Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

LIVE FROM Liberty of the Seas Repo

EmpressofPurple
 Share

Recommended Posts

Coralc

Coralc

Posted
Posted
Yay, another EmpressOfPurple review! I just spent the last hour reading this thread, vicariously enjoying your sunny beach days, fun trivia team, and countless other adventures. I'm always so impressed by how much you pack into every day!

 

Hope your ankle and leg feel better, and enjoy the rest of the cruise!

 

Denise really does pack a lot of activities into her cruise vacation days! :D It is so much fun to read about. :D

 

It makes me think that blogging or posting about our own cruise vacation days would be incredibly boring. Most of them involve reading novels on the pool deck. :o

Link to comment
Share on other sites
windjamming

windjamming

Posted
Posted
Denise really does pack a lot of activities into her cruise vacation days! :D It is so much fun to read about. :D

 

It makes me think that blogging or posting about our own cruise vacation days would be incredibly boring. Most of them involve reading novels on the pool deck. :o

 

Haha, mine would be about napping and eating! It's why I love CruiseCritic. We get to enjoy someone else's vacation! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SRV FAN

SRV FAN

Posted
Posted
Could you please tell me if it is very cool on the ship? We are leaving tomorrow on her and was trying to decide which sweater to take are if any.:)

 

 

Take one to be safe. It can be chilly on deck in the evenings when sailing out of & into Galveston. Inside the ship itself... Have never need one... Just outside.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
laurac22

laurac22

Posted
Posted
Could you please tell me if it is very cool on the ship? We are leaving tomorrow on her and was trying to decide which sweater to take are if any.:)

 

 

Yes take a lightweight jacket/ sweater. Can be cool and breezy outside, and I have needed one inside as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
EmpressofPurple

EmpressofPurple

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Wow , I am exhausted. Thank goodness tomorrow er, today is a holiday. Adventurous day in Grand Cayman. You have given me a few ideas. I obviously have to explore the nightlife more on these cruises. I see I am missing a lot.

Sorry the mini golf tournament didn't work out. Also sorry about your foot issues and the auto mishap. Happy snacking. Good night.

Denise

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

Can't wait till we're on our Alaska cruises in the spring, hopefully we'll have enough energy to take advantage of all the delights of cruising together!

 

Grand Cayman was great fun with a good group of folks. I'm crying tonight having to say goodbye to them all.

 

Tried to do the minigolf again today, with two days notice on the community board... and we got one more taker! Lucky Jeremy, he got all the swag I brought for prizes (details later in my daily report).

 

We're hoping Ken's World Mastercard will kick in on the insurance; they're only supposed to work if you decline the local insurance, but we literally couldn't do that: they won't rent the car if you don't buy the insurance. We'll see...

 

Right leg has been good for the whole day, and foot/ankle are improving. I'm hopeful to be back on the road within a week or so; I'll keep you posted.

 

Lots more to report, of course, but I'm still packing... I'll write up today's adventures once my bags are in the hall. Thank goodness for an extra hour tonight (although I'll lose it in flight tomorrow).

 

I'm playing Voytek's awesome CD while I pack, it's helping me to extend my cruise experience even while alone in the cabin. Sigh.

 

(Couldn't get online last night, about to post my final day review, too.)

 

(Re: Movies, as I recall, Jurassic World, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, Mr. Holmes, Shaun the Sheep, Before We Go... I think there was another children's movie, and a classic movie like Breakfast at Tiffanys, too...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
EmpressofPurple

EmpressofPurple

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Day #12 - Nov. 12 – At Sea

 

Sigh. Writing this up at nearly 2:00 am on the last night of our wonderful cruise. Can’t believe I’ve been onboard for 12 days, it seems like 12 minutes. I’ve been reading back through my notes – nearly 40 pages in Word! – and I can see how fun and how full each day has been.

 

Today followed the same pattern: started at 6:00 am, dressed and up to the last stretch and abs classes with Marco. I was thrilled to see one of my regular classmates, Emily, taking notes on the process, and I gave her my email and asked her to send me her notes – I also told her about Cruise Critic, so Emily, if you’re reading this, hi! : ) After class, another member asked Marco to demonstrate the entire series (in abbreviated form) and he did so while she recorded it on an ipad – I asked her to send me this as well. Perhaps I’ll actually keep up daily stretch with this help!

