coast2coast

Thank you for the review! Haven't been on Liberty yet (cruised twice on her sister Freedom and 5 times on her smaller sisters in the Voyager class). But I will be boarding Liberty on Sunday! First time cruising out of Galveston. One of my favorite things to do is people watch in the Promenade while having a cocktail or two (or three) at the pub. You're right... too many people seem completely oblivious to those around them and don't rectify their situation (i.e. standing in the middle of a walkway) even after passerby have said "excuse me" while trying to pass by them. People congregating on the stairs (or right near them when there's plenty of other open space around) is a pet peeve of mine, too. :rolleyes:

Is Liberty doing the southern route now? I thought she just did the western route?

I'll be boarding next week when you get off, so keep the Liberty in ship shape for me! ;p

Absolutely gorgeous pictures! We were on Enchantment for a 9-nighter back in 2010. One of my favorite ships of all time. There's something about her that brings back memories of my first cruise on the Song of Norway. The bigger ships all have that WOW factor to them which is cool, but there's something extra-classy about the Enchantment. Loved the theater, atrium, Viking Crown Lounge, and the expanded pool deck. The only thing confusing at first was that the Windjammer is located at the front of the ship, and the gym in the back! :p

Freedom-class ships don't have shows that can be booked ahead of time. I believe only Oasis-class (and maybe Quantum-class?) offer this.

We usually hang out at Pepe's Pier Bar right by the ship in Cozumel. Cute little place with swings at the bar and inexpensive drinks (at least compared to the ship!). If you order something to drink, they will give you the password for the wifi. At least that's what they did for us in '14 and '16. Hoping they'll do the same again in January. :D

We have really enjoyed Royal Caribbean the 15 years we've been cruising with them. My first cruise with them was back in '79 on the Song of Norway followed by a cruise on Carnival in '84. Got married in '94 and it took 8 years to convince my hubby into going on a cruise. He didn't want to go because he was afraid he'd be "bored" on a ship for 7 days. I took him on the Explorer when the Voyager-class ships were all the rage with the ice skating rinks and rock climbing walls. Best decision ever. We've cruised with RCI ever since... only strayed 3 times- twice to Princess, and once to HAL... and two of those times were because my parents took us with them. We've never had a bad cruise on RCI... some better than others... but the "wow factor" of the ships, the entertainment, Diamond benefits, and 5 free cruises on our RCI credit card (with our 6th in January) have kept us coming back.

Really enjoyed your previous live reviews, so I'm sure this one will be just as good! I'll definitely tagging along! Still have 7 weeks to go until my next cruise- on Liberty for hubby's big birthday. So I guess once I'm done reading your review, I'll only have 6 weeks to go! :p Have a great time! :)

DH and I have always requested to sit with larger groups even though we sign up for MTD on Royal. We always end up at a table for two (which I always thought were hard to come by). When we've done MTD (or whatever they call it) on Princess and HAL, we've been seated with others. Not sure why we haven't on Royal.

We had a free texting app on the Caribbean Princess this summer. It was great as it allowed us to keep up with where the 6 of us in our party were. That's a bummer that Royal doesn't offer it for free. :( There's always sticky notes or a white board to leave messages on, but definitely not as convenient.

I love RCI, too, but I'll have to admit I'm not a huge fan of the beds either. I haven't noticed as much of an issue the last few years, but our 9-night cruise on the Enchantment back in 2010 was a very uncomfortable experience for me. Couldn't get comfortable in the bed no matter whether I slept on my side or my back. Very stiff back the first couple of hours in the morning, but would finally loosen up. BEST bed I've ever slept in was on the Caribbean Princess this summer- to the point where I actually looked forward to going to sleep just because of the comfy bed. ;p

We used National Express bus from London to Southampton when we were there in June. Very convenient. Looks like they travel from Heathrow to Southampton as well. Would highly recommend.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/Landing/route.aspx?to=Heathrow&from=Southampton

Just looked up RFD excursions and came across two for Rose Hall:

Hilton Rose Hall- Jamaica- $117

Hilton Rose Hall- National Conference- $79

Under what's included, they both say this:

• Round trip transfers from the cruise port of Falmouth or Montego Bay
  
• Full access to the Hilton's magnificent private beach & pools
  
• Water Park with tube slide and lazy river
  
• Unlimited lunch, snacks and unlimited beverages
  
• Beach & pool lounge chairs and towels
  
• Poolside concierge service
  
• Non-motorized water sports: windsurfing, kayaking, sailing, volleyball, aerobics, and tennis
  
• Daily activity program
  
• A limited number of COMPLIMENTARY lockers are available to Resort For a Day guests!
  
• Handicap Accessible
  
• Internet access at the internet cafe - touch base with family and friends. Internet Cafe is located by the lobby.
  

So, I guess my question is: Why is there almost a $40 difference?

Was that the Muse docked in Morehead City today? I'm from the area, and my Facebook news feed was blowing up with pictures of a Silversea ship docked at Portside Marina. After doing a little bit of Googling, I assumed it was your ship but didn't think MHC was originally on the itinerary? I was wondering if they added it as a port day as I thought I'd read in a previous post that Savannah had been canceled. If you got off the ship today, I'm sure you noticed one of our area's "claim to fame": The North Carolina Seafood Festival was going on this weekend. I'm sure there were a lot of locals gawking at the ship as we normally don't get cruise ships in the area... the largest we've ever had before was something from American Cruise Lines. Hope you enjoyed your day!

Has anyone used the RCI VISA credit card to get a 100% "free cruise"?

