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Liberty OTS, Eastern Caribbean - Review w/ Pictures

wgraves

By wgraves,
in Royal Caribbean International

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wgraves

wgraves

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CRUISE INFO

Sail Date: October 31st, 2010

Ship: RCI Liberty of the Seas

Ports: Philipsburg, St. Maarten; San Juan, Puerto Rico; San Juan, Bahamas

Click here to see all trip photos!

INTRODUCTION

To help make this review more beneficial to everyone, I thought I'd give a brief bio on myself so that you understand my perspective. This was my 9th cruise and 5th taken with Royal Caribbean. I would definitely consider myself to be a "Royal Loyal." I like the ships, the service, and the value for the dollar I receive when sailing RCI. I am 27, white-collar, and have been married for 5 years. I don't sweat the small stuff, and it'd take a pretty significant upset to put a bad spin on my vacation.

 

 

THE ONBOARD EXPERIENCE

The Ship Itself:

Having been on one of Liberty's sister ships, the Freedom of the Seas, only a year or so ago, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect from the Liberty, and she certainly didn't disappoint! The only significant difference I noticed was the art and decor, and I'd have to say I prefer the Freedom in that regard. I thought the promenade and the theatre were both more aesthetically pleasing on the Freedom, but the Liberty was certainly not lacking in beauty and style.

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Click any photo in this review to see a larger version!

 

The Captain:

This might not be worth giving its own heading to, but I wasn't sure where else to mention Captain Charles Teige, who deserves mentioning. Captain Charles, who greets passengers each morning with, "This is your captain Captain Charlies," much to passenger amusement, is second only to Captain Johnny on the Mariner in my mind. He was classy, personable, visible, and managed to keep passengers informed and at ease throughout the week's shaky itenerary due to Hurricane Tomas. If you find yourself on a ship with him at the helm, you'll be in good hands.

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Captain Charles Teige

Dining:

We went with My Time Dining for this cruise and had a great experience. Except for the two nights we had reservations in Portofino and Chops, we had standing MTD reservations for 6pm and always sat at a table for two, as requested online. It's probably worth mentioning that a "table for two" is typically six inches away from another table for two. But everyone seated nearby us was always polite and respectful of our privacy. Don't get me wrong - I'm not looking to be rude or anti-social. But a cruise is an "escape" for us, and we enjoy dining alone. The food in the MDR was average to great, and all of my favorites, such as the Vidalia Onion Tart (of which I ordered two), were as delicious as always. We were seated in the same general area each night and had the same wait staff throughout the week. They were friendly and got to know us quickly. We ran into our assistant waiter in port one day, and he went out of his way to walk over and say hello, ask about our day in port, etc. Considering this was during his limited time off, we appreciated the gesture, which seemed entirely genuine.

 

Our two favorite meals on cruises are always our dinners in Portofino and Chops. The food and service in Portofino was the best we've had to date. Both the beef carpaccio and the pan-seared tuna steak I ordered were incredibly good and beautifully prepared. It was the kind of meal where each bite had my eyes rolling back in my head. The DW didn't see an appetizer she really wanted, and they brought her a small portion of the pesto pasta entree instead, which she really appreciated and enjoyed. She had the t-bone steak as her entree, which was enormous, juicy, and perfectly cooked to her liking (medium-well). We both ordered the tiramisu, which is one of the best desserts in the known world, and not to be missed!

 

The Chops experience was good, but not on par with previous Chops experiences and certainly not the meal we had in Portofino. I had the star anise cured fish trio for my appetizer, which was good, but not anything to write home about. The DW got the onion soup, which was very good. We both ordered the fillet mignon, cooked medium. Both steaks came out a tiny bit rare for medium, which I was alright with. But the Mrs., who prefers her meat cooked a bit more, was wishing she'd ordered hers medium well. We were hungry and didn't bother sending them back or anything, but they weren't the flawlessly prepared steaks we were used to receiving in Chops. Something non-food related but worth mentioning, is the music in Chops. Every five minutes or so, the volume on the music would bounce between max volume and off. All of the waiters looked around embarrassingly when this happened, which throughout the two-hour dinner. We laughed it off, but a few guests nearby seemed far less patient with the issue. The wife ordered the mississippi mud pie for dessert and enjoyed it, and I had the apple pie, which was also very good.

