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Just off the Liberty, I don't usually do trip reports, but.....

LWcalif

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LWcalif

LWcalif

Posted
Posted

Today is a very sad day. I'm having major cruise withdrawals....medication may be required! ;)

 

After reading many things good and bad, I was prepared to set my standards low. Storm was brewing in Costa Rica and expected to head to the Caribbean. Wasn't going to complain, after all, I'm on a cruise, and there's plenty to do on ship, plenty to do on ship, plenty to do on ship.....OK, all set to go.

 

Well, here's.....the good, the bad, and the ugly......wait, there was no ugly, so just the good and the bad.

 

Arrival Day: Flight from Calif. arrived on time at 10:30 am picked up our luggage and headed to the port by cab. Stopped at a quickie-mart to pick up a case of water and arrived at port 10:55 am.

 

Embarkation 5/31: All I can say is RCI has this down pat! Boarding this many passengers in a timely manner is no small task. We could not believe how efficient the process was. On ship and at the Windjammer by 11:45 am. Changed into our swimsuits and we're lounging at the pool by 12:30. Aaahhh, what a life, we're on vacation! Headed to our cabin at 2:30 pm to shower and change.

 

At some point, I'm not sure if it was while we were still at port or had just left, it started pouring down rain. :( OK here's where my "glass half full" self had to kick in. Telling myself, it's OK, we're on a cruise, there's plenty to do on ship, plenty to do on ship, plenty to do on ship......OK, all set. Well, I look outside about an hour later, and no rain! Plopped ourselves out on the balcony with our highlighter and Cruise Compass to plan our night.

 

Cabin Steward: We were very lucky. He was very friendly, attentive and took care of every request with a smile. Called us by name each time we passed him in the hallway and always asked us how our day was. After the third day, I still could not remember his name (the mind tends to blank on vacation, ya know) so, I had to ask him to write his name down and put it in our cabin. I wanted to make sure I acknowledged him in the survey. His name is Firmansyah, or as I called him "Firm" for short. Extra tip in the envelope for Firm for making our stay so enjoyable.

 

Dining Room: We are three gals, myself & DD's 29 & 30. Requested late seating, table for 8. Our table was in a great location on Deck 4. Three of the seats were empty the entire trip, other two were Diamond Plus Members from Boston. A lovely couple who made our dinners so enjoyable. We had great conversation, and learned so much about RCI from them.

 

We all thought the wait staff were "very good". Food was much better than I expected. We tried to each get something different and were pleasantly surprised for the most part. Hadn't planned on doing any specialty dining. After all, with all this good food included in the price, why would anyone want to "pay" for a meal. So, after hearing about Chops and Portofino's from our table mates the first night, we wandered over to "look" at the menu.....yep, we booked Chops and it was fabulous! One of the best decisions we made.

 

Windjammer: After reading many bad reviews, I was worried about eating here. I don't do buffets. I'm the one who will have one spoon of everything on my plate and not find anything I like. I can't tell you how many buffets I've eaten at where everyone rants and raves about the food and I leave hungry. OK, back to the Windjammer.....we were all pleasantly surprised! Found something for everyone. I actually enjoyed eating here, which was the last thing I thought I would hear myself say. We went to the main dining room one day for breakfast, and weren't impressed. Had room service breakfast two days (both good) and headed back to the Windjammer for all other breakfasts and lunches. Wait a minute......did I just say I ate at a buffet every day......yep, I did....and I'm on vacation!

 

Day 1 at sea: Headed to the main pool early am. M & M was scheduled for 10:15 and I had been looking at my cell phone time, which was off by 1 hr. Made it to the M & M (a little late) and it was nice to put the faces to the names. I think we had 34 signed up, but only about half showed up. Including my two DD's who I had sent to get in line for ice show tickets. Thinking I still had plenty of time, I failed to tell them in advance where it was (mind blank, on vacation). Spent the day at the pool, frosty drinks in hand, yep....we're on vacation!

