Liberty of the Seas Condition

[tcfc424]

I sailed on Liberty of the Seas in September 2018 and loved it.  I just booked for Thanksgiving this year and was surprised to read the most recent reviews that essentially detail her condition as long in the tooth.  Complaints include stained/damaged carpeting, worn out beds, damaged furniture and cabinetry, and foul smells.  I know she's due for a major (drydock) overhaul in Spring 2021, but don't some of these things get replaced through the normal course of business?  I'm actually a bit concerned, as these reviews are really starting to go negative and my cruise is still nine months away.  I've looked at her cruise schedule and don't see any gaps.  My assumption would be that I need to prepare myself to be in a floating Motel 6, and if it winds up better, bonus.  The reviews don't match my previous experience on that ship and I kind of booked it blindly because we had such a great time.  Anybody have any insight? 

[twangster]

Do not pay attention to bad reviews of any ship.

[ramja96]

27 minutes ago, twangster said:

Do not pay attention to bad reviews of any ship.

 

Agree! Bad reviews often tend to exaggerate and overshadow the good reviews.

[Jam0610]

We were on the Liberty in November 2019. Ship was clean and I felt very well maintained.

Have two more cruises booked on her for November 2020 and then April 2021 wanted to sail her right after dry dock.

Wife and I drive down from Missouri. Like ease of leaving from Galveston.

 

Only small complaint I would make is the smoke in Casino. 

 

Enjoy.

 

 

[mskaufman]

3 minutes ago, Jam0610 said:

 

 

Only small complaint I would make is the smoke in Casino. 

 

Enjoy.

 

 

 

DW won't walk near the casino on any ship because of the smoke.  We were on Grandeur in December and even though they tried to isolate the smoke it was throughout the casino.

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

Do not pay attention to bad reviews of any ship.

 

the $18 drink pkg will most likely impact my opinion😉🍺

[vegas7df]

We sailed in March 2019 and no issues at all, it's a great ship.  Just booked again for this August. 

[blackshirt]

We just did a back to back in December and saw nothing like you described from the reviews. The ship was in fine shape but if you look hard enough for “stained/damaged carpeting, worn out beds, damaged furniture and cabinetry, and foul smells” on any ship, you will probably find them somewhere. As to ongoing repairs, they actually installed new carpet in the corridor that first week. We were on deck 9.

Edited February 19, 2020 by blackshirt

[spelican]

The ship looked great to us in October 2019. Both our balcony cabin on Deck 8 and the public areas were in great shape. 

[HBE4]

7 hours ago, tcfc424 said:

Complaints include stained/damaged carpeting, worn out beds, damaged furniture and cabinetry, and foul smells. 

 

I cruised on her shortly after you did (Nov 2018) and read reviews back then with the same complaints.  Found them to be untrue back then as well.   Perhaps if someone had been sailing on a brand-new ship, they might find the decor a bit dated but otherwise, I think you'll need to crawl around on your hands and knees to find a chipped table/chair leg. Although come to think of it, the chairs at our MDR table were a bit mismatched. 😉. Didn't bother me.

 

Although the foul smell could be a real issue. I do remember a slight sewage smell when on the walking outside Promenade deck (deck 4, i think?), forward port side. It wasn't consistently there but a few times it was noticeable.  Never noticed it inside or anywhere else outside.  Other than avoiding a cabin in that location, it would not deter me on sailing on Liberty again.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Edited February 19, 2020 by HBE4

[Colorado Babe]

I will be on the Liberty on Sunday.  I will check it out and report back.  We are also booked for next year and will be the first ones on her after the refurbishment.  Can't wait!  One of my favorite ships! 

[Tulsacoker]

Also looked good when we were in Sept 2019

[TravelGirlinDallas]

We sailed on Liberty in June 2019 and thought the ship was in great shape.

[frank808]

Was on Liberty for 2 weeks oct/nov 2019.  Didn't notice that she was rundown or in need of any serious repairs.  Room was nice with beds and furniture fine.  Both our bathrooms looked and worked fine.  Did not go around and look for wear and tear though.

[Junkhouse]

Just got off on February 2, 2020.  No issues or changes from sailing in January 2019.  There were two major construction projects being completed during the sailing I noticed.  They replaced the "slow" revolving doors with sliding doors going from 11 elevators (Windjammer) to the pool deck, and were replacing carpet on the port side front stairs.

[bandjwayne]

I just sailed on her in the beginning of February.  They were replacing the carpet on the forward stairs.  Other routine cleaning was going on.  Yes there is some wear & tear, but not enough to make me not enjoy my cruise one bit!  The crew, esp. the bartenders & waitstaff were terrific!!!

[fdthird]

A Library B2B in October 2019 and the ship was fine.  We’ve been on her for 7 weeks over the last 4 years and she’s great IMHO.  These reviews are done by the pickiest of folks. Don’t worry just enjoy. 

[Btank]

13 hours ago, blackshirt said:

As to ongoing repairs, they actually installed new carpet in the corridor that first week.

 

I'd guess work like this is continual.  On our Freedom cruise last May they were replacing toilet seats.  I thought that one of them would be the ultimate cruise souvenir, but wasn't sure that I could get it through customs without some interesting questions. 😁

 

      --bruce T.

 

[Wordell1]

17 hours ago, Junkhouse said:

Just got off on February 2, 2020.  No issues or changes from sailing in January 2019.  There were two major construction projects being completed during the sailing I noticed.  They replaced the "slow" revolving doors with sliding doors going from 11 elevators (Windjammer) to the pool deck, and were replacing carpet on the port side front stairs.

 

We were on a week before and they had done the other "slow" door and were replacing stairway carpet.  I thought the ship looked great considering how many people are on it every week.

[Bookster99]

On 2/19/2020 at 6:31 AM, mskaufman said:

 

DW won't walk near the casino on any ship because of the smoke.  We were on Grandeur in December and even though they tried to isolate the smoke it was throughout the casino.

It's hard to train smoke.

[Bookster99]

This will be my third cruise on Liberty, and I have enjoyed the other two. It's been a few years. I'm not worried about the condition of the ship: I've seen ships come out of dry dock with issues! But tell me your favorite things on these recent cruises. I'm trying to remember all my highlights!

[MN_CRUISER]

So now more than a year later with ships not sailing, does anyone know if the scheduled Liberty 2021 refurbishment was/will be completed?

[twangster]

6 hours ago, MN_CRUISER said:

So now more than a year later with ships not sailing, does anyone know if the scheduled Liberty 2021 refurbishment was/will be completed?

 

Royal hasn't said so none of us know anything.

 

She will perform any required periodic marine maintenance in a dry dock.  Beyond that no one knows.  

[wolfganghowell]

It has been postponed.

[imola]

Does anyone have an "inside track" on her ability to sail in July out of Galveston?