Twibes

Cadiz was just too amazing to not take photos and videos of so here are a few more random shots while walking through of the Liberty:

Before leaving Cadiz, I should note that we ate breakfast in the #4 ranked restaurant in Cadiz. The reason we ate breakfast is because (duh) Spain has a more active evening life than morning. Although it was 11am'ish they only had breakfast. So we ate bread/butter/oil and (2) Cafe's. By Cafe I mean coffees. Ok what I should really say is that a Cafe in Spain is a drug laced mind-altering super adult speed drink flavored to taste like coffee. I don't know what they brew in this obviously mislabeled espresso drink but it's genius marketing. I couldn't get enough of this stuff, if it weren't for Kelcey feeling the effects that fast, we would've had 3 instead of just 2!!

While on-board we did see a special deliver to our room's Daily Compass, for anyone who can win the lottery and afford a spa appointment, I know enough to know this is a good deal that you may find for yourself!

Following Cadiz, it took us a few extra minutes to exit the port. The wind fluctuated between 35-40mph and being as we pulled forward into the port, we had no option but to back entirely out of the port. I believe I laughed a good while after hearing the Captain's message prior to departure: "Ladies and gentlemen, we're about to begin operations here. Once we find the keys to this thing we'll start our engines and be on our way."

Once out of the port which we shared all day with the AidaBlu, we headed into the Atlantic toward the Canary Islands. The weather was still very warm out however still extremely windy. The waves caused a good listing side-to-side so the nightly show put on by Royal Caribbean's entertainer's was postponed until tomorrow. Tomorrow we'll be enjoying a day at sea on our way to beautiful Tenerife. I'll be in touch!

- Special thanks to a3Lakes for handling the roll call so long on our Roll Call and to everyone so far that I've met. Motorman23, great sharing some drinks with you at the pool bar. Margaret whom I believe we met on the pool deck today, we'll see you Halloween night!

DAY 3: Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014

Today we arrived in Cadiz/Seville Spain around 8:00am. We woke up in time to streak across the large Junior Suite balcony in the buff to see this view:

I'll say now that Liberty is the largest of the ships I've been on thus far but she sure does handle well. I'm sure Richard Gere would say she handle's like she's on rails, or would I say that about... Well anyway..

Today turned out to be about 80 degrees and Sunny and very nice during the a.m. Many cruisers had already booked excursions or had some type of bus tour setup, but Kelcey and I opted for the more manly tour AKA: 'A man not asking (ever) for directions tour', which was the 'Tim getting us lost excursion.' You all should participate in that excursion, it's as easy as turning up two alley ways and walking west instead of East for 45 minutes but commonnnnnn who's watching. :cool:

Here was the beginning of our walk alone. No,really, literally alone. Perhaps we were the only ones with a sense of adventure or urge to play frogger with the unlimited amount of mopeds taking turns passing in this years Nascar race. Nothing like the smell of moped fuel in the morning to fire up your taste buds.

This was a pretty nice experience to be honest. It's a priviledge to be able to say you've walked in the oldest Civilized city known in the world, and walked the wall that protected it without any sign of people traffic. Once we walked a good mile on this route (Ok well to me it felt like a mile!) we decided to put Plan Tim into affect. We cut toward the left and walked straight into the heart of Cadiz. If you're curious about why we embarked on such an adventure, I blame it on my navigator who forget the 'Rob Me I'm a tourist Poster' AKA: map.

So the plan was simple, walk into the city halfway, turn toward the ship, and rendezvous with our lunch location. Well I'll spare you the suspense, it never worked out that way. If you are able to see a normal walking map or even a google image of Cadiz, take 90% of the streets you see, and scribble a red line over them with a crayon. We pretty much laced a security perimeter around and inside the whole city, yup, we hit every street. Needless to say, we took some photos of things we accidentally found that are historically important:

Here are a few random shots of the Promenade area during the Captain's Welcome Aboard speech:

Just and FYI if you're curious as to the unlimited internet package on this 13 night TransAtlantic voyage.. it was a steal with the Platinum discount (15% off) so in total we received a full 2 weeks of internet for $249. When we finally retired for the night due to my extremely old age and being lactose intolerant, ok maybe more like because I'm incapable of keeping up with these seniors on-board (Props to you all!) we headed back to the room and had a date waiting for us, Miss Swan.

