A Great Fogging Review - New Years Cruise on Liberty

[CruiseNTheWorld91]

Preamble[/b

Out of all the cruises we have been on, a holiday cruise has never been something we've done. We booked Liberty of the Seas sailing from Galveston on December 26 for a New Year sailing to Cozumel, Belize, and Roatan. We chose this one because we are within driving distance to the port and it was reasonably priced (comparatively speaking) for a holiday sailing. This was also a family trip so my Dad, step-mother, and siblings all went on this trip. We drove down to Galveston on Christmas Day, arriving at the Baymont Inn in Galveston at around 9:00 pm that evening. The hotel had a great deal going on since it was Christmas and had great rooms considering we only paid around $65 for a hotel on the seawall.

 

Day 1 - Embarkation

I woke up early on Day 1 as normally do with excitement about boarding the ship that day. I checked the ships location on my Marine Traffic app and saw Liberty of the Seas was making about 15 knots just outside the port of Galveston. I knew there was some fog forecast for the day so this was great to see. My wife and I decided to go on an early morning walk along the seawall and when we exited the hotel, there was a thick fog over the entire island that only got thicker as you looked out to sea. We walked for a little bit before I checked my Marine Traffic again, the Liberty of the Seas had stopped just outside the port and was no longer underway. The same for the Carnival Breeze, also scheduled to be in port that day. It was still dark so I thought they might wait until daybreak to come in due to visibility purposes. A few hours came and went, the ship was still sitting still off the coast. As 9:00 am approached, I quickly realized that this wasn't going to be an ordinary embarkation day. We normally board as early as possible. Past experience in Galveston has shown me you can board between 10:00-11:00 pretty reliably. Obviously with the ship still outside the port, this wasn't going to be the case today. At around 10:00 am, Royal Caribbean sent us a text message alerting us to the situation. They told us not to arrive at the pier before 3:00 pm and they would keep us updated. I continued to track the ships progress via my Marine Traffic app and we went and explored Galveston a little bit. I tried to enjoy myself but the reality was that I was sick that we were missing valuable time on the ship and didn't know when or if we would get to board. The fog began to lift at around 11:00 am and as we were sitting down for lunch at around noon, I checked Marine Traffic and saw the ship had begun to move towards port. This helped our moods tremendously and Royal Caribbean capped it off with an alert that told us Check-In would begin between 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm. We went down to the port area after lunch and had the rare chance of watching our ship pull into port. The ship was alongside at around 1:00 pm so we figured arriving to the port a few minutes before 4:00 pm wouldn't hurt. When we got there at around 3:45, unloading the bags went relatively smoothly and we got the van parked in one of the lots. The issue was trying to get into the port. For those who haven't been to terminal 2 in Galveston, there is one set of double doors to enter through for check-in. There was a massive crowd with no apparent order packed around that set of doors. Here is what it looked like:

