Our "Suite" Liberty Cruise Review-November 10th, 2012

[niksmom630]

I had also asked about scheduling a "private party" in our room. The Chicago Bears were playing the Houston Texans. This was a Sunday night game that was nationally televised, and Oana confirmed that it would be available for viewing in our staterooom as well as the On Air Club. She provided the following list of available appetizers (hot/cold) that would be available at a cost of $12-$13 per person:

We can arrange to have some hot and cold canapes and there would be a charge of $12 per person

(Hot Canapés: Breaded

Mozzarella Sticks; Deep Fried

Chicken Drummetts or Wings;

Sausage Rolls; Mini Vegetarian

Spring Rolls

Cold Canapés: Brie with Dried

Apricots & Walnuts; Baby

Shrimp Tartlet with Caviar;

Asparagus rolled in Roast Beef

-the second option would be $13 per person and we can offer

Hot Canapés: Mexican

Meatballs; Breaded Fried

Shrimp; Chicken Samosas; Mini

Crab Cakes

Cold Canapés: Smoked

Salmon & Guacamole on

Crostini; Cocktail Prawns in

Curry Cocktail Sauce; Brie with

Walnuts & Grapes

 

 

We ordered package #1 for 10 people (we were 9 adults and two children). As it turned out, this was WAY too much food. We had early dinner seating and I ordered the package to be delivered at 10 p.m.. The hot hors d'oerves were delivered in a large metal pan. There had to be 40 mozzarellas sticks, 30 wings, 20 egg rolls--in any event, it was way too much food for 10. Another tip--order for fewer people, and you will have plenty. I expected alot less. We also ordered beverages (beer and wine) at basically bar prices. The delivery on the beverages was a bit odd. Some beer was in ice buckets, other's just loose, one bottle of wine and 10 wine glasses (?) .....which would have been great if anyone drinking wine just wanted a shot :confused:

 

Well, this is moving ahead to day #2's story--the "PRIVATE PARTAY"

 

So to finish up day one...we left the port late because luggage was still being delivered. As it turned out, we did not get our luggage until some time after 6 p.m. VERY IMPORTANT TIP--pack a few things in your carry on when you board the ship. Toiletries, maybe even a clothing change if you can swing it. So, do not count on your luggage being delivered before dinner, particularly if you have early seating. I usually plan a boarding outfit that will get me through to dinner if needed. We had early seating, and nothing was delivered before we left. Muster was also a bit lengthy on this cruise, and outdoors on the decks, which was different. Seems like the last few cruises we've taken, the muster drill has taken place in an interior venue. I think I mentioned earlier that Oasis was in port with Liberty, and wound up leaving before we did. We've not sailed her yet, but it is definately on my list. So I'll leave you with a few pictures of Oasis sailing away, and more to come tomorrow!

 

 

[Leadfoot56]

Great review Niksmom. We are sailing on the Liberty as well and would like to email the concierge. What address did you use? We'd love to do the bridge and galley tours too. Looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

[gto1970]

awesome review so far! We are sailing on Liberty this week on Sat.

[campbell51]

Great review , we sailed on Liberty in a Grand Suite in April and loved it. Oana Poppa was the concierge on that cruise to could not do enough for us and she did get as a bridge tour on the last sea day.

Looking forward to reading more of your review and seeing your beautiful pictures.

[LBumb]

Good job

[niksmom630]

Great review Niksmom. We are sailing on the Liberty as well and would like to email the concierge. What address did you use? We'd love to do the bridge and galley tours too. Looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

 

 

Thank you! The Liberty concierge is Oana Popa, and her e-mail address is LB_Concierge@rccl.com . She was wonderful to work with!

[niksmom630]

After dinner in the MDR last night, we headed back to the cabin to see if our luggage had arrived, and so we spent a bit of time unpacking, and thought about heading our for some evening entertainment, but we were really tired, and just wound up going to bed early. Had we had any energy, they had a few things going on this evening: welcome aboard show, a 70's DJ event on the promenade, some Dreamworks character photo ops and appearances, and a late night comedian.

 

I was wondering if this Dreamworks experience would be akin to sailing on a Disney cruise ship, with the characters popping up all over the place. Not sure if it was just a timing issue or what, but I never saw one character in the 5 days I was onboard. The compasses do list specific times when they will be on the promenade, so I'm guessing as soon as the hour is up, they slip off into some secret room until the next showing. There might have been some appearances on the pool deck as well, but again, I never saw them.

