Wanted—Honest reviews of Liberty of the Seas

[RN4Nsy]

I sailed on her a year ago, immediately after dry dock. Beautiful ship, food was great. I like it because the ship is big enough for everybody of any age to enjoy. A favorite is always to go to the Royal Promenade and people watch while having a drink or a snack. As others have said, there will always be a little something that may go amiss but all in all, a fantastic time will be had by all. Enjoy your trip!

[grandgeezer]

I think all reviews are honest. maybe that's just me. Just because they don't jive with your preconceived notions doesn't make them dishonest.

[drrich2]

I suspect by 'honest' the OP meant balanced, with neither a positive or negative bias, told from a realist's perspective, not an optimistic or pessimistic one.

 

Some people choose to focus on the positive, some obviously focus on the negative, in trip reports, but for someone deciding whether to do a given cruise, there's a lot to be said for knowing both pro.s & con.s.

 

I don't think the intention was to accuse trip report authors of willful deceit.

 

Might be worth chalking this one up to differences of interpretation & opinion on word choice, and allow some benefit of the doubt.

 

Richard.

[workstocruise]

We are taking our family on this ship the week of Thanksgiving. It’s been several years since we sailed on RCI and I was worried my sons and their wives would be disappointed in the ship, but after reading these comments, I’m relieved and excited we chose the Liberty for our family trip. I know our grandkids will love that water park which was a main reason for choosing this ship. Thank you everyone!

[grandmarnnurse]

You will love the Liberty, cruised on her twice and there is tons to do. The service is really good, the staff seems really happy. You will be cruising with a ship largely full of friendly, Texans who have not forgotten the manners their mamas taught them.

About the vow renewal, why not try to do your own thing? Write em up and recite them on the beach, or just stand up in the dining room and bring down the house. Or maybe you can get with the cruise director and arrange to do something during the Love and Marriage show. Go for it, and congrats on 50 years!

 

 

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Thank you for some great ideas!

[surf cruiser]

Not recent, but Cruising with Radio has lots of great albums.

http://public.fotki.com/Radio88/liberty-of-the-seas/

Also search Liberty of the Seas and reviews on YouTube.

We loved it and mostly sail in the Oasis class.

[Sittin'OnTheDock]

I have sailed the Indy and the Oasis, so I’m familiar with the layout and the ice shows, etc. That is one reason I was attracted to this ship, and hope my family will love it. Although a couple of them have sailed a Royal ship, they were older ships, before the Promenade, so I know they will like that. Where in Galveston do you suggest to book a before and after cruise hotel stay? Thank you for your honest opinion, I really appreciate it. I don’t understand why some posters on here feel the need to attack, mock, and ridicule when someone is asking for honest opinions or giving their honest reviews.

 

I really wish I could help you here, but we have a timeshare that allows us "free bonus" time that doesn't count against our timeshare...so, we stay there...it is the Silverleaf/HolidayInnClub on the island. You can rent there but it is an overkill for just a hotel...full kitchen and all. If we weren't staying there, we would probably just find a well rated hotel near the dock.

 

Sorry about the haters...it's the nature of the internet.

 

I can't promise you will enjoy Liberty, but Galveston is our favorite port and the people on the Liberty are our favorite...maybe because we are Texans and feel comfortable...it's a friendly factor.

 

Best of luck,

:)

[CCC3]

Six cruises in the past 3.5 years on Liberty and we love her. The size is perfect...not gigantic but big enough. Lots of things for kids/teens/young adults...as well as adults, to do...rock wall, flow rider, ice skating, and they have a decent sized game room stocked with cards, board games, etc. We saw a lot of teens up there in January playing cards and checkers. The folks from Texas are friendly and we have found the crew to be friendly as well. We’ve been on all the routes multiple times, but really this ship...so back we go.

 

 

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[Blizzard54]

The Liberty is a great ship for multi generational families. We spent 5 weeks on her already this year and will spend 6 more before the end of the year. We did have a couple fogs issues in Jan and Feb but March should be no problem. We noticed that the ship was actually cleaner this winter than it had been 14 months earlier. The staff is friendly. The prices out of Galveston have been very good.

[DonTreadOnMe]

We love Liberty. We did miss our flights 3 weeks ago due to fog coming back. We would just plan an extra day coming back if we do Galveston again. We stayed in the new Panoramic Ocean view rooms, and will have a hard time staying in anything else going forward.

 

Last years cruise director was far better than this year...he was a bit of a dud. You will find quite a few kids onboard due to the slides/splashpad...and also due to price/kids sail free. Considering we had 16 and 8 of them were kids...we didn't mind.

 

We would definitely do Liberty again for sure. In fact I am looking for something in 2019/20 and considering the price gap we may just end up on Liberty.

