Live from Liberty of the Seas 7-25

[dizzlepop]

Hello! Oh my gosh, it's a spectacular ship, and everything is going wonderfully and smoothly.

 

I was surprised not to see the handi-wipes being handed out as mentioned by previous Liberty cruisers this summer; only saw them in the gym. Tonight, however, upon coming aboard from St. Martin, we were given them, and then again at dinner, in the Windjammer, etc. We are apparently in "prevention" mode now! Works for me -- all of us have been diligent at keeping our hands washed anyway.

 

We had over 25 fellow CC members show up to the Meet and Mingle Sunday morning. How fun was that, to meet in person?! RCI had a nice little spread of hors d'eouvres for us, we each received a nice lanyard/notebook combo thing and a magnet with a picture of the ship.

 

Seas have been nice and smooth :)

 

Food is great, everywhere. If you're looking for gourmet food at every spot here, you won't find it. You will, however, find tasty food for every taste. Dining room and Chops service is extraordinary. We went to Chops and holy cow (pun intended), the filet was delicious. And the lobster bisque. And the chocolate cake. :D Tomorrow we're dining at Portofino.

 

Our room is fabulous -- we have a D1 cabin, forward. There's me and dh, plus 2 dd's. The beds are way comfy! I have nothing but good to say about our cabin and our attendant as well. On a note for those looking to book: someone here said to book aft because that's where all the action is and he was so right! All the food and kid activities are aft.

 

I've had two treatments at the spa: seaweed wrap and massage, and microdermabrasion facial. Both were wonderful and I wish I could do it every day! On port days they give decent discounts; I got $40 off each treatment. I learned something interesting about the spa and gym staff: it's a separate company. They serve RCI, Princess, Carnival, and maybe more. The gym is cool. Me and my teenage dd have done the stretching classes twice a day and I've been doing the mile walk at 8 a.m. each morning (except today as we were getting ready to visit St. Martin).

 

Adventure Ocean has been everything I had heard it would be for the younger crowd! My 9-yr-old dd cries when it's time to leave, even if it's 11 p.m.!! She is having SO much fun! My teenager just tonight ventured into the Living Room (area for teens only). I HOPE she finds somebody to befriend; I have my fingers crossed.

 

Shows: we haven't seen one yet! By choice, though. Tomorrow night we'll go to the Fire and Ice show.

 

Excursions: In San Juan we walked through Old Town and visited the Fort. In St. Martin we did the Tiki Hut Snorkel Park and that was very nice. We could come and go all day and the staff was very friendly. Lots of fun things to view under the water. Labadee is Thursday and we plan on beaching it and maybe renting a JetSki for a bit, just to give it a try once.

 

I got some GREAT pictures of Explorer of the Seas parked right beside us today in St. Martin! Can't wait to share those :)

 

OK, that's all I can think of for now. Sending happy greetings from the Caribbean Sea!

[kendallison]

Glad you're having a great time! I can't wait until my turn!

 

We will be like you... traveling in a D1 with our 2 dd's. We are more aft though.

 

Did you walk to the fort in San Juan or take a cab? Did you walk back? If so was the walk OK for the kids? What time did you get back to the ship?

 

Susan

[joey1]

Thank you so much for the update. We leave 8-4 for Liberty. Can you tell me if Adventure Ocean is open the first night? The kids are always so tired to sit at late dinner. They would rather go to AO or just walk around. Also, could you possibly save your Adventure Ocean compasses and scan them?

 

Did you have problems with getting reserv. at Chops/Portofino? What times did you go?

 

I hope your teenage daughter meets some friends tonight. My daughter faced the same problem last cruise.

 

Enjoy yourself and keep us updated!!

 

Jodi

[Kruzeagain]

Glad to hear that AO is such a hit with your 9-yr old DD. Ours turns 10 next week and this will be her first (and only our 2nd) cruise, and we're all hoping that AO is almost as good as the hype. The only catch is that we're cruising the week before Christmas, so perhaps the numbers will be down a bit...

 

Happy Cruising,

Alan

[Slow Mailman]

Hello Dizzlepop ...I mean Gigi!

 

We envy you! I can't wait until our cruise in September! I wonder if you could do me a big favor? I have a group and there are several family members that want to sit together in the dining room. I'm trying to find out if there are very many tables for ten along the walls in the dining room. No one that I call at Royal Caribbean seems to know. My TA is guessing but says there are only tables for 6 and 8 and the tables for 10 are very few. If I could find out this info it would help me divide our group accordingly.

 

Thanks in advance!

Slow Mailman

[DonnaK]

Hello Dizzlepop ...I mean Gigi!

