KelJ

How did your older sons and daughter like the nightlife on board? How was catacombs?

Our DD22 thought Catacombs was "creepy". LOL! She usually hung around with her father and me but also spent a good bit of time popping in and out of various bars trying different drinks and getting her money's worth on her drink package. The three of them went to Matt Yee with us one of the nights. Other than that, I think they were mostly in the casino in the evenings.

I just got off Freedom with my 15yo son, and I only saw him a few times all week long.

 

Based on advice I'd seen here, he went to the teen club the first night, met a bunch of other teens, and they all hung out together all week long.

 

Sometimes they did the group activities (there is a separate time for teens to use the skating rink, for example, plus the previously mentioned scavenger hunt, etc.), and sometimes they just hung out in the Living Room (teen-only area) or the pool/hot tub, and they danced in the teen nightclub every night (he's bummed now that we're home, because there is no such thing as "night life" for a 15yo on land!).

 

The key is to head to the teen area the first night to meet other people... if he does that, he'll never be bored (until 1am when curfew kicks in and Deck Patrol makes him return to his stateroom!).

This sounds exactly like our 16-year-old son on the June 4th Liberty sailing. He went to the teen club the first night and made friends, and after that we barely saw him except while in port and except at dinner every night (family rule).

We arrive at Merigot. There are a ton of little shop tables with dresses, shirts, carved items, bags, jewelry and all kinds of other items.

 

 

 

 

 

Tanya eventually gets a great deal on a couple of dresses and a matching bag. Of course, I was scoping out the area for the most interesting photos I could, but we only have an hour, so I have so balance between the best photos, following my wife around as she shops and taking a quick look at the interesting buildings in the area. We found a ritzy mall (the yellow building behind the red boat) and took a quick peek inside. The mall itself was very small and the stores were even smaller. Most of the merchandise was very expensive clothing, shoes and snooty items. Certainly nothing in our price range.

 

 

This is one of my favorite photos ...

 

 

 

 

 

Sarafina’s Pasty Shop is in that area and we head over there last. We walked and talked with another couple we met that came in on their own boat and were there just for Sarafina’s. Low and behold, we find it’s closed because it’s Tuesday and they are always closed on Tuesday. They had mentioned Sarafina's was "world renowned" and were quite upset that it was closed. We reluctantly went done to another pastry shop only a few shops down and they really did not have much of a selection of anything. It was getting late in the day and Junior had mentioned most stores and shops close around 5pm, so that pastry shop was probably just selling the last they had before they closed. A matter of fact, I do remember the shopkeepers with the stands starting to pack up as we left that area. Another couple on the bus was furious that Sarafina’s was closed. This was the second time they cruised to St. Martin and the pastry shop had been closed both times. “I am never coming back here again!” the wife exclaimed.

 

 

We got back on the bus again for the last leg of our tour.

We did Bernard's tours the same day. Our guide was Mailman. He told us that Sarafina's would be closed and recommended another French bakery, La Suceriere, just a few doors down. It was excellent!

How was Sorrentos (deck 5)? I've read that is it not very good, at least for the pizza.

I'm glad to hear there is a Diamond Lounge. Did it have the cappuccino machine?

The Diamond Lounge did have the cappuccino machine. The first time we popped in, it was broken. We didn't go there there every day, but the next we were there it seemed to be fixed.

Interested in hearing more about the free champagne and strawberries. Hubby and I are both Diamond and all we received was a can of Coke, water and some cookies! According to the Crown and Anchor benefits page, this seems to be the standard Diamond welcome aboard gift. Could your travel agent or a kind friend or relative arranged for the other goodies?

I made our reservations over the phone with a random RCCL representative back in August. At that time, he told me we'd be receiving champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries as a thank you for booking with him. I had forgotten about it, but I had made note of it. When reviewing my cruise file a week or so before the cruise, I saw the notation and thought, well, that will never happen. Lo and behold, they were in the cabin when we got there!

We had another cabin with two diamond members in it (two of our kids, one of whom was an adult), and they received the bag of cookies and four bottles of water...but no strawberries.

On our seven-night cruise two years ago, two of our cabins had diamond members in them and both cabins received chocolate-covered strawberries as well.

Nice review. Thanks for posting it.

