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Random Thoughts on Liberty 4/11/15 - 5 Day Western

disneyfan1313
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disneyfan1313

disneyfan1313

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I returned a few days ago from an AWESOME cruise on the Liberty of the Seas and I wanted to put together my thoughts and of course answer any questions that future cruisers might have.

 

First of all - about me and my traveling party. We are mid-30s DINKs who love to travel and cruise. We have been on 7 RCCL cruises and 10+ on almost all other lines. We have a pretty stressful "work" life so on the cruise we tend to be laid back, sleep super late, etc. We cruised with two other couples that normally have kids, but didn't bring them along on this cruise.

We chose this ship because we LOVE the Freedom class of ships and I wanted to catch this one before it left Florida. Plus, I have never been to Belize so getting a new country credit was a bonus.

 

Embarkation: We usually try to arrive LATE. I have no interest in being the first on the ship and dealing with the stress of lugging my bags to the buffet and then waiting for my room to open. We like to get there at 2 or 3pm and walk on the ship in 5 minutes. This worked out GREAT for this cruise but terminal 22 at Port Everglades really leaves something to be desired in its design. You have to drop your bags at one building then walk over 1/2 a ship length back to the other building? Weird. It seemed to be for the benefit of the porters (fort lauderdale seems to win the award for worst porters at any florida port) since they were yelling at us to walk in the road and get out of their way while they were in the shade and safety. Oh well!

 

Our Room: We got a 6th floor Promenade view stateroom right above the Champagne bar and looking at the "rainbow bridge". We have never had this type of room before and it was VERY cool! Sound was not an issue from the promenade - in fact we usually heard more sound from the hallway! It was fun to people watch and having that little bench in front of the window was very cool. I would probably still opt for a balcony if the price was reasonable but I also wouldn't hesitate to do it again! Stateroom attendant was fine - nothing out of the ordinary either way. Our friends did get us the Anniversary decoration package one night - and that was GREAT! Love how the room looked! This was the 3rd cruise that we had to ask for our bathrobe amenity and it wasn't waiting. Our friends did have it waiting in their room with the same stateroom host - are we just unlucky?

 

The Ports: We never book ship excursions - we either just explore the port on our own or book an independent tour.

Belize: I had originally considered one of the independent tours to the Mayan temples in Belize but didn't want to take up our whole day when we hadn't explored the port before. Instead we got up late, ate an awesome lunch at "The Smoky Mermaid" which was about a 1/2 mile walk away from the port, found some Geocaches (including #250!) and then decided to do a bus tour of the city! We did this late (around 3pm) so we got a private tour! It was VERY interesting to see the poor and the rich parts of Belize city and then learn a bit of history and see downtown (did you know they have an Amish community there?). If we had booked a similar tour with the ship it would have been $39 (ours was $25) and we would have had to be in packed tour bus earlier than we would have wanted to wake up. The tender there and back was REALLY long but the water was smooth and a nice breeze made it comfortable and fun.

Cozumel: We have been to Cozumel probably 10 times at this point so we don't really do much except take a Taxi to our favorite restaurant (Pancho's Backyard...touristy but really nice atmosphere and good food) and then walk up the strip and browse in the shops. We also met up with some friends who were sailing DCL at the same time at the brand new Hard Rock Cafe (a real one now!) and hit some more Geocaches that were off the beaten path.

 

The Food: To be honest, we have pretty much given up on the main dining room food on RCCL. The quality has gone WAY downhill, service isn't much better and we found that we were eating stuff just because it was in front of us, not because we actually liked it. This is the second cruise that we did "No main dining room" and we were VERY happy. We hit Chops the first night and loved it. I think the service charge is *slightly* too high considering what that will get you on land. Plus, they now tell you that an extra app is $5, etc. Portafino was on the second night and I WISH this was on more ships. Great Italian, good atmosphere and awesome service. We did Johnny Rockets every night around 11pm for Onion Rings and Apple Pie (weird... I know...) and did it for a full dinner on the third night. Service can be a little gruff - but the food is good and fast and it is always fun for $5.99. Windjammer was the last two nights and was OK. Indian options are always the best but the quality of food in here seems to have actually gone slightly up as the dining room has plummeted down.

