Review: Liberty OTS, June 18-25, 2017 (Galveston, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica)

[Nike4000]

@Nike4000 -- Lots of people wear lanyards for the sea pass cards; our son has a zippered coin purse type thing on a lanyard, so he used that (inside his shirt). You, of course, can buy many types of lanyards on board! ;p

Excellent! We were planning on bringing some, but didn't know if the cards would fit.

 

Pretty sure Sweet N Low is available; we don't use it, but I saw blue, pink, yellow etc. packets near the tea and coffee stations.

My wife will be very happy to hear this!

 

Also 98% sure that the kids were not required to stop what they were doing and go with the group activity. In the 15-17 teen room (which is called the Living Room), they had at least a couple of video games set up, some couches, I think some board games too. When it was time for soccer or basketball or whatever activity, whoever wanted to go could go, but you didn't have to. I do recall the Living Room being closed (they put a sign on the door) so I think that was at times when ALL the kids and counselors were gone. They also close from about 5:00-8:00 pm for dinner times.

Excellent! He might actually visit the kid's club then!

 

Thanks again for all of your insights!

[Aggiebuttercup]

Kids are not required to participate in the activities. We were on Liberty in August. My middle daughter brought a book with her every time she went to the kids' club. While the other kids did planned active games, she sat on the couch and read. When the scheduled activities were more tame, she put her book down and joined in.

[Nike4000]

Kids are not required to participate in the activities. We were on Liberty in August. My middle daughter brought a book with her every time she went to the kids' club. While the other kids did planned active games, she sat on the couch and read. When the scheduled activities were more tame, she put her book down and joined in.

 

That info helps immensely! We might be able to convince both kids to check out the clubs with that info!

[Mr_Soccer]

 

The cruise director, John Blair, was not my cup of tea; too Vegas-y. I was not surprised to learn that the Neil Diamond tribute later in the week was his headliner show.

 

 

My DW and I were on the same cruise and have the exact same sentiments about John. Only show we skipped was the Neil Diamond one

[Mr_Soccer]

Great, comprehensive review!

 

Do you recall seeing any drink cards for sale?

 

I was offered a drink card late Thursday at Boleros, 10 drinks for $75

[Clarea]

I was offered a drink card late Thursday at Boleros, 10 drinks for $75

So, late on day 5. Thanks!

[Mr_Soccer]

 

Laundry -- Nobody asked about this, but I noticed the stuff-everything-in-the-bag laundry price was $34.99.

 

 

If you are Platinum it is 29.99

[Mr_Soccer]

So, late on day 5. Thanks!

 

Yes this was the first I had seen it (then you have two sea days to use in addition to that evening), then I noticed it at a few different places on Friday.

[Mr_Soccer]

• How was your cabin? What deck was your cabin on? Was the deck noisy?
  
• How early did you get to the shows in order to get seats?
  
• Did the ship feel super crowded? My biggest concern is that the ship will feel overly crowded.
  

Sorry for the questions, just trying to prep for our cruise! Thanks again for your great review, it's super helpful to noobs like me!

 

Nice Handle, especially after today's market performance :)

 

We had a balcony cabin mid-ship on deck 9, really quiet except from the occasional "serenading" of Disney tunes from the young girls next door when they were on their balcony.

 

We went to every show before and after dinner except the Neil Diamond (we had late seating) and usually sat in the balcony by choice. we rolled in 5 minutes early for everything and had good seats (either straight on or one section to the left or right and in the first three rows). This did not work out for the 11:15 late night comedy show by Landry. I had never seen any theater on any cruise that packed. Standing room 2-3 deep in the balcony. For the first showing of the ice show and SNF I went and got in line 45 minutes early. Had front row for ice show and choose 7th row center on the floor for SNF. Great seats for both. Could have had great seats coming in 15 minutes later for either.

