Lackluster Liberty Thanksgiving......

[InTheWASide]

Just disembarked Liberty this past Sunday from the Thanksgiving sailing.

 

I have never written a review, however I wanted to share some issues & observations while still on my mind.

 

We had a decent time but all the cutbacks have become very noticeable to the point I no longer have any desire to get back on an RC ship for a long time. Having never been on RC I wouldn't be aware of if anything was a cutback or not

 

I cannot justify spending $6000 for a subpar trip. Our cruise in a Promenade Stateroom was under $1500 total for 2... I know the holiday would impact this

 

Since I have been home, I cancelled 2 future bookings for next year.

We liked it enough we actually BOOKED another cruise while onboard

 

- Deck around the main pool is a complete watery mess. Not just poolside but even 30ft away. All the walking areas are flooded, and too the point that it is very slippery and you cannot keep any of your things on the ground or it gets soaked. Never experienced this unless it was actually raining at the time

 

- Area around the kid pool/slide has gigantic pools of water on the deck. Making most of the chairs unusable the entire time. This I agree with. Wet floor signs always out day or night

 

- Poolside activities are almost non-existent. The did do the Belly flop contest but that is all I saw over 4 sea days. Belly Flop, Sexiest Man, a planned pool party but the weather prevented it from happening

 

No poolside Cookout/BBQ. Never saw one but maybe it was connected to that pool party or happened on a port day?

 

- 3 days I had tell someone to play music at the main pool. They would turn on the audio for ESPN Carib which would blare commercials and sports scores which nobody was watching. We only ever heard music... hearing commercials over the big speakers would be annoying

 

- The music they finally put on was a type of House-Club mix. Not really they genre for the 30-70 age group at the pool, but better than TV audio. My group of 7 was all in the 25-39 age range and we thought the music out there was fine. 30-70 is a HUGE range to say it wouldn't appeal to anyone. Would seniors be super thrilled about it? Likely not. But we thought it added to a great sunny, hot pool atmosphere

 

- The single soft serve ice cream machine is a joke and had a constant line of at least 10-15 people along with a mess of spilled cones on the deck around it.

They really need to break down and get at least 2 more yogurt machines to accommodate the amount of people aboard. We usually saw a line of 5-10 people but it moves fast. They're tiny cones. And any time of day it was open and we walked by there was a crew member within 20 feet right by a mop and bucket for any messes that happened. We watched a kid lose half of a cone piled WAY too high. It was cleaned up, mopped squeegeed, wet sign out and he was back out of the way within 3-5 minutes tops

 

- Arcade had many games that were broken or poor working order, but still left on to take peoples money. Given our ages we spent far too much money in there and didn't see anything not in working order... strange

 

- Photography set-ups and merchandise tables really obstructs flow of traffic badly almost every night in the promenade. They had tables up against the "storefronts" and in the middle usually hugged up against the doorways in the middle where people have to split and pick a side anyway. This was one of the least obstructive sales displays we've ever seen on a ship in a shops area

 

- Air conditioning in staterooms no longer get very cold. Ours never did. Was never HOT but we like the room really cold and it never happened.

 

- MDR was warm almost every night. I'm pretty sensitive of when rooms are warm and I never was... obviously people's opinions would vary

 

- No background music in MDR 3 nights. dining room mgr shrugged and said it's just the way it is. We always heard music in there. We usually joked about how it seemed to be odd choices given the look of the venue and the menu being offered

 

- MDR food has been stripped down in selection and quality and many favorites are gone. Looks like they finally "jumped the shark" because it really sucks now. Again, first RC cruise so I wouldn't know but only real disappointment we ever had in the MDR menu was the filet mignon upsell

 

- Windjammer food selection is also very trimmed down from past trips. Again, first cruise. We usually just used the salad station and the back area with hot dogs and fries and that would normally be an area that stays constant. Never really branched out to the other stuff

 

- Cafe Promenade has dwindled down to just a few cheap sandwiches and 3 types of pastries. Definitely cheap sandwiches. I thought they were garbage. Pastries not particularly great but the cocnut ranger cookie or whatever it was is tasty

 

