Liberty Review - May 8 to May 15

[nomoreknothead]

Us

Loyal Royals, Diamond Plus with 23 Cruises Sailed. All have been on Royal except 1 Carnival.

No Kiddos, Just Myself & my Husband.

 

Pre-Cruise Travel

 

We live 4 ½ hrs. North of Galveston, so we just drove down on Saturday to get a jump start on our vacation. I say 4 ½ hrs. is the normal time …. This trip due to I-45 construction, 2 accidents and Mother’s Day Weekend, It took more like 6 hrs. to get there. I had made reservations at the Comfort Suites on 89th St. and it did not disappoint. We enjoyed a nice dinner at Salsa’s Mexican Restaurant.

 

Parking & Transportation to Pier

 

The Comfort Suites offers shuttle transfer to the pier for $15.00 pp and allows you to leave your vehicle at the hotel. The shuttle time we wanted was unavailable, so we opted to take a taxi and the Hotel still let us leave our vehicle for Free!! The Taxi took a while to get there but hey it’s cruise day!! Tons of people needing Taxis. The taxi got us to pier safe & sound for a price of $20.00 including tip!

[nomoreknothead]

Embarkation

 

We arrived at 10:30am to a massive mad house. People were everywhere. The first thing I notice is this long, long line of people waiting in a line to drop off their luggage. I thought this was a bit strange as I’ve always just given my bags to a porter and off we go! Well I observed the situation for a moment and noticed that the porters seemed to be only allowed to pick up luggage from the mid street area. We went back over to the mid street area and found a porter, gave him our luggage and off to security check-in we went. I really didn’t like this set up and felt sorry for all those that had to stand in that line. The porters were also missing out on tips. We zipped through Priority Security Screening and went directly to Diamond + Check-in Line. I think there were 3 people ahead of us and as soon as we got up to the counter … We heard the announcement that they were boarding Pinnacle Club & Suite Members. We got all checked in and had our Sea Pass Cards in Hand, when they called for Diamond Plus to board! We were so early getting on board that the Wind Jammer wasn’t even open.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ship

 

The Liberty is Beautiful. We sailed her for the first time back in 2008 from Miami, when she was one of the biggest ship out. She still is the biggest ship that we have sailed on. Her refurbish earlier this year spruced her up quite nicely.

 

She is equipped with the new water slides but while we were walking around after boarding a big crane removed a large section of the Tidal Wave Water Slide. So for those wondering … No it is still not working!!! The other 2 & the flow rider were in use but I can’t comment any further as we didn’t use them ourselves.

 

The New mini-golf course aka Liberty Dunes is very nice and looked like lots of fun. As previous reviews have stated it is windy on this deck.

 

The kids water park “Splash Away Bay” is really nice, too! Something that I noticed on the Liberty that I haven’t noticed before on Royal ships was they now have a rack of child life vests on the pool deck for your use. They will help you find the right size for your child. I think this might be because of the recent children that have drown on board cruise ships!

 

Another addition was the big screen on the pool deck. They show movies several times during the week, some that I remember were Grease, Spectra, & Kung Fu Panda.

 

There is a Suite & Pinnacle Club Lounge and Diamond / Diamond Plus Lounge on Deck 14. There is also the Olive or Twist Bar on Deck 14. Diamond Plus was allowed access to the Suite Lounge for a short while after Liberty arrived in Galveston. This is no longer True. The Diamond Lounge is nice but it is nowhere near large enough for all the D & D+ members. It was even semi-full during the daytime hours. The outside patio area for this lounge is being used for construction workers right now and it will be nice to have that area back at some point. The Liberty is 1 of 2 test ships that are currently having the drink count monitored during happy hour. Our sea pass was swiped each time we ordered drinks even though there was no charge. Everyone believes there are BIG changes coming to the C & A Loyalty Program especially to the Diamond & Diamond + Levels !!!

[nomoreknothead]

Dining

 

We have always had late dining except for maybe our very 1st cruise. We didn’t change for this one except we didn’t stick strictly to the main dining room all 7 nights. We had a lovely table for 2 on Deck 4 by the window with waiter: Hashook and Asst. Waiter: Dwane. Our waiters were beyond fabulous!

