Liberty of the Seas semi-live review sailing May 14 2017

[donna78]

Cruise Director is leaving when we leave Sunday it seems. Not sure how long he is gonna be gone or whatever but he said he is leaving on Sunday on his rant show.

 

 

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[ARCruisinNana]

John and Katrina Blair will take over as CD and AM on 5/21.

 

 

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[donna78]

Day 7

Last sea day :(

 

Another trip to guest relations for more of the same. We just want it fixed, no hurt feelings. They sent cupcakes as a sorry this time-they are good but we are full. :/

 

Woke up around 11am and went to the main dining room for lunch. Had some great company at an adjacent table and I had a delicious burger. Roommate had fish. They were both really good. Dessert was also delicious. We didn't do the salad.

 

Afternoon was spent on pool deck 11. It was hot. Hot and muggy and stormy looking. Several times I couldn't see the horizon because it looked like we were in fog. We did some exploring and got pics of areas of the ship we had no interest in like the kids areas. Mothers were taking their children crying to the elevator so I am guessing the children had fun. The area looked like a blast. Also looked at the slides and such which was fun.

 

I settled my cash account before dinner with no wait in line*** (disability notice at the bottom of post) and then we had dinner in the main dining room. I loved the French onion soup so much I cannot even express. The food was really good. I enjoyed it better tonight than nights previous.

 

Then we went to Saturday Night Fever. A few things-don't bring kids to this show. I can't see how kids would like to sit through anything like this. Also try not to sit in the back. We had no choice because it's wheelchair seating but when the piano bar fired up, staff did not shut the theater doors so the music from there was very distracting. Good musical overall but I liked their in the air show so much more.

 

I stopped by the karaoke superstar finale but it is so packed I cannot find a seat. Gonna go to the club later instead for fun. Hopefully I will be able to get some sleep for a 10am departure tomorrow!

 

***when I booked and then again with special needs we had requested assistance with getting off and on the ship. This was NOT enough. As I was cashing out my account, I overheard a man next to me asking about wheelchair assistance for his wife. He also had requested assistance a month before the cruise. Guest service agent told him that he needed to put her name on a list he had there and to get special tags and go to a certain place at a certain time. Guy asked why it wasn't automatically done since he requested it and the agent had no good answer but he got the man on the list and gave him new tags. So after I was done with my cash account I did the same for our room.

 

This is actually part of my issue with Royal Caribbean right now. I had a great cruise. I loved the ship and I hope to be able to sail her again. But the services for the disabled are really lacking. In my single experience on this ship, I can say without a doubt that nothing I went brought when it came to disability services was easy at all. None of it was overly helpful and it was just seriously needing more work on their part to make disabled passengers feel like they matter to them. Maybe they don't because it seemed like it was all a fight. So a disappointment there. But the adventure was had and was lovely and grand. We do not regret this trip at all. I know it could have been so much more to perfect than it was but it also could have been worse. It was fun and I will recommend my friends to this route-but if they are in a wheelchair, I will tell them go to guest services first off and discuss things when they first get on and hopefully avoid some of our issues-even if it was requested to special needs weeks before. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[JustLoveToGetAway]

Day 7

Last sea day :(

 

Another trip to guest relations for more of the same. We just want it fixed, no hurt feelings. They sent cupcakes as a sorry this time-they are good but we are full. :/

 

Woke up around 11am and went to the main dining room for lunch. Had some great company at an adjacent table and I had a delicious burger. Roommate had fish. They were both really good. Dessert was also delicious. We didn't do the salad.

 

Afternoon was spent on pool deck 11. It was hot. Hot and muggy and stormy looking. Several times I couldn't see the horizon because it looked like we were in fog. We did some exploring and got pics of areas of the ship we had no interest in like the kids areas. Mothers were taking their children crying to the elevator so I am guessing the children had fun. The area looked like a blast. Also looked at the slides and such which was fun.

 

I settled my cash account before dinner with no wait in line*** (disability notice at the bottom of post) and then we had dinner in the main dining room. I loved the French onion soup so much I cannot even express. The food was really good. I enjoyed it better tonight than nights previous.

