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]

20 minutes ago, leen50 said:

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!

I looked at those stairs.  There is no way I am trying to go down those.😲 I am more cautious on stairs than I used to be. 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

There are lots of children on this cruise.  I would expect that since it is a 3-day weekend cruise.  I will try get to a couple of the cruise compasses for children to post.  

 

This is a deck plan for deck 12.  That is where the Adventure Ocean rooms for the children's program are located. 

 

 

 

This is the family pool area.

 

 

 

This is the Splash Away Bay. This area will keep any little one busy.  

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by DragonOfTheSeas

[Another_Critic]

22 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

This is the Splash Away Bay. This area will keep any little one busy.  

 

 

Just little ones?  I go in the H2O current pool on Anthem.  🙂

[LATTELOVE]

3 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

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. 

 

 

 

 

Ahh, she still as beautiful as I remember,

Brings back good memories.

Thank you!!

[leen50]

1 hour ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

I looked at those stairs.  There is no way I am trying to go down those.😲 I am more cautious on stairs than I used to be. 

I'm with You! Elevator is to the right of the stairs if I remember correctly.

[buffet24]

You're on it!!!  Bon Voyage!!!

[karen1821]

I board the Vision on May 11 when you get to Baltimore. I will be following along. 

I will probably have a few questions for you once you board the Vision. Enjoy your cruises.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

A little after noon there was a downpour.  It got all of the deck chairs wet and made it hard for passengers to find seats before the cabins were ready.  But cabins opened at 1pm and all was well.  

 

It has turned into a sunny, hot day. 😎  The bars and the pools are the places to be. 

 

Here are a few pictures of the main pool deck:

 

 

 

 

The solarium is usually my favorite place on the ship for two reasons--it is an indoor pool and it is adults only. I often get up early with a cup of coffee and hang out there. I can usually find a shady spot.  However, Royal Caribbean decided to make the solariums on Voyager class and Freedom class ships outdoor. 🙄 What were they thinking?  [luckily, they learned their lesson for the newer classes of ships]

 

Here is the solarium on Liberty. 

 

 

 

I look forward to the nice indoor solarium on the Vision of the Seas. JMHO

 

[karen1821]

Also I know a bartender on the Liberty right now. His name is Sumeet. If you happen to see him, tell him Karen and Angie said hi. Tell him to make you a WOW drink

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Just a few random things before I go find happy hour. 🍹

 

We just got good news.  The people doing whatever to the ship are finishing earlier and we now plan to leave around 7pm.  So, it will not make us late for Coco Cay tomorrow. 

 

My favorite change since the resumption of cruising after covid is the safety briefing procedure.  Rather than standing on a hot deck while stragglers decide to show up, you watch the video on the app and report to where you would go in an emergency [assembly station]. They scan your sea pass card and you are free to go. You can do this anytime in the afternoon.    

 

 

 

 

 

Someone on our Facebook group posed the breakdown for gratuities. This is a frequently asked question.  These amounts are per day. 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by DragonOfTheSeas

[karen1821]

29 minutes ago, karen1821 said:

Also I know a bartender on the Liberty right now. His name is Sumeet. If you happen to see him, tell him Karen and Angie said hi. Tell him to make you a WOW drink

 

[LATTELOVE]

2 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

Just a few random things before I go find happy hour. 🍹

 

We just got good news.  The people doing whatever to the ship are finishing earlier and we now plan to leave around 7pm.  So, it will not make us late for Coco Cay tomorrow. 

 

My favorite change since the resumption of cruising after covid is the safety briefing procedure.  Rather than standing on a hot deck while stragglers decide to show up, you watch the video on the app and report to where you would go in an emergency [assembly station]. They scan your sea pass card and you are free to go. You can do this anytime in the afternoon.    

 

 

 

 

 

Someone on our Facebook group posed the breakdown for gratuities. This is a frequently asked question.  These amounts are per day. 

 

Man, this went up again since our last cruise.