 

After class, I went down to Guest Services to see about returning my refunded bio-bay tour to my credit card rather than my onboard account, so I could purchase a next cruise and use that money towards my balance. It turns out that a refunded tour is a refundable credit, so it would have been put back on my card anyway… however, the day got so full I never managed to get back to the next cruise office anyway, so I missed out on the onboard booking deal. Rats!

 

Then I called Ken and said I’d be waiting on the chairs by the H2O zone, where I sat and did some needlework for about half an hour until he arrived. It was cool and noticeably less humid than it had been in the Caribbean waters. We went in to breakfast and I enjoyed an omelet with ham, spinach, mushrooms, jalapenos and cheese… plus some pico de gallo… plus one piece of bacon, sausage, ham, and some corned beef hash. I also had an English muffin with butter and jam, plus some orange juice. We talked about work and cruising and travel planning and I can’t imagine what I’m going to do tomorrow without this delightful daily exchange.

 

After a leisurely breakfast, we went down to deck 4 and walked on the Promenade, though we couldn’t go all the way around due to the construction on the top deck, which required them to close off the open lower decks to protect people from any spatter, dust, etc. Then we went to wait in the deck 3 entrance to the theatre with a group of others there for the backstage tour.

 

What a difference from the bridge tour: no security, no manifest, our small group of 10 was welcomed by Butch, the head production manager, who told us about how he came to work for Royal Caribbean 15 years ago, learning about the work through his brother who was a dancer; Butch rose through the ranks from theatre assistant to head manager. We got to walk backstage and look up at the scenery that went into space that went all the way up to deck 7, and all the way down to deck 0. Butch provided great stories about life backstage and all the technology behind mounting multiple productions at sea. It certainly sounds like there’s as much drama behind the curtains as in front, if not more!!!

 

After the theatre tour we headed up to deck 5 and into the Sphinx lounge to get good seats for the 1:15 final progressive trivia section, but we were way too early and there was a Swedish group getting debarkation instructions. We headed out the side door and up to the Helipad to enjoy the views and take some photos, but had to leave quickly due to the hot sun since we hadn’t put on any sunscreen. We went to Sorrentos, and I headed back to the cabin to charge my phone and change into a swimsuit and another of my new cruisewear maxi dresses, the bright blue striped one. Then back to the Sphinx, where the triviots were arriving.

 

Our group gathered, and we nervously heard difficult question after difficult question, wondering if we would get enough right to stay in the lead (Marcya announced at the start that we were tied with another group for first place, with many other teams nipping at our heels – one false move and we could be out of the running). With our usual great teamwork and mutual support, we came up with several solid answers and totally lucked out on some guesses – and ended up in a three-way tie for first place. However, we were the ONLY one of the previous first place teams to have that high score, so WE WON!!! TA-DA!!! Victorious!

 

Best news of all: the prizes were pretty cool! A new backpack, a certificate (!) and a gold medal. (Second place got water bottles, which many of our members had one in earlier trivias onboard on this cruise, so we didn’t need any more of those! Indeed, when a second place winner gave us one because they didn’t want to lug it home, we gave it away as a mini golf prize later in the day.) We also oohed and aahed at beautiful photographs of our Australian friends’ new apartment, stunning, it looked like it came from an architecture and design magazine.

 

We then headed up to the Windjammer for a late lunch, where I enjoyed a hot dog, trying to do it Chicago style: tomato, onion, peppers, cucumbers (no pickles available) and relish, plus mustard and ketchup. Tasty! I also made a huge plate of salad… and then came up to the chef preparing fresh Caesar salad, so I had some salad with my salad!!! And, just as I was going to sit down, I saw one of the kitchen servers unloading a huge tray of freshly baked, hot sugar-free chocolate chip cookies, so I brought a bowl of 7 over to the table for Ken… to find he had already brought a bowl of 6 for me!! We laughed, and gave one bowl to Debra to bring out to Diana on the sundeck, because she had been searching for these all morning.