The 1st night we went to the Windjammer Buffet with friend and had the wonderful Mongolian Stir-Fry and I had some of the very best sushi I’ve ever eaten!!

Night 2 – This was the first formal night! We used our Diamond + BOGO coupon for CHOPS Steakhouse in early celebration of my husband’s birthday, which would be night 5. It was delicious! The steaks were so tender. We were so full but we ordered dessert anyway – I got the red velvet cake & DH got the plate of Warm Cookies. My piece of cake was HUGH!! And I guess the cookies were good because his plate was empty.

Night 3 – We made it to the dining room for the first time and like I said earlier our waiters were awesome. DH had Chicken Cordon Bleu & I chose the NY Strip Steak both of which were good.

Night 4 – Back in the Dining Room for the Pork Scaloppini with Crab Meat Topping ~ Excellent!!

Night 5 – This was the second Formal night! (Don’t know if this was a onetime switch or if it will be permanent. Formal Night has always been on Friday Night) This was lobster/ fisherman’s plate and Prime Rib night. I ordered the Prime Rib and it didn’t disappoint. My husband decided he would order the Salmon and he said it was good. Tonight was his actual birthday, so the waiters all sang Happy Birthday and brought him a special dessert!

Night 6 – We went back to the Windjammer Buffet and I again had sushi!!! It was Italian night so there were several Italian dishes.

Night 7 – There were a group of us that went to Johnny Rockets. It was a blast! We danced with the waiters and said “Hello” to Everyone when they came in and said “GOODBYE” as they left!!! You had to be there!!

 

All our Breakfasts were in the Windjammer Buffet. No trouble finding something to fit our mood. Never had issues with finding a table. The service was excellent. The waiters even came by with fresh muffins!

 

Lunches were split between Windjammer & Main Dining Room. In the Main dining Room on Sea Days they have the Tutti Salad Bar! This is my favorite. You pick out you own ingredients and they toss it with your favorite dressing. One the last sea day they had Fresh made sushi! I was in Heaven!

[nomoreknothead]

Shows

 

We made it to the Ice Show, In The Air & Saturday Night Fever ….. All of them were Top Notch performances!

 

Ports of Call

 

Roatan, Honduras – Booked Directly with Bananarama Beach Club. This has been our hang out for the last several times to Honduras. The beach is beautiful, The service is great and the food is delicious. They meet us right outside the gates and take us to the resort and then bring us back to the ship when we are ready.

 

Belize City, Belize – We have been here several times and decided we would stay on the ship this time. This is a tender port.

 

Cozumel, Mexico – We booked directly with Nachi Cocom Beach Resort & Club. All – Inclusive Drinks with Lunch. They only allow 100 people per day. We had our very own beach front Palapa and loungers. We had a dedicated server but He was way overloaded with people. We believe that they let some of their servers go during LOW season and make the other take up the slack. Now I have no problem walking to the bar for another drink but the servers were way over worked! The food was delicious and plentiful! They also have a pool & hot tub with a swim up bar. It is a very relaxing place with very few kids. When we were ready to go back to the ship they called for a taxi and off we went. The taxi ride was $8.00 pp each way and the ride from the International Pier was approx.15 mins.

[nomoreknothead]

Debarkation

 

We did Self-Assist Express Off! Time was to be between 8:00 – 8:30. We head down to the dining room at 7:30 with our luggage, we stepped off the elevator right into a long line of people with their luggage. We had nowhere to go but follow the line. We were escorted out unto Deck 4 port side. One line was going forward toward the front of the ship and out the door across the ship to the starboard side deck 4. The other line was going toward the back of the ship to follow the other line. I have to say “Good Job” to the Royal Employees for directing traffic and keeping order! It was done well …. I’ve seen it done VERY BAD!!! This was a cake walk. We had a fairly long wait in line due to customs not clearing the ship for whatever reason. Once they clear us … It was Smooth Sailing. This was the very first time I have ever seen all the Custom stations full of Agents!!! We caught a taxi and got back to the hotel, picked up our car and were headed home by 9:30am! Remember the 4 ½ hours I said we lived from Galveston …. Well we made it home in 4 ½ hours and even stopped for a sit down lunch in Fairfield.