 

Casino: OK, I'll admit it, I like to gamble. I had my strategy planned in advance. Take $400 for gambling, hit the casino the first few nights (I'd heard others say more people win early on in the cruise and not so much towards the end). OK, sounded good to me, I believe it....ahem. Lost a quick $100 on the dollar slots in about 5 minutes. Wait a minute, I play these slots at home, and it's the first night, and I'm supposed to win.....OK on to the 3 card poker table. Played for quite a while going up and down. Others at the table were losing and kept getting money off their sea pass cards. Was this going to be me, too? Nope, not gonna do it. Well, I was down to my last hand and I started winning, slowly recouping my losses, hit a couple of really good hands and left with $1,200. Planned on gambling every night, but I still had souveniers to buy, Chops reserved, wine and dine pkg., shore excursions to pay for, frosty drinks at the pool, and so on. Nope, not gonna part with those winnings. Didn't go back to the casino.

 

Day 2 Labadee: Slept in and headed over at around 11:00 am. After much research, decided to head over to Hideaway Beach. Snagged our $10 mats, chairs in the shade and kicked back to relax. Oh,oh.....over comes a large group to squeeze into a small area next to us. You could tell they were having a great time, and had a lot to say to each other (loudly). Now everyone's idea of vacation is different. Mine just happened to be peace & quiet with a good book on the beach that day. Packed up and headed off to Barefoot Beach. The $10 mat guy said we could turn them in to him and tell the guy at the other beach that we were on the list so we didn't have to lug our mats with us. They apparantly all have a list of who has pre-reserved onboard in case you forget to bring your ticket. Found a beautiful quiet spot and spent the day. This was one of my favorite ports.

 

Day 3 Mobay Jamaica: Didn't really see any excursions we liked, so we stayed on ship and spent the day at the pool. People watched from the balcony when we pulled into port, as we were on the dock side. Got a kick out of seeing a guy named Leroy Brown. Who was stationed on the other side of the barbed wire fence yelling at passengers that he had a large bus and was only charging $20. Wonder what he did to get banished to the other side of the fence? Well, one passenger did go up and talk to him, but I don't think he had any "takers" that day.

 

Day 4 Grand Cayman: It was pouring rain when we arrived. Had the stingray and snorkel tour booked with an off site company. We donned plastic garbage bags (with neck and arms cut out) from housekeeping and headed to shore. It was also very windy, so everyone was soaked by the time we reached the dock to look for our excursion groups. Except us...ahem...in our garbage bag attire. We bought 99 cent ponchos from Walmart for the trip, but apparantly I crossed them off my packing list, but didn't pack them (mind blank, getting ready for vacation). I located our tour guide and told him we decided not to go and let him know it was OK to charge us if they wanted to, since we were cancelling at the last minute. So, off to the ship. Tender operator said looking at the direction of the storm, it was going to be raining all day. The light in the distance was moving away from us. OK, we'll grab the Compass and fill our day with "inside" stuff. By the time we got back to the cabin, it had stopped raining and the sun was peaking through. OK, on to Plan C. Went to check on excursions and everything we found had already left. They said lets just review by time and see what we have. Found a trip to a Butterfly Farm and on a Submersible. OK, sounds good.....we're back on the tender heading to shore. Three cheers to Guest Relations for quickly finding something for us. We must have taken 50 photos at the butterfly farm. The guide was very informative, and we saw a butterfly hatch right in front of us. The submersible looked like a regular boat, but you went down steps and the seats were underwater with large viewing windows for each seat. It was like snorkeling or scuba diving without getting wet. Saw the two ship wrecks and lots of fish. We enjoyed both very much. Plan C on Grand Cayman was a good day.

 

Day 5 Cozumel: We had the ship's Dolphin Push, Pull & Swim booked. Had some time to shop around in Cozumel before departing on our Taxi's to Chakanaab (sp?) Park. FYI, if it's hot outside, when they put you in a que to wait for your cab, look for one with the windows rolled up. Not all cabs have air conditioning.

