Liberty of the Seas - July 23 2017 sailing

Hello all - I'm chronicling our family vacation on the Liberty of the Seas recent sailing of July 23rd, 2017. This is our first cruise on Royal Caribbean as we've cruised on Celebrity (with and without our children) and Norwegian. This cruise seemed to chose us instead of the other way around. Due to our high school daughters summer sports activity we only had two weeks in the summer to vacation - the week of 4th of July and the last week of July. Since we had previous plans over the fourth, I went searching for cruises during the last week of the month. This one was one of four that were available and looked the most promising so we took the plunge.

I'll be sharing my perspective and hopefully some information that will either entertain or assist with your future cruise.

We are a family of five, my wife and I with three children 13, 16 and 20. With a diversity of ages I figured my two youngest would easily be accommodated by the programming on board; but was a little worried as my 20 year old was caught in between teen programs and 'older' activities on board. I plan on discussing this, our ports of call and everything else from the vacation.

I left my cell phone in the safe the whole trip, so I won't have any cool foodie pictures. (I wasn't about to lug the DSLR to dinner) But I'll check and see if my children have any to pass along.

We ended up driving to the Port of Galveston to save on the airfare, but paid for it in what I call road trip time. My wife and I have tons of vacation time, so we can afford to add a couple days before and after the cruise for road trip time. We spent the night before the cruise south of Houston and north of Galveston near the Johnson Space Center. When you are traveling with five, it tends to narrow the choice of accommodations. Searching Starwoods and Marriott for five people we ended up in a two room suite in Towne Place Suites. I would recommend it as nice, spacious and clean. However, the pool was tiny and resembled a hot tub on a sea day. People elbow to elbow with no swimming room for the kids. As a side note - we have a family member who has three children as well. To save money they make reservations for four and have one of the kids sleep on the floor. :rolleyes:

I haven't even gotten to dinner yet and this post seems to be getting long already. I'll see you soon.

Andy

looking forward to hearing about your cruise! thanks in advance!

This is my wife's cruise critic account, but I use it as well, but I sign off most of the time as Andy so you know it's me.

The night before the cruise we ate at an Italian restaurant called Tuscany Bistro in League City, TX. The kids really wanted fried crab claws like they had in Florida; but it wasn't a menu item on any of the sea food restaurants we found near Kemah and Galveston. So we went with something we knew everyone would like plus the great reviews on yelp. We arrived at 6pm on a Saturday night and there was only one couple in the place. Oh oh - big red flag for us. We would have left, but my daughter was meeting a college friend who was having dinner with us and she was already on the way. Eventually the place filled up but it seemed to be with regulars not tourists like us. I would say it was a very good meal and everyone left full and happy. There were very large portions. The stand out dishes was the bruschetta appetizer and the seafood risotto.

Sunday

I woke up at 2:14am and only dozed on and off until the alarm went off. Pre-cruise jitters? Excitement? Worried about missing the ship? Pirates? I don't know, but I seemed really anxious. Does anyone else get this pre-cruise? I took something to calm my nerves and we packed the carry on bags for ship plus 6 suitcases or duffle bags for 5 people. -ugh- Packed up the rest that we were leaving in the car and headed out to breakfast.

We went to the Egg and I for breakfast. A family friendly chain restaurant. We sat next to a table of Army personnel. It was nice how people would stop and thank them for their service. We left at 9:30am and to head to the port. Everyone was very excited, including the driver. Traffic was much better than Saturday afternoon on the highway; however it was still very busy. I stopped and filled up the tank with gas and hit the port around 10:00am. I'm going to be very detailed about the next hour because I've seen a lot of questions on the boards about embarkation.

Traffic was starting to line up on the road outside of the port. We had to wait through four cycles of the left turn light before we could enter the port. Then it took four to five minutes to wind through the port to terminal two and waiting in line before we arrived at the baggage/drop off area. Then chaos ensued. Cars starting parking haphazardly around us and porters were trying to direct traffic. I think mostly so they wouldn't be injured. We unloaded our six suitcases and I tipped the porter. He assured me that the luggage would be at our staterooms before us. I laughed inside and prayed out loud.

I left everyone and went to drop the car at Galveston Park n Cruise. I wasn't even out of the port when my wife called and said that we had to go through the security and metal detectors together. (so hurry up we're waiting at the front of the line) Because traffic was picking up it took me about five minutes to get to the indoor parking. An employee helped my back the car in place and golf cart quickly whisked me off to the intersection in front of the port. They explained they weren't allowed to drive onto the port property. No Worries. There was a traffic officer at the intersection so it was an easy walk across the street, across the port area and into Terminal Two. It took no more than 15 minutes from the time I dropped my family off until I was back in the terminal.

Coming up... Check in, Exploration and is that our luggage...

Andy

So why did the everyone have to enter together? Say more please.

Did you mean checking in at the desk where you get your room card (which makes sense to me) OR did you mean they were not allowed to even go through security without you present?

I would think as long as you had your paperwork (passport, boarding pass, etc.) then they could do everything ahead of you except for the actual cabin check-in.

