Review In Progress - May 22, 2016 - Liberty of the Seas

[JimAOk1945]

Did you experience long lines waiting to board the ship?

[BLAMBKY]

I just found 2 more reviews for our exact cabin and they were both very positive. One said that a lot of the performers seem to stay on that deck. Also talked about how roomy it was with 6 people and we only will have 4. So this time in 18 days we will be tired from Cozumel and headed for Grand Cayman! Oh YES!!!!!!

Karen

 

:D:D:D I am so ready!!!! And OP, I am interested in disembarkation day, not sure how quickly you could address that part, if all. We have a 1:30 flight for our daughter. This whole TSA lines news & possibly customs have me a little nervous. Thanks for the update on the internet! I think if you can FaceTime for 15 minutes, it will be more than adequate for what my husband needs for work!

Edited May 26, 2016 by BLAMBKY

[Vigilant007]

Probably beating a dead horse. If you're on Verizon wifi then you're not using the ships wifi? I've got at&t. Will I have to get an international data plan? The last time I cruised in '11 I don't think texting was as big as it is now. I also don't think I was breathing internet. :-p. I am not sailing until october. As you can see I'm doing my research early.

 

 

 

"Verizon Wifi Calling" is a feature that lets you place calls over Wifi instead of the normal cellular network. I believe att has it too.

 

I've been using Verizon Wifi for any calls I need to make. I'm hoping doing it like this doesn't cost me extra. If it does I have an international package that should cover it.

 

 

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[Clarea]

"Verizon Wifi Calling" is a feature that lets you place calls over Wifi instead of the normal cellular network. I believe att has it too.

 

I've been using Verizon Wifi for any calls I need to make. I'm hoping doing it like this doesn't cost me extra. If it does I have an international package that should cover it.

From Verizon's website:

 

The Wi-Fi Calling feature is available at no additional charge, as it is included in your existing monthly voice plan. Your Wi-Fi calls to US numbers, regardless of where you are located, are also free of charge (except for 411 and other premium calls). Wi-Fi calls to international numbers will be billed as "International Calling While in the US" (also known as International Long Distance). If an international rate plan exists on your account, the international calls will be billed at those rates. A Wi-Fi Calling icon will appear on your screen during the call to confirm that it is using Wi-Fi to connect it. If the call is using the Verizon or a roaming network, standard voice charges apply.

[vettecruiser1]

Did they offer the drink card (10 drinks for $XX). If so what day was it offered and at what price?

[Vigilant007]

Did they offer the drink card (10 drinks for $XX). If so what day was it offered and at what price?

 

 

 

I looked through the daily cruiser today and didn't see the option. It maybe by request only.

 

 

 

 

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[vettecruiser1]

I looked through the daily cruiser today and didn't see the option. It maybe by request only.

 

 

 

 

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I've seen people state on some cruises it either day 3 or 6.

[riclop]

Thanks for doing it.

[EAZYLIVING]

We will be on Liberty in less than 30 days😊

[O.G.]

Off Liberty 5/22. We were in mini suite so got off at 8:40. Used a porter for luggage as was suggested to expedite. We were on bus to airport by 9:30.

[JaniceB]

Oh I have opinions :-)

 

Voom on the ship works well, and so far as of day 3 is pretty reliable.

 

The connection once it's up and running is very usable. It runs like a very low end broadband connection at home. In my experience the experience is not that much different then using an Internet connection in Playa Del Carmen or Cancun. There are times it goes out for a little bit, but then it just starts working again.

 

I can show you ping times which come up at about 600ms. This is about 30x higher then when I'm at home. If you run a speed test you'll see bursts up to about 3 to 4MB then it will stabilize at about .5MB every single time. I can type for an hour on why that maybe happening.

 

My actual experience without the numbers though? We have the Surf and Stream on 6 devices.

- Generally the service is more reliable across the ship then it would be on a major resort in Mexico. I will almost always have an actual signal and after a moment or two it will work pretty reliably.

- Calling Over Verizon-Wifi (make calls over Wifi, and in this case it's happening over whatever satellite that Liberty of the Seas uses) is pretty reliable.

- Had a 15 minute long FaceTime Video call from the balcony and picture quality is what I'd expect when running the same call over Verizon LTE when in the states.

- Web pages can take about 15-20 seconds to come up. Not world ending but something to note.

- Podcasts, Apple Music, YouTube all have a delay before they start playing. Once it starts playing it works well.

 

I'm drawing the distinction between what the numbers say and what my experience is for a very specific reason. This ship is a floating small city and at least in my experience seems to be doing a good job of brokering everyone's internet connection of satellites.

 

Don't expect to be able to torrent video, or do a responsive screen sharing session to your home office. Multi-person video calls will probably suck. Any kind of mobile gaming is just not practical.

