No More RC for us: Liberty Review

[JaniceB]

Thanks for sharing a candid review of your cruise.

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[Beebearlvr]

Thanks for the review. None of the negatives stated really bother me. We will be on LOTS in October and are really looking forward to it. We have a motto for all vacations.......We're not here for a lng time....we are here for a good time! This will be our 21st cruise. None have been perfect and we've been on most cruise lines. You can either let the negatives ruin you or you let the positive memories carry you. Every vacation has positive memories. Focus on those. What a great time you must of had being surrounded by family and friends on your cruise.

[Wilson]

We had an amazing cruise in April on Liberty. Booked again and going in November.

[George C]

You can find fault on any cruise, but Liberty is a nice ship, with a great crew, service in all the restaurants was as good as any of my other 50 plus cruises and we cruise many lines

[nativetexan]

Sorry it wasn't up to your expectations. Hope your next vacation is terrific!

[broberts]

You can find fault on any cruise, but Liberty is a nice ship, with a great crew, service in all the restaurants was as good as any of my other 50 plus cruises and we cruise many lines

 

Are you as tolerant of land based restaurants that charge you twice for the same entrée and then refuse to remove the charge, asking you to contact their head office instead?

Edited May 23, 2016 by broberts

[Paul65]

Are you as tolerant of land based restaurants that charge you twice for the same entrée and then refuse to remove the charge, asking you to contact their head office instead?

 

Yes, this seemed to be the issue that aggravated the OP the most, but it's hard for me to understand what went on there. Removing the daily automatic gratuities is something the ship can handle, and does routinely, and there is no need to contact the head office.

 

I think they were either trying to remove daily gratuities as well as their prepaid gratuities, or there was some miscommunication, and G.S. thought they wanted the prepaid gratuities refunded. Guest Services can't do anything with refunding monies you paid in advance, but they can handle any changes to what is charged on your seapass account.

Edited May 23, 2016 by Paul65

[mckinna]

Not sure why as issue was made about formal night being on a port day. Lots of cruises do this. Just got off Freedom and our 2nd formal night was on a port day.

[George C]

Are you as tolerant of land based restaurants that charge you twice for the same entrée and then refuse to remove the charge, asking you to contact their head office instead?

 

No, what I am saying is I had no problems, as for guest services, they do not seem like they can handle most problems, I had minor issue with them on last cruise, I had major issues with other cruise lines guest services, I find it easier dealing with cruise line for my complaints, RCCL has always handled my problems in a fair way.

Edited May 23, 2016 by George C

[foxgoodrich]

In our experience, on 7 night cruises the formal nights are almost always on Day 2 and Day 5. Occasionally the second one has been on Day 6. The first one is usually a sea day, but the second one is usually on a port day, esp. if it's on Day 5.

 

On our May 8 Liberty cruise, the second formal night was on Day 5, which was the day we stopped in Belize. Since that was a tender port, with a longer tender ride than most, and the last tender back to the ship was at 5:30, timing would have been difficult for those with early dinner if they had afternoon excursions. Day 5 was also the day when there were two performances of Saturday Night Fever in the theater - one at 5:45, and one at 8:30.

 

We had late dining and we didn't have an afternoon excursion, but it did cut our day in Belize a bit short to get back to the ship in time to get cleaned up, dressed in our formal night clothes, and make it to the theater by 5:45! We made it with a few minutes to spare, found seats with no problem, and about 10 minutes or so into the show, the whole production had to stop for a couple of minutes when the Captain came on the intercom to announce our sailaway from Belize. That was awkward for the performers, but they handled it well.

 

At the time I thought that shifting formal night to Day 6 (Cozumel) on that itinerary might have been a good idea. It still would have been a port day, but a walk-off port would have been easier than a tendered port.

Judy

[Charger2008]

So aside from what I've already written nothing TERRIBLE happened on this cruise, but enough things went wrong that we simply have no reason to cruise RC again.

We did not in any way, shape or form get our monies worth. Each day it became a joke of I-wonder-what-will-go-wrong-today?

Little things add up, you know? Dirty dishes, rude staff, having to ask several times for the same thing, lack of information... There were some good things, but they were no better than on other lines. No better than what we could've gotten on the cheaper Carnival cruise that we decided against.

 

Previously the only cruise we had an issue with was Celebrity. That was due to them changing our cabin when we checked in at the pier. They stated it was an upgrade, but we found the location to be quite undesirable. It was by the atrium which was VERY noisy. Because we travel with young children, they were unable to sleep so we would take them out which was met with rude stares and comments from passengers. We didn't 100% write off Celebrity, but find it ironic that now the only other cruise we've had an issue with is RC which owns Celebrity.

 

We've sailed on lines that cost much more than RC, but always felt you get what you pay for. Not only did we not get what we paid for, we were overcharged...

 

We prepaid gratuities as we almost always do when we sail.

On about day 4 we checked our bill and saw that they had added gratuities to it. I went to guest services not once, not twice but FOUR times to get this taken care of. The final time just so happned to be on Saturday where I was rudely informed that there was nothing they could do because their office in Miami was closed.