[CanadaRob]

I really wish I could help you here' date=' but we have a timeshare that allows us "free bonus" time that doesn't count against our timeshare...so, we stay there...it is the Silverleaf/HolidayInnClub on the island. You can rent there but it is an overkill for just a hotel...full kitchen and all. If we weren't staying there, we would probably just find a well rated hotel near the dock.

 

Sorry about the haters...it's the nature of the internet.

 

I can't promise you will enjoy Liberty, but Galveston is our favorite port and the people on the Liberty are our favorite...maybe because we are Texans and feel comfortable...it's a friendly factor.

 

Best of luck,

:)[/quote']

 

Being from Canada we also felt the friendly vibe leaving from Texas and commented on it to others. Would do Liberty again too and this is a contributing factor.

[wolfganghowell]

We've sailed many times out of Galveston. You have a slight fog possibility based on early March so have a back up plan if you don't already. As so many have mentioned, you will notice a difference in passengers. As a native Texan, it sounds like bragging - and we are kind of known for that. ;) But the crew have told us this for years - Galveston is a favorite for them as well because most of the passengers are laid back and treat them well. Happy crew makes for a happy cruise. The ship is in great shape. We've found the food to be much improved. The waterslides are a blast for young and old. Plenty to do whether it's being active or being lazy.

[Sittin'OnTheDock]

Being from Canada we also felt the friendly vibe leaving from Texas and commented on it to others. Would do Liberty again too and this is a contributing factor.

Canadians are batting a 1000 with me. I never met one I didn't like and that includes Liberty, Hawaii, and Florida cruises. I guess you guys are just happy to be warm.:D

[CCC3]

We've sailed many times out of Galveston. You have a slight fog possibility based on early March so have a back up plan if you don't already. As so many have mentioned, you will notice a difference in passengers. As a native Texan, it sounds like bragging - and we are kind of known for that. ;) But the crew have told us this for years - Galveston is a favorite for them as well because most of the passengers are laid back and treat them well. Happy crew makes for a happy cruise. The ship is in great shape. We've found the food to be much improved. The waterslides are a blast for young and old. Plenty to do whether it's being active or being lazy.

 

 

We also noticed an improvement in the food this winter too. Even WJ offerings were a notch or two above the previous norm.

 

 

 

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[pokerguy90]

Do other give dishonest reviews?

 

 

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[Eslader]

Just sailed Liberty in February. It's been through drydock, so it's in great shape. The staff is very accommodating and friendly.

 

Food:

 

Sabor was hands down the best Sabor we've had on any of the ships. Giovanni's Table was perfect both times we went. Chops was excellent (not quite as good as Giovanni's). Chef's Table was a bit of a disappointment. The food wasn't as high quality as we've gotten on Oasis-class CT's - especially the lobster salad which had terrible lobster in it. And it's positioned on a mid-landing between two of the MDR decks, so you have all the noise of the MDR which makes it hard to hear conversation or the food explanations. But the filet was excellent and the wine pairings were very well thought out.

 

Windjammer is mediocre just like Windjammer on every other ship. Eat there only when you're in a hurry. MDR had good food and the waitstaff tried hard but it's clear there have been cutbacks from even a couple of years ago, so they struggle to keep up.

 

Really glad to see Vintages on this ship after being spoiled by it on Oasis class. The Caymus tasting is worth it if you've never tried that family before. Unlike Oasis, they do not have a full-fledged sommelier in Vintages on Liberty, but that doesn't mean the guy doesn't know his stuff. Bruno is very well versed in wines, both the characteristics and the history.

 

The Park Cafe makes quite a good cup of specialty coffee. Much better than the non-Starbucks stuff on Oasis. Sorrentos maintains RCCL tradition by making pizza that only rises to the level of "edible."

 

Facilities:

 

The solarium was disappointing in some ways. Of course, we're spoiled by the incredible Oasis-class solariums, so Liberty would have a hard time competing. Only the pools are adults-only because the forward elevators let out right in the middle of the solarium, so it would be hard to keep kids out. The pool is oddly deep for a pool that's intended to be walked around in rather than for diving. There are bar stools and a bar counter in the middle of the pool, which is neat but also led to a few instances of people leaving their empties where staff could not reach them.

 

As an aside, this was our first cruise since RCL implemented life guards and that was an annoyance. Pools without lifeguards close, which means the Solarium pool closes at 7pm. And it's kind of odd having a lifeguard standing there staring down at a bunch of adults wading around. Hopefully they staff life guards better so that pools can stay open longer, and it wouldn't hurt if they got rid of the solarium pool life guard station as that has to be the most boring post ever manned. ;)

 

The cantilever hot tubs are in the solarium on this ship. They're quite nice, but tend to become crowded very quickly, so when you see space available, grab it.

