Liberty review - Western, Feb. 7 - with photos

[Badlands99]

[quote name='cat18']badlands99 - what fun reading your review. Thanks so much! We are on the same route 3/21, and will be doing the wave runner excursion also. Is there anyway to keep a bag with a towel, and a few small items dry on this excursion? We will be spending the afternoon shopping, etc, and it would be nice to be able to change. Thanks in advance![/QUOTE]

I envy you! You're just a month away from a great cruise. That's a good feeling. Much better than the "I wish I were still there" feeling I'm currently basking in.

On our excursion we took a couple of bags with a change of clothes, towels, etc. We couldn't take the bags with us on the Sea Doo, but there was a place at the resort where we could stash that stuff. There IS a small compartment on the Sea Doo, but it's not exactly waterproof and it wouldn't hold our bags anyway.

Be sure to pack some Tylenol to help you recover from your beating. Oh, and water shoes are helpful if you have some. Flip flops would work too, but the area where we got onto the Sea Doo was a bit rough and rocky for bare feet.

Have a great time!

[Badlands99]

This was the first time I've seen these things on a ship...

[IMG]http://michaelsmojo.com/liberty_selects/IMG_2210.jpg[/IMG]


My initial reaction was "hey look, a touchscreen!" and I poked it a couple of times, but I soon realized I had no real use for these devices. And based on my observations during the week, nobody else had any use for them either. I guess most people are like me, in that after you've walked around the ship for an hour, you don't really need help finding your destinations.

As long as they have those guides/maps labeled "forward, port" and "aft, starboard" etc. on every deck near the stairs, that's all anyone needs to get around.

So, it was a nice thought RCCL, but these things have very little utility. Maybe you could modify them to dispense hot buttered popcorn, then people would start using them.

[amybeth4]

[quote name='Badlands99']This was the first time I've seen these things on a ship...

My initial reaction was "hey look, a touchscreen!" and I poked it a couple of times, but I soon realized I had no real use for these devices. And based on my observations during the week, nobody else had any use for them either. I guess most people are like me, in that after you've walked around the ship for an hour, you don't really need help finding your destinations.

As long as they have those guides/maps labeled "forward, port" and "aft, starboard" etc. on every deck near the stairs, that's all anyone needs to get around.

So, it was a nice thought RCCL, but these things have very little utility. Maybe you could modify them to dispense hot buttered popcorn, then people would start using them.[/QUOTE]

I agree. I thought they were cool but I didn't even touch one. They're right by the great 3D layout of the ship, which is all you need!

[kcsunsh1ne]

Thank you so much for your review! My husband and I are cruising on the Liberty leaving on March 14th. I have never been on a cruise before and I am excited and nervous. Your review has put so much of my nervousness to rest. This is really awesome!

[Badlands99]

When we were in Belize and Cozumel we investigated the little pharmacias to see if they happened to have any of the prescription meds that we take. They have lots of popular medicines. For some drugs they had both brand name and generic, for some they had just the brand name, and for some they had just the generic.

In our case, they didn't have any of our "regular" meds, although I was told that they'd have Crestor "in a few weeks." It would have been great to buy some of that, because it's more expensive than unicorn tears here in NC.

Anyway, my wife bought some Retin-A for dirt cheap. The last tube she bought, after paying for a doctors visit, was $40 for a tiny tube. In Cozumel, she got 5 tubes (4 in the original strength, and 1 that was more concentrated), each WAY bigger than that last tube she had, for a total of $51. Plus they gave her a nice souvenir beach bag to carry it all in. She was just giddy over that purchase. That would have probably cost $450 from our local pharmacy.

She also picked up some Fioricet, which she takes as needed for the occasional killer migraine. I think it was $20 for 40 tablets.