 

After lunch, I headed to the steam room and sauna, planning to spend just 5-10 minutes in each one before going back to the room to change for the galley tour in the afternoon. The steam room was so delightful, though, I stayed there for 20 minutes, and another 15 in the sauna, thinking about everything under the sun and reveling in this quiet time, all alone with my thoughts in solitude and serenity. Afterwards, I relaxed in the cool changing room until I felt ready to go. I put a towel around my shoulders, tied a pareo around my waist and headed down to my room… where I discovered I had ONCE AGAIN left the room without my key!!! Argh. I sat down on the floor in the hallway and emptied my entire bag, unable to believe I had done this once again… but yes, I had.

 

I headed down to Guest Services (in my beach finery, facing long lines on the last day) – and a kindly officer helping those on the line rushed my request through so I wouldn’t be late for the tour. The printing mechanism was faulty, but the key worked (in fact, it was the first time I received a full replacement card, not just an “extra key” card). I pulled on some long pants and close-toed shoes, as required for the galley tour, left my bag and went down bringing just my phone to take some pictures, and met the group in front of the dining room on deck 4.

 

As it turned out, I needn’t have worried about being late, since the tour started about 15 minutes late. Chef Sunil showed us around the space, explaining all of the safety, public health, and waste control systems – as well as describing how all of the dishes are prepared “a la minute” (in other words, in response to each individual order, not in advance) and showed us some incredible machines, including a massive dishwasher that produces clean and sanitized dishes in just a few minutes, ovens that steam and bake and warm, and sous vide ovens that cook sealed food at super low temperatures to keep the juices in and produce great flavors and nutrition. Chef Sunil also explained that they would be working throughout the drydock, providing meals for the 3000 workers who would be living onboard while the work was going on. It was truly an interesting and in-depth tour.

 

I then ran to my room to collect the RCI swag and headed up to minigolf, meeting Jeremy in the elevator. He had gone earlier (at 4:45 as recommended on the sign I had put up earlier in the week) but no one was there, so he decided to come back. Good thing, or it would’ve just been me and Ken again! So the three of us played a lively game of minigolf, in VERY strong winds – and Jeremy, who claimed to be the “non-golfer” was the only one to get a hole in one, on the last hole!! I happily gave him the new water bottle, plus all my historic RCI swag (two bags and two leather photo frames with “Monarch of the Seas” markings!). Jeremy said he was going to watch the poolside movie “Mr. Holmes” from the large central hot tub, and we decided to join him for this.

 

Alas, between the wind and the bubbling hot tub we couldn’t hear anything, so we gave up, chatted for a while under the darkening skies, and then headed off to get ready for dinner and start packing. I threw dirty laundry into my new (huge) bag, careful to keep weighing it so I wouldn’t go over the airlines’ new stringent 50-pound limit. Time rushed ahead, and I quickly put together some thank you notes with a little extra thank you $$ for my terrific room steward, waiter and assistant waiter, showered, threw on some clothes, and ran down to dinner.

 

Despite my joy to see everyone at the table, I was nearly heartbroken that I would soon be separated from my new friends. We talked and talked, took photos, shared contact information, and basically couldn’t bear to leave each other. At dinner I finally managed to download photos my daughter had sent me of my (35-year-old) Merchant Mariner's Document, in which I sport a handsome crew cut and a thousand yard stare. Gary took one look at this, did a double take at me and said, "Tough customer."

 

Gary has been sharing amazing historical photos of himself throughout the tour, when he worked with some of the early astronauts with NASA during his career with the air force... of his amazing Alaskan travel adventures... of his various professions as a zydeco instructor, magician and mentalist, and writer for early computer magazines. An amazing man, I really appreciated his guidance and suggestions in the various ports we visited on this cruise, and I'm sure I'll contact him in future for my upcoming travel plans.

 

We walked out and up to deck four, where we went around the deck and looked at the waves, listened to the wind, and gazed out at all the lights in the gulf, probably oil rigs and ships. Finally we said our farewells, and I headed up to my cabin to finish packing... and somehow when I got down on the floor to pull out my second bag from under the bed I found myself lying in front of the doorway crying, overwhelmed by sadness. Wow, I didn’t expect that. I haven’t reacted that way to the end of a vacation since I left Hawaii for the first time.