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

FYI--

Fort Lauderdale has an airshow this weekend.  We were able to watch them practice today before we set sail.  That was a treat.  I found this on the airshow website. These are the participants:

 

 

 

I was not very good at getting pictures of the planes.  But they were very impressive.

 

 

 

[UMDTERPS1]

I hope the sailing is going well.  Our last cruise was on the Liberty (in Dec 2022,) and we are on the May 1st Vision.  Thus, we are doing a delayed B2B.

 

I’m curious as to the food on this sailing.  The biggest disappointment we found during our last trip on the Liberty was the food.  We’re hoping that it is much better on the Vision as we are using the Vision for our “RCL Test Sailing” in regards to future cruises.

 

I liked CoCo Cay a lot.  I took on the BIG Waterslide and I can honestly say “the Waterslide won.”  No more BIG Waterslides for this 62 year old body.

 

Have Fun,

Michael

[LATTELOVE]

11 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

FYI--

Fort Lauderdale has an airshow this weekend.  We were able to watch them practice today before we set sail.  That was a treat.  I found this on the airshow website. These are the participants:

 

 

 

I was not very good at getting pictures of the planes.  But they were very impressive.

 

 

 

Happy to see this. We have not 

seen the Air show since COVID hit.  

Beautiful photos.  

Thank you.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Here we are at beautiful Coco Cay. We visited Coco Cay in March of 2022 on our first cruise back after Covid on Enchantment of the Seas.  I really like the new amped island.  Royal Caribbean did a nice job of it.  You can have a very active fun filled day [for a price] or enjoy sitting by the beach or a poll on loungers with an umbrella [or free]. There really is something for everyone.

 

 

 

DH and I are a little past the water park stage. 😊  However, last March we decided to try some of the other attractions.  We rented a daybed at Breezy Bay and went up in the hot air balloon.  We really enjoyed both.

 

The day beds fee for $149.99which included the daybed, 2 lounge chairs and umbrella, a cooler with four waters, towel so you don’t have to carry them off the ship, and two floating mats. Four people are allowed to share it.  It was our base for the day.  We swam in the ocean and the pool, ate at the snack shack nearby and spent more than 6 hours on the island.  That is twice as long as our usual visit.  It was a bummer that all the daybeds were sold out by the time we booked this cruise. Also, they are $199.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few of our balloon pictures. 

 

 

 

 

Now having posted all that--we have decided to just occupy loungers and am umbrella on a beach. LOL  

 

We are headed to the island.

 

Royal uses dynamic pricing for their attractions/excursions. The newer and bigger ships charge more for these.  If you see something you like, book it.  You can always cancel and rebook if the price goes down.  It is rare that happens, but Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two usual times.  JMHO

[DragonOfTheSeas]

3 hours ago, UMDTERPS1 said:

I hope the sailing is going well.  Our last cruise was on the Liberty (in Dec 2022,) and we are on the May 1st Vision.  Thus, we are doing a delayed B2B.

 

I’m curious as to the food on this sailing.  The biggest disappointment we found during our last trip on the Liberty was the food.  We’re hoping that it is much better on the Vision as we are using the Vision for our “RCL Test Sailing” in regards to future cruises.

 

I liked CoCo Cay a lot.  I took on the BIG Waterslide and I can honestly say “the Waterslide won.”  No more BIG Waterslides for this 62 year old body.

 

Have Fun,

Michael

Its too early for me to make a judgement call on the food for this ship.  I will let you know about both cruises.

[JK805]

4 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

Royal uses dynamic pricing for their attractions/excursions. The newer and bigger ships charge more for these.  If you see something you like, book it.  You can always cancel and rebook if the price goes down.  It is rare that happens, but Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two usual times.  JMHO

I’ve definitely seen prices fluctuate wildly on some sailings. I am one who tends to book right away for what I know I’ll want, but check back 2-3 times a week on the “sale” cycles - my last sailing in November I saw the beverage package drop by $10+ /day and rebooked. 
 

