Liberty of the Seas Review - 11/13-20 2016

[InTheWASide]

Our first cruise on Royal Caribbean after over 30 cruises with other lines. Here's what I submitted through the review forms on CC. Any Q's, please let me know.

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We booked this cruise with 5 other friends in 3 other rooms. Grand total of 3 Promenade rooms and 1 aft corner balcony. (The balcony was 1400 and was huge but had a huge pole in the middle of it... so if that's an issue, be aware).

We had never been on Royal Caribbean before except for the 2 in the balcony. They were previously on Independence and said the changes between the two were great.

As I mentioned, we have been on over 30 cruises and had just never gotten around to Royal. Hadn't avoided it for any reason, it just never worked with other cruise plans we had up to this point.

 

SHIP/CABIN

The ship is in great condition and we didn't see anything in worn out shape or disrepair but it seemed that the big screen at the pool may have been having some issues toward the end. While I have no point of comparison other than photos, the areas added at the beginning of the year like R Bar, Next Cruise, the water slides area, the new minigolf area all looked great. Nothing hugely stood out as "not belonging" except for the stateroom corridors where rooms were added on a couple decks. The green and peach corridor carpet on various decks was just old and massively dated.but wander around where the new panorama rooms or the rooms where the nightclub used to be and everything looks crisp and modern, better colors, etc. Would have been nice to see them make that all uniform, especially given how involved the dry dock was for so many other areas.

 

ROOM 6305 - BEN AND JERRY'S SWEET! The room was great, the cow decor was a humorous touch and the free ice cream was utilized 5 of the 7 times. We didn't use the Suite Lounge as the biggest perk would have been free drinks in the afternoon (if we understood correctly) and we already had the beverage package, So why did I give it 4 out of 5 if it was great? A few things: 1) Water never got COLD and smelled like well water. We refused to drink it once we noticed it but up until that point both the faucet and shower never got colder than "body temperature". We asked them to take a look at it and the replaced the whole part of the shower where you turn it on, adjust the temp etc (new one looked way never and less confusing... you're welcome) but it didn't help the temperatures. 2) Interactive TV never worked. As a result we always had to stand in line at guest services to check our onboard bill, etc and never ordered room service because we had no clue what the options were. Not even sure what else they may have shown on there. Supposedly it was looked at and "fixed" but nothing changed. 3) These promenade rooms are REALLY small. We actually moved both nightstands to the side of the room closer to the bathroom to get a little more space at the entrance. I'm not tiny but had the shower been any smaller it would have been very difficult.

 

Only other thing was the number of lights on the ship that are either burnt out, or work but flicker at very high speeds. Not sure if it's a power issue with the ship, crappy bulbs or something else but it seemed to be everywhere and drove me nuts. (you may not care... and that's fine)

 

DINING

Here's a breakdown on all the places we went to starting at the bottom of the ship and working up:

 

**MAIN DINING ROOM (REMBRANDT)** - All the cruises we've done and never seen a 3 story dining room. It was gorgeous. We had My Time Dining and were in here a couple different nights. The food was good. Not the best, not the worst, but good. Only disappointment I had personally was I got the filet mignon from Chops one evening in there. I didn't particularly like it. Didn't seem like a great cut and the Bearnaise was just dumped all over the top of it which wasn't all that great. Also, the menu said $16.95 but it went through on my onboard bill as $20 so I think they need to update their menus. On the evening where they parade the chefs around they played the THX sound effects and said it was showtime about half a dozen times before anything even happened... little obnoxious.

 