 

Your comments about your issues with the dining room have me a little concerned. We're on this cruise next month with our DGS, who has multiple severe food allergies. We take cruise vacations specifically because in the past the wait and kitchen staffs have been so great in handling them. Can you expand a little on the type of problems you had and how you finally resolved them.

Our issues with our MDR staff had nothing to do with anyone having special dietary needs, fortunately. Our staff was horrendously slow, inattentive, didn't follow through with requests, often brought incorrect items, often never asked if we wanted drinks, took my bottle of wine to open and chill and never brought it back. We finally had to go look for it, found it on a counter unopened and unchilled, and this was in the middle of the main course!

This is the OP. I forgot to mention in my review that we saw the ice show on Day 4, and it was wonderful!

Which day was the champagne brunch? When could you make reservations, and was it a buffet or served brunch?

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The brunch was the last 2 sea days. We went on the last day. We made the reservation the day before the brunch. The food was set up as a buffet. The waiters came around and offered you more champagne or mimosa, coffee or tea.

 

Loralie

The Portofino galley tour and brunch was also offered on Day 4, as that's when we did it. Once on board, just call or stop in Portofino to inquire and make the reservation. We noticed it in a separate flyer within the compass and called to make the reservation. I believe the tour started at 11:00 a.m., with brunch to follow. The meal is buffet.

Thank you so much!

 

Also, you only need a BC and DL for this cruise, no passport, right?

We were on this sailing as well. There were six of us. Three of us have passports. Three of us used BC and DL.

Great review! I was on the same cruise!

Yes....Lois & Larry....wish I had known who you were then!

Did you request a particular size table? Were you traveling with others? Did you know any of the other 12 people? We assumed you all were traveling together. I don't think I've ever seen such a big table set up in the MDR.

Here are two of our "formal" photos taken in the MDR. Nothing screams formal like SpongeBob lips!

Thanks for the review. I think I will try Portofino brunch. Do you know if they had a kids rate or if no kids are allowed? My 8 year old son loves lamb chops.

I didn't see a child's rate listed, but I'm almost positive there was a child in our group. I'd call or stop at Portofino and inquire as to the days they are offering the brunch and as to whether there is a kids' rate. The lamb chops were delicious...and all you could eat!

We were in the MDR, early seating at table 314...a table of 14 (which we did NOT request) and I believe our waiter was also Savio...but our assistant was an oriental gal whose name began with an M...so maybe they weren't the same servers, however, the service was near awful as we barely got out of the diningr oom before close to 8:30. We did complain as well, and the head Maitre'd did attempt to help, but it rarely happened. The servers also got our dessert orders incorrect most of the time...but the people at our table were nice and the rest of the trip was lovely!

Larry, right? You were right beside us and had the same servers we did.

When did you reserve the brunch for Portofino's? This is the first I've heard of this tour and brunch.

We reserved it the day before we did it. It was offered twice, the day we did it and I believe day 9.

How much time (and was that to your liking) did you get at Orient beach? We did Bernard's public tour in 2011 and loved it. In 2012 they added another "photo stop" and cut the time at Orient to a photo stop of its own. That said, if you can get 6 or more people you can do your own tour with them. I do know for the aviation enthusiasts at Maho they do know when the biggest planes arrive and when to get you back to the ship. I do recommend Bernards, but curious as to how it's going today.

As I recall, we had 90 minutes at Orient. Our tour wasn't the length of their typical tour because we had a short port stop.

And I stand corrected. We didn't have a private tour. It was a group tour. I used the term "private" to differentiate between a ship-sponsored excursion and one that we booked on our own.

LIBERTY OF THE SEAS, 6-4-15 TO 6-13-15

DH and I and four of our children attended (DS16, DS20, DS22, DD22). We were in three cabins (7408 E1, 3314 H, 3316 H). This was my tenth cruise, DH's fourth cruise, DS20's seventh cruise, and the second cruise for the other three children, all on Royal Caribbean. Four of us are diamond, two are gold. Until now, the largest ship we had been on was Voyager class.

Captain: James McDonald

Cruise Director: Luke Aerowsmith

6-4-15 (Day 1) Port Liberty

After a five-hour drive, we arrived at the port at 11:40 a.m., unloaded luggage and parked the car. After going through security, we got into the Diamond line (which was very short, though other lines were very long). We checked in, got our seapass photos taken, walked directly onboard, bought some drink packages and were in the Windjammer by 12:30 p.m.