 

This was a huge group of people for this excursion. I started getting a little nervous that this was going to be a really long day with a lot of waiting for our turn with the dolphins. Not so. The place was huge! Everyone gets into groups of 10 - 12 and you all get into the water by group at basically the same time. This was amazing......we had lot's of time to pet the dolphin. And then we each got to hold one and were instructed what to do for the dolphin to come up behind you upside down and you grab on to their pectoral fins and they pull you along while you are laying on top of them....unbelievable experience! Then we went out on boogie boards and they pushed us along by our feet......amazing! Then we donned snorkel gear and swam with the dolphins. This is a day I will never forget! And we got to keep our snorkel piece. I'm not sure what it's called - the part that goes into your mouth and the tube you breathe through. So no worries about sanitizing, as each one was new.

 

They took lots of photos and did a video. We bought both. FYI, after you watch the video, they bring you out to a desk to see your photos and they tell you all the pkg. prices. There's nothing posted for the prices, they just use a calculator and tell you what each one costs. After we decided on the DVD and one picture each, someone else came over to help us. He asked if we were getting a pkg. and we said no, we didn't want to spend that much money. He said did they tell us the prices, etc., etc. Well, we did end up buying 3 photos each and it was almost $30 less than the people next to us buying the same thing and not much more than 1 photo. So I guess if you decline at first, they barter down the price.

 

Day 6 at sea: We decided to spend the day at the Solarium Pool. Previous days were at the Main Pool, which were fun to watch the contests and activities, but those padded chairs in the Solarium were calling us today. I did wander over to the other pool to watch the belly flop contest, which was pretty funny.

 

Went to the Quest show after dinner. I purposly didn't read anything about it on the boards because I heard it was really fun and I wanted to be surprised. OMG, this was one of the funniest shows I've ever seen! I won't go into any detail, but we laughed so much we were crying and cheered so much we had sore throats!

 

Cabin: JS 9270. We had plenty of room, and the walk in closet with shelving was fantastic. Loved the full tub/shower in the bathroom. Nice big balcony with 3 chairs, one lounge chair, and a table. I don't think I will ever be able to sail in a regular room again. Spent a lot of time on the balcony.

 

LA: I stopped by to see the LA several times during the week and they were either closed, or busy with other cruisers. So I decided to make an appt. for our last day at sea. When I arrived that morning, she told me I was too late to book a future cruise, that it had to be done the previous day. :eek: Something about the computer system getting the info. through before we were at sea. I explained that I had come by several times, and I didn't see where there was a cut-off time. I asked her if it was posted somewhere and she said no. But she did say she would put it in the system and see if it would go through........it did, yay! Hats off to the LA for trying and not just giving me a standard "too late" answer. I don't know what my next cruise will be, but at least I'm in for the OBC!

 

Misc: Saw the Ice Show. Thought it was very good. Check your Compass and get there on the first day to snag tickets. Saw one other show, don't remember the name, but it was good, too.

 

I'm an over planner. I like to research and know what to expect from a vacation. So, I also brought a highlighter and marked the Compass with everything I wanted to do each day......well, I didn't get to do most of it. I was too "busy" relaxing at the pool with a book. Now if the ship could just turn around and head back out for another 7 days, I'll be set.

 

Disbarkation: OK, RCI has this one down too! Our color group was called and we quickly went through customs, picked up our luggage and were in a cab all within about 30 minutes.

 

OK, I covered the good........now the bad: Well, lets see....one day my sea pass card didn't work in the door and I had to get a new one. :rolleyes:

 

Ummmmm..........let's see........what else.......Oh, one appetizer wasn't available at dinner one night. :rolleyes:

 

Seriously, overall, it was a great trip. There were little things that were annoying, but nothing worth complaining about.

 

My two previous cruises were on Carnival, and I can honestly say they don't even compare to this one. I felt like all the staff went out of their way to make sure we were happy. All the little things really added up, just to name a few......several phone calls to our cabin to ask if they were meeting our expectations, towel animals & chocolates on the pillows every night, fresh towels as many times as we needed them, many staff recognizing you and calling you by name......I could go on and on.

