Just When I Thought I Was Out...Liberty Review March 27, 2016

[mil76]

March spring break cruises get a lot of drive in states. Once, it was Arkansas spring break and almost everyone we met was from there.

 

Thanks again for the review - lots of great info. Glad to see that the suite concierge does the walk down for disembarkation. EXTRA glad you made your flight - you are a brave soul! :)

 

When we were getting off there was a family trying to catch an 11:00am flight from IAH. Talk about a brave soul...

[tonyweir]

Following as well. We're on Liberty July 31.

I appreciate the hotel review. I may change ours.....

[Anniversarygirl25]

For those doing the belize/roatan route on the liberty...If theres a huge demand for reviews I may slap something together. Just let me know. I had an amazing experience and would definitely do it again. I've always kind of "looked down" on Galveston Cruises (and I'm from Dallas so not far at all) and I no longer do that. The Liberty out of Galveston is a great fit. I would do it again. Great family cruise too. My fiancee and I are 21 yrs so no kids yet :) But maybe in a few years, it will be a great option for us.

 

Would love to see another review - debating on the liberty for next year!

[Stormy15]

Diamond

 

I have seen questions about access to the Suite Lounge and whether D+ has access or not. Well, I can say that unlike the Diamond Lounge, anyone can get into the Suites Lounge since there is no access control on the door. My 13 YO, who never met a door he didn’t try to open, verified this. Of course you would have to be able to bluff the concierge once you got inside that you belong there, but anyone can get in. From the time we peeked into the Suite lounge, it looked like a mirror image of the Diamond lounge on the opposite side of the deck.

 

 

 

From what I have read, Diamond Plus is no longer allowed in the Suite Lounge on Liberty. They just started restricting it to only Suites and Pinnacles this week.

[mil76]

From what I have read, Diamond Plus is no longer allowed in the Suite Lounge on Liberty. They just started restricting it to only Suites and Pinnacles this week.

 

Hopefully they got the card reader sorted out then.

[A&L_Ont]

Entertainment

 

you couldn’t miss the Love and Marriage 24 hour channel on the TV the rest of the cruise. When the choice is watching Big Bang Theory in German/French/Spanish/Swahili, The Donald Trump Television Network….I mean CNN, or Love and Marriage, Love and Marriage won out.

 

 

This is all funny, because it is so true.

 

Great review, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Edited April 9, 2016 by A&L_Ont

[caseythegr]

For those doing the belize/roatan route on the liberty...We did the Starfish Island shore excursion in Belize. It was absolutely incredible. Included lunch, they had a little bar and a guy who would chop up a coconut and make you a coco loco in a coconut right in front of you using the fresh coconut water. They had kayaks and lots of aquatic life. They had many different types of seating as well as little cabanas with hammocks. All is first come first serve, but the island was not crowded in the slightest. They just pick you up at the ship, so you don't have to tender to the shore first, they just take you straight in.

 

That sounds wonderful. How did you book this excursion?

Laurie

[mslaabs]

For us, it was on Thursday (Day 5), but I'm not sure if it's the same for the other itinerary. Are you doing the itinerary that goes to Roatan or the one that goes to Grand Cayman?

 

Thanks Paul. We are doing the Roatan itinerary.

[JimAOk1945]

Thanks for your review. We are looking forward to being on the Liberty in December.

[beffiebear]

great review - we are boarding on sunday!!

[Cel_cruise]

Thanks for the review! We are booked on the Easter cruise 2017 and your crowd experience is what I am planning for....we cruised out of Galveston Feb 2015 and it was windy/cold our last sea day as well, but I am hoping that it's a bit warmer for a mid April cruise! Fingers crossed!

[flannbarr]

I'm on the LOS right now on the final day (sea day) on the way back to Galveston. I'll post a review when I return.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[chukli]

Looking forward to your review. Please let us know of the disembarkation experience.

[rms519]

Thanks for your review!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[chukli]

When we were getting off there was a family trying to catch an 11:00am flight from IAH. Talk about a brave soul...

 

Would you know if there are many stairs to navigate if you opt for the self-assist program?

[TnTWalter]

we were eating breakfast at 7:30? and there were people already leaving!! I was a little miffed because all advice on here was not to self embark I thought. Or maybe I read it wrong. We were tier 2 somehow [ 8:30 time] and we were to our car across street at Park N Cruise by 9am.

 

We drove all the way home so earlier self-embark would have been great...

[Clarea]

Would you know if there are many stairs to navigate if you opt for the self-assist program?

It's not predictable. It depends on how the set up the lines to disembark. If you cannot do stairs, then it's not a good idea to choose self-disembark.

Edited April 11, 2016 by clarea

[Paul65]

Would you know if there are many stairs to navigate if you opt for the self-assist program?

 

We didn't have to navigate any stairs disembarking from Liberty. It was just a walk down the typical gangway to an escalator that took you to the ground floor. And there was an elevator there for those who could not do the escalator. (In fact, they would not let you take the escalator if you didn't have one hand free to hold the handrail.)

[mil76]

Would you know if there are many stairs to navigate if you opt for the self-assist program?

 

As Paul65 said, no stairs to navigate once off the ship, but you have to be able to get your luggage to Deck 4, and the elevators can get really crowded with other people with luggage. Since we were on Deck 6, we carried the luggage down the two flights of stairs. If you need to use the elevator on the ship you should plan to leave time to get to Deck 4.

[mil76]

we were eating breakfast at 7:30? and there were people already leaving!! I was a little miffed because all advice on here was not to self embark I thought. Or maybe I read it wrong. We were tier 2 somehow [ 8:30 time] and we were to our car across street at Park N Cruise by 9am.

 

We drove all the way home so earlier self-embark would have been great...

 

My advice for Galveston is to get off as early as possible, and do self-assist if you are able. Sounds like things were not too bad for you if you were called at 8:30am and were in your car at 9:00am. The later you wait, the longer it takes. Some people say to wait on-board until the last numbers are called based on experience in other ports, but that is a recipe for a two hour queue in Galveston.

[wolfganghowell]

On the other hand, we have seen some absolutely nightmare self assist lines. If you are in a suite, don't do it. You will get ahead of most of the self assist people.

[George C]

Very nice review, we sail on her in 13 days

[QToval]

Thanks for the review. One question and my apologies if it seems unreasonable: If you still have your Compasses, would you mind posting them? We're going on our first RC cruise in June and we'd like to know what to expect onboard (we've been in Disney 4 times and Carnival twice so we aren't new to cruising). Again, I apologize if it's an unreasonable request.

[gambler]

Would love to see compasses also, ty

[TnTWalter]

there are many recent Liberty Compasses posted just search 'liberty compass'. i'm hoping to post teen compasses this week. i don't have a scanner but hubby will scan at work.