RCI Liberty of the Seas review from a Carnival cruiser

[E6bflyer]

This is a review of Liberty of the Seas. We cruised on it from 11/20 to 11/27 (thanksgiving holiday). I will try to be as comprehensive and yet as objective as possible. Anything that sounds like an opinion is just that: my opinion.

First, some background.

We are a family of 6. We have your daughters aged 9, 13, 15, and 17. We have cruised together 2 times prior to this, all on Carnival. My wife and I have also done cruises together and solo on Carnival. We chose this cruise based on the week, itinerary, and brand recommendation from friends who said RCI is a notch above Carnival in quality. We have no loyalty to any brand. Our last cruise was 4 years ago on the Carnival Magic, also out of Galveston and I will make comparisons where they fit since that is our only basis that we have to compare.

We booked through a travel agent/coworker. We reserved a few different cabin categories but never settled on anything. This being a holiday week, the prices are highway robbery, so I tried to set a limit of around $6k for all of us for the week. We tried interior, OV, and balcony combinations. Finally our travel agent called and said the Family Panoramic Ocean View came available (we had originally wanted this category, but it was full) and so we jumped on it. It ended up being right around $6k with everything thrown in. We opted against the travel insurance based on our family situation and the risk vs the cost. The cabin could fit all of us, these are the only two non suite cabins on the ship that sleep 6. This suits our family situation because we have three teens who we wanted to keep a close eye on and we don't mind being all in one room as long as there is ample space and bathrooms. Previously with Carnival, we had booked two ocean view cabins that connected and had two bathrooms each. We liked that setup as well.

Prior to the cruise, we booked a premium beverage package (no alcohol), two soda packages, and two surf and stream internet packages. The Internet we got discounts on that came through emails that we got from RCI. More on those later.

Four of us drove down from OKC, about a 7 hour drive to Houston, and two flew on SWA. We joined up the morning of the cruise and drove to Galveston. We parked at Park and Cruise right across from the terminal. We walked our bags over and turned them in after a little confusion over which pier was which. Park and Cruise was great and I like that they don't have a shuttle. Next time, though, I will wait in the queue to drop bags with the porters so that we aren't wheeling our bags two blocks to the terminal.

Boarding was good. The lady who checked us in was a little slow in getting us processed. We arrived at a peak time so there was some waiting involved. The line to check in was short, but the line to board took about 30 minutes. We took a couple of the photos with the characters out there and milled about. When we boarded, we walked around for a bit and ate at the Windjammer while we waited for the cabin. About 12:30, they announced that the cabins were all done.

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We had Family Panoramic Oceanview cabin 1854 on the 12th deck forward. There are only two of these cabins on the ship and they are new, being put in during the last dry dock. The cabin was simply amazing. It blew away anything that we had on Carnival. It is about the size of two regular cabins, has a king bed, sitting area that turns into two small beds, and a bunk room with upper and lower bunks. It also has a bathroom and a half bath. There are photos floating around on the web, but they don't do it justice. It is spectacular. The view is forward of the ship and is six floor to ceiling windows. Wow. Being on the 12th deck, we were steps from the spa, workout room (directly below us), and pool areas. The mini golf course was above us. The room was quiet with the exception of the occasional golf ball bouncing above us (really not a bother). The view was great, but keep in mind that this isn't a balcony. RCI ships allow passengers to go out to the helo deck forward so they can see in your room and will be looking at you with the curtains open. There generally aren't many people out there, though, and even during sail away, the ones that looked mostly waved back at us and turned back around. As long as you are 3 feet or so from the window, they can't see you, so there is still quite a bit of privacy. Our room steward was just ok. She was very shy and seemed to be more worried about bothering us than helping out with any needs. This was 180 out from our Carnival experience with stewards who were always very attentive until told otherwise. She didn't really seem interested in meeting the family or getting to know us. I also find it strange that they don't provide an ice bucket filled with ice like Carnival. While we never requested ice, it seems like a pretty basic amenity. The mini bar fridge was, however, empty upon arrival and we used it successfully to store bottles of water. It kept them cold. She did bring us bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash and kept them stocked the entire time. The shampoo dispenser was either out or not working.

They did make us go down to the naughty room to get our bag since we brought some portable fans and a power strip. I sent my teen to go see what was going on. She came back up with the bag, which had our second power strip still in it, and told us. They came by about an hour later and delivered the fan, apologizing and saying it was fine. They gave us a receipt for the power strip and said to claim it when we left. One power strip and two other portable fans made it through just fine, so I don't know why they pulled that particular bag. It turns out the power strip was a lifesaver, as the room has two outlets for 6 people. Yikes!