 

We envy you! I can't wait until our cruise in September! I wonder if you could do me a big favor? I have a group and there are several family members that want to sit together in the dining room. I'm trying to find out if there are very many tables for ten along the walls in the dining room. No one that I call at Royal Caribbean seems to know. My TA is guessing but says there are only tables for 6 and 8 and the tables for 10 are very few. If I could find out this info it would help me divide our group accordingly.

 

Thanks in advance!

Slow Mailman

 

They have lots of tables for 10 and 12. You won't have a problem.

[cruiserbryce]

we had soo much fun on Liberty...make sure to catch all the shows and do everything you can to enjoy the cruise

[pdcinsd]

Thanks Gigi. Hope this wonderful cruise vacation will be one that you and your family will cherish forever.

 

My family & I are heading out on Liberty this Saturday, July 28th. We can hardly wait... It will be our 14yr old DD's first cruise. She's bringing a friend, so DH and I can truly relax!

[travel07]

I also have questions about San Juan! What time did you get off the ship and then back on? It seems like you did alot at that port. Did you do the excursion through the ship? Thanks for any feedback and have a FABULOUS time!

[Saporitc]

Hi, Glad you are having a great time, we are boarding on 8/4 for a BtB. Just wondering whether I can buy toiletries on board, ie shampoo, conditioner, sun lotion, etc and do they have a good selection.... to save carrying it from home. Thanks

[FreewayFortune]

I'm glad you're having such a great time:)

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

I got some GREAT pictures of Explorer of the Seas parked right beside us today in St. Martin! Can't wait to share those

I got the same pictures from two weeks ago. Explorer of the Seas reversed in right next to us. We could see right onboard the ship. I even saw all the crew members it was so close. :eek: Have a great rest of your cruise. Liberty is a great ship! :)

[rosebud1g]

We are going on the Liberty Aug.11th and have 2 kids in the 9-11 age

group. Does anyone have the AO schedule for the week?

Does it seem like there are alot of kids on the ship now?

 

What is the best night to dine at Portofino without missing

the surf and turf or anything good in the main dining room?

I can hardly wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cheshire999]

Hello! Oh my gosh, it's a spectacular ship, and everything is going wonderfully and smoothly.

 

I was surprised not to see the handi-wipes being handed out as mentioned by previous Liberty cruisers this summer; only saw them in the gym. Tonight, however, upon coming aboard from St. Martin, we were given them, and then again at dinner, in the Windjammer, etc. We are apparently in "prevention" mode now! Works for me -- all of us have been diligent at keeping our hands washed anyway.

 

We had over 25 fellow CC members show up to the Meet and Mingle Sunday morning. How fun was that, to meet in person?! RCI had a nice little spread of hors d'eouvres for us, we each received a nice lanyard/notebook combo thing and a magnet with a picture of the ship.

 

Seas have been nice and smooth :)

 

Food is great, everywhere. If you're looking for gourmet food at every spot here, you won't find it. You will, however, find tasty food for every taste. Dining room and Chops service is extraordinary. We went to Chops and holy cow (pun intended), the filet was delicious. And the lobster bisque. And the chocolate cake. :D Tomorrow we're dining at Portofino.

 

Our room is fabulous -- we have a D1 cabin, forward. There's me and dh, plus 2 dd's. The beds are way comfy! I have nothing but good to say about our cabin and our attendant as well. On a note for those looking to book: someone here said to book aft because that's where all the action is and he was so right! All the food and kid activities are aft.

 

I've had two treatments at the spa: seaweed wrap and massage, and microdermabrasion facial. Both were wonderful and I wish I could do it every day! On port days they give decent discounts; I got $40 off each treatment. I learned something interesting about the spa and gym staff: it's a separate company. They serve RCI, Princess, Carnival, and maybe more. The gym is cool. Me and my teenage dd have done the stretching classes twice a day and I've been doing the mile walk at 8 a.m. each morning (except today as we were getting ready to visit St. Martin).

 

Adventure Ocean has been everything I had heard it would be for the younger crowd! My 9-yr-old dd cries when it's time to leave, even if it's 11 p.m.!! She is having SO much fun! My teenager just tonight ventured into the Living Room (area for teens only). I HOPE she finds somebody to befriend; I have my fingers crossed.

 

Shows: we haven't seen one yet! By choice, though. Tomorrow night we'll go to the Fire and Ice show.

 

Excursions: In San Juan we walked through Old Town and visited the Fort. In St. Martin we did the Tiki Hut Snorkel Park and that was very nice. We could come and go all day and the staff was very friendly. Lots of fun things to view under the water. Labadee is Thursday and we plan on beaching it and maybe renting a JetSki for a bit, just to give it a try once.

