Back from Liberty of the Seas in Galveston- a few random thoughts and ramblings

We just disembarked from Liberty of the Seas in Galveston, which was a good cruise (but not the best). Here are a few random thoughts. This is kind of like a mini review I guess. Or maybe just rambling.

Pre cruise- DH, I and my 6 year old daughter drove from Jefferson City MO (middle of the country). Really DH drove and I operated the music and watched the GPS. lol

Galveston- interesting port. It is not that much further for us than New Orleans, but it felt that way. We had to go through Dallas and Houston. Not too pretty. GPS tried to steer us wrong in Dallas and got us slightly lost. Going home was a little better.

Hotel- Stayed at Moody Gardens. This is a lovely hotel. We got it on one of those travel sites where they don't tell you the name of the hotel until booking and paid about $150 plus tax for Sat night. We had left our house Friday and planned to drive part of the way and spend the night, but around mid day decided to just make Galveston our stop for the night. Booked the hotel from the same site for $103 plus tax for that night. Its a lovely hotel, but a bit away from Seawall. But those hotels were also a lot more pricey. Moody Gardens is a gorgeous hotel with a nice pool and water park nearby. They have a cruise package for $50, which includes valet parking for the duration of the cruise and transportation to and from the port for up to 5 people. We used this service.

Food in Galveston- First night at at some place on Seawall- tortuga kitchen maybe. It was okay, but not great and very overpriced. At home Mexican food is cheap. Here we had an app, 2 entrees, 1 beer and 1 soda and I think it was around $70 with tip. Lunch on Saturday- Rainforest Cafe. Fun. Expensive, but portions were huge. DH got a burger that was like half a foot tall. It is a fun experience with kids.

Dinner- we went to Gaidos, because it was our anniversary (and also celebrating my birthday). This was a nice meal. Very expensive of course, which we knew it would be, They also had a kids menu. Hubby had some entree with scallops, red snapper and shrimp I believe. I had a bowl of bisque and a wedge salad. The bisque was so filling I barely ate the salad, which was huge. It had 4 wedges on it, probably a head or 2 of lettuce. I got a free dessert for my birthday. Pecan pie. Very good.

I liked this place. It was kind of old fashioned. Nice inside, but still kid friendly. You have to make reservations if you come on a weekend, as it is very crowded. Thankfully we had one.

Next post, I will actually get to the cruise part.

Next, the cruise:

We sailed on May 14, also known as Mother's Day. Also known as My Birthday. We signed up for the 10 o'clock shuttle from the hotel. We got to the port and did not have to do too much waiting. There was a lot of walking though and they had the ropes out for lines, but there was not really anyone waiting. So we just had to walk through them. They started having computer problems (shocking I know) as we checked in so she had to do DH's sea pass card twice. But no big deal. Then more walking and we get into the holding area before the gangway. There were people there selling drink packages and maybe dining packages and trying to get photos, but it was not too bad. We were going on a cruise. Did not care. The first time we had to wait was at the gangway. Walking the plank from the terminal to the ship. It was probably a few minutes. But it was hot. But all was good, we were going on a cruise.

Finally onto the ship. Made our way past a few people selling drink packages and dining packages. it was not too bad, they asked and we said we had a drink package and did not need dining and that was that. Made our way to Windjammer where there were tables where they were selling..... You guessed it, drink and dining packages. Made our way past them and off to eat.

Food was decent. Not the greatest but it was plentiful and no one went hungry.

Room- When rooms were ready we headed to check out our room. It was an inside room on the 8th deck. It was small. We have stayed in Inside Rooms before. This was smaller. And less modern than most of the other rooms we have stayed in. And the bathroom was definitely smaller. And the shower. Now I know why they call it a tube. Its like having an MRI. Beds were separated. Should have left them that way. Once they were put together it was hard to get into the bed. Just had to dive in. or you could step over the corner along the side. DD had a bunk above us. She liked it, until she did not. I think she was a little scared. But there was a railing and it was right over DH. So if she had fallen, it would have been on her dad. LOL.

Room steward was nice. barely saw him. I don't even know his name. We called him Juan Pedro Juan (amongst ourselves not to him), because that is what we do. We are like that.