 

Then we went to Saturday Night Fever. A few things-don't bring kids to this show. I can't see how kids would like to sit through anything like this. Also try not to sit in the back. We had no choice because it's wheelchair seating but when the piano bar fired up, staff did not shut the theater doors so the music from there was very distracting. Good musical overall but I liked their in the air show so much more.

 

I stopped by the karaoke superstar finale but it is so packed I cannot find a seat. Gonna go to the club later instead for fun. Hopefully I will be able to get some sleep for a 10am departure tomorrow!

 

***when I booked and then again with special needs we had requested assistance with getting off and on the ship. This was NOT enough. As I was cashing out my account, I overheard a man next to me asking about wheelchair assistance for his wife. He also had requested assistance a month before the cruise. Guest service agent told him that he needed to put her name on a list he had there and to get special tags and go to a certain place at a certain time. Guy asked why it wasn't automatically done since he requested it and the agent had no good answer but he got the man on the list and gave him new tags. So after I was done with my cash account I did the same for our room.

 

This is actually part of my issue with Royal Caribbean right now. I had a great cruise. I loved the ship and I hope to be able to sail her again. But the services for the disabled are really lacking. In my single experience on this ship, I can say without a doubt that nothing I went brought when it came to disability services was easy at all. None of it was overly helpful and it was just seriously needing more work on their part to make disabled passengers feel like they matter to them. Maybe they don't because it seemed like it was all a fight. So a disappointment there. But the adventure was had and was lovely and grand. We do not regret this trip at all. I know it could have been so much more to perfect than it was but it also could have been worse. It was fun and I will recommend my friends to this route-but if they are in a wheelchair, I will tell them go to guest services first off and discuss things when they first get on and hopefully avoid some of our issues-even if it was requested to special needs weeks before. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I'm on the same cruise with you - gosh, I'm so sorry Royal Caribbean could have been scads better on the special needs assistance front. As honest as your review is, I can tell you go out of your way to be fair in your criticisms & you have a beautiful attitude. Royal is VERY lucky to have you willing to give them another chance. If you've sailed with Carnival or Princess, how would you say their assistance is?

 

5/14/17: Royal Caribbean, Liberty of the Seas

9/25/17: Norwegian Jade, Path of the Vikings

[Minorhawk]

The limited menu was for the mystery dinner. It was still very tasty but not the full offerings of Giovanni's. I had one more issue that we had to go to guest services for again (calling doesn't work for us as they don't always understand our complications) twice but hinge should be fixed from here on out I hope! I will do a review on that when I write today's review. This vacation cannot be ruined by glitches. When you live with a wheelchair, every day has glitches so this is a cake walk and I am having a blast. The cruise director name I cannot remember, I will find out and answer in my next post. Today was a Chops lunch and karaoke again. So fun and relaxing. Be back later for today's review. Tomorrow is Honduras and hopefully some pictures!

 

 

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Now that right there is an attitude of gratitude. Very refreshing to see that...especially on these boards. We all need to take note. Anyways, looking forward to the rest of your review. We sail in two short (long) weeks aboard the Liberty.

 

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[donna78]

I sailed on the Carnival Magic. I loved the staff. They always went above and beyond to help us and put our needs as a priority for them. (They even upgraded the room when they realized the equipment would not fit in the smaller room). However the ship was not as accessible as LoS. It did not hinder our fun as we make our own fun. That trip was amazing and memorable in many ways.

 

Here's the rub with Carnival: they have two levels of 'accessible' cabins. Some are still small but have assistance devices in the bathroom and such but would in no way accommodate a wheelchair. Booking is tricky with that. RCI has huge rooms for disabled folks and it helps a LOT when we have to bring lifts and big electric chairs and such on board with us.

 

If you were on the same ship you probably saw us! We had the bright pink tall wheelchair with rainbow hair...hard to miss haha.

 

We kept saying all week that we wished RCI had that Carnival crew and the LoS together haha. That is not saying RCI has bad crew. Each of their regular staff people we came in contact with were amazing beautiful people who I was so happy to be cruising with. It's the systems behind it all that are not organized enough for disabled.

