LIVE! Liberty of the Seas April 28, 2023 to Vision of the Seas May 1, 2023: A side-to-side with Dragon of the Seas

[DragonOfTheSeas]

 

DH and I are off on another cruise adventure.  This time we are sailing a back-to-back cruise on two different ships. I am told this is called a side-to-side. [13 nights total] We board the Liberty of the Seas in Fort Lauderdale on April 28, 2023 for 3 nights.  We arrive back on May 1, 2023 and move to the Vision of the Seas for 10 nights at the same port and a different terminal.  Just to make it a little more exciting the second cruise is a reposition cruise from FLL to Baltimore.

 

We flew into Fort Lauderdale on Southwest last night. We always fly in at least one day before a cruise. This time we are staying 2 nights at a Hampton Inn with a free airport shuttle and a paid shuttle to the port on Friday. Flying has had so many issues lately we decided we wanted to get to Fort Lauderdale early and rest for a day before we boarded the ship. . . We are glad we did. The skies have not been too friendly for us—or others on our roll call lately. 

 

Yesterday there was a short rain shower earlier in the afternoon at BWI and then the sun came back out.

 

Then our luck ran out. The flight to FLL was a little sketchy.  We knew there was a weather issue at FLL before we left BWI. Our flight was delayed due to a weather ground stop at FLL.  The ride was bumpy, and they sent us out over the Atlantic to avoid most of it which further delayed the landing.

Once we got below the clouds we could see the city lights. I tried to get a picture of the big guitar hotel.  It was impressive from the air.  However, the wings were going up and down a bit and I just could not time it right.

 

 

After we landed, we sat on the tarmac for a while because the rain and wind were too much for the ground crew to be out. Also, the luggage ramp was closed for a short time and that delayed luggage delivery.  We were lucky that most of the storm had passed by the time we arrived.  But all is well!  We made it to our hotel!  I mentioned our flying issues on our Facebook roll call.  A women mentioned they had severe weather and golf ball size hail yesterday.  She was glad we managed to land safely. [So am I]

 

It was almost eleven pm when we got to the hotel last night.  So, I decided to wait until today to begin this live thread.  That was a poor decision.  The internet has been down at the hotel all day.  The front desk claims that Star Link is down in the whole area.  But it is back--yeah!!

Edited April 27, 2023 by DragonOfTheSeas
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[DragonOfTheSeas]

It is a beautiful partly sunny day with only a small chance of severe weather today. A few of our roll call members have issues with today's flights.  One person had their flight cancelled and rebooked for 9pm tomorrow.  The ship leave at 4pm. 😮 Good luck to everyone.

 

We had planned to take an Uber to Las Olas Blvd in Fort Lauderdale.  However, we noticed a large shopping center across the street and plenty of restaurants.  We are both tired from yesterday, so we had a chill pool day.

 

We are Alan and Agnes from central Virginia, and we cruise out of Baltimore about half the time.  Our DD lives about 40 minutes south of Baltimore.  We can leave our car and get a ride to the pier. So, it is very convenient. [PS--We plan to take her on a cruise with us next year]  

 

We have cruised Carnival, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean.  However, most of our cruises lately have been on Royal Caribbean and we are Diamond+ in their Crown and Anchor loyalty program. While there are not that many perks at the entry levels of the program, by the time you get to Diamond level there are several things that enhance your cruise.

 

We booked the reposition cruise on the Vision of the Seas about a year ago.  I have found reposition cruises are often a better value since cruisers do not like the inconvenience of starting in one port and ending in another.  They are usually longer and if they begin and end in the US, they have to visit a far-off port. That is usually one of the ABC islands.  On this cruise we visit all three. It was just luck that we noticed the Liberty cruise aligned perfectly with this cruise. 

 

When we booked this side to side, I did the usual research to see how it would work.  There was very little information out there.  Would we take a taxi between the two terminals? Would they be close enough together to walk? Would the ship transport us? [this has sometimes been the case] Would the first ship let us stay on until the end of disembarkation, so we did not have to wait outside the other terminal for a long period of time before boarding?  Etc. I will let you know how it works.

 

I was able to get an 11:30 am check-in time for both cruises. One positive is that we have a junior suite on the Vision of the Seas which is supposed to come with priority embarkation.  Another plus is that there are a few other couples making the same side-to-side change and we agreed to go to guest services together to ask for transportation. We will see what happens.  

 

Just to add a little drama I got an email today regarding the Vision of the Seas. 

 

That may be fine for most passengers, but those of us moving over from the Liberty of the Seas will have to see how the works with us. Time to be flexible. 🤣

 

 

 

 

[leen50]

We used to live in Texas and sailed on the Liberty several times. Really like that ship.

Hope you are at the Sailaway Meet & Mingle on VOS and mention your live reporting.

Good Luck with your Transfers.

