Life on Liberty 2/21-2/28: Mo'Bay, GC, Cozumel

[Beachiekeen]

Which resort were you planning on for Grand Cayman? We are going there next week and thinking of doing this just not sure where to go.

 

We had reserved a pool cabana at the Royal Palms. *cries*

Edited March 2, 2016 by Beachiekeen

[Beachiekeen]

Thanks for the great review. Looks like you had a great time.

 

We are looking into doing a Liberty cruise out of Galveston so we can visit family in Texas on the way.

 

You and I have the same taste in drinks. My absolute favorite is the Strawberry lava flow. And when I can't get that, I'm always down for a Mai Tai.

 

We love Nachi Cocum too.

 

We really had a good time. I'm having fun reliving it here! Hope it helps someone.

[BecciBoo]

We shared a room at the Weston Grand Cayman with 2 other couples on 7 mile beach...great place. That made it very affordable.

 

Beautiful pool and patio and beachfront. It was great being able to shower and clean up before starting back to the tenders. We were there November 2014

Edited March 2, 2016 by BecciBoo

[Buccaneergirl]

Enjoying your review so much!

 

Nachi is our favorite place to go in Cozumel, but the rest of the day/night when we get back on the ship is shot from all the drinking on the beach. 😊🍻🍻🍻🍻

 

Saturday Night Fever is my all time favorite show on any ship, so I'm glad you got to see it. I found the backdrop/sets to be great.

[Zu~]

HI All I haven't been on Liberty yet, but would like to know the internet set up. Is it zoom internet or just the old system. Anyone know the prices for it? Where is the concierge lounge on Liberty? Thanks for any answers. Zu~

[Beachiekeen]

HI All I haven't been on Liberty yet, but would like to know the internet set up. Is it zoom internet or just the old system. Anyone know the prices for it? Where is the concierge lounge on Liberty? Thanks for any answers. Zu~

 

No Voom. I think it was $20/day.

[BecciBoo]

concierge was moved during dry dock, from deck 9 to the port side of Olive or Twist , deck 14, which is what most people know as the Viking Crown. You can only get there from the portside centrum elevators

Edited March 2, 2016 by BecciBoo

[RoamingRetirees]

HI All I haven't been on Liberty yet, but would like to know the internet set up. Is it zoom internet or just the old system. Anyone know the prices for it? Where is the concierge lounge on Liberty? Thanks for any answers. Zu~

 

Internet was not upgraded to voom--I heard it is supposed to be upgraded in June, but that could just be rumors. We had a Promenade cabin, and it was awful. I couldn't use my tablet, but my phone worked better. If you buy the entire cruise it is $20 per day for one device and $30 per day for two. Concierge lounge is next to Olive or Twist on 14 (Viking Crown Lounge).

[ARCruisinNana]

HI All I haven't been on Liberty yet, but would like to know the internet set up. Is it zoom internet or just the old system. Anyone know the prices for it? Where is the concierge lounge on Liberty? Thanks for any answers. Zu~

 

There is no longer a Concierge Lounge on Libery. There is now a Suite Lounge (SL) on deck 14. It is on the opposite side of the ship from the Diamond Club.

[Zu~]

There is no longer a Concierge Lounge on Libery. There is now a Suite Lounge (SL) on deck 14. It is on the opposite side of the ship from the Diamond Club.

 

What about Diamond Plus? Guess I'll have to find out on board since no real answer here yet. Thanks

[Zu~]

concierge was moved during dry dock, from deck 9 to the port side of Olive or Twist , deck 14, which is what most people know as the Viking Crown. You can only get there from the portside centrum elevators

 

That makes sense-Anthem had it on 14 aft portside. I would like Viking Crown though.

 

 

i

[RoamingRetirees]

What about Diamond Plus? Guess I'll have to find out on board since no real answer here yet. Thanks

 

Right now D+ are allowed in Suite Lounge. Someone said they were told by RCI that will change. No idea when.

[Clarea]

What about Diamond Plus? Guess I'll have to find out on board since no real answer here yet. Thanks

D+ still have access to the Diamond Lounge.

[RoamingRetirees]

That makes sense-Anthem had it on 14 aft portside. I would like Viking Crown though.

 

 

i

 

Olive or Twist is Viking Crown. Suite and D Lounges do not take up the entire VC.

[RiotAct]

Loving this review!

[Beachiekeen]

I'm no help on any of the lounge questions sorry! We're just lowly Gold.

[Beachiekeen]

More of Nachi:

 

 

 

 

We finally tore ourselves away around 4:30 p.m. and made our way back to the ship.

 

 

[Beachiekeen]

We stopped by the MDR and made early dinner reservations since we had eaten an early lunch. The host had been seating us in the section we had the first night now without us even asking.

 

Every night, our server Gina would do a little demonstration for us. Tonight she showed us how to make a rose out of a dinner napkin.

 

 

There weren't too many highlights on this menu but there was escargot and pork which is what BFF got. I wasn't that hungry but if I had been, I would have gotten the pork because it was delicious. I was sad I couldn't eat it.