 

Internet: I purchased the unlimited internet for $65 (after discount) for the entire cruise. It was better than normal cruise speeds (probably comparable to a bad hotel wifi speed) and we used it more than enough to make it worth our while

 

Disembarkation: Cluster. Why is DCL the only line that can seem to nail this time and time again. We purposely get a late as possible debarkation time because we like to sleep in. We never get to bed before 3am so waking up at 7 is a pretty miserable way to end your vacation. The paperwork asks that you be out of your room by 9:30am so our alarm is set for 9:10 knowing that we just have to get dressed and walk out the door. Our stateroom attendant is nice, but also VERY loud. Starting at 7am he was thanking people as they left and waking us up slightly each time. Then around 8:00 we started getting hang up calls on our stateroom phone. This has never happened before but I am assuming they were trying to wake us up? Then at 8:30 we got a BANG BANG BANG on our door. I stumbled over and ask what it was. It was someone saying that they "Had our bill". I said that we had pre-paid and it should charge our CC. They repeated again that they "Had our bill" and at this point I put on the bathrobe and answered the door. It was someone I hadn't seen before who simply handed me the itemized receipt and walked away. Ugh!! At this point we were cranky, tired and annoyed. We got out of the room before 9:30 and wandered down the Cafe Promenade where it was advertised that they would have continental breakfast until 10am. They had 4-5 plates of danishes and a very surly person to serve them to you. Another 10 plates only had crumbs and they clearly had no intention of replenishing them. Once they hit 20 they called for all remaining folks to disembark. At this point we headed off the ship and realized we had to walk BACK to the first building to get our luggage. Oh- and the line stretched the entire way! The whole reason they have the numbers (to try and control the flow and line ) was clearly abandoned at the end in an attempt to get everyone off the ship quickly. A sad way to treat your guests at the end of the vacation.

 

Overall Service - Service on this ship was *GREAT* - probably better than I have seen in my last 3 RCCL cruises. They seem to be trying harder and I appreciate that. The only odd thing is something I mentioned in a post I made during the cruise (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2195585) . The crew "rules" about hanging out on passenger decks seemed to be very lax on this ship. We witnessed crew (not officers, entertainment or others with passenger area privileges) smoking, talking on cell phones, sitting in the promenade deck chairs and even sleeping. We also noticed that Johnny Rockets after 10:30 or so seemed to allow crew to come and eat and take up booths inside. It was just *weird* and not like anything we have seen on RCCL before.

 

Overall though it was an awesome cruise and I can't wait to book my next adventure!

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cb at sea

cb at sea

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I've NEVER heard that you can stay in your cabin until 9:30! They usually tell you to be out by 8am...which is why you were "being annoyed" on that last morning...they want you gone!

 

Breakfast is also earlier than normal on the last morning.

 

I do agree with you about the MDR food....downhill for the last 8-10 years.....

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disneyfan1313

disneyfan1313

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I've NEVER heard that you can stay in your cabin until 9:30! They usually tell you to be out by 8am...which is why you were "being annoyed" on that last morning...they want you gone!

 

Breakfast is also earlier than normal on the last morning.

 

We have never left our cabin before 9:30 before! :) The sheet they give you the last night in your stateroom lists that they would "prefer" you to be out of your room by 9:30am - it isn't even a hard and fast time. Breakfast is also advertised to run until 10am in the cafe promenade.

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Clarea

Clarea

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How does Johnny Rockets work? You pay a 5.99 cover charge per person? What are you aloud to order is there a certain limit? Thanks

All the food you can eat. Drinks and shakes are extra.

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Clarea

Clarea

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Wow! that's not too bad. Are there hamburgers on the ship included that are just as good? Thanks

There are hamburgers in the MDR at lunch in sea days that are pretty good. You also order a hamburger from room service. Finally, the MDR dinner menu includes Angus Sliders that are not bad.

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disneyfan1313

disneyfan1313

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We got off Liberty yesterday. The paper did say 9:30 but our steward told us 8:30 and was knocking on our door at 8:20.

 

Weird! We have never had an issue staying in our cabin that late on any other RCCL ship. Our departure time wasn't until 10:45 or later so having a time of 9:30 to leave your cabin makes sense.

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Clarea

Clarea

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Anybody have any experience with the Jade restaurant?

How's the sushi selection?

I believe it's only open at dinner time and doesn't cost money?

Jade is just a small section of Windjammer with Asian food, no extra cost. Did not see the sushi on our Liberty cruise last month, as we did not get to Windjammer during the evening.

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bkrickles1

bkrickles1

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you are everywhere! Lol!

I'll be on Liberty 7/2 for the 2nd time.

1st was on her in 2007 on the 5th ever cruise on Liberty.

I have late seating and would like some sushi at around 6pm to hold me over while having a cocktail or 2.

I'm part of a group of 28 and really want to try everything this time around, especially with it being a 9 day cruise with not alot of stops.

Thanks for the quick response

 

Jade is just a small section of Windjammer with Asian food, no extra cost. Did not see the sushi on our Liberty cruise last month, as we did not get to Windjammer during the evening.
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sauvichick

sauvichick

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Anybody have any experience with the Jade restaurant?

How's the sushi selection?

I believe it's only open at dinner time and doesn't cost money?

 

I'll be on Liberty right after you. If there's anything raw I probably won't touch it. On land yes. I might need it as pre-dinner snack.

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