Review: Liberty of the Seas 4 nighter to Bermuda - Aug 6-10, 2024

[mizLORInj]

Hi everyone.  We're back from our 4 night Bermuda cruise on Liberty and here are our thoughts on it.   

 

We love Bermuda/Canada season from NJ because no airports are involved, therefore, less travel time.   Our TA had a group rate for balcony cabins on this particular cruise, but I did not respond quickly on that and when I said "book it" she told me all that was left was GTY category.  Hmm.  The 2 times we and friends did GTY on NCL we got the front of the ship.   Experience has shown that you never know what the seas will be like to and/or from Bermuda, and the front is not where I want to be.   On the other hand, it's 4 nights vs. longer, so we went ahead and booked it.  Shortly after, and much earlier than I expected, we were assigned an aft-facing balcony cabin.   YAY!   

 

Chose a 12:30-1pm arrival timeslot because by that time people are already on board and the terminal is cleared out.   Not this time.  Security check was quick and then we went to check-in for our document check. . . and then we were directed to the seated holding area (C&A status did not matter here).  Things moved along quickly though and we were onboard maybe 10 minutes later.  Also, don't fret about your photo on the app; they were taking all new photos of everyone.   

 

Got onboard and dropped our stuff off in the cabin.   The entire corridor on deck 9 (both sides) elevator to stern smelled of mildew.  It smelled the entire cruise.  How does no one working on the ship notice this.  Yes, I did point it out.  

 

Cabin was nice though not in the best condition.   Bed was comfy, lots of storage space.  I always bring a few hangers from home and I'm glad I did.  Usual bathroom style on this type of ship; it was fine.  There was a bar of soap for the sink, and a coconut-scented body wash/shampoo in the shower.  You can ask for conditioner.  We have had aft-facing balconies before (thought not on Royal), and we're aware that there can be soot.   We got a lot of soot on the balcony this time, and there was the smell of exhaust a lot--to the point where we would leave the balcony.  I realize this all depends on wind direction.   The balcony was quite deep which we loved, and able to accommodate 2 lounger chairs and more.    The balcony chairs should have been in the trash due to damage and holes.    Our cabin stewardess was excellent.   🙂 

 

Food.   We prefer the Adventure or Anthem Windjammer layout.   And sinks to wash hands as you enter vs. squirt of hand sanitizer.  We always found food items that were quite good.  I did get tired of the message: "[when you're finished eating, please leave]" because we built a ship with cabins that hold too many to be accommodated in some public spaces.  Dining room was very pretty and we had a table for two against a huge window, so we liked that of course.  Our servers were excellent, although the food was bland and nothing was memorable.  Apparently mashed potatoes are now served with every meal.   We ate there the first two nights only.   When we went to bring a tip to them the last night between dinner services, we were of course told about the survey, blah, blah, blah.  I told him I will not rate the food a 10 because it wasn't, and he said if I don't [something happens to the servers].  Well, if that is true, shame on Royal Caribbean.   The servers are not responsible for the taste of the food.  The standout that was in both the buffet and dining room was Beef Bourguignon--it really was delicious.   Pizza was decent as usual.  I remember when cupcakes were included in our cruise fare, and now there is a cupcake store where you can pay $2.75 instead.  There is popcorn for sale usually on the bar of the Schooner. . . $2.50 each.  This cruise really showed me how desperately they are trying to get every penny out of the passenger. 

 

We like that there is a lower deck that goes all the way around the ship (4) and even has open bow access.    

 

We participated in some of the trivia and games, and that was always fun.  People were using their phone apps for some of the music trivia, and the host said don't do that; the prizes aren't worth it.   And they aren't.   (and you're teaching your kids it is ok to cheat)

 

I thought the kids waterpark was great.   So many activities and all the kids looked so happy.  

 

Crown Lounge was nice.  There was an absolutely fabulous Melitta coffee machine to make cappuccino or whatever coffee beverage you fancied.  The evening happy hour was ok.  There were breakfast items in the morning too.  Cookies and whole fruit were there most of the time.  

