Liberty Review - longer than planned

[Jakie710]

I will try to keep this short and will not do a day to day, but an overview by subject.

 

Embarkation was great -- we stayed at the Hampton Inn and drove to the pier. Since we had handicapped plates we didn't have to pay for parking, but the only handicapped parking we could find was on the third floor. However, the area is very secure. A porter took our bags, checked the tags and was gone. We went right on -- have your sea pass info filled out. Saves a lot of time. We were on approx. 1 hour after we arrived (had to wait for DH to park the car.

 

Food in Windjammer was what we've come to expect -- nothing great -- my DS (14) is an Asian food fanatic so being able to have rice for breakfast and he's happy. Nice variety, but if you want an omelet get there early or be prepared to wait in line. The staff was very good at helping us find places to sit -- even group two of us with another couple at a table for four allowing us to meet others -- very nice people! Our table mates didn't show up every day (Hi to Gavin and Judith from England!) but we enjoyed their company very much and our wiater, "K" from Indonesia was very good. Our asst. waiter, Ainsley from Jamaica, was top-notch! Ran all over to find green tea for me and Judith and had it for us every night thereafter. Also, served us a couple days in the morning -- wonderful sense of humor and personality. Emilio, the head waiter was great -- first time I didn't mind tipping him - he didn't think it was benath him to fill a water glass or fetch more bread!

Dining room food -- great choices. My favorites -- try the savory bites -- they are hard on the outside but the inside is chewy and great flavor. The vidalia onion tarts were great -- got the cookbook -- going to have to try those at home! Lobster, of course. Duck and turkey -- not so much. GO TO PORTOFINOS! HAVE THE SEAFOOD SKEWER AND DESSERT SAMPLER! Definately worth it! I just wish we had done Chops as well! Next time!

Entertainment -- the the juggler and comedian were good, the Ever After show showcased a lot of talent, but was a little long. Skip In the Air -- I didn't take people advice and it wa s a collosal waste of time. Go to the ice show -- it was wonderful! Get there when the doors open -- take a sweater or wrap -- yes, that is real ice. Our cruise director James Andrews was incredible -- I'd see him one place and five minutes later he was somewhere else and he had time to change from a tux to jeans in those five minutes! Quest was fun and stay for the 80's party after -- been a long time since I've "walked like and Eygyption!" The trivia games are fun -- cheesy "prizes" but fun nonetheless. We went to two art shows -- hey, free champagne -- and I did walk away with a Thomas Kincade for over my living room sofa. Now trying to decide who to dump the "free artwork" on!

Laying our by the pool -- if you don't have kids -- or yours are busy elsewhere -- the Solarium is the place to be -- far enough away that you can hear the music, but not get blasted by it -- no kids-- chair hogs are a bit of a problem, but not as much as at the main pool. Nice people, grab your drink and sit at the bar in the pool! My son enjoyed the teen club, Flow rider, ice skating -- word of warning. His phone slipped out of his pocket and when he went to retrieve it it had been smashed. No respect for other people belongings. And while that subject was being brought up -- teens stopped up a toilet causing them to place fans to try to dry the carpet -- they were escorted from the ship in Puerto Rico. Teens also thought it would be fun to hold lighters under the sprinklers resulting in more wet carpets (both on Deck 8) and smash the glass in one of the glass elevators. I have a teen and I have no problem with people traveling with them -- but WHERe were the parents and why didn they not know where their children were? Also wondering where the parents were when their 9 - 11 year olds were heckling the comedian on the last night? My rant is now over.

Puerto Rico -- horseback riding and ATV adventures were closed so we walked around -- disappointed. Dirty, touristy -- next time will take a tour. Had a fantastic day kayaking and snorkeling in St. Maarten. Took a catamaran to a beach. Got our snorkel gear and kayaked a resort where we swam out to the reef and snorkeled. Returned for a cool drink and rinsed off -- took a dip in the pool, too! Then kayaked back and boarded the catamaran. In Labadee I shopped and enjoyed the beach and the scenery wile my DH snd DS went jet skiing -- they had a great time and my DH wants to buy one now! Tell the vendors you want to llok and if they pressure you you don't buy a thing -- it works. Bonus points if you say it in French -- catches them off guard! Also, hold your price -- I offer $10 they say $15, I say $10, they say "I give you for $12" I said "I'll take it for $10" guess who has two very pretty wood carved wineglasses on her wine rack?

Our stateroom atttendet, Stanley, was great -- my DM was Glen and he was very personable. Both helpful -- everyone on staf was with the exception of Jenny, from the teen club who was rude and condescending. Ship was clean -- and people always cleaning and working. Hand sanitizer in all eating areas is a nice touch. My DH is allergic to chocolate so I gave Stanley a handful of peppermints to put on his pillow each night which he did. DH was enchanted with the animal towels - but it took me some time to find my sunglasses a couple times! Great time -- will sail with RCCL again -- this is my third cruise with them, first on the Freedom class. one thing about that -- I will not go bigger -- liked the size of the Mariner -- will not book the Oasis or Allure.