 

Food in the windjammer was your typical buffet fare. My breakfast each morning was scrambled eggs, bacon, a pastry or two, orange juice, and if I was lucky, a Belgian waffle. This was the first cruise on which I've seen a chef making fresh Belgian waffles. They were GOOD. Unfortunately, they were so much better than everything else available, that people stood in line for them, and the cook couldn't make them fast enough. The few times I got them though, they were well-worth the wait. Coffee was pretty horrible if you're a real coffee drinker, and I usually went straight to Promenade Cafe after breakfast to top off my meal with a cup of good coffee. Lunch in the windjammer was hamburgers, sandwiches, salads, etc. I alternated between a cheeseburger and fries and healthier food, such as baked fish and veggies. It was nice that both greasy and healthy options were available. I can't really complain about food quality, since it is what I've come to expect in the Windjammer, and I could always go to the MDR for breakfast and lunch. But if I had to make one negative comment about Windjammer food, it'd be about the biscuits, which could potentially crack a tooth or break a window of thrown with enough effort.

 

We did squeeze in our customary trip to Johnny Rockets one night for dinner, which was good as always. The wife and I shared a burger, chicken club, and a chili cheese dog. The latter of which was easily the tastiest. She had the Oreo dessert, which she loves and fiercely guarded against my invading spoon, and I had apple pie with a scoop of ice scream, which is routinely one of my favorite desserts.

 

A few random closing thoughts on the food: The coconut ranger cookies in Promenade Cafe are a hidden gem and soooo delicious. If you start to get burnt out on junk food, grab a few fruit cups from Sorrento's. They're light, sweet, and just the right thing to finish the day with.

 

All in all, the food was really good. As I sit here and write this, I am starving. It's going to take me a few more days to scale back from the hourly eating I did all week.

 

Entertainment:

If there is any single area where the Liberty truly shined, it would be the entertainment. Cruise director Mike Szwajkowski was upbeat, laid back, and generally refreshing. I'm not sure I'm ready to give him Richard Spacey's legendary status, but he was certainly more approachable and didn't have the typical "cruise director persona." Without question, Mike hosted the funniest Quest Gameshow we've seen, as well as his own versions of Family Feud and Jeopardy, which were both funny. He also put on a performance called Roman Geysers, which I won't spoil for anyone, that was hysterically funny. Mike and the assistant cruise director Leigh, respectively pictured below were constantly visible and very hands-on. This was the first time I've come home from a cruise even knowing the assistant cruise director's name. Leigh "hosted" our meet & mingle, and made the joke that Cruise Critic was formed as a result of cruisers getting together to b**ch about the cruise industry, which received quite a few laughs. He did say that they spend a great deal of time reading our posts here, which I didn't interpret as just lip service.

5159843743_396e6deb95_m.jpg 5160458226_2e977e7c8e_m.jpg

C.D. Mike Szwajkowski / Asst. C.D. Leigh

 

All of the singers and dancers in the production shows were really top-notch. Some of the performances feel a old or cheesy to us, who are in our mid-20's. But we still go to all of them and appreciate the skill of the performers. The shows themselves were some of the better ones we've seen, and one show had a Cirque du Soleil feel to it, with acrobats performing high above the stage and even swinging over the audience at times. I couldn't begin to tell you what the theme of this show was, but it was certainly entertaining.

 

If you've been to a RCI ice skating show, then you know what to expect. But these skaters were the best I've seen yet. With a single exception, all of the jumps, spins, and tricks I couldn't hope to do on land, with the assistance of a trampoline and a few cocktails, were perfectly executed. And a guest performer, who I'll deem "hula hoop girl" was pretty outstanding.

 

Except for the first comedian towards the start of the cruise, who bordered on terrible, all of the guest comedians were pretty hilarious. The late-night show on the final night had both of us cracking up and was possibly the funniest comedian we've seen on a ship so far. All in all, we felt very entertained throughout the week.

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wgraves

wgraves

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PORTS OF CALL

St. Maarten / St. Martin:

This was our second time in this port, and we wanted to make sure we visited the French side, which we missed the first go-round. We booked a cheap bus tour to the French side through RCI that lasted around two and a half hours, gave us a great tour of the island and an hour or so to explore the French side on foot. It was nice to see such a good overview of the island, but Philipsburg is definitely still the place to shop and eat. Ironically, we had lunch in a French cafe on the Dutch side of the island. If you visit St. Maarten and have the time, stop by Saveurs de France on Old Street. You won't be disappointed!

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Left to Right: St. Martin (French side), View from the bus tour, Lunch in Saveurs de France

 

San Juan, Puerto Rico:

We had never been to San Juan before, and everyone we talked to pre-cruise downplayed the port. But we absolutely loved it! We booked a combination bus / walking tour, which in hindsight, was a bad decision. We quickly grew impatient with the tour's slow pace and "abandoned ship." We didn't make it to both of the forts, but Fort San Felipe del Morro and San Juan in general was beautiful. We had lunch at La Bombonera which is not to be missed if you like pastries! The food was very good, but the guava pastry was out of this world and possibly the best pastry I have ever had.