I expected to have to wait in some lines considering that everyone was going to arrive as early as possible to get their vacation started. That being said, there was no order. The port had no system for those that were outside the port. Every few minutes, a staff member would open the doors and let a few groups in and then shut it again. Finally, a staff member came out and told everyone to line up against the wall. This was too little too late as people had established their position for a long time and weren't moving. Lucky for us, we were already against the wall they wanted the line to start in, so we were let in relatively quickly. Once inside, there was a rope line of about 600 people trying to get through security. This was where Crown & Anchor status payed off. My wife and I are Emerald and my Dad is Diamond. We moved right to the priority line and were passed security in a few minutes. Check-in was just as easy and we boarded the ship at around 5:30. I should add that some people who weren't so lucky didn't board until around 7. The lines were tremendous and the staff of the port was HIGHLY unprepared for the rush of people. We got really lucky that we got in the door as quick as we did and how Crown & Anchor benefits to further help. We were excited to get on board and even more excited to learn that the rooms were already open. We got our stuff in our rooms and our Cruise Director came over the PA to announce that there would be an assembly drill at 7:00 pm, dinner would be served in the Windjammer and open seating in the Main dining room shortly thereafter. He also told us there would be a welcome aboard show at 10:15. I was pleased to be on board and happy that things seemed to be proceeding somewhat normally. As we explored the ship prior to the assembly drill we noticed the fog had started to roll back in. It was also obvious that the crew was in a hurry to get the ship boarded and supplies loaded. When we proceeded to our assembly station, it was obvious that not everyone was present for the drill. The announcement was even made that the guest who did not attend the drill could see the information on their stateroom TV. This was a first for me, not just the delay but doing the muster drill without everyone present. That being said, the drill went on as normal. Unfortunately, at the conclusion of the drill, Captain James MacDonald told us the Port of Galveston was closed and we wouldn't be going anywhere for the time being. We went up to the Windjammer for Dinner after the drill. It was crowded but not as bad as I expected. We went to the Welcome Aboard Show after dinner, which seemed to be thrown together due to the odd arrival/departure of the ship that day. Once the show ended, we went for a walk outside, it became obvious to me that we weren't going anywhere tonight. Here is the scene on the night of Day 1:

 

Day 2 - Galveston/At Sea

When we woke up on Day 2, we weren't shocked to see that we were still in port and it was still VERY foggy. Here are some images I got:

As we made our way to breakfast, Captain MacDonald announced that it was no longer possible to make our original itinerary but we could flip the stops around to keep us on the same port plan. If the ship could leave soon, we would instead go spend the day at sea, day 3 at sea, then Belize on Day 4, Roatan on Day 5, Cozumel on Day 6, a day at sea on day 7. The original itinerary was this:

Day 1 - Galveston

Day 2 - At Sea

Day 3 - Cozumel

Day 4 - Belize

Day 5 - Roatan

Day 6 - At Sea

Day 7 - At Sea

 

Our itinerary was for the time being:

Day 1 - Galveston

Day 2 - Galveston/At Sea

Day 3 - At Sea

Day 4 - Belize

Day 5 - Roatan

Day 6 - Cozumel

Day 7 - At Sea

 

I was pleased to hear that we might still get three ports out of this deal, I had pretty much written that off after we stayed in port all night. However, it was still VERY foggy in Galveston. I didn't hold out much hope that we would even leave that day. At around 10:30 on Day 2, Captain MacDonald announced that it was no longer possible to make Belize and still keep three ports on our itinerary. He offered us a good alternative, if we could leave prior to 5:00 pm, we could do the following itinerary:

Day 1 - Galveston

Day 2 - Galveston/At Sea

Day 3 - At Sea

Day 4 - Costa Maya

Day 5 - Roatan

Day 6 - Cozumel

Day 7 - At Sea

 

I was still excited about the possibility of keeping three ports, not to mention, I had only visited Costa Maya one time unlike Belize. My wife had never been to Costa Maya. The fog began to lift at around noon and the captain announced the port was considering letting us leave at around 1. This was exciting and the fog continued to lift as time passed. We went to our balcony at around 12:45 and found the ropes were being dropped! As the lines went off, people began to cheer from their balconies. We pushed away from the dock and headed out to sea. We hit more fog on the way out but nothing could stop us now. Captain MacDonald re-affirmed that we would indeed be able to keep the Costa Maya, Roatan, Cozumel route and he could even get us some extra time in Cozumel since we left well before 5. With the fog issue put to rest, we headed down for the 2 pm showing of the "Encore" ice show in Studio B. This was one of the best ice shows I've seen on Royal Caribbean. My experience is that they are not all created equal. This one featured a special guest aerialist which was absolutely amazing and the music and tempo of the show was great. That evening the showtime in the Platinum Theater was "In Concert" by the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers. There was also an adult comedy show followed by the Love and Marriage Game Show. Love & Marriage was great but the comedian was dreadful. We had dinner in the windjammer and went to bed with the gentle rock of the ocean, which was something I was unsure we would even feel this cruise.

