First time on RCI. What can I expect on Liberty?

[steviek49]

I finally booked our first RCI cruise on Liberty of the Seas during the X-Mas vacation of 2012. It will only be a 4 nighter from Ft. Lauderdale to Cozumel but we got a real good price and decided to try her.

This will be our 10th cruise for our family of 4 (55,52,22,19). We have cruised on NCL 5X (Sky, Gem, Spirit, Dawn and crown), Carival 2X (Victory and Imagination), HAL 1X on Westerdam and Princess=Sky Princess.

We have enjoyed all of our cruises but NCL has appealed to us the most due to Freestyle but we have enjoyed traditional as well.

We always wanted to try RCI but she never really priced up well against the other mainstream cruiselines until this cruise.

I do want to learn more about her cinema. I hear it's 3D- is this a real deicated cinema? Is the Saturday Night Fever show a full length show? With 3,600 PAX do I need to get up real early in order to get a lounge by the pool? Do they serve lunch in MDR on Embarkation or do we need to go to the buffet?

What can you guys share with us to help our family enjoy this huge cruise ship. We will be at sea for most of this cruise since there is only one port of call-Cozumel.

Thanks for all of your help.

[RCcruisinfamily]

I finally booked our first RCI cruise on Liberty of the Seas during the X-Mas vacation of 2012. It will only be a 4 nighter from Ft. Lauderdale to Cozumel but we got a real good price and decided to try her.

This will be our 10th cruise for our family of 4 (55,52,22,19). We have cruised on NCL 5X (Sky, Gem, Spirit, Dawn and crown), Carival 2X (Victory and Imagination), HAL 1X on Westerdam and Princess=Sky Princess.

We have enjoyed all of our cruises but NCL has appealed to us the most due to Freestyle but we have enjoyed traditional as well.

We always wanted to try RCI but she never really priced up well against the other mainstream cruiselines until this cruise.

I do want to learn more about her cinema. I hear it's 3D- is this a real deicated cinema?

 

My husband and I sailed this itinerary for our anniversary last November. We didn't go to the movies, but I they did show a first run Dreamworks movie in 3D.

 

Is the Saturday Night Fever show a full length show?

 

This was a very well done Broadway style show. The other show was wonderful too. Don't remember the name. We also enjoyed the ice show.

 

With 3,600 PAX do I need to get up real early in order to get a lounge by the pool?

 

It didn't seem crowded, but we didn't sit by the pool.

 

Do they serve lunch in MDR on Embarkation or do we need to go to the buffet?

 

Mostly the windjammer on Embarkation. But I think the pizza place is open.

 

What can you guys share with us to help our family enjoy this huge cruise ship. We will be at sea for most of this cruise since there is only one port of call-Cozumel.

Thanks for all of your help.

I put some comments within your quote, not sure how to move them all. Sorry.

 

It has great amenities. My teens love the flowrider. There is plenty to do. I hope you have a great time!

 

Kelly

[steviek49]

Thanks for your comments.

Is the Pizza Place an extra charge restaurant?

Do they have zip line on Freedom class ships like Liberty or just Oasis class?

[Tiggercat]

Liberty is a awesome ship and you will have a great time! Next to allure it is my favorite. Your kids will enjoy the flow rider which is a wave simulator. We rented it out for an hour just for our family ($300) and had a blast. Two instructors taught my 22 an19 year olds how to stand up on a board and also how to do a lot of neat tricks. It was a great opportunity to take pictures and videos.

The pizza is free and there is also a sandwich shop. I am not sure if they are open the first day or not but we always stopped there for a late night snack.

Johnny rockets costs $4.95 but it is well worth it once or twice during the cruise.

In Cozumel we like going to a beach called Mr. Sanchos. It is a short cab ride and it is free to get in. They have chairs, restrooms, food drinks and water sports. They will try to sell you a package..$50 a person to eat, drink and use all of the water toys all day long. It is a good deal if you plan on eating and drinking a lot.

[kruzerci]

Liberty is amazing you will love it.

 

There is a free pizza place and several specialty restaurants. No zip line, but flow rider, rock wall, etc.

[CroozeAddict]

Whatever you do, don't miss the ice skating show.:D

[silentbob007]

The 3D movies are in the main theater. It has good (and loud) sound and good picture (though may be a little small depending on where you sit).

[cb at sea]

The pool is always crowded on sea days...but there are plenty of loungers, if you don't HAVE to sit right beside the pool...go up a deck...it's less crowded and squished and you'll find ample sun!