 

And why did the packing take FOREVER?!? Everything fit when I was leaving. I gave away more than I bought. What’s going on!?!? Clothes, bags, hats, shoes, toiletries, jewelry, papers, electronics, snacks, and on and on… it never seemed to end. Finally at about 1:30 (which would soon be 12:30 as we fell back another hour, thank goodness) I headed out to the online center to check in, pay for checked bag and printout my boarding pass… but I couldn’t get online.

 

So I went down to Guest Services (where there was a LINE! At 1:30 am!!) and asked them to print out my voucher for the airport transfer in the morning (they said I didn’t need that, I would be on the manifest and I could just show up). They also let me use a computer at the desk to do my own airline checkin and pay for a checked bag. I also asked for a printout of my folio. (Such a shame I didn’t have time to purchase a nextcruise to pay it off and get back my refundable OBC. Oh well, I certainly made good and full use of my time onboard!!)

 

Well, it’s 2:30 now, I really ought to get a couple hours sleep (though I do plan to sleep on the plane tomorrow, too). At least I’m not crying anymore! Looking forward to the next three days, extending my travel fun with a long weekend in Orlando before returning to NYC and back to work. Truly a special cruise, and I thank you for cruising along.

 

Please feel free to ask any more questions and I’ll do my best to answer. Sorry I never found out if they’re installing Freestyle machines on Liberty in drydock. Off to bed, with Voytek playing me to sleep on his beautiful CD (along with the gentle clacking of the empty hangers in the closet… much better than some of rough returns to NYC up the east coast, when open safe door is banging and the empty hangers are clattering)…

 

(And yes, I'm crying again on debarkation morning as I'm posting this last blog post and reviewing it for any errors, additions or omissions... Sniffle...) Tough customer with a soft heart.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BecciBoo Great Review Rare

BecciBoo

Posted
Posted

I thought I was the only fruitloop who cries on Debarkation day???:p

 

Thx for the memories. We watched you come in and turn this morning with Disney on your heels.

 

Looked for the water boats, but nada!:(

 

Maybe they will be around for the sailaway, I have friends who are boarding today...God bless and good luck Empress!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
EmpressofPurple

EmpressofPurple

Posted
  • Author
Posted
There isn't one, I believe...they just show movies on the pool deck under the big screen.

 

This is correct. Not ideal for a number of reasons: late add-on so smaller screen and speakers than original installation would be, pool deck not designed for viewing, especially in inclement weather, and color changing light poles block view from many angles and are very distracting

 

Sent from my SM-G900P using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
EmpressofPurple

EmpressofPurple

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Hi! Any insights on the debarkation/embarkation process today in Galveston?

 

Remarkably smooth! Lounges were not over crowded, luggage pickup a breeze, customs fast and easy. Bit of a wait for the airport transfer bus, but the ride was smooth and straight. No complaints, and very relieved! I heard the self carry went well, too.

 

Sent from my SM-G900P using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Crazycombine64

Crazycombine64

Posted
Posted
Remarkably smooth! Lounges were not over crowded, luggage pickup a breeze, customs fast and easy. Bit of a wait for the airport transfer bus, but the ride was smooth and straight. No complaints, and very relieved! I heard the self carry went well, too.

 

Sent from my SM-G900P using Forums mobile app

 

Thank you Denise. We will be on Liberty in 2 weeks and you provided very useful information for all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
EmpressofPurple

EmpressofPurple

Posted
  • Author
Posted
My husband said he saw Vojtek on his first cruise in 2001. My husband is a musician and guitar teacher and said Vojtek was incredible. Sure hope he's on our cruise in February! I've been pouring over your review and taking notes! :)

 

Neat!! Vojtek said he's been with RCI/Celebrity for 15 years, so your husband may have seen him on his first year at sea. Nice to have my layman's appreciation of his talent backed up by an experienced professional -- and I hope you'll get to see him again, I'm sure his skill has only deepened over the years.

 

I loved following him around from venue to venue for the entire cruise (Schooner Bar, Boleros, Hoof & Claw Pub, Olive or Twist in the VCL, even the dining room), got to see some spaces I usually don't visit, and it gave focus to each day, especially if other offerings were thin to my taste.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...