**SABOR** - First off, that guac is NO JOKE! SOOO good I now understand why the RC Blog is constantly going on and on about it. The food I ordered, and it was all fantastic was: Queso Fundido, Tuna Crudo Tacos, believe it was a fish entree (?) and then the dessert sampler that comes out. It was all really, really good. So here's where it gets weird. When we got there I ordered a cocktail (don't recall the name, something with guava... YUM!) and at the same time others in our group (all 7 of us) got a sweet and spicy margarita, a cucumber something cocktail and a couple people got the tequila flights. First off, the tequila flights aren't part of the beverage package even with paying the markup... lame, but okay fine, whatever. The sweet and spicy one came and she liked it. No cucumber cocktail came, even after it was asked for again and they tried to clarify the name of it. A couple in our group started getting annoyed and suddenly they just brought 5 regular margaritas on the rocks to the middle of the table and walked away. Still no tequila flights and when the server was reminded (he even went into the full explanation earlier on about how the drink package didn't cover it) he acted like he was hearing it ordered for the very first time. It finally came somewhere between starters being delivered and entrees. Someone asked for tortilla soup and was given gazpacho and even with an almost empty restaurant half the table would get food then wait 3-5 minutes and the rest would appear. When entrees came they asked if we wanted rice and beans and everyone answered yes. The amount they brought, and they only brought 3 rice and 3 beans for a table of 7, would have been enough for 2 medium size spoonfuls per dish. It was crazy. We got more of that, finally, a couple more dishes just as full as the first, and got through our meal. Dessert came and it was REALLY good. Churros were amazing,the banana chocolate empenadas were delicious . We asked for just a couple more of those so each person could have one and they brought out a plate with I think 10-12 of them. So note to self, these are cheap and rice and beans are worth their weight in gold. The creme brulee they had in that sampler was ridiculously good. Payment took forever even though all but 1 person had the dining package and was using one time for this. It didn't get applied and they charged us almost $100 (should have been about $20 for the tequila flights only). We were scheduled to go back another day and just decided to skip it. The food was good but the service was terrible. Most of them tried but our server was either distracted, SUPER new or something...

 

**SORRENTOS** - The pizza was good but only if it was totally fresh. Even if it was still relatively new (out 5-10 minutes) it was a little weird. Not the best or worst I've had on a ship. Last day I learned what would have been great to know on day 1. Cheese or pepperoni, add the bruschetta tomatoes to the top. That added all the flavor the pizza seemed to be missing.

 

**BEN & JERRYS** - Hey... with the room we had it was free. Got a scoop and a waffle cone most days. Fun little perk. The guy that was in their most of the time was SUPER nice.

 

**CUPCAKE CUPBOARD** - I'll be honest. When they first started putting these on the Royal ships I thought it was dumb. Who would buy a cupcake when you can get whatever desserts you wanted in the buffet. That was before I tried them. Over the week tried the following: apple pie, key lime, peanut butter. They're really good and thank god they have the small size ones.

 

**CAFE PROMENADE** - The sandwiches weren't all that great but the coconut something cookies they had were. Coffee was good on most occasions but if you order a mocha be sure to let them know if you want the cup LOADED with the chocolate sauce or not. Otherwise they'll do it by default.

 

**CHOPS** - Did this the final night onboard. It was good. The soup sounded like it was going to be something different than a french onion. It was basically a french onion. It was delicious but I either misread it or they need to work on their menu listing. The scallops were overcooked and tasted pretty fishy. The bacon appetizer... OH MY GOD. Quite possibly the best thing I ate the whole week. Just WOW. So good! I got the filet. I wanted to give it another shot. This steak was infinitely better than the one a few nights prior in the Rembrandt. I also got the red wine sauce which was much better. They brought all sides family style for our table of 7. Good idea, but a lot of the stuff ended up being we got a bite or two max. Creamed corn and garlic mashed potatoes were surprisingly super good. Dessert, everyone got the liquid center chocolate cake with coconut ice cream. YUM!

 

**GIOVANNI'S TABLE** - Best overall dinner on the entire ship. It might have been due to the table of 7 but they brought out every single starter and every single pasta dish and then we just ordered individual entrees. The highlights for me were the grilled octopus and carbonara. As for the entrees, I went outside my comfort zone and got the osso bucco. I've done veal before and loved it but not this with the marrow, etc. It was so good. Rich and flavorful. If I go back to Giovanni's on a future cruise I'll be anticipating that dish, Tried a couple bites of a couple desserts and they were really good. Only downside - The bottles of acqua panna and san pellegrino were offered and are under $12 but did not count on the beverage package. As far as I'm concerned there is no reason why water shouldn't be part of this. Added about $25 to what our group paid out of pocket but end of the day it was a small annoyance on a fabulous meal.

 

**WINDJAMMER CAFE** - Ate up there a few different times. Never an issue finding seats whether it was a couple of us, the whole group or something in the middle. Peak time, off time... never a problem. Food was really good for the most part. A couple weird one offs here or there. The hotdogs with the cheese sauce and grilled onions... awesome! The same cheese sauce for some fries... meh, not as great. But no issues. Lots of good food served hot with friendly staff EVERYWHERE.

 

**JOHNNY ROCKETS** - Way tastier than I remember when I went to one by home years ago. The fact that a $6.95 cover gets you whatever you want is a nice touch. Again though, shakes and some other things that are way under $12 not being part of the package... seriously?! Other than that it was enjoyable.

