Liberty of the Seas - 5nt W. Med Itinerary

[hazeleyez3]

My husband and I returned a few days ago from a 5 night cruise on Liberty of the Seas, and I thought I’d share some of our thoughts on the ship as well as links to some port reviews.

Background on us

We are in our late 30s, with no children, and love to travel. We have taken many cruises together on different lines, and while we have enjoyed them all, Royal is our favorite. We are currently at the Emerald level.

Pier Check-in, and Embarkation

Our taxi dropped us off at around 10:30am, and we were through security in minutes. The check-in and embarkation came with a few frustrations. The rep at the check-in desk could not find our keycards, so we waited for them to make new ones (took about 15 minutes). The keycards didn’t work when we tried to get into the stateroom for the first time. We went down to Guest Relations to have the problem fixed; however their system was down, and it took awhile for them to activate the cards.

Grand Suite and Perks

I upgraded from our balcony cabin to a Grand Suite (my husband’s birthday present). This was the first time we stayed in a suite, and we could not have been happier.

We had a voicemail from Carlos (the concierge) welcoming us, and letting us know how he could be of assistance and how he could be reached.

The binder, which listed the perks for suite guests, and included the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus that were available for room service, was already on the coffee table.

The fruit basket was very nice. It included some grapes, bananas, an apple, an orange, and a kiwi. All were very fresh.

The loungers on the balcony were extremely comfortable. My husband actually fell asleep there a few days.

The Concierge Lounge was great. We enjoyed the continental breakfast on a couple of days, and visited each night for the happy hour. Carlos walked multiple nights talking to people, the Hotel Director visited one night, and the bartenders were great. My husband mentioned that they were very generous with the rum in his rum and cokes.

Chops

The goat cheese soufflé, and the French onion soup were good, as were the steaks. They were cooked just as we had requested. One thing that was amusing – my husband ordered the filet, and I ordered the petit filet. My steak was as large as his.

Portofino

The food was ok, not our favorite, but we were not pleased with the waiter. I wasn’t about to stuff myself, so I didn’t have all of the appetizer. When he came over to take our plates, I was told that if I wasn’t going to eat all of it, I shouldn’t have ordered it. The pasta was good; however, the waiter had a similar attitude when I didn’t eat all of the meal. My husband ordered dessert and coffee, and because I was full, I passed on both. When he brought my husband his dessert he brought two coffees and said that if I refused dessert I needed to have coffee. I tried to make light of it and said, if that was the case, I needed decaf. He refused to get me decaf.

Windjammer

We ate here a couple times in the middle of the day. Food was ok, on par for other Windjammers, and the waiters were very helpful.

Sorrento’s

Pizza was as we expected. They did have a pannini of the day at lunch, which was nice, and some of the other options were good (salad, cheese, ham, etc).

Promenade Café

The cookies were just as good as other ships. I don’t recall getting anything else.

Johnny Rockets

The burgers have gotten thicker and better from previous times.

Main Dining Room

We never made it there. Seeing as how port-intensive it was, and lunches we got in different cities, we choose all other options.

 

TV Shows

Since we left from Barcelona, many of the stations were not in English.

 

Ports

Italy Review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1842000

Barcelona Review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1841414

Debarkation

Since we were in a suite we took advantage of the debarkation perk. We had some coffee in the Concierge Lounge, and when we were ready, Carlos led us off of the ship. Took no more than 5 minutes.

They have a luggage carousel as opposed to just having bags on the floor. Just as in airports, groups were designated to specific ones, and they were clearly marked above each carousel.

[hipster1]

HI Hazeleyz!

Great review..we sail May 26th and cant wait. Quick question...How much was your taxi from your hotel?? We are staying around Las Ramblas ( did you?) Did the hotel call you a taxi? Get charged more for that? I heard its cheaper to go to a taxi stand outside of the hotels????

 

Thanks!

Ali

[ticktoneer]

Sounds like most of your experience was great, however I'm flabbergasted (totally shocked) by the service from your waiter in Portofinos.

 

Happy cruising :-)

[hazeleyez3]

HI Hazeleyz!

Great review..we sail May 26th and cant wait. Quick question...How much was your taxi from your hotel?? We are staying around Las Ramblas ( did you?) Did the hotel call you a taxi? Get charged more for that? I heard its cheaper to go to a taxi stand outside of the hotels????

 

Thanks!

Ali

 

The hotel (Catalonia Portal de L'Angel) was actually on a pedestrian-only street off The Ramblas. After we checked-out we walked up to the taxi stand at Placa Catalunya. It was about 15 euros, including tip.