Liberty 9 night. Will we get bored?

[sherezada]

We're a family of 4: Me, hubby, son (5) & daughter (3). I have the 9-night Liberty of the Seas sailing on hold (NJ-Bermuda-St Martin-SJ-Labadee). Still trying to decide between that and an All-Inclusive in Mexico.

 

So far we are RC loyals. We've enjoyed most of our 7-night cruises, but we've never done a 9-nighter. I'm a bit worried about the activities (or lack thereof). I know on our last trip on the Navigator there were sea days when I'd look at the compass and think "there's really nothing to do right now but bingo or trivia".

 

I haven't been able to find a cruise compass or Aquanauts compass for that itinerary. Can anyone give me some insight on what I could expect? Are there enough activities to keep us and the kids entertained for 4 sea days?

Edited June 3, 2015 by sherezada

[cruiselvr04]

If your kids like the kids club they will not be bored. At that age they may even need a nap.

 

We like sea days to rest, read and relax. Some people don't enjoy that. For me it would be great. If you like one activity after another then lots of sea days are not for you. I would find it heaven to check the little ones in and take a nap myself.😀

[Langley Cruisers]

Yes, you will be bored. I will take one for the team and go in your place. :D;):p

 

j/k. The longer cruises are my favorite. The 7 nighters are OK but let's be honest - on Day 3 or 4 you start getting disembarkation stuff!! The 9 night cruise will be phenomenal, and Liberty is a great ship. A cruise is what you make it. Some people would love to be cruising but just can't make it work. We always enjoy our vacations.

 

Have fun. :)

[sky0000547]

2 extra nights to your normal 7 nights are not exactly long. I can see your concerns if it is 14 nights.

 

The extra H2O zone on the Liberty which the Navigator doesn't have will be fun for the kids.

[ryano]

Yes, you will be bored. I will take one for the team and go in your place. :D;):p

 

j/k. The longer cruises are my favorite. The 7 nighters are OK but let's be honest - on Day 3 or 4 you start getting disembarkation stuff!! The 9 night cruise will be phenomenal, and Liberty is a great ship. A cruise is what you make it. Some people would love to be cruising but just can't make it work. We always enjoy our vacations.

 

Have fun. :)

 

7 nights is not long enough for me either. I REALLY want to go on a longer 10 or 12 nighter or even a B2B for 14 nights total. Im afraid that will have to wait for retirement though :o They dont like us taking that much time off all at once.

[denatravels]

Yes, you will be bored. I will take one for the team and go in your place. :D;):p

 

 

 

 

 

Hilarious!! I'm doing a 14 nighter as my second cruise in August (Liberty B2B). There are so many ports on the 9 nights that I'm HOPING to have some relaxation time, too! Granted, not traveling with kids, but I am very excited. Liberty looks like a fun ship!

[reedprincess]

We're a family of 4: Me, hubby, son (5) & daughter (3). I have the 9-night Liberty of the Seas sailing on hold (NJ-Bermuda-St Martin-SJ-Labadee). Still trying to decide between that and an All-Inclusive in Mexico.

 

So far we are RC loyals. We've enjoyed most of our 7-night cruises, but we've never done a 9-nighter. I'm a bit worried about the activities (or lack thereof). I know on our last trip on the Navigator there were sea days when I'd look at the compass and think "there's really nothing to do right now but bingo or trivia".

 

I haven't been able to find a cruise compass or Aquanauts compass for that itinerary. Can anyone give me some insight on what I could expect? Are there enough activities to keep us and the kids entertained for 4 sea days?

Who knows? No one here knows you or your family, except you. If you're already worried about it, odds are, you'll be bored. If you're bored on a 7-night, then a 9-night likely will bore you more. Personally, I welcome those down tines when none of the cruise activities don't appeal and I can relax and rejuvenate rather than go, go, go as I can be perfectly happy with a book and lounge chair. I'd that's not the case for you and you (and/or your family) need constant entertainment, then a 9-night may not be a fit, especially as you apparently struggled with a 7-night.

That said, who knows? Activities will be similar whether 7 or 9 nights, just more of them. Various trivial, pool games, shows, lounge acts, comedians, parades, etc...if it didn't work for you on 7 nights and you were bored, then odds are, you'll be more so on a 9 night. Same goes for an all-inclusive though, their daily and evening entertainment is often less varied than on a ship, with less lounges and dining options....just a thought.

[emeraldcity]

Reminds me of the time my oldest teen grumbled "I'm bored."

 

"REALLY", I said. "I excel at finding things for people to do. I'm so good at it, at work they PAY me to keep people busy."

 

Suddenly older and wiser, she said, "You know what? I like being bored. I'm just going to sit here and be bored. Bored is good."

 

Enjoy being bored ... it's a luxury not often experienced.

[ERIE 13]

We are on a ten day cruise on Liberty in Oct and I always look forward to sea days coming home just to relax and unwind. I was on Liberty back in 2010 and she is a great ship. The Freedom class and Voyager class ships are our favorites and they always have great kids zone activities for the kids.

