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Liberty - Just off - Quick to the point review

douggw

By douggw,
in Royal Caribbean International

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MrsPete

MrsPete

Posted
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Average age 68-70?? Average? The average age on a Viking River Cruise is younger than that? Got a family going in November -- now worried!
I found that surprising too, and I'll float a theory: The OP cruised in late January. What's going on in that time frame? Most younger people are back to work after Christmas break, and kids are back in school -- not a timeframe when younger people can cruise. Also, prices are rock-bottom, which appeals to retirees who want to stretch their travel dollar. Finally, the weather's a little colder, so the people who want active beach-oriented excursions aren't as interested ... yet the 70-ish crowd, who probably want a more sedate cruise, aren't deterred.

 

I'm guessing that this timeframe is what drew the older crowd. Agree or disagree? I've never cruised in January, so I'm making a guess.

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TripleU

TripleU

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I am trying to decide what to book for our Belize day and thus tendering chatter has me nervous.

 

I had been planning to do cave tubing with an outside agency. Would you recommend that? Or is the tender process too disorganized and time consuming to miss all of that time?

 

 

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I was on this same cruise, and we booked cave tubing with an outside company. I had a reading comprehension problem that morning, and I spent over an hour in the wrong tender ticket line. I would have been first in line had I read the compass correctly. We ended up with ticket "I" as in just before J. I thought we were doomed and would have to find something else to do. Had I known they weren't checking tickets we would have just gone when they called the first group, but we went when our letter was called. We got to the port at 10:30. Cavetubing.bz got us right on a shuttle and off we went. It. Was. Amazing. I'm so glad we did it. I had my three 6yos with me and my husband, and they loved it too. We weren't rushed - lunch was a tiny bit rushed, but we still got 2nds and 3rds if we wanted. They had us back to the port at 3:45. The last RC tender was 4:30. There were also Carnival people on our tour and their last tender was 4:15. We still had time to take a few picks at the Belize sign and get on a tender. Highly recommended!

 

 

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michellehudson

michellehudson

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Thanks for the review. We leave this weekend on Liberty and I wasn't sure what we'd be doing. How does one find the monkey sanctuary?

 

 

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We did a tour with Daniel Johnson's Monkey & Sloth Hangout in Roatan and it was awesome!

At only $30 per person it was a great deal also!

 

They picked us up at port, we had a private car/driver. We chose to do the Hangout, an island tour and time at a private beach for lunch. The driver stayed at the beach until we were ready, then drove us back to port where we had time to shop before boarding.

Look up Daniel Johnsons Monkey & Sloth Hangout on Facebook. Send him a message on FB...he will reply with detailed instructions on where to meet the driver and their contact info.

 

 

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TripleU

TripleU

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I found that surprising too, and I'll float a theory: The OP cruised in late January. What's going on in that time frame? Most younger people are back to work after Christmas break, and kids are back in school -- not a timeframe when younger people can cruise. Also, prices are rock-bottom, which appeals to retirees who want to stretch their travel dollar. Finally, the weather's a little colder, so the people who want active beach-oriented excursions aren't as interested ... yet the 70-ish crowd, who probably want a more sedate cruise, aren't deterred.

 

I'm guessing that this timeframe is what drew the older crowd. Agree or disagree? I've never cruised in January, so I'm making a guess.

 

 

Definitely!! I was on this cruise too. DH and I are 39 and we had our three 6yo daughters with us. I took them out of school. I enjoyed the older crowd. Despite having three kids, I generally am not a fan of kids. On the last night, I caught 2 young girls - probably 11-13yo - getting off on deck 2 where we were getting on to go to 12. They had pushed every button. I screamed at them, and I'm pretty sure I put the fear of a God in them when we took their room number and said we were calling their parents. I never followed through on my threat, but I think it really scared them as they looked terrified and were very apologetic. I hate that crap, and being with the older crowd means it happens less.

 

 

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flygirl76

flygirl76

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There were 6 of us on Liberty for the Halloween sailing. OP does not joke. We're all in our 40s and we're the youngest by a long shot! There were few youngsters on board - most were in strollers or carried. Only 5-6 teenagers. BUT because of the older crowd there is rarely a line for any of the water slides or flow rider.

 

We didn't get lobster at Windjammer either!