It's nice to be able to save a few dollars on stuff like this while on a cruise, but it kinda pisses me off that our meds at home are so much more expensive for the same exact stuff. It's a stunning reminder that we in the U.S. subsidize the cost of medical care for much of the rest of the world by paying such high prices. I've read that it's because other countries refuse to allow any R&D costs to be included in the price of drugs. How nice.


[IMG]http://michaelsmojo.com/liberty_2010/resources/images/medium/IMG_0219.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://michaelsmojo.com/liberty_2010/resources/images/medium/IMG_0220.jpg[/IMG]

[coolsky]

Great review, i will be sailing on Mariner in June, which is like the Libertys little brother.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Wow!! Fantastic review and pictures, love your humour and very well written, I have been glued to it. Thanks for sharing, I would say the best review I have read so far.:)

[sealeggs]

Badland's, great review. We will be on this Ship May 23rd. We can hardly wait. It will have been 2 years since we last cruised. We have the itch so bad, and your review only fueled that itch lol. Thanks again for the review.


Sealeggs

[subtchr]

[quote name='Badlands99']Hello.
Unfortunately I'm back at home and do not have access to the current Cruise Compasses. I posted the only ones I have.[/quote]

Badlands, you are jeopardizing your self-proclaimed "miserable bastard" status with this patient and tolerant response. ;)

Thanks for a GREAT review. The pictures are terrific and your sense of humor is refreshing.

Start planning your next cruise so we can all enjoy another badlands review!

Sue

[Venusleo1]

Loved your review and I am not even sailing on your ship or that itinerary any time in the near future but I really enjoyed reading all of your funny comments and it really helped get me through the last hour here at the office.
I almost got in trouble though when I started cracking up laughing at the female reproductive system!!! Funniest thing ever!!!! PERIOD!

[jlovely]

[quote name='Venusleo1']Funniest thing ever!!!! PERIOD![/quote]


Ok I laughed out loud on this comment...while it might not have been intended as a bad pun...I took it as one :eek:

[Venusleo1]

[quote name='jlovely']Ok I laughed out loud on this comment...while it might not have been intended as a bad pun...I took it as one :eek:[/QUOTE]

OHh gosh that so wasn't my intention!!!!! LOL (crawling into a ball of embarassment!)

[castle701]

Best Review I have ever read - Thanks so much for taking the time... Our family leaves on April 4th!

[jlovely]

[quote name='Venusleo1']OHh gosh that so wasn't my intention!!!!! LOL (crawling into a ball of embarassment!)[/quote]

haha! don't be embarrassed! it goes along with the great review! :)

[chrisandjohn]

Hi Badlands,

I too am enjoying your review. Beautiful pictures, great writing, what more can you ask for. We will be on the Liberty 3/21. It is our third time on this ship, but our first with this iternary.

I am looking to get some Nexium which I take for acid reflux. My insurance here has discontinued to provide coverage for this. I have taken this for over three years and it is the only thing that helps me with reflux. And for this I pay 500.00 monthly! Insurance, I mean. Anyway, I noticed on your pictures you have quite a list of drugs that are available in Mexico and I was thrilled to see Nexium is one of them(and cheaper than my co-pay was to get them here!)

However, both places where you said you shopped for them, we have excursions booked!! Cozumel is a full day outing, while in Belize I think it might just be 5 or 6 hours. Is this pharmacy easy to find? We will be doing the cave-tubing.com thing. Is it close to that? Any info you can help me with will be much appreciated. Thank you.

Christine

[Badlands99]

[quote name='Venusleo1']the female reproductive system!!! Funniest thing ever!!!! PERIOD![/QUOTE]

How DARE you sully my discussion with such unsanitary remarks!!
Everything was flowing just fine until YOU came along and cramped it all up!!

Did I take it too far?

:D

[Badlands99]

[quote name='chrisandjohn']Hi Badlands,

I too am enjoying your review. Beautiful pictures, great writing, what more can you ask for. We will be on the Liberty 3/21. It is our third time on this ship, but our first with this iternary.