As I'm speaking with them about the gratuities I overhear people in line mocking me because, "I was removing my tips."

If those people happen to be here on CC I'll have you know, no I was not removing my tips, RC charged me TWICE for tips. I was removing their added tips.

 

Since returning home, I've had to call twice and write once to RC main office about these additional charges. We still have not received confirmation from the credit card company that the additional tips have been rightfully returned.

 

We left this cruise feeling like we'd been ripped off. In fact if they do not return the double tips, we have.

Yes, we liked Sabor, we liked SNF, we liked Adventure Ocean(even with the dining confusion). Were those couple things so much better than an NCL or Carnival cruise to justify the added cost. Not at all. Plus there were so many things that went wrong and added stress that we have not experienced on even the lower budget lines.

 

We have no reason to return to RC, they simply didn't sell us a good product as other lines have.

 

 

Did y'all try the Flowrider :) That is our favorite thing to do on the ship :D Sorry it was not a great vacation and I hope you get the tip thing worked out. That would be very frustrating.

[travelphyl]

Hey! FGL is awesome music :)

[shopnagain]

We were on LOS the week of May 8th. While it was our first cruise so I really don’t have anything else to compare it to, it was AMAZING. Now I wish I hadn’t waited so long to try out cruising. The ship was so clean, we were very impressed with the extra cleaning measures. We never found any staff to be rude or unwilling to help.

The second formal night was on a port day, and it was tendered in Belize. We had a long excursion that day and made one of the last tenders to the ship at 5:30 so we had to hustle to get dressed for dinner at 6:30!

My husband and I arrived on earth at the very end of the 70’s and I really had no interest in disco/ 70’s music, so I had no idea what Saturday Night Fever was about. Now, I’m just going to spoil it here so if you don’t want to know the ending, cover your eyes and move to the next thread! At the end, one of the characters commits suicide by jumping off a bridge. In this day, that would qualify as a PG rated movie in all honesty. Not the most family friendly theme, but I mean, kids today have seen much worse in video games! The acting and dancing was great.

The only thing bad I have to say about the whole thing was the “VOOM + streaming” high speed internet I purchased. It worked intermittently, was most definitely NOT high speed and would NOT stream or even allow basic functions like posting pictures. I bought it to facetime with the kids at home, but this was difficult with frequent dropped connections.

[Mommabear2Five]

Thanks for your honest review. Our first and second RC cruises didn't wow us at all to be honest. My review of Independence sounds very similar to yours. Everyone looks for something different in a cruise or a cruise line and it took us until our 3rd RC cruise to realize what we enjoy about them vs. Carnival.

 

We hope to try a few other lines, but we will be back to RC one day.

[iluvcruzin]

Thank you for your review Lerin. Sorry it didn't meet your expectations but you did like some things.

 

On the gratuity charges - they should have removed that at the purser's desk. The excuse of the office being closed in Miami has been used many times as someone noted.

 

On the OBC it only should have been dropped if you cancelled and rebooked. If you were upgrading or just moving a cabin from one location to another, it should have stayed with the booking. Not sure if you used a TA but I have been known to call mine from the ship (I asked to use the phone at the Purser's desk) to get things fixed on OBC where it didn't show up on my account. Regardless of the cruise line, bring a copy of your invoice with you to show proof just in case.

 

I had a bad experience on RCCL some years back and stopped cruising for a while. Then decided to try it again. Hopefully that will be your case.

Edited May 23, 2016 by iluvcruzin

[swmichigan cruiser]

People on the same cruise can have totally different experiences. We have probably been on the Liberty of the Seas six times. First few times it was great and it was probably our favorite ship. The last few not so great so I would doubt we would ever sail on it again. The last time was a transatlantic cruise that I think was 15 nights. Because we are Diamond Plus we got to use the Diamond Lounge and the Concierge Lounge and both concierge were very sub par so we quit going to both. We had a cabin attendant that was more willing to help us then either of the two concierges. I think the thing that really bothered me the most was about 7 or 8 nights into the cruise we were asked to fill out a questionaire about the cruise and if we listed a problem the hotel director would get back to us. I told them about the lack of effort by the concierges but I did mention how our cabin attendant was really helpful. After a few days and not hearing from the hotel director I stopped at guest relations and asked about about why we had not heard from the hotel director. Turned out the only thing they put in the computer was I had said we had a good cabin attendant. That pretty much told me the Liberty is not the ship for me. Like I said just my opinion others I am sure have had better experiences.

[Paul65]

The last time was a transatlantic cruise that I think was 15 nights. Because we are Diamond Plus we got to use the Diamond Lounge and the Concierge Lounge and both concierge were very sub par so we quit going to both.

 

Just out of curiosity, what kind of help were you looking for from the concierge? I wouldn't stop going to one of the lounges because of subpar concierge, but that generally because the concierge is rarely the reason I go to a lounge. I find them a good place for a nibble at breakfast time or afternoon snack, a nice drink or two during happy hour, and occasionally just a nice quiet place to relax at other times of day.