 

Ship felt less crowded than any of the previous 5 RCCL cruises. You could always find a deck chair except right next to the pools, many of the tables were not filled in the dining rooms. we were at a 6 person table for dinner and the other people did not show for a single night, shows were never filled except the one late night show I mentioned above. Lines were not out of control for slides, mini golf, promenade eateries...Was a bit of a challenge a couple times to get a table at the windjammer, but acceptable.

 

Have a great cruise. Biggest bummer for us was the rain in Cozumel and Jamaica.

[widallas]

Excellent! We were planning on bringing some, but didn't know if the cards would fit.

 

The seapass cards are about the same size as a standard ID/license -- we brought plastic sleeves and had no issues. Some people get theirs punched.

[DdcQ1]

@Nike4000 -- Lots of people wear lanyards for the sea pass cards; our son has a zippered coin purse type thing on a lanyard, so he used that (inside his shirt). You, of course, can buy many types of lanyards on board! ;p

 

Pretty sure Sweet N Low is available; we don't use it, but I saw blue, pink, yellow etc. packets near the tea and coffee stations.

 

Also 98% sure that the kids were not required to stop what they were doing and go with the group activity. In the 15-17 teen room (which is called the Living Room), they had at least a couple of video games set up, some couches, I think some board games too. When it was time for soccer or basketball or whatever activity, whoever wanted to go could go, but you didn't have to. I do recall the Living Room being closed (they put a sign on the door) so I think that was at times when ALL the kids and counselors were gone. They also close from about 5:00-8:00 pm for dinner times.

 

We were on the same cruise with a group ( 70 people, 20 kids ages 8-17 and 6 or so in the 18-20 age group). We brought lanyards with plastic sleeves the size for a credit card, the Sea Pass fit perfectly, and the device they read them with could read through the clear plastic so one did not have to take them out of the sleeve except to open your cabin door.

The teen kids all went to the first night at the teen club and met other kids on the ship. My DD (13) and her friends made some new friends, they could come and go in the teen areas, they chose whichever activities they wanted. The one complaint was that the age groups were not allowed to join the other age group and there was little for the 18-20 group. The kids also made use of the library areas on decks 6,7,8 for card games and just hanging out.

[Nike4000]

We were on the same cruise with a group ( 70 people, 20 kids ages 8-17 and 6 or so in the 18-20 age group). We brought lanyards with plastic sleeves the size for a credit card, the Sea Pass fit perfectly, and the device they read them with could read through the clear plastic so one did not have to take them out of the sleeve except to open your cabin door.

The teen kids all went to the first night at the teen club and met other kids on the ship. My DD (13) and her friends made some new friends, they could come and go in the teen areas, they chose whichever activities they wanted. The one complaint was that the age groups were not allowed to join the other age group and there was little for the 18-20 group. The kids also made use of the library areas on decks 6,7,8 for card games and just hanging out.

 

Thanks! This is very, very helpful!

[poohtaz]

I just looked it up and Park N Cruise, where we've got our reservation, doesn't have a shuttle. So, it looks like I'll be dropping the family off at the port with the luggage and then hiking over.[/quote

 

 

Is there not parking right at the port?

[Kellie in Texas]

There are several places to park within a block or two or three from the cruise terminal. Some inside a garage, others in an open but fenced lot. Some don't have shuttles. You can google Galveston cruise parking and find several choices.

[Nike4000]

A few more questions tricking in from the family:

1. How are the hair dryers in the stateroom? Do they do an okay job?

2. Does Royal provide shampoo and conditioner as separate items, a combo of shampoo and conditioner, just shampoo, or neither?

 

My wife said that the women would understand these questions. :-)

Thanks!

[TNcruising02]

Great review! We were on the same cruise and had the same thoughts about the cruise director. I was also not surprised that he was the headliner for the Neil Diamond show. I suppose the show was good for Neil Diamond fans, but we didn't care for it.

 

I know they had the drinks cards, but don't remember the exact day they went on sale. I think I noticed them midway through the cruise.

