Liberty of the Seas July 11-16, 2015 Bermuda in a GS

I just got back home and will later write a review of the suite experience onboard. I will also add other details once I get on my laptop. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Welcome back.

Did you experience the poolside buffet on sea days?

Looking forward to the review.

Looking forward to the review, we are booked on same ship in April in GS, I know it will be refurbished before my cruise

I didn't notice if they had one when I was out on our 1st sea day. I did walk the pool area that day. On the 2nd sea day we had terrible weather and the pool deck was closed until early evening. It was announced that there would be a buffet on the pool deck where the white party was being held. We did not attend it. Also, I'm not a fan of buffets because I worry about becoming ill from others poor behavior.

We're in a GS on the 8/22 sailing. Really looking forward to it.

One thing I've been wondering is what time were you able to leave the ship when you arrived in Bermuda? I know the "arrival" time is 9am, but not sure if that's docking time or disembarking time.

Thanks!

Sauvi really looking forward to reading your review. I hope you had the best time!

We're in a GS on the 8/22 sailing. Really looking forward to it.

 

One thing I've been wondering is what time were you able to leave the ship when you arrived in Bermuda? I know the "arrival" time is 9am, but not sure if that's docking time or disembarking time.

 

Thanks!

We were waiting for the announcement that we cleared customs, and could get off the ship, but there was never one. We got off the ship at 9:50.

I just wrote a very detailed explanation that disappeared because I was no longer signed in:mad:. This will have to wait until tomorrow. I had written about the check-in process, Suite Breakfast in Chops, the CL and the stateroom.

I look forward to hearing your review. My family and I set sail on the Bermuda cruise on August 8th. It is getting very close :)

We were waiting for the announcement that we cleared customs, and could get off the ship, but there was never one. We got off the ship at 9:50.

Thanks for the info :)

Hi...can't wait for your review...do you have any compasses from the cruise.. Or week in advance...

Hey stranger...

Someone on your sailing mentioned a Grease show. :confused:

Were they just mistaken from lack of exhaust?! :)

Can't wait to hear more. Will be sailing next May. If you have any pictures of areas of the ship can you post them?

Here goes attempt #2. Just an FYI, I will not be writing a day by day review. When I was researching this ship in August 2014 there were hardly any reviews and certainly none about being in a GS. So the angle I will be taking will be based on the experience in this category. If you want to ask other questions I will answer them.

On July 6th we received the following email from Carlos Ortiz the concierge:

Dear Suite Guest(s),

It is my pleasure to welcome you onboard the beautiful Liberty of the Seas. We are honored that you have selected Royal Caribbean International for your cruise vacation.

My name is Carlos Ortiz, your Concierge onboard. I am available to assist you with any special requests you may have throughout your cruise vacation. My hours in the Concierge Lounge are daily from 8:00 am to 11:00 am and 4:30 pm to 8:00 pm.

As a special VIP guest(s), you are offered exclusive amenities and services not available to other guests onboard the Liberty of the Seas. For your convenience, here is a brief summary of those services:

· Use of the Concierge Lounge located on Deck 10, aft

· Spa bathrobes for use onboard & upgraded bathroom amenities

· Complimentary pressing service on the first formal night.

· Continental breakfast served in the lounge daily from 8:00 am to 10:00 am.

· Breakfast served in Chops daily from 08:00 am to 10:00 am

· Hors d’oeuvres, petit fours and complimentary bar setup served in the lounge every evening before and after dinner from 4:30 pm to 8:00 pm.

· Daily menus displayed and pre-ordering for your dinner wine.

· Full Dining Room, Room Service privilege (available ONLY when the Dining Room is open).

· Priority reservations for any of our specialty restaurants, sport activities, Explorations!, Salon and Spa appointments, etc.

· Arrangements for private parties.

· Limited VIP lounge chair set-up above the Sky Bar on Deck 12.

· Port & Shopping Guide advice.

· Reserved VIP seats for production shows and ice shows. (Please show Cruise Director’s Staff gold SeaPass card at the entrance – No reservation need it. Seats will be reserved until 5 minutes before start the shows)

· Cocktail party hosted by the Hotel Director.

· Reserved private seating during lunch at the Windjammer Café in the Chops Grille dining area from 12 pm to 2:00 pm. (Please see your service personnel for directions).

The Concierge Lounge is designated as a smoke-free area. We respectfully request that guests observe a Smart Casual dress code when visiting the Lounge (no swim or pool attire is allowed, footwear is required at all times).To ensure all our guests are able to enjoy this exclusive lounge, we require that all guests 20 years and younger must be well behaved and accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times.

Please come and see me in the Concierge Lounge or contact me by dialing 3190 from any ship phone. If there is any way I can be of assistance to make your cruise vacation more enjoyable, please do not hesitate to ask. We hope you will have the vacation of a lifetime onboard the Liberty of the Seas.