 

I just got minestrone soup and a Caesar salad. (It was an Italian theme and there was also lasagna on the menu). Hubby got the baked garlic shrimp which was delicious--we all agreed it was better than the lobster. If you like shrimp, don't miss it.

 

 

He also got the bread and butter pudding and this was my second favorite dessert of the week next to the warm chocolate cake.

 

 

I don't like tiramisu but I ordered it so hubby could try it.

 

 

Midway through the meal, I left the table and ran up to Deck 4 to catch the end of sunset.

 

 

We went up to our room after dinner and our balcony door had come loose and was rattling and we had to have maintenance come fix it. We had thought it was really loose all week and not closing properly and it turns out that the handle was on completely wrong and he fixed it and then it closed much better.

 

We had planned to go to the singalong with Derek Lewis at Hoof & Claw but after drinking for an entire day in the Mexican sun, we were toast and ended up just watching Spiderman on TV until we fell asleep. Yes, we are the most boring cruisers ever.

[Beachiekeen]

*Sigh* I can't believe it's day 7 already. I hope you guys have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

 

After going to bed so early, I was up at 6:30. I was very excited because now our balcony was on the correct side for sunrise. I have never seen an actual sunrise before, only sunset. So I sat out on the balcony and waited.

 

 

 

 

I had big plans for the last sea day. I was finally ready to drag my bread-scarfing, pina colada-drinking, dessert-eating self to the gym. There was a 9:00 spin class at the fitness center that I wanted to take and I planned to use the steam room afterwards. Then I wanted to go to the T-shirt blowout at 11:00 and go and look at our formal night pictures. Then we had made 1:00 lunch reservations at Sabor and I was going to try and catch the last ice show at 4:00.

 

So about the ice show: having it scheduled according to the muster station is tough. Because if you are scheduled for the last day as we were, you don't know if it will be the first or second showing until you get your Compass the night before. And sure enough, ours was at 2:00 and we had already made the 1:00 lunch reservation. I did find out on one of the morning shows that there is a standby line however. So you can go to any show and get in the stanby line and at 10 minutes before the show, they let you in to find a seat. So that is what I planned to do even though the cruise director didn't recommend waiting until the last show, but I had no choice.

 

We went down to the MDR for our last breakfast around 7:45. We went back to the room to change and headed to the fitness center. I was the 8th person to sign up for the spin class. We were early so hubby and I did some weights together until my class was supposed to start. But when I went over, only me and one other guy had shown up. Which is weird because the sheet clearly says if you sign up and you don't show up, you still get charged the $12 fee. So the class got cancelled.

 

So I did about 40 minutes on the treadmill instead. The machines in the gym are very nice, much better than the ones at my local 24 Hour Fitness.

 

View from the treadmill:

 

 

After my workout, I went to the Solarium and claimed two chairs on the pool deck in the shade just in case hubby wanted to join me later. It was cool and windy--I have written down that it only got up to 66 degrees this day. So there were plenty of chairs to choose from.

 

I went back to the steam room and used it for about 20 minutes and then went back and hung out at the Solarium. It was so chilly I ended up changing into leggings and a light sweatshirt.

 

Hubby met me at 11:00 and we went down to the Promenade to check out the T-shirt sale and we dropped by the Next Cruise desk but it was completely full so we just picked up a flyer. We didn't really see much benefit to booking onboard anyway as the "deal" was the exact same one we had booked ourselves online for this cruise.

 

The T-shirt sale was a total cluster and we quickly left. Some things just aren't worth saving $10 for and this was one of them.

 

We then went over to look at our pictures which were nice but not worth $25. Does anyone actually buy the picture packages? The cheapest package of 10 was $175. My wedding photos didn't cost that much.

 

So then it was time to go get ready for lunch at Sabor. We stopped on the way for a mini red-velvet cupcake at the Cupcakery which was $2 and not bad.

 

 

I sat out on the balcony until time for lunch.

 

[Beachiekeen]

Lunch at Sabor was really good, the service was great and it is ALOT of food. Once you start in on the chips, salsa, and tableside guacamole, you will not stop eating until you leave. Everything is very fresh. The guacamole was good but I thought the fresh salsa was equally good.

 

 

We both got one of the premium margaritas that they also make tableside. This one was made with acai puree. They were $12 and we were allowed to use our punch card for them.

 

 

 

For appetizers, I got the tortilla soup and hubby got the stuffed chicken jalepenos wrapped in bacon.

 

 

I got the barbacoa tacos. They were very flavorful but a little dry so I added salsa to them and then they were perfect.

 

 

Hubby got the tuna tacos and we both shared each of ours. These weren't really anything special and we both thought mine were better. Also, although the fillings were good, the shells tasted like store bought shells, maybe not even as good as what I buy at the store.

 

Edited March 3, 2016 by Beachiekeen

[Beachiekeen]

There is only one dessert and it's a dessert sampler that they just bring you automatically. My favorites were the flan and the empanadas filled with chocolate.

 

 

Lunch was $20 each plus the margaritas. (I forgot to mention earlier that Chops for dinner was $35). I was so full that when we got to our room, I fell asleep immediately and slept for 45 minutes, only waking up when hubby woke me up for the ice show.

