Liberty of the Seas Eastern Review 8/18/07

[cheshire999]

Well, I figured I better do this before I start forgetting things. As it is, its all still a little fuzzy due to the wine at dinner and the great Mojitos!

 

We started our trip by driving from St Petersburg, FL over to Port St Lucie on Friday and stayed with family, then drove to Miami on Saturday. It was about a 2.5 hour drive. We were pleasantly surprised to find the parking garage for Liberty right across from the ship! We pulled up at the ship, dropped off the luggage (tipped a $1 a bag to the porter) and then parked the car and walked across the small street to the ship. We got there about 11:00 and were on the ship by 12:00. By the time you get done checking in it was about a 10 min wait until they called our boarding number. Very smooth all in all.

 

The ship is huge! If you've done a Voyager class, this is Voyager class on steroids! The promenade is beautiful. The pool areas are split up to decrease the congestion and there are lots of nooks and crannies to just get lost and curl up and read a book. (Especially outside on deck 5 in a lounge chair with the seabreeze blowing softly.... ) Sorry, took me back for a second!

 

Day 1, we pretty much got ourselves oriented to the ship, where our cabin was etc. We made a HUGE mistake though and are probably in the running for having changed tables the most on a cruise! We went to see where out table was and found that we had been seated at a table for 4 instead of the 6-8 that we had requested. We enjoy having diverse table mates and requested that we be moved to another table. Well, when we showed up for dinner, they had moved us to a table of 6 and there was only one seat! So they quickly "fixed" that and moved us to another table for four, only to seat us with the two most miserable people on the boat. I won't go into too much detail other than to say, there just wasn't enough for them to complain about. We looked over at our original table for four and saw two fun loving couples enjoying themselves.. lesson learned! We did however luck out when one of our Cruise Critic couples invited us to join their table and that turned out into a great experience and some new friends! Dinners were good. I enjoyed the escargot (had two!) even though it wasn't in the shell (who cares? It doesn't come that way, they actually get put back into the shell before they're cooked in case anyone doesn't know that). The lobster was good. I didn't have any complaints about the food, it would have been impossible since our waiter insisted that if we were any less than satisfied he would change it immediately! If you have the pleasure of having Sayit from Turkey as your waiter you will enjoy your dining experience.

 

We ate at Portofinos on Caribbean night. It was fantastic. Much better than our Chops experience on the Mariner. The food and service were excellent. Dh had the filet and I had the seafood skewer. The Tiramisu and Flourless Chocolate cake are to die for! Had a new wine, Coppola's Merlot. Very good!

 

Sea Days were filled with Bingo, Roulette, tanning and Soduko challenges!! LOL... well, there is definitely something for everyone to do.

 

We had balcony 6658. Plenty of room, wonderful room steward who got us bathrobes when I requested them day 1 (also tipped him extra that day and our room was always ready when we were) He remembered our names every time he saw us.

 

As far as the number of people on the ship, it was packed, but we really didn't notice. Never had to wait in line for anything but Bingo cards. There were a few rude people on the boat. How do I say this politically correct? Most of them didn't speak english and I think they used that as an excuse to be rude, as if they didn't understand. How do you not understand that shoving in front of someone is rude? Oh well, the incidents were few. I did just remember something that was really rude. We were dancing in the disco and had our drinks at our table that we were dancing in front of. Another couple also had their drinks there, it was kind of a long booth that could be shared. This really rude family, about 15 people, from New York from the sounds of them, just plopped right down at our table and pretty much squished the other couple out. When they signaled the waitress to remove our drinks, my husband told them that they were ours and to leave them there. You would have thought at this point that they realized that they sat at someone's table and got up. Nooooo, they continued to sit there and when dh and I were done dancing I walked right up and told them they would need to make room because that was our table they were sitting at. They actually had the nerve to look at us like we were rude for sitting at our own table! Anyways, we sat down right in the middle of them and hung out long enough to where I was satisfied that I had pissed them off enough. :D We were tired and had an early excursion the next day so we finally left.

 

The kids on the ship were fine. We didn't see any that were out of control.

 

Two of the cons on the ship. I think it was Thursday night when they had the disco turned over to the teens and the casino was too crowded and smokey to enjoy. There really wasn't anything to do, so we went to bed early and we really had wanted to find something to do. I think that's a mistake on RC's part, because they're probably trying to get everyone into the casino and there just isn't enough room! The other con is the smoking. I smoked for 20 some years and it doesn't usually bother me, but it gets really bad down in the On Air room where they do karaoke and in the casino. Its nice that they have a few non-smoking tables in the casino, but I'll enjoy the day that they make everyone go outside to smoke.

