kontraxed

There are simple solutions if only people would consider a compromise. An earlier poster suggested that formal night be restricted to a certain level of the MDR. RCCL could ask on the cruise registration form if you are going to participate in formal night with a minimum of tie and jacket for men and [whatever] dress for women. That way they would have an idea of how many decks of the MDR they would need. The dress up folks could enjoy each others company and the casual folks could feel comfortable. Why wouldn't this be a win-win?

For a shore excursion, I would like to find a nice all inclusive hotel or resort in Aruba that is similar to the Rose Hall Hilton in Jamaica. Nice pool, beach area, food and drinks and pretty facilities. Thanks for any help!

Nice review! I will be on the Navigator in January 2018 so I enjoy your pictures.

I love cruising and I try to go once a year or so. I also read CC a lot. What I find though is that too many people take the "critic" part of Cruise Critic very seriously. If I wasn't a happy cruiser, I would think that the Royal Caribbean website sucks, the ship's food sucks, the ship's staff is rude and unhelpful, the ships are old and rusty and I might wonder why would anyone want to go on a cruise? ...and don't forget the hard mattresses or even the soft mattresses. Then there are the chair hogs, crime in the ports and really important stuff like I didn't get the mint on my pillow. Cruising is fun! Lots of people do it! There must be something good about it!

I always find food to be very subjective. We were on the Liberty just a couple of weeks ago. Giovanni's was excellent (try the osso buco!) and Sabor was good but with a couple of service glitches. We ate all of our breakfasts and some of our lunches in the Windjammer and I always found something to eat that I liked. The staff in the WJR was very pleasant and waited on us very quickly. Dinners in the MDR were typically pretty good. There was nothing bad and some things I really enjoyed. The waiters in the MDR had a lot of tables but never left us hanging and they also were very pleasant. Really, the only bad experience I had was at Johnny Rockets. What a disappointment that was! The onion rings were awful and the burgers were so overdone that they were inedible. That experience was more than balanced out by Café Promenade! Every morning I would go there about 5:30 a.m. It was always clean with a good cup of coffee and, typically, a nice group of people. Nice way to start the day! To sum it up, Food was pretty good on the Liberty!

We were on the Liberty from Jan 29 - Feb 5th and ate in Giovanni's twice because it was so good! The Osso buco was perhaps the best I've ever had. It was flavorful and moist and tender. Just incredible. My wife ordered the mushroom risotto. Normally, I'm not a fan but that was delicious too! The second visit, I did order the filet (which was on the menu) and it was OK. I ordered it medium rare and it came out very rare (moo?) The service was great. The atmosphere was very nice. I can highly recommend it. We also ate one night at Sabor. I think it is unfortunate that on both the Navigator and the Liberty, Sabor has no windows. It dampens the atmosphere. They also no longer do the guacamole at your table. Finally, I had really been looking forward to their bacon wrapped chicken appetizers. When I received mine, they were literally cool to the touch. Obviously leftovers that someone forgot to put in the microwave. I hate to send food back, but they were inedible. The second time around, I received them fresh and hot, but the thrill was gone.

I looked at the Labadee zipline and I think it said a little over $100. Is that for just one ride?

I think Clarea pretty much nailed the Junior Suite perks. The term Junior "Suite" is a little misleading because they don't give you the suite benefits. Beyond that, my wife and I always sail with a junior suite. I don't like the skinny little shower tubes in most of the rooms so the bath tub/shower combo works for us. I also like the walk in closet and just the fact that the room and the balcony both have a little more space in them.

I just got off the Liberty of the Seas and I also won the free cruise for two at bingo on the last sea day. I just mailed in their certificate hoping to take another cruise next January. We'll see if I get what I asked for. We also plan to upgrade. I guess it depends on how much credit they offer and how much I have to pay out of pocket. None the less, it was pretty exciting to win something!

I just got off the Liberty of the Seas a week ago. I had two massages on board. They are ridiculously expensive but it's one of my cruise treats. The first massage, I asked the young lady if she actually received the gratuity from the 18% auto gratuity and she said yes, so I didn't give her anything extra. She was kind enough to ask if I was interested in any products. When I said no, she let it drop. I got the same young lady for the second massage. It was great, she didn't enquire about any products and she was very pleasant, so I did give her an extra $20 tip. I know I didn't have to, but I chose to.

