aqua Class cabin, which have some nice perks. Carnival knows nothing about "perks", nor about comping players in their casino. They are distinctly "small time" in that regard -- though they don't portend to do anything but try to appeal to the masses, and I will say that they do that well!

 

Tom

[Venusleo1]

We really want to cruise celebrity and I keep checking their site but their cruises out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale (when we can cruise May-Oct) are all too long :( and I just cant get away from work for more then a 7-8 night cruise. I'll keep checking though. One day! Thanks for all your comments!

[jst]

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Read your review, we are D+ on Royal and have sailed HAL & Princess with 35+ cruises to our credit, so are also seasoned cruisers. We sailed on Carnival 12 years ago Mexican Riviera, had a bad cruise (part of a large wedding group) consequently didn't sail with them for 12 years. June of this year we sailed on Valor (8 day) from Miami, booked a suite like we do on RCCL had a fantastic time yes it's different but so is HAL, each line is different. We had such a good time we sailed on Triumph (5 day) this month and will be going again in October. I guess everyones experiences are different and some of your negatives we did not have, did miss not having a Steak House on Triumph, but the passengers and crew were extremely friendly. We are in our 70's so do not have small children, but there were almost 1,000 under the age of 18 on Valor. We do not frequent the pools on deck, which yes, were always busy, so this was not a problem, and we laughed about "You know you are on Carnival when you approach the Jumbotron", but that will soon also be on RCCL.

If RCL would cruise year round from TEXAS we probably would not have even tried Carnival after the previous experience we had, and the negatives we had read on the boards, but we wanted to go to Aruba and Curacoa so tried Valor.

We would have gladly cruised RCL and have cruises booked for 2013 and 2014 when they have ships in Galveston, but also have cruises booked on Carnival to fill the empty months.

Do we love RCL you bet, but sometimes you have to look outside the box.

 

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Last edited by jst; Today at 04:05 PM.

[adaptabl]

When I first read the review (Husband 40+ something, wife 30 something) I was thinking spoiled trophy wife. Then the "are you pregnant" comment from the cabin stewart made me think my first idea was wrong.

 

Not the same experience me and my wife or any of our friends ever experienced. All our cruises have been great on Carnival. Maybe next year we will try another cruiseline to see if it is any different on them since FCV's have been discontinued.

[DarthGrady]

Thanks for a very honest and fair review OP. Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise, but I can understand how many little things can add up to an unimpressive trip.

 

I agree with you on a few of your main points. I feel that RCI's buffet station setup is superior to the cafeteria line style that CCL employs. Although it does seem like they are trying to remedy it with the extra stations being installed (burrito bar, Guy's Burgers, Mongolian wok).

 

I also think that CCL's lido areas are not as well thought out as RCI's. They tend to short the number of pools and hot tubs for the amount of guests on board, this is most prevalent on the Dream Class and (post Evolutions of Fun) Fantasy Class ships. Carnival ships could really use a quiet adults only area like Royal's Solarium. Serenity is a step in the right direction, but the areas don't have pools which is a major drawback.

 

I have never experienced the room stewards attempting to sell anything, so that's definitely a new one. I have also been absolutely blown away by CCL's steakhouses, including the one on Liberty. I actually prefer them to Chops. So I was surprised to see that you weren't overly impressed.

[cruzn buckeye]

Sorry this was not the cruise for you.

 

Fortunately in our 50+ cruises on Carnival....we have never had this experience.

 

The only thing that is interesting is the tone of this post that these same issues can not happen on Royal or NCL ..... when I have read the very same complaints (and just as many of them ) about both... and on Royal they paid a lot more money for the same complaints.

I loved the Liberty. we just got back on the 15th. I do agree with the lido space being taken away... but then I loved Guys burgers:D. Maybe they could have put that back at the adult area?? maybe not...:rolleyes:

I will say I agree with most posters about the buffet food, Omelets were always good and fresh, but as far as lunch at the buffets.. just not good like it used to be... that is why most days I had a guys burger... I used to love going to the buffet and getting a little of this and a little of that... now.. not so much....

[browneyedwoman]

I am really enjoying your review. Thanks for posting!