Liberty July 1-8, just back great trip!

Just returned from the Liberty July 1st - 8th cruise our of Galveston, here are a few observations...

Embarkation - arrived to the port around 10:30am to the normal cruise traffic jam in Galveston. Learned a few years back to not follow the traffic signs routing you to the cruise terminals while driving from interstate 45. Instead stay on 45 and it turns into Broadway, take it to 22nd street and you will avoid the huge backup on Harborside Drive. Once we crossed Harborside Drive it was still another solid 15 minutes to go that last half mile past the Carnival pier to RCCL. Port of Galveston really needs to rework the traffic pattern/flow,,,,they need to come up with a solution that keeps the two cruise lines traffic completely separate.

Dropped bags and family off and made my way over to the Galveston Park N Cruise. Closest to the port and a quick walk back to meet up with the family.

Once inside terminal we were directed to no line at security (priority line) and breezed through security. Next we were directed to D+ check-in where there was no line. Grabbed our sea pass cards (less than 5 minutes)and we were on board in record time!

Ship appearance - as usual we walked around the ship for 15 minutes to get reacquainted with the Liberty...ship is in outstanding condition. Clean and beautiful, actually looked new in many areas.

Rooms - we had two adjacent inside rooms on deck ten middle of the ship. Rooms were as expected...clean and kept that way throughout the cruise....fantastic cabin attendant Richard! We were a little concerned with the potential for noise from the pool deck above, however these were some of the quietest rooms we ever had. We spent very little time in the rooms, generally only sleeping and quick trips to get cleaned up and changed.

Food - normally we will eat in the specialty restaurants 2-5 nights and we debated getting a dinning package but opted not to buy one. Glad we did not....we ate every dinner in the MDR 8pm seating and never regretted it. First time that I can remember doing this since the implementation of specialty dinning. Our servers were the best we have ever had! They truly made every effort to take excellent care of us for the week. The food was good to very good....only one night did we struggle to find an entrée that looked appealing.

Breakfast and lunch were always in the WJ....typical RCCL buffet and service for this venue. I would rate it good at best.

Bar Service - we purchased the drink package, did not keep up with the math but doubtful we saved by doing this. The first two days, especially at the pool bars, they are extremely busy and lines can grow quickly. We were fortunate on the first sea day to meet a pool side server who took care of the entire week. He sought us out each day on the pool deck to ensure we had the beverages of our choice. At least every 20-30 minutes he would check on us and keep our drinks full! Best service we ever had on the pool deck...thank you Santosh!!!

Turned out our table in the MDR was in his section for dinner bar service.....and again he took outstanding care of us. We never wanted for a drink and he checked on us three times a night during dinner.

Other venues were mostly very good service and generally short waits. The one expectation would be the R bar the few times we were there it seemed understaffed.

Overall we thought the Bar service was great.

Shows - we attended most of the headliner shows in the evening, they were split between before dinner and after dinner. All of the shows were very enjoyable; Ice show, production shows, and headliners were all very entertaining.

Ports - Roatan we took a taxi to Paradise Beach Hotel, it was $80 roundtrip and another $20pp for access to the property. Beautiful beach, poor service, and very crowded. Website had pictures of nicer padded beach chairs and umbrellas, unfortunately only the chairs (no pads) existed. There were at least three ships in port perhaps four.....we were thinking since it was summer and many ships were positioned back out of the Caribbean there would be only one or two in port.

This is where cruising has changed over the years....ports are getting to the point with much larger ships and more of them that the actual experience in the ports is being negatively impacted. This is becoming a real turn off for us and is starting to impact our decision to cruise or vacation some other way. Bigger ships are coming and more of them...concerned that cruise industry will become a victim of it's own success.

Belize we took the ship tour to snorkel and then two hours on Starfish Island. We enjoyed this (3rd time)...it was a nice day.

Cozumel we normally go to a beach club for the day, however it looked like was going to rain. we took a taxi in town and did some shopping and headed back tot he ship's pool for the afternoon.

