Just Boarded Liberty

[laurac22]

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer! :D

I'm sorry your cruise was not the best. It seems the weather was not the best either as I have read y'all missed Grand Cayman :(

 

Your welcome! Yes missing GC was a bummer, second time that has happened to us. Hope your cruise is wonderful! Having after vacation blues right now:( Guess its time to start thinking about another one.

[LSUfan4444]

I agree and share the disappointment. The service we received was by far the worst on any cruise we've taken as a family the last 5 years. It's hard that we just got off the Disney Fantasy in June and they set the bar so high, but this was bad.

 

Here were some of our issues. And I know some of them have very reasonable explanations, but it doesn't make it less disappointing.

 

Couldn't get off in GC. I get it, but the Carnival Dream worked around it and got it's passengers to shore. RC didn't want or need any more incidents of bad press last week.

 

The slides and flowrider were closed till day 3. Then, when they opened, only one slide opened and the one that did had intermittent closings throughout the week.

 

Service all around was poor. Not average, poor. The best service we received was in Adventure Ocean and Windjammer. We did the MDR the first two nights and not again till the last night. We struggled to find anyone at the pool to get us more drinks and had to the bar ourselves almost exclusively. The one server we saw selling drinks around the pool every day said if we wanted his drink we would have to go to the bar and get a plastic cup ourselves since the souvenir glass he was selling cost $3.95. Throughout the week we felt like we were treated differently because we had the drink package over those paying for each drink. One bartender we heard repeatedly tell guests how happy he was that he was on his last trip. The MDR servers were nice, but either extremely new or completely incompetent. In our 3 MDR meals, we either did not get something we ordered or had some other issues in regards to timing, etc.

 

Lastly, because we booked and paid for so much up front, we actually ended up with a negative balance at the end of our trip. On the last day we went to the photo center to use that on board credit to purchase pictures....BIG MISTAKE. It was an absolute disaster. We wasted an hour of our time trying to get the servers to work and we could never process our order. Not only did we not get our pictures and wasted an hour in the photo center, but we then stood in guest services for over 30 minutes to be assured they would refund the balance to our card to only find out later they couldn't.

 

It wasn't all bad and we had a good time, but had we not got the trip so cheap, I would be alot more upset. Cruise director was great. The shopping guy was a big help.

 

The ship itself was magnificent, clientele was still a step above Carnival but I'll gladly pay for Disney on my next cruise.

[Cruzn Fool]

I agree and share the disappointment. The service we received was by far the worst on any cruise we've taken as a family the last 5 years. It's hard that we just got off the Disney Fantasy in June and they set the bar so high, but this was bad.

 

Here were some of our issues. And I know some of them have very reasonable explanations, but it doesn't make it less disappointing.

 

Couldn't get off in GC. I get it, but the Carnival Dream worked around it and got it's passengers to shore. RC didn't want or need any more incidents of bad press last week.

 

The slides and flowrider were closed till day 3. Then, when they opened, only one slide opened and the one that did had intermittent closings throughout the week.

 

Service all around was poor. Not average, poor. The best service we received was in Adventure Ocean and Windjammer. We did the MDR the first two nights and not again till the last night. We struggled to find anyone at the pool to get us more drinks and had to the bar ourselves almost exclusively. The one server we saw selling drinks around the pool every day said if we wanted his drink we would have to go to the bar and get a plastic cup ourselves since the souvenir glass he was selling cost $3.95. Throughout the week we felt like we were treated differently because we had the drink package over those paying for each drink. One bartender we heard repeatedly tell guests how happy he was that he was on his last trip. The MDR servers were nice, but either extremely new or completely incompetent. In our 3 MDR meals, we either did not get something we ordered or had some other issues in regards to timing, etc.