Dinner first night- We did the First Night Done Right. We got nothing telling us where to go. I called Chops and they said they had us down on their list. I don't know if that is because I called them or that is where we would have been going anyway. We did not get charged again though, the bill was $0, because "we had booked online".

I was not super impressed with chops. Service was SLOW. Like 3 hours. And since Kids club was not open we had our 6 year old. She is a trooper. But we were all getting antsy. I had the bacon app. It was good but not knock your socks off kind of good. Tasted like pulled pork or something. I think DH had shrimp or scallops for his app. Nothing that wowed me. DH ordered a strip steak or something- one of the biggest ones on the menu. As he cut into it, the waitress said it was not cooked correctly and took it away. I thought it looked fine. I had filet- medium rare. I cut straight into the middle of it. It looked fine to me. But as i started eating, discovered the middle was the only part that was right. The rest was well done. But I did not send it back. An overcooked filet is still edible. Just not amazing. And I saw how long DH had to wait. We had cheese tots and mushrooms for sides. They were good. After about the 3rd hour when it came to dessert, I was tired of waiting. So we said no dessert, But they brought me one anyway because it was my birthday. It was like a chocolate flourless cake. It was quite good. Overall the meal was good, but not great. I would not have wanted to pay full price for it, but for $45 for the three of us, it was okay.

Sea days- Days 2 and 3 were sea days. We spent some time by the pool/kids water park. It was crowded. Sometime during that time we discovered the solarium area/ adult pool. We enjoyed time there when DD was at kids club. It was lovely. It is a small pool and deep but nice. And no kids.

Day 2 was formal night. Most people dressed up.

I have some things to do, so I will have to come back and talk about ports, drink package, dining and what Royal did on the last sea day to make me mad.

I was on the sailing with you and unfortunately those computer problems really delayed us (we didn't get to the port until around noon and got caught in a log jam of people waiting for the system to get fixed).

We had a lot of fun overall but the last sea day was a little annoying, especially when they had the sports pool closed for the crew vs. passengers volleyball match at the same time as they had the solarium closed for a guy getting his private scuba certification (poor scheduling by Royal but also kind of inconsiderate/lacking awareness of the passenger for getting certified on a sea day when he didn't have any ports after that to actually go scuba diving). And then of course the Flowrider got closed early for maintenance.

Still, those were isolated incidents and didn't outweigh the good for me. I did notice more upselling than my previous cruise though. It was a little weird to have someone approach you while sitting down inside Sorrentos or the Windjammer to sell you on a restaurant. Although it must be working if they're doing it right?

We drove from Tulsa so I agree with you that it's not super fun having to deal with Dallas and Houston and there's not a lot of stimulating places to stop along the way (we did have fun stopping at Buc-ees in Fort Worth).

We're only coming from Dallas, and CAN make it on Sunday, it's SO MUCH less frustrating to drive down on Saturday and spend the night. Last year, we left the hotel at 9:30, got through security at the terminal and were waiting at the counter at 10:00 and sitting in chairs at 10:15 waiting for the stragglers to get off the ship so they could start boarding. Can't remember what time we actually started boarding, but it was still "early lunch time" when we got to the WJ.

Second on Gaido's for EXCELLENT food if you're in Galveston for dinner. And it's GUY DOE's not GAY DOE's in case you were wondering. It's a little pricy but EXCELLENT food, service and atmosphere.

Thanks for review, we did same ship a couple of weeks ago, had sane slow service at Chops 1st night ( other nights were fine), we will stay at Moody Gardens on next trip, we had to cancel at last moment since flight was canceled and even though there is a 48 hour cancel policy Moody Gardens did not charge us since it was a airline problem

Born and raised in JC, Left Missouri for Amarillo in the late 90's and moved to Dallas about 10yrs ago. What'd that take you guys to drive, 13 hours or so? Yikes! Just booked us for Liberty in 2019. looking forward to hearing more on your trip. Will be our first time sailing her

I was on the sailing with you and unfortunately those computer problems really delayed us (we didn't get to the port until around noon and got caught in a log jam of people waiting for the system to get fixed).

