I have used the boards at cruise critic many times in the past to get information about an upcoming cruise, and hope this review and information is helpful to someone.
My family of 6 (75 to 28 years of age) just returned from the June 3, 2018 sailing of Liberty of the Seas. Our ports were Roatan, Honduras, Belize, and Cozumel, Mexico. My sister and I have been on several cruises, but for our other family members have never cruised before. We loved the itinerary with two days at seas, then each day a new port, then a final sea day upon returning to Galveston. We had balcony rooms on the 7th deck, and our parents had an accessible room, which worked great for them.
My sister and I arrived at Houston Hobby the day before. We took a Lyft to Galveston. We were warned to make sure the driver knew we were going to Galveston, which we confirmed several times. About 20 minutes into the ride, the driver said it was too far, and pulled off the highway and dropped us off at McDonalds. Never had this happen before. We called another driver, and continued on to Galveston. Our other family members were driving and the traffic through Houston was beyond terrible - over 3 hours just getting through Houston. So much so that no one was talking by the time we arrived in Galveston. LOL.
We stayed at the Lost Bayou Bed and Breakfast, and HIGHLY recommend it. Great breakfast, close to cruise terminals, and nice people. They also have special cruise parking for their guests, which was very convenient, but still a good walk to Liberty of the Seas carrying bags. We all carried bags on the ships as we all travel light. We did each have one bottle of wine, which weighted us down. We arrived at the cruise terminal around 10:30 am and found no lines, and easily got on the ship around 11:00 am.
It was very hot and humid, so we found a place inside at a bar on the 11th floor until cabins opened at 1:00 pm. The "up-selling" starts immediately. We had already made reservations for the Mystery Dinner at Giovanni's for the first night, and Sabor Mexican for another night. We had MTD for the other nights. We made reservations before we left in cruise planner.
We opted for the "refreshment drink package" which includes coke products, fresh juices, bottled water, virgin drinks, etc. We also ordered before we left through the "gift section" a bottle of rum and vodka for our rooms. We saved lots of $ by buying virgin drinks, and adding our own rum:)
We used Victor Bodden's tour company for a private tour of Roatan. Our guide was Owen, and he was great. We had him stop at a store upon arrival to stock us up on local beer, sodas, and water. We did Carambola Gardens, Victor's Monkey business, Halfmoon glass bottom boat, and a private fishing tour (for my nephew and my father). It was a great private tour, and highly recommend Victor Bodden's tour company.
Our next port was Belize, and we had to "tender" to land. We did the ship's excursion Lamanai Mayan Ruins and Riverboat Safari and Lunch, and highly recommend this tour - our guide was Nuri and he was fantastic! My mom has mobility issues, and stayed on the ship this day.
Our next port was Cozumel. We did not have any plans for this day. My sister and I went to negotiate a private tour, and essentially just made a deal with a taxi driver to drive us around the island with a stop at the Tequila Factory for tastings - recommend! After about 2 hours, he dropped us off in town to eat lunch and shop before returning to the ship.
We did experience mosquitos at each port so bug spray is important to bring.
Also the weather forecast ahead of the cruise said "thunderstorms, rain, etc" each day of our cruise. So I threw in rain gear at last minute, but we didn't see one rain drop the entire cruise. It was very HOT and HUMID.
Around the ship, my sister and I both participated in the Art Gallery Auction, and both walked away with our first purchase of "real art". It was fun and we are very happy with our purchases through Park West Gallery. We also played ping pong and shuffleboard.
I haven't cruised in a while and was disappointed in the "up-selling". I understand the speciality restaurants, but even in the Main Dining Room - there's up-charging if you want filet steak ($16 extra) or lobster ($36 extra).
Additionally, there are great new activities and tours on the ship but all with additional fees. I remember when the tour of the ship was included in the price of the cruise. No more:(
I also mis-understood the room service, and told my parents they could get a cup of coffee in their room in the afternoon, but they were charged $8 for the delivery of two cups of coffee. (it's only free for a few hours in the morning.)
I am very curious if other cruise lines also have all the "up-selling". I would prefer to pay one price and get everything included.
This was the biggest disappointment of the cruise - the up-selling. We were very cautious on the extra $ items, but few fellow travelers nearly had heart attacks when seeing their final bill.
The fellow passengers were mainly from Texas, and were very friendly, and beautiful people.
All in all - it was a great family vacation, and we are happy we did it. I loved the LOS ship, and the itinerary.
