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Live from the LIBERTY of the SEAS 3/26/17 sailing

sldispatcher
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sldispatcher

sldispatcher

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EMBARKATION DAY

 

 

 

Embarkation day is here. With our second random coast guard inspection of the year for a cruise,we’ve adjusted our departure time from the Holiday Inn Express Seawall inGalveston to about 1115am. Everyone hasarrived safely even though we had to weave through the ridiculous Houstontraffic. Galveston, from my limitedexposure at this point, will probably never be able to really thrive as a 6 or7 ship cruise port because of a relative lack of easy air transportation. It’s hard to beat FLL or even MIA foraccessing the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean in terms of not only location, butair service. This hotel sits right nextto a perfectly suitable airport, but airline and airport dynamics being whatthey are, I seriously doubt that significant air service will develop here topump in cruisers here.

 

 

 

 

At any rate, the excitement that hatched in Fall of 2016for this Liberty of the Seas (LOS) trip is now ready to be met by the realityof embarkation day. Here is a goodquestion for any of us. Why do we choosethe cruise line and ship that we select for our vacation? Price, location, amenities, itinerary, pastexperiences, and time of year all certainly play a role in that process.

 

 

 

 

For my DW and myself, the last 3 cruises were Celebrity’sInfinity to Alaska, a 14 night Koningsdam trip to Norway, and a fewweeks ago on Oceania’s Marina. That list is not meant to be any sort oftypical cruiser bragging that infiltrates the main dining rooms across multiplefleets, but rather to give you a basis for which we are stepping out of ournormal trip routine.

 

 

 

 

So what factors brought us to be boarding LOS today? This cruise had to be one that appealed tomulti-generations with no flying involved. That left us with choosing New Orleans or Houston as our embarkationports. From there, the line needed havea nice ship that wasn’t built in 1985 servicing the cruise. Since Princess left Galveston, that reallyleft us with the newly renovated LOS as the only logical choice.

 

 

 

 

Even without stepping onboard yet, I’m very satisfiedwith the choice because of the variety and energy that the ship seems tohave. Our expectations for service,food, lines, and crowds have us thinking that this will be much more Las Vegasstrip than Ritz Carlton. I’m fine withthat. So anything that RCCL deliversabove that will mean it will be a net positive.

 

 

 

 

Areas under the microscope will be MDR food, shows, crowdmanagement and noise levels. We’re backof the ship folks so part of our crew has a lineup of rooms across the back ofthe ship. That has become my favoriteplace because of the more quiet nature of the cabins back there. We’ll see how this goes.

 

 

 

 

We’re leaving in a couple of hours for the zoo that ischeck in. Hopefully it will be easyenough.

 

 

 

 

Talk back to you soon.

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BecciBoo Great Review Rare

BecciBoo

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Galveston has it's challenges, but has been home to 6 ships before. Even Disney was here for a while with RCCL and Carnival. Princess and Celebrity out of Houston... Now down to 4 at Galveston. She was Texas' first seaport and thrived as one of her richest towns back in the day.

Flying in is the greatest challenge, but Texas has the distinction of almost always sailing full. Ships port has been and will be around for a great many years yet. For Texans, there's no better. 80% of our cruises have originated there. We love driving down, hate flying to catch a ship. So Galveston is our go to and we are very lucky to have it.

Sure there are lots of improvements I could think of, but I know they are unrealistic. I have suggested a short train from Houston for transport to the island for cruisers, but it never materialized. And better organized traffic routes. I'm resigned to just what we have now and I'm happy.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with Liberty and RCCL. And it will be above your expectations if you are thinking Las Vegas strip....we leave that to Carnival. RCCL is much more sophisticated without being pretentious.

Enjoying your perceptions though. Keep them coming...

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cpage0513

cpage0513

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Galveston has it's challenges, but has been home to 6 ships before. Even Disney was here for a while with RCCL and Carnival. Princess and Celebrity out of Houston... Now down to 4 at Galveston. She was Texas' first seaport and thrived as one of her richest towns back in the day.

Flying in is the greatest challenge, but Texas has the distinction of almost always sailing full. Ships port has been and will be around for a great many years yet. For Texans, there's no better. 80% of our cruises have originated there. We love driving down, hate flying to catch a ship. So Galveston is our go to and we are very lucky to have it.

Sure there are lots of improvements I could think of, but I know they are unrealistic. I have suggested a short train from Houston for transport to the island for cruisers, but it never materialized. And better organized traffic routes. I'm resigned to just what we have now and I'm happy.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with Liberty and RCCL. And it will be above your expectations if you are thinking Las Vegas strip....we leave that to Carnival. RCCL is much more sophisticated without being pretentious.

Enjoying your perceptions though. Keep them coming...

 

Being from NTX, I totally agree!

 

Loving the photos so far!

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luv2sailAgain

luv2sailAgain

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I'm in!! Thanks for the great pictures. My kids and I are sailing at the end of July for a graduation/celebration cruise. Can't wait to find out more about your trip!

 

Have a great trip!!

 

BTW I was hoping to see Liberty sail away, but the cruise cam on Galveston.com doesn't seem to be working (unless it is my computer).

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BecciBoo Great Review Rare

BecciBoo

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O boy, just had to wipe the drool from my mouth, this is getting me excited!!!!!!! I have sailed Liberty 4 times and your pics make it all seem new! I could hear the ding ding.....Thank you!

 

Will be watching at 4:30 and will try to post a screen shot for you so you can see it from this side....:hearteyes:

 

What do you think so far?????:confused:

 

Luv2sail, reboot! Its working for me!

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BecciBoo Great Review Rare

BecciBoo

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It occurs to me they could save so much (and maybe offset a little nickel and diming) by making the Compass available to print from computer for each ship. And stop the annoying paper snowstorm we must deal with in the cabin!

 

Can't remember whether its posted in cabin TV, you can pull up the menus on there. I would love to take just one cruise without all that paper.

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Cruzin-K

Cruzin-K

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It occurs to me they could save so much (and maybe offset a little nickel and diming) by making the Compass available to print from computer for each ship. And stop the annoying paper snowstorm we must deal with in the cabin!

 

Can't remember whether its posted in cabin TV, you can pull up the menus on there. I would love to take just one cruise without all that paper.

 

And I'd be upset at not having the paper. I keep all the Compasses in a scrapbook after the cruise, and I like having the Compass to carry around with me on board. I don't want to have to hunt for a monitor, and I definitely don't want to have to carry a smart phone around with me - Princess is going that way and I'm not a happy camper.

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BecciBoo Great Review Rare

BecciBoo

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And I'd be upset at not having the paper. I keep all the Compasses in a scrapbook after the cruise, and I like having the Compass to carry around with me on board. I don't want to have to hunt for a monitor, and I definitely don't want to have to carry a smart phone around with me - Princess is going that way and I'm not a happy camper.

 

Yes that is why they should make it available to print out before you cruise online...

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