 

We had a lot of fun overall but the last sea day was a little annoying, especially when they had the sports pool closed for the crew vs. passengers volleyball match at the same time as they had the solarium closed for a guy getting his private scuba certification (poor scheduling by Royal but also kind of inconsiderate/lacking awareness of the passenger for getting certified on a sea day when he didn't have any ports after that to actually go scuba diving). And then of course the Flowrider got closed early for maintenance.

 

Still, those were isolated incidents and didn't outweigh the good for me. I did notice more upselling than my previous cruise though. It was a little weird to have someone approach you while sitting down inside Sorrentos or the Windjammer to sell you on a restaurant. Although it must be working if they're doing it right?

 

We drove from Tulsa so I agree with you that it's not super fun having to deal with Dallas and Houston and there's not a lot of stimulating places to stop along the way (we did have fun stopping at Buc-ees in Fort Worth).

Ha, you spoiled it, the thing that Royal that really ticked me off- closing the solarium pool. I was really annoyed about that.It did not ruin my cruise but it did put a damper on it for me.

I knew that they delayed the muster drill by an hour and then sail away. I heard that computer problems delayed some people, so we were lucky we got on the ship when we did.

Born and raised in JC, Left Missouri for Amarillo in the late 90's and moved to Dallas about 10yrs ago. What'd that take you guys to drive, 13 hours or so? Yikes! Just booked us for Liberty in 2019. looking forward to hearing more on your trip. Will be our first time sailing her

We actually are from Russellville, which is just outside of JC. It is a nice ship. Best cruise- no, but I got spoiled on Celebrity.

cruzinlisa, would love to pick your brain on Galveston some more if possible. Coming in from KCMO in December and had some questions. Do you have an email I can send you questions at?

Ok, back to my review. Now, where was I? Oh right- I was going to talk about the ports.

Day 3- Roatan. We went to Bananarama beach resort. I booked directly with them. When I booked, they asked me about pick up time. I originally said 9 a.m. local time, but the lady thought that was too early. So I said 10 local time. We got up that morning early (7:15) thinking that meant we had to be there at 9 a.m. ship time, but then I realized the ship time is 1 hour AHEAD of local time, not behind. So we had plenty of time. So we slept a little later and went to breakfast. Headed out to the port area early, figuring maybe they would be there. Found the rep about 9:45 or 10 a.m. ship time and they said we were the last to arrive, even though it was an hour before we were supposed to meet them. And we were off to the resort- with private transportation. I booked the basic package for us, with hubby paying the extra $5 for snorkel rental and DD being half price. It included chairs, use of facilities and 3 (Total) drinks. And round trip transport. The beach was absolutely gorgeous, one of the most beautiful ever. The only negative was when we arrived at the resort. The lady first said we were going back at 4 p.m. local time. No, considering all aboard was 3:30 local time. So then she changed it to 2:30 pm. We were not sure if we wanted to stay quite that long since this was the first port and had a beach day planned the next day too. The lady said but that was when everyone else was going back and that was when we had to go. I kind of thought we would get to pick when to go back. But whatever.

We played and frolicked in the water until about 12:30 and then were ready to come out. And super sunburned. We decided to go to the restaurant. Ordered a medium pizza, a couple of drinks, water for DD and then nachos. At literally the last second DD decides okay she WILL have a hot dog (I asked so many times- you know 6 year olds) . So add that on to the order. After the waiter left, I asked if we really needed the nachos since DD would not be eating the pizza. So we tried to cancel the nachos, like 2 minutes after we ordered. But the waiter said it was too late because the cheese was already in the microwave (:eek:). Oh well. So we got the food and the pizza was great, nachos were meh, drinks were great. The bill was in local money (pesos????) and then converted to US dollars (after taxes added), but then the total was like $7.00 more. I am not sure if that was supposed to include a tip (because the original amount was after the tax line), So I added a couple of dollars more and gave him the cash. Hopefully it was a tip or I gave him a crappy tip. :halo:

We took our time at lunch and the table next to us packed up to go back to the ship (it was only about 1:30 local time). So we went up there too. The other group had already left (thanks to DH and his bladder) so they put us in a van by ourselves again and took us back. So apparently you CAN choose when to go back and it does not matter when other people leave.