[39august]

Sorrento's pizzaria and Cafe Promenade on the promenade deck 5 are at no charge and are open on embarkation day. The dining room is open for lunch on sea days. There is a great salad bar there. There is free soft-serve ice cream on the pool deck. Since you enjoyed NCL's free style dining, I suggest you request My Time Dining on Liberty. No reservations are needed, tho' you may make them if you wish, and you can dine whenever you wish during open dining room hours, usually 5:30-9:30 PM. You do have to prepay gratuities if you take MTD, however. All the "sport' type activites are at no charge. If you want a good hamburger without paying for Johnny Rockets, order the room service burger. Very good. There is also a large movie screen on the pool deck like Princess has . You will have to be relatively early to the pool deck if you want a lounge very near the pool. However, the all adult pool, Solarium, usually has seating available at any time. Do NOT miss the ice show. The show will be offered 3 or 4 different times on a couple of different days. So you will have more than one opportunity to catch it. Just watch your daily Compass for information about the ice show and all the activities offered on board. If you wish to ice skate, you must wear long pants.

[steviek49]

Sorrento's pizzaria and Cafe Promenade on the promenade deck 5 are at no charge and are open on embarkation day. The dining room is open for lunch on sea days. There is a great salad bar there. There is free soft-serve ice cream on the pool deck. Since you enjoyed NCL's free style dining, I suggest you request My Time Dining on Liberty. No reservations are needed, tho' you may make them if you wish, and you can dine whenever you wish during open dining room hours, usually 5:30-9:30 PM. You do have to prepay gratuities if you take MTD, however. All the "sport' type activites are at no charge. If you want a good hamburger without paying for Johnny Rockets, order the room service burger. Very good. There is also a large movie screen on the pool deck like Princess has . You will have to be relatively early to the pool deck if you want a lounge very near the pool. However, the all adult pool, Solarium, usually has seating available at any time. Do NOT miss the ice show. The show will be offered 3 or 4 different times on a couple of different days. So you will have more than one opportunity to catch it. Just watch your daily Compass for information about the ice show and all the activities offered on board. If you wish to ice skate, you must wear long pants.

 

Thank you for that wealth of information.

Although we are "somewhat" experienced cruisers this will be our first time on RCI so your comments are very helpful.

Although we are big fans of "freestyle" I think we will make a rtegular reservation rather than MTD. This is because this is only a 4 night cruise with only one port of call (Cozumel). We had an opportunity to try Voyager of the seas in 2009 for our W. Med cruise but chose Norwegian Gem instead because of dining. At that time there was no MTD on RCI and we wanted to spend as much time possible sightseeing Malta, Italy and France and didnot want to race back to eat- so we made a different reservation at a different restaurant each night on Gem and it worked out great.

But for this cruise, with only one port of call the dining time is not as important.

We definately want to catch the Saturday Night Fever show and the ice skating show. My daughters will probably try rockclimbing (my youngest loved it on Gem) and my oldest will probably try Flowrider.

I do like that NCL does have embarkation lunch in a MDR rather than the craziness of the buffet but I'm glad to hear that the pizzaria is free and available on embarkation day.

At $4.95 we will probably give Johnny Rockets a try as well. Is that charge for just one burger? is is a meal? are there beverages available? or do we have to purchase that as well?

Finally, we love the idea of the dedicated 3D movie theatre and the big screen by the pool.

When we cruised 11 nights on Sky Princess to Alaska she has a beatiful cinema with free popcorn and some nice choices of movies. Another older ship, NCL Crown also had a nice dedicated theatre. I know some people frown about why would you watch a movie on board a cruise ship- you can do that on land- but sometimes it's a nice option to have.

We are not nit picking people and have enjoyed just about all our cruises and land vactions.

Yes, we have found some differences among the cruiselines but we have found more similarities than differences. Beautiful ships, good food, very good service, nice people and days at seas not to mention new countries to visit.

Thanks for all of your information- we look forward to more of your comments.

[seafoy]

We just made this trip a couple of weeks ago and had a great time. I loved the 4 day option as it was all we could get away for and you couldn't beat the prices. With the My time Dining option you can still make reservations...which is what we did. I made them for 6:30 each of the two evenings we were in the MDR and never had a problem getting seated. My girls went to Jonny Rockets and enjoyed...the $4.95 fee is for unlimited food only... the drinks and milkshakes are extra, although if you have a soda card you may be able to use..not sure as we decided we could all do without soda for four days.

 

It's funny we had plans to do so many more things, but once you are on the ship you probably will only get to about half of the things you planned...I really had planned to take in a movie as well and never got around to it! Even though it was a little chilly during our cruise, the pool area was still always pretty packed. We never got there before noon and still managed to get a seat eventually...it just usually took us around 20minutes of walking around and looking on both decks. We really enjoyed the steel band that played during the day.

 

I wrote a full length review of our trip for this ship a week ago and you can find it under member reviews for Liberty of the Seas. Your family will have a great time!