 

The good thing about retiring early is catching the sunrise the next morning:

 

 

We had breakfast in the Windjammer, and then went off to do a bit of exploring before heading to the pool. Since we were early risers, the Windjammer was not very crowded, and there were plenty of tables available. However, lunch time was a different story. I'll chalk this up to bad timing as well as the fact that it was a sea day, but it was an absolute ZOO! The worst I have experienced on any RCL cruise in the Windjammer. People pushing and shoving as if it was the last meal they would be serving for the next 4 days. I was absolutely awestruck by the number of people who bumped into me, who did not even offer up a simple "excuse me, or pardon me for almost knocking you over". One of the suite benefits is the ability to take your breakfast or lunch and be seated in Chops. We did this one morning at breakfast, (the last sea day) and it was very nice, quiet and relaxing. But you still have to battle the buffet line crowds. Honestly, this isn't RCL's fault--the Windjammer is laid out nicely to allow for the flow of passengers through the lines. I also noticed on several occasions some passengers really mistreating the staff. One guy arguing loudly with the Windjammer greeting staff because he did not want to sanitize his hands. Sheesh!!!! I vowed to avoid the Windjammer for lunch on the last sea day.

 

We went looking for the private area by the pool for suite guests, and I actually came upon it by accident. The entrance is located directly behind and one deck up from the Sky Bar. It's a nice area, and there are lots of chairs--many of them padded like the chairs in the Solarium. They had Pool Patrol checking sea passes often in this area. On port days I was able to find chairs easily around the pool or solarium, but this area really comes in handy on those sea days when the chair hogs are out in full force, as is evidenced in the photo below....

 

 

Cupcake decorating and football party at sea coming up later.....

[kleo30]

I am really enjoying your review. I can't see your pictures though...unless I am on my phone. Weird.

[niksmom630]

I am really enjoying your review. I can't see your pictures though...unless I am on my phone. Weird.

 

 

Thanks--not sure what the issue could be--although I am cutting and pasting these photos from a Facebook album I created. Maybe that's the problem? Anyone else not seeing the photos?????

[kleo30]

Thanks--not sure what the issue could be--although I am cutting and pasting these photos from a Facebook album I created. Maybe that's the problem? Anyone else not seeing the photos?????

I generally use Chrome, but thought I'd try logging in on a different browser. I am able to view the pictures logged on Firefox. Gorgeous!

[niksmom630]

We registered our daughters for the cupcake decorating class at the Cupcake Cupboard for 3:00 p.m. I was able to do this online, but it wasn't particularly intuitive as to where to find the link to register. I think I actually found it under the section where you reserve specialty dining reservations. They had about 8 kids in the class (boys and girls) and ranging from maybe kindergarten age to pre teen. Each child was able to decorate 2 cupcakes, and the class was about an hour long. Each got a seperate cup with the decorating ingredients, and the table was lined with saran wrap so they could practice using any of the piping tubes before they placed it on the cupcake. The instructor did a good job of guiding them. My daughter enjoyed this class, and did wind up eating one of her creations during the cruise.

 

Here they are intently waiting for the next set of instructions:

 

 

they decorated a lion and a frog:

 

 

Close up of lion:

 

 

While I was watching the class, I snapped a photo of the cupcakes for sale. They had gluton free, and several other varieties. I think they were about $2.50 for the regular size, and the mini (one bites) were maybe $1.25.

 

Notice in the lower left corner, the only lonely mini red velvet cupcake? I took pity on it, and decided to buy it. The frosting was yummy, but the cupcake itself was a bit dry. Maybe there's a reason it was the last one left, and the next fresh batches would be a bit more moist :p

 

I've read a few comments on the boards about whether this venue will be replaced at some point. I have to agree that with the amount of sweets onboard, do they really sell alot of cupcakes????? Well, I was a captive audience during the cupcake class, and I purchased one. So maybe this is part of their marketing strategy.

 

At the end of the class, each child got a cupcake cupboard apron. It was a bit cheesy actually. It looks alot like a stiff tarp with strings. I can't see her ever wearing it. There are also alot of cupcake type souveniers for purchase here; charms, cloth aprons, t-shirts etc.

[LoneStarJeffe]

Great review so far! Looking forward to the rest of it!