Debarkation - did the express walk off. The compass said it started at 8am, however they started well before that. We left our rooms at 7:50 and were back at our car across the street (Galveston Park n Cruise) by 8:15. We literally never stopped walking from the time we left the cabin to our car, with the exception of one family in front of us at customs. Fastest debarkation ever!!!

Overall excellent trip! Feel free to ask questions....

What time were you allowed into your stateroom? Was it the normal 1:00pm time?

Thanks for the review. I'm a fan of cruising out of Galveston (it's an 8-9 hour drive from Oklahoma) and Liberty of the Seas.

We've had similar consistent good quality food in the MDR. I usually order a filet once or twice from Chops in the MDR for a reasonable under $20 price.

Familiarity with Galveston helps navigate the roads. It's only going to get worse when a third terminal is added. I certainly don't have an answer as the island is so land locked.

What time were you allowed into your stateroom? Was it the normal 1:00pm time?

The staterooms opened at exactly 1pm, several announcements were made informing everyone that they will open at 1pm and then at 1pm they made another announcement stating they were open. For us, we like to start enjoying the cruise day 1.....we board with a carry on containing swim suits and sun screen. We were enjoying the pool by noon until the Muster Drill (3:30 if I remember correctly).

Thanks for the review. I'm a fan of cruising out of Galveston (it's an 8-9 hour drive from Oklahoma) and Liberty of the Seas.

 

We've had similar consistent good quality food in the MDR. I usually order a filet once or twice from Chops in the MDR for a reasonable under $20 price.

 

Familiarity with Galveston helps navigate the roads. It's only going to get worse when a third terminal is added. I certainly don't have an answer as the island is so land locked.

We are from Dallas and also enjoy the ability to drive to Galveston for cruises. One of us ordered a full lobster one night in the MDR...I would say it was okay, think it was $29.99. I have order the filet also on the past, nice option to have. They had lobster tail on the second formal night (Friday) and I was surprised at how large they were, largest I have seen on RCCL.

The staterooms opened at exactly 1pm, several announcements were made informing everyone that they will open at 1pm and then at 1pm they made another announcement stating they were open. For us, we like to start enjoying the cruise day 1.....we board with a carry on containing swim suits and sun screen. We were enjoying the pool by noon until the Muster Drill (3:30 if I remember correctly).

Thank you so much! Also, Thank you for taking the time to write your review! We're sailing on Liberty at the end of September.

We sailed Liberty last summer and got back the week before Harvey hit. We had a similar embarkation / debarkation to yours. For those going, you will have a great time!

Few other miscellaneous items

• Great spot to enjoy a pre-dinner drink(s) is the Viking Crown's Oliver and Twist lounge. Nice bar to sit at and great views......If you have access to Diamond Lounge, you can grab some snacks if you would like.
  
• Diamond Lounge - we used it on four nights before 8pm dinner and it was never more than half full. One of the nicer Diamond Lounges, great service and nice view.
  
• Schooner Bar entertainer was good....typical 'sing a long' piano music. This venue was very busy most time we went there. Only downside is that the smoke from the Casino vents out to the Schooner.
  
• Cruise Director was Jeff Arpin. He has been around for a number of years, somewhat a dry sense of humor. CDs do not make or break the trip for us, but I will say we really liked Jeff very much and he was very visible and approachable throughout the cruise.
  
• Captain James is an American captain, he too is very visible and approachable throughout the cruise. We chatted for a good 10-15 minutes on the pool deck one afternoon, enjoyed the opportunity.
  
• Elevators are typical for this class of ship, busy at busy times (before dinner, before and after shows...). One elevator had a mind of it's own. Got on, it was going down and to everyone's surprise it went up and then stopped and went all the way down do deck 1. The three floors selected on the buttons cleared. We all selected our floors again, and the the elevator went all the way to deck 12.....there was an employee on with us and another couple. He suggested we get off and try another elevator, he really did not not need to suggest it we were ready to gladly get off this ride. Not complaining, it was actually very funny...al of us were laughing out loud.
  
