Liberty of the Seas Review With Pics! 4/25-5/2

Hello everyone! I just returned from an excellent time aboard Liberty of the Seas and I wanted to share it with the boards. I hope you enjoy the review. Please feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to answer them all as quickly as possible.

We are Rick (33) and Amy (32). Married for 6 years and celebrated our anniversary during this cruise. We have a 13 month old (Ally) that Amy's mom was very happy to watch after while we took a much needed break!! This was our 4th cruise, 3rd with RCCL. We also had two friends Jason (33) and Chrissy (36) traveling with us.

Pre-Cruise:

We flew to Fort Lauderdale from Baltimore at 9a Friday morning the 24th. We had booked a flight on Airtran a few months prior for around $180 per person roundtrip. Not a bad price. We had a great flight and landed in FLL at around 11:20a. We had arranged a private van through Miami Tours and the driver was waiting for us at the baggage claim. We had used them on two other cruises and always have great service. The price of $260 includes both the trip to Miami, back to FLL the following week and tip. It is a bit pricey but great service and always on time.

The trip in to Miami took 30 minutes with a little downtown traffic. We had rooms booked at the Courtyard By Marriott on SE Second Avenue which is right around the corner (4 blocks) from the port. Upon arriving at the hotel at around 12p, we found out the rooms were not going to be ready until around 2p. No big deal. We walked over to Bayside (15 min walk) and had lunch at Hooters. My wife called it a "meat market", but our server was very good, the view (of the bay) was beautiful and the food was very good. A few drinks and a relaxing time was had by all.

View of the bay from Hooters in Bayside:

After lunch we walked back to the Marriott. The rooms were ready and we couldn't wait to check them out. At this point we were looking forward to a little nap before heading out for dinner. We were very pleased with the rooms. Amy and I had a king size pool-view. Price was around $200 for the night. The room was very nice. Awesome shower head with great water pressure.

Here is our room:

As I said, we looked forward to our nap which we wasted no time getting around to once in the room! We napped until 7:30p! After showers and a change of clothes, we left for dinner. We first stopped at the Miami Hyatt next door to the Mariott. We know a bartender there named Jimmy. If you stop in there to have dinner or a drink, tell Jimmy his cruise friends from Baltimore said hello! After a drink with Jimmy at the Hyatt, we walked over to Balans Restaurant around the corner from Tobbaco Rd. Great food and prices with sidewalk tables. Meal and drinks for 4 of us was around $75.

After Balans we walked back to the hotel and turned in for the night. We would begin our cruise adventure the following morning!

Day 1 on the way..

I'm waiting. We are leaving the 8th, arriving at FLL. and leaving on the 9th. on Liberty. We are staying at the Hilton Downtown.

Nice...now stop teasing...more please!:D

Day 1:

We woke up at around 7:30a and headed downstairs for breakfast. Typical hotel breakfast spread. Buffet style for around $12 per person. The food wasn't bad. We decided to call a cab around 10:30a to head to the ship. The cab ride to the port took all of 10 minutes and cost us $12 including tip. Our cab driver was hilarious and got our vacation off to a great start!

Liberty is an incredible ship. We had been on 2 Voyager-Class ships, but Liberty has a different look about her even though she isn't too much larger. We had a porter waiting by the curb who took our bags very quickly and we gave him $2 per bag. At around 11:00a, we walked in to the terminal. I couldn't believe that there was a few hundred people inside of the terminal at 11a! Even though it was packed, it didn't take that long. We waited for about 20 minutes before they started allowing people through the metal detectors. From there we checked in and received our Sea Pass cards. After receiving our cards, we were ushered in to another large room inside of the Terminal where we waited for boarding. We had priority boarding (JS) and waited about 10 minutes before we were led to the ship. We were aboard right around 11:40a.

After we had the welcome aboard photo taken (which we bought for $20) we headed to the dining room to check on our table location.

What an INCREDIBLE dining room!

We spent the next few hours exploring the ship and having lunch in the Windjammer. I tried the famous Honey Stung Chicken and was pleased.

R.P.

Our cabin was ready right at 1p and we couldn't wait to see our first Junior Suite! I can now safely say that I will never go back to anything but a JS!! What a killer stateroom with a FULL bathtub and walk-in closet!

Our stateroom #9638 (on the hump!)

Sweet Balcony!

After checking out our stateroom and meeting our room sterward Norman, we explored more and got ready for the mustar drill:

Norman: (The best cabin steward we have EVER had)

The rest of the afternoon was filled with a few drinks for sailaway at Sorento's with Rom the Bartender (Awesome) and more exploring.