 

All in all, it was a GREAT cruise. Anyone going on upcoming cruises is going to have a great time. I'm sure I've forgotten a lot of things. If you have any questions, please ask.

[cheshire999]

Geez.. I forgot about the Port days!!

 

San Juan... did not enjoy it at all. We pretty much just did a walking tour, but there isn't much to see. Its so friggin' hot now that it just makes it miserable to wander since its mostly uphill! We ended up at Senor Frogs at the end of our walk and enjoyed a cold beer and watching all the partiers from the ship getting drunk and silly.

 

St Maarten, went to the French side, didn't like it as much as the Dutch so we went back to the Dutch side and did some shopping. The Dutch side is much cleaner and shops much friendlier. Bought some jewelry at Primero's on Front st. Mike Punjabi was great. I had bought some jewelry there last year also and am still very satisfied with the prices and quality. Our table mates rented a car and went to Orient beach and said it was great.

 

Labadee, we went kayaking in the morning. Had a great time. Then we went to the hideaway beach near Dragon's breath, rented two floats (best money spent so far) and just relaxed for a few hours. Don't forget to reapply your sunscreen! Yeowch! I should be peeling any day now. The buffet food that day was okay. Ribs, jerk chicken, salads and fruit. Filled us up, nothing spectacular. Watched the zipline for a few minutes and everyone looked like they were having a great time on it! We bought some paintings from the vendors. We paid $40 for two small and one large. He started at $105. We probably could have gotten them cheaper, but seriously, I couldn't have gotten them at home for that price and it would have just felt wrong to go any lower.

 

There were tons of people getting their hair braided there. They have a special spot under the trees where they do it.

 

Embarkation was the smoothest we have ever experienced. According to our tags we were supposed to get off at 8:15. They had called our color by 7:30 and we had just finished breakfast. We got off the ship, cleared customs and our luggage was right there when we got off. The porter brought it across the street for us, right into the parking garage (tipped $1 a bag again). We were in our car and driving home by 8:00.

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

Embarkation was the smoothest we have ever experienced. According to our tags we were supposed to get off at 8:15. They had called our color by 7:30 and we had just finished breakfast. We got off the ship, cleared customs and our luggage was right there when we got off. The porter brought it across the street for us, right into the parking garage (tipped $1 a bag again). We were in our car and driving home by 8:00.

Did you mean Debarkation? It sounds like you were talking about debarkation. :p

I agree on the smoke issue in the casino. I played at non-smoking tables but my hair still smelled like smoke when I was done. I always take a shower after playing in the casino. But, every casino is like that and I guess you just have to accept it. (Yes, there are smoke free on land but all the cruises I've been on have had smoking in the casino.)

Thanks for the review. :)

[spbflseas]

Did they not have the Club 21 night out in the Solarium on Thursday? When we sailed Liberty, the night they turned the disco over to the teens, they had a 21 and up "Club 21" in the Solarium.

[Langley Cruisers]

(Dis)Embarkation was the smoothest we have ever experienced.

 

Hi Patty! We felt the same way - smooth as silk for disembarkation. For those who needed to be off the ship early, we noticed they called for self-disembarkation at about 6:25 am. That's early! As far as I am concerned, everything went smoothly that morning for us too, and I'm sure the embarking passengers were coming on by 11 am.

 

~Karen

[love2sale]

Glad to hear the great review as I will be there in 6 more Saturdays. Well, five to wait through and the sixth is me!!!!!!

[cheshire999]

Did you mean Debarkation? It sounds like you were talking about debarkation. :p

I agree on the smoke issue in the casino. I played at non-smoking tables but my hair still smelled like smoke when I was done. I always take a shower after playing in the casino. But, every casino is like that and I guess you just have to accept it. (Yes, there are smoke free on land but all the cruises I've been on have had smoking in the casino.)

Thanks for the review. :)

 

Yep! I meant DEbarkation! Suffering from PCD!

[cheshire999]

Hi Patty! We felt the same way - smooth as silk for disembarkation. For those who needed to be off the ship early, we noticed they called for self-disembarkation at about 6:25 am. That's early! As far as I am concerned, everything went smoothly that morning for us too, and I'm sure the embarking passengers were coming on by 11 am.

