Just off Liberty

[HBE4]

6 minutes ago, satxdiver said:

The hush music event is  like a disco but where participants wear headphones to hear the music.  Pax without the headphones cannot hear the music.  It really is strange to watch all these pax dancing with headphones on and not hearing any music.  

 

Especially when they have 2 or 3 different channels of music to chose from, they are dancing to very different tunes & styles of music!

[molsonschooner]

23 hours ago, ddled said:

There were 5 of us-ages 70-14. All Diamond level on Royal. This was our 4th time on Liberty. We drove to  Galveston so no. air answers here except it is a long ways from the airports and the Royal shuttle looked good to me.

 

Embarkation and disembarkation were easy and smooth. Less than 30 minutes from start to finish and no complaints. We used porters. 

 

How is Covid handled? Pretty well. Masks are worn in hallways, and anywhere that is not V or vaccine only. Most venues are V. The ship was 62% full which eliminated most lines.  Kids were common being Thanksgiving week, but caused few problems. Once they get vaccinated it will be better. Masks were worn by almost everyone, in the Grand Promenade and everywhere else. They are doing as well as they can.

 

Food was very good. Windjammer, MDR, Chops, and Giovannis were very good. Service throughout the ship was fantastic and better than we have seen. Always smiling and helpful. Wi-Fi was spotty, going out from time to time. One night we streamed a football game,  next morning could not. Sometimes it just dropped. The app was helpful when it worked which was most of the time.

 

The biggest problem is the entertainment. Ice show Encore was shown 7 times!  El Gaucho was a main line act-has been around forever. The On Air and Saturday night Fever have been on forever and should be changed. Sailing out of Galveston usually means only 5 or so possible ports, they need to spice up the cruise with different acts. Sorry-Love and Marriage is not a  main act.  Music was thin. On the days that a band had off, their venue was quiet. Not enough bands to go around. Been that way for a long time. A Galveston cruise should have country music on it. Carnival does and Liberty used to  Guitar in Pub was ok, others bad.  Dancing is hard to find. Trivia is everywhere. It is cheap. Otherwise it was pretty empty of good entertainment  Bring a couple of books. 

 

The ships is showing its 20 plus years in places. We were on 10 and the carpet in the hallway was stained and worn.  Some bathrooms were closed for hours or more. All in all though it was a fun cruise Ports were Cozumel, Belize and Honduras. We had been to each numerous times and did not get off. I did ride the Tidal Wave with my granddaughter and that was a blast. The mini golf was well restored and attended. Pool chairs were never a problem, even the lower ones. They did fill out after 10:00. 

 

Would I go again? Yes. They are working out of the pandemic and they are getting back to normal. 

 

 

 

 

just wondering how old your granddaughter is. We will be on Liberty next September with our 8 year old granddaughter. She would love to do the tidal wave. Do you know if there is a height/weight requirements.

[packedandready]

If walking around in port area are masks required if distanced?

 

[tborntreger]

I'm gong to be traveling with 5 teenage boys who concerned about the Windjammer being open for dinner.  Was it open for dinner on your most recent cruise?

 

Also our Costa Maya excursion was cancelled today. (Lost Mayan Kingdom Waterpark)  I need to find something for 5 teen boys but nothing too physical since one will be recovering from ACL surgery.  Any suggestions on things you enjoyed?

[AustinCruise]

2 hours ago, molsonschooner said:

just wondering how old your granddaughter is. We will be on Liberty next September with our 8 year old granddaughter. She would love to do the tidal wave. Do you know if there is a height/weight requirements.

Tidal wave has restrictions. There are min & max weight per person and for the pair. Also a min height. 
 

I don’t recall the numbers. My daughter drank 4 glasses of water and wire two or three soaking wet shirts (straight from the shower to the scale) to qualify on our first liberty trip many years ago. 
 

Found this through Google - not sure if still accurate. 
 

 

Edited December 4, 2021 by AustinCruise

[sddsddean]

5 hours ago, satxdiver said:

 

We are on the Liberty right now.  There is no special measures being taken at this time.  All three ports (Roatan, Costa Maya and Cozumel) only required masks be worn.  RCCL requires anyone not vaccinated to only take a ship excursion and not wander around the port or take a independent tour.  

Thanks for the info

 

Simon

[StormySeas]

we were on Liberty the week before you. good review. I agree that the shows really need to be changed. we saw Air and was impressed as always but we skipped everything else because "been there. done that". I felt safe with the protocols in place and most people seemed to follow them. no masks on decks or around pool. appreciated the adult pool was a mask free zone. the MDR food was good and excellent on some nights. service in MDR was fantastic for us. we are not country music fans either but as long as it is not played at ear splitting levels (like we have experienced on Carnival), I am ok with any type of music. I personally would like some jazz late in the evening. overall a good cruise for us since we like to chill for the most part and enjoy some quiet time.

