Review: Liberty of the Seas 12/27-31

[steviek49]

Just returned home from my LOS 4 night cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. Alittle background about us;

We are a family of 4 (2 daughters).

This was our 10th cruise but first with Royal Caribbean.

We have cruised with NCL (5X) Carnival (2X), Princess (1x), HAL(1x) and now RCI. We have booked Balcony cabins, Oceanview cabins and Inside cabins.

Although no cruise was perfect we have enjoyed each and every cruise we have taken and the LOS was no exception.

To make it easy I will rate each section 1-5 (5 being highest)

Check in and boarding; Rating "1"

This was the worst part of the vacation. We arrived at the pier by taxi at about 11:45 am.

Check in lines moved rather quickly and we recieved our cards and were ready to board alittle after 12 noon.

However once we were checked in we were herded to a long line which did not move for at least an hour. At the begining there was an RCI rep that "loudly" directed passengers to a single or double line along the far wall. However after a while he disappeared and no one replaced him. Now people who were just being checked in just filled in and were actually well in front of the hundreds of people who have listened to instructions and were way back in line. This irritated many people around us and it seemed like a "every man for himself" situation. However soon the line began to move and it looked as if people were boarding. But no! We were just being put into a holding area with chairs. We waited there for about another 15 - 20 minutes before finally boarding the ship. This was alittle before 2pm (almost 2 hours after arriving at the pier). This experience made me feel more like cattle as opposed to being a passenger.

I'm not quite sure if this is the norm for RCI, or maybe only for it's larger ships or what.

I did hear some passenger say that there was a problem with passengers getting off the ship which caused the problem but I can't confirm that.

It was by far my worst boarding experience. As a matter of fact I've only had good experiences in the past with all 4 other cruise lines.

Once aboard we went to the Windjammer and had our lunch.

 

Cabin: Rating "4" On this vacation we booked 2 inside cabins. Both were clean and efficient. Our cabin stewards (each cabin had a different steward) were very good. Hardly saw them and the cabins were well looked after. We did have a bathroom (toilet) problem., It took 4 phone calls over 2 days to maintenance to fix issue. Rating would have been a "5" had I not had that plumbing problem.

 

Dining Room Experience: Rating "5" Being that we have cruised on NCL ships 5 times, I was leary about going back to the traditional dining experience. I was going to go for My time dining because I like to pick my dining times depending on my excusrions or other plans but because this cruise only had one port of call and we had to be back by 5:30pm from Cozumel, my family and I decided on the main seating. Our table was on deck 4 and right in front of the oceanview window PERFECT! Our Waiter and Assistant Waiter was the best team we ever had! Shout outs to Dheva and Osbourn. They were teriffic! Polite, provided great service, remembered our favorite beverages and were a pleasure to talk with. Could not have been better.

The food: Actually we found almost everything quite good. With the exception of the Lamb shank, my entire family found something they enjoyed at each dinner. There was actaully no need to make a reservation at CHOPS or Portofino. We normally eat at least a few times at an alternative on a cruise. But not this time. Also we found the entire dining experience to be very enjoyable. A beautiful dining room, Oceanview seating, pleasant live music and great service.

 

The Ship: Rating: "4" The LOS was by far the largest ship we have ever been on. The next largest was the Carnival Victory which was 101,000 GRT. The ship was beautiful. She was clean, well laid out, loved the Promenade, and although cramped, there seemed to be a lounge chair by the pool areas for everyone. The pools were cold but refreshing and the hot tubs were well placed. Why not a rating of "5" ? At times my family and I felt there were too many people. We felt crowded. The chaise loungers were crammed together. The elevators always were packed and the promenade was crowded everytime we were there. Now, to be fair, we probably were at each place went it was popular to be there. Such as by the pool and lounges when it was sunny and warm, promenade during cocktail hour and using the elevators right before shows or before dinner. I think 90.000 tons and about 2,000 passengers are about right for us. Maybe we try Jewel of the Seas next time and see if it feels less crowded. And I am aware that the space ratio on this ship was better than other ships that I have been on but LOS still felt crowded. Captain said there were 4,225 passengers on this cruise.

 

Activities/ Shows: Rating "5" There always seemed to be something going on. The Movies under the Stars (Big Screen) by the main pool was a nice feature. For the second cruise in a row I won BINGO- so that made me feel good. We went to the Ice Show, We went to "In the Air" and we went to "Saturday Night Fever" My youngest daughter climbed the rock wall, we watched passengers play dodge ball and try to ride flow rider and I even took in a movie "ELF" in the small movie theater on the 3rd floor- a nice feature.