Being forward and up, we did feel quite a bit of motion when the ship was moving. There was a lot of wind and motion due to a hurricane in Central America and a disturbance near Jamaica. There was pretty much a constant shake during the entire voyage, even when smooth, along with a little up and down motion. This was fine, as my family doesn't get motion sick, but the shaking made the TV fixture make a constant squeaking noise which was only remedied when my daughter figured out you can turn it 90 degrees and it stops. Ahhhhh. It wasn't a big deal either way, just something to be aware of if you book this room and are prone to sickness.

Anyway, enough about the room, suffice to say we loved it. In comparison to Carnival, I would say it was much nicer due to the space and view, but we could have booked two Oceanview rooms or a balcony and an interior with Carnival for less than the price we paid. The main downside of the room to me were the beds. They are rock hard and the pillows are flat. Carnivals beds are very comfy. My neck and back hurt quite a bit in the morning when I got up, sometimes well into the day even after stretching and taking medicine. I stay in a lot of hotels in my profession, and the beds were substandard of any name brand hotel. If you like a pillow with any support or are used to sleeping on a foam mattress, it will probably not be to your liking. Anyone with back problems needs to take this into consideration.

[E6bflyer]

Food:

We had MTD with a standing reservation at 8pm with the same waiter and table the entire time. Due to being 6, we all fit at a table together. The service was just ok overall. Our waiters were slammed the entire time and it showed. They forgot things on every dinner despite his best effort. We also endured some huge waits and pauses of 15 minutes while waiting to order or for food. They were super nice and personable, though, and tried very hard. They got to know us well and missed us when we didn't go on port days. The dining room food is not very good compared to Carnival. The entrees are pretty blah and variety is lacking. Without going into specifics, we didn't like it very much. Also, as kinda cheesy as it is, the singing and dancing waitstaff on Carnival is fun for the kids. They did do a watered down version on one port night of this cruise and an awkward farewell that involved a bunch of foreigners waving American flags and singing in the heart of Texas, but it was very forced and not too fun at all. The last day I was also annoyed by the constant barrage of people and announcements in the dining room telling me to put “10” on my post cruise survey. That should be handled better and it is clear that they greatly fear any undesirable survey results from guests. If you are telling guest what to put on a survey, there is a fundamental problem with your corporate evaluation and feedback mechanism.

The windjammer was actually pretty good. I thought the quality was a bit better than Carnival for strictly the buffet portion but didn't include the “other” free venues that carnival has on their lido deck that have great other options. There weren't generally big lines (unlike Carnival), and the attendants kept drinks coming and tables clean. So basically, comparable food, shorter lines and much better service. Breakfast was outstanding with two omelet stations (carnival had one with long lines) and a waffle station. I got fresh squeezed orange juice (yum) with my premium beverage package.

Lunch and dinner were good as well with standard buffet fare.

We ate one meal at Johnny Rockets. It is a $7 up charge. The food is ok. The onion rings and fries were very good. The burgers were not that good though. They were obviously pre cooked and very thick. It didn't taste like Johnny Rockets at all to me. The apple pie desert was worth the $7. It was nice that the up charge included sodas, although we had packages anyway so it didn't matter much to us.

The negatives about food service is the variety in comparison to Carnival and the constant nickel and diming that RCI does. It gets annoying.

The pizza at Carnival is much, much better. No comparison at all. The pizzeria at RCI is blah. Way blah.

Carnival also gives you premium burgers for free, Indian food, BBQ on sea days, has a hot dog stand, etc, etc. Carnival does up charge for Italian and steakhouse, along with a few other smaller venues like sushi and red frog, but you can go a whole cruise with carnival on their included food options and be just fine. We found at RCI that we almost HAD to eat at an up charge restaurant or it got old quickly and the dining room food is so mediocre that it almost forces your hand.

The coffee shop was great on Liberty. It was comparable to Starbucks in service and quality with maybe a little less variety. I got coffees with my beverage package and I took full advantage. The sandwiches were good down there as well and are free. They get old after once or twice though.

We did not eat at Chops, Sabor, or Giovanni's, but they all looked very good.

Bar service was outstanding. We aren't big drinkers, but use the beverage packages for sodas, smoothies, and coffee. I never felt ignored or like they were put out.

Room service was pretty bad. We ordered breakfast three times. The menu is pretty limited in what they will do. It is an all or nothing deal, there is no a la carte on the dishes. If you want a croissant, you need to order a plate of pastries that has three other pastries on it. Even when we used the door hanger and put “croissants only”, we still got the pastry plate and other stuff we didn't eat. Twice it was delivered on time, once it was late by about 20 minutes.