When I go on a cruise, I like to take a break from all personal electronics. I don't use my cell phone, computer, Wi-Fi, watch the news or anything. I like that the TV shows information about the ship, the weather, and cruise related stuff, but that's all I want, so I'm satisfied with what they've got.

It is my understanding that a junior suite on the Liberty of the Seas includes a coffee maker. Is that a Keurig machine? I was thinking that if it was, I would bring some of my own pods. Thanks for helping!

I use a YETI drink tumbler to carry around cold drinks. I do have the soda/coffee/water drink plan so it's not a matter of cheaping out, it's a matter of convenience and cold drinks. Will there be any problem using my own tumbler and getting ice and/or drinks in it?

I was just looking at the Nachi Cocom website and I noticed they increased their daily limit from 100 people to 130 people. I have never felt crowded there so I figure it's no big thing, but I will still make an effort to get there early. I do like the water front shade things.

I found a website that was resortforaday.com. It has packages to Rose Hall Hilton. Don't know how it compares price wise but I think it included transportation. I would be curious if you found a better price.

Normally I don't like to book a ship's shore excursions but, given my own concerns about security and transportation in Jamaica, I decided to pay through the nose for a Royal Caribbean shore excursion to Rose Hall Hilton. Anything you find anywhere else will be less expensive.

I guess I don't understand all the tears and drama. In four weeks I will be on the Liberty of the Seas for a week. This ship is a floating resort. Once I'm on the ship, I can drink Texas beer with no problem. Hopefully, they will have Shiner because that's a pretty good beer! That first night, I will eat in a specialty restaurant and then go to a show. It really doesn't matter if the ship has left port or is still sitting in the fog. Sooner or later, we will be at sea and the ship may (or may not) have a revised itinerary. I have made reservations for some shore excursions, but this too will work itself out. As long as I am on that cruise, I will be happy.

I looked at the 30% off "sales price" and thought it might be interesting. Turns out, there are extremely few times/dates that offer the 30% rate. Mostly, you are paying almost full price. The discounts available were so minimal, that I decided to wait until I was on the ship. I'll probably wait and get a beach massage which are just as nice and typically a third of the ship's price.

I'm actually a scotch drinker but I really like Blanton's Bourbon. Funny thing, it has been almost impossible to find down here in Houston. If you're at a shipboard bar and you see a round bottle with a race horse stopper, that's Blanton's and would be well worth a good sip!

fifty (50) funfzig days until we are on the Liberty of the Seas. Funny thing about that. This means in fifty days Christmas and New Years will have come and gone. In fifty days we will have a new president. In fifty days, I will leave all my cares and woes behind for seven wonderful days! So many great things happening in the next fifty days!

I always go out of my way to book a cruise date that does not coincide with Spring Breaks or Summer vacations. This is a 100 kids in addition to all the other kids that will be on the ship. I don't care what anyone says, kids will be kids! They're loud, inconsiderate of others, take over pools and hot tubs, stay up late and run up and down the hallways and stairs, have their crying and screaming moments of drama. I know. I was a kid. I have two kids and now I have two grand kids. I wish I knew a good way to identify what large groups or other special interest groups were going to be on any particular cruise. This isn't me being mean or rude, this is me looking for a vacation that I will enjoy.

Why not eliminate the automatic "gratuities" completely and just build it in to the cruise fare? Merriam Webster defines gratuity as "something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service; especially :* tip" There is nothing voluntary about the shipboard gratuity. I would like to be able to choose to give (or not) a true voluntary tip to a particular individual(s) for providing a good service to me.

I can't answer your specific question but, in general, I've been pretty disappointed with the selection of Scotch on board these ships. I'm not a huge fan of Johnny Walker products. I like a nice 16-18 year old Glenfiddich. While most bars carry it, they normally only have the 12 year old. If I'm going to pat that much for a drink, I want a good one.

We love Sabor! On our next cruise in January, we signed up for the three specialty meal plan. We are going to do two meals at Sabor and one at Giovanis.

There could be boilerplate response saying something like - in the past twelve months out of xx surveys, yy percent listed the following three areas as needing improvement. We have undertaken or plan to address the following by doing this project or that improvement or something. Then you might feel that your participation in a survey may have actually resulted in something constructive being done.

Seems like you've got three choices. (1) do an honest survey, or (2) give everything a five, or (3) don't do the survey at all. Frankly, I'm about surveyed to death. It wouldn't be so bad except I never get any kind of response or update or any feedback and I never see anything change, so why bother?