 

~Karen

 

It was early! When I heard the first announcement for it, I had to get up and go in the bathroom to check my watch it was so dark! That was when I noticed the ship was still moving! They must have called for self-disembarkation as they were pulling up to the pier! Needless to say, I went back to bed! :p I can't believe someone else is sleeping in "my" bed this week!:mad:

[cheshire999]

Did they not have the Club 21 night out in the Solarium on Thursday? When we sailed Liberty, the night they turned the disco over to the teens, they had a 21 and up "Club 21" in the Solarium.

 

They might have. I don't remember seeing it. Its really hot and humid in the Solarium at night so we probably wouldn't have gone if that was the case. We live in Florida and get plenty of heat and humidity every day. I enjoy the AC whenever possible! I wish we had gone up to Olive and Twist earlier. We went up Friday night when they had the jazz music by the crew and it was a lot of fun. We pretty much did something different every night. I just thought that Thursday seemed like they were really trying to get everyone into the casino and it showed. It was packed!!

 

Okay, I'm going to be sorry, but I'm going to give away the best secret I found on the ship. Playing in the Blackjack tournament! It costs $20 to buy in. You get 500 worth of fake money and play seven hands. Depending on how many sign up to play, it takes about an hour or so for the preliminary round. Then, the top seven players play against each other and the top three win cash prizes depending on the pot. I was second place in the preliminaries and came in fourth in the final. Didn't win, but it was the best $20 I spent in the casino. A lot of camaraderie and fun! I wish they had it more than once a cruise.

[cheshire999]

I just remembered another thing that bothered me and a few others. They had several channels that were playing premium movies like the new James Bond, Casino Royale and the Marie Antoinette movie with Kirsten Dunst, etc. But none of them were in english. They had portugese, spanish, german, and french. I asked at guest relations why and was told, "we haven't found the James Bond movie in english yet".. What?? I think they were hoping that we would purchase the pay per view movies instead. I didn't think that was right. Its not like tv is a big deal, but I like to watch it sometimes to help me sleep and it would have been nice to watch it in english.

[PrettyLA]

We were next to you in St. Maarten. I didn't realize how big your ship was until I saw my ship (Explorer) and your ship next to each other. Liberty was HUGE.

[Daghis]

We thought it was amusing when we were reboarding the Liberty of the Seas at St. Maarten and after we saw some people walking down the ramp from the boarding gangway, we heard an announcement on a loudspeaker reminding people that the Explorer of the Seas was boarding on the other side of the pier.

 

I wondered if some people thought their SeaPass card would let them board any Royal Caribbean ship and they'd get a free upgrade to the bigger ship. :)

[Carol4158]

Hi - just arrived back. Good to read your reviews and hear that you all had a great time. Sorry I missed you all at the Meet and Mingle. We went to the dining room for breakfast the first morning and I don't think they were expecting so many people - service was very slow. By the time we were served it was too late.

 

I agree with the comments about the smoking - it was my only issue with the ship. I have very quickly got used to the no smoking legislation in the UK and I like it much better that way.

 

The ship was great - we tended to hang out in the Schooner Bar after the show - really enjoyed the music in there. We also enjoyed the food - although the vegetarian alternative could be a little more imaginative.

 

For those of you yet to travel - have fun. I was worried LIberty would be too big - but it was great. Our staff were all outstanding. Drinks were 'generous' to say the least. Our balcony stateroom was very good with ample room for storage. Jet skiing at Labadee was amazing -but my arms are still aching four days later!

 

Carol

[cheshire999]

We thought it was amusing when we were reboarding the Liberty of the Seas at St. Maarten and after we saw some people walking down the ramp from the boarding gangway, we heard an announcement on a loudspeaker reminding people that the Explorer of the Seas was boarding on the other side of the pier.

 

I wondered if some people thought their SeaPass card would let them board any Royal Caribbean ship and they'd get a free upgrade to the bigger ship. :)

 

 

LOL! I hadn't thought of that! Thought maybe some over-indulgers at Senor Frogs tried to get on the wrong ship... .no flowrider for you! I have a picture of them docked side by side and the difference in size is amazing. As soon as I figure out how to do a webpage with my photos, I'll get them up.

[kittymom65]

Thanks for the review!