 

The ship was beautifully decorated and a good walk from one end to the other (so no need to go to the gym each day as I had originally planned)....ahem. I haven't been on the scale yet, but my clothes still fit, so that's a good sign.

 

DD's had me pick up cruise brochures from the LA and bring them back to the pool, so they could start looking at other cruises. Yep, they're hooked on RCI, too!

 

I'm probably leaving a bunch of stuff out, but I wanted to type this up before my mind starts blanking out from "after vacation" mode.......wait a minute, didn't I say something earlier about "mind blank, getting ready for vacation".....and "mind blank, on vacation"? Hmmmmm.....I think I see a pattern forming.

 

Laura

New Member of the RCI Fan Club

& Aspiring Diamond Member :)

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kidless

kidless

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Posted

I hear you girlfirend............we had taken 6 Carnival Cruises and then our first RCCI in May on the Mariner..........I was sold!!!! :D Service just really seemed so much better on the Mariner then on any Carnival cruise we have ever taken.....Glad you had a great time....guess you need to start working on that next cruise....

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Lynn the Cruiser

Lynn the Cruiser

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Loved reading your review!!!!!! I have just 20 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you feel my excitement??!!!!!!! Your review got me even more excited. I was just getting some of my clothes ready. I think I will try to remember to bring ponchos. We needed them last year and had to buy them for $5 and they were the cheapo kind. When we bought them, the rain stopped, of course. I can't wait!!!!:D:):D

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Katink

Katink

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Thanks so much for the review. Like LynntheCruiser, we're on the Liberty in just 20 days so hearing about your cruise only adds to the excitement. I've bought and returned ponchos for 3 cruises now and hadn't even considered them for this cruise but maybe I'll go buy them for us. Oh wait, we still have the ones we bought at Walt Disney World last year!! DH and I used the same fashionabe trash bags as you in Ocho Rios in November and they worked just fine.

 

I'm so glad there was lots of good, only a little bad, and no ugly on your cruise. May your luck continue for us.

 

Katink

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crisndeefromde

crisndeefromde

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Today is a very sad day. I'm having major cruise withdrawals....medication may be required! ;)

 

After reading many things good and bad, I was prepared to set my standards low. Storm was brewing in Costa Rica and expected to head to the Caribbean. Wasn't going to complain, after all, I'm on a cruise, and there's plenty to do on ship, plenty to do on ship, plenty to do on ship.....OK, all set to go.

 

Well, here's.....the good, the bad, and the ugly......wait, there was no ugly, so just the good and the bad.

 

Arrival Day: Flight from Calif. arrived on time at 10:30 am picked up our luggage and headed to the port by cab. Stopped at a quickie-mart to pick up a case of water and arrived at port 10:55 am.

 

Embarkation 5/31: All I can say is RCI has this down pat! Boarding this many passengers in a timely manner is no small task. We could not believe how efficient the process was. On ship and at the Windjammer by 11:45 am. Changed into our swimsuits and we're lounging at the pool by 12:30. Aaahhh, what a life, we're on vacation! Headed to our cabin at 2:30 pm to shower and change.

 

At some point, I'm not sure if it was while we were still at port or had just left, it started pouring down rain. :( OK here's where my "glass half full" self had to kick in. Telling myself, it's OK, we're on a cruise, there's plenty to do on ship, plenty to do on ship, plenty to do on ship......OK, all set. Well, I look outside about an hour later, and no rain! Plopped ourselves out on the balcony with our highlighter and Cruise Compass to plan our night.

 

Cabin Steward: We were very lucky. He was very friendly, attentive and took care of every request with a smile. Called us by name each time we passed him in the hallway and always asked us how our day was. After the third day, I still could not remember his name (the mind tends to blank on vacation, ya know) so, I had to ask him to write his name down and put it in our cabin. I wanted to make sure I acknowledged him in the survey. His name is Firmansyah, or as I called him "Firm" for short. Extra tip in the envelope for Firm for making our stay so enjoyable.

