Long Review of Liberty of the Seas (2/14 - 2/21) – Just out of Dry Dock

[CruiseDad-NYC]

I am just off the Liberty of the Seas’ Western Caribbean 2/14 – 2/21 cruise from Galveston. This is the second cruise since returning from dry dock. If you have kids or are an adult who loves water slides, you’re going to love the new Liberty.

 

About us: I was traveling with my wife and 2 sons (ages 11 and 13) in a superior balcony cabin on deck 9. This is our second trip on Liberty, the other one being 5 years ago. We also went on Independence 6 years ago and have been on Celebrity about 8 times. We usually leave out of Fort Lauderdale or San Juan, but $1100 per person to fly from Long Island to Florida on Southwest from Islip sure seemed like a lot of money to me (its school break in the NY area and the airlines always program the break into their systems so they can triple the airfares and gouge families trying to avoid taking their kids out of school. Thanks, airlines). We’ve never left from Galveston before, but we had loved Liberty the last time, and the prices all worked out for us.

 

Pre Cruise Stay in Houston: We flew in on Friday night before our Sunday departure. We stayed at the Drury Inn near Hobby Airport. I had never heard of Drury before, but they had an indoor pool and free breakfast, 2 things I always look for on a pre-cruise stay. Plus, for $104 per night, we had a one bedroom suite and were able to have the kids sleep in the living room. The hotel was not fancy, but it was clean, nice, and updated. The staff was really friendly. Restaurant choices are essentially nil within walking distance or a close cab ride. We walked over to the Marriott for lunch, which had a nice, well-priced restaurant, but we had to walk a few hundred yards on a sidewalk on a service road, which wasn’t awesome. All-in-all, I would definitely stay here again pre-cruise and would probably try to go the Johnson Space Center next time if we had a full day like we did this time.

 

If you’re flying into Houston, Hobby is much closer to Galveston than Intercontinental. I wasn’t sure until we got to Houston how we were going to get to Galveston. Uber was just banned from Galveston, and I wasn’t sure whether getting a taxi would be convenient or cost-prohibitive. As it turns out, I asked the front desk at the Drury, and they called a cab. It was a mini-van and cost $92 for the 40 minute drive, which felt smooth and easy. The cab picked us up at 9:15 am, and we were at the cruise port in Galveston at 10 am. We sped through check in and were ready to board at 10:15 am, although they didn’t let us board until about 10:45 am, which still felt plenty early to us. I heard from our cab driver that it sometimes has taken him an hour during peak period just to get from the entry to the cruise port up to the passenger drop off, so keep that in mind.

 

The Ship: As I mentioned, we were on board by 10:45. We walked around the ship, had lunch in the Windjammer and were allowed in our room at 1 pm. Our luggage showed up 1:15, which was several hours earlier than we had expected, which was great. We had had the superior balcony before, and it is a large-sized room for a cruise ship, and we were really happy with it.

 

My kids wanted to see what was new and were excited to see that the H20 Zone had been replaced in the same footprint by new water features and renamed “Splash Away Bay”, that include a tower and 2 child-size water slides that still seemed really fun, even though they were smaller than the new slides off the back off the ship (more on them below). The circular wave pool (I don’t know how else to describe it) that had been in the H20 Zone the last time was gone. The new Splash Away Bay is the same footprint as the old one, just different stuff. Your kids will love it.

 

On the back of the ship, there are 2 new water slides where the mini-golf used to be. These slides were a HUGE hit with my sons and with me. They are substantial slides with a lot of twists and turns and are about 3 stories tall. During peak times, the wait to go on them was about 10 or 15 minutes. But, at other times, it seemed the wait was only a few minutes, and there were 500 kids on board. In my mind, the addition of these slides is a home run for Royal Caribbean and for Liberty. Kudos (and thanks!), Royal, for adding them. Whenever we’ve been on Royal or Celebrity and seen Carnival or Norwegian ships and their slides, my kids have always asked if we could please try those cruise lines (interesting how quick they’d be to jump cruise lines for slides). I’ve always said, sorry, that’s not going to happen, because I just don’t think those cruise lines would be for us.

 

To all the grouchy gusses who are going to complain that the slides are going to “ruin” the Liberty, you’ll have to find something else to grouse about. The slides are in a contained activity area of the ship, on the portion of the back of the top deck where the rock climbing walls, basketball court, and Flowrider are.

 

The mini-golf has been replaced with a new and improved “Liberty Dunes” mini-golf on Deck 13 at the bow of the ship. We had a lot of fun with this, too.