- When we missed the Falmouth stop due to weather issues, RC did a poor job coming up with alternative/additional activities for the day. Almost nothing.. You would think they would have a plan for if a plan B was necessary, but if it was a more last minute cancellation some things may not be practical that could be if they knew a while ahead of time the port would be a no go

 

- No cocktail service in Platinum theater. Bartender disappeared in the middle of the show with people standing around waiting. I had to call guest services 2x to get him to come back. We never had an issue preshow. A guy to one side with tons of souvenir cup drinks, an area straight ahead with lots of beers and to the left with wines, liquor selection and a couple premixed cocktails. Also service in the theater where they come to the seats. Never attempted a drink order DURING the show though which seems to be what you refer to

 

- Room service dishes in the hallway 2 days. That's inconsiderate fellow guests. If staff isn't there in that immediate moment of course you may find something on the ground. But that's because those people suck, not because the staff does

 

- When phoning guest services, I had to sit on hold for at least 3 -10 min each time. This has never happened in the past. We called once and waited for a while but never stood in line more than 3-5 minutes when we went down there

 

- I have left out other issues that would take to long to explain. Would be interesting to know what they are

 

For me the cutbacks are really having a negative effect and for the 1st time I don't feel like I got my money's worth this trip..

 

Somehow over the last 10 years "Mediocre" became the new "Fabulous"...... Sorry you feel that way. We had a great time but did have issues ourselves. I posted the review I submitted a few days ago. I'm also not trying to diminish any of your experiences OP, but either A LOT of stuff changed dramatically as soon as we got off the ship, or we both had completely different expectations going into that cruise. Glad you at least found it to be decent though

 

Not sure what may have been specifically different between my week (Nov 13-20) and you over the holiday, but I've added my experience on the topics you mention above in red

[InTheWASide]

I was on the November 6th sailing, and the OP was pretty much spot on with his observations. The only thing different was that our room was like an icebox. I guess it is luck of the draw on where your room is in relation to the chillers. But, each person has their own tolerance to what bothers them to the point of true annoyance. Most of the stuff pointed out, in hindsight, was there but didn't really bother us enough to affect our trip. The one thing that bothered me the most, was the smoke I could smell, on the entire fourth deck. The smoke from the casino drifted everywhere, and I could distinctly smell it while sitting in both Boleros and the Schooner bar. Never could sit long in either area, even though I enjoyed the entertainment in both areas.

 

We came on just after you and you can see my reply in the previous post and/or read my review. One thing I will say though is none of us ever noticed anything seeming smoky... and in WA where virtually everything is non-smoking and you can't even smoke within 25 feet of doorways we notice it VERY clearly because it's so unusual for us to smell it at all

[soccermommie]

We were on the Liberty in September for our 30th cruise and had much the same impression. That was fairly disappointing since we love cruising and have historically much preferred Royal over Carnival and Princess. We started cruising in 2002, and we've noticed a decline on all the lines we've sailed in service, food, entertainment, etc. through the years. On our September cruise, however, the decline seemed much more pronounced. On the that cruise, we officially gave up on the main dining room. For us, the quality and variety of items no longer justifies the (ever-increasing) time commitment of the dining room, the need to pack additional clothing and change for dinner, etc. We found we actually enjoyed the ambiance of the Windjammer at night more than the dining room with its hustle and bustle and the irritation of long waits and errors. The Windjammer was much more quiet and intimate, and the waitstaff were much more attentive. Additionally, for us, the quality of food in the Windjammer equaled that of the dining room.

 

We contemplated canceling our December cruise - also on the Liberty - when we returned home in September, but decided to give them another chance in hopes that it was simply an "off" week. Reviews I've read in the meantime, however, lead me to believe it wasn't an off week but the new norm. Our expectations will likely be lower when we board in 2 weeks given our September experience, but this may very well be Royal's last chance to woo us back. That thought makes me kind of sad.

[Paulxyz2004]

 

We had a decent time but all the cutbacks have become very noticeable to the point I no longer have any desire to get back on an RC ship for a long time.

 

I cannot justify spending $6000 for a subpar trip.

 

Since I have been home, I cancelled 2 future bookings for next year.

 

 

 

Hallelujah!!!!!

[Paulette3028]

We were on the Liberty back in March and they did the poolside cookout. They have done it on every previous trip.