[Leadfoot56]

Thanks for the concierge email address. Enjoying your review immensely. Looking forward to sailing on the Liberty this Saturday! :)

[lady_cruiser]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. My sister and I decided to splurged too and book an Owner's Suite for our Dec. 2013 cruise on the Serenade of the Seas. We figured that it will take us that long to pay it off :).

 

Seeing your photos made us glad that we were able to get the last OS available on that cruise.

[futrmd]

I can see the pictures. I'm using Chrome on my laptop. Really enjoying the review.

[niksmom630]

ok, sorry for the delay--catching up on the day job that pays for these vacations is really interferring with my review.....:D

 

unfortunately the cupcake experience ran a bit over, so I did not make our M & M at 3:30. Luckiy, I still got to meet some folks at sailaway....:( and later on the cruise at the 3 card poker table (Hi, Donna! Hopefully you are reading this!)

 

So, onto the football party...I had been e-mailing the Concierge Oana Popa the entire week prior to our sailing. As I mentioned earlier, she sent me the package details for the party , and we also confirmed beverage delivery and quantities on Sunday. So, after early seating on formal night, we headed back into the cabin to change into Bears gear. Imagine my disappointment when I turned on the TV for the big game and there was no sound on the TV :eek:

 

I immediately called my amazing cabin stewart Alan. Alas, still no sound, and later would find out that the satellite connectiion had failed.......so, if you happened to hear a roaring cheer on deck 10, it wasn't because the Bears has scored, it was because we finally had sound!

 

As I mentioned earlier,, the package we ordered was WAY too much food, but very tasty.

 

I liked everything but the shrimp tartlett with caviar...it was very fishy tasting :p

 

(Hot Canapés: Breaded

Mozzarella Sticks; Deep Fried

Chicken Drummetts or Wings;

Sausage Rolls; Mini Vegetarian

Spring Rolls

Cold Canapés: Brie with Dried

Apricots & Walnuts; Baby

Shrimp Tartlet with Caviar;

Asparagus rolled in Roast Beef

 

 

[niksmom630]

Football party at sea---so, the Bears got skunked by the Titans...and our quarterback is now injured.....I have to say that it seems so much easier to take a loss and this bad news when you are at sea and enjoying a vacation.....

[niksmom630]

UGH, I meant Texans, not Titans!-a loss is a loss--here's what happens when you report very late at night.

 

In any event, the football party was a success, and we are moving onto to Day 3, arrival in Belize!

[waterbugohio]

ok, sorry for the delay--catching up on the day job that pays for these vacations is really interferring with my review.....:D

 

unfortunately the cupcake experience ran a bit over, so I did not make our M & M at 3:30. Luckiy, I still got to meet some folks at sailaway....:( and later on the cruise at the 3 card poker table (Hi, Donna! Hopefully you are reading this!)

 

Of course I am reading Chris. You are doing a great job. Great review!!

[niksmom630]

Day #3 - Belize

 

We had no intention of doing an excursion or getting off here, but we did get some photos pulling in

 

 

We were really churning up a ton of sand. Later in the week during our bridge tour learned why.....

 

 

 

So, now I understand why everyone wa complaining about the tender distance. Our dining room waiter told us that a "standard" tender would take 45 minutes to Belize, but the "speed" boats cut this time to 20 minutes...in any event, still too long for me--we didn't have an excursion scheduled, so we would make the Liberty our home today.....:D

 

 

More tomorrow folks!!

[niksmom630]

We decided to try room service breakfast this morning and dine on the balcony. Another nice suite benefit is the ability to order off the MDR menus, which means made to order eggs, omelets, etc. It arrived quickly (within about 20 minutes) and the food was hot. Should have done this more often in retrospect.

 

Speaking of food.....

 

We had Table 361 in the MDR. Our waiter was Agung (from Indonesia, I believe), Assistant waiter was Derek, and Dexter was our bar server. AMAZING service in the MDR! We had a table of 11. I had e-mailed rcldining@rccl.com a month prior to sailing requesting a large table provided the linked reservation numbers. I got a response that our request was "noted", they would do the best to accomodate it, and to follow-up a week prior to sailing to confirm. I did follow-up with an e-mail a week prior, and provided our table number, and was told we were seated by the window! I would really recommend doing this if you are traveling with a group and want to be seated together. On a previous cruise, we had a large group as well (5 children and 7 adults). Even though our reservations were linked, we wound up getting assigned two tables of 6, which basically meant one adult was dining at the kiddie table each evening. Once on board, they could not get us at a large table. Live and learn! :D

 

Here's a shot of our table--nice location!