 

Dining Room: We are three gals, myself & DD's 29 & 30. Requested late seating, table for 8. Our table was in a great location on Deck 4. Three of the seats were empty the entire trip, other two were Diamond Plus Members from Boston. A lovely couple who made our dinners so enjoyable. We had great conversation, and learned so much about RCI from them.

 

We all thought the wait staff were "very good". Food was much better than I expected. We tried to each get something different and were pleasantly surprised for the most part. Hadn't planned on doing any specialty dining. After all, with all this good food included in the price, why would anyone want to "pay" for a meal. So, after hearing about Chops and Portofino's from our table mates the first night, we wandered over to "look" at the menu.....yep, we booked Chops and it was fabulous! One of the best decisions we made.

 

Windjammer: After reading many bad reviews, I was worried about eating here. I don't do buffets. I'm the one who will have one spoon of everything on my plate and not find anything I like. I can't tell you how many buffets I've eaten at where everyone rants and raves about the food and I leave hungry. OK, back to the Windjammer.....we were all pleasantly surprised! Found something for everyone. I actually enjoyed eating here, which was the last thing I thought I would hear myself say. We went to the main dining room one day for breakfast, and weren't impressed. Had room service breakfast two days (both good) and headed back to the Windjammer for all other breakfasts and lunches. Wait a minute......did I just say I ate at a buffet every day......yep, I did....and I'm on vacation!

 

Day 1 at sea: Headed to the main pool early am. M & M was scheduled for 10:15 and I had been looking at my cell phone time, which was off by 1 hr. Made it to the M & M (a little late) and it was nice to put the faces to the names. I think we had 34 signed up, but only about half showed up. Including my two DD's who I had sent to get in line for ice show tickets. Thinking I still had plenty of time, I failed to tell them in advance where it was (mind blank, on vacation). Spent the day at the pool, frosty drinks in hand, yep....we're on vacation!

 

Casino: OK, I'll admit it, I like to gamble. I had my strategy planned in advance. Take $400 for gambling, hit the casino the first few nights (I'd heard others say more people win early on in the cruise and not so much towards the end). OK, sounded good to me, I believe it....ahem. Lost a quick $100 on the dollar slots in about 5 minutes. Wait a minute, I play these slots at home, and it's the first night, and I'm supposed to win.....OK on to the 3 card poker table. Played for quite a while going up and down. Others at the table were losing and kept getting money off their sea pass cards. Was this going to be me, too? Nope, not gonna do it. Well, I was down to my last hand and I started winning, slowly recouping my losses, hit a couple of really good hands and left with $1,200. Planned on gambling every night, but I still had souveniers to buy, Chops reserved, wine and dine pkg., shore excursions to pay for, frosty drinks at the pool, and so on. Nope, not gonna part with those winnings. Didn't go back to the casino.

 

Day 2 Labadee: Slept in and headed over at around 11:00 am. After much research, decided to head over to Hideaway Beach. Snagged our $10 mats, chairs in the shade and kicked back to relax. Oh,oh.....over comes a large group to squeeze into a small area next to us. You could tell they were having a great time, and had a lot to say to each other (loudly). Now everyone's idea of vacation is different. Mine just happened to be peace & quiet with a good book on the beach that day. Packed up and headed off to Barefoot Beach. The $10 mat guy said we could turn them in to him and tell the guy at the other beach that we were on the list so we didn't have to lug our mats with us. They apparantly all have a list of who has pre-reserved onboard in case you forget to bring your ticket. Found a beautiful quiet spot and spent the day. This was one of my favorite ports.

 

Day 3 Mobay Jamaica: Didn't really see any excursions we liked, so we stayed on ship and spent the day at the pool. People watched from the balcony when we pulled into port, as we were on the dock side. Got a kick out of seeing a guy named Leroy Brown. Who was stationed on the other side of the barbed wire fence yelling at passengers that he had a large bus and was only charging $20. Wonder what he did to get banished to the other side of the fence? Well, one passenger did go up and talk to him, but I don't think he had any "takers" that day.