Yes. We've had our cards since 2003 and are cashing in points for our 6th one in January. Over the years, we have found it harder to use on the sailings we'd like. Back in 2011, we lucked out and were able to use our certificate on the Allure, but they have since changed the classes of ships you can use the 125,000 voucher on. We had a hard time trying to find a cruise to use it on this January. The ships sailing out of Florida at that time are either Oasis class, or doing something less or more than a 7 night itinerary (don't want to use it on something less than 7 nights as we want to get the most out of the redemption and can't use it on 8 nights or above) or super cheap sailings out of Tampa (again, not getting the most out of the points). So, we're heading to Galveston for the first time to sail on the Liberty.

We just traded in for the Citi Master Cards... 1% back as you spend, 1% back as you pay off. Figure we'll use our savings from that to put towards our travel fund from here on out.

The cruise tramsfer shuttle will not leave until it is FULL. Get your own private transportation. Check your roll call for another couple to split the cost.

Thanks, LaShelle2! I will look into that! :)

Cruising on Liberty of the Seas in January. Returning to port on Sunday, January 28th. Has anyone ever taken a Royal Caribbean transfer with a flight that early? I called and talked to a representative and was told the earliest flight I should have booked out was 12:30?

Looking at Galveston Limo, we can take an 8:05 shuttle and be at the airport by 10:05. RCI really doesn't have a shuttle that leaves that early from the port?

Any other besides Galveston Limo I should be looking at? One way for the two of us is looking to be $70. Anywhere else with a better deal?

We've had the card since 2003, and we'll be going on our 6th free cruise this January. It's been a great card for us. However, we are getting rid of it as it's getting too hard to find a cruise that meets our requirements (dates, ports visited, departure port, etc.) We were really hoping to cruise out of Port Canaveral in January as our daughter is now going to college in Orlando. Unfortunately, the Freedom is no longer doing 7-day cruises there. Only one of their smaller ships (Majesty, I think?) for the short cruises, and Oasis (which you can't use the 125,000 points for). I wish they hadn't changed the rules on the ships. We were able to use a free cruise certificate on the Allure when she was brand new back in 2011. Wish the 125,000 certificate would allow for an 8-night cruise as Freedom was doing a great itinerary towards the end of January. Didn't want to use the certificate on the cruises on Rhapsody out of Tampa as the prices at that time were "too cheap" and we wouldn't get the most out of our points. So we're flying to Galveston to cruise on the Liberty. Haven't been on that ship but have been on that itinerary too many times... Long story short, we're getting rid of the card. Just applied for the 2% cash-back Citi card.

I'll give Nativeway a 2nd vote. We've used them twice for the Rays, Reef, and Rum Point tour. I'd highly recommend it. :)

If you go to the Cruise Planner on RCI's website, there are two buttons to click on the Dining section: Make a Reservation *OR* Plan All Cruise Dining.

I clicked the second one and was able to book all of my MTD times easily at one fell swoop.

Hope this helps?! :)

3 years ago when I was still in my early 40s (;)) DH, DD, and I went on HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. The ship was beautiful, but I missed RCI's gorgeous atria and promenades from the larger ships. It was such a port-intensive cruise with very few sea days, so I didn't feel like there weren't enough activities to keep me entertained. Thought the food was pretty good, but the best part was the itinerary (back-to-back eastern/western Mediterranean). Couldn't find any other cruise line that offered all of the ports we wanted. We've cruised once on Princess (the Crown) and did that one because the price was right and we'd never been to Curacao or Aruba. It was ok, but I'm not in a hurry to try Princess again. Our next family cruise might be a British Isles trip next year, so the itinerary (not the ship or line) will win out again.

We continue to cruise with Royal because we enjoy their product- food, entertainment, overall ship, etc. Plus Diamond perks are nice. RCI Visa card keeps us coming back as well. Going on our 5th free cruise in 13 years this summer. :)

Ummm... I think maybe RCI needs to hire you to write some reviews for them. :D

LOVED reading your review and looking at all of the pictures. We were on the Freedom in 2014 and hubby and I will be returning this July- just the two of us! Darling Daughter, who is a bit older than Jelly ;), will be heading to Governor's School (we're from NC) for 6 weeks this summer so she'll miss out on a super fun trip.

Hope you have a blast on Oasis next year. We were on the Allure in '11 and loved it. Would really love to take my parents and brother on it as well as my dad and brother are engineers and would marvel at the ship from the engineering POV, I believe.

Thanks again for such an entertaining and informative review! :)

We'll be going on Liberty's sister ship Freedom in July. I'll have to ask for a lava flow. We went to Maui for our honeymoon back in '94 where I had my first one. Took several trips back to Maui before I got dear hubby hooked on cruising in '02. Haven't been to Maui/Hawaii since '04, so no lava flows since then. Never thought to ask for one on a cruise! Loving your review... great pix!:)

We went on the Freedom in July of 2014 and have another trip on her this July as well. Try not to go in with "preconceptions" based on other people's feelings. If you go in expecting bad food and worn furnishings, you're sure to find them. I really only ever read the reviews to look for information about times/days of activities/shows, menus, excursion information, etc. Two people can go on the same ship, experience the same exact things, eat the same food, and come out with two completely different types of reviews. Do things on the ships get worn out sometimes? Yes. Can they replace everything every week? No. It still amazes me how good these ships DO look knowing the amount of passengers that sail them weekly (and how some passengers treat the ship :eek:). Just my two cents (or maybe 3). :) Whatever you do, ENJOY your vacation!!! :):):)

They are currently running a 30% off every guest, every ship for Caribbean, Europe and Alaska (from 2/16-4/3). Are they adding OBC and reduced deposit? I rebooked my current cruise on Monday. Cruise price went down but I lost $100 OBC. Already had reduced deposit. Are WOW sales usually only for *specific* sailings/ships or do all apply? Just wondering if I need to rebook again in a few days. ;)