 

Stay tuned for days 3-7 as I work on getting them posted along with more pictures. In the meantime, I will be more than happy to answer any questions...

[jagsfan]

Wow! I could feel the damp fingers of the fog.

So glad you finally got out of port.

 

 

 

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[easyboy]

Nice start. Will be following along.

 

 

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[ckmommy]

Our family was with you on the Foggy cruise! What a great time and awesome ports! Can't wait to read the rest of your report!

[fdthird]

Is it just me, or does

including pictures tend to make a topic unreadable on your device? On my iPad, the print on this post is so small, I'd need a magnifying glad to see it. Typing this, the words are even smaller.

[Clarea]

Is it just me, or does including pictures tend to make a topic unreadable on your device? On my iPad, the print on this post is so small, I'd need a magnifying glad to see it. Typing this, the words are even smaller.

The photos are high resolution and I have to scroll to see their full width. Perhaps this is causing your readability issue.

[BecciBoo]

OP try to get the size down, I use "Messaging" size on Tinypic and it is perfect.

 

Following....

[Lisa77064]

That picture is incredible. I think I found myself in the middle of that cattle call. I have more complaints about the port set up than I do the cruise by far. The AC was off and people were suffering. Medics had to be called. There was no organization whatsoever. Our line was merged to let the medics through and then totally forgotten at some point. We waited forever in the front of the line for our turn to go through security.

 

The cruise was fun - always. Any cruise is fun. We did have time to eat scrumptious shrimp at Landry's and had even more time to do some after Christmas shopping in Galveston prior to late boarding.

[B_Mc]

What a wild start. Looking forward to read the rest of your review!

 

 

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[CruiseNTheWorld91]

Day 3 - At Sea

Now that the ship was finally moving, it felt like we were officially on vacation. We headed up to the Windjammer for Breakfast and then made our way to the top deck for a round of mini-golf. For those who haven't sailed on Liberty since her renovation, the mini-golf course is one of the best in the Royal Caribbean fleet. It has houses and various obstacles to hit your ball through unlike the others that are pretty just straight with a few fake rocks. We loved the mini-golf on this ship. I have attached picture below this day so you can see some of it. The rest of the day was spent with some of our favorite sea day past times like some casino play, pool time and enjoying the water slides. This was also our first go around with a ship with water slides. Liberty features the "Boomerang" water slide, which is a zero-gravity style tube slide and the "Perfect Storm" racing slides. All three are terrific and I got quick a bit of speed on the the "Perfect Storm" slides. My wife had a little trouble going fast down them, but it definitely added a next level style of activity to the ship that hadn't previously been there. We had dinner in the windjammer, which we did more this cruise than we ever had, mostly because of our large group. We have always been fans of the buffet but never really did dinner there very much because we love the specialty dining and food in the main dining room. I will say, we ate here 5 out of the 7 nights of the cruise and the Windjammer did a terrific job of mixing up their selection. I had something different every night and each evening found something I real enjoyed as both an entree and a dessert. I was pleasantly surprised with this. We were pretty beat from the previous days activities and trouble so we retired somewhat early since we were to arrive early into Costa Maya the following day.

 