After lunch, we checked out our table for early seating in the MDR. We were assigned to the third floor Rembrandt dining room at table 315, a table for six as requested. Cabins were now available, so we checked out our cabins and the huge 7408 balcony. There was champagne on ice, chocolate-covered strawberries, a bag of cookies, two Diet Cokes and two bottled waters waiting for us in our cabin!

Luggage arrived in a timely fashion. Harold was our room steward, who did a wonderful job all week bringing us towels twice a day and keeping ice in our ice bucket and in our wine bucket twice a day. We averaged a towel animal every other night.

We mustered, set sail a little early and were able to enjoy sailing under the Verrazano Bridge prior to dinner (though it was a very cold and windy day).

We attended dinner in the MDR. Our waiter was Savio, and our assistant waiter was Yuanyuan Liu. Unfortunately, the entire week we had the worst MDR wait staff I have yet to encounter in ten cruises. On I believe Day 3 or 4 we got the head waiter involved, who was attentive and very interested in our complaints and became a noticeable presence at our table, but there was still little improvement. On the contrary, Mavel, the bar server, was perhaps the best MDR bar server we've ever had. She couldn't have been more attentive or more friendly.

We did not attend the Welcome Aboard Show. We visited the casino, a nightly tradition.

6-5-15 (Day 2) Sea Day and Formal Night

We ordered room service for breakfast and along with orange juice and had mimosas with our free champagne. It was cold and rainy in the morning but got nicer in the afternoon. We attended the Meet & Mingle in Oliver or Twist and participated in our roll call's slot pull. I purchased an internet package ($20/day for one device, less $39.95 diamond discount). We explored the ship.

We missed the captain's welcome-aboard reception because we were at trivia and messed up the timing. We did not attend In the Air tonight, an oversight. We attended Matt Yee's Outrageous Adult Sing-a-Long Show in the Schooner Bar. Be sure to see him once.

6-6-15 (Day 3) Bermuda

We had room service for breakfast again. It rained all morning, and I was thankful that we had purchased rain ponchos at the Dollar Tree prior to the trip. We walked to the glass-blowing and rum cake factory and enjoyed eating samples and watching the glass workers and made a few purchases. We wandered around for a while and ended up at the Frog and Onion for drinks and appetizers and then headed back to the ship. The afternoon was sunny, and we never saw rain again for the balance of the cruise.

We attended the show in the Platinum Theatre, Illusionist Jason Bishop, which was very enjoyable.

6-7-15 (Day 4) Sea Day

DH and I attended the galley tour and Portofino brunch. This is a must do! It was offered twice on our cruise. For $15/person, the Portofino manager gave us a tour of the third-floor galley, and then we had a wonderful brunch buffet in Portofino featuring eggs Benedict, lamb chops, steak, and many other items and desserts, and unlimited mimosa. We were also given a coupon to receive dinner on Day 5 at a discounted $17.50/person.

We did not attend the welcome back reception, as it coincided with our brunch. We watched the men's bellyflop contest on the pool deck. We did not attend the headliner show (Savannah Jack) tonight.

6-8-15 (Day 5) St. Maarten

I think we had breakfast in the main dining room. We had booked a private tour with Bernard's Tours, and I highly recommend it. We went to Maho Beach to see the airplanes, Orient Beach, a shopping area (great French bakery!) and a few photo stops in between. We were in an air-conditioned van, and there was free cold beer, rum punch (crazy strong), soda and water throughout the trip. At Orient Beach, for $10 you get two lounge chairs, an umbrella and two rum punches. Our guide was Mailman, and we received an informative tour of both the Dutch and French sides of the island.

DH and I ate dinner at Portofino, and the kids ate at the Windjammer as we boarded too late to eat in the MDR. We did not attend the show (musical impressionist Greg London) tonight.

6-9-15 (Day 6) San Juan

We walked to San Cristobal Fort and explored there, and then we stopped in Senor Frog's for drinks and to cool off, as it was an extremely hot day.

We attended the top tier event in the Sphinx Lounge before dinner. Tonight we enjoyed the solarium hot tub and pool, although none of the four pool bars were open, which we thought was ridiculous. At the same time lots of people were watching the NBA finals at the pool area with nowhere close to find a drink.