Carlos Ortiz.

Concierge | Guest Services

Extension: 3190 | LB_Concierge@rccl.com

Royal Caribbean International

We did make dinner reservations with Carlos prior to embarkation for Chops the first night , Portofino the second night and request confirmation that we were sitting with our friends at the wine pairing dinner in Chops.

We drove to the port, arrived at 10:15, dropped off the luggage with the porters and parked the car, waited for our friends, went through security and the went to the suites check-in line. There were 2 check-in desks and we were next in line. It was such a painless process. From start to finish it was less than 15 minutes. At first we were told boarding was at noon, but that was incorrect. The doors opened at 11:15 and within a few minutes we were on board. We entered on Deck 4 and went up to Deck 5 to see what was being offered in Sorrento's and Cafe Promenade. Not much in my opinion and no salads either.

CONCIERGE LOUNGE-is on Deck 10 aft. After having a heavy bag filled with wine and my flavored seltzer we decided to wait in there until the rooms opened at 1. The key pad to insert your card is on the left side and the door opens out so be careful. Another reminder is to use the hand sani that is available as soon as you enter. The concierge desk is on the left to the entrance. Straight ahead is this piece of furniture that held various games, the Bermuda ferry schedule, port shopping guides, the Daily Compass,(and one for teens and kids too) and the Royal room service menu in a multitude of languages. The menus for the MDR were displayed nightly, but if you wanted a copy of the menu at an earlier time Carlos could print it out for you. The menus for Portofino and Chops Grille were prominently displayed here. The room is small and it could use an update, but it was comfortable. The smallest area of seating had 3 chairs and a table and the the largest grouping of seats could accommodate at least 10 or so. We don't know if that will happen in January during refurbishment. On the back wall there is the coffee machine, cups, sweeteners, glasses etc. I had cappuccino for me from my favorite coffee machine that I nickname the $10,000 machine. You can have coffee, latte, espresso, hot milk, hot chocolate and hot water for tea 24 hours a day. There were also to go cups or ceramic cups and saucers. I stayed away from coffee the entire time because I thought it was terrible and drank double cappuccinos instead.

We did go to the CL nightly for a drink or two prior to dinner. The bar selection was a bit limited, but had the standard red and white wines, beers including Corona, and a variety of hard liquors. The 2 bartenders/servers were Richard and Joseph and they were very nice. They worked the CL each evening and we did have opportunities to speak to them because it was never crowded. According to Carlos he said the CL is more frequented on the 9 nighters, but very quiet on the 5 nighters. The snacks varied a bit-crudite, different toppings on small pieces of bread, cheeses etc. Hot snacks varied too-chicken/beef skewers, wings, salmon cakes, mozzarella sticks to name a few, but my favorite was the spring rolls. One thing I was surprised to see is that people would come in to get an alcoholic beverage to go. I thought it was frowned upon, but I guess it may vary from ship to ship:confused: If we had a new beverage we took it with us to the next location. Nothing was said and many people would do the same.

STATEROOM-We chose 1298 starboard side for 3 reasons. It was the closest to the CL, there were no staterooms across from it and we wanted to have a waterview and not the Dockyard. I cannot tolerate the constant slamming of doors so I always look for empty space across from the stateroom in the deck plans. The one thing I was leery about was the fact that we were under the pool deck. I like to be sandwiched in between decks of cabins.I am such a light sleeper, but we rarely heard anything coming from above. What we did hear was metallic clanging which never could identify. We were up early anyway so there was nothing to really worry about. When you walk in 1298 the bathroom and bedroom area are on the left side and the closets, the bar area and living room are on the right side. In the previous GS we had the reverse configuration. I was dreading that colorful yellow couch:(, but it was more subdued than I expected. We met our stateroom attendant right away. Kenta from St. Vincent and the Grenadines was very professional and had a great sense of humor. We always saw her too.The other two stateroom attendants in the area were Cecelia and Elliot. So if you have any of the 3 you are in good hands! The balcony furniture was better than on the Allure. There was a large round table with 2 chairs and 2 full sized loungers that could fit facing or parallel to the plexiglass. I found this balcony to be deeper than the Allure. We never experienced any issues with the bathroom(as in smells) and there was a lot of storage (2 medicine cabinets and drawers). The tub is very high and deep and you really had to step up to enter it. The water pressure is low and there is NO cold water:eek: anywhere. I found the air conditioning to work well and we were never cold. A good idea is to close the curtains when you leave during the day. The closet had many hangers and was wide. There were additional shelves in the closet that held the life jackets and safe. The bar area had 6 good sized drawers and the vanity table had a great amount of shelves on each side and 3 drawers. The one drawer that holds the hair dryer has less room. There was light up make up mirror and some outlets (one is European). The nightstand was small, but had 2 additional drawers. I never could figure out which switch worked with each light, but they are labeled and there are dimmer switches.