I am looking to get some Nexium which I take for acid reflux. My insurance here has discontinued to provide coverage for this. I have taken this for over three years and it is the only thing that helps me with reflux. And for this I pay 500.00 monthly! Insurance, I mean. Anyway, I noticed on your pictures you have quite a list of drugs that are available in Mexico and I was thrilled to see Nexium is one of them(and cheaper than my co-pay was to get them here!)

However, both places where you said you shopped for them, we have excursions booked!! Cozumel is a full day outing, while in Belize I think it might just be 5 or 6 hours. Is this pharmacy easy to find? We will be doing the cave-tubing.com thing. Is it close to that? Any info you can help me with will be much appreciated. Thank you.

Christine[/QUOTE]

Hi Christine,
Thanks for the comments!

You have nothing to worry about. You should have no problem at all picking up a bucket of nexium. All the pharmacias we saw were right at the port. There was at least one at the Belize port, and at least two at the Cozumel port. You've got to walk right through there anyway, so as long as you've got ten minutes to spare, you'll be fine.

For what it's worth, the store where I photographed those signs was operated by a pharmacist from the states, with a pharmacy license from Louisiana. She could very well be full of crap about that, but she sure seemed knowledgeable about the meds I was looking for. I only mention this because I never expect the people in these stores to know much about drugs. They don't have to be licensed or anything. Anybody can open a drug store there. It's just like buying shampoo or toothpaste. So it was refreshing, and maybe a bit strange, to find a real live druggist.

Have a great cruise!

[SHERRIFL]

enjoyed your review. How was your weather in Cozumel? We leave in 2 wks. on the Freedom. How was the water temp at Nochi?

[Badlands99]

[quote name='SHERRIFL']enjoyed your review. How was your weather in Cozumel? We leave in 2 wks. on the Freedom. How was the water temp at Nochi?[/QUOTE]

Thanks for reading!

The weather when we were in Cozumel was nearly perfect. I'd call it "mostly sunny" as the occasional cloud did block the sun at times. It was warm, with a nice soft breeze. The water was a tad cool at first, but not uncomfortably so. That was pretty darn close to a perfect beach day for us.

When you say "we leave in 2 weeks," can I take that to mean that includes me? :)
What stateroom are we staying in? :D

[Badlands99]

I don't expect this to amuse anyone here as much as I've amused myself with it, but I thought I'd show it to you anyway.

I like to make a handful of contact cards to give to people we meet on cruises (the ones we like, at least). This time, I made them with a bastardization of two logos. I'm sure I'm not the only one to notice that the Royal Caribbean logo looks a bit like one of the logos from the Transformers toy/cartoon/movie series, because it's just too obvious.


[IMG]http://michaelsmojo.com/liberty_selects/contactcard_cc.jpg[/IMG]


This design doesn't really "work." With the cruising crowd at least. More often than not, when people see it they don't even notice that the crown and anchor has been replaced with a Transformer, and to make things worse, it seems like everyone misreads the text. People look at the card and say "Royal deception?" At which point I have to say "NO NO NO. It's Decep-TI-CON. You know, from Transformers!? The bad guys? No?" And then I snatch my card away from them, stomp off into a corner, and cry. (Don't you people watch movies? What's wrong with you!?)

Aside from the failed design concept, I was impressed at how close I was to the look of RCCL's logo. At one point I held one of these cards up to compare it to the giant logo on the side of the ship, and the shape and colors were just about nailed.

[airlink diva]

"But I quickly dismissed all of that when I learned that this man served in the US Army in World War II, at the Battle of the Bulge, which was the biggest and deadliest battle any American was in during that war.

I felt like I was dining with royalty when I learned that. This was the first evening of the cruise, and I would have eagerly traded the rest of my cruise for a series of candid chats with this gentleman. I consider people like this to be national treasures and I was very honored to be seated at the same table."