For other meals, you can order from the tv or call. The call in line was typically busy and you would be put on eternal hold. Once I did get in touch with them, but only after an almost 15 minute wait and it was to cancel an order that was placed over an hour ago by tv. The waits are simply unacceptable when you order anything. We had one order delivered and it took about an hour and fifteen minutes and was ok quality. The other order we canceled after almost two hours. Other guests said the same thing. Also, there is surcharge to order after midnight. Really? Seems a bit petty, but ok.

[E6bflyer]

Pools:

We aren't really pool people. We are originally from Florida and laying around in the sun just isn't our thing anymore. That being said, the pools on this ship are pretty comparable to Magic with the exception of the Solarium (adults area) which is super nice and blows anything Carnival offers away. The chair saving on RCI is pretty ridiculous, with people bringing clips to attach their towels to the chair early in the morning and the staff turning a blind eye. In many places, only half the chairs were occupied by humans, the rest having towels and stuff left as place holders while their human companions slept, ate, and shopped. All that being said, there are so many places on so many decks to lay out that even during peak times on a sold out cruise, the only full areas were the main pool and solarium pool. There were lots of chairs in quiet areas, especially not near the pools.

They do many of the same things as Carnival with the poolside contests, entertainment, etc. It is an identical product except as mentioned above.

The slides are about the same with the exception of the wave slide on LOTS. It is pretty cool and more like a roller coaster. It is fun. Look up videos of it if you get time. My youngest got weighed (they have a scale at the slide) and wasn't allowed to go on because you have to be 75 pounds. We went back the next day and there was a man attendant instead of the woman and he let her go without the scale. Go figure. The big twisty slides are pretty slow and not worth any wait. My youngest got stuck and had to wiggle her way out. The slide in the kids area is actually more exciting.

Activities:

Here it is just a preference thing. RCI seems a lot less organized to me. This is probably on purpose as it allows you to kind of wander to whatever you want to do. They do, however, have a lot more “active” activities if that makes sense.

The flow rider was our favorite. It was really cool. Again, my youngest got selected out for her height, because the bar hit her head but could pass over her if the lady tried. We went back the next day and she was a little taller I guess. We all did it and it was pretty awesome. Watching it is fun too, especially during the stand up portion. Some of the guests are really good and the wipe outs are phenomenal. The staff helps you out and everyone has a good time.

Ice skating was also a lot of fun. It is about a fourth the size of a normal ice rink. My kids and I went and had a good time. Get there early and do yourself a favor and sign all the waivers online to avoid a huge line. They have loaner skates that aren't in great shape and hurt your feet, but in the end you are ice skating on a ship. Pretty cool.

My wife and I went to the casino a few times. It was pretty lame in our opinion. It was dead each time and the slots are older (my wife says). We dropped a couple hundred each (I played blackjack) and called it quits. It was fun, but I prefer the Carnival casino as it is a lot more lively and the dealers and casino staff were more personable. One thing I did like is that it wasn't super smoky.

The announcements on RCI are just like on Carnival. It is excessive. They tell you about every sale, bingo, and art auction that is already in the compass. We did like the captain we had though and his noon announcements were professional and well done.

My youngest went to the Adventure Ocean and didn't really like it. It seemed a lot more like babysitting and less like fun to her. There were only two staff members for her age group (6-8) and a LOT of kids. She didn't do it the rest of the cruise, preferring to hang out with family.

My 15 year old did some of the teen stuff. She said it was ok. It was more of just a gathering place to meet friends that she made. She didn't interact with the staff very much at all. My 13 and 17 year olds mostly hung out with each other and family.

I can't really compare the kid activities to Carnival since my kids aren't big kid activity people. They much prefer to hang out with each other and us. I will say, though, I was surprised at how short staffed they were in my youngest daughters group. She wanted to go to the 9-11 group but it was full (her birthday was during the cruise) so we sent her to the 6-8 group which were mostly younger kids and two staff members who seemed pretty overwhelmed.

The rest of the activities and announcements are pretty much exactly what you get on Carnival, which is to say shows, some better than others, comedians, and other fun stuff. We did some and didn't do others. We did the dreamworks parade on the promenade. It was ok. We also did the thanksgiving balloon drop. It was fun in a cruisey kind of way. My kids went to the ice skating show and said it was wonderful.

