Liberty Review 4/5-4/12 Part One

[shellfreak]

LIBERTY OF THE SEAS REVIEW

APRIL 5-APRIL 12, 2008

This was our first RCL cruise. We’ve sailed with Princess 2x before (which we loved) out of Ft. Lauderdale and consider ourselves cruise newbies still. We were waitlisted on a Princess cruise for the Western Caribbean and just for the fun of it looked at what else, if anything, was available on such short notice. We booked with RCL 2 weeks before she sailed. This was a chill and relax cruise. I had a lumpectomy in Nov. 2006 followed by radiation treatment that ended in Feb. 2007, so we wanted to get away just the two of us and relax. So there is a lot of things we didn’t do which means we have to revisit the Liberty in the future.

 

Cruise Director: Allan Brooks

 

Embarkation: Since we live in West Palm Beach and the Port of Miami is only 70 miles away, we drove to the port. It costs $20 a day to park. We left our house at 9 a.m., stopped and got gas (OUCH!) and got to the port around 10:15. Everyone else had the same idea. What a mad house. My DH dropped me off with the luggage and went to find a place to park. He took a wrong turn in the parking garage and ended up going out-doing a U-turn and re-entered the port. While I was waiting for him to come back there was no line and when he finally showed up there was a long line. Luckily it moved continuously. There were quite a few security checkpoints where you had to show your passport and sea pass paperwork. I felt like I was in a Disney line. It kept moving but we never really ended up anywhere until a ha the check-in area. It was divided up by decks 2-10, suites and Diamond or Diamond plus passengers. Our line was for decks 9-10. We were on deck 10 and the next line was suites, etc. What irked me was a little old man that kept taking people out of the suite and Diamond lines and kept cutting them into the our line. Once you were checked in you moved to your right and entered another line to make your way to board. However, this line was at the end of the check-in lines so it got very congested there. We moved into the line to what we thought was to board the ship, but were moved to a holding area and given a number. Once your number was called you could board. Yeah!! We then got into another line to get our picture taken and sea pass card. Just an FYI- you have to take off any hats, scarves, sunglasses, visors etc. for security reasons. You must also do this when you re-board the ship after going ashore. We got our sea pass and started to board the ship. A lady at the gangway took our whole group & moved us to the left and told us to board. We were not allowed to take any welcome aboard photos. We were told to just keep moving. I thought it was strange because they were taking pictures. When I saw them at the photoshop I’m glad I didn’t because there wasn’t a nice backdrop. Just the railing and the port building behind you. We were on board a little before noon.

 

Day One- We could not get into our cabin until 1 pm so we went to the Windjammer for lunch. We had the honey stung chicken which was very good and hamburgers. There was iced tea, water, fruit punch and lemonade to drink. The fruit punch and lemonade were good. After that we went to our cabin and were pleasantly surprised. As I said earlier we booked 2 weeks before we sailed. We were on deck 10, room 1325. When we booked we were told that it was a larger interior room (turned out to be a handicapped room). We booked directly with RCL and informed them that if by some chance someone needed the room, we would be more than happy to switch. We wanted a balcony (which they still had available) but it was out of our price range. This room was more than we paid on Princess for a balcony. This room was huge. The bed was huge and more comfortable than our own bed at home. The bathroom was huge. Nice shower with a seat and 2 shower heads. The room also had an emergency call button by the bed and shower. Handrails in the shower and toilet. I was very impressed how RCL really takes care of its guests. The dressing table and closet were more than adequate and a lot of storage space, along with a couch, coffee table and chair. DH loved the Samsung flat screen TV. We then went exploring. I do recommend that you wear, if possible, your bathing suit under your clothes. I wanted to get in the hot tub but our luggage hadn’t arrived yet. We walked around & took pictures of everything (well it felt like everything) before it got crowded. Deck 5, the Promenade was our favorite. The coffee shop was awesome. Little pastries and sandwiches ( I recommend the shrimp & egg salad) with coffee or lattes, etc. We are BIG coffee drinkers, but we did not have any lattes, espressos, etc. because we enjoyed the regular coffee. We did make our own ice coffee which was nice. Just ask for a cup of ice & they’ll give it to you.

