Royal Caribbean - Liberty of the Seas

[SmartShea]

Hi everyone!

 

I'm new to the boards and to cruises! My boyfriend and I are going on the Liberty of the Seas on Jan. 31 (15 days!) and we are both very excited. We are both new to cruising and would like some advice. One of our stops was Labadee and we had an excursion and I canceled it. Has anyone been there since the disaster? Should I not have canceled?

We both are also worried about sea sickness. Does anyone have any advice? Bonine or Dramamine help?

 

Also is it worth it to pay for specialty restaurants or are the regular dining rooms good? Any hot spots for two 25 year olds on this ship?

 

Thanks for any help!!

[Desert Cruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic, if you haven't joined your Roll Call here is the Link to the Thread. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=933745&page=15

I can't speak for the Liberty of the Seas, but we have found the MDR's to serve very good food on our cruises on other RCL ships. Food is subjective as each ship has their own chef and cooks. I would meet up with your fellow cruisers from your Roll Call where you can receive some wonderful advice from those who have cruised alot.

[Watermanfunari]

Hi there, please come on over to the Roll Call boards, here is the link we have many of us Cruise Critics on this cruise. Go to the last page first and post and then if you have some time, go back to page one and read up on what you missed.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=933745

 

We booked Chops for one night hubby loves the steaks there.

 

We also have an excursion booked for hubby on Labadee, but will see what happens, if RCCL cancels they will reimburse us. So we did not cancel it ourselves.

 

After late dinner and after a show or Casino go to the Disco 3rd & 4th deck by the Theater and across from Schooners Bar. The DJ plays all the latest dance music there so is a fun night dancing and open to about 2am depending on how many people are in there. I forgot the name of the disco but just look it up on the deck plan.

Schooners Bar is a sing along bar if you like that and they also do trivia there.

 

And then after dancing head to the promanade and get a slice of pizza or sandwhich or desert then head off to bed.

 

On the Roll Call board we have a couple from Sweden that is in your age group, the rest of us range from 30's to 60's. We have about 40 people on the Roll Cal board.

 

Sea Sickness: you can get ginger pills from the health food store.

Or go to the Drs and get a behind the ear patch.

Dramaine or Bonnine pills over the counter.

Or eat the skin off of a green apple or ask the bar tender for a ginger ale soda.

You can buy wrist bands that help too, over the counter.

These all help alot of the people with seas sickness. Hope this helps you too.

 

Talk to you on the Roll Call boards.

 

Sue

[Cruiser-T]

The ship is massive, I doubt you will have any issues with sea sickness. In my opinion, both of the Specialty restaurants are worth it, we go to them on each cruise, the MDR is great, but the Specialty Restaurants are over the top wondeful - You can go the RCI website and book them on-line now or make a reservation as soon as you get onboard.

 

Don't worry about stuff to do, I doubt you will be able to make it to every bar for a drink! You will be amazed and overwhelmed (in a good way). Enjoy!

[QTMichele]

Hello and welcome to Cruise Critic!!! Is this your first cruise? (I only ask because I'm still "new" to cruises, even with a whopping 2 under my belt! lol) Regardless, the Freedom Class is incredible - I think it's perfect for all ages and interests. :) I'm just back from the Freedom (my first was on the Mariner of the Seas - a Voyager Class ship, very similar to Freedom, just a bit smaller). We had a fabulous time and everyone in our group was able to participate in activities that we thoroughly enjoyed. (I travelled with my 23 and 24 year old brother and sister.) Check out my review - the link is in my signature. :D

 

Many people think the ships are too big to cause much sea sickness - and they're usually right, but I would be prepared just in case. On the Mariner, we had 30 foot swells that really rocked the ship. On this cruise, our weather was crappy and the wind made it even worse. We had relative wind speeds of 60+ mph!!! Trust me, many people were feeling it and EVERYONE could HEAR it. Thankfully, my kids and I didn't get sick, but my mom and sister were feeling off because of it. I would suggest taking ginger tablets - starting a day or two before your cruise. Ginger won't make you groggy like the patches and pills can. Bring along pills if you are more sensitive, but know that you have to start using them BEFORE the signs of seasickness begin. :p

 

Have a fantastic cruise!!!

[judie43]

If you choose to take along some pills,to be on the safe side,I would suggest Bonine over Dramamine.....Dramamine can sometimes cause drowsiness....Bonine doesnt.

[bluegirlum]

Liberty is a great ship! Great choice! As for cancelling in Labadee, totally up to you. As you have probably seen, there are quite a few threads on this topic and people's opinions vary greatly as to whether RCI should even go there. I think that RCI had been saying that they were donating all proceeds from the Labadee stop, which I think included excursions, to the relief effort. When I was on Liberty in December, '08, I did the zipline in Labadee and it was amazing. But do what you feel comfortable with--you should not feel pressure either way!

 

As for seasickness, I get seasick easily and definitely felt Liberty rocking when seas were rough. On Majesty last month, which is much smaller, I used the combo of bonine and sea bands, and I felt great. I used to use the patch, but it made me so sleepy and if I drank, I was out cold. :( Start the bonine a few days before you go and you should be in good shape.

 

We went to Portofino on Liberty, as it was our 4th cruise with RCI and we get sick of the MDR pretty quickly. It was fantastic. We picked Portofino b/c you can get steaks, italian and other things. I got an amazing seafood skewer and bf got a great steak. We also ate dinner in the WJ two nights and in Johnny Rockets another night. The promenade area is great with a cafe and pizza and stuff.

 

As for nightlife, we're in our mid-30s and very boring, so we don't really go to shows and stay out late, as our cruises are really our together time ;) But there seemed to be quite a few people your age on the ship. I think whatever you want to do, you'll find it. Have a great time!!!

[Cruisebylandorsea]

LOS is the best RCI ship yet for me.

 

Portofinos is good, but we liked chops better. Check for promos when you board. One cruise they waived or reduced the booking fee the first night.

 

Labadee is 100 miles from Port-Au-Prince & was not affected by the earthquake as far as I know. You can probably re-book excursion on the ship. The island gets a port fee for the ship docking and RCI is participating in their own relief effort. Many crew are from Haiti.

[amybeth4]

I'm just curious as to why you canceled your excursion. If the ship is still going there, there's no reason to not do your excursion. I'd rebook it and, as someone says above, if they don't go to Labadee, you'll be refunded...

[MiniMom57]

If you are sensitive to motion, like I am, even the big ships can be a problem in rough seas. It hasn't stopped me from cruising though!! Bonine or less-drowsy Dramamine (which is the same medicine as Bonine) usually works for me. On our last cruise we had 2 very rough days, so I supplemented the pills with wrist bands, crackers, and ginger ale.

 

Here's hoping for seas like glass this time!!!! :p