The beach was really gorgeous and the water was super clear. It was calm and shallow and perfect for swimming. Not so much for snorkeling though. Oh well. The only weird thing was that they had a dive boat, and snorkel boat pull up and leave right in the swimming area. We just had to get out of the way. Another kind of annoying thing was the vendors. They were good that they did not come up to your chair but right in front of the chairs, constantly peddling. And the hair braiding ladies and massage ladies were relentless. They kept putting lotion on me and trying to give me a free 2 minute massage- come on, I just want to join my daughter in the water. LOL.

We got super burned. We applied sunscreen about 3 times but it still was not enough. All in all it was a great day.

Unfortunately I got no pictures because I did not take my phone with me. I wish I did. I cannot say enough times how amazingly beautiful the beach was.

Costa Maya- I was originally most excited about this port. We had never been to this port before. And we booked a day at Maya Chan, which was all inclusive. When we booked it we were on the fence about getting a drink package on the ship, so the all inclusive part was a big deal. But we ended up getting a drink package on the ship so the all inclusive was less of a big deal. After we booked we had heard that there was a lot of sea grass and the water was not so clear. Not a big deal I guess. But as we got closer, I started to have second thoughts. When we got there, the sea grass was really bad. They had a couple of guys constantly raking all day and it was doing nothing. The water was brownish (like lake or river water( and there was a bad odor- sewage type. Yikes. But we decided to stick it out. DD went for the water anyway. I saw the floaty chairs and decided I want to try them out. Walking out and there was tons of sea grass in the water. All on our feet. And then there was none, and then again. The water was actually pretty clear once you were in it and the smell either went away or we got used to it. And as long as you were in the floaty chairs, the sea grass did not bother you. I learned that sea grass is apparently a big problem in Costa Maya right now. They tried so hard to rake the grass.

What the resort lacked as far as the water was made up for a million times by the service and hospitality. The wait staff was always there and you never had an empty glass unless you wanted it that way. The lunch was a taco buffet. Handmade tortillas, steak, chicken, pork and fish. The fish was amazing- sea bass and they had this garlic butter. Also beans, pico, guacamole, salsa, cilantro, cheese, sour cream. Great lunch.

The resort had wifi, which was spotty, but I was able to post a few pictures to my FB page. They also had sand toys, water shoes and snorkel equipment to borrow, if you wanted to.

All in all, It was a great resort. I would recommend it to anyone, but you have to know what you are getting. Don't expect a picture perfect beach, because it is not. But its still safe and swimmable and the owners/staff are fabulous.

After we went back (we got to chose when we wanted to go back!) I did a little shopping at the port while DD and DH went back to ship. In the port area there was a beautiful pool and bar. I don't know what it cost, but it looked like a lot of fun. Maybe if I go back I will try that place, although I loved Maya Chan.

I would post some pictures, if I can figure it out.

We're only coming from Dallas, and CAN make it on Sunday, it's SO MUCH less frustrating to drive down on Saturday and spend the night.

I hear ya. Really nice getting to ignore all advice on "be careful you don't pack too much" and checked-bag-charges. If it fits, it goes. We generally hit I-45 before sunrise, a bathroom stop at Buc-ee's, and then grab a bite either in Woodlands or League City. Last trip the traffic reports said there was a construction closure on Sunday so we left by 3am, and they cancelled the work due to rain. They had rescheduled the work the following weekend and seeing the backup, leaving at 3am would have been the right call. It was UGLY.

All moot now, as I heard on another thread I-45 is supposedly finished and 10 lanes wide.

We will go down day before on the next one because friends are flying in from California and we need to fetch them from the airport.

Tried to post photos. Did not work. Sorry.

Note: I 45 was closed on the way back. We followed a detour. Then GPS made us take a noncash toll road and we were afraid if we did not, we would not get back. So we did it.

Cozumel- We had talked about Mr. Sanchos, Paradise Beach or Chankanaab. Or doing an excursion- with or without our daughter. In the end, we were beached out and opted to just get off the ship, shop at the port and go to Margaritaville. DD opted to go to kids club. So we shopped for a bit and had some overpriced drinks and chips and queso at Margaritaville. But it was fun. We have been to Cozumel many times. We got back to the ship around one and then ate a proper lunch before picking up DD at kids club. Then DD and DH went to the kids waterpark while I enjoyed the solarium/ adult only pool and heard about others adventures in Cozumel.