 

The companion to the water slides is the Boomerango (sp?). It was not in use on this trip, and I had heard that it is not ready for passengers yet. Apparently, it is too fast and needs to be tweaked before it is safe for passengers (from what I heard, the rafts hit the side of the feature and it is not working as intended. Engineers from the manufacturer are working on it, but I have a feeling it is going to be awhile before this is ready. My oldest son was disappointed, but more than happy with everything else we did, including the Flowrider. Incidentally, I had been nervous about the Flowrider on my last 2 RCCL cruises, but gave it a whirl this time and had a total blast on it. Any dads (or moms) out there should give a try, too.

 

Adventure Ocean: My sons (each of them newly 11 and 13) get along great and have always done the kids clubs together. (Interestingly, they have always enjoyed the Fun Factory on Celebrity more than the programs on RCCL, because Celebrity has fewer kids and the programs are not as crowded. But, that’s a topic discussed before in other threads). My 11 year old thought Adventure Ocean was just fine. My 13 year old, however, has aged out of it and had to do the Teen Program, which is for 12 to 17 year olds. My 13 year old didn’t love the teen program, but he did go to it. 12 to 17 is a big age range, and I really wish they broke it up.

 

The Food: The main dining room was actually rather meh. We used to enjoy the pageantry of the main dining room back when we were newbie cruisers. Royal Caribbean has definitely scaled back on the main dining room experience, and I understand that the newest RCCL ships don’t even have a main dining room. They cut out one of the courses since the last time we were on Liberty (which actually might have been one of our best ship board dining experiences ever), so you get a starter, main course, and dessert only. The number of menu choices was smaller, and the menu in general was very uninspiring. I’m not a big eater and am not the type of passenger who gets excited about cruise food, but the food choices and overall experience all seemed very average to me and nothing special. We actually ended up eating 5 out of the 7 nights up in the Windjammer café, because the selection was better and the meals were quicker. Maybe because we had MyTime dining, but my impression was that the poor waiters in the main dining room seemed understaffed, over-worked, and there was a lot of rushing around. The service actually seemed rather frantic to me on the 2 nights I was there.

 

Diamond Club: we were able to carry over our elite status from Celebrity and were given access to the Diamond Club this time. The appetizers were good (much better than the cheap, fried stuff Celebrity gave) and the free drinks during 4:30 and 8 was a nice touch. The bartenders up in the lounge were super friendly and attentive and the Diamond Club host was very helpful in helping us book our 2 shore excursions and answering questions about disembarking.

 

The ports:

 

Roatan: I think this was our 3rd time in Roatan. We’ve gone to Maya Key there the other 2 times and were open to doing something different. But, there were about 5 other ships in port, and I was afraid the West End beaches would be too crowded (plus, I’ve heard safety on Roatan can be sketchy). The first time we went to Maya Key, we were able to go on our own and paid $26 per person. Now, you can’t go there unless you buy it as a cruise excursion, which is now much pricier. It’s $74 for adults, $54 for kids, which is a lot. You get a mediocre lunch (fried fish, barbecue chicken that ain’t that good, and salad). Drinks are extra. That said, the island is very beautiful, and this is one of my favorite stops. There’s a nature preserve with rescue wildlife, the snorkeling is good, and it is very nice overall. I would definitely go back here, just liked it better before you had to buy it through the cruise line and could order the food you wanted instead of having this buffet (incidentally, the same exact buffet choices from 2 years ago).

 

Belize: We did the ship’s Rendezvous Cay snorkel excursion. It was $99 for adults. The ship tenders in Belize, and I didn’t want to take a tender into town and then get another boat. This excursion leaves right from the ship and is about a 40 minute boat ride to a small, 3 acre spit of white sand with a dock, bathrooms, changing rooms, and a small food stand where you can buy a hamburger if you feel the need to eat after you snorkel or a coconut for $2. Everything you may have read about this excursion is true: the snorkeling is crowded, and you have stay on guard or else you’ll get kicked in the face by an oblivious snorkeler in front of you. The snorkeling was OK: the water was clear, but we didn’t see a lot of fish. You snorkel for about 30 minutes and then hang out on the island for approximately another 30 minutes before heading back to the ship. I don’t regret doing this trip, but I wouldn’t do it again and would try to figure out something else to do in Belize. This location and shore excursion has potential if it is revamped, but it wasn’t awesome.