I'm wondering as DH will be dropping me off with the bags while he parks; I wanted to just go ahead and move through the lines (security) and wait for him for to check in for room card together.

Thanks! PS: great start on your review and I look forward to future installments.

So why did the everyone have to enter together? Say more please.

 

Did you mean checking in at the desk where you get your room card (which makes sense to me) OR did you mean they were not allowed to even go through security without you present?

 

I would think as long as you had your paperwork (passport, boarding pass, etc.) then they could do everything ahead of you except for the actual cabin check-in.

 

I'm wondering as DH will be dropping me off with the bags while he parks; I wanted to just go ahead and move through the lines (security) and wait for him for to check in for room card together.

 

Thanks! PS: great start on your review and I look forward to future installments.

The security guard wanted everyone on the reservation to go through the security checkpoint, which is the airport like metal detectors, together. This is before you get to the desk to get your seapass cards.

Following along.

17 days until LOS! Following & thanks!

The security guard wanted everyone on the reservation to go through the security checkpoint, which is the airport like metal detectors, together. This is before you get to the desk to get your seapass cards.

I think I need to post a retraction. I was corrected by my lovely wife last night. She was carrying all of our passports, including mine. The security guard was reviewing identification before allowing people through, so she decided to wait for me instead of leaving me behind!

Sorry for the confusion

Andy

Thanks for clarifying the "together or apart" status in security! Your post wasn't confusing but did make me wonder why this was being required as often in security lanes, you get separated just because one is directed to a shorter line. I'll just make sure DH has all of the necessary paperwork in case we do decide to go in separately.

BTW: did it seem there was any problem in Galveston bringing a few soda and/or water (not cases of either!) in a carry on bag? We may or may not do this but would like to have a heads-up to potential confiscation...then we won't even try! I realize that Royal says "no" but also have read that many, many people do bring soda and/or h2o without any problem.

Again, thanks for your review and for answering questions!

We are a family of 6 that enjoyed the same sailing LOS July 23rd. My wife and I, our son (26) and his GF (24), our daughter (20) and her friend (20). We have been on many RCCL sailings and the Freedom class ships tend to be our favorite. I look forward to your review of your trip!!

We have sailed out of Galveston many times and always see people carrying cases of water and sodas so I can't imagine any problem taking a few bottles on board.

 

BTW: did it seem there was any problem in Galveston bringing a few soda and/or water (not cases of either!) in a carry on bag? We may or may not do this but would like to have a heads-up to potential confiscation...then we won't even try! I realize that Royal says "no" but also have read that many, many people do bring soda and/or h2o without any problem.

 

Again, thanks for your review and for answering questions!

I didn't see any confiscation; however the woman in front of us had a large bottle of water that she put in her bag before placing it in the scanner. It opened up and spilled as it went through the scanner. We had some slightly wet bags on the outside; however the security team was freaking out. They closed the machine down and were trying to dry it out as we departed. I imagine it slowed things down for a few minutes as they attended to the issue.

Check in, Exploration and is that our luggage...

Check in was a breeze and by the time we arrived in waiting area they were already boarding certain groups. We received boarding number 18 as we don't have any RCCL status. We waited about a half an hour and boarded and started to explore a ship or class of ships we'd never been on.

So to summarize, we arrived at the port at 10am and boarded by 11:00.

We tried to explore in an orderly fashion, but impatient children and hunger pangs pulled us down to deck 5. We had decided to forego the Windjammer buffet after reading here how crowded it gets during embarkation, so we checked out Sorrento's and the Promenade Café and collected samples of food from both places and regrouped at Sorrento's. Everyone used their sea pass card to make sure they received their drinks for free and I had a beer with lunch. I was hoping for a larger selection of beers from Sorrento's, I think there were 5 to choose from, but was told once we reached international waters there would be more of a selection.

Promptly at 1pm the announcement came that staterooms were ready. Swoosh - went the crowd. Good luck getting an elevator. We were only two floors away so we hit the stairs like we would 90% of the time during the cruise. I find using the stairs is a good way to work off all the food and drink I consume. My wife and I had a balcony stateroom forward while the children shared a stateroom directly across the hall. We rushed to check them out... Oh the whining and gnashing of teeth when it was discovered how awesome mom and dad's stateroom was and how awful and small was the children's! The kids wanted to go exploring more and started down the hall. Then I heard, "hey, is this our luggage?" Sure enough, 10 staterooms down the hall was 5 of our 6 pieces of luggage. We hauled it back and let the children explore. I unpacked our stateroom while my wife did the children's. Yes, she trusted me. I thought of hiding all of her undergarments to make the trip more interesting, but quickly realized her unhappiness would equal mine. Besides, there's no where to hide stuff in those staterooms. A half hour later I was finished and found the last bag down the hall. Brought it down to the kids room and we both we exploring and looking for the our children.

Up next... First night done right (maybe)

Andy

Following. We'll be on this cruise in November.

Following. We LOVE Liberty!!

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I will be getting on a week from Sunday! I am just so stinkin excited! It's really hard to pay attention! This will be our third time on her!

