bert425

ah.. THAT would explain why our Late Feb. sailing on Liberty had shorts almost every night in the MDR (and also some tank tops).

strangely, they enforced "no tank tops" at breakfast in MDR tho. . . (they made a few folks we saw go get cover-ups before allowing them to be seated)

I gotta say I love that Tshirt!!

the "Meat is Murder" one?

LOL. yeah, I get thumbs up from folks sometimes, and then they read the line beneath it and are horrified.

good times :)

we asked, and were allowed to bring coffee from Cafe Promenade off the ship.

I was surprised they let us, but said, "sure, go ahead"

here's proof from Roatan:

We were looking into booking Freedom of the Seas 2017 westbound transatlantic from Barcelona. Found out that a gay group had reserved 600 cabins hoping to have 1200 on the cruise. Nowhere on the RCCL website does it say a large group had planned a party cruise. Nothing against gays but 1200 for 15 days is not for us. We are now on the Independence TA with just a bunch of old people like us. happy cruising

FotS has passenger capacity of over 3600. . . so more than 2/3rds of the passengers would *not* have been with this group -- who likely are booking parties in the nightclubs that you wouldn't have been going to anyways (since you wanna be with "just a bunch of old people like us").

Honestly, you erred here, in my opinion, as I can pretty much guarantee you most of this group will be doing other things at the same time as the evening shows -- opening up capacity to make the cruise BETTER for you.

(and I also feel pretty "safe" in saying that any of the group that did attend the average ship activities (such as trivia, or the Love and Marriage game, or the Promenade Parties), they tend to make those things way more exciting.

but whatever floats your boat. . .

we didn't know it was a "new" terminal, but getting on and off was a breeze.

Can't comment on the car, as we took a chartered bus, and there *was* quite a bit of traffic that we got stuck in (probably 20 minutes from outside of the gates, until where we were dropped off). . . but once we were parked and got off the bus, despite the long lines in the terminal, we moved quickly and were on the ship in less than 45 minutes (moving the entire time. . never got stopped to wait for anything).

hope that helps!

I have been twice on a themed cruise that if I would have know would not have booked the ship. Royal Caribbean will not advise you that they have a large group of any sort onboard and they knew because the compass had LGBT meeting times. I don't have anything against certain demographic groups but I would have preferred to not have my daughter witness guy on guy make out session all over the place. It seems to be getting worse on some of Royals ships leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.

that's a problem with a tacky participant, not with the group as a whole.

if anyone (same sex or opposite sex couple) are all over each other with a major make out session in a public space on the ship, it's inappropriate, and you should have said something to them.

We just participated in Arno's Bear Cruise on Liberty, and had a wonderful time, and everyone in that group was well behaved in the public places.

We sail on Liberty this Sunday so I will be curious to see if I have the same experience (now, we don't have kids... so it won't be the exact same ;p) that the OP did. It is our first time sailing RC as we have done Carnival in the past.

we sailed her 2/19-2/26.

Expect wine tasting, captain's table, and galley tour to be pushed at least once a night at MDR dinner service by the Maitre D. (he will come to your table while y'all are trying to eat dinner and converse with tablemates)

And if you go to Windjammer, you will be accosted most nights regarding Spa (before entering), and Chops/Giovanni's (just after entering).

We are on the April 23rd sailing. This will be our second time on the Liberty. I love the helipad. I haven't been up there at night for star gazing, but I'm gonna have to do it this time for sure.

 

 

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don't miss the Mini-Golf either. . . tends to be DEAD at night, and the stargazing from there was good too.

I'd only bring one suit and two shirts and two ties. Can you cancel the tailoring on one and maybe return one, save some money? DH now only brings the shirt and ties these days.

Exactly what I was going to suggest.

We just got off Liberty in Feb, and common sense kicked in and I removed the Tux just before leaving home, bringing only 1 suit with multiple shirts, and 3 ties (and an alternate pair of slacks just in case of a spill).

as much as I love dressing up, taking the Tux out of the hanging bag, made it much lighter, and I was able to get dressy 4 times with just the 1 suit (2 formal nights and 2 specialty restaurants).. . only once did I change after dinner, and that was only because we went to the hot-tubs that evening :)

Giovannis Table on Liberty is really good. Maybe our favorite. We normally really love Sabor on any ship. Will skip it next time on Liberty. Just wasn't good.

agreed, agreed, agreed.

Giovanni's on a late Feb Liberty cruise was absolutely amazing.

Sabor was absolutely awful (other than the tableside guacamole and the tableside margaritas).

All the slides will be open. It's a great time to give them a try since the wait time is so short, if any at all. . We went ashore, explored some, then went back to the ship. After getting a quick bite, we gave the slides a try. It was great for us "older folks" (60 plus) since we didn't feel like we were holding up the line. We had a blast! You will love the ship.

yep, that's what we did too.

best time to do the slides (hint: the Orange slide is OK, but the Green slide is "disco fabulous" and we rode that one many times while docked in ports)

Aruba for Beach, tho the beaches in Bonaire were great too.

on Curacao, do NOT miss the Aquarium. . one of the best we've ever been to. (was about a $20 taxi ride from the dock, if I'm recalling correctly).

Interesting....that video seems to imply that shorts are now officially OK in the MDR.

There were TONS of shorts (and an occasional tank-top) in MDR on our Liberty cruise a few weeks ago. Other than formal night, we did not see them turn anyone away.

tho I was sent back from MDR to put a cover up for my T-shirt for Breakfast one morning, when I was wearing MORE than some had been wearing at dinner. . it just depends on who is running the MDR.

as others have said, the burgers are nothing special, tho the rings are pretty good.

the Shakes/Malts are the draw tho, those are good. .but are an additional $5 on top of the $7 cover.

