Bored while waiting to debark Liberty so here's a short review:

[Cruisegoer]

Liberty overall is still a great ship. I think it's the perfect size and I still love all the dining options provided and great ports of call. Room size is outstanding next to other lines but service has gone way down. Not so sure it's as much attentiveness as lack of staffing. Dining room staff seem overburdened. While complete orders go in at once (sans dessert of course) they go in for every table in the servers section that way, so once you order expect your server to disappear 20+ minutes and it seems that asst servers either don't receive proper training to step in or are themselves spread thin over too many tables. Also wasn't a fan of our room steward, knowing we had the late seating for dinner he would knock at the door every few minutes until we would leave for dinner if we didn't have the Privacy sign displayed. Also we received 2 bars of soap at beginning of the cruise and this seemed to be our weekly allotment. The last 2 nights I would let the paper thin bar fall to the drain hoping he would get the hint to replace it but to no avail it would be right back in the soap dish upon next return to room.

 

Steakhouse was superb and I really liked the BI Cantina, not a personal fan of Guy and didn't care much for his super greasy burgers but the fries are great. I missed the oriental station in buffet replaced by the Mongolian Wok which while tasty always had a long line for noodle dishes. Pizza is excellent with paper thin crust and always lots to find in regular buffet. Don't miss the Fish & Chips area on deck 11 if you're a fan of fried oysters. American table dining menu was nice, lots of good appetizer selections and can always choose at least 1 decent main dish.

 

We had cabin 9207 which was forward and on starboard side when inside the ship. Good location away from the noise but did feel ship moving while sailing. Ports of call were all good, spent 3 nights in San Juan before sailing which is always fun. Did a nice tour in St Thomas with Godfrey Tours, Barbados is my least favorite on the itinerary and we just went downtown briefly and Accra beach which is nice. Taxi drivers tried talking us out of going, I believe because of the distance in relation to other beaches but it was very nice and not far just not as close to other more tourist crowded beaches. St Lucia which is my favorite island we spent the day with COSUL tours. Going on their excursion is a real treat and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's tour that gives you a taste of the island in every way possible, from snacking on Johnny cakes to sulfur volcano mud baths. St Kitts we did a tour with Royston tours, that man knows the island. He drove us to sights nearly impassable but we made it. Lastly St Martin, wish I had had more energy for so stayed in Phillipsburg near the beach and shopping area. Table mates said Orient beach is still excellent. I'm sad to have missed Maho beach I would have liked the photo ops.

[skidawg79]

We did a tour with COSUL a year and a half ago and LOVED them. Much of it was our driver who made the whole tour. Glad to see they are still getting great reviews!!

[pcvtmom]

Thanks for a concise, but informative review!

[freedomcruiser891]

How were the shows? We're sailing the Liberty in May and super excited!! Glad to hear y'all had a great cruise

[jabberjaw070596]

Do you know what bands were in lobby bar and casino bar? Did the lido have a dj or is it the 3 piece band?

 

Thanks

[Nanookz]

Did they switch the Internet packages to the new system? Thanks

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Cruisegoer]

Music Asia performed outside the casino on deck 5, Travis was the solo guitarist on deck 3 Lobby, Ocean Flame a calypso band played by the pool. There was also a group called Charlie & the Funk Factory that appeared in different spots.

 

As far as shows I saw a portion of the Welcome Aboard show. Show lounge was about half full for shows. I didn't care for the corney cruise director or bad jokes....same goes for the onboard comedians.

 

Yes new internet packages though the $5 per day was limited, even the Value plan at $16 had a very slow connection. We had to upgrade to Value to use Snapchat even though it's advertised as part of the $5/day package. They offered no recourse for the false advertisement except they would cancel the subscription if we wanted.

Edited January 18, 2016 by Cruisegoer

[Nanookz]

Thanks

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Nanookz]

Did you use the the new app to chat with others on the ship?

Thanks

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[christyran1228]

St Lucia which is my favorite island we spent the day with COSUL tours. Going on their excursion is a real treat and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's tour that gives you a taste of the island in every way possible, from snacking on Johnny cakes to sulfur volcano mud baths.

 

That was our favorite experience of that entire itinerary, hands down.

 

We are currently working on a way to get back there! 😆

[Cruisegoer]

Did you use the the new app to chat with others on the ship?

Thanks

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

 

No I didn't download that app

[OntarioTraveller]

You mentioned waiting to disembark, was it a long process? Big lines?

[jst]

Reading your review, can you tell me if there was any Latin Music (Band) anywhere on the

ship?:)

[Cruisegoer]

You mentioned waiting to disembark, was it a long process? Big lines?

 

 

Yes, US Customs is always a slow process at cruise terminals it seems in a post 9/11 world. If you don't like to wait it seems pretty easy to get on the self -assist priority debarkation list. We were in no hurry off the ship so we did relaxed style.

[Cruisegoer]

Reading your review, can you tell me if there was any Latin Music (Band) anywhere on the

 

ship?:)

 

 

It's a cruise from Puerto Rico, of course! Usually multiple sets per night in the lounge under the disco beginning around 6. One night there is even a Latin Fiesta deck party on the Lido

[riclop]

Thanks for your review.

[Pika8347]

So great to read that Cosul tours are still a great value! We did one of their tours in 2008 and it was total fun. Glad you found them!

 

Ken

 

 

Liberty overall is still a great ship. I think it's the perfect size and I still love all the dining options provided and great ports of call. Room size is outstanding next to other lines but service has gone way down. Not so sure it's as much attentiveness as lack of staffing. Dining room staff seem overburdened. While complete orders go in at once (sans dessert of course) they go in for every table in the servers section that way, so once you order expect your server to disappear 20+ minutes and it seems that asst servers either don't receive proper training to step in or are themselves spread thin over too many tables. Also wasn't a fan of our room steward, knowing we had the late seating for dinner he would knock at the door every few minutes until we would leave for dinner if we didn't have the Privacy sign displayed. Also we received 2 bars of soap at beginning of the cruise and this seemed to be our weekly allotment. The last 2 nights I would let the paper thin bar fall to the drain hoping he would get the hint to replace it but to no avail it would be right back in the soap dish upon next return to room.

 

Steakhouse was superb and I really liked the BI Cantina, not a personal fan of Guy and didn't care much for his super greasy burgers but the fries are great. I missed the oriental station in buffet replaced by the Mongolian Wok which while tasty always had a long line for noodle dishes. Pizza is excellent with paper thin crust and always lots to find in regular buffet. Don't miss the Fish & Chips area on deck 11 if you're a fan of fried oysters. American table dining menu was nice, lots of good appetizer selections and can always choose at least 1 decent main dish.

 

We had cabin 9207 which was forward and on starboard side when inside the ship. Good location away from the noise but did feel ship moving while sailing. Ports of call were all good, spent 3 nights in San Juan before sailing which is always fun. Did a nice tour in St Thomas with Godfrey Tours, Barbados is my least favorite on the itinerary and we just went downtown briefly and Accra beach which is nice. Taxi drivers tried talking us out of going, I believe because of the distance in relation to other beaches but it was very nice and not far just not as close to other more tourist crowded beaches. St Lucia which is my favorite island we spent the day with COSUL tours. Going on their excursion is a real treat and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's tour that gives you a taste of the island in every way possible, from snacking on Johnny cakes to sulfur volcano mud baths. St Kitts we did a tour with Royston tours, that man knows the island. He drove us to sights nearly impassable but we made it. Lastly St Martin, wish I had had more energy for so stayed in Phillipsburg near the beach and shopping area. Table mates said Orient beach is still excellent. I'm sad to have missed Maho beach I would have liked the photo ops.