Tomorrow- Breakfast in Chops, Suite Sun Deck Seating, Officer's Party in Cloud 9 and Suite Seating in the Theater, Disembarkation

If I missed anything related to the suite life ask.

Can't wait to hear more. Will be sailing next May. If you have any pictures of areas of the ship can you post them?

I really did not take pictures of the ship, but this is a great video one of the CC members posted.

Thank you for the review. We will be sailing in an Owner's Suite in October and am very much enjoying your information.

Following along.

My wife and I stayed at GS 1268 some years ago.

Looking forward to the rest of your review, Sauvichick. Going in a GS in September.

I have only one major problem with the GS, after sailing with one on last 2 cruises you never want to go back to smaller rooms with less perks, so we have 2 more booked

I have only one major problem with the GS, after sailing with one on last 2 cruises you never want to go back to smaller rooms with less perks, so we have 2 more booked

I was warned before our first suite that we wouldn't be happy with 'just' a balcony again... I said eh we shall see. When booking our 2016 cruise, I asked my DH if he wanted a mid or aft balcony. His reply was "does the GS offer an option?" Needless to say... our next 2 cruises are booked in a suite as well.

I have only one major problem with the GS, after sailing with one on last 2 cruises you never want to go back to smaller rooms with less perks, so we have 2 more booked

I agree!!! I look forward to my next GS with the newly added perks that we all keep hearing is coming, but have gotten postponed.

Ok, Here is the rest...FINALLY.

BREAKFAST in CHOPS GRILLE One of my favorite perks was the breakfast that was served daily from 8-10AM except on debarkation day. We did not miss a single breakfast! We requested Erkan (from Turkey) daily after he waited on us the first night in Chops. We were told that the $10.95 steak and eggs breakfast was now complimentary for suite guests. Note that the steak and eggs option is available for anyone on the ship. As we were seated we had the option of ordering from the menu and helping ourselves to an upscale buffet. I am not a fan of buffets, but because this was going to be accessible to a few I was OK with it.

On the regular menu there were eggs any style, made to order omelettes with cheese, veggies, herbs and ham, pancakes, eggs benedict, an egg sandwich and not the deli kind, steak and eggs. The orange juice was freshly squeezed and there was no fee for it. Other juices were also available. There were sides such as bacon, turkey or pork sausage, hash browns, toast, and grilled tomato.

The buffet had a hot cereal with an assortment of nuts, jumbo shrimp served with a lime in a champagne glass, yogurt layered with fresh fruit, a whipped dessert that we initially thought was yogurt, smoked salmon, assorted meats and cheeses, a fresh fruit or cubed fresh fruit served in martini glass, pastries and breads. I may have missed a couple of items, and there are small changes in the buffet daily.

SUN SUITE AREA

Its found above the Sky bar and on the first 2 days it was empty. It holds about 24 or so cushioned loungers and it's ideal for watching any of the activities that take place in the main pool area. The weather was not ideal for sunning so we preferred our own balcony. The whole area can get very noisy because it faces the main pool area. In the back of the sun suite area is the solarium.

Reserved Seating for Gold Card in the Theater-

We went to 3 shows and we never had a problem getting seats in that area even when we were late. The two ice shows were cancelled on the last sea day so I do not know where the reserved seating was located.

DEEMBARKATION

Carlos had said we could come to the CL between 8 and 9:30 and he would personally escort us downstairs. There was an elevator forward from the CL and on the starboard side. I believe this was the same elevator that was used to bring luggage to the staterooms. We took the elevator down at 8:30 AM and disembarked on a gangway separate from the other passengers. We grabbed our luggage in the terminal (Group 1 for suites and Pinnacles) and got on line for customs for the shortest wait ever. Not because we were in a suite, but because the lines were so short. We were at our car in less than 15 minutes once we went left the CL. That was the fastest I have ever gone through the process.

I found that there are many differences between the Oasis class and Freedom Class ships and what is specifically available for suites. I preferred some on the Liberty and I preferred others on the Allure.

If you have any additional questions please ask.

Hey stranger...

 

Someone on your sailing mentioned a Grease show. :confused:

 

Were they just mistaken from lack of exhaust?! :)

LOL;) Was it the one who found fault with everything on our sailing? My only complaint was that there is no cold water on the ship unless it's in a glass served with ice :D. It was Saturday Night Fever and note that it is now offered on Day 2 and not on Day 5. Our sailing was the first to have the change. So much better because on the last night I was sooo tired and would not be able to stay awake for a lengthy production.

LOL;) Was it the one who found fault with everything on our sailing? My only complaint was that there is no cold water on the ship unless it's in a glass served with ice :D. It was Saturday Night Fever and note that it is now offered on Day 2 and not on Day 5. Our sailing was the first to have the change. So much better because on the last night I was sooo tired and would not be able to stay awake for a lengthy production.

Why would you THINK it was them?! Lol thanks for the heads up!