Jakie

[Moondawgie]

Great review, Jakie. I'm with ya on those teen comments. Disgraceful. I guess the parents were "on vacation."

[SandySimpson]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on LOS next month. Sorry about the rowdy kids. DH and I sailed on Enchantment last March with Spring Breakers. They were actually not too bad and several were very polite. Of course there were a few exceptions. Summer can be a problem with teenagers though.

[raytownlady]

Thanks for posting your review. Your excursion in St. Martin sounds great was it a ship sponsored excursion?

[westwingjazz]

Great review...was there any reason why the ATV was closed in Puerto Rico. I am concerned because that is the excursion my family choose while in PR.

[Jakie710]

Thanks for posting your review. Your excursion in St. Martin sounds great was it a ship sponsored excursion?

 

 

Yes, it was the Snorkel and Kayaking Adventure thru RCCL. We saw a lot of the Dutch side of the island from the catamran and the instructors were great. One word of caution -- when you arrive at the place where the kayaks are, they give you a choice of swimming ashore or taking the jetty.. My DS is a former competitive swimmer so he was in the water before the boat stopped, but for some reason my DH decided to swim with him, although I am the stronger swimmer. One of us needed to take the beach bags and glasses, cameras, etc. in the jetty. Although he's 52 and in great shape, his eyesight is bad and he had to be "fished out." it looks closer than it is. another tip -- make sure you hold on to your lifejacket or have someone else hold on if you dive during snorkeling. I lost mine and had to swim back to shore without -- took awhile and it was open water. They kept an eye on me -- plenty of people around. the guide is very good about showing different plants, coral and fish and you get to feed the fish, too. Hope my pix come out!

Jakie

[Jakie710]

Great review...was there any reason why the ATV was closed in Puerto Rico. I am concerned because that is the excursion my family choose while in PR.

Book early before you get on the ship -- my DS was extremely tired and we hadn't decided on the horseback riding or ATV. The horseback was full and I just missed getting the ATV -- it was filled as he was marking which ones were full! I would recommend pre-booking before you get on the ship. Sorry, I don't know anyone who did that tour -- but it was popular!

Jakie

[biguntx]

Great review.:)

 

Thanks:D

 

We cruise on LOS soon.:eek:

[blue_jeannie]

Thanks for the great review, we're booked on Liberty in November. Can't wait. I really appreciated your input on the shows we always look forward to the evening entertainment.

 

We love Portofino also and that's exactly what I order too!

 

Sorry to hear that you had some rowdy teens.

[krystall]

Great review! Thx. ;)

We're on the LOS next month also.

[mchin]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on LOS next April. It will be our first time on a Freedom class ship. Can't wait!

[ksc37]

I think we were on your sailing... we saw the broken glass in the elevator area, but did not know it was caused by teens. We really didn't see much in the way of "bad behavior", but I do agree that there were some groups of kids who didn't mind shoving in front of people. One person (an adult, no less) plowed over my 5 year old while coming out of the elevator (knocking him over - causing him to cry) and didn't even look back. I had to stop DH from chasing him down, because I didn't want to be thrown off the ship in Labadee.

 

This was my first RCI cruise, and the Liberty is a beautiful ship. My only complaint with the cruise was that it seemed crowded in the elevators, in the Windjammer, and embarking and disembarking took a long time (my only other cruise was on Disney, and we were on and off the ship in no time).

 

There was so much to do... We were never bored on sea days, and I enjoyed each port. We took a cab to El Morro in Puerto Rico, then came back through town. On St. Maarten we did the Golden Eagle catamaran (beautiful excursion, but several people, including my 7 year old, were seasick), and on Labadee we went to Barefoot Beach, and snorkeled from there. I was surprised how good the snorkeling was, especially over by the rocks to the right as you look out from the beach.

 

It's just too bad that we had to come home!

[megnsamsgracie]

Is there a Caribbean theme night at dinner one night? I thought I read there was so I bought DH and I matching shirts!

[ksc37]

Is there a Caribbean theme night at dinner one night? I thought I read there was so I bought DH and I matching shirts!

 

On the fourth day, the dinner attire is listed as "Smart casual or colorful Caribbean attire", so you can wear your shirts!

[Jakie710]

Yes, on that night the waiters all wore Caribbean shirts and they did a great musical number with surfboards and a surfer with wild hair -- definitely don't miss! You may want to get your portrait done with the white background -- it looks very striking with colorful shirts.

We requested a window seat in Portofinos at 9:00 the evening we left San Juan (tip from the boards) and it was beautiful to see the lights of San Juan as we ate and sailed away! The last sea day we ordered room service for breakfast and enjoyed it on our balcony.

Don't miss the sexy legs and especially the bellyflop contest -- hokey but a fun memory! And if you don't already know how or you're not very good -- take some dance lessons -- there are all kinds of music to dance to in all different venues.

Jakie