 

$6000 is the approximate total for everything. We had 2 balcony cabins, liquor packages, plus all the extra stuff, Tips, Arcade, shore expenses, parking, etc.

 

I know in the end all the extra stuff adds up into the overall expense, but for comparison purposes, money spent on shore expenses, arcade, parking and even the liquor package (since some people don't buy it because it is not valuable to them) or tips (we are bigger tippers than others may be) should be clearly identified separately.

[Paulette3028]

As he previously posted, two balconies and four passengers. To be honest, it is irrelevant what you paid for 6 nights on Freedom. 6 nights from Florida isn't really an apples to apples comparison to 7 nights from Texas, is it? Further, it appears that you are discounting his experience because of your experience on another ship. Strange.

 

In regards to the bolded section at the bottom of your post. Thank you for again pointing out the obvious "that it depends on when you sail".

 

Capacity is pretty irrelevant to a poolside BBQ. These ships are sailing at or near capacity virtually every week. There is not going to be a significant lack of space on the pool deck adding 200 people to a 4500 passenger ship. Weather and chef preferences, if anything, would likely be the deciding factor on something like a poolside cookout.

 

You can get a sense of value comparing a 6 night to a 7 night....the location it departs from brings in potential travel issues/costs which in either case to me are irrelevant to the cruise experience itself.

 

As the Hotel Director and the Food and Beverage Manager told us last year, when we sailed on Navigator over Thanksgiving and again every berth was filled that could be filled was filled on that sailing, capacity has a definite impact on what the kitchens can do.

 

We had a terrific cruise director staff that kept a wide variety of activities going on, even on port days.

[Bookster99]

Thanks for your comments -- I really appreciate them. We are cruising 12/26/16 on LOTS, and will probably experience some of the same things you did.

 

Fortunately, I can adjust some of my expectations!

 

We aren't "pool" people, so that probably won't be an issue. And we already have booked many meals in specialty dining, so maybe MDR won't be an issue. However, we'll deal with whatever comes our way.

 

I am still looking forward to a full week of no cooking, no cleaning, no driving, no worries!

[jeanneful]

Wow, Sorry to hear your concerns on the Liberty. I was going to write a review about our B2B Nov 6th and 13th, and tell how much we enjoyed the Liberty! We cruise on different lines and have noticed the cut backs, but we still have a great time. We did have a couple in the balcony next to ours who would smoke and someone (not us) turned them in. Our room steward told us they had been warned, but they continuded to smoke anyway. But if they were out on their balcony smoking we would just go back in our room. Not as many choices of cookies as they use to have. But I'll tell you we sure enjoyed the fun, sun and relaxation!!

[reallyitsmema]

I know in the end all the extra stuff adds up into the overall expense, but for comparison purposes, money spent on shore expenses, arcade, parking and even the liquor package (since some people don't buy it because it is not valuable to them) or tips (we are bigger tippers than others may be) should be clearly identified separately.

 

You can get a sense of value comparing a 6 night to a 7 night....the location it departs from brings in potential travel issues/costs which in either case to me are irrelevant to the cruise experience itself.

 

As the Hotel Director and the Food and Beverage Manager told us last year, when we sailed on Navigator over Thanksgiving and again every berth was filled that could be filled was filled on that sailing, capacity has a definite impact on what the kitchens can do.

 

We had a terrific cruise director staff that kept a wide variety of activities going on, even on port days.

 

The OP presented his facts the way he wanted to present his facts. Just because you feel something is irrelevant is actually irrelevant to the OP's experience. It is obvious in all your posts that you are blindly loyal to Royal, which is perfectly fine, but none of that changes what Matt experienced on his most recent cruise. If you have so many issues with what he has said, move on, many of us are actually interested in what he has to say.

[big_schots]

We aren't "pool" people, so that probably won't be an issue. And we already have booked many meals in specialty dining, so maybe MDR won't be an issue. However, we'll deal with whatever comes our way.!

 

Both Chops and Giovanni's provided excellent meals. Like the MDR dining was 20 years ago. Excellent food and service. One thing I noticed, for us, that all our meals in both the the MDR and specialty restaurants moved at a nice pace. We were usually out in about 1.25 and 1.5 hours. Not the drawn out 2+ hour ordeals. Not sure if that is the new norm, but it was much appreciated.