 

Lastly, because we booked and paid for so much up front, we actually ended up with a negative balance at the end of our trip. On the last day we went to the photo center to use that on board credit to purchase pictures....BIG MISTAKE. It was an absolute disaster. We wasted an hour of our time trying to get the servers to work and we could never process our order. Not only did we not get our pictures and wasted an hour in the photo center, but we then stood in guest services for over 30 minutes to be assured they would refund the balance to our card to only find out later they couldn't.

 

It wasn't all bad and we had a good time, but had we not got the trip so cheap, I would be alot more upset. Cruise director was great. The shopping guy was a big help.

 

The ship itself was magnificent, clientele was still a step above Carnival but I'll gladly pay for Disney on my next cruise.

 

 

Sorry for the disappointment, I know how that can be when you are looking forward to something so much and then have a let down due to lack of service by staff. It would be one thing if it was the ship, which could be beyond control, but when it comes to something like staff, it is definitely within each of those staff members control to provide the excellent service they are paid to provide, and that you paid your hard earned money for.

 

I guess that most people reading this thread would be more interested in the new updates on Liberty and your thoughts or observations, maybe even some pictures if you have any.

 

What about the new Mini Golf, how was that? That was a surprise to me as I thought they were getting rid of it all together. Anything else new since dry dock that you could comment on?

[LSUfan4444]

Mini golf was actually quite nice. Well, except for the lighthouse stealing my ball a few times, but my daughter and I had more fun with that than disappointment.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

No different than being away from a "regular" job - when you come back the first week things seem a little off - especially if you are working with a different crew - expect by the time we board Feb 28, they will have worked out those little kinks and it will be beautiful and run smooth as glass!

 

Agreed. I never have, and never will, book a cruise right after a dry dock.

[laurac22]

I booked this cruise back in 2014 while on the Navigator. I was not aware of or told that this would be the first cruise out of dry dock. When I found out I tried to change to other dates that we were able to do, but there were no accessible cabins left on those. So decided to give it our best shot. You would hope in a perfect world, that they would take enough time to make the upgrades in dry dock and have the ship back in perfect working order for the passenger that paid just as much money as the next sailings out. Left a bad taste in my mouth and others as well. If it was my first cruise with Royal I would think twice about sailing again.

 

Having said that, the crew were great, our dining room waiter was exceptional, and so very helpful with our son that has special needs. We felt the food was some of the best we have had. LOVED Giovanni's, and Sabor was very good too. Service was great. Johnny Rockets which we usually love was just bad. Don't know what that was about. The shows for the most part were very good! Loved Jeffery the cruise director. Have sailed with him several times and he never disappoints.

 

The elevators were beyond horrible, and there were some of the rudest passengers on this cruise, that we have ever encountered. RUDE, RUDE,RUDE!!!

 

The ship I felt was in great shape. Can't say anything about the slides or mini golf, as we did not partake. My Son had the royal replenish package, which was hit or miss, as the soda was so bad out of the fountain that he could not drink it, and they did not want to give can soda. Also everywhere we went they were out of something to make a drink. Strawberry to make a virgin drink ect. Cupcake decorating class was fun. Sorry I'm all over the place, just remembering things as I go. [emoji5]

 

Sorry not sure how to post pictures, and really didn't take that many of he ship itself anyway. So can't help there.

 

If you ask a specific question about the ship I will try to answer.

 

Oh and as far as the new deck 12 cabins, seems to be a big secret. Asked a few crew about it and they said they are not allowed to go back there and see what is happening. Also were told that they doubted that they would be ready for the next sailing. Anyone know if they were?

[George C]

We loved Giovanni's on Navigator how is new menu??

[laurac22]

LSUfan4444, I agree with everything you said for the most part. However we were lucky enough to have great service throughout the ship. Sorry it wasn't everything you were looking for, but I will say we have had many wonderful Royal cruises, this one was just different.

[laurac22]

We loved Giovanni's on Navigator how is new menu??