We finished the eveing with the late seating in the dining room. I can honestly say that this was the most disappointing part of the trip. Our server made no effort to get to know any of us and the food was really sub-par. My wife had a steak that was literally like rubber. Not a huge deal, plenty of other places to eat on this ship which I will discuss in great detail! After dinner we all turned in for an early evening. Tomorrow would prove to be a much longer day..

Day 2 tomorrow!

A few more pics until Day 2 tomorrow...

Solarium Hot Tub

Centrum

Theater

Studio B

Main Pool

I am really enjoying your review and looking forward to the rest!

Lisa

I am really enjoying your review and looking forward to the rest!

 

Lisa

Thanks Lisa! I will complete Days 2 and 3 tonight!

I can't wait. Your review is great!

I'm enjoying your review. We're on the Liberty June 13 and we also have a js on the hump-9338-looks like your cabin but on the opposite side. Can't wait for the rest tonite.

I'm enjoying your review. We're on the Liberty June 13 and we also have a js on the hump-9338-looks like your cabin but on the opposite side. Can't wait for the rest tonite.

Our friends traveling with us had # 9338! Thanks for your comments!

I can't wait. Your review is great!

Thank you

Hey love to cruise---great review! Now you've got me wanting to upgrade my hump balcony on deck 9 to 9638 since it is available for my 50th birthday cruise on Liberty. Can you tell me what extras you got with the js and if you liked the location? Is the balcony that much bigger than a regular balcony stateroom? In your opinion would it be worth the extra thousand dollars I would be paying??? Thanks for any info you can provide!

My BIL & SIL were on the cruise with you. They had a fabulous time. Can't wait to read more of your review. Love the pictures!

I'm going on the Liberty next Saturday, and reading reviews make my stomach hurt with excitement, ha ha. Can't wait to hear/see more!

Thanks,

Erica

I'm going on the Liberty next Saturday, and reading reviews make my stomach hurt with excitement, ha ha. Can't wait to hear/see more!

 

Thanks,

Erica

Lucky you!! My stomach hurts from envy!!

Hello Rick,

This is Patti, the other half of your friend Bud from the ship. (St.Maarten). I have been enjoying your review and you have great pictures. It was a great cruise wasn't it?

Great review so far!

I'm ready for more!

Hey love to cruise---great review! Now you've got me wanting to upgrade my hump balcony on deck 9 to 9638 since it is available for my 50th birthday cruise on Liberty. Can you tell me what extras you got with the js and if you liked the location? Is the balcony that much bigger than a regular balcony stateroom? In your opinion would it be worth the extra thousand dollars I would be paying??? Thanks for any info you can provide!

Hi Keplerd!

In a word..Absolutely!! The balcony is bigger. We received priority boarding. There is a coffee maker in the room as well as "upgraded" shampoo / conditioner etc.. The walk-in closet makes a huge difference and you get robes to use. Also, the full tub is much better than the "space capsule" shower on lower category cabins!!

We have traveled in balcony cabins up until this point and the extra room is well worth the price jump for the JS!

Have a great time and Happy Birthday!!

My BIL & SIL were on the cruise with you. They had a fabulous time. Can't wait to read more of your review. Love the pictures!

Thanks Deb!

Hello Rick,

This is Patti, the other half of your friend Bud from the ship. (St.Maarten). I have been enjoying your review and you have great pictures. It was a great cruise wasn't it?

Hi Patti!! How are the cats? Tell Bud we said hello. What a great cruise and a fabulous time at the Blue B**** Bar in St Maartan!!

Great review so far!

 

I'm ready for more!

Thanks for following along Klass. I should have Days 2 and 3 completed by late this evening!

Hey love to cruise---great review! Now you've got me wanting to upgrade my hump balcony on deck 9 to 9638 since it is available for my 50th birthday cruise on Liberty. Can you tell me what extras you got with the js and if you liked the location? Is the balcony that much bigger than a regular balcony stateroom? In your opinion would it be worth the extra thousand dollars I would be paying??? Thanks for any info you can provide!

One I forgot..The hump location is perfect! Right around the corner from elevators and stairs. In addition, the placement of this cabin on the hump gives you a clear view both aft and forward!

Hey Rick, my review just got posted as well....not doing the pic thing though....you are brave!!!

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=54489

Hey Rick, my review just got posted as well....not doing the pic thing though....you are brave!!!

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=54489

Thanks!! I will check it out ;)

The pics are great! I'm thinking of doing a b2b on Liberty in 2011 so your review is proving very helpful. :D