[Deanoldo]

We were on the Liberty Thanksgiving cruise as well. I would agree with the OP regarding most of what was said. Also, for what it's worth, my wife and I were in a regular old balcony cabin on deck 8 and we paid around 3400 for the room and pre-paid gratuities. No beverage package or anything like that, so I think the OP got a good deal at 6000 for two rooms and beverage packages... :) We still had a good time though.

 

Highlights for me:

 

Trying the flowrider for the first time. At 53, I was just trying to not break anything... it was fun though. :)

 

The workout room is in great shape too. There was plenty of cardio equipment/weight machines and they all seemed well maintained and operational.

 

Melvin in the Rbar was the best bartender (Mixologist) I've ever met. He went way above and beyond to make sure we were happy and when the bar was slow he would come out and mingle with whoever was in there. If you get on the Liberty and like a special drink, look for Melvin.

 

We had Chef's Table one night and that was the best food I've ever eaten on a cruise ship. I would recommend that as well.

 

The one thing that I was really, really disappointed in was the breakfast we had in the MDR. I ordered egg whites, turkey sausage, hash browns and a piece of toast. The egg whites were super greasy, the hash browns were cool and soggy. I tasted the hash browns anyway and they had a slight flavor of fish... The toast was probably actually toasted an hour earlier and had the taste/consistency of cardboard. We had a cup of coffee and then went up to the Windjammer and ate. I'm sure if I ordered 'real' food, it would have probably been better.

 

Anyway, didn't mean for this to get so long. All in all nothing killed our vacation and I still came home with a tan, a slightly damaged liver and good memories.

 

Dean

[George C]

Both Chops and Giovanni's provided excellent meals. Like the MDR dining was 20 years ago. Excellent food and service. One thing I noticed, for us, that all our meals in both the the MDR and specialty restaurants moved at a nice pace. We were usually out in about 1.25 and 1.5 hours. Not the drawn out 2+ hour ordeals. Not sure if that is the new norm, but it was much appreciated.

 

I thinks Chops and Giovanni's is way better than RCCL MDR from 20 or more years ago ( been cruising since 70's and cruising on RCCL since 80's) , also great Ice show and very good play

[knittinggirl]

We were also on Liberty on 6 Nov, and have to agree. Sadly, I assumed that our mediocre food was because we got the room at the lowest price ever! But not true for your cruise. Thanksgiving is premium rate.

 

We had booked the Disney Wonder the next day, and were blown away by how much better it was. They actually had good coffee!

 

Here's my list of complaints on Liberty.

 

 

 

 

The Bad

 

Open bookings discontinued. This may be a deal breaker. And we seldom book itineraries onboard. What they offered wasn’t how we prefer to book our cruises. No computers in the next cruise office that would let us research itineraries on our own, with prices. No way to let us study ship plans to pick the best room. The last time we booked an itinerary onboard, they stuck us with an irregular balcony that was so tiny, we couldn’t use it! The agent suggested an itinerary, but kept trying to pass the room of as something greater than it was. I finally realized it wasn’t the right room when I asked for square footage. Couldn’t look up anything in the internet café, because the guest internet was down until day 5.

 

No ice show tickets

Need better hotel director: Slow Cabin Steward due to required meetings , No Prunes, Diamond Plus BOGO Forced to Days 1&2

Concierge Lounge Discontinued, No Diamond Lounge Overflow Area, Free Diamond Plus Laundry limited to days 2&5

Internet Down Until Day 5

Long waits at the elevators

[VASOXFANN]

6 grand?!?!? Did Jesus build your cabin or something :confused:

 

We paid less than 2 grand TOTAL for our Thanksgiving cruise, and we both had drink packages! :cool:

[vettecruiser1]

I too was on the LOTS thanksgiving sailing and having just been on board in July a lot just seemed a bit off. I would not classify it as a bad cruise just not great. Our July cruise was one of the best ever, but I think 3 out 4 days being cool and the extreme amount wind, which did close the Falmouth port, caused the cruise to have a different feeling. Heck even in Cozumel it was cool with the temp staying in the 70's and water excursions being cancelled in cayman due to 40 knot winds. I won't stop cruising but I think the weather forced more people to expose the limits of the staffing on board.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[foxgoodrich]