As I'm a day behind on this update, bear with me!

DAY 2: Monday, Oct. 27, 2014

Monday we had a full day at sea, sailing from Barcelona, Spain to the lovely city of Cadiz, which is also just a 1 hour bus ride from Seville, Spain. The weather was much nicer than I had anticipated on a TransAtlantic cruise but very welcome after the chilly weather we had in the Northeast US. The waves were calm and the sun was shining. We spent the beginning of the day eating breakfast in the Windjammer (always amazing in our opinion) and then cleaning up for the Meet n' Mingle.

Prior to the Meet n' Mingle we were sure to get a new favorite of mine, the Wildberry Lava Flow drink from deck 5. Just as my track history with the Grandeur of the Seas last November, this cruise the Hotel Director stated we had the largest Meet n' Mingle yet on Liberty of the Seas (Again don't quote me but somewhere near 250?) We filled the entire Sphynx lounge on Deck 5 forward and met some great people. RCCL handed out at least 5-7 bags of goodies to raffle ticket winners as well as 2 bottles of wine. Following that official Meet n Mingle give-a-way, we had our own personally arranged Gift Exchange. Many thanks (I'm sorry I forget your name!) to the lovely woman who hand painted the flower of California and gave it to us as a gift, we'll be hanging it up on our return!

After the Meet n Mingle we had a Windjammer lunch (So far folks I'm sorry to say the Windjammer has been a bit better than the dining room, but that's strictly due to my personal tastes in food) I'm just not that into the main dining room menu the first 2 nights. While browsing around the ship all day and taking in the sites, we hit the pool deck for sun, as well as met Kelcey's ex-boyfriend in the Promenade. Boy let me tell you how awkward this was, meeting someone who's bigger than you and talks louder than you, let's just say I was forced to take a photo with them:

After this awkward run-in with Shrek we had more Sangria outside of Sorrento's while waiting for a photo with Captain Teo. What can I say folks, he personally requested our presence for a photo and stated we were the best behaved group of these party animals!

Now, in honor of mpoole3, I went into the Hoof & Claw for a little brewsky. In honor of our Scots on bored, I wanted to 'Schlep' around a bit. I sat right in front of the tap and stared down the bartender. I asked "Do you have some type of beer or drink named stella?" What can I say here other than I never had it and apparently never had the paycheck to claim ownership of a case of it! The bartender looked at me like the moron that I am, backed up a step and stated, "Nahhhh man We don't have that." Now, find the humor in this photo:

Obviously the red tap handle was 1 foot from my face. Regardless mpoole3, this Stella's for you! Here are two more shots from in the Hoof & Claw (My photos range from GoPro Hero3+ Black and Nikon Coolpix cameras) so sorry for some bad shots.

I did enjoy the atmosphere here.. without my flash, it was more dark and cozy than I expected.

Does Vintages serve more than just wine? Thanks and cannot wait to read more!

I can confirm at least this portion of your questions so far, No, the gentlemen in Vintages are certified experts in wine. They are trained and have at least 17 years of experience, at least on Liberty. They can take your taste preference and pair a wine for you without missing a beat. I'll give you this tip, don't take the $4.95 Sangria into Vintages or you'll insult them..I definitely got put in my place tonight lol!

I will however state that this Sangria which is right in the Promenade at Sorrentos (Yes more than pizza there too!) is very good. They have a white Sangria which is more of an apple taste, or the red which has alot of citrus flavor. I love the Sangria!

Good morning from the coast of Spain!

We're about 390 miles from Cadiz, Spain which we'll arrive at tomorrow morning (its 8am as we speak.) I'll grab more photos of ship today, and I have plenty of video to try and get online sometime.

Today's simply a sea day and we'll have the Meet & Mingle in 3 hours, should be fun with over 200 people.

The view from our balcony was worth the year wait:

Sailing away tonight:

Here is a shot of Kelcey with her favorite church in the background:

LIBERTY OF THE SEAS:

Once onboard, we headed straight to the pool deck for something to drink. The Liberty of the Seas looks great and it was refreshing to finally be on her. We're in Junior Suite 9598 which is in the middle of the ship. The room is as expected and we more than appreciate the size, balcony, and bathroom.

Howdy folks, it's just about the end of day 1 here in Barcelona, Spain. I'll recap how the long day went so bear with me.