 

 

The menu was quite different, but the food fantastic! The garlic shrimp were so good. The fillet was great. They made special pasta and sauce for my son that he enjoyed very much. The portions and more individualized now, not like large family meals, which I liked better. To much wasted food IMO before. You will enjoy I'm sure!

[comoceva]

Wow. That's what I'm worried about is rude people but I guess they're everywhere. Lol. All I want to do is enjoy my vacation without all of the snobby people complaining about how many times they done cruised and that they should have all those so call perks and stuff. It shouldn't matter where you're able to go or sit or any special treatment that you should get. You're on vacation to have fun and enjoy life to the fullest. I just hope that when my trip comes up in April of this year that it will be a lot of fun. As far as little mishaps on the ship, I just take it as a grain of salt and move on. LOL.

Edited February 15, 2016 by comoceva

[comoceva]

Was there any sort of theme nights on the ship? How was the casino? I just hope that they have video poker and tournaments. Also, did they do any sort of upgrades to the windjammer? Thanks.

[nativetexan]

You've been very helpful and kind to the folks on this thread and others. Thanks for your information and willingness to share. Too bad your vacation wasn't as hoped. Very disappointing. As for rude passengers - kindness doesn't cost a thing! Shame on them.

[comoceva]

That's also good that they were able to cook special dishes for your son. Some of the people that are going with us are on a glucose free diet. Thanks for sharing your trip.

[wolfganghowell]

comoceva - they have a few video poker machines. They have one slot tournament.

[comoceva]

You're so right about that. Kindness is always free.

[cruise47]

Thanks for sharing this information.

[NOSaints1]

I just looked for next April and its 914 for one week and 994 for another CDN that is

 

 

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[Deeders40]

Well We're home.

 

I am happy to try and answer questions you may have. Don't have time to look back a previous posts for questions, but will try to keep up with new ones. I have some, but not all the compasses, but don't know how to post them...sorry feel stupid about that:D. but can answer questions about them.

 

Without being to negative, I will say this was not the best cruise we've had. Can't really pin point one thing, just a lot of different things that were off. Will say we will never go on a cruise right after dry dock again.

 

Ask away...

 

 

Totally agree with you. Definitely not the best cruise we have ever been on and will also NEVER go on ANY cruise right out of dry dock...or even a couple weeks after. Really disappointed in a lot of the things that were not done or ready for this cruise.

[Deeders40]

I agree and share the disappointment. The service we received was by far the worst on any cruise we've taken as a family the last 5 years. It's hard that we just got off the Disney Fantasy in June and they set the bar so high, but this was bad.

 

Here were some of our issues. And I know some of them have very reasonable explanations, but it doesn't make it less disappointing.

 

Couldn't get off in GC. I get it, but the Carnival Dream worked around it and got it's passengers to shore. RC didn't want or need any more incidents of bad press last week.

 

The slides and flowrider were closed till day 3. Then, when they opened, only one slide opened and the one that did had intermittent closings throughout the week.

 

Service all around was poor. Not average, poor. The best service we received was in Adventure Ocean and Windjammer. We did the MDR the first two nights and not again till the last night. We struggled to find anyone at the pool to get us more drinks and had to the bar ourselves almost exclusively. The one server we saw selling drinks around the pool every day said if we wanted his drink we would have to go to the bar and get a plastic cup ourselves since the souvenir glass he was selling cost $3.95. Throughout the week we felt like we were treated differently because we had the drink package over those paying for each drink. One bartender we heard repeatedly tell guests how happy he was that he was on his last trip. The MDR servers were nice, but either extremely new or completely incompetent. In our 3 MDR meals, we either did not get something we ordered or had some other issues in regards to timing, etc.

 

Lastly, because we booked and paid for so much up front, we actually ended up with a negative balance at the end of our trip. On the last day we went to the photo center to use that on board credit to purchase pictures....BIG MISTAKE. It was an absolute disaster. We wasted an hour of our time trying to get the servers to work and we could never process our order. Not only did we not get our pictures and wasted an hour in the photo center, but we then stood in guest services for over 30 minutes to be assured they would refund the balance to our card to only find out later they couldn't.