[firefly333]

11 hours ago, packedandready said:

If walking around in port area are masks required if distanced?

 

Yes all ports require masks be worn. The locals are not vaccinated is why I'm told. Cant wander around to shop without wearing a mask. 

[Tree_skier]

21 hours ago, Mapleleafforever said:

At this point yes but if it will be the same in a few weeks/months no one knows. Gotta love them variants. 

 

21 hours ago, sddsddean said:

I appreciate that you didn't get off at the ports, but are there any restrictions/tests etc if you did, especially in light of the new variant? Just wondered how things were being handled 'across the pond'!

 

Simon

 

 

[packedandready]

11 hours ago, tborntreger said:

I'm gong to be traveling with 5 teenage boys who concerned about the Windjammer being open for dinner.  Was it open for dinner on your most recent cruise?

 

 

From what I've read and the app it looks like the WJ is now open for dinner from 6-9.

[WeMissSeaView]

On the Liberty now and Windjammer is open for dinner.

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

Yes all ports require masks be worn. The locals are not vaccinated is why I'm told. Cant wander around to shop without wearing a mask. 

Belize was very strict about masking EVERYWHERE. 

Both Cozumel and Honduras we did not wear masks unless entering a shop. 

[scorpluvsdolphins]

11 hours ago, tborntreger said:

I'm gong to be traveling with 5 teenage boys who concerned about the Windjammer being open for dinner.  Was it open for dinner on your most recent cruise?

 

Also our Costa Maya excursion was cancelled today. (Lost Mayan Kingdom Waterpark)  I need to find something for 5 teen boys but nothing too physical since one will be recovering from ACL surgery.  Any suggestions on things you enjoyed?

I used to scuba dive with Gypsea Divers in Costa Maya. They also have snorkeling for $30 pp for 1.5 hours in the water. 
Small shop, husband and wife.  Wife’s name is Catherine. 
Take a cab and tell them to drop you off. They are on the beach. 
Then I would walk to the Krazy Lobster for a $20 massage. 

[firefly333]

13 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Belize was very strict about masking EVERYWHERE. 

Both Cozumel and Honduras we did not wear masks unless entering a shop. 

I wore masks everywhere I went. Decided it was too hot to wear a mask and went back on the ship. Taking a mask on and off between shops idk. They told us masks required so I wore it. The policy wasnt it's ok to walk around without one, the policy was unless swimming.. .. I just followed the policy not what I thought I could get away with but I did pull it away more than once. It gets wet in high humidity. Hopefully dec will be more comfortable.  

[c-leg5]

27 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Belize was very strict about masking EVERYWHERE. 

Both Cozumel and Honduras we did not wear masks unless entering a shop. 

 

10 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I wore masks everywhere I went. Decided it was too hot to wear a mask and went back on the ship. Taking a mask on and off between shops idk. They told us masks required so I wore it. The policy wasnt it's ok to walk around without one, the policy was unless swimming.. .. I just followed the policy not what I thought I could get away with but I did pull it away more than once. It gets wet in high humidity. Hopefully dec will be more comfortable.  

In Cozumel masks are still required in all public areas and taxis. 
 

We were there on extended visits in June and November and there is a noticeable lack of compliance now cruising has resumed.

[Rosy Season]

13 hours ago, packedandready said:

If walking around in port area are masks required if distanced?

 

Some of the ports were very strict.  Belize for example.  They had security and police walking all around enforcing the masks, outside.  And the signs about fines for disobeying were quite prominent.

[Rosy Season]

On 12/2/2021 at 8:30 PM, ddled said:

There were 5 of us-ages 70-14. All Diamond level on Royal. This was our 4th time on Liberty. We drove to  Galveston so no. air answers here except it is a long ways from the airports and the Royal shuttle looked good to me.

 

Embarkation and disembarkation were easy and smooth. Less than 30 minutes from start to finish and no complaints. We used porters. 

 

How is Covid handled? Pretty well. Masks are worn in hallways, and anywhere that is not V or vaccine only. Most venues are V. The ship was 62% full which eliminated most lines.  Kids were common being Thanksgiving week, but caused few problems. Once they get vaccinated it will be better. Masks were worn by almost everyone, in the Grand Promenade and everywhere else. They are doing as well as they can.