The worst thing I can say about it?. . expect to spend 1 1/2-2 hours there. . it's treated like service in the MDR. . ie: expect it to take a LONG time.

it took us over an hour and a half a few weeks ago on Liberty. . when we went after the lunch rush, and there were literally THREE other customers in there, and still took them a Long, Long, time.

but if you have time to kill on a sea day, watching the waiters dance is entertaining enough

so interesting to see the swings in quality!

we sailed the week before you, and Sabor was by far the worst (I mentioned it in the Sabor specific thread) with both overcooked and undercooked food served.

and we had guac made at the table.

but we loved Giovanni's and had excellent food there both times.

weird how they aren't consistent!

(note about the adults in the arcade. . . was that because it's attached to Johnny Rockets? We saw folks waiting for tables by hanging out in the arcade)

we just were on Liberty a few weeks ago.

the "indoor theater" no longer exists. . only ouside at the pool (2 films almost every night), or in your room on the TV (if you want to pay extra).

^ but they could have won a keychain to hang in the jr suite. . don't you understaaaaand???

oy.

We just got off the Feb cruise with him on RCCL Liberty of the Seas and had a fantastic time.

Arno's group had over 320 people, with a wonderful mix of folks (including Bear/otter, twink, musclebear, gay, straight couples, lesbian, allies. . we even had folks with their Parents, and one gUncle (Gay Nephew & Husband brought along he Gay Uncle). . . .WONDERFULLY diverse group, all very friendly and very fun to spend time with.

Arno booked a Hotel in Houston for those who wanted to start the trip off earlier, and then he booked bus transportation to the Port in Galveston from Houston for those who wanted to all go as a group (we had 3 buses).

the Schedule he put together was very well done, with lots of free time to explore the ship, as well as to participate in the group functions if one so chose.

on our trip, those Arno Group functions included:

-- a White Party (only for Arno's group) in Studio B, and he brought in Entertainer Ultra Nate' for a performance . . . she KILLED

-- a Meet and Greet (and poster signing) cocktail Meet Up with Ultra-Nate' (free!) for those that wanted to meet her

-- Excursions at Roatan (Catamaran), Belize (Mayan Ruins), and Cozumel (Beach Party) that were specific for his group. . . and although we didn't do the Roatan one, the two we did were absolutely amazing and we had an incredible time. (the only hiccup being some terrible food as part of the Belize excursion, but that was RCCl, not Arno. . .the excursion itself was stunning).

-- Theme Party Friday night -- ours was themed to the films "the 5th Element" / 80's Disco.. that again took place only in Studio B for Arno's group. . and it was a Blast. Lemme tell you, those on the ship who attended the ships official "70's" disco party that night (which ended after only 45 minutes) were jealous as heck over our party that went on into the wee hours.

-- and that's not to mention fun functions like the "Red Hat Day" at the adult pool.

Or the "All the Singlet Ladies -- wear your singlet if you dare" also at the adult pool, or the multiple "meet ups for Cocktails" at bars thruout the trip.

Arno booked us all for dinner in the 8pm seating, and we basically had the entire left side of the 3rd floor dining room. . .after the first night, folks were free to move around among the tables and make new friends if they chose to.

VERY well organized (and the goodie bag with lanyards, laminated nametags/schedules, beach towels.. was an excellent bonus. . . as were the Cupcakes and chocolates he sent to the rooms!).

oh, there were some hiccups here and there, and Arno did his best to resolve the issues. *none* of which were his fault, by the way, but he tried to make things right.

He's a good guy, and he creates a great mix of folks to travel & hang with. Honestly, we didn't do very many of the "Ship's activities", preferring to stick with Arno scheduled things, as those appeared to be more fun.

We'll travel again with Arno the moment We're able to . . . yes, he's THAT good.

Hi Everyone,

What sort of things do people use their onboard credit for?

We are new to cruising and are travelling on Brilliance in July- Med-Venice tour.

 

Thanks so much for your help.:cool:

 

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on the last day, when we saw how much credit was still had. . .we traded them in for Scratch Off cards at the Casino :)

didn't really "win" but got a lot of enjoyment out of sitting at the casino bar for an hour scratching tickets.

as is the fresh squeezed Orange juice.. .

KILLER mimosas made that way. .

In non-suite staterooms: two bars of soap and a combo shampoo/conditioner dispenser in the shower.

yep. .that's what we had on our recent sailing.

bert425,

Which itinerary were you on?

Do you happen to know what the MDR menu rotation was ?

Which nights were formal?:)thanks

we were on the Liberty (:) )

Roatan, Belize, Cozumel.

I saw the MDR menus listed somewhere else on the site, and that looked accurate.

I can tell you that the itinerary was:

Galveston

Sea Day (Formal Night, lobster bisque on apps menu)

Sea Day

Roatan

Belize

Cozumel (Formal Night, Lobster on main menu)

Sea Day

Galveston (am)

LOL. . glad to help!

we just got off the ship on Sunday, so everything is still fresh.

(oh, and if you try the waterslides, the Green one is MUCH better (it has flashing lights inside it)) :)

it was there on our cruise last week (at least it was for dinner seating)

although I ended up getting the Ossobuco both times we dined there.. it's amazing.

the green slide is disco fabulous (filled with neon lights, and flashing).

the orange slide is just full of cut outs to let the sun in .. .

we went to the slides one day after coming back from Belize, and rode them, then didn't think about them, other than happy they kept more kids away from the main pools.

oh, and they look FABULOUS at night.