Andy - where'd you go? This constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

First Night Done Right....

During our exploration of the ship before sailing we happened upon Savor and popped in to find out where our First Night Done Right reservation was. It was at Savor, but we asked if he could change it to Chops. During our wait to board the ship, one of the Chops waiters came by with menus trying to entice people to make reservations. The family liked what they saw, that's the reason for the request. Well, the Savor guy politely told us no.

As we continued to explore the ship we finally found Chops. They were more than happy to move the reservation. Take that Savor guy!

We were hit up for specialty dining and drink packages approximately 2597 times the first day. After that, the aggressiveness slowed down.

We had 6:30 reservations for dinner, so after sail away headed down to the stateroom to get ready for dinner. My daughter couldn't find her flat iron and started freaking out about bad hair for the whole vacation. My wife and other daughter offered to share theirs... but it wasn't the same. DRAMA. I assumed the flat iron was confiscated and went to the naughty room before dinner to see if I could get it back.

I arrived to find a line of very unhappy people. Disgruntled. Angry. Pouty. And not afraid to show it. A security guy had a print out of staterooms that were "on the list" and ours wasn't on there. He assured me that:

1) if they found illicit items they would hold the bag and confiscate it in our presence - and -

2) flat irons are not illicit

I left the discontented and aggrieved and headed back upstairs to talk to daughter #1, code name Alpha. Oh, that's right... I put it in the outside pocket of my bag since I used it this morning. Argh, under my breath. At least no more DRAMA for the moment.

In short, Chops had very good food (you can skip to the end if that's all you need). I believe we had goat cheese salad and crab cakes for appetizers. The children and my wife had the filet cooked medium well. I know, I know - it's a sin. Please forgive them. The waiter had the filets butterflied (because of their awful taste in food) so the steaks came out heart shaped, which the girls loved. Especially daughter #2, code named Beta.

Our service was uneven. The waiter tried, but I think he had too many tables. It took forever between dinner and desert. For a two hour plus meal, it was not paced very well. The deserts here were the best of the week. Size, taste and presentation were wonderful.

Up next: sea day, formal night and some trivia

Andy

Here is the heart shaped steak, courtesy of my daughter Beta.

Andy

Here is the heart shaped steak, courtesy of my daughter Beta.

 

 

 

Andy

We sailed on LOS in April & loved the ship

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Here is the heart shaped steak, courtesy of my daughter Beta.

 

Andy

I'm seriously laughing out loud at the Alpha and Beta names for your teens. I have a 17 year old and a 14 year old. I would probably have to name them Alpha 1 and Alpha 2. Keep this marvelous and witty review coming. We sail on 8/3 without our darling Alphas. ;)

Ok so we are on the LOS again on the 27th and my head is exploding with excitement! So PA LEEEEEZE keep up with your review I'm going crazy waiting to get on this ship. We've done Freedom twice and this will be #2 for Liberty. Plus we've done several others. Thank you sooooooo much!!!!!

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We head out next January. I really like your review so far. Please keep it going . . .

First Sea Day...

We woke up to our normal routine of breakfast in stateroom on our balcony. The wake up call alerts us that the food is on the way. So we quickly make ourselves presentable and clear off the coffee table in front of the sofa so there is somewhere for the platter of food (Or one us makes ourselves presentable and the other hide under the covers). Unfortunately as most lines are moving to paid room service, we just order the free breakfast items. However we just love eating on the balcony. It's the perfect way to start and end the day;).

We slowly ambled down to morning trivia and later in the afternoon participated in the family scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt was a lot of fun, we ended up in 5th or 6th place. If you are competitive and want to win, I'll give you a little heads up. Buy some gold flip flops (not sandals) for your next trip.

Since we did morning trivia we arrived poolside later and couldn't find any chairs together, nor did we expect to. We ended up aft near the wave riding area and found some loungers that we could move in or out of the shade with ease. It's pretty quiet back there, but very windy. The day was nice and sunny, as was most of the trip and included tropical or frozen drinks I normally don't consume while on land. However vacations, and especially cruise vacations, demand drinks with cool names like Miami Vice, Mai Tai, Bahama Mama. Or a Dark and Stormy, which is more of a pirate drink. All in all a wonderful, fun and peaceful day.

When we made our cruise reservations, we chose the anytime dining option as the early fixed seating was 100% taken. This is fine with us since the fixed seating times feel either too early or too late. My wife figured out that you can make reservations for anytime dining ahead of time and booked a 6:45 time slot for the whole week. As I paraphrase Mr. Seinfeld, "they take the reservation, but they don't keep the reservation". We had a very nice and helpful lady that always worked the first floor dining who fixed the reservations for the rest of the trip. I would always try to check in with her as she was the best.

In general, we appeared overly dressed for formal night compared to the other diners when we entered. But as we exited the late diners were more dressed up for formal night. I saw this trend both formal nights. Dinner was served very fast compared to Chops the previous night. Crab cakes (see attached) were the hit of the table this evening.

up next - Sea Day number 2...

Chops cheese cake dessert. According to daughter Beta, way better than the much smaller cheese cake found in the main dining room.