 

 

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George C

George C

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We did a tour with Daniel Johnson's Monkey & Sloth Hangout in Roatan and it was awesome!

At only $30 per person it was a great deal also!

 

They picked us up at port, we had a private car/driver. We chose to do the Hangout, an island tour and time at a private beach for lunch. The driver stayed at the beach until we were ready, then drove us back to port where we had time to shop before boarding.

Look up Daniel Johnsons Monkey & Sloth Hangout on Facebook. Send him a message on FB...he will reply with detailed instructions on where to meet the driver and their contact info.

 

 

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Thanks for info, might do this in April

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douggw

douggw

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Next time ur in Belize try the cave tubing ! You can pre book with several companies on the internet or grab a tour on the pier!

 

 

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We did the cave tubing last time in Belize and it was excellent. We just wanted to do something a little different this time.

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douggw

douggw

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Thanks for the review. We leave this weekend on Liberty and I wasn't sure what we'd be doing. How does one find the monkey sanctuary?

 

 

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We booked a tour with Rony's Tours and it's one of their options. Victor Bodden's tours also does it.

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douggw

douggw

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I found that surprising too, and I'll float a theory: The OP cruised in late January. What's going on in that time frame? Most younger people are back to work after Christmas break, and kids are back in school -- not a timeframe when younger people can cruise. Also, prices are rock-bottom, which appeals to retirees who want to stretch their travel dollar. Finally, the weather's a little colder, so the people who want active beach-oriented excursions aren't as interested ... yet the 70-ish crowd, who probably want a more sedate cruise, aren't deterred.

 

I'm guessing that this timeframe is what drew the older crowd. Agree or disagree? I've never cruised in January, so I'm making a guess.

 

I think it is that yes, and also the departure city. We've gone on 12 cruises, and all but 1 has either been early December or January (the cheapest times to go!). Kids have come three times - but all on Carnival. Lots of kids even during Dec/Jan and all have been from Florida or Los Angeles. First time out of Galveston (and not really anxious to leave from there again - airport is too far). I think more than half the ship was from Texas, which isn't a bad thing - just the demographics are a little different than what we were expecting. Not bad - just different.

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sgregel

sgregel

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I was on this sailing and had a great time. The entertainment was great! I enjoyed Nathan Osmond's show, which I haven't seen anyone mention. Didn't get to the comedy shows, not my thing. I think there are more people on this cruise that drive to the port. Getting to and from the airport is more of an issue for people flying in. I was also very nervous about fog being an issue coming back. I probably won't do this cruise again due to the itinerary and distance from the airport. Roatan & Belize are not my favorite ports. The casino had $10 table limits that only went down to $5 for 1 hour each day. I think more people gamble on this itinerary, so it's probably a supply/demand thing.

 

I have to say the passengers on this cruise are probably the friendliest of any cruise I've taken. I traveled solo on this one and met a lot of great people.

Sandy

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douggw

douggw

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Michelle- How many people for the $30 price? Two, four, etc. We are just the two of us, and I would love to see the Daniel Johnson place and finish with a beach.

 

If you just show up there, it's $10 pp to get in.

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wolfcathorse

wolfcathorse

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Is the seafood night in the Windjammer a Liberty "thing" or is this a RCL thing? I've not heard of that and would love it! We'll be on the Harmony in March and wondering if we'll have this "treat" too. What night was this?

 

Thanks.

 

We experienced this on Empress last September. I was in heaven.

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cruising granddad

cruising granddad

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We're on Liberty this Saturday, same itinerary. Good tips for the last sea day!

We were on Liberty last August and missed it! We won't this time!

 

I hope Saturday is your travel day.

My wife is on this cruise and she travels Sunday Feb. 5th to Sunday Feb. 12th.

 

She is "Cruising Grandma" Kay.

She would love to meet you!!

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MnDoogles

MnDoogles

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Michelle- How many people for the $30 price? Two, four, etc. We are just the two of us, and I would love to see the Daniel Johnson place and finish with a beach.

 

 

Hope I'm doing this right,very new to doing more than reading the forum.

 

After reading the info here I booked with Daniel Johnson. We are doing the Monkey Snorkel for $45. It adds snorkeling and the beach to the hangout. Thanks

 

 

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ikirumata

ikirumata

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Do you remember what night this was? Definitely do not want to miss this, and generally, I prefer the relaxed atmosphere of The Windjammer over the MDR.