 

Day 4 Grand Cayman: It was pouring rain when we arrived. Had the stingray and snorkel tour booked with an off site company. We donned plastic garbage bags (with neck and arms cut out) from housekeeping and headed to shore. It was also very windy, so everyone was soaked by the time we reached the dock to look for our excursion groups. Except us...ahem...in our garbage bag attire. We bought 99 cent ponchos from Walmart for the trip, but apparantly I crossed them off my packing list, but didn't pack them (mind blank, getting ready for vacation). I located our tour guide and told him we decided not to go and let him know it was OK to charge us if they wanted to, since we were cancelling at the last minute. So, off to the ship. Tender operator said looking at the direction of the storm, it was going to be raining all day. The light in the distance was moving away from us. OK, we'll grab the Compass and fill our day with "inside" stuff. By the time we got back to the cabin, it had stopped raining and the sun was peaking through. OK, on to Plan C. Went to check on excursions and everything we found had already left. They said lets just review by time and see what we have. Found a trip to a Butterfly Farm and on a Submersible. OK, sounds good.....we're back on the tender heading to shore. Three cheers to Guest Relations for quickly finding something for us. We must have taken 50 photos at the butterfly farm. The guide was very informative, and we saw a butterfly hatch right in front of us. The submersible looked like a regular boat, but you went down steps and the seats were underwater with large viewing windows for each seat. It was like snorkeling or scuba diving without getting wet. Saw the two ship wrecks and lots of fish. We enjoyed both very much. Plan C on Grand Cayman was a good day.

 

Day 5 Cozumel: We had the ship's Dolphin Push, Pull & Swim booked. Had some time to shop around in Cozumel before departing on our Taxi's to Chakanaab (sp?) Park. FYI, if it's hot outside, when they put you in a que to wait for your cab, look for one with the windows rolled up. Not all cabs have air conditioning.

 

This was a huge group of people for this excursion. I started getting a little nervous that this was going to be a really long day with a lot of waiting for our turn with the dolphins. Not so. The place was huge! Everyone gets into groups of 10 - 12 and you all get into the water by group at basically the same time. This was amazing......we had lot's of time to pet the dolphin. And then we each got to hold one and were instructed what to do for the dolphin to come up behind you upside down and you grab on to their pectoral fins and they pull you along while you are laying on top of them....unbelievable experience! Then we went out on boogie boards and they pushed us along by our feet......amazing! Then we donned snorkel gear and swam with the dolphins. This is a day I will never forget! And we got to keep our snorkel piece. I'm not sure what it's called - the part that goes into your mouth and the tube you breathe through. So no worries about sanitizing, as each one was new.

 

They took lots of photos and did a video. We bought both. FYI, after you watch the video, they bring you out to a desk to see your photos and they tell you all the pkg. prices. There's nothing posted for the prices, they just use a calculator and tell you what each one costs. After we decided on the DVD and one picture each, someone else came over to help us. He asked if we were getting a pkg. and we said no, we didn't want to spend that much money. He said did they tell us the prices, etc., etc. Well, we did end up buying 3 photos each and it was almost $30 less than the people next to us buying the same thing and not much more than 1 photo. So I guess if you decline at first, they barter down the price.

 

Day 6 at sea: We decided to spend the day at the Solarium Pool. Previous days were at the Main Pool, which were fun to watch the contests and activities, but those padded chairs in the Solarium were calling us today. I did wander over to the other pool to watch the belly flop contest, which was pretty funny.

 

Went to the Quest show after dinner. I purposly didn't read anything about it on the boards because I heard it was really fun and I wanted to be surprised. OMG, this was one of the funniest shows I've ever seen! I won't go into any detail, but we laughed so much we were crying and cheered so much we had sore throats!

 

Cabin: JS 9270. We had plenty of room, and the walk in closet with shelving was fantastic. Loved the full tub/shower in the bathroom. Nice big balcony with 3 chairs, one lounge chair, and a table. I don't think I will ever be able to sail in a regular room again. Spent a lot of time on the balcony.