[sherezada]

Thank you all. Considering your comments vs the extra cost & hassle of the All Inclusive (flights, RT transportation to resort vs just driving to Cape Liberty) we've made our decision: we're now booked on the Liberty of the Seas.

 

Yes, my kids love the Aquanauts club, plus I just showed my son some pictures of the H2O zone and he wants to go right now! LOL!

 

My husband is like most of you, he loves to just lay down and relax. I, on the other hand, am like a buzzing bee: I must be doing something at all times (yes, I'm that OCD person with the highlighter and cruise compass in my hand at all times :D), hence why I was bored on the Navigator. I do see that the Liberty is a bigger ship than the Navigator; actually a sister of the Freedom which I remember enjoying quite a bit. So I think I'll be good to go too. And if not I guess I'll force myself to try this relaxing thing you all talk about. Hey, maybe I'll learn to like it :cool:

Edited June 3, 2015 by sherezada

[cb at sea]

If you enjoyed 7 nights... then you will enjoy 9...not much difference...just more cruise time!

[pfm18]

She is a wonderful ship and there are approximately infinity different activities on every day, especially sea days!

 

 

Have a great cruise :)

[InsideCruiser]

Here are the compasses from when Explorer did that itinerary.

[RBAlbany]

Here are the compasses from when Explorer did that itinerary.

 

Just saw a Beer Tasting on a Compass. Anyone been to one?

[Cigar King]

So far we are RC loyals. We've enjoyed most of our 7-night cruises, but we've never done a 9-nighter. I'm a bit worried about the activities (or lack thereof). I know on our last trip on the Navigator there were sea days when I'd look at the compass and think "there's really nothing to do right now but bingo or trivia".

 

It sounds to me like you'll get bored...

[Justmekaren918]

The kids zone pool on Liberty look like it was keeping the kids hooked and happy!

 

I don't have kids so I do not have compass! I did go by the kids area and it looked like a really nice daycare areas for the kids to be! They have at least one real kid movie and they have the characters stuffn and dreamworks parade. Here are the sea day 2 and 5 off my end of Adult March compass, but it has the movies!

Day 2

Day 5

 

Click on them and you should be able to enlarge to better read! Happy sailing.

[njmomof2]

We did Liberty when my boys were 9.5 and 5 as our first family cruise. It set off a chain reaction and now both boys are diamond (after August they'll actually be only 4 points from it in their own right).

 

They loved Liberty. The H2O zone was a huge hit, and they really liked the clubs at that age. My younger son learned to skate and will tell anyone to this day that he learned to ice skate from "a Canadian dude on a cruise ship".

 

Now that they are older (17 and almost 13), they will only sail Freedom class or above, due to the flowrider. Older son is a junkie, gets on at 8 AM every day for advanced stand up, and continues through until they start boogie boarding. Then he comes back for stand up again in the afternoon. Younger son loves it too, but is more well rounded, and spends a lot of time on the rock wall, so much so that on one of our cruises, they gave him a belt with tools, sent him up the wall and had him tightening the hand grips!

 

I find that a bit of down time is a good thing, and enjoy being able to catch up on some reading that I can't do when working full time, having a second job, taking care of my house and being a single mom. Take advantage of some of that kid club time to get a massage, read a book or, if really lucky, take a nap!

 

The joy!!!!

[davidwar]

We're a family of 4: Me, hubby, son (5) & daughter (3). I have the 9-night Liberty of the Seas sailing on hold (NJ-Bermuda-St Martin-SJ-Labadee). Still trying to decide between that and an All-Inclusive in Mexico.

 

So far we are RC loyals. We've enjoyed most of our 7-night cruises, but we've never done a 9-nighter. I'm a bit worried about the activities (or lack thereof). I know on our last trip on the Navigator there were sea days when I'd look at the compass and think "there's really nothing to do right now but bingo or trivia".

 

I haven't been able to find a cruise compass or Aquanauts compass for that itinerary. Can anyone give me some insight on what I could expect? Are there enough activities to keep us and the kids entertained for 4 sea days?

 

Take the cruise vs. the all-inclusive in Mexico. I've done this itinerary before and will be doing it again on the July 30 cruise out of Bayonne. One of the best feelings in the world to me is knowing that you have 2 full sea days left after you leave the last port. I sit by the pool, relax, have some drinks and talk to people that I've never met before. I do agree this may be a bit more of a challenge with your younger kids.

[KelJ]

I am right now on day 2 of our Liberty 9-night cruise. You know what I did today? I took a nap! When I told my husband that I can't remember the last time I took a nap, he said it was on our last cruise! Bored? No way, never!

 

We had a cold sail away yesterday, and it rained all this morning, but the sun is shining now! We arrive in Bermuda tomorrow.

 

Gotta go get ready for formal night & head to the Schooner Bar for trivia before dinner!

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Just saw a Beer Tasting on a Compass. Anyone been to one?

 

I attended one while on the Navigator. (I think) Anyway it was a good experience. You'll taste 5 or 6 different beers and also have an informative discussion about how the beer was made, when, etc. It was entertaining, plus good beer! Please note, the Preimum Beverage Pkg does not cover the fee, which I think was about $15 charged to my sea pass.