 

We never had an issue getting a chair anywhere on the ship. The deck chairs on the forward level above the pools were almost always empty, which we thought was strange, but we certainly weren't complaining.

 

The elevators are almost always crowded. And their programming is weird. Many times we'd hit a button and then watch car after car skip our deck on its way somewhere else. Take the stairs whenever possible. Speaking of, the artwork in the stairs is often just plain weird.

 

The lounges on deck 4 are really nice, but unfortunately the smoke from the casino pervades all of them, even Boleros which is back by the MDR, so we didn't spend a whole lot of time in them.

 

Overall the ship is in really good shape, clean, well-maintained, and certainly does not look 11 years old. The crew is a mixed bag - the people themselves are excellent, but Royal needs to stop cheaping out and return to the old staffing levels so that they aren't so overworked. Several passengers were pretty vocal about the slow service, especially in the MDR, but it's clear it's not the staff's fault. They just need more people. If you like pool-side drinks service, you will definitely notice a decline, though from what I've read this is fleet-wide. There were days when we'd go 4 or 5 hours without being approached for a drink, and then when we were approached it was often a guy with a tray of pre-poured drinks, so if we didn't want whatever he was selling we were out of luck.

 

As mentioned above, it's definitely a Texas ship. If you like Texas culture, you're gonna love the crowd on this ship. The downside to the ship being in Texas is that if you sail in winter, Galveston is going to be in the 40's or 50's, and your first and last days at sea will be in the mid-to-upper Gulf of Mexico and will be considerably cooler than the cruises out of Florida.

 

For this reason alone I would only go back to this ship if we sailed at a later date - we cruise to escape winter, and even though 40 degrees was about 40 degrees warmer than home, it would have been much better had it been at least 70. The upside is that Galveston is a cool town, and of course there's the Johnson Space Center to check out before or after your cruise.

 

 

Do other give dishonest reviews?

 

 

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I take it you did not notice the "SHOCKING dirty tables on Oasis" post from a few days ago. ;)

[grandmarnnurse]

Just sailed Liberty in February. It's been through drydock, so it's in great shape. The staff is very accommodating and friendly.

 

Food:

 

Sabor was hands down the best Sabor we've had on any of the ships. Giovanni's Table was perfect both times we went. Chops was excellent (not quite as good as Giovanni's). Chef's Table was a bit of a disappointment. The food wasn't as high quality as we've gotten on Oasis-class CT's - especially the lobster salad which had terrible lobster in it. And it's positioned on a mid-landing between two of the MDR decks, so you have all the noise of the MDR which makes it hard to hear conversation or the food explanations. But the filet was excellent and the wine pairings were very well thought out.

 

Windjammer is mediocre just like Windjammer on every other ship. Eat there only when you're in a hurry. MDR had good food and the waitstaff tried hard but it's clear there have been cutbacks from even a couple of years ago, so they struggle to keep up.

 

Really glad to see Vintages on this ship after being spoiled by it on Oasis class. The Caymus tasting is worth it if you've never tried that family before. Unlike Oasis, they do not have a full-fledged sommelier in Vintages on Liberty, but that doesn't mean the guy doesn't know his stuff. Bruno is very well versed in wines, both the characteristics and the history.

 

The Park Cafe makes quite a good cup of specialty coffee. Much better than the non-Starbucks stuff on Oasis. Sorrentos maintains RCCL tradition by making pizza that only rises to the level of "edible."

 

Facilities:

 

The solarium was disappointing in some ways. Of course, we're spoiled by the incredible Oasis-class solariums, so Liberty would have a hard time competing. Only the pools are adults-only because the forward elevators let out right in the middle of the solarium, so it would be hard to keep kids out. The pool is oddly deep for a pool that's intended to be walked around in rather than for diving. There are bar stools and a bar counter in the middle of the pool, which is neat but also led to a few instances of people leaving their empties where staff could not reach them.

 

As an aside, this was our first cruise since RCL implemented life guards and that was an annoyance. Pools without lifeguards close, which means the Solarium pool closes at 7pm. And it's kind of odd having a lifeguard standing there staring down at a bunch of adults wading around. Hopefully they staff life guards better so that pools can stay open longer, and it wouldn't hurt if they got rid of the solarium pool life guard station as that has to be the most boring post ever manned. ;)

 

The cantilever hot tubs are in the solarium on this ship. They're quite nice, but tend to become crowded very quickly, so when you see space available, grab it.

 

We never had an issue getting a chair anywhere on the ship. The deck chairs on the forward level above the pools were almost always empty, which we thought was strange, but we certainly weren't complaining.