 

It wasn't all bad and we had a good time, but had we not got the trip so cheap, I would be alot more upset. Cruise director was great. The shopping guy was a big help.

 

The ship itself was magnificent, clientele was still a step above Carnival but I'll gladly pay for Disney on my next cruise.

 

 

You are right about Disney setting the bar so high. This was our first RCI cruise(as a family) and my husband and I were disappointed. I too exepected so much more to have been done and completed when we boarded. We had also met a passenger from Carnival on Friday who said their ship pulled in on the other side of the island so that they could tender. But when we booked our excursion for GC we knew it was a hit or miss if we would be able to stop there. So we weren't completely disappointed since we knew that going in. Elevators were horrible (as someone else mentioned). I had also heard several other passengers who were not happy with the photo center and issues they had with the LONG wait times (not just on the next to last day). Our server in the MDR was actually pretty great. We sat in a different section the second night we went there and that server was HORRIBLE....it took forever to get our order, and then he did not bring out everything we ordered. No personality whatsoever. So we made sure to sit in the same section as the first night and after that and had no more issues. We were disappointed that the 9-11yr old club was not open so they mixed them with the 6-8yr olds...my 11yr old was bored in there after an hour and a half on day 2 and never wanted to go back. But she was content either swimming (once the pools opened) or trying Flowrider and the slides, WHEN they were open and functioning. I am not sure if they ever got the one big slide up and running properly, as we finally gave up trying after day 4. Yes there was still some fun had by all of us, but it definitely was not a cruise that we "loved".

[Powersboyee2]

Yeah I thought it was pretty common knowledge and to expect things not be 100% right out of dry dock. There is so much stuff they do in two weeks it's ridiculous. I disagree with the statements about paying as much as the next guy ect ect. I look at it this way.... There have been hundreds upon hundreds of sailings on the ship beforehand, to which thousands of people paid much more for I'm sure, and they didn't have all of the new things as even an option right? I'd just be glad to be fortunate enough to be on a cruise ship. Especially one that they are clearly investing in and upgrading for the better, even if it may be a few weeks still until it's 100%.

 

 

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[laurac22]

Was there any sort of theme nights on the ship? How was the casino? I just hope that they have video poker and tournaments. Also, did they do any sort of upgrades to the windjammer? Thanks.

 

 

There was 70's night, which was fun.

 

The casino was to smokey to really spend any time in. So really can't help with that. They did have poker tournaments listed in the compass so your good there.

 

Didn't really notice upgrades to windjammer, but didn't know what it was like before on Liberty as we have been on Freedom but not Liberty before.

[laurac22]

You've been very helpful and kind to the folks on this thread and others. Thanks for your information and willingness to share. Too bad your vacation wasn't as hoped. Very disappointing. As for rude passengers - kindness doesn't cost a thing! Shame on them.

 

 

Thank you! I really do try to be up beat and not a downer, I also try hard to help with the special needs/ differently abled passengers, but things were just not right with this cruise. You are so right about kindness!

[laurac22]

Totally agree with you. Definitely not the best cruise we have ever been on and will also NEVER go on ANY cruise right out of dry dock...or even a couple weeks after. Really disappointed in a lot of the things that were not done or ready for this cruise.

 

 

I get it!

[DM_KidAtHeart]

Day 5 9:00-9:30 Advanced stand up

 

9:30-10:15 Stand up Surfing

 

4:30-6:00 Stand up Surfing

 

 

 

Day 6 same times except 5:30-7:00

 

 

 

Day 7 9:00-9:30

 

9:30-11:00

 

3:00-5:00

 

 

Thank you.

[laurac22]

Thank you.

 

Your Welcome! Have a fantastic cruise:D