Liberty B2B Nov 22 5 night and Nov 27 4 night

[alfaeric]

Much like quite a few people on this board, we were recently on the Liberty, and so that I don't repeat a lot of stuff, I'll just go over what we did or saw or whatever differently....

 

We got to the port at about 12:45 on Saturday, and the traffic is REALLY bad right now, especially on Saturday, when so many big ships are in the port. There is road construction in the port area. Oops.

 

When we finally got to the port, there was a pretty long line wrapped around the building, which I was not really looking forward to, but we saw a "gap"- there's an entrance for Suite guests, and since we had a JS booked, that's were we got in. No line, barely any wait for security, too- whew.

 

Right now, I'll mention that we carry everything on- over the years of travelling, we've learned that the effort to pack light to have flights of carry on only luggage is worth the delay and frustrations with baggage at the airport. More than once, our luggage was late by a long time. Even flying first class there are issues... So all carry on.

 

Check in was quick, and even with the crowd and whatnot, we were on the ship at 1:15. Being that they directed everyone to the forward part of the ship, we walked with our luggage back to the aft, starboard elevators- where nobody was. From deck 5 to deck 10, we quickly got to our cabin of 1406. We LOVE aft cabins, and really have gotten into JS.

 

It was easy to unpack, and we were ready to go pretty quickly. This was our 4th and 5th cruise on the Liberty, so the only thing we "neede" to do was to reserve bikes for the spinning class.

 

Due to the very windy weather, the muster drill was delayed by 15 min to 4:15. But even then, I have to be honest that the organization was not good, and it took a long time to get everyone there. I'm quite sure more than a few people didn't go. Then, most of the guests talked really loudly the whole time, even over some of the instructions. Yes, I've seen them many times, but nobody talks over the airplane safety talks.... Anyway, it was the same on the second cruise, too- not much organization, and a lot of loud guests.

 

Being D+ members, we realized that going to the coctail hours + dinner was way too much food, so we never went to the main dining room. So I can't report on service one way or another.

 

But also being D+ members, we get BOGO at the specialty restaurants. And for this evening, we went to Portofinos. One of our return gifts is the bottle of St Michelle sparkling wine. Put the two together, and we had a really nice evening. One interesting thing happened while we were up there- we went back to the port due to a medical emergency. Since I had not been paying attention, I had thought that we were going by Miami really closely.... :eek: But I was very wrong. We actually tied up at the close pier where I think Holland normally docks. By the time we finished dinner, we were back at sea.

 

The weather was really windy, so the top decks were closed, and the ship moved a lot.

 

Normal day at sea- even though many of the outside venues were closed.

 

The rest of the week, we had "dinner" and drinks at the Diamond Lounge. We like it there more than the CL on this ship- better views, more area, etc. And Oana was very very nice to talk to. By the time dinner time comes, we eat light, so it was really easy to put a plate or two together, and be done for the night.

 

Also, we got there mostly after 6pm, when the early seaters had gone to eat. So crowds were never really a problem. Except on turn around night, when we were early- didn't even go in.... but more on that later.

 

The DL crowd was really nice- we met a few other families and got to know them pretty well. The ONE Pinnacle couple also went up there. The one evening we spent with them was interesting- not due to them, but we talked their observations, which were quite correct. They mentioned that the captain never went to events- ever. The Suite/PC get together, the C&A events, dinner, etc- the only time he was seen in public was captains night. And they thought that it had an impact on the crew...

 

Here's an example, while we were talking the Hotel Director came up to our conversation, and talked with them- standing next to me. I kind of extended my hand to introduce myself, but he never looked at me at all. Right next to me. Really, really odd- my wife and I kind of got a bad feeling from that. We also got a bad feeling from the CL consierege- not sure why, but even though we can go in there, it wasn't a feeling of welcome- he seemed to "boot" us up to Oana to take care of things.

 

Anyway, the highlights of the Liberty to us are the show and the crew friends we have made. And none of that dissappointed- on a previous trip, the DL overflow was out in the Olive & Twist, were we got to know the bartender Robert. Well, on this trip, I went to go hang out in the Champagne bar while my wife "shopped"- and he stopped and said hi as he remembered me. So we talked with him a quite a few times during the week. Also, we had gotten to know Marlan and Sandra in the Cupcake Cupboard, and it was really great to see them again, and their happy faces!!!

 

The Shows were great- We saw In the Air 3 times, and Saturday Night Fever 4 times over the two cruises. The ice show was just twice... ;) I very much know they are not for everyone, but we are some of the people that they ARE for. So we really enjoyed that.

 

On the first cruise- we did the bridge and galley tours, which were pretty cool. We do them every trip mostly because they are different each time. This time on the galley tour, the chef was super cool and we had a great time...

 

Turn around day turned out to be on Thanksgiving. Which was a day that we were not sure what to do. Go to the MDR for turkey dinner, or use a BOGO at one of the other venues? The chef on the tour suggested some ideas... So Oana helps us and maybe 12 more people who are doing the B2B with us, and as we exit the customs area, a guest services person is asking for the people in room 1406... uh oh... what's wrong?? We ended up losing our JS.... for a GS!!!!! Yes, we were upgraded for the second leg of the B2B. Sweet Suite. After getting the cards changed at guest services, we quickly put our stuff together, and moved to cabin 1256.

 

That upgrade instantly solved our dining problem. We had Thanksgiving dinner in our cabin. On a REALLY nice night out of Ft. Lauderdale.

 

The other "highlight" of the cruise was a new concept they were doing at Vintages. One other reviewer noted the bar manager has done a really great job at making the bar a WINE bar, and one of the new things he has done is adding a tasting + dinner. The dinner is just what you would get in the MDR, but in Vintages, you get wine paired with every dish. Plus some. Most of the wines he served, we had had at one point or another, but it was REALLY interesting how he paired them with the food. Most of those we had NOT done before. So if you like wine, and want to like it more, this wine tasting is something to try. The normal tasting is $25 or $30, but for this, it was $40- and we got a LOT more wine. 4 dishes with wine, a pallete cleanser with wine, and an after dinner drink. That's 6 servings per person. And dinner brought to you in a nice quiet place. I very much hope this idea/concept can find it's way to other ships. Very worth it. And it put a lot of wine enthusiasm to the vintages crew.

 

Not much to report on the stops- once in Belize City, twice in Cozumel- where we go running to see stuff. (although, the second run in Cozumel was cool, as the next day was an Iron Man, so many streets were closed in the morning)

 

Getting off was a breeze- we walk off (like walking on), and Carlos, the CL consierge caught us waiting for an elevator. Asked what we were doing- he then took us to a crew elevator directly to deck 1, and he escorted us off like he would the rest of the suite guests later in the morning. Good thing we had a GS for the second trip.

 

Not a 100% perfect cruise, but we will still go back to the Liberty as it's one of our favorite ships. Just not sure when we will be able to....

[Ladysilver]

Thanks for the review!! :D

[OTownNick]

Enjoyed your review. Wow that was a nice upgrade.