Dining- I already mentioned about Chops. There was another night that the dining menu did not seem appetizing (Costa Maya day I think). So I went looking for someone to upsell me for Sabor. NO one at all. And decided maybe we had enough Mexican food anyway. So I went over to Giovanni's where I was talked into making reservations for 8 that evening. We took DD to the buffet and then kids club. Then went back to get ready.

Service was fairly slow. There was a line when we arrived, must have been a lot of reservations at the same time. The appetizers seemed a little adventurous for me, but DH was set on trying the grilled octopus. So we did. And the tuna app, And the waiter brought out the tomatoes and mozzarella app. Octopus was surprisingly not bad. A bit chewy and sort of weird texture. But not bad. Not something i would order regularly, but glad I tried it. I had the osso bucco and DH had the filet. The food was pretty good.

We had moscato with dinner and since we both had a drink package, the wine was flowing. They brought me a cheesecake and sang happy birthday (since I had mentioned that we went to Chops on my real bday and it was not that great). We ate a couple of bites and called it good. Did not order any other desserts.

Dining room- We ate there 4 nights and once for breakfast. Never for lunch. The breakfast was disappointing. We actually were still hungry so we went to check out the buffet. It was much better. We ate a few nibbles only since it was "second breakfast." Breakfast at the buffet was good. Bacon every day. Usually they had regular, blueberry, strawberry and banana pancakes and waffles. Chocolate croissants were my favs, but they rarely had them.

Lunch at the buffet- Good. Nothing was super memorable, but it was all good. We never went hungry.

Dinner- Good. I liked most of the apps and desserts I ordered and every one of the entrees. I was a bit disappointed with the lobster, the tail I got was super small- the meat was no bigger than a shrimp. DD's was twice the size. But the waiter brought me another upon request.

We took DD to the buffet a few nights (and may or may not have had a few pieces of sushi as a predinner app). Buffet was decent. The last night, we went to the buffet because I heard a rumor that they had lobster tails and shrimp. And they did. They also had tempura. ANd allegedly a crepe station but there was never anyone working it. Even though people went up to it. Good food.

Menus:

Day 1- Not sure, did not go

Day 2 (Formal) Saffron

Day 3- Basil

Day 4 (Roatan)- Pimento

Day 5 (Costa Maya)- ****ake (we went to Giovannis) (EDIT apparently cc thinks this is a bad word so I will split it Sh itake.

Day 6 (Cozumel- Formal)- Jasmine (lobster night)

Day 7- Pomodoro (or lobster on the buffet)

What Royal did that really ticked me off- I already mentioned it, but prime time on the last sea day about 2:30 or so, they decided to shut down the solarium pool for a private diving lesson. I was annoyed because we had sent DD to kids club so we could go to the adult pool. It was crowded but we got in anyway. Less than 5 minutes of getting in the water and they say everyone has to get out. For a private diving lesson. That really annoyed me because it was early afternoon on the last sea day. Prime time for swimming. Then there was a little scuffle by the pool with some lady telling someone else off. I think it was someone telling off the mom of the kid getting the diving lesson but not positive. DH said something was said to the effect of there was no need to shut the whole adult pool down and that the kid may have been special needs. I don't know for sure. I don't really blame that family, it was Royal that booked it and chose to do it. There had to have been better times to do it, like in the morning, or late afternoon (right before dinner) or a port day. And what was the point anyway, considering the cruise was over and there were no more diving opportunities.

I don't know anything about the family, or their needs and again its not them I blame, but I think it was a poor decision of Royals to shut this area down. That said it was only like a half hour or so. It still ticked me off.

Debark- We did express walk off for the first time. It was not too bad. We were in the shuttle van about an hour after leaving our room. It allowed us to get on the road sooner. Which we needed. We still did not get home until 10:30 p.m.