 

Food was very good. Windjammer, MDR, Chops, and Giovannis were very good. Service throughout the ship was fantastic and better than we have seen. Always smiling and helpful. Wi-Fi was spotty, going out from time to time. One night we streamed a football game,  next morning could not. Sometimes it just dropped. The app was helpful when it worked which was most of the time.

 

The biggest problem is the entertainment. Ice show Encore was shown 7 times!  El Gaucho was a main line act-has been around forever. The On Air and Saturday night Fever have been on forever and should be changed. Sailing out of Galveston usually means only 5 or so possible ports, they need to spice up the cruise with different acts. Sorry-Love and Marriage is not a  main act.  Music was thin. On the days that a band had off, their venue was quiet. Not enough bands to go around. Been that way for a long time. A Galveston cruise should have country music on it. Carnival does and Liberty used to  Guitar in Pub was ok, others bad.  Dancing is hard to find. Trivia is everywhere. It is cheap. Otherwise it was pretty empty of good entertainment  Bring a couple of books. 

 

The ships is showing its 20 plus years in places. We were on 10 and the carpet in the hallway was stained and worn.  Some bathrooms were closed for hours or more. All in all though it was a fun cruise Ports were Cozumel, Belize and Honduras. We had been to each numerous times and did not get off. I did ride the Tidal Wave with my granddaughter and that was a blast. The mini golf was well restored and attended. Pool chairs were never a problem, even the lower ones. They did fill out after 10:00. 

 

Would I go again? Yes. They are working out of the pandemic and they are getting back to normal. 

 

 

 

 

I felt somewhat differently.  Although we had a fabulous time there were several disappointments.  The food was subpar imo.  MDR was SLOOOOOOOW.  We went to lunch and we were there for almost two hours - and skipped the dessert because it was taking too long.  Same with dinner....service was painfully slow - we almost missed a show because of dinner.  And food was always lukewarm.  Sorrento's was the only reliably good food.

 

Entertainment was "meh".  I mostly used this cruise to lounge and read my book...nothing else was really that entertaining nor plentiful.

 

Adventure Ocean was a disaster, at best.  And that's a whole different thread in and of itself.  

[Mapleleafforever]

4 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

 

 

 

There's 24 years worth of gems like this hahaha. 

 

Speaking of variants.....still trying to wrap my head around how it got into Australia.....Things that make you go hmmmmm. 

[tborntreger]

For those of you who just been on the Liberty, what were the shows and other entertainment?  Any gameshows, comedy, or live music?  I'm a first time cruiser and don't know much of anything.

[tborntreger]

Best thing to do in Costa Maya?

[c-leg5]

17 minutes ago, tborntreger said:

Best thing to do in Costa Maya?

Try the port of call board for suggestions. 
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/102-costa-maya/

[satxdiver]

1 hour ago, tborntreger said:

For those of you who just been on the Liberty, what were the shows and other entertainment?  Any gameshows, comedy, or live music?  I'm a first time cruiser and don't know much of anything.

I am on the Liberty right now.  Day 1 - 2 comedians, day 2 - Royal Production Show (did not attend), day 3 - vocalist Bryan Cheatham, day 4 - Love and Marriage show and Ice show, day 5 - comedy juggler Billy Prudhomme, day 6 - Saturday Night Fever, day 7 - Ice Show and 2 comedians R rated (same as day 1).

[ddled]

A few answers after I read this later. In the V areas you do not have to wear the masks. My granddaughter is 14, pretty big -5-10 and I am 200 lbs-the raft ride is a blast even at age 70. Can't let the kids have all the fun.  Music was interesting. Being Thanksgiving there were a lot of teenagers on board. They found the Cool Band in the lounge about the 3rd night. After that it reminded me of when I would chaperone proms. 30 or so teenagers would show up and take the place over. No room on floor, just a lot of them. I could not blame them though-there was no where else for them to go. The band would play a few tunes aimed at them, but it didn't really matter-these kids were having a good time no matter what. Royal needed to have something for them-there was nothing. Once because the star lounge is not V, the band reminded the kids they had to mask up. They did and kept right on. Was the only time I saw the band do that. We just went elsewhere on the ship-as did most of the adults in the room. Band seemed a little distressed-don't think 15 year olds were their target audience. This went on every night. Just not enough talent on board-they need 1 more group, but they would probably not play country either lol.  

[JuliaMS]

If anyone can post cruise compus I'd appreciate it.

Also, in Roatan does the ship dock near Mahogany Bay or Coxen Hole? 

[caribill]

On 12/3/2021 at 7:33 PM, satxdiver said:

 

 RCCL requires anyone not vaccinated to only take a ship excursion and not wander around the port or take a independent tour.  

 

I thought that RCCL required all passengers to be fully vaccinated.

 

What is the policy?