Is There Something Wrong with Liberty?

[nealstuber]

....What I have noticed that many hotels have "upgraded" their points requirements for freebie stays, example Marriotts are now grade 6 so we can't use our annual free night cert now :(

http://www.galveston.com/hotels-condos/

 

I wish Houston Bayport would stay open with NCL and Princess but alas it's gone for now.

 

 

Yeah Hilton did the same thing with the Hampton, like 50,000 points - didn't make sense to use them when I was able to get the room for $89...

 

Was thrilled to get an upgraded Suite at the Candlewood for 25000 points last month.

 

Bayport in the winter was a nightmare for us and for Princess. Too long of a pilot with too high a chance of fog.

Edited July 8, 2016 by nealstuber

[LuCruise]

Exactly. embarkation and disembarkation is not handled as well at this port as say Florida . We have not sailed out of Galveston since 2011 but we are booked on the Liberty in September. I will definitely leave the new car at home and drive an older one to port as a close friends brand new car was washed away during a hurricane about eight years ago and it and numerous others were never found. Felt pretty bad since my daughter had talked her into taking this as her first cruise. She has not sailed since that time.

 

Wow, that's awful.

[cruiselvr04]

Liberty is a great ship. We have been in and out of Port of Galveston six times now and for those of us who drive it's easy. I can see how it would compare to Canaveral for distance as we have done that also. The rub is lodging is really high the night before and up to now no easy car rental which drives the price up. Also you have limited ports of call which we get kind of tired of.

 

Galveston has lots of fun family things to do to extend your stay like Moody gardens, Schlitterban and Bishops Palace. The ocean however is not like Florida.

 

The cruise itself is great though and just as good as those out of Florida. Just look at all your options to get there.

 

We cruise 2-3 times a year and at least every 2 years still fly to FFL or San Juan to get to other ports of call. For us though it's great to save that cost and hassle of flying and drive to the port the rest of the time.

Edited July 8, 2016 by cruiselvr04

[loeytalldog]

My one and only complaint is the Liberty does not have the great Voom Internet I just enjoyed on the Oasis for the last week.

 

Does anyone know if Liberty is going to get Voom internet?

[Clarea]

Does anyone know if Liberty is going to get Voom internet?

The entire fleet should have the fast internet as some point, but there has been no implementation schedule publicly released.

[39august]

Things have changed a LOT for the better since 2011 as far as embarkation and debarkation! LB's internet was quite satisfactual for us last week. Don't know if it is called Voom.

[nealstuber]

Things have changed a LOT for the better since 2011 as far as embarkation and debarkation! LB's internet was quite satisfactual for us last week. Don't know if it is called Voom.

 

 

Back to OP's point, there's nothing wrong with Liberty or Galveston, though it's fair to say Florida ports might be cheaper to get to from the airport and probably better pre-cruise lodging options.

 

Comparing Liberty out of Galveston and Freedom out of POC, the same class Balcony on essentially the same itinerary at the same time - Liberty is $175 cheaper per person. $350 savings undercut by higher airport transfers and hotel prices. On paper probably just a $100 or so savings in this example.

[LuCruise]

Back to OP's point, there's nothing wrong with Liberty or Galveston, though it's fair to say Florida ports might be cheaper to get to from the airport and probably better pre-cruise lodging options.

 

Comparing Liberty out of Galveston and Freedom out of POC, the same class Balcony on essentially the same itinerary at the same time - Liberty is $175 cheaper per person. $350 savings undercut by higher airport transfers and hotel prices. On paper probably just a $100 or so savings in this example.

 

Thanks. For us coming from Ontario, very true about the flights. But the ship itself looks great for families...especially with the added waterslides (and not having to pay Harmony prices).

 

The cruise I was checking was the last week in August, which is super cheap for a 7 day cruise.

Edited July 8, 2016 by LuCruise

[nealstuber]

Thanks. For us coming from Ontario, very true about the flights. But the ship itself looks great for families...especially with the added waterslides (and not having to pay Harmony prices).

 

 

 

The cruise I was checking was the last week in August, which is super cheap for a 7 day cruise.

 

 

We were very pleased with our Liberty Cruise and the price we paid. Was not so long ago Galveston commanded a premium over FL but so many berths have come in so fast the opposite is true this summer. Grab it while you can, sooner or later this glut will balance out.

 

Nothing that says you have to stay on the island either, plenty of reasonable hotels between the airport and the island.

Edited July 8, 2016 by nealstuber