All in all it was a good cruise. Not my favorite, but I have been spoiled by Celebrity and Disney. I think the rooms were nicer on most other ships i have been on, but it was not bad enough to make me not sail Royal again. ANd I did pick an inside room. Food was good but nothing spectacular. On par with most other cruises- give or take. I still really want to sail on Oasis, Allure or Harmony. I will definitely sail Royal again, but not exclusively.

Thanks for reading my ramblings. If anyone has any questions. let me know.

If you have a toll tag from elsewhere in TX, they have reciprocity, so you should be fine

If you have a toll tag from elsewhere in TX, they have reciprocity, so you should be fine ��

No we don't. This was only the second time ever going to TX. I googled it and there is a website I guess where you can look it up and maybe pay the toll. We shall see.

It was likely the Beltway which is in Harris County, try hctra.org. Sorry, I got confused and thought you'd come from Dallas!

I think so. Hardy toll road or something like that.

cruzinlisa, would love to pick your brain on Galveston some more if possible. Coming in from KCMO in December and had some questions. Do you have an email I can send you questions at?

Sure, but i hate to post my email here. I am not sure if there is a way to pm it to you.

Sure, but i hate to post my email here. I am not sure if there is a way to pm it to you.

Unfortunately, no PM on this website.

I think so. Hardy toll road or something like that.

Here you go https://www.hctra.org/MissedAToll

A couple of other thoughts that just came to me:

Sunscreen: Bring lots, like 2 bottles. I bought a brand new spray on sunscreen before the trip and a face sunscreen. I like the spray on because its easier to work with, but I also hate it because it does not work as well. And I never remember to reapply enough. By the end of the first port (Wednesday), i felt like we were running low on sunscreen and still had 1/2 the cruise to go. We looked in the port shops and prices were astronomical (like 20-30 dollars!!!). The guy showed us another one, not name brand that was like $9 for a medium sized tube. Sold. But that was still more than the spray can I bought at Walmart before the cruise. Now we are home and the can is empty and tube half gone. That was with 3 people.

Drink package- We both had it. Enjoyed it. We got our moneys worth- mostly. DH did. I did most of the time, but a couple of days I barely broke even. Other days I more than made up for it though. LOL. It was nice to order whatever and if I did not like it, I did not have to finish it. I tried many drinks, but my favs were: Bushwaker, pina colada, mango dacquiri, paradise punch, and some alcoholic lemonade drink. The girly drinks I liked were high enough priced that it did not take much to add up to $44 dollars before tip, which is what I paid for my drink package (about 5 alcohol drinks or 3-4 drinks plus some waters and a chai tea). Its less of a value if you are a beer or wine drinker. Beer is cheaper so the break even point is higher. But for people like my DH, its not an issue (LOL). Wine- there was not much selection in the package price. I did find a moscato in the price range in Giovannis and on formal night in the MDR. I thought I looked previous nights and did not see anything, but it may have been in a different venue that I looked. I am not sure I saw a wine list in the MDR more than 1-2 times. Definitely not nightly.

I know there was also something else to add, but I forgot again. It is late.

Thank you for your review!

Lisa, too funny, we were the table next to you at Bananarama! I remember them bringing the hot dog later (I hadn't seen your dd sitting there and thought it funny that a grown man was ordering a hot dog). I'm sorry they gave you so much trouble with leaving....when we arrived, they asked us what time did we want the driver to return; dh first told them 3:00, then I corrected him and asked "wait, 3:00 ship time or Roatan time??" and they called back and fixed it to 2:00 local time.

We were in private transport, just us, on the way out there; on the way back, we were in a van full of people, which I didn't realize. We packed up a little early so we could pop in the shop, then that took longer and our guy came and said the driver was here....we were still paying/waiting on our purchases. I thought nothing of it, but turns out everyone else was loaded up already. Oops!

And actually they may have been looking for you guys.....the kid rounding everyone up kept saying we were only 11, supposed to be 14. He called someone, and they told him no, it was 14 counting him and the driver (which was only 13, but whatever...) so they took off. Which was fine, because there was approx. 1 seat left open in the van, so no idea where they would have crammed 3 more people anyway ???

Glad it worked out despite the disorganization on their part. How frustrating! And sounds like you made a good call with Maya Chan....we'd heard that about the water, so went with Blue Kay, but nowhere near the service you got over at Maya Chan.