 

The elevators are almost always crowded. And their programming is weird. Many times we'd hit a button and then watch car after car skip our deck on its way somewhere else. Take the stairs whenever possible. Speaking of, the artwork in the stairs is often just plain weird.

 

The lounges on deck 4 are really nice, but unfortunately the smoke from the casino pervades all of them, even Boleros which is back by the MDR, so we didn't spend a whole lot of time in them.

 

Overall the ship is in really good shape, clean, well-maintained, and certainly does not look 11 years old. The crew is a mixed bag - the people themselves are excellent, but Royal needs to stop cheaping out and return to the old staffing levels so that they aren't so overworked. Several passengers were pretty vocal about the slow service, especially in the MDR, but it's clear it's not the staff's fault. They just need more people. If you like pool-side drinks service, you will definitely notice a decline, though from what I've read this is fleet-wide. There were days when we'd go 4 or 5 hours without being approached for a drink, and then when we were approached it was often a guy with a tray of pre-poured drinks, so if we didn't want whatever he was selling we were out of luck.

 

As mentioned above, it's definitely a Texas ship. If you like Texas culture, you're gonna love the crowd on this ship. The downside to the ship being in Texas is that if you sail in winter, Galveston is going to be in the 40's or 50's, and your first and last days at sea will be in the mid-to-upper Gulf of Mexico and will be considerably cooler than the cruises out of Florida.

 

For this reason alone I would only go back to this ship if we sailed at a later date - we cruise to escape winter, and even though 40 degrees was about 40 degrees warmer than home, it would have been much better had it been at least 70. The upside is that Galveston is a cool town, and of course there's the Johnson Space Center to check out before or after your cruise.

 

 

 

 

I take it you did not notice the "SHOCKING dirty tables on Oasis" post from a few days ago. ;)

Thank you for all the info. We will be cruising in early March, so I suspect it will be cool for a day or 2.and as for the ship having a real Texas feel—lol— then my son and DIL from Dallas will love it! The private joke between my hubby and DIL is that their whole house has too much “Texas ****” everywhere! Actually, it’s lovely, but an ongoing joke because it IS everything Texas. Son has lived in Texas for about 18 years and DIL born and raised a Texas girl. Then, our daughter and family from Minot, ND will most likely be traveling from sub zero temps, so even 40 will seem like a heat wave.

[wolfganghowell]

It's 68 and sunny in Galveston today so it can be great this time of year.

 

As for "honest reviews", if you've seen some of them in the review section, you'd wonder as well. Some of them are absolutely astounding. I have to wonder if some of these people go through life as miserable as they sound or simply have unrealistic expectations. I've seen some cheerleader reviews and some Scrooge/Grinch reviews - all on the same sailings. I place a lot more value on those that mention both good and bad.

[grandmarnnurse]

It's 68 and sunny in Galveston today so it can be great this time of year.

 

As for "honest reviews", if you've seen some of them in the review section, you'd wonder as well. Some of them are absolutely astounding. I have to wonder if some of these people go through life as miserable as they sound or simply have unrealistic expectations. I've seen some cheerleader reviews and some Scrooge/Grinch reviews - all on the same sailings. I place a lot more value on those that mention both good and bad.

Precisely!! That is exactly why I wanted to have some honest opinions, and I was given plenty. I am really excited that I chose a good ship to celebrate my 50th Anniversary! Now, I just hope they have cabins available for when we are ready to book in one year, which will be one year from cruise in 2020. Family members with children are hoping there will be a “Kids Sail Free” promotion at that time, and maybe even reduced deposits.

[DrHfuhruhurr]

Where in Galveston do you suggest to book a before and after cruise hotel stay?

 

I would recommend Hotel Galvez, hands-down. Wonderful hotel, though pricey. Also, while you're in Galveston, go eat at Gaido's Seafood Restaurant. Crazy-good food. :)

[grandmarnnurse]

I would recommend Hotel Galvez, hands-down. Wonderful hotel, though pricey. Also, while you're in Galveston, go eat at Gaido's Seafood Restaurant. Crazy-good food. :)

Thank you!

[merknerk]

Precisely!! That is exactly why I wanted to have some honest opinions, and I was given plenty. I am really excited that I chose a good ship to celebrate my 50th Anniversary! Now, I just hope they have cabins available for when we are ready to book in one year, which will be one year from cruise in 2020. Family members with children are hoping there will be a “Kids Sail Free” promotion at that time, and maybe even reduced deposits.

Keep checking for kids sail free. Six out of our seven grandchildren sailed free. It was great !!

[wolfganghowell]

I second Hotel Galvez and Gaidos. Two well deserved Galveston landmarks. And Miller's for breakfast. Yum.