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Left to Right: Fort San Felipe del Morro, The streets of San Juan, The world's greatest pastry

 

Nassau, Bahamas:

We were originally scheduled to visit Labadee on Day 6, but due to Hurricane Tomas, we ended up visiting Nassau on Day 7 instead. Nassau is just a crummy Bahamas port in my opinion and one I saw more than enough of many years go. This was my first time seeing Atlantis, however. We (mistakenly) paid the $39 (!!!) to visit "The Dig" while there, and that is $39 I wish I could get back. I can't imagine paying good money to stay at Atlantis and having to share the resort and its amenities with thousands of cruise ship passengers... The hotel's worth seeing once I guess, and you can see a few pics in my full cruise gallery.

 

 

CONCLUSION

Wait, you're still reading!?

 

My week onboard the Liberty of the Seas was a great one, and was overall on par or better than my other cruises with RCI. If you're considering a cruise on the Liberty, or have one booked already, rest assured that you're in for a wonderful time.

 

This review is already way too long-winded, but if anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Cheers!

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Sunkissed Mommy

Sunkissed Mommy

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Nice review, I think we sat next to you a few nights in the MDR. Didn't want to be rude and not talk to you, but we're the same way. We like to have a quiet dinner time.

 

I agree with EVERYTHING you said about the cruise. Your pictures are great, unfortunately I have a simple point & shoot camera so mine aren't as nice.

 

Next time you go to San Juan try to get to Castillo de San Cristobal. It was larger and the better of the two in our opinion. We went there first and then walked to El Morro. It was tiring!

 

 

I see you'll be on the Oasis next year. That one will be enjoyable as well, the ship is surprisingly less crowded and has many places to relax and enjoy the vacation. Have fun!

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QTBabyNurse

QTBabyNurse

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Great job on your review! We were on this sailing along with you and I have to agree with everything you mentioned...except for the comedians...I thought all of them were great! ;) Different strokes...etc....

I especially enjoyed our M&M (the first I've attended), the slot pull and the cabin crawl....not mention I'm very grateful for the new friendships we made on this cruise! We had a fantastic vacation and wouldn't hesitate to cruise the Liberty in the future! :)

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storm1of4

storm1of4

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Hey thanks WG for the great review. I am going on the LOS in December. Have been on the FReedom 3 times. Looking forward to the Liberty. I know vibes differ from ship to ship even in the same class. For instance I love the Mariner. But its sister ship the Navigator , a great ship too , doesnt have the style, class and vibe of the MAriner. The FReedom is a great ship too...but for me.... it lacks charm........Hoping the Liberty will blow me away!

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Desert Cruizers

Desert Cruizers

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My DH & I will be enjoying our first Freedom Class on the cruise on the LOS Oct 29th for the TA out of Barcelona and are looking forward to this cruise. Enjoyed seeing all your photos. Our previous RCl cruises have been on the BOS & ROS which we enjoy. Thank you for your review and photos.

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wgraves

wgraves

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Nice review, I think we sat next to you a few nights in the MDR. Didn't want to be rude and not talk to you, but we're the same way. We like to have a quiet dinner time.

 

Next time you go to San Juan try to get to Castillo de San Cristobal. It was larger and the better of the two in our opinion. We went there first and then walked to El Morro. It was tiring!

 

I see you'll be on the Oasis next year. That one will be enjoyable as well, the ship is surprisingly less crowded and has many places to relax and enjoy the vacation. Have fun!

NO offense taken! :) We kinda commented ourselves, "I hope they didn't take offense.." It's a bit awkward how close the 2-top tables were together. We wanted to see the other fort, but it was such a short day! It was either see the other fort or eat in La Bombonera. There's always next time. We booked the Oasis almost 2 years out, so it seems like some distant vacation that'll never really be here, haha. We got a little crazy and booked the Freedom to fill in the gap. I keep saying, "We'll scale back soon.." But it hasn't happened yet. :o

 

 

Hi, We are going on the same cruise in January. Do you have the compasses that you can post online?

Unfortunately, no. I always have the best intentions of bringing them home with me but end up getting distracted with eating, drinking, sleeping, repeating...

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James MTL

James MTL

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Thx for the review. Like you, we sailed Freedom last November 2009 and will be sailing Liberty (8 day) in March and we are really looking forward to it. We also convinced some extended family to join us and who have never cruised before. I always love seeing these Newbie Faces when they walk on, look at the Promenade and with their mouths wide open say "Is this really a ship?". Truly Priceless.