Lisa, too funny, we were the table next to you at Bananarama! I remember them bringing the hot dog later (I hadn't seen your dd sitting there and thought it funny that a grown man was ordering a hot dog). I'm sorry they gave you so much trouble with leaving....when we arrived, they asked us what time did we want the driver to return; dh first told them 3:00, then I corrected him and asked "wait, 3:00 ship time or Roatan time??" and they called back and fixed it to 2:00 local time.

 

We were in private transport, just us, on the way out there; on the way back, we were in a van full of people, which I didn't realize. We packed up a little early so we could pop in the shop, then that took longer and our guy came and said the driver was here....we were still paying/waiting on our purchases. I thought nothing of it, but turns out everyone else was loaded up already. Oops!

 

And actually they may have been looking for you guys.....the kid rounding everyone up kept saying we were only 11, supposed to be 14. He called someone, and they told him no, it was 14 counting him and the driver (which was only 13, but whatever...) so they took off. Which was fine, because there was approx. 1 seat left open in the van, so no idea where they would have crammed 3 more people anyway ???

 

Glad it worked out despite the disorganization on their part. How frustrating! And sounds like you made a good call with Maya Chan....we'd heard that about the water, so went with Blue Kay, but nowhere near the service you got over at Maya Chan.

I am surprised you didn't see My daughter because she was being a huge brat at that time such that I threatened to sit at another table. Lol. I thought it was strange that they kept pushing that we had to leave with everyone else but then we had private transport.

We never made it to any ice shows, production shows, flow rider or water slides. Basically we are, drank, slept and went swimming. Lots of naps. But we needed the sleep.

I forgot the best story about Maya Chan service. The waiters went out in a kayak to deliver drinks to some ladies way out in the floaty chairs. Now that is service

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Tried to post photos. Did not work. Sorry.

 

Note: I 45 was closed on the way back. We followed a detour. Then GPS made us take a noncash toll road and we were afraid if we did not, we would not get back. So we did it.

 

Cozumel- We had talked about Mr. Sanchos, Paradise Beach or Chankanaab. Or doing an excursion- with or without our daughter. In the end, we were beached out and opted to just get off the ship, shop at the port and go to Margaritaville. DD opted to go to kids club. So we shopped for a bit and had some overpriced drinks and chips and queso at Margaritaville. But it was fun. We have been to Cozumel many times. We got back to the ship around one and then ate a proper lunch before picking up DD at kids club. Then DD and DH went to the kids waterpark while I enjoyed the solarium/ adult only pool and heard about others adventures in Cozumel.

 

Dining- I already mentioned about Chops. There was another night that the dining menu did not seem appetizing (Costa Maya day I think). So I went looking for someone to upsell me for Sabor. NO one at all. And decided maybe we had enough Mexican food anyway. So I went over to Giovanni's where I was talked into making reservations for 8 that evening. We took DD to the buffet and then kids club. Then went back to get ready.

Service was fairly slow. There was a line when we arrived, must have been a lot of reservations at the same time. The appetizers seemed a little adventurous for me, but DH was set on trying the grilled octopus. So we did. And the tuna app, And the waiter brought out the tomatoes and mozzarella app. Octopus was surprisingly not bad. A bit chewy and sort of weird texture. But not bad. Not something i would order regularly, but glad I tried it. I had the osso bucco and DH had the filet. The food was pretty good.

We had moscato with dinner and since we both had a drink package, the wine was flowing. They brought me a cheesecake and sang happy birthday (since I had mentioned that we went to Chops on my real bday and it was not that great). We ate a couple of bites and called it good. Did not order any other desserts.

 

Dining room- We ate there 4 nights and once for breakfast. Never for lunch. The breakfast was disappointing. We actually were still hungry so we went to check out the buffet. It was much better. We ate a few nibbles only since it was "second breakfast." Breakfast at the buffet was good. Bacon every day. Usually they had regular, blueberry, strawberry and banana pancakes and waffles. Chocolate croissants were my favs, but they rarely had them.

Lunch at the buffet- Good. Nothing was super memorable, but it was all good. We never went hungry.

