3/28 Liberty of the Seas Cruisers - Tell us about it!

[squarepants]

We're ready to go next week. Tell us 12from the great state of Wisconsin what to expect. How was the crew, the ship the prots..etc.

Square

[bluegirlum]

You will love it! And you're getting out of here at just the right time! It's a wonderful ship. The pools are great, there are great activities if you want to do them. The Royal Promenade is really neat too. Overall, we just loved it--it's my favorite ship. Have a great time!!

[squarepants]

Snow tonight! Get out of here. Thanks for your input.

 

Square

[GOCOCKS]

I'll look forward to hearing from you when you get back. I'm going on the western route in June.:):):)

[squarepants]

I'll put a note together when we get back. Go Michigan St! I live next to an Izzo.

[bluegirlum]

Snow tonight! Get out of here. Thanks for your input.

 

Square

 

Ugh, I know; I'm sick of the snow!!! But great win for the Big Ten! Do you have specific questions? We ate at Portofino one night, and it was fantastic. The WJ was actually really good too--you'll probably want to have someone save a table if you're all going to eat at once. I don't know if you have any kids going with you, but the kids pool is really neat. The pizza in the Royal Promenade is really good, and the coffee shop/bakery has great cookies and snacks. There are sudokus and daily trivia in the library every morning.

 

What ports are you going to?

[squarepants]

Eastern. PR/St Maarten/Labadee

 

We do need to link our reservations. Two family's of six each going. Thinking about doing my time dining but the kids actually want to dine with one waiter and assistant the whole cruise. We're looking forward to finally eating more then one dinner a week together. The kids are all under 17 and into sports.

 

Square

[bluegirlum]

I did the Dragon's Breath zipline in Labadee and it was really fun. I'd never done a zipline before, so it was perfect for me. Labadee is a really nice beach day. When you come in to PR, make sure you are on the port (left) side because you will have the best view. It really is pretty coming in that way--you see the fort and Old SJ and it's just beautiful. You won't want to miss that. We didn't do any other excursions--we were just getting out of the cold and relaxing!--but you will have a great time. Have fun!

[funfamilyfun]

We just got off the ship today! We were concerned with the number of people since we were just on the Mariner about 18 months ago. We were a little nervous about another 1000 people....NO PROBLEM!

 

The ship was spotless, crew wonderful, activities great!

 

San Juan: We took a cab to the port and then walked back to the ship, down hill:D shopping along the way. We stopped at Senor Frogs.

 

St. Martin: Orient Beach...it was beautiful!

 

Labadee: Great day at the beach!

 

Any other questions?

[OnTheBrink]

We had a fantastic time! My only complaint was that there was TOO much to do and I couldn't choose!

 

Here are our pictures:

http://www.familymoses.net/cruise2009.htm

[squarepants]

Thank you sooo much for the pictures. How great! Your daughter reminds me of my daughter addie. This is what I was looking for. Thanks......

[squarepants]

Thank you fo radding your comments. Did you use Adventure Ocean at all?

[OnTheBrink]

Thank you fo radding your comments. Did you use Adventure Ocean at all?

 

Well, I didn't, but my kids loved it! John is 4 and a half and was in the Aquanauts group (3-5 year olds). Emma is almost 8 and was in the Explorers group (6-8). My/our only complaint was that the AO activities didn't reflect the printed schedule. So, if it said there was a science experiment at 10am, it might actuallly happen an hour before or so. Since our kids didn't usually go for long spans of time, they often missed the things that they most wanted to do. That was frustrating.

[marci22]

Nice slideshow; your kids looked adorable all dressed up~

 

Can anyone explain how the Labadee water park/slide works and the prices? Also the ages it is suitable for?

[JBert]

What was your general opinion of Labadee? There had been a few posts about how things are a little "messy" with the new dock construction?

[funfamilyfun]

Thank you fo radding your comments. Did you use Adventure Ocean at all?

 

Our son, 11 loved it. He went every day. He was self sign out so he could come and go as he pleased. We used our cell phones to communicate and after one night of him texting us telling us he was going to the cabin at midnight...and us not getting the text...we started picking him up during the evening events.

 

We had a problem with the timing of events too. Sometimes they would leave the area earlier than posted and then you had to find them. I suggested to them that they clearly list on the kids compasses where they would be or have staff in both places to get the kids from point A to point B.

 

The workers were very nice, fun and energetic! They encouraged the kids to attend the late night sessions...until 2 AM! We never made it that long but if my son had his way he would have stayed until 2 every night!