FLIGHTS:

Kelcey and I got up bright and early to say goodbye to our dogs and make way to the airport. After making it through security and parking our still 'in-shape' butts at the gate, one couldn't help but feel a part of the crowd. I say this because ethics mandate that when you're surrounded by 5000 other people sitting in semi-silence, you put earphones on or turn off the speakers on your mobile TV SET, I'm sorry, I mean your cell phone TV show. I think we may have inadvertently been victim to a full episode of Sanford and Son.

Our quick flight from PIT to JFK went smoothly (Even after being delayed on the tarmac for hour due to JFK being busy) although I felt like a full size human display of Saran Wrap as snug as this little plane was. The weather in the northeast cooperated greatly and we had sunny skies / warm temps. Staying on the lighter side of things, I won't go into detail about the older gentleman to my left on the plane who made an audible gurgling noise after every turn of his magazine page. Each minute felt like a new medical emergency but he made it A-ok!

We had a 2 hour layover in JFK but no complaints there. I will add that since I don't fly American Airlines on a regular basis, I was more than thoroughly confused about just how many statuses of Awesome to Pure Nobody they classify you under. I thought being in Group 1 on a ticket meant you were right after business class... boy was I wrong! There were every color / name of member classes, first class, business, handicap, military, I think we really boarded group 10 after all was said and done. The flight from JFK had some of the best service I've ever received on an airline, and I can't say enough about how I enjoy free meals and drinks on the TransAtlantic flight!

BARCELONA:

Once we exited the terminal the weather was beautiful. It was only about 6:30am local time and we hailed a taxi from the queue of about 100 ready and waiting. We spent $29 Euros for a ride from BCN to the Barcelona Renaissance hotel where a3Lakes was staying. We met up and walked a few blocks for some breakfast and coffee. This coffee, let me tell you, it could grow freshly shaven hair back in seconds, and I loved every minute of it. I believe they consider Coffee in US language to be Espresso here. This cup of java was so good I bought another for the road (and had the shakes to show for it!)

Here is a view from the rooftop of the hotel which clearly shows the La Sagrada Famigla clear as day:

A view of Barb and Jim getting the violence portion of the trip out of the way early, good thinking!

CRUISE TERMINAL:

I'm not sure how to react on this area of my input.. as departure from Barcelona had a certain 'flair' for the ability to classify every Crown & Anchor member regardless of cabin or suite type as Priority Boarding! Ok, maybe I exaggerate, but the line out the door into the parking lot where you risk life and limb being sideswiped by a taxi was pretty intense. There wasn't really any order to the line other than a 30 minute free for all to shove ahead to the checkpoint & detectors! Once past security however, departure lines were separated accordingly and things went quickly!

Im proud to say its 72 and sunny here in Barcelona! Once onboard I'll be sure to start updating everyone.

Keep her nice and pretty, we will be sailing on her when she gets back to the U.S. after your cruise !

Aaahhhh another Steelers fan alongside me huh! I sure hope when we get off they refill this puppy with all we took from it over a 2 week period! We're just now packing for our flight out tomorrow, however many of our roll call members are already enjoying the streets of Barcelona as we speak.

Sometime tomorrow the Live photos/review will begin. Thanks everyone for following!

I'm looking forward to reading your perspective Tim. Thanks for doing this. You mentioned sketchy internet. How bad is it?

 

Colleen

Well on Grandeur last year it was hit or miss, but everything I loaded via tablet while in the centrum was about as fast as a Comcast Slowski Turtle and that's a compliment! I've been reading the LIVE Oasis TA thread here that's active as we speak, and seeing different perspectives on the internet. I know we plan on using an unlimited plan so, lets just hope for the best. :cool:

Tim, we got off Liberty last Sunday, I can tell you she's looking very well, the crew are excellent (particularly CD Luke and his team), the shows are top notch, and the food was excellent.

 

Looking forward to getting back on board vicariously through your eyes!

Thanks for the info! Glad to hear it's ready to go.. I'm sure all of us from the Liberty Roll Call will put her through her paces. The only thing that matters is the food is plenty and liquor is flowing for all the beverage packages we have on this cruise. I hope the internet cooperates enough to keep the photos 'live' and a video or two as well.

