Liberty and Ben and Jerry Sweet Review (You Must Be “In the Know”)

[LuCruise]

Our Stops

For us, the cruise is about the ship but will briefly discuss our stops.

 

Nassau

Our first stop was Nassau.  Our first time there we booked Blue Lagoon with our kids.  It was a bit pricey but very nice.  However, since then we either don't get off or just briefly.  In my case, I like to get off as it's usually a good stop to get a full ship photo (depending on where the ship  parks).  In fact, one year on our Navigator cruise, I regretted not getting off since our next stop was cancelled and ended up with zero ship photos from the outside.

 

DH likes watches so we walked to a specific indoor shop indoor watch store that he discovered on his last time.  Along the way, a few people stopped us and we learned that DH has puffy eyes and I have bags (lol...lady was trying to sell us something).  We found the watch store that DH likes but weren't too long and simply turned back around.  It started spitting very slightly , but I don't think it ever fully turned to rain.

 

CoCo Cay

CoCo Cay is nice.  We were there a couple times before the re-do, and although we had about 6 cruises booked with this stop since, we have only  been once since they re-did it due to the shut down.  This past March on Anthem, we went to the waterpark with our kids, but with just DH and I, we didn't have anything planned.  Instead, we just found some loungers at one of the beaches.

 

This was the first place someone suggested we go to.  It's good if you have young kids but a but too calm for us.

 

Instead we kept walking and ended up at Chill Island.  A lot of people had snorkeling gear (I think you can rent it) and at this area, you could also rent paddleboards, a bit waterbike, kayaks, etc.  

We just mostly read,  and I like to walk along the water and partly go in with the waves (but just to my thighs).  Water was cold but you got used to it.

 

 

For lunch, we went to the buffet. As mentioned earlier, we don't eat meat, but they had really good veggie paninis.  Also a bit of advice....don't miss the brownies.  So good!

 

We walked the long way back to the ship and saw the fancy over the water bungalow things.  Pretty cool, but I looked them up for our next cruise and they cost almost as much as the cruise.  Uh no thanks!  What is crazy, is that they are sold out.  They look nice, but not for us.

 

One up close

 

We also walked by the pool.  It's a pretty busy happening place.  We hung out around the pool for a bit on our last cruise but not on this cruise. It's a pretty amazing pool though...huge!  This is just one end of it for the younger kids with a beach entry.

 

We got lucky with the weather too as it was just perfect.  When walking back to the ship it looked like it was going to pour as the clouds were so dark, but it never did rain in the end.

 

I do really like what they did with CoCo Cay.  There is something for everyone.

Edited December 30, 2022 by LuCruise

[LuCruise]

No Internet but Interesting with Wifi

When going on a cruise, we don't purchase internet so we can disconnect and spend time together as a family.  In the past, we would lock our phones in the safe, and I would always have a paper cruise compass on me as well as an (old fashioned but small) camera.  

 

However, paper cruise compasses seem a thing of the past (I managed to grab one when we boarded at guest services but didn't see any others going forward).  Thus, you need your phone for the compass, which now doubles as a camera for me.  You connect with the ship's Wifi.  On Liberty, you don't (and can't) book any shows but you can add items to your calendar, which is a nice feature so you can add things you'd like to attend and then go to "My Calendar" to see things that you marked.

 

Notifications

It was funny as even without internet, I would get notifications on my phone.  I could only see what is shown on my home screen (so about half a sentence), but it lets you get certain news items.  For example, we were informed that our kids schools were cancelled the last day of our cruise due to the weather.  I guess these came through as some (limited) Wifi seeped through?

 

Chat Feature

I haven't seen anyone comment on this yet but the chat feature seemed to be working on the app. I heard it was coming next year but didn't realize it was there already. You access it by the 3 dots in the top right corner.  It was funny too as DD was home but has the app installed under my email.  She told us when we returned that she saw us talking to each other (but of course, couldn't chat with us from back home).

 

This feature will be very handy when we cruise next year with our kids as they sometimes go off on their own and then we just set a meeting time back in our stateroom.  So this will give more flexibility.

 

[Biker19]

36 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

I guess these came through as some (limited) Wifi seeped through?

Yes, some internet traffic does sneak by the RCI network filter without a Voom package on most ships.

[LuCruise]

Our Return

Our departure from the ship was very easy.  The concierge at the Suite Lounge told us to meet her at Boleros between x an x, and she would walk us off the ship, and that is what she did.  It was great!