 

Muster Drill- What everyone dreads, but is a necessity, was at 4:30. Every cruise line is different so we weren’t sure how RCL conducted theirs. We were outside at station B19 (BINGO) starboard side. It was very crowded & hot. I felt bad for the passengers on the port side because they had the sun in their faces. People were talking and not paying attention & the station personnel didn’t bother to try to make them. The children in front of me put those whistles in their mouths and that grossed me out.

 

Cabin Steward- Our cabin steward was Kenneth and he is from Jamaica. He was wonderful. Yes, he made us the towel animals every night. He was not intrusive and was very quick and professional in everything he did. Even when we locked ourselves out of our cabin. Someone else could have let us in, but when he found out he came right away and let us in.

 

Sail Away- We were supposed to leave at 5 pm. We left almost 2 hours late and you could tell the passengers were getting antsy. They were still loading supplies and there was a problem with the passenger list not matching up. The Captain apologized and I had no doubt that once we were on our way he would make up the time—which he did.

 

Dinner- We had the 8:30 dinner seating. Just an FYI. Dinner on the 1st nite is at 6:45 & 8:45. We were in the Rembrandt dining room on deck 3, table 303. Our waiter was Mary Jane and her assistant was Rachel. Both were from the Philippines. They were 2 of the sweetest and the nicest people we’ve ever met. We had asked for the 6:30 seating & boy am I glad that we did not get it. It was spring break, so the earlier seating catered to families. We had a table for 6 and shared it with 2 very nice ladies. The other 2 people never showed up the whole time. Their loss. There were a lot of kids, teenagers and college students on board. I’d say about 95% were very well behaved.For dinner my DH and I had the Vidalia Onion Tart and the Prime Rib. I unfortunately, didn’t care for either of them. The Prime Rib wasn’t in aus jus and had some sort of sauce on it. If you go tolephysteria’s 109 page review she has pics of the menus, etc. The dining room is beautiful. It reminded me of the Titanic movie. So elegant. Every time we went in their we noticed something new that we’d missed before.

 

After dinner- we went to the movies and saw Wild Hogs. It was very funny. We then went to the casino & played some slots and went to bed around 1 a.m.

 

DAY TWO- SEA DAY

 

We slept in (I think everyone did) and ate a late breakfast at the Windjammer. We then went to the hot tub in the Solarium and ran into a couple we met at the movies. We visited with them for over a hour and were pretty wrinkly when we got out. We went up the deck 12 to get some sun. The chair hogs were out & about. But if you look hard enough there are out of the ways spots to get sun. It was very windy so you really didn’t feel the sun. There were a lot of burnt people the next day. We then went & got more coffee and explored the ship for awhile. By then we were hungry and had a late lunch in the Windjammer. I was very impressed by all the fresh fruit. We then took a nap before dinner.

 

This was the 1st formal nite. Dinner was awesome. We tried the escargot. I guess anything is good if you put enough melted butter and garlic on it! Everyone at the table had the filet of beef but me. I tried the eggplant mozzarella tower. We have a little mom & pop Italian restaurant around the corner from our house and this beats theirs hands down. DH had the shrimp cocktail appetizer. Mary Jane had 2 waiting for him every nite after that. After dinner we went to the Sphinx and watched the Battle of the Sexes. It was very funny. We then went to get coffee and played some slots.

 

DAY THREE- LABADEE

 

What an awesome place. It’s so sad that these Caribbean countries are so dirt poor. When I heard we were going to Haiti I was like who goes to Haiti? Well I’m glad RCL goes there. What a beautiful place. DH zip lined. He said it was awesome. I watched as I have a lot of scar tissue from my surgeries and reaching up at times is really painful. We went to the last beach. Dragon’s beach. It was very quiet. Again, that’s what I loved about this. Families with small children had their own area and they looked like they were having fun. There was jet skis, snorkeling, fast boats. All kinds of stuff to do. I found a lot of beautiful shells and unusual coral pieces. There were a lot of sea urchins in the water. You should wear water shoes because of that and the rocks.