-arleen 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

56 minutes ago, leen50 said:

We used to live in Texas and sailed on the Liberty several times. Really like that ship.

Hope you are at the Sailaway Meet & Mingle on VOS and mention your live reporting.

Good Luck with your Transfers.

-arleen 

We have never been on any ship in this class. We look forward to exploring the ship on the day we are in Nassau. We will likely not get off the ship there.  We have done many of the excursion there. 

[leen50]

10 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

We have never been on any ship in this class. We look forward to exploring the ship on the day we are in Nassau. We will likely not get off the ship there.  We have done many of the excursion there. 

You'll enjoy Liberty. Hope they still do the Promenade Parades!

[SpinMasterJ]

Howdy! It’s Jessica from the roll call group! We’re sitting in BWI waiting on our flight that was supposed to take off an hour ago. They just said we’ll be boarding shortly though, so I’ve got my fingers crossed we make it out tonight. See you on board (hopefully) tomorrow!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We have visited all the ports on both cruises before.  But we feel the two itineraries complement each other.  The first is a short fun-filled cruise on a ship with lots of bows and whistles.  We are looking forward to seeing the ice show, eating at Johnny Rockets watching people surf on the flow rider. [never tried it] and enjoying Coco Cay. We will likely stay onboard during our Nassau stop. There should be a party vibe on this weekend cruise.  There has been lots of talk on FB about drink packages. It could be entertaining. 😊 Our only regret is that it is a 3-day cruise.

 

Liberty of the Seas Itinerary:  Bahamas

 

Friday, April 28                                    Fort Lauderdale, FL                            4:30pm

Saturday, April 29                                CocoCay, Bahamas                            7:00am-5:00pm

Sunday, April 30                                  Nassau, Bahamas                              8:00am-5:00pm

Monday, May 1                                   Fort Lauderdale, FL                          

 

 

The second cruise will be our relaxing trip. The Vision of the Seas is a smaller and older ship with few bells and whistles. It is cruising for the enjoyment of an ocean voyage.   There are only 3 ports on our 10-night cruise.  I love sea days.  You get into a rhythm and time just slows down.  I hope I get to post lots of sunset pictures. 

 

On this trip I am looking forward to my snorkel trip with Woodwind Bonaire the most.  I participated in an open-ocean snorkel with them about 6 years ago.  It was one of the best excursions I have ever taken. Wait until you see the pictures!  They send a professional photographer on each trip. 

 

Vision of the Seas Itinerary: Southern Caribbean

Monday, May 1	Fort Lauderdale, FL		4:00pm
Tuesday, May 2	At Sea
Wednesday, May 3	At Sea
Thursday, May 4	Curacao	8:00am	8:00pm
Friday, May 5	Bonaire	8:00am	6:00pm
Saturday, May 6	Aruba	8:00am	8:00pm
Sunday, May 7	At Sea
Monday, May 8	At Sea
Tuesday, May 9	At Sea
Wednesday, May 10	At Sea
Thursday, May 11	Baltimore, MD	7:00am

 

The ABC islands are very close to the mainland of South America.  Bonaire is only 50 miles away.  They seldom are impacted by hurricanes and have a strong Dutch influence.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

5 minutes ago, SpinMasterJ said:

Howdy! It’s Jessica from the roll call group! We’re sitting in BWI waiting on our flight that was supposed to take off an hour ago. They just said we’ll be boarding shortly though, so I’ve got my fingers crossed we make it out tonight. See you on board (hopefully) tomorrow!

The good news is that it is still partly sunny here.  So, if you get to leave BWI you should be fine.  The crazy Florida weather today is inland and in the panhandle. Good Luck. 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I have seen several questions about Royal Up.  Yes, we bid on better cabins on both cruises.  I just got an email regarding the Liberty cruise that said:

OFFER UNSUCCESSFUL

Agnes XXXX, Thanks for submitting your RoyalUp bid for a stateroom upgrade on your upcoming adventure. Unfortunately, we were not able to accept your bid and your original stateroom remains as is.   So, I guess at least some of the time they let you know if your bid is not accepted. 😲   We still have hopes for the Vision cruise. 🤞

[rafinmd]

Bon Voyage.  I was booked on the same side to side but am slow recovering from pneumonia and had to cancel.

 

Roy

[DragonOfTheSeas]

3 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Bon Voyage.  I was booked on the same side to side but am slow recovering from pneumonia and had to cancel.

 

Roy

Oh, so sorry.  I hope you get well soon and can rebook. 

[Biker19]

44 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

So, I guess at least some of the time they let you know if your bid is not accepted.

If one got the bid confirmation email, they should get the denial message as well.