 

**SUITE LOUNGE** - Only mentioning it since we technically had access with our Ben and Jerry Sweet and they technically do have food (or so I've heard). Went up once just to take a look around. No concierge at the desk, no staff anywhere in sight but per the sign it was when they should have been there. And a seat grouping of some folks right by the entrance looking us up and down with just about the dirtiest glare we have ever gotten from anyone, ever. We didn't bother coming back and never utilized the concierge. We just stood in line and worked with Guest Services.

 

ENTERTAINMENT/ACTIVITIES

**ICE SHOW** - This is another of those things where I wondered *** when they started adding it to cruise ships. This was incredible. We had a blast and really enjoyed it. Only disappointment is that they apparently only have 1 show. Would have been nice to also see a 2nd one on ice.

 

**PLATINUM THEATER** - The comedians were great, In the Air was nice and well done. Saturday Night Fever was fantastic! We really loved it. Even our Broadway snob friend really, really enjoyed it. She said the music overpowered the vocals at times but that was the only negative comment she had. We were also amazed at the end when the band came out. We assumed it was all canned music.

 

**BINGO** - Played one round one time and it was okay. A few things about the way "Bingo Mama" does it were annoying but everyone has their own style when calling the numbers. Allowing people to start pouring in for the love and marriage show that were obnoxiously loud and kept shouting bingo when they weren't even playing though was not okay. She finally got pretty abrupt and threatened to throw the people out that were doing it, but by that point we were almost done. On a different game, one of those in our group won the $1000 game. (before you get too excited all it did was offset some of their casino losses... oops!)

 

**70's PARTY** - HIGHLY impressed by the way they did this. Wasn't sure how it would go down but it was really cool and we all had a blast. I assume all the ships with a Royal Promenade do this? Is it always Disco or is it just disco on this ship because of Saturday Night Fever?

 

**HOOF AND CLAW** - As mentioned in numerous posts on here they took away pub entertainers so this was just a place to drink. Everything I read prior is that the entertainer usually in here was amazing. Wish we could have seen him. The pub was just kind of "meh" as it was only a venue to drink at then get out.

 

**VINTAGES** - Cool venue but tried on a couple occasions to do a wine tasting and they were always cancelled. We were told they need about 10-12 people to make it happen and the most they ever had were 4 or 5. So we never got to do one, but the crew that worked in there, named Singh, was VERY knowledgeable and introduced us to a fabulous Riesling.

 

SERVICE

I think I pretty much covered that as I went along above. Guest Services was nice but I think a few of them were VERY new. Shore Ex staff was great. Harold in Boleros was awesome. Only service issues we repeatedly had were in R Bar. We had heard so much and were so excited but a lot of times we sat down and half the time no one came over to take an order. Or they would walk past us with no drinks to bus a table and then pass us to take the dirty dishes back and then never come by again. A couple times we were turned away either because they "didn't open for 5 more minutes" or "find another bar guys all we are serving now is water" around 1am. That was fine, all we want was water at that point... Let us speak before you blurt out something to make us leave... We really were unhappy with that venue. The times we DID get service though, staff was fine and the drinks were great.

 

PORTS

**GALVESTON** - This building was way better to board through than what Carnival uses but everything is spread out over such a large space. We were all in the 25-40 range so not a huge deal, but for those that are older, I imagine many could have trouble with it. All staff at check in was friendly enough and everything went quick (we showed up at about noon). On the way out on the other hand, the staff right after you talk to the customs official (both guiding to the exit and asking if you have alcohol so you can pay Texas taxes on it were INCREDIBLY rude and made the last experience related to the cruise a pretty crap one.

 

**ROATAN** - We did the Maya Key Beach escape. Quick boat ride to get there, lots of great animals to see. Got to feed and hold the little capuchin monkeys which was really cool. The jaguar backed up to the cage and sprayed and it got our friend's foot (she laughed about it and even got a Roatan postcard with a jaguar on it). Awesome lunch was served. We got bit like crazy by little sand fleas or whatever they might have been. As a result we spent most of our time in the pool part of the resort. Got some great drinks, met some cool guys from both Carnival Liberty (or Freedom... I forget) and Dream. Found out the following day just how bad of a sunburn I would get from that pool day. It was overcast the majority of the time so I thought I was fine. Not so much. Stop there was on 11/16/16 it's now 11/25/16 and I'm still dealing with it... probably another week to be all better. Great day though.