[funfamilyfun]

Nice slideshow; your kids looked adorable all dressed up~

 

Can anyone explain how the Labadee water park/slide works and the prices? Also the ages it is suitable for?

 

 

It was 15 per person for one hour. You choose the hour you want. I would say it is easiest for kids 7 and up. You climb on big blow up things so you would need help to get on them if you were not tall enough or strong enough. There was an area for smaller kids too that was pretty empty when we were there.

[funfamilyfun]

What was your general opinion of Labadee? There had been a few posts about how things are a little "messy" with the new dock construction?

 

We sat under the zipline and thought it was pretty. We snorkeled and saw a lot of fish/starfish/etc.

 

There were jackhammering and we didn't realize how loud it was until they took breaks. I have to say it didn't bother us.

[squarepants]

Funfamilyfun,

I'm surprised to hear that that you were able to snorkel with sucess. By success I mean that you did see some fish. Do you recommend we take our snorkel gear and give it a try?

[marci22]

It was 15 per person for one hour. You choose the hour you want. I would say it is easiest for kids 7 and up. You climb on big blow up things so you would need help to get on them if you were not tall enough or strong enough. There was an area for smaller kids too that was pretty empty when we were there.

 

Ok, my kids are older so I'm sure that is fine for them. Is the slide a separate charge? and is it for all ages? Thanks~~

[funfamilyfun]

Ok, my kids are older so I'm sure that is fine for them. Is the slide a separate charge? and is it for all ages? Thanks~~

 

Yes, the slide was $20 for the day. We did this on Cocoa Key but not on Labadee.

[funfamilyfun]

Funfamilyfun,

I'm surprised to hear that that you were able to snorkel with sucess. By success I mean that you did see some fish. Do you recommend we take our snorkel gear and give it a try?

 

My husband and son snorkeled on Labadee, under the zipline. They saw: barracuda, starfish that they held in their hands after they overturned rocks, urchins, fish up to 8 inches long, angel fish. They also ran into a coral reef. They loved it and probably snorkeled for a couple of hours!

 

We did bring our own snorkel and mask.

[marci22]

Yes, the slide was $20 for the day. We did this on Cocoa Key but not on Labadee.

 

Ok thank you~~

[asil621]

Wonderful cruise!!!!! You could not beat the weather- I hope the future sailings will be as lucky as we were!

 

San Juan- seeing the old forts were nice, but just an fyi- I would not recommend the "Old and New San Juan City Tour". The tour guide was a nice guy, but aside from the glitzy condos and casinos, new San Juan isn't much to see. Like any other city- there are good neighborhoods and bad neighborhoods, and he didn't shy away from the not-so-nice areas. He was also pointing out places where they hold cock-fights, and was insisting that the gates on windows and doors were from the "spanish influence of the city". Hmmm...

 

St. Maarten- Beautiful! Did the See and Sea tour- very informative and it was nice to get a feel for the country. Spent time in both Philipsburg and Marigot. Bought some guavaberry rum to take home- I believe the store is on Back Street in Philipsburg- be sure to get a sample of Guavaberry Colada!

 

Labadee- My favorite port of call. I like this so much better than Coco Cay. Much more scenic- and I like that there are a few historical sites. I could not handle the agressive market, but that is just me. I was happy with laying on the beach drinking Labadoozies and Coronas all day. The construction did not affect me. The only thing was that I was trying to get a cool picture of the ship and all of the rusty construction boats/ cranes were in the way.

 

The ship was just stunning- and there is no end of things to do. Like every cruise, pool chairs are hard to come by on sea days, but there were always other chairs available up a deck or two from the pool.

 

We received wonderful service from Lonriel and Cemil in the MDR. The first night was a little rough, but flawless afterwards. We did both Portofinos and Chops, and as expected, both were amazing.

 

Embarkation and disembarkation were the smoothest I have ever experienced. Upon disembarking, our flight wasn't until 7pm that evening, so we rented a car to explore Miami- and ended up driving past the port and the beautiful Liberty of the Seas several times making us all wanting to go back even more- so I'm jealous of you future cruisers!!! Have an amazing time!!! :D

[tneah]

Embarkation and disembarkation were the smoothest I have ever experienced. Upon disembarking, our flight wasn't until 7pm that evening, so we rented a car to explore Miami- and ended up driving past the port and the beautiful Liberty of the Seas several times making us all wanting to go back even more- so I'm jealous of you future cruisers!!! Have an amazing time!!! :D

 

 

Glad you had a nice time. We are planning on doing the same thing after disembarking. What else did you do in Miami? We don't want to sit at a beach.