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First time cruiser back from the Liberty of the Seas

Marinagirl1443
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Marinagirl1443

Marinagirl1443

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We're back home and unpacked from our very first cruise on the Liberty of the Seas. Myself, hubby, 13 year old daughter and my mom all cruised together, all first timers. We had a great time and the cruise exceeded our expectations.

 

Being first timers I really wanted to know as much as I could up front. So if you have questions, please ask. I'll write a longer review later, with some pics.

 

We were highly disappointed in not going to Belize or Roatan, but considering that the day we were supposed to be in Belize is the day that the hurricane Earl was reaching Belize, we completely understood the captains decision. We loved Nassau, and we are convinced that we'll go back there in the future.

 

For now I'll start with our embarkation. I was really, really nervous about this, I travel alot but usually on airplanes and I have my routine and know how and where to go, since it was an unknown to me, I just wanted to have as many facts as possible.

 

It was way smoother than I expected! I followed the advice of reviews I read and we arrived early, around 9AM. We parked in Lot B, the parking lot wasn't open until about 9:30 but the attendant had cars line up along the street as they came up. We were about the 5th or 6th car in line. Once the lot opened up we parked (we prepaid online); got our luggage on a shuttle right away; the shuttle dropped us off on the far end of the entrance (far left if you are facing the check in doors), we got our luggage, got turned around a little and realized that the bag drop off was not the same as the check in area. You drop your bags off at the far right where it says Luggage Drop (duh...I missed that!). We gave a porter our bags and then just took our carry on bags and went back to the check-in. That was pretty quick.

 

When we got to the desk where they give you your Sea Pass, there was hardly anyone there. Several windows were open with agents waiting for people to arrive. They said that in about two hours that whole place would be full and chaotic. They checked our passports, took our pictures and gave us our cards. We were up in the waiting area, got a card for group 1 boarding. They started boarding around 10:30 AM, there are several "elite" groups that boarded before us, but within 20 minutes of calling them they called our group. We were up at the Wind Jammer a little after 11AM. After eating we wandered around for an hour. They opened up the rooms at 1PM. Overall, it was an good embarkation experience for us. I would definitely always go early. Our bags to a while to arrive. I would say we had them at around 5PM or so. I was hoping for earlier, but it wasn't the end of the world.

 

I will post more later!

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ansoninc

ansoninc

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You are so right about the embarkation time. I was on the 7/17 Liberty cruise. I got to the pier at 11 :30 and was in line for 2 hours! I heard people say that there were very few people earlier.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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CruzieSue

CruzieSue

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Looking forward to the rest of your review !! We will be on Liberty for the first time in about 278 days :eek: Oh, I hope I can make it that long !!! ;) We, too, were hooked after the first cruise and bought two of the open booking reservations before it was over !!! :D

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aggieteacher10

aggieteacher10

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Both embarkation and disembarkation were pretty smooth for us. When leaving the ship, we carried our own bags and we were in the first group. We got to our area at 7:25 and we were off the ship, through customs, and to our car at 7:56. We parked at a lot close by that we could walk to.

Edited by aggieteacher10
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Marinagirl1443

Marinagirl1443

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Welcome to the world of cruising.

 

Thanks for sharing how easy embarkation was. What about leaving the ship?

 

We essentially did the same thing leaving the ship. We did Self Assist (or carrying your own luggage out). Friday night they give you the tags for your luggage if you want them to take your luggage down when you get to customs. The tags have a number (ours was 27) They also give you a paper that tells you what time your group is ready to disembark. The paper also gives you a group (A, B or C) for self assist. We were in group C, but when we were down in the guest services area asking about something else, we asked about that and the young woman at the desk said it really doesn't matter. If you want to go with the A group, no one will stop you.

 

We decided we wanted off as early as possible, so we got up at 6, went down to the main dining room on the 4th floor (our "holding area") around 6:30 and we were about the 10th family in line. You can wait in line or just leave your luggage in line and sit at a table until they let you go. At about 7:15 AM they opened up the lines to customs. They had staff making sure the line stayed orderly and so there was not a big rush of people pushing (or cutting in line) to get off, everyone basically got off in the order they got in line. We dragged our bags down to customs (no stairs just all ramps), were at a customs agent window right away, showed our passports and customs declarations form (make sure you fill that out the night before) and we were out! We walked to the parking shuttle bus area (to the far right when you walk out), got in a shuttle and were in the car by 7:45 AM.

 

The agents said in about two hours it would be super hectic in there. Had we stayed on the time frame they gave us we wouldn't even have gotten called until about 10:30 AM. Early is definitely the key!

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JaniceB

JaniceB

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Both embarkation and disembarkation were pretty smooth for us. When leaving the ship, we carried our own bags and we were in the first group. We got to our area at 7:25 and we were off the ship, through customs, and to our car at 7:56. We parked at a lot close by that we could walk to.

 

Thank you!

 

We essentially did the same thing leaving the ship. We did Self Assist (or carrying your own luggage out). Friday night they give you the tags for your luggage if you want them to take your luggage down when you get to customs. The tags have a number (ours was 27) They also give you a paper that tells you what time your group is ready to disembark. The paper also gives you a group (A, B or C) for self assist. We were in group C, but when we were down in the guest services area asking about something else, we asked about that and the young woman at the desk said it really doesn't matter. If you want to go with the A group, no one will stop you.

 

We decided we wanted off as early as possible, so we got up at 6, went down to the main dining room on the 4th floor (our "holding area") around 6:30 and we were about the 10th family in line. You can wait in line or just leave your luggage in line and sit at a table until they let you go. At about 7:15 AM they opened up the lines to customs. They had staff making sure the line stayed orderly and so there was not a big rush of people pushing (or cutting in line) to get off, everyone basically got off in the order they got in line. We dragged our bags down to customs (no stairs just all ramps), were at a customs agent window right away, showed our passports and customs declarations form (make sure you fill that out the night before) and we were out! We walked to the parking shuttle bus area (to the far right when you walk out), got in a shuttle and were in the car by 7:45 AM.

 

The agents said in about two hours it would be super hectic in there. Had we stayed on the time frame they gave us we wouldn't even have gotten called until about 10:30 AM. Early is definitely the key!

 

Thank you, nice to know there are ramps.

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