 

I raced down to the ice rink getting there around 3:45. There were no lines and no one checking cards or anything, just a lady saying "Enjoy the show." Although the center sections were taken, there were plenty of seats here and there. I just hate asking people if seats are taken, etc.

 

So I found myself wandering up to this upper level where there was a little bar with stools. I followed another couple in and it looked like as good a seat as any to me.

 

 

When I sat down I realized I was right behind the section for Gold cardholders. This is where I saw the guy take down the ropes and let anyone in the section, probably 5 minutes or so before the show started. I could have moved down if I wanted but I felt my seat was just as good.

 

I enjoyed the show a lot. I would rank it third behind In the Air and SNF. I am a big fan of figure skating and I know all the jumps and what they are called, etc. So it was interesting to see what jumps they tried, what ones failed, etc. I was very impressed that the skaters skated with a lot of speed in that small rink. I was a little confused by the story line--at first I thought they were skating to different operas, then I thought no, they are skating in different places around the world--I never quite figured it out. But it was entertaining. Hubby ended up joining me at the end.

 

We had lost track of BFF so we decided to go have a drink. At 5:00 on the last sea day when it's cold outside, the bars fill up. Voytek was playing but Boleros was packed--I kind of got miffed because I spied an empty couch but a lady saw me and blocked it, clearly saving that entire section for her friends coming out of the ice show.

 

The Schooner Bar was full, even the R Bar that had been empty the one time we went was completely packed. So we decided to head up to Olive or Twist. It was full as well but we stood at the little bar thing by the window and eventually scored a table.

 

I got a delicious mai tai.

 

 

Hubby got something called a Goombay Smash which was like a pina colada on the rocks. He liked it.

 

 

 

BFF found us and the boys went to Hoof & Claw while I went up to the room to pack and enjoy the balcony.

 

 

We agreed to meet up at 6:45 for the last sunset and dinner in the dining room.

[cruising grandma]

This is THE BEST REVIEW I have ever seen! Thank you so much for taking time writing it and posting all the beautiful photos! I would like to know what kind of camera did you use? Your photos are great! All the food photos make me want to eat! All the beach photos make me really wish I was at your location! I'm going b2b on Liberty next month and you have given me so many things to look forward to! I am a very frequent a Royal Caribbean cruiser, but you have given me several new ideas! Thanks again, and hopefully, we'll meet on a cruise in the future! If we do, the drinks on me!:) I'll also give you a complimentary ship's photo! I will also add.....since you are quite new at cruising, Royal Caribbean has THE BEST loyalty program of any cruise lines we have tried. :D

Edited March 3, 2016 by cruising grandma

[comoceva]

Do they have aqua aerobics in addition to the spin classes?

[Beachiekeen]

The final night's menu was nothing to write home about. BFF got the lamb shank, and hubby got the baked scallops. I tried one and they were good.

 

 

I just got soup again and pineapple sherbet for dessert--very light and refreshing. Hubby got the apple strudel.

 

 

Even though we would have preferred a specialty restaurant to this menu, we wanted to see our servers one last time and say goodbye. We tipped them and they hugged all of us goodbye. I made sure to give them all 10s on the survey.

 

Then it was up to Deck 4 for sunset which wasn't spectacular but we couldn't miss it.

 

 

 

We called it an early night because hubby wanted to do self-assist and that meant we had to be in line by 7:00 a.m. Yikes. I watched Training Day while hubby passed out.

 

We were up before 6:00 am. The Windjammer opened at 6:00 so I ran down and got cereal for me and hubby and brought it back to the room. They had granola at the WJ, but it wasn't as good as the MDR.

 

 

Once we docked, I watched the sun come up over Galveston.

 

 

So the departure show we watched on TV said to be on Deck 4 by 7:00 or 7:15. We were down at 7:10 and the line was already long--some of those people must have been there at 6:30. I have heard horror stories about disembarking but I have to say we did not experience any of that. It was all well organized, the line was moving by 7:30 and we were off the boat and to our car at the Park N Cruise by 8:10. Easy peasy.

[Beachiekeen]

And that's it folks!

 

 

This was a really fun cruise. I liked everything about RCI more than Carnival. I know Carnival has its fans and there is definitely a place for it in this industry but we now know it's not for us. However, I am not loyal to Royal just yet. The BFF really wants us to try Princess and I must admit I am dreaming about a cruise on the Royal Princess someday.

 

We are not your average cruisers I guess. We don't do a ton of the activities unless they happen to fit into our schedule. We use the week to unplug, relax and reconnect. We take several vacations a year, and a cruise is just one of them. We are talking about making a cruise our spring break vacation now though so hopefully we will have one planned for 2017 pretty soon.

 

I hope you guys enjoyed reading my review as much as I enjoyed writing it. This forum is so helpful and I hope someone will find something helpful in my trip report. I tried to include answers to questions I myself had.

 

I want to say thank you to the regulars here for being so happy to answer every question patiently no matter how many times it has been asked. You are a wealth of information and I know I'll be back when our next cruise comes around.

 

And there WILL be a next one. Until then, bon voyage!

Edited March 3, 2016 by Beachiekeen