[steviek49]

We just made this trip a couple of weeks ago and had a great time. I loved the 4 day option as it was all we could get away for and you couldn't beat the prices. With the My time Dining option you can still make reservations...which is what we did. I made them for 6:30 each of the two evenings we were in the MDR and never had a problem getting seated. My girls went to Jonny Rockets and enjoyed...the $4.95 fee is for unlimited food only... the drinks and milkshakes are extra, although if you have a soda card you may be able to use..not sure as we decided we could all do without soda for four days.

 

It's funny we had plans to do so many more things, but once you are on the ship you probably will only get to about half of the things you planned...I really had planned to take in a movie as well and never got around to it! Even though it was a little chilly during our cruise, the pool area was still always pretty packed. We never got there before noon and still managed to get a seat eventually...it just usually took us around 20minutes of walking around and looking on both decks. We really enjoyed the steel band that played during the day.

 

I wrote a full length review of our trip for this ship a week ago and you can find it under member reviews for Liberty of the Seas. Your family will have a great time!

Thanks for the information.

$4.95 for unlimited food sounds good to me. It would be nice to try it once although surely not necessary.

Since our cruise is during Christmas vacation, I;m pretty sure we'll have to get up pretty early to get a lounge.

[windjamming]

I finally booked our first RCI cruise on Liberty of the Seas during the X-Mas vacation of 2012. It will only be a 4 nighter from Ft. Lauderdale to Cozumel but we got a real good price and decided to try her.

This will be our 10th cruise for our family of 4 (55,52,22,19). We have cruised on NCL 5X (Sky, Gem, Spirit, Dawn and crown), Carival 2X (Victory and Imagination), HAL 1X on Westerdam and Princess=Sky Princess.

We have enjoyed all of our cruises but NCL has appealed to us the most due to Freestyle but we have enjoyed traditional as well.

We always wanted to try RCI but she never really priced up well against the other mainstream cruiselines until this cruise.

I do want to learn more about her cinema. I hear it's 3D- is this a real deicated cinema? Is the Saturday Night Fever show a full length show? With 3,600 PAX do I need to get up real early in order to get a lounge by the pool? Do they serve lunch in MDR on Embarkation or do we need to go to the buffet?

What can you guys share with us to help our family enjoy this huge cruise ship. We will be at sea for most of this cruise since there is only one port of call-Cozumel.

Thanks for all of your help.

 

Liberty is a great ship -- I think you'll enjoy it quite a bit.

 

- Don't forget to book your reservations for the shows online before going onboard. This is available for Saturday Night Fever, the ice show, and In The Air (the other production show (besides Saturday Night Fever). They're all excellent, and I think the ice show in particular is one of the best -- if not the best -- of the RCL fleet.

 

- There is a quieter section of the Windjammer on the 2 rear sides where we were able to find seating more often than not.

 

- Sorrento's has desserts! I love love loved the Amaretti cookies, and they also have biscotti and tiramisu.

 

There isn't anything like a Blue Lagoon (which we loved on the Gem) but Sorrento's and Cafe Promenade both have very late hours and fulfill the late night snacking urge well.

[yj2cute]

I just returned from the 4 night LOS cruise and my advice would be not to miss the shows! They were absolutely amazing! In The Air is one of the best at sea as well as Saturday Night Fever. I realized that RCI has invested a lot of money into their entertainment on their ships and it is top caliber. I did see the ice show as well, and I did enjoy it, but it was not my favorite. But I would recommend you not miss it.

 

Definitely make your reservations in advance as many people seemed not to know that they required reservations and there were many long line ups at the doors of the show.

 

We did catch a 3D movie in the theater, Puss In Boots, and we enjoyed it a lot.

 

Have a great cruise.

[steviek49]

I just returned from the 4 night LOS cruise and my advice would be not to miss the shows! They were absolutely amazing! In The Air is one of the best at sea as well as Saturday Night Fever. I realized that RCI has invested a lot of money into their entertainment on their ships and it is top caliber. I did see the ice show as well, and I did enjoy it, but it was not my favorite. But I would recommend you not miss it.

 

Definitely make your reservations in advance as many people seemed not to know that they required reservations and there were many long line ups at the doors of the show.

 

We did catch a 3D movie in the theater, Puss In Boots, and we enjoyed it a lot.

 

Have a great cruise.

Thank you for all of the information so far.

I have learned alot.

How far in advance can you book the shows on-line?

My Cruise is not until 12/27/12.

Thanks

[kruzerci]

Thank you for all of the information so far.

I have learned alot.

How far in advance can you book the shows on-line?

My Cruise is not until 12/27/12.

Thanks

 

I Think 2-3 months. We leave in May and still can't do our entertainment or MTD reservations.