 

As we were waiting to debarking, I was talking to an elderly couple who had a walker and a scooter. I told them we had so much fun but there were a lot of areas that could have been better. Found out they requested some things from special needs before the cruise, too, one was a bathroom shower chair...it was also not in their room and they had to go to guest services to request it.

 

Special needs requires paperwork to be filled it before the cruise. In our case, several emails were exchanged so I know they got our requests. But despite all of this, it's like the ship didn't get any of the memos. It was odd. I am hoping it was because of their computer issues we had when boarding but I am scared this is on par for them. If so, they really need to organize communication there a lot. It takes a lot to organize vacations with someone who needs so much medical equipment and it would be awesome if they understood and complied with that.

 

That said, we would still stow-away on that ship ANY time!

 

 

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[donna78]

Thank you all for the kind reviews. We are on our 10 hour drive home so I will update when I get some time over the next week with some photos! :) also thanks for understanding I am typing by phone that likes to type weird spellchecks for me.

 

 

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[donna78]

I also will comply some wheelchair specific information for the cruise that I have been putting together that might be helpful and is kind of a review between two ships and the good and bad!

 

 

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[CCC3]

Enjoyed your review! We sail in 27 days on Liberty ( but who's counting), and have enjoyed two previous cruises on her. Thanks for sharing your experiences. We also have a 10 hr drive to Galveston. Are you from Kansas, like I am?

 

 

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[donna78]

We are from Stillwater. We just have to make lots stops! Haha

 

Also have a great cruise! It's a lovely ship!!!

[donna78]

My great disability breakdown of Royal Caribbean. (In no particular order!)

 

In our experience, anything we requested at booking or from special needs was pretty much disregarded. We requested an extra hideaway bed since the room had three people in it. The person booking said it was fine and it was on our reservation. However we had to request it once we entered the room and there was no extra bed.

 

We also requested the furniture be removed for our equipment. This was not accomplished until after a trip to guest services and a visit with housekeeping supervisor and it happened the next day but it did happen. They stored the extra furniture in the shower for the night. After talking to a couple of other disabled travelers, I found their requests for wheelchair assistance and shower chairs were also ignored till they went to customer service. It lacks organization it seems, or communication, or both. So for anyone who has a special need, of course contact special needs but make sure you also check with guest services with anything that wasn't relayed.

 

We requested a birthday surprise for Allie on the Monday of the trip. This was not given or even acknowledged. We heard birthday songs for other people. But even though it was also written on our reservation, it was not honored. I had them sing to her at Chops lunch another day instead but it wasn't the same.

 

The internet and drink package and our mystery dinner excursion on the first day were applied correctly. However our paid for and reserved dinner at the fine dining establishment 'Chops' was charged and only removed when I told them we had already paid for it online. They didn't even have our reservation showing.

 

Special needs coded our reservation for free room service. However we had to visit guest services five times to get each of the charges removed and the first time it took me printing out the email where special needs told me the info and then Allie had to go down again and tell them to fix it. None of those room service meals were ever correct. Room service staff sent two plates of chocolate covered strawberries and some cupcakes as 'sorry' gifts for messing it up which was nice, but nicer would have been to not have to keep bothering guest services with requests to 'fix it'.

 

We had my time dining and had reservations but we were made to wait on the second formal night because they didn't have space for a wheelchair. We had to wait half an hour while they worked on getting a table and we missed the comedian entertainment. That was sad because we really wanted to hear his full set-he was funny!

 

The platinum theater, where most of the big entertainment is, has chairs lined up behind the tiered seating for people in wheelchairs. However half the space is sloped and thus it might be uncomfortable for someone in a chair. Also the back curtain physically touches people sitting on the disabled parking row. These seats also fill up fast with people who do not have wheelchairs but are disabled so get to shows early if you need a seat or space and cannot do even one stair to the big comfy theater seats. A note here: usually passengers would move heaven and earth to give you their seat to sit in or their space if they see you but chances are it will be sloped. If you can handle that, then that's awesome!