• Chairs by the pool...on sea days by 10:00 to 10:30 most chairs around pool and upper deck looking down to pool were taken. We tend to get up early and are at the pool by 8:30, most of the upper deck around the pool was still available at this time. We tend to stay at the pool all day on sea day until 4:30 or 5:00. Starting around 2:30 chairs were available again around the pool.
  
• Slides were fun, the raft one was the better of the three.
  

That's all I can think of for now.....feel free to ask anything.

Thank you so much for your great review and awesome information. Gets us excited for our cruise in 5 days!

Thank you so much for your great review and awesome information. Gets us excited for our cruise in 5 days!

You are going to have a blast....enjoy your week! I see you will stop at Costa Maya instead of Belize. CM is actually one of our favorite stops. It is very undeveloped out side of the pier...we like to take a taxi into town and sit at one of the beaches for the day...great local food and service for the cheap too! Very rustic but fun if you lean into it a little! Many people we know do not like Costa Maya, they want sparkly and new, you will not find this in town.

You are going to have a blast....enjoy your week! I see you will stop at Costa Maya instead of Belize. CM is actually one of our favorite stops. It is very undeveloped out side of the pier...we like to take a taxi into town and sit at one of the beaches for the day...great local food and service for the cheap too! Very rustic but fun if you lean into it a little! Many people we know do not like Costa Maya, they want sparkly and new, you will not find this in town.

Thank you, fortunately we have been to this port before. Looking forward to stopping here again. We have had the opportunity to sail on the LOS sister ship FOS several years ago and are really excited. We were planning on getting to the cruise port a little later, but since you said it was quick embarkation, once you get in the terminal, I think we will head out earlier. Ready to start our vacation. :D;p:D:D:D

Few other miscellaneous items

 

 

 

• Great spot to enjoy a pre-dinner drink(s) is the Viking Crown's Oliver and Twist lounge. Nice bar to sit at and great views......If you have access to Diamond Lounge, you can grab some snacks if you would like.
  
• Diamond Lounge - we used it on four nights before 8pm dinner and it was never more than half full. One of the nicer Diamond Lounges, great service and nice view.
  
• Schooner Bar entertainer was good....typical 'sing a long' piano music. This venue was very busy most time we went there. Only downside is that the smoke from the Casino vents out to the Schooner.
  
• Cruise Director was Jeff Arpin. He has been around for a number of years, somewhat a dry sense of humor. CDs do not make or break the trip for us, but I will say we really liked Jeff very much and he was very visible and approachable throughout the cruise.
  
• Captain James is an American captain, he too is very visible and approachable throughout the cruise. We chatted for a good 10-15 minutes on the pool deck one afternoon, enjoyed the opportunity.
  
• Elevators are typical for this class of ship, busy at busy times (before dinner, before and after shows...). One elevator had a mind of it's own. Got on, it was going down and to everyone's surprise it went up and then stopped and went all the way down do deck 1. The three floors selected on the buttons cleared. We all selected our floors again, and the the elevator went all the way to deck 12.....there was an employee on with us and another couple. He suggested we get off and try another elevator, he really did not not need to suggest it we were ready to gladly get off this ride. Not complaining, it was actually very funny...al of us were laughing out loud.
  
• Chairs by the pool...on sea days by 10:00 to 10:30 most chairs around pool and upper deck looking down to pool were taken. We tend to get up early and are at the pool by 8:30, most of the upper deck around the pool was still available at this time. We tend to stay at the pool all day on sea day until 4:30 or 5:00. Starting around 2:30 chairs were available again around the pool.
  
• Slides were fun, the raft one was the better of the three.
  

That's all I can think of for now.....feel free to ask anything.