 

Cozumel: I know some people get bored with Cozumel, but it is one of my favorite stops, and this might be the 5th time we’ve gone there in addition to a spring break I spent there in grad school. We’ve gone to Chankanaab the other times, which we really liked a lot, but figured we would try something new this time. I am so glad we did. We went to Nachi Cocum, a private beach club I read about here on Cruise Critic. It is a beautiful white sand beach with palm trees, clear water, a pool, restaurant, and palapas for shade. They only let in 100 people, and I had made the reservations in advance (which was a good thing, because they were sold out). It was quiet, beautiful, and included a surprisingly delicious lunch (such a contrast to Maya Key!). Adults were $54 and it included all your drinks (although, I only drink beverages out of a bottle or can in Mexico, but enjoyed some ice cold Mexican beer and my wife had a glass of wine). My sons met 2 other friends of theirs from the ship and spent the day digging in the sand. If you like crowds and a lot of activities, you’ll want something else (e.g., other beach clubs that are nearby), but this might be my new favorite on-shore destination in the Caribbean.

 

Sea Days: We also enjoyed the sea days, as there is so much to do on the ship. Chair hogs were out in full force, and I forgot how very crowded the pool decks get on RCCL ships. It was impossible to find a seat the first sea day if you weren’t out really early. There was definitely room for more chaise longues, and it would be good if RCCL could place more of them, IMHO.

 

When we arrived back in Galveston, I was nervous that our flight time from Hobby was 11:15 am. We did the walk-off with your own luggage, which is the first time we’ve done that. The official walk-off time was 8 am, but they started letting people off at about 7:30. We were out of customs by 8, in a cab at 8:10, at Hobby by 8:50. Luggage check in and security took us until 9:30, which gave us plenty of time before our plane boarded at 10:45. The cab back was $107. I heard from our taxi driver that traffic around the cruise port can get bad and cabs harder to find, so doing the walk-off was key for us. I’ve also read that Galveston can get foggy (like it was this morning when came back) and cause late disembarkation. Our early flight worked for us this time, but I wouldn’t have done it if I had had an acceptable alternative.

 

All in all, it was a really fantastic trip, and we would definitely go on Liberty again!

[Clarea]

Well written review, thanks.

 

Interesting that the cab was $92 one way and $107 the other way.

[cj_one2000]

Thanks for the review! We're going in November and we have two teens and a toddler so I'm thinking the new water park features are going to be a favorite in our family. Any signage or rules about swim diapers for babies/toddlers in the water park area with the new equipment and area?

Edited February 22, 2016 by cj_one2000

[CruiseDad-NYC]

Well written review, thanks.

 

Interesting that the cab was $92 one way and $107 the other way.

 

Thank you. I had wondered about that, too. Could be that the ride back was about 10 or so minutes longer, because we had left from the hotel on the way to the ship. Incidentally, I saw that taxi fares from Galveston to Intercontinental had a listed fare of $160 in case that is of interest to anyone.

[dcgrumpy]

Thanks for the review. I've been thinking about trying out Liberty next year or the year after.

 

 

We usually leave out of Fort Lauderdale or San Juan, but $1100 per person to fly from Long Island to Florida on Southwest from Islip sure seemed like a lot of money to me

 

Holy crap! Really? I just booked a cruise out of Ft Lauderdale for Presidents week 2017. I knew it was going to be expensive but that's crazy. It looks like we may be driving. :rolleyes:

[cj_one2000]

Thank you. I had wondered about that, too. Could be that the ride back was about 10 or so minutes longer, because we had left from the hotel on the way to the ship. Incidentally, I saw that taxi fares from Galveston to Intercontinental had a listed fare of $160 in case that is of interest to anyone.

 

 

We're flying in and out of IAH and wondered what taxi fares might be. Ouch, pricey. Thanks for that info. We're part of a larger family reunion group and looking at chartering a bus to bring down the cost per person.

[CruiseDad-NYC]

Thanks for the review! We're going in November and we have two teens and a toddler so I'm thinking the new water park features are going to be a favorite in our favorite. Any signage or rules about swim diapers for babies/toddlers in the water park area with the new equipment and area?

 

I think your teens will really like the ship, particularly the water slides. As to signage or rules about swim diapers for babies/toddlers, I don't remember those signs, but I wasn't looking for them. My sons, however, seem to recall a sign about no diapers, but I can't say for certain.

 

Enjoy your trip!

[Clarea]

We're flying in and out of IAH and wondered what taxi fares might be. Ouch, pricey. Thanks for that info. We're part of a larger family reunion group and looking at chartering a bus to bring down the cost per person.

Don't know how large your group is, but we have used Super Shuttle to Galveston before.