[gambler]

Thank-you, nice review.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[kruzerci]

Thanks for the review, we board Sunday.

 

A few questions if you don't mind.

 

1) I'm assuming they open up the main lounge in the Viking Crown as DL overflow? Was there enough seating there in the evenings?

 

2) I booked too early of a flight out of Houston without doing enough research about Galveston. What time do you think is realistically possible to be in the car headed for the airport if I am down early to do express walk off. 845 or 9am hopefully?

 

3) Could you explain the best way to drop off luggage at the pier if we arrive there at around 10:30? I'm not familiar with the Galveston terminal.

 

Thanks!

[Clarea]

Appreciate the review.

[widallas]

Thanks for sharing!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[nomoreknothead]

Thanks for the review, we board Sunday.

 

A few questions if you don't mind.

 

1) I'm assuming they open up the main lounge in the Viking Crown as DL overflow? Was there enough seating there in the evenings

 

No ! They no longer have overflow areas. What we did was go in the lounge get drinks and then come back & sit in the Olive or Twist Lounge! But they do not have servers out there! There are 2 reasons that I know of, 1) Sometimes there is a private function going on in the Olive or Twist & 2) This makes you go to the bar in the DL where they can swipe your card.

 

2) I booked too early of a flight out of Houston without doing enough research about Galveston. What time do you think is realistically possible to be in the car headed for the airport if I am down early to do express walk off. 845 or 9am hopefully?

 

We were possible some of the very first off @ around that 8:45 to 9:00 window but it truly depends on when customs clears the ship & how many Agents show up to work that day!

 

3) Could you explain the best way to drop off luggage at the pier if we arrive there at around 10:30? I'm not familiar with the Galveston terminal.

 

There are 2 sets of lanes coming in to the terminal. The one closest to the terminal is for private cars picking up & letting off passengers. The lanes further away are separated by a concrete median. The far lanes are where the shuttles,taxis & buses let off passengers. This is where I noticed all the porters heading. So we just went back to the median and flagged down a porter and Tipped him WELL!!!

 

Thanks!

 

I hope this helps answer your questions.

[ann1bell]

We were in line at 7:15 am for our early walk off. There was no problem with customs. We walked across the street to our car and were headed home by 7:45 am.

[wolfganghowell]

Thanks for your review - you sound like us. We do bananarama and have done nachi many times although lately we have gone back to Paradise Beach. Their pool and food have Nachi beat - but nachi still wins for peacefulness!

 

I've noticed that about the porters in Galveston before. We use the Hotel Galvez shuttle and we know to hang at the shuttle drop off to snare a porter. Getting excited - we're packing this weekend.

 

I expect our 4.5 hour drive will be just as gruesome since we are traveling Memorial Weekend.

 

Anything you can share about activities? I know nothing about JR Neal in Schooner - what kind of energy he has? We can't wait to see Derek in the pub - been too long!

[mylove]

Awesome review,thank you.......

[nomoreknothead]

Thanks for your review - you sound like us. We do bananarama and have done nachi many times although lately we have gone back to Paradise Beach. Their pool and food have Nachi beat - but nachi still wins for peacefulness!

 

I've noticed that about the porters in Galveston before. We use the Hotel Galvez shuttle and we know to hang at the shuttle drop off to snare a porter. Getting excited - we're packing this weekend.

 

I expect our 4.5 hour drive will be just as gruesome since we are traveling Memorial Weekend.

 

Anything you can share about activities? I know nothing about JR Neal in Schooner - what kind of energy he has? We can't wait to see Derek in the pub - been too long!

 

Sorry, We never made it to the Schooner bar but it was always packed for trivia! We spent time in the Olive or Twist (Viking Crown) for music through the decades with the DJ it was usually a packed house until the wee hours. It was fun to watch all the different age groups merge in one place!