 

 

We learned on CC that the new menus would be released on the sailing following ours. BUMMER! Hence, no food porn in this review, as I'm sure everyone has seen it all. I really enjoy the food on RCL, but after many cruises, I feel like I have commited the current menu to memory. Looking forward to trying the new menus on our Jewel cruise in February!

 

We were celebrating birthday's and a 25 year anniversary on this sailing. It seems to me RCL used to bring a small cake to the table, which was really overkill, if you'd already sampled the desserts. The cake usually would go uneaten. Instead, an evening dessert offering was decorated with a white chocolate banner to commemorate the event. Great idea!

 

Our anniversary friends had already started digging into theirs before I could get a shot:

 

 

and my birthday, Tiramisu

 

 

This is the extent of my food pictures. I wish I had gotten a photo of the Lobster Tail I ordered from Portofino one evening. It was HUGE, and delicious. Well worth the money, which I actually wound up not paying for, as there was some mix up in the kitchen, and it was delivered late. The head waiter came over and profusely apologized, and said it would be at no charge.

 

Final note on the service--really some of the best MDR service we have had on any recent cruises. Seems like the experience is more and more rushed, and bar service has really been spotty for us. We later found our our server Agung only had one table. He indicated he would be assigned more if he got good "reviews". Perhaps that's why we felt so special :)

 

Bar service was also awesome. Dexter brought us the shot of the evening each night, and was right at the table ready to take our orders when we walked in each evening.

 

We did not hit Chops or Portofino on this sailing, because generally I find the food in the MDR very good. Beef tenderloin, Prime Rib, and Tiger Shrimp were all delicious. I actually missed dinner in the MDR in Cozumel, because we had a late lunch--when I checked the menu, nothing really appealed to me, but I later found out there was a misprint, and the fishermans platter (shrimp, mini lobster tail) was served that evening :mad: .

 

But our friends said the lobster was VERY small, so we didn't miss much....

[niksmom630]

Well, I had intended to take photos from the top deck down of venues on every floor. I'm not sure what happened--if they got deleted from my camera, or I'd had one too many morning pina coladas and left the lens cover on, but I am missing a TON of photos that I thought I had taken :confused:

 

Here's the chapel:

 

 

And then the promenade....

 

 

Sad but true--nothing in between....sigh....Thankfully all my bridge and galley tour shots didn't disappear--I'll be posting those in day #5!!!

 

My daughter was interested in trying the Flowrider, so we headed up to deck 13. I had to sign a waiver, and she received a wristband, which basically gave you a blanket waiver covered the climbing wall, as well as ice skating, I believe. She never wound up doing either of them, but she absolutely LOVED the Boogie Board on the Flow Rider. Like her mother, she is vertically challenged, so was about an inch short of being able to do the stand up surfing. She enjoyed it so much over the course of the week, that we wound up signing her up for the lesson ($60), which was one hour long. They accept up to 8 people in each lesson. She was on her stomach most of the time, but following the lesson, she finally got up on her knees!

 

 

Since I spent a considerable amount of time here, I would offer up some advise. Ladies, do not attempt this in a bikini! :eek: For added protection, throw a tank top on and a pair of shorts. The water pressure is VERY powerful. And Gents, make sure the drawstring on your swim suit is tightly secured about your waist! Speedos should just simply be banned. There is stadium type seating all the way around, so unless you want to expose your body to the masses, take my advise!!!!

 

One girl lost her bikini bottom and didn't even realize it. Thankfully she got some protection/coverage froman instructor holding a boogie board, until someone finally brought her a towel!!!

[niksmom630]

Well, I better get cracking with the rest of this review before I lose all of you ;) Had to go all the way back to page 4 to find where I last left off!!!

 

We spent a bit of time in the casino tonight, but headed to bed fairly early. The guys in our group had an early morning excursion in Cozumel.

 

Day 4-Cozumel

 

Pulling into the pier in Cozumel in the a.m....

 

 

And the pilot boat....

 

 

The port was really hopping today. The two Carnival sisters were pulling in as well. Never have sailed Carnival, and not sure I want to....back to my "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" theory.....