 

We took an uber to the airport.  From the half sentences of our notifications, we could tell that we might have issues getting back home to Toronto.  And yep....when we got there, we found out that our flight was cancelled.  There was an automatic rebook for the next morning so we quickly booked a hotel for a night and then ubered there.  However, when we got there, the airline (WestJet) notified us that the rebook was also cancelled, and no rebook at this point.  Ugh!

 

We wanted to get back to our kids so DH checked out alternative options.  Spent a lot to just get us on a flight on a different airline, which got us home safe and sound by midnight.  Happy to see our kids but not happy to return to -13 degree weather.

 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2022 by LuCruise

[LuCruise]

Conclusion

In conclusion, Liberty is a great ship and I would be very happy to sail her again....not too big, not too small , just right.  And it's one that we would be happy to bring our kids on unlike a radiance or vision class ship.  My favorite ship is still probably Symphony, so Oasis class and then Quantum class, but Liberty and other Freedom class ships are close behind and up there too.  Honestly, I never met a ship that I didn't like.

 

A lot say that the short cruises aren't worth it, especially when you need to fly to get to the departure port.  But it was this or no cruise and you can still have a very full 4 days (or more like 3.75 days) with amazing food and entertainment, and also just relax from the hustle and bustle of life.  Not having to do laundry or cook for 4 days or work, was a bonus.   It was fun too to get away with DH, but I did miss our kids a lot.

 

In terms of the 4 day, I would say one negative is that you are barely moving.  One of my favorite things is to just walk laps around the ship as the ship moves (esp. cool at the back with the wake).  However, even on the sea day, the ship goes super slow as it travels from CoCo Cay to Fort Lauderdale, which it can also do in just 1 day.  Guess it's good if you are prone to sea sickness.  

 

Now the countdown is on to our next one on Oasis.

[foodsvcmgr]

Thanks for your review, looking forward to sailing Liberty to Bermuda in May.

[bluewater1298]

Thanks for a great review and for answering my questions. Looking forward to our cruise!

[perfect match]

Thanks, LuCruise, for a great review! 😎🛳

[FionaMG]

Thanks for your review @LuCruise it was very enjoyable. 😊

[LuCruise]

12 hours ago, foodsvcmgr said:

Thanks for your review, looking forward to sailing Liberty to Bermuda in May.

 

9 hours ago, bluewater1298 said:

Thanks for a great review and for answering my questions. Looking forward to our cruise!

Thanks for reading.  Enjoy Liberty!

 

 

5 hours ago, perfect match said:

Thanks, LuCruise, for a great review! 😎🛳

 

4 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Thanks for your review @LuCruise it was very enjoyable. 😊

My pleasure.  Glad you enjoyed.

[gracia98888]

Nice review! Is there a Coastal Kitchen on the LOS?

[LuCruise]

8 hours ago, gracia98888 said:

Nice review! Is there a Coastal Kitchen on the LOS?

Thanks.  No, I don't' believe there is a Coastal Kitchen on Liberty.

[Biker19]

10 hours ago, gracia98888 said:

Nice review! Is there a Coastal Kitchen on the LOS?

Only Icon, Oasis and Quantum class have CK.

[Pellaz]

Thanks for the review!      Nice and concise! 

[skram428]

Just wondering if you know how much they charge for drinks if you do not have a drink package.. will be daily in July.

[LuCruise]

9 hours ago, skram428 said:

Just wondering if you know how much they charge for drinks if you do not have a drink package.. will be daily in July.

You can check by going on the App, Select Dining (bottom left icon).  Then select Bars & Lounges and select something like Schooner Bar or Boleros. Select Menu and you will see a list of the drinks offered with pricing.  Most cocktails are $14 (+ 18% for gratuity/taxes).

[Georgeny]

Thanks for the review! Sailing in June on 9 day from NJ. I note that a May sailing for Liberty as just cancelled for a repair, sounded like an Azipod probably.

 

Again thanks.

 

George in NY

[LuCruise]

50 minutes ago, Georgeny said:

Thanks for the review! Sailing in June on 9 day from NJ. I note that a May sailing for Liberty as just cancelled for a repair, sounded like an Azipod probably.

 

Again thanks.

 

George in NY

Thanks for reading. That's too bad as that's so disappointing for anyone scheduled on the cancelled cruise.  At least she'll be fixed by June.  Have a great time on Liberty!  Nice too that she's coming to New Jersey.

[pooksma]

Thanks to my fellow Canadian! We are taking our first RC cruise on the Freedom and your review has given me a nice idea of what to expect.

[LuCruise]

3 hours ago, pooksma said:

Thanks to my fellow Canadian! We are taking our first RC cruise on the Freedom and your review has given me a nice idea of what to expect.

Enjoy!  We have Freedom booked in the future.  Looks like a great ship too.