6-10-15 (Day 7) Labadee

This was a very hot beach day. DS16 did the waterslide. The buffet was okay and was not crowded as they set it up in three places.

Tonight we attended Saturday Night Fever. The singing and dancing were quite good, but the blonde who played Annette (I think) did not have a good voice at all and we were wondering if she were perhaps the understudy. We attended Quest tonight in Studio B.

6-11-15 (Day 8) Sea Day and Formal Night

DH and I played mini golf. We visited the diamond lounge before dinner, which was very crowded so we had to sit in the outdoor area. Tonight was lobster night.

6-12-15 (Day 9) Sea Day

DH and I had breakfast in the Windjammer for the first time this trip. I took photos of DH and two of the kids doing the Flowrider and of one doing the rock wall.

We put our luggage out tonight and then relaxed in the solarium pool. Again, no pool bars were open.

6-13-15 (Day 10) Cape Liberty

We had an early breakfast in the main dining room and then proceeded to the Deck 5 dining room (Crown and Anchor area) to wait to be called. Our kids had Number 8 (estimated departure 8:10 to 8:20 a.m.), and DH and I had Number 35 (estimated departure 9:15 to 9:30 a.m.). There was some significant delay, though no explanations were being provided. At approximately 10:00 a.m. they called all numbers up through 32. We all exited at this point, thinking we'd retrieve the kids' luggage and then wait for ours. Luckily, all luggage was ready. The immigration lines were long but moved very quickly.

Comments:

DH had ultimate drink package. DD22 had the premiere package, but didn't purchase it until Day 5. DS16 had the royal replenish drink package. No one experienced problems getting drinks. There was an amazing bartender at the casino bar, though his name escapes me. There was also a wonderfully friendly bartender in the Hoof and Claw, Stephanie, who mixed a fantastic Cherry Orchard, probably my favorite drink on the ship. Sorrento's has good sangria too.

We carried on six bottles of wine, all in one bag, expecting to have to break them down to two per cabin when going through security. The bag of six bottles went through security with no questions asked. I also had two bottles of wine in one of my checked bags. This bag was delivered to our stateroom, thus no naughty room retrieval. I took a bottle of wine to dinner each night, except the night we ate in Portofino.

We played trivia in the Schooner Bar daily before dinner and once in On Air. Trivia was very popular on this cruise.

DS22 and DH played in tournaments such as blackjack and Texas hold 'em. DD22 was chosen to be in a slot tournament. You accumulate points in the slot machines when you insert your seapass card. My card and DH's card only worked in the machines half the time. Eventually they made us each a new white card to use only in the slots. We didn't get much for the points…keychains, $5 or $10 credit, but it's something to make you feel like you lost a little less! This may be the first cruise where I never played bingo.

DS16 went to the teen program the first night and found friends to run around with the entire cruise.

We used a lot of our preloaded diamond coupons for internet, Johnny Rockets, black jack tournament, BOGO wine, free pictures and free spin to win. Having three drinks loaded on the diamond cards each night from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. was very nice.

Two cabins had OBC attached to them, which was visible on the second day.

Sorrento's, Promenade Café and Cupcake Cupboard were very popular. Ben and Jerry's seemed rarely busy. The decorating classes at Cupcake Cupboard were very popular as well. Our kids enjoyed Johnny Rockets.

Our cabin (7408) had poor air conditioning, as did many public areas on the ship.

Overall we had a wonderful time. Feel free to ask any questions. :D

Picture 4:

It's only letting me upload on picture at a time. Picture 3:

Picture 2:

Here are photos from last week:

I am on Liberty now. Selfie sticks are abundant. Haven't witnessed any problems.

On Labadee right now. All-aboard is in ten minutes. They sell snorkel equipment. We brought our own. Not great but still fun!

Edit to add: Looking at excursion brochure. There is a "Labadee Speedboat and Snorkel" offered for an hour and 30 minutes.

Bernard's tours for sure

Hmm...our Bernard's tour guide two days ago was Milkman. Coincidence?!

Edit to add: Never mind! His name was Mailman!

We just used Bernard's two days ago & I highly recommend them. They are very professional and informative, use nice air-conditioned buses and vans, and offer free beverages the whole time (alcoholic & nonalcoholic). They have two different tours to pick from, or you can book a private tour customized to your desires. I will definitely use Bernard's again.