 

Cozumel: We docked on time and had a leasurely breakfast and then easily got off the ship. We had booked a Helmut Diving " excursion independently at Chaankanoo (wrong spelling) park. The park was beautiful and since we had booked online with Seatrek they also provided us with discount tickets to the park and a locker to put our things in while we were there. There was also a beautiful beach with many chairs and the chairs were complimentary. There was great drink/food service without any pressure to buy anything and the chairs were still free. Unfortunately the Helmut Diving was not up to par. We had booked Helmut Diving many years ago in Bermuda. There it was well organized with a guide with you the entire way. IN this park-this excursion seemed like an after thought. We were the only ones doing this activity. Many people did the Dolphin encounter (we had experienced that twice already) or snuba or snorkeled. On our Helmut Diving experience this time we went down a ladder off a pier and there was a guide but he really just took pictures while our family held eachoter's hands while following him maybe 30 feet. The ocean floor was hilly and rocky and a few times I felt like I was going to fall over. This was nothing like my first experience which I felt was well orgainized, well run and safer. I would recommend others to book through the ship.

 

Getting off the Ship: Rating "4" Although I prefer to stay in my cabin until allowed to leave rather than wait at a station - leaving the ship this morning was fast and easy. We cdecided to self carry our luggage. So we woke up early. Finished packing. Left our luggage in our cabins. Went to dining room for breakfast at about 7:15 am. Finished eating at about 8:00 am. Went back to our cabin. Got our luggage and left the ship. We took a taxi to the airport and arrived at our gate by 8:40 am. Our flight was not until 11:20 AM but we though it would take longer to get off the ship and we thought there would be long lines for check in and secrity at the airport - but it was not the case.

 

So overall, with the exception of the boarding of the ship, we had a wonderful RCI cruise experience.

 

Would I cruise RCI again?

Absolutely! But I still pick our cruise by itinerary and price.

We actually got a good price on this cruise. I think we somehow got a group price from my TA. Considering it was during the Christmas Holiday we decided to grab it.

As others have mentioned, I believe that the 6 mainstream cruiselines (RCI, Carnival, NCL, Princess, HAL and Celebrity) have more in common than differences. After cruising on 5 of the 6 ( we are booked on Celebrity X-pedition for a future cruise) I don't think I would pay signficantly more for one over the other. If I had to pick we still like NCL best and Carnival least (also felt crowded) but have enjoyed all 10 cruises. I know there are some who don't like NCL but we do like freestyle and I think 2,000 passengers is our preference.

 

Overall we are very happy to have finally cruised with RCI.

If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer.

And if anyone know what happened with boarding at the begining of the cruise- let me know. It is my hope that this is not the norm. Maybe Port Everglades Cruise Terminal is not capable of handling over 4,000 passengers? We did HAL Westerdam out of this terminal in 2007 with no boarding problems but she carries less than 2,000 passengers.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the nice review of your cruise, glad you had a good time.

[steviek49]

Thanks for the nice review of your cruise, glad you had a good time.

 

Thanks Pathfinder!

Forgot to mention that the Guest Relations desk was the best on any cruise ship I have cruised on.

It was well organized. They had many reps at the desk and a senior person greeting everyone on line to see if he can answer any questions rather than wait on line.

Well done RCI.

[glentally]

Was there Lobster?

 

I was at that park a couple of times but snorkeling and the "beach" will leave you disappointed. Water was too rough and when you mentioned the rocks it brought back memories of past cruises.

 

Did you do the "wear all white" sail away party? How was the participation? I don't want to go and buy white clothes if no one does it.

[trvlgrl422]

Was there Lobster?

 

I was at that park a couple of times but snorkeling and the "beach" will leave you disappointed. Water was too rough and when you mentioned the rocks it brought back memories of past cruises.

 

Did you do the "wear all white" sail away party? How was the participation? I don't want to go and buy white clothes if no one does it.

 

I was on that sailing as well. We didn't have lobster. Menu seemed to include more pasta items. It seems like they are cutting back on their food budget.

 

I went to the all white party. It was held at night after leaving Cozumel. I left early, as it wasn't as good as some other sail away parties I had attended. Did it get more exciting? Also, I there didn't seem to be any kind of late night special buffet at the party.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[steviek49]

Was there Lobster?

 

I was at that park a couple of times but snorkeling and the "beach" will leave you disappointed. Water was too rough and when you mentioned the rocks it brought back memories of past cruises.

 

Did you do the "wear all white" sail away party? How was the participation? I don't want to go and buy white clothes if no one does it.

 

 

As much as the Helmut Diving Excursion was a disappointment, my family and I thought the park was beautiful and well worth the $12 each way cab ride.

This past Saturday the water looked calm and it appeared good for snorkeling. Considering the price of admission is $21pp adult w/o discounts (and we had an $8pp discount) and you get free chaise lounges, bar/snack service w/o pressure to buy anything, free snorkeling if you bring your own snorkel gear (you can rent) along with free dolpin show, manitee show and a swimming pool.

For 2 people that's $24 r/t cab + $42 admission(w/o discount) for a full day at this park.- not too bad for a day at the beach and free snorkeling (with your own gear) and access for free shows. I just would not recommend the Helmut Diving there.

[LBumb]

good review