Day 4 - Costa Maya

I had only visited Costa Maya one other time and that was also on an altered itinerary. I was concerned about the crowd when I walked out onto my balcony to find the Carnival Dream docking next to us. On my previous visit, there were no other ships in port with us there so I became concerned about the crowds in the port area. That being said, it was not anymore noticeably crowded than my previous visit. We we disembarked the ship, we had a few hours prior to our excursion so we walked around the port area. Costa Maya has a great shopping/restaurant area just at the end of the pier to walk around in. If you've never been there, there isn't much to do outside the walls of the port but inside there is a ton to do. We watched some aerialist perform a crazy show where they swung upside down from this large poll. It's hard to describe so I posted a picture of this below this day. It was very entertaining! We walked around the port some more before our excursion meeting time and enjoyed some nice views of the ship from the shore. On to our shore excursion. We had a somewhat limited selection of excursions due to the fact that our itinerary had changed so quickly and Costa Maya wasn't even a planned stop. We chose a Shopping/Beach Tour. The tour started on a tour bus that unfortunately had a large logo covering our view out of it. I was highly disappointed in this because one of my main reasons for even doing tours is to see some of the local area. After around a 10 minute ride with no view out, we finally stopped in the small town of Mahahual, Mexico. We didn't stop here very long, only about 30 minutes. We actually walked up and down at some of the shops then sat at one of the bars and ordered a cheap beer. Within what seemed like a few minutes, it was time to re-board the bus and head to the beach. It was around a 30 minute ride to the beach down a dirt road and through what seemed like dense jungle (From what I could see - See above mentioned logo). We got there and there were some finger foods set up and the tour included two free drinks of your choice. The food and drinks were nice and we headed down to the beach. This beach was much like one I had visited previously in Costa Maya. The water color is beautiful there but quite frankly, their beaches are trashy, literally. There was all kinds of garbage washing up onto the shore and while it had been raked up together, it was still floating around the edge of the water. The sites were gorgeous but unfortunately the trash and seaweed didn't make the water look very inviting. There also weren't nearly enough beach chairs for everyone. When we got down there, all of them were already taken so we had to sit our stuff under a tree and had nowhere to sit down. We spent about an hour here and then returned to the port. I wouldn't recommend this tour or any beach tour in Costa Maya for the above mentioned reasons. I should clarify, we had a terrific time. We never have a bad time on any of these cruises but I like to be honest with you so you aren't disappointed. I love being in the Caribbean and even under the worst of circumstances, I have a great time. When we returned to the ship, we had dinner booked at Giovanni's Table relatively early in the evening. Giovanni's has been one of my favorite specialty restaurants on Royal since I had it for the first time on Oasis several years ago. They bring you tons of food to try to go along with your meal selection. This experience didn't disappoint. We had great food and I had a veal shank that was melt in your mouth good. Giovanni's is a must-do if you haven't done it before. Our show this evening was a comedian. He was much funnier than the previous comedian and had some good jokes about our foggy experience in Galveston. We went to bed shortly after the show to prepare for a long day in Roatan on Day 5. Here are some pictures of the mini-golf course and aerial show as promised:

 

Day 5 - Roatan

This was my 3rd time in Roatan and each time I forget how beautiful it is here. While the infrastructure in Honduras isn't terrific, the port area is nice and I love mountainous terrain at our ports. We disembarked the ship a little prior to our excursion and explored the shopping areas. Our excursion was Big French Key. We took about a 30 minute bus ride to a place where we boarded a small boat and were taken to the small island. It was gorgeous there. The water was blue and palm trees lined the water. You could grab a beach chair and relax, pay a little extra for a snorkel, kayak, or just swim around the calmer bay. We didn't want to spend any extra cash so we put our stuff in a deck chair and went for a swim in the bay. We found a little place where people were jumping off of a platform into the water from about 15 feet up. We couldn't resist so we took part. It was great fun and the water was perfect. Lunch was also provided on this tour and we had jerk chicken, red beans and rice, and slaw. It was really tasty and provided us a little few to keep swimming. If you've never been to Big French Key. I would highly recommend this tour. It was laid back, very pretty, and you could kind of run around and do as you please. For anyone who has been to Xel-Ha, it was like that except much less was included with your price, that being saild, this excursion was much cheaper than Xel-Ha, also. We returned to the port after about a 3 plus hour tour. We shopped around the port some and then got back on the ship a few hours prior to departure. That evening we had dinner in the windjammer and saw a terrific show. "Long Run" an Eagles Tribute band was the showtime in the Platinum Theater. That were incredible. Upbeat, fun, and sounded just like the Eagles in a lot of ways. They came back out for two curtain calls and I didn't want them to stop playing. This evening was also the Quest Game Show. It was one of the more mild Quests I have been to. I think a big part in this was because we had a port the next day. Most of the time The Quest is done before a sea day. Since the next day was New Years Eve, there wasn't really another place to have it so the I guess the activities staff was forced to put it here. We had a great time but there wasn't a very big crowd. Those who have been to the quest know how rare it is to have empty seats at this show. After this we went to bed since the next day we had an early tour and would be up late since it was New Years Eve. I have included a picture below of Big French Key for your viewing pleasure:

 

Day 6 - Cozumel *New Years Eve*

We woke up bright and early on New Years Eve to the ship arriving into Cozumel. It was raining but that seems to be part of the morning cleansing process in Mexico so we weren't too worried. We headed straight out for the pier as we had a snorkel and tequila tasting planned to leave out at 7:45 am. We made our way to the are to the taxi area outside of the pier where us and our guide took a large taxi to our destination. The place we went to was beautiful and the sun had come out so the blue waters of Cozumel looked awesome. The first part of the tour was the snorkel so we got our gear and headed in. This was a beach snorkel, meaning that you entered the water from the shore instead of by boat. The water was very choppy and we were hit by large breakers on the way in. Some of our group didn't enjoy that part but I thought it was fun :) We got really lucky with this too because the tour behind didn't get to snorkel because the water was so choppy. The snorkeling was great, lots of fish, reefs, and the water was surprisingly clear despite the current. After the snorkel, the guide through in a guacamole making class then did the tequila tasting. Both were great. I have to compliment our guide. She was tremendous on both the snorkel and other parts of the tour. Very informative but also didn't try to control every minute of your tour. This was a GREAT excursion for the the price we paid. I give it an A+. After the excursion we went back to the ship, changed clothes and went and looked at some of the port shops. We came back onboard relatively early because we wanted to catch a quick nap before all of the New Years Eve Festivities. We had dinner planned at Sabor. This is one of our favorite restaurants on Royal as well. It was great with fantastic appetizers and main courses. They also handed out Hats and Party Favors to prep for the New Years Celebration. The atmosphere on the ship was phenomenal all night. People dressed up with hats, horns, and other party favors and the ship had a general buzz about it like I had never experienced before on any other cruise. After dinner, we went and saw the show for the evening which was the Liberty of the Seas main-stay Saturday Night Fever. As with other musicals on board Royal ships, the cast did a great job and we thoroughly enjoyed it. After the show, it was time to head to the New Years Eve Celebration. We got to the Royal Promenade at around 10:30 and the show started shortly after. This was combination of New Years Eve festivities and the traditional 70's dance party. The Macho Men were in attendance and it started like your typical 70's party. After that concluded it was mostly DJ'd music but the staff did a great job of making an hour of time pass very quickly. With just a few minutes remaining until midnight, the Captain and Cruise Director and the rest of the senior officers came on stage for the countdown. What followed was a tremendous balloon drop at midnight and the crowd went crazy. It was truly my favorite New Year Celebration I have ever been a part of. The Royal Promenade was rockin' we danced and had a great time. Following the mark of the New Year, there was an after party on the pool deck featuring the music of Bob Marley. We loved this as well since we were able to go outside on New Years Eve in shorts and enjoy the evening and the New Year with some Bob Marley. It was unlike any other New Year I have ever had. Here are some photos and video from New Years Eve on Liberty of the Seas:

Balloon Drop Video:https://twitter.com/BlakeAGuinn/status/815902686382096384

 