What was the chair situation in the Solarium? Were all the chairs gone there by 10 as well?

Thanks for the review. If you park at Galveston Park and Cruise go up 25th and turn left into the lot if everyone can walk

What was the chair situation in the Solarium? Were all the chairs gone there by 10 as well?

Not sure on this one. We used the solarium one afternoon when it started to rain (Belize after our tour) and there were plenty of open chairs that were covered, but this was late in the afternoon on port day. As far as chairs in the sun, there are not that many and I would suspect that they were either being used or reserved by at least 9am.

We like to sit on the upper deck (12) by the sky bar overlooking the pool. We did use the solarium pool on sea days to cool off.....it was far less crowded compared to the two main pools. On sea days at peak times the main pools are packed when the sun is out and it is hot. So much so that to be honest it does not look that appealing and that is why we will walk over to the solarium pool to cool off.

Another observation on the solarium, it is loud and there was a great deal of drinking going on. We were surprise that the pool servers were actually asking people in the pool if they would like another drink. Under the bridge over the pool there is a bar top and under water stools, this seemed to be a very popular place for some.

Thank you so much! Also, Thank you for taking the time to write your review! We're sailing on Liberty at the end of September.

Hey ditto, 23rd?

Good Trip Report..

Hey ditto, 23rd?

Yeppers! :D

Thank you for the tips! Our first time on RCCI will be this December on the Liberty. We have only sailed Disney, so expecting a different experience..we are highly allergic to smoke-so the tip on Schooners is helpful!

Any hidden books or areas we can walk the decks? Disney has a deck with a track that went around the ship. It was my morning sunrise happy place, afraid I will miss that.

Thank you for the tips! Our first time on RCCI will be this December on the Liberty. We have only sailed Disney, so expecting a different experience..we are highly allergic to smoke-so the tip on Schooners is helpful!

Any hidden books or areas we can walk the decks? Disney has a deck with a track that went around the ship. It was my morning sunrise happy place, afraid I will miss that.

The running/walking track on Liberty is located on deck 12.

Deck 4 there is also an area outside where you can walk around the ship. Be aware however that the port side is a designated smoking area so given your allergy to smoke you may want to avoid that side. If you walk forward towards the front of the ship you will find a staircase that will take you up to deck 5 where you can walk out onto the helipad great place for catching the sunrise and or sunset.

I love the liberty

We are going on our first LOS next week. How casual can we get away with on the formal nights in the MDR?

We are going on our first LOS next week. How casual can we get away with on the formal nights in the MDR?

Dress suggestions are not enforced, you can wear whatever you want.

Dress suggestions are not enforced, you can wear whatever you want.

This is very true. We saw it all on formal nights. I think you would be comfortable wearing long pants and a polo type shirt for the men. There were a few Tuxedos and guessing about 25% of the men had a jacket. We dressed for formal night, those that choose to go casual did not offend us.

This was the most casual we have ever had in the MDR for dinner all week. In fact, for the first timer I wore shorts into the dinning room on two nights for dinner and felt comfortable. We brought nicer cloths for the evening, however most were never worn. We ended up with more clean cloths being brought home then dirty.

Thank you for the tips! Our first time on RCCI will be this December on the Liberty. We have only sailed Disney, so expecting a different experience..we are highly allergic to smoke-so the tip on Schooners is helpful!

Any hidden books or areas we can walk the decks? Disney has a deck with a track that went around the ship. It was my morning sunrise happy place, afraid I will miss that.

In addition to earlier response, there is a somewhat hidden area on deck 11 forward of the Solarium. Hard to describe, there is a glass door that leads to a balcony area that has the 3/4 type chairs (not loungers). There are several chairs in this area and I would imagine it would be a nice place to sit and read, rest, relax,... especially if you do not have a balcony cabin.

The "jogging track" on deck 12 is nice early in the morning before the deck chairs are occupied. After say 10am it becomes a little too congested for jogging/running, but you can still walk it comfortably.