 

It was Saturday (last sea day). Lobster night in the MDR was moved from Thursday to Friday, so they may have been getting rid of extra stock. It may be worth asking someone in the Windjammer if they will be doing this on your cruise.

 

I agree about the Windjammer. I prefer the relaxed atmosphere in the WJ at night. I also find that I get better service there too. Our drinks got rarely refilled in the MDR. In the WJ, they checked on us often. If you get to know one of the waiters, they will not only get you drink refills, they will even get something off the buffet for you if you want. The waiters are more apt to chat too. In the MDR, it seems like the waiters were too busy. That being said, we did have a phenominal waiter in the MDR who performed magic tricks for our kids. He was surely the exception to the other waiters we got (we used My Time Dining...never again).

 

As far as food quality, I found that the MDR may be more consistent as far as quality. The WJ is definitely hit or miss, but some of my favorite meals were had in the WJ. The Biryani's were excellent and of course lobster night in the WJ was a far better experience than in the MDR. Desserts were better in the MDR.

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asp3

asp3

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I have to agree that the disembarkation was the worst I've ever experienced. We were in the carry your own group A (which was supposed to get off first) but when we showed up during the appointed time they weren't using groups. The lines that had been formed weren't policed and people cut into those rather than following directions and getting into the newer lines. Those who followed directions were penalized.

 

Overall this was one of my least favorite cruises. However I'll start my review with the pluses:

 

1. The room. This was the quietest, cleanest room I've been in on a cruise. They got the bathroom venting correct and suck air out rather than having a noisy fan in the bathroom. The only minor issue were the balcony dividers above us which banged at night and kept us from sleeping with the balcony door open.

 

2. Gluten free pizza - You could get this at the pizza place on the promenade but it took 10 to 20 minutes. However it was a really good gluten free crust.

 

3. Climbing wall - Lots of fun, well run and easy to access

 

4. Mini golf - This was a fun unexpected pleasure that we came across and were able to enjoy

 

Now for the minuses

 

1. Food - This was one of the worst ships I've ever been on for the dining room food.

 

- Lunch in the dining room was a joke and the selections were horrible and almost as bad as the poor, slow service. Only made the lunch mistake once.

 

- Windjammer - Although the food was passable the variety and quality weren't that great. I've been on smaller ships with better variety.

 

- Main dining room - Very uninspired dishes with very little flair or creativity and very pedestrian presentation. I like to cruise for the food and usually have several memorable dishes during a cruise. This one was a bust overall.

 

2. The promenade - They had so many sales and other things happening there it was difficult to get from one end of the ship to the other at times. One could go down to the fourth floor but it was like walking through a smoking room much of the time.

 

3. The cruise director, he was smarmy, had an offensive way of presenting himself and lied several times when talking about what was available in the ports. Definitely not a fan.

 

4. Dining room wait staff - They were very inconsistent. We were with a group that had arranged to be able to move between the tables on different nights, but that really confused the staff. The management should have done a better job preparing them to handle different people at different tables each night. One waiter was rather boorish.

 

5. The elevators - I lost count of the number of times that elevators would skip our floor completely (went from a floor above to a floor below or visa-versa) and no compensation was made for the skipping. If you program elevators to skip floors when full be sure to get an elevator to that floor ASAP to compensate for it. I can and did use the stairs regularly but my wife had hurt her knee and depended on them working correctly.

 

6. Poor floor plans - Particularly in the Windjammer, it seems that the way people needed to move was in opposition to the way things were set up. Too many bottlenecks and sections where to many sections were feeding into the same areas. Also there was a lack of clarity as to where lines started and ended.

 

7. The "inner workings" of the ship were to apparent. Most of the cruises I've been on have tried to keep the work necessary to keep things running behind the scenes. There were far too many people filling silverware, plates, ice, supplies, etc... throughout the ship in very obvious ways. I've never noticed this before on any cruise.

 

8. Lack of knowledge. We were repeatedly told things that didn't happen such as announcements that would be made and procedures that would be followed but weren't. We almost missed our Cozumel ferry because my wife asked if she had time to get breakfast and they said yes and there would be an announcement when the ferry started to board.

 

Most of the folks we talked to (even those very loyal to Royal) said this the worst cruise and/or ship they'd been on.

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