 

I got some GREAT pictures of Explorer of the Seas parked right beside us today in St. Martin! Can't wait to share those :)

 

OK, that's all I can think of for now. Sending happy greetings from the Caribbean Sea!

 

Thanks for the great update. Looking forward to more!

[sweet&sassy]

I really enjoyed your live report of your cruise. I think that was amazing. I was just imagining everything you were saying that you were doing. We cruise the Liberty on November 24th and I'm just counting down the days until it's time for me and my family to board.:)

[dizzlepop]

OK, we're home safe and sound :)

 

Am going to answer the questions you all posted before I do a follow-up review.

 

"Did you walk to the fort in San Juan or take a cab? Did you walk back? If so was the walk OK for the kids? What time did you get back to the ship?"

 

The ship docks at OSJ and we walked up the hill to the fort. It's not a difficult walk at all. It is uphill, but not as strenuous as I thought it would be (based on others' comments). After we walked around the fort we walked through the town a bit. We were maybe gone 3 hours and it was so hot and muggy we were, well, drowning in sweat :D Hey, we live in arid Utah, so this humidity was a bit much! LOL! I had heard the first night in the dining room is rather chaotic, so we didn't hurry back for (our 6:30 p.m.) dining room seating and had a leisurely dinner in the Windjammer.

 

Can you tell me if Adventure Ocean is open the first night? The kids are always so tired to sit at late dinner. They would rather go to AO or just walk around. Also, could you possibly save your Adventure Ocean compasses and scan them?

 

AO is NOT open the first night. It's an "open house" where you can come check it out and decide if your children may check themselves in and out (we did that with our dd), etc. I did indeed save the 9-11 AO compasses!! I will be scanning them today and will post when they're up. Plus I'll send them to the cruisedailies.com, too.

 

Did you have problems with getting reserv. at Chops/Portofino? What times did you go?

 

We had no problems getting reservations at Chops/Portofino, because thanks to CC I knew to make them as soon as we got on board! I just called them each from the stateroom. You may also go in person to make the reservations. We ate at Chops on the first formal night (Sunday, Day 2) and at Portofino on the second formal night (Wednesday, Day 5), both at 6 p.m. (by choice). AO takes kids to Johnny Rockets on three different nights (including both formal nights), so our younger dd was taken care of. Our teenager dined with us.

 

Alan: I bet your daughter has fun no matter how many kids there are -- this cruise had 1300 kids and there's such a thing as too many! :eek:

I have a group and there are several family members that want to sit together in the dining room. I'm trying to find out if there are very many tables for ten along the walls in the dining room. No one that I call at Royal Caribbean seems to know. My TA is guessing but says there are only tables for 6 and 8 and the tables for 10 are very few. If I could find out this info it would help me divide our group accordingly.

 

I saw more than one table seating 10 people! Didn't see one against a wall, though. And (IMHO) so what if there are only a few tables that seat 10? Why can't YOU have one?!!! Another "thanks to CC" moment was on Day 1: we visited the dining room soon after boarding to see if we liked the position of our table. If we didn't like it the head person was there to make changes. I suggest you do that, too, so you can get the best seating for your group from the get-go. Ours was a 4-top in a corner by the window. We were very happy!

 

I also have questions about San Juan! What time did you get off the ship and then back on? It seems like you did alot at that port. Did you do the excursion through the ship?

 

We got off the ship by about 3:30 or so (can't remember exactly) and were back by 6:30. The only thing we did was walk around (and sweat ;) ) to the fort and through some streets.

 

Just wondering whether I can buy toiletries on board, ie shampoo, conditioner, sun lotion, etc and do they have a good selection.... to save carrying it from home.

 

I know they have lots of sunscreen, but honestly I didn't even look at the toiletries. I hope someone else chimes in on that question!

 

Does anyone have the AO schedule for the week?

Does it seem like there are alot of kids on the ship now?

 

I will scan and post these later today! We had 1300 kids and I'm thinking you'll be right up there since school will still be out (mostly).

 

What is the best night to dine at Portofino without missing

the surf and turf or anything good in the main dining room?

 

The lobster is Day 6 (Thursday on the eastern route). I got two :D. Surf and Turf (shrimp and steak) was Tuesday (Day 4). Any other day is still wonderful -- there are selections for every taste!

 

That's it for right now -- gotta go pick up our dog from daycare and get the laundry moving... but I promise to post more, plus the compasses.

[love2sale]

Glad to see you had such a wonderful time!!!! :) We only have 9 more Saturdays to wait and then we will be boarding!!!! :)