6 grand?!?!? Did Jesus build your cabin or something :confused:

 

We paid less than 2 grand TOTAL for our Thanksgiving cruise, and we both had drink packages! :cool:

 

Did you read ALL of OP's posts? He did not specify if there were 4, 5, or 6 people in his group, but we know he had 2 balcony cabins for his group. I doubt that Jesus built his 2 balcony cabins, but here's what he said about the $6k total:

 

$6000 is the approximate total for everything. We had 2 balcony cabins, liquor packages, plus all the extra stuff, Tips, Arcade, shore expenses, parking, etc.

 

You clearly sailed with fewer people on your TG cruise and you only paid for 1 cabin. Possibly your ONE cabin was a less expensive category than his TWO balconies, probably the amounts you paid for shore expense/excursions were less for only 2 people than what he paid for his group, you only had 2 drink packages, your gratuities would have been for only 2 people, etc.

Why are you so surprised a guy spent $6k to take 4 or more people on a holiday cruise in 2 balconies? $6k total is actually pretty good for a group that size on a holiday cruise.

 

It usually is a good idea to read through the whole thread before responding...just saying'...

(Jesus told me to point these things out to you. ;))

Judy

Edited December 1, 2016 by foxgoodrich

[fdthird]

Yes, it doesn't work for you, so be it. Enjoy your next cruise line.

[cb at sea]

Unfortunately, the "cruise experience" has been going downhill for a while....less staff, lesser quality food and presentation......they have "dumbed down" the experience.

 

It's still a vacation, and if you aren't expecting much, it will be fine. But...it's not what it used to be...and that's a fact!

[George C]

6 grand?!?!? Did Jesus build your cabin or something :confused:

 

We paid less than 2 grand TOTAL for our Thanksgiving cruise, and we both had drink packages! :cool:

 

Week after is so much cheaper, our last and next cruise both April was about 1600 a piece for a GS

[VASOXFANN]

Did you read ALL of OP's posts? He did not specify if there were 4, 5, or 6 people in his group, but we know he had 2 balcony cabins for his group. I doubt that Jesus built his 2 balcony cabins, but here's what he said about the $6k total:

 

$6000 is the approximate total for everything. We had 2 balcony cabins, liquor packages, plus all the extra stuff, Tips, Arcade, shore expenses, parking, etc.

 

You clearly sailed with fewer people on your TG cruise and you only paid for 1 cabin. Possibly your ONE cabin was a less expensive category than his TWO balconies, probably the amounts you paid for shore expense/excursions were less for only 2 people than what he paid for his group, you only had 2 drink packages, your gratuities would have been for only 2 people, etc.

Why are you so surprised a guy spent $6k to take 4 or more people on a holiday cruise in balconies? $6k is actually pretty good for a group that size.

 

It usually is a good idea to read through the whole thread before responding...just saying'...

(Jesus told me to point these things out to you. ;))

Judy

 

Aren't you Little Miss Thinks-she-knows-it-all?

 

I read the posts. $6K seems very high, unless he had > 4 people. I was making a joke with the Jesus thing. I take it you've never seen The Heat :rolleyes:

 

I'm one of those people who doesn't require pricey balcony cabins unless I'm going someplace spectacular. Also, I have no problem with cramming my cabins to capacity. There are lots of us out there. My point being, don't pay a bunch of $$ expecting a 5-star cruise when most of your fellow passengers paid 3-star prices.

 

I'll respond when and where I please, thank you very much.

Edited December 1, 2016 by VASOXFANN

[VASOXFANN]

Week after is so much cheaper, our last and next cruise both April was about 1600 a piece for a GS

 

See my signature. This was last (Thanksgiving) week

[foxgoodrich]

Aren't you Little Miss Thinks-she-knows-it-all?

 

I read the posts. $6K seems very high, unless he had > 4 people. I was making a joke with the Jesus thing. I take it you've never seen The Heat :rolleyes:

 

I'm one of those people who doesn't require pricey balcony cabins unless I'm going someplace spectacular. Also, I have no problem with cramming my cabins to capacity. There are lots of us out there. My point being, don't pay a bunch of $$ expecting a 5-star cruise when most of your fellow passengers paid 3-star prices.