Dinner- Good. I liked most of the apps and desserts I ordered and every one of the entrees. I was a bit disappointed with the lobster, the tail I got was super small- the meat was no bigger than a shrimp. DD's was twice the size. But the waiter brought me another upon request.

We took DD to the buffet a few nights (and may or may not have had a few pieces of sushi as a predinner app). Buffet was decent. The last night, we went to the buffet because I heard a rumor that they had lobster tails and shrimp. And they did. They also had tempura. ANd allegedly a crepe station but there was never anyone working it. Even though people went up to it. Good food.

 

Menus:

Day 1- Not sure, did not go

Day 2 (Formal) Saffron

Day 3- Basil

Day 4 (Roatan)- Pimento

Day 5 (Costa Maya)- ****ake (we went to Giovannis) (EDIT apparently cc thinks this is a bad word so I will split it Sh itake.

Day 6 (Cozumel- Formal)- Jasmine (lobster night)

Day 7- Pomodoro (or lobster on the buffet)

 

What Royal did that really ticked me off- I already mentioned it, but prime time on the last sea day about 2:30 or so, they decided to shut down the solarium pool for a private diving lesson. I was annoyed because we had sent DD to kids club so we could go to the adult pool. It was crowded but we got in anyway. Less than 5 minutes of getting in the water and they say everyone has to get out. For a private diving lesson. That really annoyed me because it was early afternoon on the last sea day. Prime time for swimming. Then there was a little scuffle by the pool with some lady telling someone else off. I think it was someone telling off the mom of the kid getting the diving lesson but not positive. DH said something was said to the effect of there was no need to shut the whole adult pool down and that the kid may have been special needs. I don't know for sure. I don't really blame that family, it was Royal that booked it and chose to do it. There had to have been better times to do it, like in the morning, or late afternoon (right before dinner) or a port day. And what was the point anyway, considering the cruise was over and there were no more diving opportunities.

I don't know anything about the family, or their needs and again its not them I blame, but I think it was a poor decision of Royals to shut this area down. That said it was only like a half hour or so. It still ticked me off.

 

Debark- We did express walk off for the first time. It was not too bad. We were in the shuttle van about an hour after leaving our room. It allowed us to get on the road sooner. Which we needed. We still did not get home until 10:30 p.m.

 

All in all it was a good cruise. Not my favorite, but I have been spoiled by Celebrity and Disney. I think the rooms were nicer on most other ships i have been on, but it was not bad enough to make me not sail Royal again. ANd I did pick an inside room. Food was good but nothing spectacular. On par with most other cruises- give or take. I still really want to sail on Oasis, Allure or Harmony. I will definitely sail Royal again, but not exclusively.

 

Thanks for reading my ramblings. If anyone has any questions. let me know.

Thank you for the great review and details on the ship. We're leaving this Sunday with my 10 year old granddaughter for her 1st cruise! I wouldn't book this if she weren't going, but there is so much for her to do and she'll love it.

On disembarking----we arrive back to port at 6:30. We're only doing carry on bags, so about what time did they let you off? Did you go through customs once you disembark? Was there clear signs for meeting a driver? My daughter is driving down from Tyler and want to give her idea on where to meet us, and not have her searching through 3000+ people! Thanks...Oh, did you post the menus?

Thank you for the great review and details on the ship. We're leaving this Sunday with my 10 year old granddaughter for her 1st cruise! I wouldn't book this if she weren't going, but there is so much for her to do and she'll love it.

 

On disembarking----we arrive back to port at 6:30. We're only doing carry on bags, so about what time did they let you off? Did you go through customs once you disembark? Was there clear signs for meeting a driver? My daughter is driving down from Tyler and want to give her idea on where to meet us, and not have her searching through 3000+ people! Thanks...Oh, did you post the menus?

I posted the menu order but you can google the menu name to see it.

We left our room about 7:20 and waited forever for an elevator that wasn't full. 4th try was the charm. Sent directly to the line which was outside. End of the line and waited quite some time. Finished with all that and customs in about an hour. I called the hotel as we walked outside and it was 8:20 according to my call log. The had a big sign saying which way to go for private transport, hotel, taxi, etc. we went to the hotel shuttle area so I can't say how easy it is in the other areas

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