 

With all of that said, I'm on vacation and I'm using the Internet to read news and answer small questions from my backup at work. I have to make sure the house isn't burning down :-)/. My wife isn't having any issues at all checking in on our pet bunnies using the DropCam.

 

Yes, it will probably be slower then what you have at home. It isn't world ending slower as some who insist that trying to get a response from World Of Tanks on the forum will say. It's absolutely ideal so far for a vacation.

 

Hope that helps.

 

 

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Thank you so much, that is really specific. I just wanted it since I am not traveling with DH so we can communicate somewhat.

[carumba7]

Thanks for all the information, we will sail 10/30 and can't wait!

 

Karen

[BrianSimpsonKY]

Just off the Liberty yesterday....the 10 drink card for $75 was offered on the 4th day of the cruise. The Tidal Wave slide opened on the last day of the cruise and you must be 12 years or older and weigh 100lbs or higher. They have a scale by the rafts!!

 

 

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[BrianSimpsonKY]

I also had the steam Internet.....it was spotty at times and worked for basic stuff...daughter could never watch UTUBE and I couldn't upload videos to FB but could do pictures

 

 

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[JaniceB]

Just off the Liberty yesterday....the 10 drink card for $75 was offered on the 4th day of the cruise. The Tidal Wave slide opened on the last day of the cruise and you must be 12 years or older and weigh 100lbs or higher. They have a scale by the rafts!!

 

 

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A scale, that is a first.

[EAZYLIVING]

Just off the Liberty yesterday....the 10 drink card for $75 was offered on the 4th day of the cruise. The Tidal Wave slide opened on the last day of the cruise and you must be 12 years or older and weigh 100lbs or higher. They have a scale by the rafts!!

 

 

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I will have to look for that drink card. That price is reasonable with our cruise having two sea days at the end.

[Krazy4Kruisin']

BLAmbky- Sounds fine for formal night. I wear black jeans and sparklie tops with jewelry. Husband wears dress shirt and tie, no jacket. Not out of place at all.

 

One night I wore a short cocktail dress, the other night I wore a long casual dress. Hubby wore slacks, sport coat and no tie.

[Krazy4Kruisin']

Thanks for doing a review, love the picture of the ship in port. Can't wait to read more. I bought the discounted Vroom package would love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

I thought Vroom was terrible. Constantly getting knocked off internet, and when we were on, it was very slow. That being said, I'd hate to see what the speed would have been without Vroom. Still a long way to go before they can call it "high speed"

[JaniceB]

Sorry to hear this about Vroom.

[cjdixon4]

I was on Freedom of the Seas the week of 5/22. Our ship was "parked" right next to Liberty at one of the ports, but I've forgotten which it was. Not certain whether it was Jamaica, Caymans, or Cozumel. Did you happen to see us (not US specifically, LOL, but Freedom)? :D

[imzacksmom]

Can someone suggest a hotel at the port? We are flying in from California and leaving on 10/23 on LOS. So we'll have to arrive on the 10/22 and spend the night. I think I've heard it takes about 2 hours to get to the port from HOU. Is there anything to do down there on Saturday night or should we plan on spending the day in the day in Houston and then come down later in the evening?

[Clarea]

Can someone suggest a hotel at the port? We are flying in from California and leaving on 10/23 on LOS. So we'll have to arrive on the 10/22 and spend the night. I think I've heard it takes about 2 hours to get to the port from HOU. Is there anything to do down there on Saturday night or should we plan on spending the day in the day in Houston and then come down later in the evening?

It takes about 45 minutes to get to the port from HOU (Houston Hobby). If you are flying into IAH (Bush Intercontinental), then I'd budget at least 1.5 hours to the port, more if the traffic is bad.

 

Hotel info can be found in the Gulf Coast Depatures forum:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=414

 

Note that some hotels in the island have a two night minimum on the weekend. We stayed in Clear Lake, which is a nice area with less expensive hotels.

Edited June 26, 2016 by clarea

[vegas7df]

We're from CA. as well and sailing late Sept. Because our flt gets into Hobby at 9:45 pm we decided to book at the Double Tree near the airport then use Super Shuttle the next day to take us to Galveston. No 2 night minimum at Double Tree and room was $116.

 

Donna

[imzacksmom]

We're from CA. as well and sailing late Sept. Because our flt gets into Hobby at 9:45 pm we decided to book at the Double Tree near the airport then use Super Shuttle the next day to take us to Galveston. No 2 night minimum at Double Tree and room was $116.

 

Donna

 

Good idea! If you think about it. Can you let me know how that works for you?

[vegas7df]

Yes I will. I have had friends that stayed near the airport & next day went back to the airport to pick up Royal,s bus. It is less expensive than Shuttle, I'm just not a big fan of buses.

 

Donna