Day 7 - At Sea

This was probably the most mild day of our trip yet. We recovered from the previous evening and had a leisurely day aboard Liberty of the Seas. It was gorgeous day and we spent time playing mini-golf, swimming, and soaking up the final pieces of our vacation. Day 7 is also the day we visit the NextCruise office to book our next vacation. We chose the Southern Caribbean in August on Adventure of the Seas. The highlight of Day 7 was the show. "In the Air" features guest aerialist, the Royal Caribbean Singers, and Dancers and more. It was absolutely an incredible show. If you have seen "Come Fly With Me" on Oasis, this show was very similar. the entertainment on this cruise was absolutely terrific. After the show, we packed our bags and went to bed relatively early. We had a long 10 hour ride in a van the next day so we needed all the rest we could get. I'll go ahead and throw disembarkation day in this paragraph. We did express departure and were off the ship by around 8:30. The line in customs moved very quickly and we headed home in the van by around 9:00. As hard as it was getting on the ship in day one, it was that easy getting off on disembarkation day. The fact it went smoothly made leaving a little easier.

 

Final Thoughts

My first-ever holiday cruise was everything I thought it would. The New Year celebration on the Royal Promenade was awesome, the shows were tremendous all-week long, and the ports were great. The hang-up with the fog couldn't be avoided by anyone and the only complaint I have is the way the port handled the large crowd with no organization at-all. This was totally unacceptable. On Royal's end, they did a terrific job of keeping us informed, fed, and entertained despite a nearly one-day delay in the ship actually setting sail. They also kept a good itinerary in-tact despite the tight schedule. Other musings include my thoughts in Cruise Director John Blair. Quite frankly, he was one of the worst Cruise Director's I've ever had. He was not very personable and seemed very scripted and uptight, and did little to enhance the cruise experience. I have had all-kinds of cruise directors and my only requirement is that they make you feel welcomed, appreciated, and are visible around the ship. Blair did none of these. On the final night at the final show on a cruise that had all kinds of trouble to start and people at paid a HIGH price to sail over New Year, his final words were, "That's it! Have a safe trip home!" I was very unimpressed. Overall though, a great trip, on a great ship, on a great cruise line that has not disappointed us yet. This was the first-time I have had any trouble or delay with our ship and it did nothing to deter us from coming back. As usual, Royal came back strong and provided us with memories that will last us a lifetime. Here are some ratings:

 

Ship: A

Itinerary: B-

Food: A

Entertainment: A+

Stateroom: A

Captain: A

Cruise Director: D+

Overall: A-

 

Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Please feel free to ask any questions and request more info!

[CruiseNTheWorld91]

Also...here are some of my favorite photos of the trip:

[splinkaone]

Thanks for the great review. We cruise on Liberty January 22, we plan on eating at the specialty restaurants at least twice. We were getting discouraged because there have been so many negative reviews of the food in general and both Giovanni's and Sabor, we have never eaten at either. We are planning on Chops and Giovanni's.

[CruiseNTheWorld91]

Thanks for the great review. We cruise on Liberty January 22, we plan on eating at the specialty restaurants at least twice. We were getting discouraged because there have been so many negative reviews of the food in general and both Giovanni's and Sabor, we have never eaten at either. We are planning on Chops and Giovanni's.

 

Some people are just really picky and complain about everything. I have never had a bad meal at any Royal specialty restaurant except for Jamie's Italian. Giovanni's and Chops are consistent and have something for everybody. I think you'll enjoy the food!

[fdthird]

Sorry, but as I said yesterday, this list in unreadable on my iPad!

[B_Mc]

Sorry, but as I said yesterday, this list in unreadable on my iPad!

 

 

I had no problem enjoying this on my iPhone! So bizarre, I wonder if it has to do with particular settings?

 

 

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[jagsfan]

Sorry, but as I said yesterday, this list in unreadable on my iPad!

 

 

Try reading it on your smart phone. It showed up perfectly on my iPhone, including the great photos.

 

 

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[jagsfan]

Really interesting review enjoyed every minute if your cruise, and no calories!

 

 

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