 

 

The guys in our group did the Jungle ATV Excursion. Overall, they didn't give it very high ratings. We've traveled together with our group before, so the guys have done several ATV tours in the Caribbean and Mexico. Aruba's tour ranked as their favorite. They all said the the roads were very rough and rock filled. My husband said the path seemed to just take them in circles, and they kept passing the same Mayan statues along the way, so he thinks they basically just drove through the same course several times. First time ever he came back with blisters on his hands from trying to control the bike over the rocks, and another guy in our group came home with whiplash. Nothing a few beverages at Senor Frogs and Charlies can't cure.....

 

 

The other ladies and I decided to do some shopping at the area right by the pier. You can take a taxi into the main shopping area, but if you are just looking for a few souveniers, you'll be able to find it here.

 

Los Cinco Soles is a must stop to purchase my annual supply of Vanilla!!!

 

If you haven't tried this vanilla yet, I highly recommend it. The flavor is like nothing you can get in the states!

 

Had to get this photo of the Liberty next to the Jewel. Sailed the Jewel last year and sailing her again this February. One of my favorite ships, although she looks pretty ting next to Liberty!!!

 

[Coolcruise02]

Enjoying your review; can't wait for more!

[niksmom630]

We wandered about the shops a bit more before returning to the ship. These handsome guys were posing for photos with all the shoppers. They had a "donation" basket at their feet, which I contributed to....

 

 

 

We headed back to the ship, and stopped in the Concierge Lounge to inquire about some "teen" spa appointments for the evening. They were running a special for girls 12-16--an hour session, which included a mini facial, neck and shoulder massage, foot scrub and mask, polish change for fingers and toes. They held a nightly party at 8 p.m. on several evenings, and then they had a whole menu of services as well. If anyone is interested in seeing the services they offer at "Z-Spa" a.k.a., the Teen Spa, let me know and I'll scan it into the review. My daughter enjoyed the treatment, but being a spa "neubie" she's not familiar with the high powered product sales pitches, came out with product in hand, and convinced me to buy her a facial scrub guaranteed to make her skin as soft and smooth as a babies bottom ;)

 

I'm just kidding about the high powered sakes pitch--while I did not use any spa services this cruise, in general I have found that they have eased up a bit on the product pushing on my last few cruises!

 

We had a late lunch, and decided to skip dinner in the MDR this evening, as we had plans to meet at the Hoof and Claw Pub as a group at 9:45 (about time we got out and saw some nightlife on this ship!)

 

Here's a shot of us pulling away from Cozumel--the Jewel remained in port later then we did.

 

 

I went to the photo gallery to pick up a few pictures I had liked, since the Diamond booklets provide you 1 free photo. So, I grabbed my husbands coupon as well as my own, wrote in the folio information from his card and my card, and tried to purchase them. Apparently the folio/card carrier must be there in person in order to use the coupon. If I have one pet peeve with RCL it's the coupon books. Seems they could make this a much easier process. If you are diamond, you get 20% off your internet package and the first 30 minutes are free. Period. Instead you have to buy the package, and then wait in line at Guest Services to get them applied. I would think it would be easy enough to just get this somehow programmed in your seapass card. Could save time Guest Services, as well as the passengers....again, just a pet peeve--the coupons are nice, but in general kindof a hassle to use....

 

After wandering the shops on the promenade a bit, we headed to the Hoof and Claw where Joe Dougherty was playing a guitar. We LOVE the promenade pubs on the Voyager class ships, and always plan to go as a group and join in on the sing-a-longs!!!!

 

Frankly, I was really disappointed. All the pub entertainers on the other ships have really engaged with the crowd, asking for requests, asking where people were from, etc. A very interactive experience. While he was a talented performer, he just went from song to song to song, didn''t talk to the crowd, and very few people were signing along. We usually frequent the pub a few times on our cruise, but we never went back this time. Maybe it was just an off night for him, but I didn't enjoy it at all....

 

We headed back to the room to prepare for our last day of the cruise, which is officially jam packed. Bridge Tour at 10, Ice Show at 2, Galley Tour at 4, and Flowrider lesson for my daughter at 5....:eek:

 

Great towel animals this evening--I especially like the second one....

 

 

 

 

Will try to wrap this one up tomorrow or Friday at the latest!!!