 

Saturday Night Fever, the Musical, was the production show.   We enjoyed the dancing.  The same cast also was on stage earlier in the cruise singing; they seemed to sing a lot of Doobie Brothers and Chicago songs.    

 

I do miss the tribute bands Royal used to have.  

 

Seemed to frequently get disconnected from ship wifi--while on the ship. 

 

Bermuda.  We were in port with Norwegian Joy that was a 7 nighter from NYC, so they had already been in port for one day.   Our plan was, as usual for us, to take the $7 shuttle to Horseshoe bay (not RC sponsored).  We did not rush to get off the ship.  Arrived at the beach around 10 to a VERY long line for chair rental.   I had never seen this beach so crowded, and I've been there with two ships before.   With still about 20 people ahead of us, they ran out of umbrellas and chairs.  So we just plopped down on our towels and went for a swim for a bit.  Last year's rental prices were $45 for 2 chairs and an umbrella; this year it is $60.   People next to us on the beach had gone to Tobacco Bay the day before and shelled out $70 for the same items!  

 

Home in NJ was getting hammered with rain, yet we had nice weather the duration of the cruise.  The seas were a little rough mid-day the last sea day, but I felt like the ship handled the waves quite well.   

 

We have a cruise planned on this ship in 2025, but we are currently viewing other options.  All the money must be going to the new ships because maintenance is not kept up on the older ships.  Which is sad because we like this class and the Voyager class of ships a lot.   On the RC survey I stated that the new ships are too expensive, and the older ships are not well-maintained.  

 

I am grateful for the perks we get for our C&A level, for sure.   I love cruising out of NJ and being home so quickly when the cruise is over instead of spending hours in an airport.   

 

I do hope Royal Caribbean reads some of these reviews because the survey does not allow you go to into detail sufficiently.  

[marci22]

1 hour ago, mizLORInj said:

I do hope Royal Caribbean reads some of these reviews because the survey does not allow you go to into detail sufficiently.  

I don't know how they get any useful information out of those surveys.

[Tatka]

Thank you for review.

Nice to hear about new coffee machine. Last year we sailed twice on Liberty. Bermuda in May and Canada in September and we got coffee cards because machine was not working.

 

I thought otherwise ship was nicely maintained (we sail on larger ships out of NJ so we can compare).

[mets123]

" When we went to bring a tip to them the last night between dinner services, we were of course told about the survey, blah, blah, blah.  I told him I will not rate the food a 10 because it wasn't, and he said if I don't [something happens to the servers].  Well, if that is true, shame on Royal Caribbean.   The servers are not responsible for the taste of the food."

 

I agree completely  If the food is bad, I want to say so. Those comments should not affect the wait staff.

[elizabethbp]

I was on this cruise also.  We had an ocean view with a larger balcony.  The room was in terrible shape and there were holes and large gashes in the floor of the balcony, so much that you had to be careful  where you walked.  The bathroom was old,  There was a sulphur smell some nights but it passed.   We only did specialty dining. Giovanni's was great ( kudos to Carolyn).  Chops was awful. Chef's Table was fine.    Most of the staff were fine.   When my daughter lost a pouch in R Bar, Eugene found  it and left it with Guest Services.  That impressed me.  We did the rum tasting in Boleros  and I recommend that.   

  As  to the crowd, we though this crowd was possibly a lot of first timers. Regardless,   some people just have no manners- one couple chose to change their infant at the pool in full view of all on a chair. Another woman paraded around the kids' pool breastfeeding her child ( I am old school- I see no need for that). 

   The Crown lounge was very nice.  The concierge helped straighten out a bunch of  issues  for me. The attendant Leroy  was super helpful.  We did the Key and I think it was worth it.  The lunch was very good and the breakfast last day also very  good.

   Overall I would never do this ship again.  It was just too old and not well maintained.

[ecslady]

Thanks for your review.  I'm on the Liberty in October.