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wgraves

wgraves

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I always love seeing these Newbie Faces when they walk on, look at the Promenade and with their mouths wide open say "Is this really a ship?". Truly Priceless.

 

I'd been on a few cruises growing up, but the first recently and my wife's first ever was on the Mariner. I expected her to be floored, which she was, but even I was caught off guard when I walked into the Promenade. RCI's ships from the past decade or so are just incredible.

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CruisinDawn

CruisinDawn

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Thanks for the review! I love that I keep seeing information about tables for two. Lots of people want them but they are not what people expect. We have done this on three of our cruises and it is exactly what you say. Our last time they took a table for six, spint it into 3 tables for 2 about 6 inches or so apart. Basicly you are still sitting with the other people just further apart, but that doesn't always stop a talker! I will do them again but that is the beauty of Cruise Critic, you know what downsides you may be hit with.

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

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cruisehome

cruisehome

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I'm so glad you enjoyed your cruise on the Liberty

 

My husband and I must be in the minority.

 

 

We were on the same cruise with you also with my sister and husband and very good friends from New Jersey.

 

They all loved the cruise like you but hubby and I disagree - which is unusal for us to agree about something, lol.

 

We were not happy with the food at all - not even in the 2 speciality restaurants

 

we did not like the entertainment

 

the ship was too crowed for us and way too many people - the elevators were always crowded and had to wait a long time for them

 

going into the MDR and shows were very very croweded

 

this was for our first cruise where we could not find a nice place to dance and have a drink.

 

Boleros was way overcrowded with lots of smoke

the lounge upstairs had "old people music"

the crypt certainly did look like a crypt and was never anyone in it

 

while the promanade was nice - pizza was not as good as princess - at all

 

I know I am going to get alot of flack for this - but this is just our opinion.

 

So all in all - we prefer celebrity or princess

 

carol

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djmike

djmike

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I'm so glad you enjoyed your cruise on the Liberty

 

My husband and I must be in the minority.

 

 

We were on the same cruise with you also with my sister and husband and very good friends from New Jersey.

 

They all loved the cruise like you but hubby and I disagree - which is unusal for us to agree about something, lol.

 

We were not happy with the food at all - not even in the 2 speciality restaurants

 

we did not like the entertainment

 

the ship was too crowed for us and way too many people - the elevators were always crowded and had to wait a long time for them

 

going into the MDR and shows were very very croweded

 

this was for our first cruise where we could not find a nice place to dance and have a drink.

 

Boleros was way overcrowded with lots of smoke

the lounge upstairs had "old people music"

the crypt certainly did look like a crypt and was never anyone in it

 

while the promanade was nice - pizza was not as good as princess - at all

 

I know I am going to get alot of flack for this - but this is just our opinion.

 

So all in all - we prefer celebrity or princess

 

carol

 

Yes it appears you are in the minority. Welcome to Cruise Critic and enjoy Celebrity and Princess.

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QTBabyNurse

QTBabyNurse

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I'm so glad you enjoyed your cruise on the Liberty

 

My husband and I must be in the minority.

 

 

We were on the same cruise with you also with my sister and husband and very good friends from New Jersey.

 

They all loved the cruise like you but hubby and I disagree - which is unusal for us to agree about something, lol.

 

We were not happy with the food at all - not even in the 2 speciality restaurants

 

we did not like the entertainment

 

the ship was too crowed for us and way too many people - the elevators were always crowded and had to wait a long time for them

 

going into the MDR and shows were very very croweded

 

this was for our first cruise where we could not find a nice place to dance and have a drink.

 

Boleros was way overcrowded with lots of smoke

the lounge upstairs had "old people music"

the crypt certainly did look like a crypt and was never anyone in it

 

while the promanade was nice - pizza was not as good as princess - at all

 

I know I am going to get alot of flack for this - but this is just our opinion.

 

So all in all - we prefer celebrity or princess

 

carol

 

Sorry you had such a miserable cruise. I thought the Liberty was one of the best cruises I've been on! Yes, Boleros was crowded....but that's because everyone enjoys watching those folks talented enough to get up and Latin dance! And you are right in saying that Princess pizza is better than RCI's. But if those are the things that "make or break" your vacation, then maybe RCI isn't for you.

 

Hi Mike! I just wanted to tell you how wonderful the cruise was. You're a great CD, the best I've experienced!!! Thank you for going above and beyond to make it wonderful for MOST people.

 

Ditto! Loved how you and Leigh play off each other (notice my careful choice of words!)

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