 

LA: I stopped by to see the LA several times during the week and they were either closed, or busy with other cruisers. So I decided to make an appt. for our last day at sea. When I arrived that morning, she told me I was too late to book a future cruise, that it had to be done the previous day. :eek: Something about the computer system getting the info. through before we were at sea. I explained that I had come by several times, and I didn't see where there was a cut-off time. I asked her if it was posted somewhere and she said no. But she did say she would put it in the system and see if it would go through........it did, yay! Hats off to the LA for trying and not just giving me a standard "too late" answer. I don't know what my next cruise will be, but at least I'm in for the OBC!

 

Misc: Saw the Ice Show. Thought it was very good. Check your Compass and get there on the first day to snag tickets. Saw one other show, don't remember the name, but it was good, too.

 

I'm an over planner. I like to research and know what to expect from a vacation. So, I also brought a highlighter and marked the Compass with everything I wanted to do each day......well, I didn't get to do most of it. I was too "busy" relaxing at the pool with a book. Now if the ship could just turn around and head back out for another 7 days, I'll be set.

 

Disbarkation: OK, RCI has this one down too! Our color group was called and we quickly went through customs, picked up our luggage and were in a cab all within about 30 minutes.

 

OK, I covered the good........now the bad: Well, lets see....one day my sea pass card didn't work in the door and I had to get a new one. :rolleyes:

 

Ummmmm..........let's see........what else.......Oh, one appetizer wasn't available at dinner one night. :rolleyes:

 

Seriously, overall, it was a great trip. There were little things that were annoying, but nothing worth complaining about.

 

My two previous cruises were on Carnival, and I can honestly say they don't even compare to this one. I felt like all the staff went out of their way to make sure we were happy. All the little things really added up, just to name a few......several phone calls to our cabin to ask if they were meeting our expectations, towel animals & chocolates on the pillows every night, fresh towels as many times as we needed them, many staff recognizing you and calling you by name......I could go on and on.

 

The ship was beautifully decorated and a good walk from one end to the other (so no need to go to the gym each day as I had originally planned)....ahem. I haven't been on the scale yet, but my clothes still fit, so that's a good sign.

 

DD's had me pick up cruise brochures from the LA and bring them back to the pool, so they could start looking at other cruises. Yep, they're hooked on RCI, too!

 

I'm probably leaving a bunch of stuff out, but I wanted to type this up before my mind starts blanking out from "after vacation" mode.......wait a minute, didn't I say something earlier about "mind blank, getting ready for vacation".....and "mind blank, on vacation"? Hmmmmm.....I think I see a pattern forming.

 

Laura

New Member of the RCI Fan Club

& Aspiring Diamond Member :)

 

great review. we are going with friends on the Liberty in Feb...

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snausman

snausman

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Posted

Laura, I really enjoyed reading your review. We will be on her this coming Saturday the 14th. I am very excited but your review just made it more so. Thanks for taking the time to write it.

 

Laura

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jillyfish

jillyfish

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Posted

Glad you had a wonderful time!

Sounds like they may have finally gotten more customs agents on duty. There for a while people, yes us included :rolleyes:, were not getting on until 1-ish and taking forever to get off.

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. :)

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Happy ks

Happy ks

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What a fun review to read! I wish you had "garbage bag" pictures posted :)

 

I've had the cabin card not work a few times. They are very sensitive to magnets, I have a business card holder that has a magnet on it. It de-magnified my card even though I didn't put it in there :rolleyes: , I suppose it came in contact with the magnet while in my purse. My husband had his stop working a number of times, we finally figured out it was his money clip.

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chazg

chazg

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Posted

Great Review!!!!

 

We are sailing her on the 23rd of August and can't wait. We will have out first Prom Cabins since they didn't have any 4 person D-1's available. Also found out that one of them is the Ben and Jerry's Sweet. This should be interesting.

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BillOh Holiday Sharing Rare

BillOh

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As you mentioned, differnt people can have the different reaction to the same thing. I loved how you qualified your opinions. Just got back from Freeom on a smailar route (Ocho, instead of Mobay)

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