 

Derek's Adult Daycare was always well attended. You have been forewarned He has His "Ball Sack" ready and needs someone hold them! LOL :eek::D

[wolfganghowell]

Oh yes and I guess we'll have to buy some knockers for him in Cozumel. :D

[SHMILYMOM]

Shows

 

We made it to the Ice Show, In The Air & Saturday Night Fever ….. All of them were Top Notch performances!

 

Ports of Call

 

Roatan, Honduras – Booked Directly with Bananarama Beach Club. This has been our hang out for the last several times to Honduras. The beach is beautiful, The service is great and the food is delicious. They meet us right outside the gates and take us to the resort and then bring us back to the ship when we are ready.

 

Belize City, Belize – We have been here several times and decided we would stay on the ship this time. This is a tender port.

 

Cozumel, Mexico – We booked directly with Nachi Cocom Beach Resort & Club. All – Inclusive Drinks with Lunch. They only allow 100 people per day. We had our very own beach front Palapa and loungers. We had a dedicated server but He was way overloaded with people. We believe that they let some of their servers go during LOW season and make the other take up the slack. Now I have no problem walking to the bar for another drink but the servers were way over worked! The food was delicious and plentiful! They also have a pool & hot tub with a swim up bar. It is a very relaxing place with very few kids. When we were ready to go back to the ship they called for a taxi and off we went. The taxi ride was $8.00 pp each way and the ride from the International Pier was approx.15 mins.

 

We booked directly with Nachi Cocom for when Liberty was in port at Cozumel the previous week. It was great. Not super crowded. Good food. We had loungers under the one of the Palapas also; but Adult DD's snagged two of the hammocks and spent the last couple of hours there. Very reasonably priced as was the cab ride to/from the resort.

[SHMILYMOM]

Sorry, We never made it to the Schooner bar but it was always packed for trivia! We spent time in the Olive or Twist (Viking Crown) for music through the decades with the DJ it was usually a packed house until the wee hours. It was fun to watch all the different age groups merge in one place!

 

Derek's Adult Daycare was always well attended. You have been forewarned He has His "Ball Sack" ready and needs someone hold them! LOL :eek::D

 

The three nights we saw Derek when we were on Liberty for the May 1 sailing, the "youngest" of our adult DD's was drafted to pass around the "shakers" from the "Ball Sack" as well as play the bongos every night. We loved Derek's shows!

[jcc1025]

Thanks for the review. Like you we have been part of the Loyal to Royal group and have over 15 cruises with them. This will be the first time on the Freedom class however, but will complete the tour of every class.

Have to tell those L to R group, if you have not done Oasis class, do it. It is hard to describe how good those ships are. I was worried that it would seem to big or crowded but can honestly say the way they have those ships set up it felt less crowded than Radiance. Of course we usually only sail it Oct-Dec so the crowd maybe be smaller and the demographics are different but we loved it. With that said we are excited to be on Liberty in two weeks and appreciate your comments.

[RoyalC]

Did Liberty offer any dining packages when you boarded?

Was the Diamond lounge packed every night?

What are the rumors with being carded in the lounge?

[JaniceB]

Thank you for the easy to read detailed review.

[CCC3]

How were the beds?

[EntropyGuardian]

Good to hear. We are sailing her in july and sept.

 

I hate the galveston port -- the houston one was much better but it is the only one that doesn't require a plane trip.

[nomoreknothead]

Did Liberty offer any dining packages when you boarded?

Was the Diamond lounge packed every night?

What are the rumors with being carded in the lounge?

 

I'm not sure on the dining packages. We knew we were only going to use our BOGO coupon for 1 night in Chops!

 

It was no rumor ... We did have to swipe our card ever y time we ordered a drink in the Diamond Lounge. Reason is still unknown .... I'm guessing it will be something to do with C & A Levels & offerings!!

 

How were the beds?

 

I emailed ahead of trip and had a topper added to the bed and it was still what I call VERY FIRM!

[imzacksmom]

Can you tell me where to send the email for the mattress topper? I wan to make sure we get one. I think I'd also like to request a table by the window in the MDR. Would I email the same department?