And it’s not just for Royal, I have seen the price drop twice for my hotel tomorrow night before our May 1 sailing and rebooked it each time! 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

At 8am the cruise director came on the intercom in the hallway to announce we had arrived at Coco Cay and then played the "Perfect Day at Coco Cay" song. You could clearly hear it in all of the cabins. I thought it was a little early. I had to laugh.  I wondered about all of those guests who had gotten their money worth out of the drink packages the night before.  😂  I am not sure they were ready to go ashore. LOL

 

Here is a map of the island:

 

 

We had a leisurely breakfast in the Main dining room and went ashore around 10am.  There were still long lines to board the trams. 

 

 

We are sharing the island with the Wonder of the Seas. 

 

 

 

We decided on the Chill Island area.  It has hundreds of loungers and umbrellas, a bar with patio seating, restrooms and the Chill Island Grill.  It is very convenient--but it was crowded today. 

 

 

We were able to see the zip line while we waited for the tram.

 

 

 

One thing I wanted to mention about children.  Royal Caribbean has life vests free to use on the ship and on Coco Cay.  I saw several children with the large "water wings that they put their arms through, and it snaps in the back.  I hope they were local.  Because those take up a lot of space and would not be needed. This was the locker and life vest station at Chill Island.

 

 

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

DH and I went to the ice show on the Liberty tonight.  I always marvel that they do the jumps and tuns on a moving cruise ship.  And the rink is much smaller than at most ice shows.  

 

I am not particularly skilled at action shots. This gives you an idea of the costuming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I am up early enough for a sunrise picture--but the clouds were not cooperating. It was still a nice view.  There are several other ships headed to Nassau with us this morning.  The Carnival ship is the closest. 

 

 

I thought I would get a couple of pictures on the Royal Promenade without people in them.

 

 

 

This is the guest services desk.  This is probably the only time you will see it without a crowd.

 

 

 

This is my early morning coffee spot.  They do not start serving the Starbucks items until 6:30 [regular coffee available 24/7].

 

 

I always like to see the antique cars on the ships with a Royal Promenade. 

 

 

[LATTELOVE]

1 hour ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

I am up early enough for a sunrise picture--but the clouds were not cooperating. It was still a nice view.  There are several other ships headed to Nassau with us this morning.  The Carnival ship is the closest. 

 

 

I thought I would get a couple of pictures on the Royal Promenade without people in them.

 

 

 

This is the guest services desk.  This is probably the only time you will see it without a crowd.

 

 

 

This is my early morning coffee spot.  They do not start serving the Starbucks items until 6:30 [regular coffee available 24/7].

 

 

I always like to see the antique cars on the ships with a Royal Promenade. 

 

 

Beautiful, 

Best time to take pictures.

[foodsvcmgr]

Thanks for the excellent review and photos.

Very interested in all your information as we will be boarding Liberty on May 13th.

[buffet24]

9 minutes ago, foodsvcmgr said:

Thanks for the excellent review and photos.

Very interested in all your information as we will be boarding Liberty on May 13th.

Awesome!!   We're boarding on May 23rd!   Do you guys live in/near NYC or coming from elsewhere?  If from elsewhere, how are you getting to the cruiseport?   Will you be parking at the cruiseport parking as well?   Can't decide between Amtrak or driving down from Boston...

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We decided to play some mini golf so we headed to deck 13 all the way forward.  You need to go to deck 12 and walk up a flight. It is sunny and pretty breezy around the ship today. No doubt from the same system that is providing the severe weather to Florida.  However, up there it was so windy it was pushing the deck chairs around.  . . . and the ball had a mind of its own. HaHaHa, [that is my story and I am sticking with it]. 😮🙄

 

Here are a couple of pictures.  I erased the face of the person I inadvertently captured. 

.  

So, we are in the solarium enjoying a lounger in the shade. We do not usually stay onboard in ports.  However, it can be very enjoyable.  We have been to Nassau many times. 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by DragonOfTheSeas