 

**BELIZE CITY** - We set up for cave tubing here. Originally the Darknight caves but found out onboard the tour was cancelled for safety reasons (apparently connected to HEAVY rain prior to our arrival) so we rebooked to the Exclusive Crystal Cave tour. This tour was an exercise in "hurry up and wait." We got to the place about half an hour late. We were told it wouldn't impact the tour but it did. We had a chamber we could have gone back to but didn't because "we were short on time". We made it back to the "camp" for lunch and gift shop browsing and literally had 20 minutes total for all of that before we had to head back. We cram food down, basically skipped the gift shops and went to the meeting point. It then took half an hour before we actually left. During that time we were able to go through the gift shop a little bit but it was frustrating. The experience of the caves though was great. I'm not comfortable at all in water over my head and another in our group was claustrophobic and we were both fine. Some really cool shops right by the ship so we got some things. The tender ride at around 20 minutes give or take seemed excessive but heard it was to protect some reefs. If that's indeed the case I'm fine with that long of a tender ride.

 

**COZUMEL** - We did the ATV adventure and beach break. First time a lot of us had ever done an ATV and we had a blast! A couple wish it had been muddier or more "out there" and less trails but it was a really fun time. The ATVs were 300 or 350cc and could be manual or automatic. Afterward we went to the San Francisco Beach Club. It was a nice setup and similar to Playa Mia which we did last time in Cozumel on Carnival Magic. Only things we didn't like: beef fajitas were HARD. The beef was extremely tough to chew through. But the rest of the food and the guac were good. The quesadillas were good and great prices on buckets of beer. Beach gripe - This is a beach club we have to pay to access (yes included in the excursion, but still) and yet there are people walking by non stop trying to sell random crap. If we're paying for beach time leave us alone. Or have a huge setup to peddle your stuff at the entrance but stay off the beach. We had 75 minutes there and there was someone we had to wave off with a no thanks every 5-7 minutes. If you need cheap souvenirs for family and friends, there's a shop in the port facility built area that has shirts 7 for $20 and lots of other great deals.

 

We really did have a great time and half already booked our next Royal cruise. 8/31/17 on Anthem. 9 night Canada/New England. As long as I can get the time off we're doing it and very excited about it. Otherwise we'll move that onboard booking to something else.

 

If anyone has questions or needs more clarification I'll do my best to answer.

Edited November 25, 2016 by InTheWASide

[easyboy]

That was an interesting review. Glad you enjoyed your first Royal experience

 

 

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[George C]

Very nice review, totally agree on Giovanni's and also the great Ice show

[CCC3]

Enjoyed your review, and glad you had fun. We are sailing on Liberty Jan 22! Can't wait! Did you utilize room service? We did last summer and had some issues. Hoping that's all corrected.

 

 

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[CCC3]

Those cookies with coconut...I'm betting they are the coconut rangers.... My eyes just glazed over a little! Mmmmm.

 

 

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[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[anabananz4]

Thanks for all the great info!

 

 

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[Wilson]

We were on the same sailing. Very nice review.

 

Yes, you missed some GREAT pub entertainment when Derek Lewis was there. He packed the place!

 

Maybe you saw us on 70's night...:D

 

Edited November 26, 2016 by Wilson

[cj_one2000]

We were on the same sailing and agree the person interrupting Bingo right before the Love & Marriage show was rude. Did you stay for the show? That's awesome someone in your group won money!

 

Also it didn't make sense to me either for those that had drink packages why the milkshakes weren't included. Tip though; there is an Oreo cookie milkshake you can get in the MDR with your drink package. My daughter loved it!

 

[ashleyhaugh]

Thanks for the review! First time cruiser leaving on the Liberty next week!!!!!!

[InTheWASide]

Those cookies with coconut...I'm betting they are the coconut rangers.... My eyes just glazed over a little! Mmmmm.

 

 

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Sounds right

 

 

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[InTheWASide]

Enjoyed your review, and glad you had fun. We are sailing on Liberty Jan 22! Can't wait! Did you utilize room service? We did last summer and had some issues. Hoping that's all corrected.

 

 

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Got it once. It came 20 minutes after the timeframe we picked was over. Worked out okay but the egg beaters were just "wet". Not sure how else to describe it. And the hash downs seemed rather undercooked but were tasty. That was it. Not even aware of lunch or dinner choices as the interactive tv which houses those menus never worked

 

 

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[InTheWASide]

We were on the same sailing. Very nice review.

 

Yes, you missed some GREAT pub entertainment when Derek Lewis was there. He packed the place!

 

Maybe you saw us on 70's night...:D

 

 

 

Definitely saw you in passing a couple times

 

 

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[InTheWASide]

We were on the same sailing and agree the person interrupting Bingo right before the Love & Marriage show was rude. Did you stay for the show? That's awesome someone in your group won money!