Edited April 28, 2023 by Biker19

[DELTABLUE]

Signing on for the ride with you!  I always love to follow your wonderful "live" threads and enjoy your adventures vicariously.  Thanx for sending the link to the Beadies.  I'm due to be on Vision on 8-3 so am very interested in your take.  How is she different from Enchantment and Lady G?  I know someone who will be cruising along with you on Vision so will have to tell her about your thread.  Would greatly appreciate it if you could find Vision's corresponding table number for the large round table where we usually sit at on Grandeur.  I think you got me number for the table on Enchantment.  G was 342 and E was 206.  What's it gonna be on V?

 

              

 

Hope you have smooth seas and beautiful weather!  Hugs to Alan.😊

[MD_Dan]

Hello neighbor!

Looking forward to your A-B-C island reviews.  We sailed out of Baltimore once.  I so much loved sailing past Fort McHenry, that I got up before dawn when returning to see it again!  And passing seemingly inches below the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a thrill.

[JamesEM]

Following along, have a great cruise.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

It is cruise day 🛳️  Hooray!!  We have reserved the Hampton Inn shuttle for 10:30 this morning for our 11:30 check-in time.

 

 

The Liberty of the Seas holds 3643 passengers and was built in 2007. It was refurbished in 2016 when many new activities were added [waterslides, restaurants, and Splash Away Bay, etc] and in 2021.

 

 

This cruise only has two ports.

 

Our first port is Coco Cay.  It is Royal Caribbean’s private island. We visited here several times before it was renovated, and a pier was built.  It used to be a quiet beach day and you had to tender to the island. I do not like tenders.  It is not a very efficient way to move many passengers ashore and it is very weather dependent.  I read on Cruise Critic that passengers missed Coco Cay about 1/3 of the time before the pier was built.  We were lucky and never had that happen to us.

 

Our second and final port is Nassau. Nassau is not my favorite port.  We have visited so many times we have a “been there—done that” attitude. If it is your first time do not let me discourage you.  There are several fun things to do.  We have visited the aquarium at Atlantis, taken the water taxi, visited the casino, gone on the Blue Lagoon excursion, visited the straw market, had drinks at Senior Frogs and last time we got a day pass to the Margaritaville Resort.

 

What we have not done is sail this class of ship.  So, we plan to stay onboard in Nassau and see what the ship has to offer us.

 

 

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We could not resist getting our picture taken below the Bon Voyage sign in the hotel lobby. 

 

 

Yesterday there was a large group of cruisers leaving on a Princess cruise through the Panama Canal.  The "Bon Voyage Bench," as they referred to it, was a popular spot for a photo.

 

 

[LATTELOVE]

Following.

Interested to see how things are on Liberty.

We are looking into doing a cruise from 

Cape Liberty soon too.

 

Thank you for taking us along.

[LATTELOVE]

Bon Voyage!

Happy cruise day to you.

Enjoy!!!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We are on the ship. Yay!
 

we got here at 10: 55 with an 11:30 check in time. We had left ourselves a little more time to board the shuttle with a lot of people, a lot of luggage and getting off with a lot of luggage. The only thing was we were the only two people on the shuttle.🤣

 

So, we were in the terminal and checked in without any line at all. They motioned us to the elevators and we were on the ship and sitting in the Schooner bar by 11:05. Easy peasy!

 

The only fly in the ointment is that the woman at check-in told us that the ship is not leaving port until 10 PM. It seems that there is either a propulsion issue, or the ship needs to have things scraped off the bottom of the ship. She described both in the same sentence in what I would call a word salad. 

I will try to find out.

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by DragonOfTheSeas

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I have taken a few pictures as I got on the ship. We entered at the front of the ship. On deck 4 near the Schooner bar. 
 

The theatre is nearby. 
 

 

Here is a view of what we would call a centrum on the vision class ship. The ship has a little promenade in the center of the ship. 

 

 

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Also, on deck four is Sabor, a Mexican specialty restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DH is not a fan of Mexican cuisine. So, I’ve never eaten in one. But I hear their guacamole is terrific.

Edited April 28, 2023 by DragonOfTheSeas

[leen50]

The last time we went on the Liberty, a man tried to go down those fancy steps to the Platinum theater with his walker. He crashed to the bottom & hot the heavy glass doors. It was very scary but he wasn't badly injured. Hold on to the railing!

[Another_Critic]

I had thought about doing the same S2S (even adding the previous 4-night Liberty sailing), but ended up booking the May 1st Anthem TA to Southampton.

 

Sailed on Vision for an Arctic Crossing (Copenhagen to Cape Liberty) in August 2017.

 

Enjoy your cruise! 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Just now, Another_Critic said:

Sailed on Vision for an Arctic Crossing (Copenhagen to Cape Liberty) in August 2017.

 

Enjoy your cruise! 

We sailed on Vison once for a reposition from Fort Lauderdale to Tampa.  We know it is a smaller ship.  However, DH and I both like sea days and this cruise had 6 sea days. . . . but, your TA sounds like fun, too. 😃