Review: Liberty of the Seas, Jul 16-23, 2017 (Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica)

[EBFURR]

We are going on this cruise next month, we have never been to the Caribbean,. My number 1 bucket list is to swim with the dolphins.

But, I have read so many negative reviews and sad stories about their habitats, that I am not sure. What port would you do the dolphins in?

Also, is it better to book through the ship or on our own? we r new to this

Thank you

 

Our daughter has done it and we booked it in Cozumel. There seems to be more and more of these places popping up. The primary advantage to booking with the ship is that they will be sure you are back on board before sailing. If you are on your own they may not wait if you are late. From our experience the cruise line excursions can be a little like cattle calls with the crowds and you are locked into certain times. You can spend a lot of your day waiting for the rest of your group to finish. If you decide to go in Cozumel you will not have an issue with getting back to the ship on time since everything is relatively near the dock and taxis are plentiful. There may be similar situations in other ports but this is the one we know about. You can usually save some money and have more flexibility by booking yourself. Check the sites like Trip Adviser and the port of call boards on CC for reviews.

[OKCcruiser8]

I would absolutely recommend the port of call board. I've been on 3 cruises & this past April was the first time I didn't do any excursions through the cruise line. We did this same itinerary and I felt there was so much less hassle & as was stated above, the cruise line excursions do tend to have a "cattle call" type of feel to them. It was really nice to be able to do things on our own more relaxed schedule.

[doublej]

I have a question, my son (29 yrs old) & I are going to be on the Liberty - 24-31 Dec 2017 for the Christmas cruise. 2nd cruise for me, 1st for him. My question is about Grand Cayman or Jamaica, and you don't have any excursions planned, are there area's in which you can visit once you get off the tendered boat in each area (Grand Cayman & Jamaica), like shopping area's. My husband & I were originally going to be on the Liberty Oct 8-15, 2017, & we had planned some excursions, but he suddenly passed in June 2017.

 

I didn't want to be by myself for Christmas, so my son decided he'd tag along, he didn't want me by myself at Christmas.

So I decided, I just wanted to do some shopping while in Grand Cayman & Jamaica, since my son

didn't want to do ANY excursions. Any suggestions?

 

 

There is a very nice Margaritaville at the port in Falmouth. They have a really nice waterfall pool and lots of loungers that folks can use for free. but they do hope that a drink or food is purchased. It's a great atmosphere to sit and relax. It is extremely close to the ship and frequented by the crew, also.

[Silent Penguin]

I haven't read your whole trip report yet, just your review on the reviews page,"First time on a non-DCL cruise..." It caught my eye because we've been there, done that, and for the same reasons. Several cruises with DCL before jumping ship. Except for the fact that you tried RCL for your first non-DCL and we tried CCL, and my kids are a few years older than yours, I think I wrote the same review a few years ago.

 

We have now taken 3 Carnival cruises. Two were good but not "magical". Like you said, no bad, just different. We only booked a third time instead of trying RCL because of the limitations put upon us by the family we were sailing with. As it turned out, this third Carnival cruise was fabulous, one of the best we've taken.

 

Now that we have learned to trust contemporary, non-DCL cruiselines, dh is talking about RCL for our next cruise because one leaves from a port only an hour away from us.

 

Great pictures of the room space. CCL balcony staterooms don't have that curtain partition. Last time we cruised, we had 4 in our room, and that would have been nice to have.

[Nike4000]

I haven't read your whole trip report yet, just your review on the reviews page,"First time on a non-DCL cruise..." It caught my eye because we've been there, done that, and for the same reasons. Several cruises with DCL before jumping ship. Except for the fact that you tried RCL for your first non-DCL and we tried CCL, and my kids are a few years older than yours, I think I wrote the same review a few years ago.

 

We have now taken 3 Carnival cruises. Two were good but not "magical". Like you said, no bad, just different. We only booked a third time instead of trying RCL because of the limitations put upon us by the family we were sailing with. As it turned out, this third Carnival cruise was fabulous, one of the best we've taken.

 

Now that we have learned to trust contemporary, non-DCL cruiselines, dh is talking about RCL for our next cruise because one leaves from a port only an hour away from us.

 

Great pictures of the room space. CCL balcony staterooms don't have that curtain partition. Last time we cruised, we had 4 in our room, and that would have been nice to have.

 

Sorry I haven't responded sooner, been swamped with work.

 

My wife has sailed on both Royal and Carnival and liked Royal much, much better. She said that the Royal ship was cleaner and more up to date. To her, the Carnival ship reminded her of Vegas in the '90's with very gaudy gold decor everywhere. She also didn't like that you basically had to walk through the casino to get from one end of the ship to the other and the smell of cigarette smoke was overwhelming. Now, she loved the chocolate molten cake served on Carnival more than any food or dessert we tried on Royal. She said she'd go back just for that! :D

 

I'd like to try Carnival as a family just to test it out and compare the experiences. Maybe next summer we will! If you end up trying Royal, let me know what you think. I was very concerned about the crowd going into it, and that was a complete non-factor.

 

Also, I'm never doing all 4 of us in one room again. The cost wasn't that much more to have the second room and it made all the difference in the world! I actually felt like I could enjoy the time in the room and walk around without tripping over someone or something.

 

As a small aside, my sister in law was stuck on a Carnival ship for nearly an extra week due to Hurricane Harvey. She said that the crew and cruise line couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. They went out of their way to make sure the passengers were having the best time possible given the circumstances. So, kudos to Carnival's crew for being on top of things.

[TexasCruiser20]

Great review!  I have a couple of questions.. we're sailing in June on this same ship and itinerary.  Wanting to book a balcony room but needing to know whether to book on the port or starboard side for the best views from our balcony when at port.  You mentioned in Grand Cayman you were able to see the island from your balcony on the starboard side.  Would you recommend that side of the ship, or the port side for better island views when ported?

 

Also, how was the felt motion in your stateroom when at sea?