 

On Air, Saturday Night Fever, the comedy shows, and the ice show were all very good. We arrived about 25 minutes early for those shows and got good seats. The comedians were both very funny.

 

We brought our own lanyards with us and went to guest services so they could punch a hole in our sea pass cards.

 

On the second day, we were able to down-grade our drinks package to just the soda package because we realized that we would not get our money's worth. We aren't big drinkers. They had no problem letting us change our plans and giving us credits.

 

The slot machines were different than the Carnival ships where I could just insert my sea pass card. The machines took cash or you could go to the cashier and buy a ticket (they charge a small fee) to insert into the machines.

 

The buffet food was good and I was glad that they always had someone stationed at the entrance to encourage people to use hand sanitizer.

 

The chairs around the pool areas were hard to get, but we could always find chairs in the shade. We prefer to lounge in the shade, so that was fine with us.

 

They provide some type of shampoo in the shower. I am not sure if it's a combination of shampoo and conditioner or just shampoo/body soap. I used that and brought my own conditioner.

 

We were in no hurry to get off of the ship because we had a late flight. We were on the 8th deck and given number 34. We ate at the buffet and then went to our waiting area. After awhile, an employee came in and said that we could all leave if we wanted to. We did, so we got in line to get off of the ship and it was a very fast process.

 

I will say one thing about tendering. It's best to go get your tender ticket as soon as you get up. The later you wait, the higher your number. If you have a ship excursion, they might give you a number. I am not sure. We did not have a ship excursion and waited until after breakfast to get a number. In hindsight, I would have gotten the ticket first thing.

[Mr_Soccer]

A few more questions tricking in from the family:

1. How are the hair dryers in the stateroom? Do they do an okay job?

2. Does Royal provide shampoo and conditioner as separate items, a combo of shampoo and conditioner, just shampoo, or neither?

 

My wife said that the women would understand these questions. :-)

Thanks!

MY DW always brings her own hairdryer regardless of what is promised. So no idea here she has never used.

 

RCCL now only provides bar soap and shampoo (in a wall dispenser) We had to buy some conditioner on board for our February cruise, DW brought her own this time.

[Mr_Soccer]

 

I will say one thing about tendering. It's best to go get your tender ticket as soon as you get up. The later you wait, the higher your number. If you have a ship excursion, they might give you a number. I am not sure. We did not have a ship excursion and waited until after breakfast to get a number. In hindsight, I would have gotten the ticket first thing.

 

If you have a RCCL excursion your ticket is your tender ticket. it will have a meeting place on the ship, like the theater and will have a number. Then you will be lead to a dedicated tender with other excursions.

[Kellie in Texas]

We bring our own shampoo (don't use conditioner). DS used the shampoo dispenser in the shower; he said he had to use "10 squirts" to get enough to work.

 

We don't use blow dryers either, but I found it by accident the next to last day -- it was in one of the drawers in the desk. Likewise a couple of magazines and the box of tissue were in the middle desk drawer.

 

We did RCCL excursions in all ports, so as Mr. Soccer said, our excursion tickets doubled as the tender ticket (only needed in GC).

 

One other thing is the Compass said you could use the interactive TV to check your stateroom balance, but we were never able to get it to work.

[Mr_Soccer]

 

 

One other thing is the Compass said you could use the interactive TV to check your stateroom balance, but we were never able to get it to work.

 

What a piece of junk that interactive system is. Always said we were queuing, able to eventually get in maybe once a day. System on the newer ships is way better,

[DdcQ1]

MY DW always brings her own hairdryer regardless of what is promised. So no idea here she has never used.

 

RCCL now only provides bar soap and shampoo (in a wall dispenser) We had to buy some conditioner on board for our February cruise, DW brought her own this time.

We bring our own shampoo and conditioner, kind of picky about that. My DD has long, thick hair. The blow dryer was weak compared to others she has used. The other girls in our group reported similar experiences and one could not get it to work at all. If we get a chance to cruise again, we will bring our own blow dryer.