 

I have no idea about where the wheelchair seating is for the ice show. We just pulled up in an area beside the seating. No one directed us where to go so we just wandered and found a spot on the left when you come in, by the stage. People were sitting on the stairs to watch the show. Didn't seem safe but be careful of that if you have to get up during the middle of the show.

 

The disabled don't get priority on Royal Caribbean. Booking in we had to wait with everyone else through a computer glitch even though we had huge pieces of equipment to bring into our room so we didn't have to haul them around and risk damages to them or other things. We had permission to go directly to the room even if it wasn't finished cleaning by special needs. By the time we boarded, the rooms were well complete and ready. It was hard waiting with everyone and moving through crowds with the big equipment.

 

Boarding was chaotic and the muster drill wasn't catered to disabled folks if they needed it like it was on another cruise line. They had the drill with the general population and just told disabled people to tell their stateroom attendant they would need assist in the event of an emergency-but that doesn't help much when hey say 'put this life jacket on yourself and use the stairs not the elevators to go to your station. That is not helpful for people with muscle weakness or in a huge electric wheelchair that cannot walk down stairs...The other line gave us an area specifically for disabled and if the reservation was coded with accessible cabin, you were automatically directed to that muster. That muster also let people out early so the disabled could get first shot at the elevators after muster. Not so here. At that muster they said if there was an emergency, stay put and not to panic. They would send people assigned specifically to you to find you and help you where you needed to go. Again, not so here.

 

Loading and unloading at ports require a special attendant to help wheelchairs on and off the ramps because they are so awkward and steep. This could pose a problem for anyone laying in a wheelchair that needs clearance. The electric chair went fine forward and one time backwards but a chest strap would have helped for upper body weakness.

 

Getting off isn't bad. Getting in, wheelchairs were sat to the side while security and a wheelchair attendant took their time to come out you back on the boat. There is no priority line already set up to handle disabled like on the other cruise line we used. More it seemed like the wheelchair was a burden to the staff. If you have heat issues, having to wait to get on might be an issue-for is, it was a mater of making us stand to the side and wait and be treated like an afterthought by the staff.

 

When debarking for the final time, we requested wheelchair assistance when we booked. Instead, we found it through dumb luck that to get that help, you have to sign up on a list with guest services. It's not automatically done even though the reservation requests it. This process involved us getting new tags and getting a new assigned waiting spot. Then we sat there waiting for porters to help us roll our equipment off. THIS had priority service. This had the service I had expected from the cruise. We had an it of a wait but once we got to it, we were able to bypass the long lines with the wheelchair and the lift and all the medical equipment and we got helped straight to our luggage-and he guy even got us a luggage porter that helped us through the fast customs process (we had no booze or cigarettes so it was fairly easy) and to a great place on the sidewalk for us to load up! This was what I wanted, needed, from the cruise.

 

Overall the staff treatment and the systems for helping disabled people are lacking. That said, the ship is super accessible. Accessible rooms are without a doubt big enough for wheelchairs and equipment. The rooms have plush carpet and that makes moving a Hoyer a challenge but other than that, I could find little wrong with the rooms. The bed was lifted and I could put the lift under it. The bathroom sink allowed a chair to roll under it. The water in the shower was a bit hot but that might have just been me haha the water pressure was great! The room attendant was awesome and did her best to accommodate our every need including giving us an extra sheet for a pull sheet.

 

Every stage has a ramp. People in wheelchairs have buttons for most public places. They have a lift for a pool and spa (we never got to try them out). Doors are heavy if upper body strength is an issue. And I already said the ramps on and off are steep. Only a very few areas are accessible by stairs only. The ship is accessible. Royal Caribbean did a great job with that. Even the karaoke stage had a ramp to roll right onto the lighted floor! If I had a complaint here, it would be that passengers are not always nice with elevators. Most are, but some would cut in front of a wheelchair and many times we had to wait for several elevators.

 

And I said staff are lacking for disability concerns. I am not talking about stateroom attendants or waiters or bar staff. I am talking about those that work the background like keeping reservations and handling special requests, those directing traffic for shows and choosing seating for dining. The actual staff we came in contact with were great! They were very inclusive too! Second place winner of the sexiest man contest was a wheelchair user (a sexy one, he worked for it!) but they included him in the fun-and they had a ramp for the stage between the pool! Also the karaoke contest had wheelchair users in them. So inclusive is an absolute!