[E6bflyer]

The crowds:

We are from the south and have lived all around the country, about half of that being in Oklahoma. We come from a solid middle class upbringing and enjoy all types of people. I find Texans and Oklahomans to be some of the nicest folks in the country, and I travel quite a bit.

Carnival is known as the Walmart of the seas. We have taken shorter cruises with them and I wasn't impressed by the guests. They tended to be rude, drunk, and boisterous to the point of being annoying. The 7 day cruises are much better, with mostly families and a lot of kids on the holiday weeks we cruise on. Still, there are a few guests that unfailingly drink too much and end up acting like first class idiots. Some do it sober.

Guess what? RCI had these same people, maybe in slightly fewer numbers, but they are there all the same. Line cutters, loud and obnoxious, jeans, shorts, and ball caps in the dining room, even on formal night? Check, check, and check. I would say as a point of comparison that this is a wash between the two cruise lines. Overall, everyone was very nice, polite, and the kids were all respectful and well behaved, just like our other 7 day Texas cruises. We were happy with the crowd. Also as a comparison point, I will say the lines seem a bit shorter and common areas a bit less crowded on this ship that the Carnival cruises we took.

Ports:

The intenerary was sea day, Cozumel, grand Cayman, Falmouth, sea day, sea day. We had never been to Falmouth before so we were pretty psyched about that one.

We docked at the international pier in Cozumel. Blah. Not great. The shops were pretty lame and the taxi queue was horrendous and poorly run. We ended up doing Nachi Cocom as we had done it before. It was great as usual. The Mexicans that operate the shops in the cruise terminal are really killing it with the exchange rate due to insisting on using usd as the price for everything. They will absolutely not let you bargain in pesos and will convert everything using their own exchange rate when purchasing by credit card. This is not the case when you travel to the rest of Mexico, but I will let it go at that. The prices in the international pier shops were inflated and the location stinks for going to San Miguel. At least at the Puerto Maya pier next door, there is a better shopping selection and the taxi queue rocks. We lost almost an hour of port time waiting for a taxi. That is not insignificant when the ship leaves at 3:30. We did like that RCI provides cold water for free on the pier for returning guests. It is a nice gesture.

Grand Cayman was Grand Cayman. If you have been there once and seen the island, that is probably enough. We did a dolphin excursion with the turtle farm booked through RCI there. It was a typical cruise ship excursion. We were herded from place to place and got shafted with the turtle farm due to only having 20 minutes there. We should have just rode the public bus to west end and done it ourselves and saved money and hassle. The dolphin excursion was pricey but worth it in the end. We bought the $300 photo package so that we could just enjoy ourselves and not worry about pictures. The reviews on tripadvisor are spot on. We did the experience with the boogie board push and kiss and all that jazz. It was pretty cool. We wrapped up by doing a little shopping in town and headed back to the boat to eat.

Unfortunately we got weathered out of Falmouth for winds. The captain came on the intercom and explained it all very well. He even went as far to make a PowerPoint and put it on tv. I was impressed. It was very professional. I work in the travel industry and find that passengers are much more inclined to back your decision if you explain it using plain English and not dumb it down. We were disappointed but understood completely. Plus, we got an extra sea day free of charge!

[E6bflyer]

Internet:

We are fairly tech savvy and have four daughters, three of them teens. To say we are connected is an understatement. I also use the Internet to manage a lot of my work schedule, so I needed at least some occasional connectivity. After getting a 50 percent off code from RCI in an email, we got two surf and stream Internet packages.

They gave us two codes to use for the duration of the cruise when we checked in. You simply put the code in when you connected and were good to go. Overall, I found the connectivity decent. It is comparable to the product offered by Carnival on the Magic. We could stream shows and surf the web. I was able to use it for work and my kids stayed connected to their friends. Occasionally the Internet would go down or get bogged down, but it was mostly just fine. I would say it was a good value for half price.

We use AT&T for cell service and were able to turn on North America phone, text, and data for free so that we had full phone service in Mexico. This was nice, and would have been really nice had we gone to San Miguel in Cozumel and split up like we have done on prior cruises that docked downtown.

Disembarking:

We chose to do self disembark so that we could get on the road for our long drive. I am glad we did. We woke up at about 6 and had to be in the theater with our bags at 7:30. There was no room service that morning, but I could have made a buffet run had I chosen to.

The staff in the theater lined our bags up in order while we were waiting for customs to clear us. They threatened any line cutters with an 11:00 disembark. This seemed to work well. Everyone went in order and it was very smooth and well done, unlike the chaos on our last cruise on Magic. They did let a family and an individual go ahead of the line due to circumstances that they had to get off the boat for, which was fine. They also tried to tell my daughter that she couldn't go until they found her power strip that they confiscated when we boarded, but my wife gave them the “mom look” and they scanned her and let her go.