 

Also it didn't make sense to me either for those that had drink packages why the milkshakes weren't included. Tip though; there is an Oreo cookie milkshake you can get in the MDR with your drink package. My daughter loved it!

 

 

 

We didnt stay for that show. Don't recall where we ended up after that. An Oreo shake once or twice would have been really good BUT with that said I usually got cookies and cream with our free Ben and Jerry's so it wasn't a total loss

 

 

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Edited November 26, 2016 by InTheWASide

[InTheWASide]

Thanks for the review! First time cruiser leaving on the Liberty next week!!!!!!

 

 

Have a great time!!!

 

 

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[Cam Dizzle]

We were on the same sailing and agree the person interrupting Bingo right before the Love & Marriage show was rude. Did you stay for the show? That's awesome someone in your group won money!

 

Also it didn't make sense to me either for those that had drink packages why the milkshakes weren't included. Tip though; there is an Oreo cookie milkshake you can get in the MDR with your drink package. My daughter loved it

 

Oreo milkshake? Is this something new in the MDR? Is this something the refreshment package would cover?

Edited November 27, 2016 by Cam Dizzle

[cj_one2000]

Oreo milkshake? Is this something new in the MDR? Is this something the refreshment package would cover?

 

 

Not sure about it being new. It's on the kids menu and yes, it was included in our drink package as it technically is a bar item. I had the Royal Refreshment package.

[cj_one2000]

We didnt stay for that show. Don't recall where we ended up after that. An Oreo shake once or twice would have been really good BUT with that said I usually got cookies and cream with our free Ben and Jerry's so it wasn't a total loss

 

 

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Hey whatever makes you happy on a cruise [emoji16][emoji106] we were tempted a few times passing by Ben & Jerry's but got cones from the Sprinkles kiosk instead. The strawberry from the machine tasted like strawberry chapstick but the chocolate was pretty good. My daughter loved getting those cones every time we went to the pool.

[LG123]

Thanks for the review!

 

We are sailing in two weeks and will be in the Ben & Jerry Sweet. Would you be able to post a pic of the welcome letter that was in your cabin explaining what perks you got?

 

Also, what night was the 70's night? Were there any other theme night?

 

Thanks again!!

[Bookster99]

Great review! Thank you! We are very excited to be cruising 12/26/16 on Liberty. Do you remember who your cruise director was? Likely we will have the same one.

 

Thanks!

[InTheWASide]

Great review! Thank you! We are very excited to be cruising 12/26/16 on Liberty. Do you remember who your cruise director was? Likely we will have the same one.

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

John Blair. And it sounded like he just came on so likely will be the same

 

 

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[InTheWASide]

Thanks for the review!

 

 

 

We are sailing in two weeks and will be in the Ben & Jerry Sweet. Would you be able to post a pic of the welcome letter that was in your cabin explaining what perks you got?

 

 

 

Also, what night was the 70's night? Were there any other theme night?

 

 

 

Thanks again!!

 

 

Didn't take a pic of the letter but it's the suite lounge access and the coupon/card things for ice cream everyday.

 

Good luck with the water and interactive tv situations. We couldn't get either handled during our week unfortunately

 

70s night was night 5 I believe. They had one other parade with the dream works characters which was more for the kids. They had an evening that was going to be a pool party but it was pouring rain so they had to cancel it

 

 

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Edited November 27, 2016 by InTheWASide

[big_schots]

Great review! Thank you! We are very excited to be cruising 12/26/16 on Liberty. Do you remember who your cruise director was? Likely we will have the same one.

 

Thanks!

 

We were on the ship the week before the OP. John Blair is the cruise director and Katrina Blair (his wife) is the Activities director. He thinks himself quite the entertainer. He muddled up the Welcome Aboard show, that was supposed to feature a comedian, with his own schtick. He monopolized 30 of the 45 minutes singing a few songs and and trying to get the audience all riled up and excited, interacting with them. He does have a good voice, but I wasn't there for his lounge act. The comedian got around 10 minutes, and seemed a bit thrown off. I really liked his wife, since she was very personable and approachable. The few events she hosted, that we went to, she seemed genuine and fun.

[fdthird]

I've not heard great things about them, but as with so many other things, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

[JTBCruiser]

I've not heard great things about them, but as with so many other things, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

 

 

I've seen numerous posts of people wanting to be sure he was on their cruise, DW and I could really care less about who is the Cruise or Activities Director. We go more for R&R and don't get caught up in all the games, trivia or sales but others do, so as as they say, whatever floats your boat.