Looking forward to joining you on this trip - particularly looking forward to your Halloween outfit ;)

Aaaaah yes, the halloween outfit, if you can even call it that! That will probably fall on Day 7's review :D.

Subscribed and looking forward to your reports - will be sailing Liberty NEXT October - and in a junior suite - so hoping you will send some detailed pics of your junior suite and balcony. Wishing you smooth sailing and a great cruise!!

Thanks! We'll definitely have good photos of that and video as well. We'll be on Deck 9, JS 9598 forward of the Hump.

looking forward to your review!

 

Do you by chance have the link for your Granduer review...I would be interested in reading that since we will be going on Granduer in 2016....the only RC ships I have been on are Explorer.

 

Safe travels!

Here you go, the 2013 Grandeur Review:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1940705

Hey everyone!

My last live report was a year ago when sailing on the Grandeur of the Seas. That proved tricky as internet was a bit finicky, none the less I can only hope this trek across the wide open sea proves more successful review wise. I'm a 36 year old measly little Platinum sailing with the g/f who's younger and better looking than me. By the time this 13 night sailing is over I'll be Emerald and hopefully not single, but who's counting! This cruise originates in Barcelona, Spain and stops at Cadiz, Tenerife, and La Palma in the Canaries. From there it's a straight week sailing across the Atlantic to FLL.

I'm happy to say that we'll be sailing with no less than 250 other Cruise Critic Fanatics and our Meet & Mingle is well above 250 I believe (Thanks to a3Lakes for organizing the roll call!) This mingle should prove to be be more cramped and packed than my 1 piece of luggage. Although many of my fellow cruisers have already shipped out and chosen selective service, off to fight the battles airlines vs leg room, I'm still stuck in the Pittsburgh area until we fly out Saturday morning.

While sharing this experience with everyone onboard, we'll be recording most of what we see/hear/and hope to hide on a GoPro so there will be a pretty good length video to come following the completion of this voyage. If anyone has questions or concerns while the weekend progresses and after we've already passed all the ebola, flu, cold, hangnail, & bandaid checkpoints :p we'll do our best to answer them for you!

Just a note of importance, aside from being slightly sarcastic (I really do try to make things interesting), we also have the drink package while staying in the JS this cruise so I may or may not be clear headed during the question / answer portion of this review :D.

We're trying to plan our next cruise and Celebrity is offering a free bev package (beer, wine, cocktails) plus the TA will cover the gratuities and throw in an OBC. Does RCCL ever offer similar promos? It seems too good to pass up but I've been wanting to try Royal too. Thanks!

On my TA on Liberty this October 26th.. (It's so close!) Myself and a # of other passengers who booked a year out did in fact get a free Premium Beverage Package for booking that early if you booked a Balcony Cabin or higher. It was a steal! So yes, Royal does offer it but that's the first I ever saw it.

ok my grandson wants to go. We will be at Barefoot beach but going to get a 9am zip ride. do I check into Barefoot beach first or just go to zip line ride. Also I'm 205 lbs and I know it will take up to 250lbs, has anyone on here whose heavier done this and has there been no problems. I'm also 65. I've done them before a few years ago but never this one. Just wanted to get some feedback with someone in my situation. TIA :D

I did this a few years ago and I'm at the time was 235lbs... and it was no problem. I will say that at the 250 mark they're 100% set on that limit, absolutely nothing above it will be allowed to participate on the zipline. I'm glad I did this as it was one of my best experiences!

I'm on a TA out of Barcelona for Halloween, but will be dressing up for halloween! A little body paint and voila, the Hulk. :D (At least that's the plan)

Look what we're drinking!

I believe it is also called a Coco Loco.:)

Bob's correct. I've loved the Labadoozee since Haiti in 2009. If you're on the ship sailing during a normal day, it's considered a Coco Loco as stated above. Either way, the bartenders will know, and yes you can get it anytime. I must've had 10 of those on my Grandeur cruise Nov. 2013. :D

Sounds like info from the web_reservations people. They get the CD wrong quite a bit.

You're 100% correct! I asked specifically to them and alas, that's what I was told. Sorry if I was misinformed, my bad :cool:.

Per RCCL:

The Cruise Director onboard the liberty of the Seas October 26, 2014 is scheduled to be Richard Edwards. Hope this helps fill in a small gap!