Like you, I consider both times that I sailed with World War II vets as one of the major highlights of all of my cruises.
I sailed with Nick in 2006. He was a paratrooper during the battle of Normandy. For two nights at dinner we were the last to leave out of the dining room listening to Nick tell about his service time.
In 2008, I sailed with Ron, he was in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was in the battle of Britain and also few missions over Europe. He was shot down and made it back safe due to the resistance. He then was transferred to the Pacific theater. He was captured and became a "Guest of the Emperor". On formal nights, Ron wore his medals to dinner.
One thing that both said that still ring with me is how both wonder how they lived when so many others around them died. Ron stated when he went back to visit one of the graveyard was how young many were they died.
Ron stated he used to speak in schools about the war, but he stop about five years ago because the kids today don't want to hear about it.
Like you, it was a honor to sail with them. There are so few WW II vets around and to hear first hand accounts is something that I will never forget.

[Badlands99]

[quote name='airlink diva']Like you, I consider both times that I sailed with World War II vets as one of the major highlights of all of my cruises.
I sailed with Nick in 2006. He was a paratrooper during the battle of Normandy. For two nights at dinner we were the last to leave out of the dining room listening to Nick tell about his service time.
In 2008, I sailed with Ron, he was in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was in the battle of Britain and also few missions over Europe. He was shot down and made it back safe due to the resistance. He then was transferred to the Pacific theater. He was captured and became a "Guest of the Emperor". On formal nights, Ron wore his medals to dinner.
One thing that both said that still ring with me is how both wonder how they lived when so many others around them died. Ron stated when he went back to visit one of the graveyard was how young many were they died.
Ron stated he used to speak in schools about the war, but he stop about five years ago because the kids today don't want to hear about it.
Like you, it was a honor to sail with them. There are so few WW II vets around and to hear first hand accounts is something that I will never forget.[/QUOTE]

Wow. What fantastic memories.
Thank you for sharing that.

I really wish I had been able to spend that much time with "my" Veteran. I only sat with him and his wife for dinner on one evening and I didn't have the courage to ask him any questions or to ask for any of his time while he was on vacation. I was afraid I'd upset or embarrass him or something. All I could muster was something along the lines of "Thank you for your service. It was an honor to meet you." and the like.

After dinner, seeing that I was totally star struck, my wife said I should go ask him if he'd mind talking for a bit. In hindsight, I wish I would have. But I was torn between bothering him and honoring him. At the time, I felt it would be selfish of me to ask for any of his time.

And to think Ron said "kids don't want to hear about it." It doesn't bother me so much that kids don't want to hear about it, but it hurts me to think that Ron might have gotten the impression that he is less valued.

These guys should be carried around in gold-plated limousines while adoring fans feed them grapes by hand (when they're not cruising, of course).

[Mollypuss]

[quote name='Badlands99']How DARE you sully my discussion with such unsanitary remarks!!
Everything was flowing just fine until YOU came along and cramped it all up!!

Did I take it too far?

:D[/QUOTE

Nicely done! Been enjoying your review. We are sailing on her in April...with all of my in-laws. Wish Cozumel were our first stop.....those Xanax would come in handy.

[subtchr]

[quote name='Mollypuss']

Nicely done! Been enjoying your review. We are sailing on her in April...with all of my in-laws. Wish Cozumel were our first stop.....those Xanax would come in handy.[/quote]

Molly, this cracked me up...if I had to cruise with my in-laws, I'd have to make sure I did not have a balcony so I couldn't jump...:rolleyes:

Until you can find the xanax, keep the DODs coming! And it's a big ship, hopefully you can find spots where noone can find you...:p

[CheyCiara]

[quote name='Badlands99']Hey, thanks for reading and thanks for the comments![/quote]

Badlands, you are my new hero! I'm taking my very first cruise in 3 months aboard the Liberty of the Seas so I was psyched to see your photos and read your reviews. Thank you so much for taking the time to post it all! What a beautiful ship! I can't wait for May 30th!!