 

The dinner theme was Venetian Feast. I had the Antipasti appetizer. (Didn’t like it) DH had his 2 shrimp cocktails. Our table mates enjoyed the chilled soup. Three of us had the garlic tiger prawns and one of our table mates had the lamb. Everything was great. Dessert was Tiramisu and mint chocolate cake. During dinner, there was a guy named Pedro playing the acoustic guitar. It was 70’s nite so he was playing classic rock. Stairway to Heaven, etc. Our table mates requested Celine Dion’s Titanic song, which he played. He then started playing Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Someone started singing and the whole 3 levels of the dining rooms joined in. It was fantastic. Pedro got a standing ovation. This was one of the highlights of the cruise for us. There was a 70’s show on the Promenade deck. The CD was part of a Village People act and it was hilarious.

 

DAY FOUR- JAMAICA

 

We decided to stay on board. We’ve been to Montego Bay before. Apparently a lot of other people made the decision to stay on board also. We had a light breakfast in the Windjammer, chilled out at the Solarium pool for most of the day. One brief stop at the Flowrider. DH did that. The guy in front of him lost his shorts. He pulled them up with one hand and held onto the boogie board with the other. Note to guys—make sure your swim trunks are securely fastened. Checked out the library, explored the ship some more, took a nap and went to dinner. I know it sounds boring, but that’s what I love about cruising. If you want to do nothing you can, if you want to do everything you can. As we were getting ready to leave Jamaica there was a problem. Our tablemates told us story at dinner & another couple we met in Grand Cayman told us the same thing. An Asian family (mom, dad and son) (looked like he was in his early 20’s w/ red spiked hair) got kicked off the ship. I remember the red head because he sat next to us in Labadee. Apparently something went wrong. The father looked like he was pleading with security. It appeared that the son had done something. What I don’t know. Their luggage was brought out to them on the dock and we sailed.

 

The theme for dinner was anchored in excellence. We all had the steak off the anytime menu and it was really good. After dinner we walked around and explored some more. Code for trying to walk off dinner!

 

More to follow.

 

Beverly

[vickiw0318]

Thanks so much for the review. Love all your details. I am getting excited about our Liberty cruise in May.

 

Congratulations on your recovery. Glad you took the time to relax after everything you've been through.

[cbtravel1]

Great review, I can't wait to read part 2.

[pmfan]

Enjoyed reading it and looking forward to part 2.

[2_4_cruising]

Bev thank you so much for the wonderful review. Both DW and I can't wait for you next installment as it helps us dream of our Liberty sailing next year :)

 

Warren and Yvonne

[StaySea]

great review... can't wait for the rest less then 2 weeks now for me.....:D

[cindytx3092]

Enjoyed your post.

[RachelD]

Thank you for posting your review... we are sailing out Saturday on Liberty and love reading all things Liberty right now!!! Getting sooo excited!!!

 

Can't wait for part 2.......your details are great!!! I am drooling right now thinking about shrimp coctail!!! DH wants to try the zipline...was it worth the money?

[BillOh]

Welcome back, Thanks for taking the time to post so soon. Excellent job so far.

[spammie]

Thank you! What a great review. I love all the details, makes me feel like I'm there with you. Can't wait for more. Wanda

[kittymom65]

Great job so far, looking forward to the rest of the review!

[anteldel]

Excellent Review!! I can't wait to hear the rest. Thanks for taking the time to post.

[clcurry]

Great beginning review. I am very much looking forward to reading the rest AND to go on our LOS cruise in May (same itinerary).

 

:D

[Ladybug78]

Looking forward to part 2. I'm dying waiting for our cruise!!!

[alwayshappytocruise]

We Want More!! We Want More!! We Want More!!......please???!!!

[griffithdm2005]

I love the review so far....but it makes me unbelievably excited thinking about my own cruise....Less than 5 weeks to go...

 

CLCURRY....I am on the same cruise as you!! YAY for us!:D

[lephysteria]

It sounds like you're having a great time on the liberty! Thanks for sharing with us, I can't wait for the rest !!!

[shellfreak]

I'm working on it guys. Had to go back to work today:mad: .

 

Beverly

[wolfcathorse]

Beverly did you have Capt Gjerstad or Capt Charles Tiege

[shellfreak]

We had Capt. Teige.

 

I'm posting part II now.