 

I'll respond when and where I please, thank you very much.

 

:);):D I'm confident that you will indeed!

And I'm confident you'll always avoid the pricey balcony cabins and continue to cram yours to capacity. You should feel free to enjoy your cruises in whatever accommodation meets your needs. It would be nice if you could afford others the same privilege without questioning the difference in price between the accommodations they choose and yours.:)

Judy

Edited December 1, 2016 by foxgoodrich

[VASOXFANN]

:);):D I'm confident that you will indeed!

And I'm confident you'll always avoid the pricey balcony cabins and continue to cram yours to capacity. You should feel free to enjoy your cruises in whatever accommodation meets your needs. It would be nice if you could afford others the same privilege without questioning the difference in price between the accommodations they choose and yours.:)

Judy

 

I do not question the OP's choice. People who buy balcony and suite cabins keep the prices low for us lowly "steerage" folk. Again, my point was not expecting a 5-star experience when so many pay 3-star prices. Reading comprehension....ahem.

[griffy116]

We were on the Liberty in July and the ship had more problems than we've ever encountered in our previous cruises. We had a great time and didn't let any of it spoil the cruise for us, but it was noticeable. One set of the doors from teh pool to the Windjammer broke on day two. For the remainder of the week, it stayed broken with the yellow tape around it. They don't have the coke machines and we were told it was because they keep breaking and don't have staff that can fix them so they don't have them on this ship. Bizarre sounding, but then we saw a couple of crew members with a black binder with instructions trying to fix it and apparently that was a task they weren't up to, so maybe it's true that they don't have the abilities to fix things that break...??? The service in the dining room was bad, but our waiters seemed to really be trying and we would never complain about them. We asked for cappuccino and we waited and waited, finished our dessert and finally left without it...two out of the three nights we asked for it. We ordered two appetizers a couple of nights and the second one never showed up either night. Our tables were the last ones leaving the dining room EVERY night, in spite of the fact that we showed up on time every night. We had a tough time getting bar service in the theater. The area around the kids pool area stayed SO wet that we saw numerous accidents, including one where a kid about 12 absolutely SLAMMED his head on the deck when he went down. After that happened, they put up a cone that said "Caution." The soft-serve ice cream machine area was a sludge of spilled cones on more than one occasion. The person doing an exercise class out by the pool moved it to the area beside the soft serve machine under the shelter because it started to rain. Guess what happened? It just seemed to be kind of sloppy and hit or miss which, like I said, didn't ruin our cruise, but it was noticeable. Waiting to leave the ship was the most disorganized I've ever experienced. We were sent to an area where there were not enough places to sit so people were sitting all over the floor with bags. The boards were showing one number, but crew members were annoucing different number to leave. If you weren't listening closely, you were left sitting waiting on the board to change. The line was unbelievable and we were told that unless you got a porter, you were going to be waiting and waiting because they were allowed to put you at the front. We've NEVER been told we had to pay someone that we didn't need, just to get through the customs line. We assumed it was just Galveston and Liberty and decided we had sailed our one and only time from Galveston and on Liberty. We love Royal and we are all Diamond. We have a short cruise on Royal in December, but for our June cruise, we're going to try Celebrity.

[matj2000]

6 grand?!?!? Did Jesus build your cabin or something :confused:

 

We paid less than 2 grand TOTAL for our Thanksgiving cruise, and we both had drink packages! :cool:

 

We had 2 D3 connecting balcony cabins that were about $2000 each.

 

My wife in one, kids in the other. That is somewhat the going price for Thanksgiving week, which is much cheaper than Xmas & New Years. This was our 7th Thanksgiving cruise in a row. If we did not have school age kids, we would go during the much cheaper weeks.

 

I try to keep it under $4000 for 2 cabins. Sometimes a little more or less.

 

Drink packages around $700, Tips, Take home liquor, Rental car at port, etc.

 

Things add up quickly

 

I also give a few hundred in extra tips that go to the Bartenders and my MDR servers.

 

Approx total for the week is around $6000, maybe a few hundred less..

 

 

 

Edited December 1, 2016 by matj2000