 

If Royal Caribbean could get their policies together and actual have given some priority to disabled travelers, they would be the perfect vacation for a disabled person. As it is, I wish Royal had the staff on the Carnival Magic when we rode on it. They were super accommodating on a ship that wasn't exactly wheelchair friendly. The staff made that trip and it sort of helps make my review of the Liberty of the Seas, too. With patience, RCI was a good cruise!

 

 

 

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Edited May 21, 2017 by donna78

[widallas]

There have been many reviews from people who had a fraction of the issues that you did and never stopped complaining.... Your review is a reminder that having a good time is a matter of attitude ...and yours is amazing!

 

I really hope you send this feedback to RCCL and they continue to improve service for special needs. So glad you had a wonderful cruise.... although it sounds like you could have fun anywhere!

 

 

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[cruzinlisa]

I sailed on the Carnival Magic. I loved the staff. They always went above and beyond to help us and put our needs as a priority for them. (They even upgraded the room when they realized the equipment would not fit in the smaller room). However the ship was not as accessible as LoS. It did not hinder our fun as we make our own fun. That trip was amazing and memorable in many ways.

 

Here's the rub with Carnival: they have two levels of 'accessible' cabins. Some are still small but have assistance devices in the bathroom and such but would in no way accommodate a wheelchair. Booking is tricky with that. RCI has huge rooms for disabled folks and it helps a LOT when we have to bring lifts and big electric chairs and such on board with us.

 

If you were on the same ship you probably saw us! We had the bright pink tall wheelchair with rainbow hair...hard to miss haha.

 

We kept saying all week that we wished RCI had that Carnival crew and the LoS together haha. That is not saying RCI has bad crew. Each of their regular staff people we came in contact with were amazing beautiful people who I was so happy to be cruising with. It's the systems behind it all that are not organized enough for disabled.

 

As we were waiting to debarking, I was talking to an elderly couple who had a walker and a scooter. I told them we had so much fun but there were a lot of areas that could have been better. Found out they requested some things from special needs before the cruise, too, one was a bathroom shower chair...it was also not in their room and they had to go to guest services to request it.

 

Special needs requires paperwork to be filled it before the cruise. In our case, several emails were exchanged so I know they got our requests. But despite all of this, it's like the ship didn't get any of the memos. It was odd. I am hoping it was because of their computer issues we had when boarding but I am scared this is on par for them. If so, they really need to organize communication there a lot. It takes a lot to organize vacations with someone who needs so much medical equipment and it would be awesome if they understood and complied with that.

 

That said, we would still stow-away on that ship ANY time!

 

 

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We were on this ship also and we saw you, many times usually in the pool area by the smoking section (my DH frequented the pool bar near there- Squeezes). My daughter loved the rainbow hair.

Sorry you had some many troubles. We did not have any issues with that, except one night at MTD when we were told there would be a 2 hour wait for a table and I mentioned that I had made a reservation (for formal night). She looked again and found it and there was no wait.

[donna78]

We were on this ship also and we saw you, many times usually in the pool area by the smoking section (my DH frequented the pool bar near there- Squeezes). My daughter loved the rainbow hair.

Sorry you had some many troubles. We did not have any issues with that, except one night at MTD when we were told there would be a 2 hour wait for a table and I mentioned that I had made a reservation (for formal night). She looked again and found it and there was no wait.

 

I am glad you had such an easy time! I am actually still having some issues with them because we had a billing issue onboard that the guest services said would be handled within 24 hours. I called Monday because it still wasn't reflected and they said it could be 5-7 business days and that I was 'misinformed' by guest services. /sigh I really, really wanted to LOVE RCI, and I did have a good vacation despite everything. I am just frustrated by RCI right now and am questioning if I would cruise with them again or try another line again. Being on a cruise is an amazing thing. I just wish it was 'smooth sailing' so to speak. :D Thanks about the hair!