Review - Liberty of the Seas - June 3, 2018
in Royal Caribbean International
Posted
I have used the boards at cruise critic many times in the past to get information about an upcoming cruise, and hope this review and information is helpful to someone.
My family of 6 (75 to 28 years of age) just returned from the June 3, 2018 sailing of Liberty of the Seas. Our ports were Roatan, Honduras, Belize, and Cozumel, Mexico. My sister and I have been on several cruises, but for our other family members have never cruised before. We loved the itinerary with two days at seas, then each day a new port, then a final sea day upon returning to Galveston. We had balcony rooms on the 7th deck, and our parents had an accessible room, which worked great for them.
My sister and I arrived at Houston Hobby the day before. We took a Lyft to Galveston. We were warned to make sure the driver knew we were going to Galveston, which we confirmed several times. About 20 minutes into the ride, the driver said it was too far, and pulled off the highway and dropped us off at McDonalds. Never had this happen before. We called another driver, and continued on to Galveston. Our other family members were driving and the traffic through Houston was beyond terrible - over 3 hours just getting through Houston. So much so that no one was talking by the time we arrived in Galveston. LOL.
We stayed at the Lost Bayou Bed and Breakfast, and HIGHLY recommend it. Great breakfast, close to cruise terminals, and nice people. They also have special cruise parking for their guests, which was very convenient, but still a good walk to Liberty of the Seas carrying bags. We all carried bags on the ships as we all travel light. We did each have one bottle of wine, which weighted us down. We arrived at the cruise terminal around 10:30 am and found no lines, and easily got on the ship around 11:00 am.
It was very hot and humid, so we found a place inside at a bar on the 11th floor until cabins opened at 1:00 pm. The "up-selling" starts immediately. We had already made reservations for the Mystery Dinner at Giovanni's for the first night, and Sabor Mexican for another night. We had MTD for the other nights. We made reservations before we left in cruise planner.
We opted for the "refreshment drink package" which includes coke products, fresh juices, bottled water, virgin drinks, etc. We also ordered before we left through the "gift section" a bottle of rum and vodka for our rooms. We saved lots of $ by buying virgin drinks, and adding our own rum:)
We used Victor Bodden's tour company for a private tour of Roatan. Our guide was Owen, and he was great. We had him stop at a store upon arrival to stock us up on local beer, sodas, and water. We did Carambola Gardens, Victor's Monkey business, Halfmoon glass bottom boat, and a private fishing tour (for my nephew and my father). It was a great private tour, and highly recommend Victor Bodden's tour company.
Our next port was Belize, and we had to "tender" to land. We did the ship's excursion Lamanai Mayan Ruins and Riverboat Safari and Lunch, and highly recommend this tour - our guide was Nuri and he was fantastic! My mom has mobility issues, and stayed on the ship this day.
Our next port was Cozumel. We did not have any plans for this day. My sister and I went to negotiate a private tour, and essentially just made a deal with a taxi driver to drive us around the island with a stop at the Tequila Factory for tastings - recommend! After about 2 hours, he dropped us off in town to eat lunch and shop before returning to the ship.
We did experience mosquitos at each port so bug spray is important to bring.
Also the weather forecast ahead of the cruise said "thunderstorms, rain, etc" each day of our cruise. So I threw in rain gear at last minute, but we didn't see one rain drop the entire cruise. It was very HOT and HUMID.
Around the ship, my sister and I both participated in the Art Gallery Auction, and both walked away with our first purchase of "real art". It was fun and we are very happy with our purchases through Park West Gallery. We also played ping pong and shuffleboard.
I haven't cruised in a while and was disappointed in the "up-selling". I understand the speciality restaurants, but even in the Main Dining Room - there's up-charging if you want filet steak ($16 extra) or lobster ($36 extra).
Additionally, there are great new activities and tours on the ship but all with additional fees. I remember when the tour of the ship was included in the price of the cruise. No more:(
I also mis-understood the room service, and told my parents they could get a cup of coffee in their room in the afternoon, but they were charged $8 for the delivery of two cups of coffee. (it's only free for a few hours in the morning.)
I am very curious if other cruise lines also have all the "up-selling". I would prefer to pay one price and get everything included.
This was the biggest disappointment of the cruise - the up-selling. We were very cautious on the extra $ items, but few fellow travelers nearly had heart attacks when seeing their final bill.
The fellow passengers were mainly from Texas, and were very friendly, and beautiful people.
All in all - it was a great family vacation, and we are happy we did it. I loved the LOS ship, and the itinerary.
Happy cruising!