 

Also try the Gulf Coast Departures forum:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=414

[CruiseDad-NYC]

We're flying in and out of IAH and wondered what taxi fares might be. Ouch, pricey. Thanks for that info. We're part of a larger family reunion group and looking at chartering a bus to bring down the cost per person.

 

That might be a good way to go. Incidentally, I understand that traffic in the Houston area can be pretty bad, so obviously try to keep that in mind if you're going to be doing that part of the trip around rush hours, because IAH is on the far side of the city.

[CruiseDad-NYC]

Thanks for the review. I've been thinking about trying out Liberty next year or the year after.

 

 

 

 

Holy crap! Really? I just booked a cruise out of Ft Lauderdale for Presidents week 2017. I knew it was going to be expensive but that's crazy. It looks like we may be driving. :rolleyes:

 

Yep, really that expensive. Terrible. Now that my 13 year old is in junior high, I don't think we'll ever be taking a cruise from Fort Lauderdale or Miami because of the airfare. It would have been cheaper to fly to Europe! From the NY area, I know people who will drive to Baltimore and fly from there. Boston and Hartford can also be much cheaper alternatives at that time.

 

Good luck!

[dcgrumpy]

Yep, really that expensive. Terrible. Now that my 13 year old is in junior high, I don't think we'll ever be taking a cruise from Fort Lauderdale or Miami because of the airfare. It would have been cheaper to fly to Europe! From the NY area, I know people who will drive to Baltimore and fly from there. Boston and Hartford can also be much cheaper alternatives at that time.

 

Good luck!

 

I hear ya. Next year I'll have 2 in middle school and 1 in high school. We normally go away the week before school starts when most of the country is back in school, so it's cheaper.

 

I guess I have time to figure out how we're getting to Ft Lauderdale.

[reallyhooked]

Enjoyed your review.. looking forward to our 1st Liberty cruise

[cj_one2000]

That might be a good way to go. Incidentally, I understand that traffic in the Houston area can be pretty bad, so obviously try to keep that in mind if you're going to be doing that part of the trip around rush hours, because IAH is on the far side of the city.

 

 

Even on a Sunday morning? [emoji16]

[Pony Player]

Holy crap! Really? I just booked a cruise out of Ft Lauderdale for Presidents week 2017. I knew it was going to be expensive but that's crazy. It looks like we may be driving. :rolleyes:

 

Check out the Auto train. Drive to DC, spend night on train, wake up just north of Orlando.

[Wilson]

Thank you for taking the time to submit this well detailed review. I am glad you and your family had a great cruise vacation.

 

Did you happen to notice if they still had the "suite guest" reserved seating at the main pool? We will have to compete with the chair hogs in April, but splurged for our first GS this November.

[gambler]

Great review, Thanks. Where is the diamond lounge located? Do you know if there were any discounts for the drink package for diamond members? Thanks

[JamesEM]

Thanks for your review.

[Virtopia]

Great review! Liberty was my first ship and I've been looking to get back on her. Maybe 2018 will be the year, or next year if my current plans don't work out.

[Keith1010]

So happy that you enjoyed the cruise and you have written a terrific review.

 

Thank you.

 

Keith

[TnTWalter]

thanks!

 

I have a 13 year old boy and 2 girls 15 and 17. I thought they separated 12-14 and 15-17 for things? I was worried about my 13 year old being alone but agree it's a wide age range.

[ARCruisinNana]

thanks!

 

I have a 13 year old boy and 2 girls 15 and 17. I thought they separated 12-14 and 15-17 for things? I was worried about my 13 year old being alone but agree it's a wide age range.

 

The groups are sometimes combined if there aren't a lot of kids onboard.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[CruiseDad-NYC]

thanks!

 

I have a 13 year old boy and 2 girls 15 and 17. I thought they separated 12-14 and 15-17 for things? I was worried about my 13 year old being alone but agree it's a wide age range.

 

I just asked my son, and he confirmed that on this cruise, the 12 - 17 year olds were all in one group in the same room. The 12 and 13 year olds found each other and kind of separated out on their own. Some of the activities included ice cream eating contests, scavenger hunt around the ship, ice skating night, Flowrider night, and one hour of sports per day. The lady and the guy who ran it were very nice and friendly. Your kids will love the slides!

[TnTWalter]

Thanks!

[BLAMBKY]

Thanks for the review! I have booked the Drury Inn too and I wondered about the airport shuttle, when arriving. How was it? Any other hotel specific comments?

I was looking forward to the slides and even more so after reading your review! :p

[Clarea]

... Any other hotel specific comments?

...

The Gulf Coast Departures forum has more info on hotels:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=414