 

I have occasionally asked a concierge for help with something like a dinner reservation, but it's just not a routine part of visiting the lounge, for me.

[actuarian]

Over the last 15 years, my wife and I have cruised enough times with Royal to be Diamond+ and well on the way to Pinnacle. We always have minor niggles about the product but we have never had as many problems as the OP. In particular, we have never experienced the level of misinformation that the OP described, such as being misinformed about when Formal Night was or when to disembark for a shore excursion. However, there are two things mentioned by the OP that we emphatically concur with. One is that the food in the MDR has deteriorated a lot over those 15 years. We are also frequent cruisers (Platinum level) on Disney. When we first started cruising, we thought that the food in the MDRs on Royal was quite a lot better on Royal than on Disney. However, over the years Disney's MDR food has constantly improved while Royal's has deteriorated (in our opinion). Now, it is the other way around. The other point we agree with is that Royal seems to be obsessed with the idea that cruisers want to steal their cheap pool towels (and their hangers). The result is that customers are inconvenienced with having to check out and in every towel and having to fool with the theft proof hangers. Yet, I cannot imagine why anyone who could afford a cruise would want to steal such stuff!

Edited May 23, 2016 by actuarian

[Paul65]

The other point we agree with is that Royal seems to be obsessed with the idea that cruisers want to steal their cheap pool towels (and their hangers). The result is that customers are inconvenienced with having to check out and in every towel and having to fool with the theft proof hangers. Yet, I cannot imagine why anyone who could afford a cruise would want to steal such stuff!

 

Unfortunately, I think the answer is most likely that they did have a problem with towels going missing. I don't think they do it just for fun. But I've never found the towel check-out to be much of an issue. I always have my seapass with me, anyway, so if they want to scan it when I pick up or return a towel, no big deal.

[George C]

Unfortunately, I think the answer is most likely that they did have a problem with towels going missing. I don't think they do it just for fun. But I've never found the towel check-out to be much of an issue. I always have my seapass with me, anyway, so if they want to scan it when I pick up or return a towel, no big deal.

 

I thought it was strange that they had towel check out, last 2 cruises did not have it ( Navigator 2014 and 2015), I think it may be more of a deal with people taking thwm on excursions and not returning them

[actuarian]

I always have my seapass with me, anyway, so if they want to scan it when I pick up or return a towel, no big deal.

 

The OP did a very good job of explaining why it is an issue:

 

"Pool Towels

So RC has a check out type system that we were never able to make any sense out of. We would get towels and they'd scan our card. When we returned the towel, they scanned again. This sounds simple, right?

However, our room steward sometimes took our towels and when we went to get a new one we were told we already had one. A few times 1 person in our party would take back several towels and they were told they had to bring the original cards the towels were checked out from. At the end of the week 1 person in our party said he'd just been taking towels off some cart and didn't even realize there was a towel check-out. Sheesh! I'm not sure what the purpose of this towel check out program is.

It's not like anyone is going to steal the towels. They are threadbare and small. Nobody wants these towels in their home."

[ARCruisinNana]

The other point we agree with is that Royal seems to be obsessed with the idea that cruisers want to steal their cheap pool towels (and their hangers). The result is that customers are inconvenienced with having to check out and in every towel and having to fool with the theft proof hangers. Yet, I cannot imagine why anyone who could afford a cruise would want to steal such stuff!

 

 

People aren't stealing the towels, but not bringing them back from excursions. If a towel is wet and sandy some don't feel responsible enough to lug them back to the ship. So, everyone has to be accountable. A charge of $25 per towel gets their attention.

Edited May 23, 2016 by ARCruisinNana

[Paul65]

The OP did a very good job of explaining why it is an issue:

 

Yeah, I read that. It never seemed anywhere near that complicated, in my experience, and never had a cabin steward take my pool towels. That doesn't mean it didn't happen to them, just sharing my experience of it being no big deal.

[swmichigan cruiser]

Just out of curiosity, what kind of help were you looking for from the concierge? I wouldn't stop going to one of the lounges because of subpar concierge, but that generally because the concierge is rarely the reason I go to a lounge. I find them a good place for a nibble at breakfast time or afternoon snack, a nice drink or two during happy hour, and occasionally just a nice quiet place to relax at other times of day.

 

I have occasionally asked a concierge for help with something like a dinner reservation, but it's just not a routine part of visiting the lounge, for me.

 

It helped that we had the free drink package so no real need to go to the lounges anyhow. But my problem was we did not get the paperwork from the concierge telling us about lounge hours etc. We went to the Concierge Lounge on deck 10 and I asked the concierge there about it and he said I had to go up to the Diamond lounge on deck 14 and ask about it when all he had to do was pick up the phone and call up there and he could have taken care of it for us. I went up to the Diamond lounge and I had that concierge print it off and I can't remember the question I had for him but he said I had to go see the Loyalty Ambassador Deck 5 when all he had to do was pick up the phone and call and get my question answered.I just got tired of running all over the ship when they could have handled everything by just picking up the phone. I guess I have been spoiled by the concierges like Mario Reyes that do such a great job on the other ships.