Once we made it to the pier, it was a quick breeze through customs as we did not go to Central America. There weren't any dogs or bag checks. We were first in line at a passport only line and breezed through in about 3 minutes. We were on the road before 7:45.

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Conclusion:

Overall, we had a great time. We really enjoyed the room, the ship, and the activities that RCI offers. The kids and adults all liked the flow rider and rock climbing as well as the layout of the ship.

The low point was definitely the food and the nickel and dime feel that RCI has with all the upcharging. The food was sub-Carnival in just about every venue. The dining room food was borderline gross.

I don't think we will be back to RCI anytime soon. I feel that Carnival gives us a better value for our dollar spent. I know not everyone feels this way, and I respect that opinion. For my family, though, it just wasn't worth the extra that we paid. We could have booked two very nice rooms on carnival and had extra money to spend with what we paid for the room on RCI. We were told that RCI would have more of a “Dillard's” feel vs the Walmart feel on Carnival. I did not find this to be the case and neither did the rest of my family. There were things that RCI does much better, but they failed to overcome their shortcomings in my opinion.

Thanks for reading this very long review!

[Clarea]

Thanks for taking the time to post a very detailed review.

[George C]

Thanks for the comparison, nicely written

[firefighter75]

Thanks for the review. Being I have only been on RCI and Princess, I always wondered what a Carnival cruiser would think about RCI.

[BillOh]

At the risk of being called a loyalist and getting flamed, I'm hope sick today suffering a little bought of vertigo and the lack of paragraphs almost did me in. I'm glad you had that last post with CONCLUSION at the top.

 

That said, I agree the food quality is on another downward trend, but it is the least important part of our cruising, but important to others. I'm glad you related your experience.

[Bookster99]

Thanks for the detailed reviews. We have cruised on the Conquest twice, and have found RCCL comparable -- Great getting your feedback. I usually follow the prices for the cruises, then add in the extras to make it whatever we want. Could very well be on a Carnival ship next!

[CruisingChick]

The dining room food was borderline gross.

 

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

 

We sailed LOS last October out of Cape Liberty, NJ and we totally agree with you assessment of the food, especially the MDR.

[sellwingri]

When we started cruising some 20 years ago, we sailed on Princess. After 3 cruises, we tried RCI and found it more to our liking and now almost exclusively sail with them. A few years ago, we tried Carnival on a cruise out of Boston and disliked just about everything; the food, the ship, the staff, among other things. We did enjoy our room, which was a balcony, and a deli in the buffet however the positives, in our opinion, would never warrant another try.

 

It's all a matter of opinion and I appreciate that but we'll stay with Royal Caribbean.

 

All that being said, I'm on Liberty in 4 days so I hope I'm not disappointed.

Edited November 30, 2016 by sellwingri

[soccermommie]

Thanks for your review. I agree with your conclusions. We've been on 30 cruises, pretty evenly split between Royal and Carnival. Historically, we have much preferred Royal. We've noticed cutbacks on both lines through the years; however, lately the cutbacks on Royal are becoming more noticeable than on Carnival. As a result, we haven't enjoyed our last few Royal cruises as much as previous ones, and the scales are starting to tip toward Carnival.

 

We still prefer the decor, amenities, layout and "feel" of Royal ships over Carnival. We also enjoy the Solarium on Royal more than Serenity on Carnival. I'm not sure that those preferences are enough justify the extra expense on Royal, though.

[molsonschooner]

Your comment about both cruise lines having the same sort of people issues is something I have been saying for years. I love RCCL but for people to say they don't see drunks or bad behaviour on Royal ships are turning a blind eye to what I have witnessed at different times.

[Merion_Mom]

Thank you very much for taking so much time and effort to post your review.

 

I just have two little comments.

 

Many of us "here" at Royal Caribbean believe that RC's cutbacks have put the cruise experience on the decline. Since you wrote that your last experience was a Carnival cruise four years ago, it's important to note that distinction.

 

IMO, there is a good chance that comparing a Carnival cruise four years ago with a Royal Caribbean cruise four years ago would yield a different comparison.

 

In the same vein, comparing a Royal Caribbean cruise today with a Carnival cruise today would be a fairer comparison.

 

That was "thing one."

 

Thing two is the casino. I think that business in the casino was likely slow because of the Thanksgiving holiday. With their children on board, fewer parents are gambling in the casino.

 

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts.