A Spooktastic Time on Liberty - Review

[wolfganghowell]

Ok, the review is coming! First day back at work and we ALL know how punishing that can be.

 

We had a great time and info is coming. Gather your questions!

[easyboy]

Looking forward to your review.

 

 

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[wolfganghowell]

Here's the stats so you get our perspective. Although I might get called out for "bragging." :rolleyes:

Dinks - which means instead of college educations to pay for, we can cruise.

Diamond Plus, Club Royale, Grand Suite - the trifecta of entitlement and snobbery. At least according to many posters here and apparently some passengers on board. How is it ok for snarky comments to be made about "gold card people" but we must never mock anyone in an inside cabin who tries to smuggle booze and figure out ways to avoid paying gratuities?

[wolfganghowell]

We cruised with friends that we met on Mariner 8 years ago as tablemates. This is our 5th cruise together!

 

We headed to Galveston on Friday for 2 nights at Hotel Galvez. It is a tradition, nay requirement, to visit the Poop Deck for a beer and stare at the Gulf. Mission accomplished, then on to Rum Bar on top of The Spot for some warm up adult beverages and ridiculously good fried bar food. Saturday was greet the friends day. After breakfast at Miller's (trust us - it's amazing) and a lovely massage at the Galvez Spa, it was time to get the friends and see how many people can fit in a Prius. The answer is 6 - the petite one got to lie in the hatch like a movie star. Take that Clown car. Off to Gaido's for another delicious seafood meal. Go hungry. A quick visit to the Rooftop bar at Tremont seemed like a good idea but the Texas wind chill had better ideas. So back to Rum Bar and then we were all ready to crash early.

 

This concludes your Galveston pre cruise information!

[wolfganghowell]

Because Mr Wolf has an obsession with being "first in line", we got the 9 am shuttle at the Galvez. Arrived about 9:30 and walked right in, no security line, no check in line. The new facility has really made a difference. The waiting area is upstairs now and we could hear the last group of sad, tired and grouchy cruisers being herded off. The "get the he!! off the ship" was implied.

The seating is by C&A levels - Suites/Pinnacles, D+, Diamond, Emerald, Platinum, Gold and Virgins. Jorge the Suite Concierge popped out to our waiting area to tell us we would be onboard shortly. He escorted the Royal Suite on and then we were good to go around 10:30. I don't think Mr Wolf knocked over any old ladies or babies but I can't be sure. I have to concentrate on keeping up with him.

 

First stop, Pool Bar. This is the norm for us. Usually this is our hang for the week. However, we spent less time on the pool deck and when we did, we were at the Sky Bar. Blame the friends. They liked it up there and I have to admit, there was a lot more shade.

 

Again, we normally use Giovannis for the boarding lunch but our friend's daughter/fiance were not in a suite so we made the ultimate sacrifice by eating in the Windjammer. Anyone who has cruised knows the chaos of embarkation lunch. Don't make me relive the horror. Then back to pool deck to drink...I mean relax...until the rooms opened at 1.

Much to my delight, our suitcases were sitting outside the door. Ahh, nothing like unpacking before muster drill.

[wolfganghowell]

Muster drill - the usual.

Sailaway - the new usual. Can I just admit that I REALLY miss the live band at sailaway????

 

We were then off the suite lounge. Haven't been on Quantum Class but I can say that this lounge is the best outside of the Oasis Class. Hopefully they will be converting more ships to this. The windows are great for viewing a sunset, the outdoor seating area is great for reading or playing cards when it's not too hot and the atmosphere is nice and relaxing and away from crowds. We visited every night and I am amazed how many suite people do not utilize this lounge. I would say the only regulars were us, a group of about 10 Pinnacles and maybe 4-6 other people all week except the last night.

 

From there, we headed to Sabor. Tableside guacamole is gone but it was still divinely prepared behind closed doors. LOVE those empanadas. From there, we had to visit the evil place. You know the spot I'm talking about. The one with machines that eat $100 bills and tables that spit cards at you - usually ones that are not as nice as the ones the dealers get. However, I must admit this time the evil place was relatively gentle. Mr Wolf had a few nights of intense good luck at UTH. I had a night or two of clanging slot machines but then they turned vicious. Basically, we broke even. I call that a win. And when it was all said and done, we have $600 in cruise certificates that we've already applied to the next cruise. Plus the casino rate.

 

One interesting note I found different. Before, when you have the CR sticker, the bartenders just made your drink and handed it off to you. They are now marking it down on a list each time you order and you get a ticket with a reduced drink price. I assumed all week that free drinks were gone, that they just gave you a discount. Happily, I wasn't charged for any drinks. My suspicion is that they are monitoring this more to make certain that people aren't going around the system and getting free drinks without gambling.

[L1211]

Fun review, following!

 

 

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[wolfganghowell]

There was a tiny bit of dancing in Bolero's. This particular band didn't really float our boat as much as previous. The gang apparently headed to the disco that night and reported back it was crowded. So ends Night one.

 

This itinerary was Roatan, Costa Maya and Cozumel. This has the 2 sea days at the beginning. It's always a toss up for me as to liking the seadays at the beginning or the end. I'm leaning now towards the end. Because once you hit those ports, man time just SPEEDS UP.

 

Sea day number one began with breakfast in Giovanni's. Mr Wolf is obsessed with this breakfast. I'm not a breakfast person so I go along but that's an hour I could be doing something important like reading a book or staring at the ocean. But marriage is compromise, right? So we have our stinking breakfast in there 5 out of 6 mornings. After, it's Solarium time with my book. Yippee - a few hours of relaxation. A sign of a great cruise friendship? When everyone is cool with having group time and personal time. Our tendency on sea days is to tell the gang to meet at the pool bar around 12. If they arrive at 1, that's fine too.

One of the gang wanted to do the slot tournament so we headed off to cheer him on.

Then we headed to the suite lounge to sit outside and play a vicious round of Skip Bo. We liked the proximity of the Olive or Twist Bar to increase the name calling and bad words.

One note on the first sea day at the pool - the band did not play until 3:30. I repeat - the band did not play until 3:30. OK Royal - get your act together on this. That's a boneheaded decision. The first seaday requires LIVE MUSIC. Most people are gone by 3:30. Happily, they played most of the other sea days but this was the 1st cruise where we didn't hang out there all day. This will be fixed on the next sailing. The hanging out, that is. I have no control over the band scheduling.

 

Tonight was formal night numero uno. We planned on dressing up for this one while we could still squeeze into our clothes. Breathing was optional. And yes we changed after dinner. This was our first time to truly USE My Time. 2 of the last 3 trips we never set foot in the MDR and the other one, I think we went once maybe twice? We had a good experience because we had a table with 2 great servers. Mohammed and Antonio were so much fun. Each night we requested them again and had the same table 4 times and then close by one night. We were able to get the time we wanted or close to it. 7:45 seemed to be our sweet spot. Mohammed took great care of our orders and getting served quickly. Antonio figured out our drink preferences the first night - various adult beverages for all - and each night he brought them immediately and then miraculously would bring a second round before anyone ever ordered. I think he was trying to get us drunk. ;)

 

After dinner we headed to the late night comedian. Meh. Not the best.

 

I also seemed to poop out this cruise around 12, 12:30 every night. Dammm you aging process. However, we were up around 7:30 every morning so I guess it could be worse! Day Two concludes. I'll pick up tomorrow for the one person who's reading this! :)

[Lordnlkon]

We'll be on the Liberty for the 4th time in like 33 days, thanks for helping tide me over till then.

[wolfganghowell]

You are welcome my Lord. This was our 3rd time and #4 will be end of April!

[Lordnlkon]

You are welcome my Lord. This was our 3rd time and #4 will be end of April!

 

 

It's a great ship. I just wish they'd fix the wave on the flowrider, it's super rough.

[trippintex]

who is playing in star lounge, is phi there banging on the keys and hoof and claw still dead?

[niksmom630]

Great start! Always enjoy your reviews, I just don't get out here on CC as often as I would like anymore [emoji849] from one Casino Royale table lover (hater) , curious about the minimums....$10 when we were on Harmony last year in November. but $5 on Navigator....

 

 

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[wolfganghowell]

tripp - it was Nashville Junction in Star and Phil in Schooner. We were never on Promenade so don't know about the Pub. Still missing Derek Lewis - stupid stupid decision on Royal's part.

 

niks mom - UTH had one $10 table and one $5 table in non smoking area. Didn't notice the others. Sorry!

[wolfganghowell]

2nd sea day was similar to 1st sea day. Breakfast, solarium time, visit to pool to watch the belly flop. Verbally abusive Skip Bo then it was time to get ready for the Big Event. Halloween.

 

At 6'5, Mr Wolf is pretty much a no brainer for Frankenstein. The rest of us were pirates. Yes - we are an original group. ;) Turning him into it was a process - a lot of green pancake makeup! And black hairspray! Mr Wolf had his 15 minutes of fame. People asked for photos with him most of the night. The funniest moment was we were hanging in Boleros and apparently a show let out and people were coming up the stairs. We made him go stand at the top of the stairs and stare at people as they walked up. OMG - some of the reactions. We had a lot of fun and participated in the Halloween parade. When he made the turn onto the Promenade, the camera flashes were pretty blinding.

Of course, we believe he was robbed. He did not win Scariest Costume - some zombie dude won. Apologies to zombie dude if you are reading this but come on - Frankie was pretty darn great and people came up to him all night telling him he should have won. Even some of the staff couldn't believe it. He's not bitter (yes he is). We really had a lot of fun with this and have some great pictures.

 

Our stateroom attendant got an extra big tip just for all the towels with green and black makeup and the bathtub - yikes. He did a great job cleaning up after the monster.

[LonestarV]

Great review.. like your writing style! As TX cruisers ourselves looking to ramp up our frequency, we look forward to getting to know Liberty much better these next few years :)

[39august]

Mrs. Wolf: Are you on LB April 29 cruise? I'd love to meet you as I've seen your posts for years.

[wolfganghowell]

We are indeed! And yes likewise. Always fun to meet the CC regulars. Most of them at least ;)!

[dpostman]

- Frankie was pretty darn great and people came up to him all night telling him he should have won. Even some of the staff couldn't believe it. He's not bitter (yes he is). We really had a lot of fun with this and have some great pictures.

 

Loving your sens of humor and review.

 

dp

[wolfganghowell]

If I can figure out how to add pics, I'll do it. I think I attempted photobucket before but it didn't go well!

[wolfganghowell]

And now....port days. Listen, I love ports as much as anyone. But could someone please slow the clock down? They zip by!

 

Roatan - once again we head to Bananarama. Love the resort, love West Bay Beach, love love love. OK - I could live without the constant vendors.

 

Costa Maya - it's been a few years since we'd been. Man has it grown. It was a bit too crowded with 3 ships in port. We just hung at the port pool for a little bit and then headed back. With the other 2 days being beach days, Costa Maya beach doesn't really stack up against Roatan and Cozumel.

 

Cozumel - our 2nd visit to Mr Sanchos. Normally, we've done Nachi the most, followed by Paradise. Our friends picked Mr Sanchos and I have to say, I enjoyed it far more this time than before. The drinks, food and service seemed better. The beach is beautiful and unlike the other 2, we didn't need water shoes. I also think the pool is nicer than Nachi. We will be back there in 6 months. I recommend the Green Monster. You're welcome.

[wolfganghowell]

The last sea day <sob>. Here's where it became a whole new thing for us. We didn't experience the pool deck all. crazy. Our friend made it into the final round of the slot tournament. So we had to trek there once again in midday. Now if you recall, we are Club Royale so we spend enough nights in there. We have to be there during the day too? Ouch ouch - twist my arm. So oddly we spent most of the afternoon in there, a final round of Skip Bo outside the SL and the usual scrounging of packing and getting it done for the last night.

[wolfganghowell]

Disembarkation - Suites were to meet in Schooner at 8:15. We were off close to 9, grabbed a porter and then went to the taxi stand. And waited. And waited. And waited. Good grief Galveston - get the cabs to the dang port. There's money to be made. We finally got one, stopped at Hotel Galvez for our car and hit the road a little after 10.

 

We had such a horrible time that we booked again for April. We had $600 in casino certificates and nabbed the very last grand suite available. We'll be by ourselves this time so I see us getting back into our usual rut, I mean schedule. Pool Bar and deck - be ready. Hot tub in solarium - I'm coming for you. Slides - yep we'll be reunited. Casino - see you at NIGHT. :)

[wolfganghowell]

Random - Love and Marriage was cute and fun. Although I think telling the ship that you did the wild thing in your ex wife's bed with your new partner is a little TMI.

 

The Quest - our team won. YES - we rocked. I'm sure my leopard purse that doubled as a hat on Miss Liberty of the Seas sealed the deal.

 

The 2nd late night comedian was pretty funny. First not so much. Saturday Night Fever. Meh. I grew up doing musical theater and work in the entertainment industry myself so my standards are really high. While the cast was talented, the show itself is pretty weak.

 

We never got a hard sell from any staff. Yes they had tables outside the Jammer, but I never saw them be aggressive toward anyone.

 

Passengers - a nice mix and 98% were courteous and friendly. The 2% I can attribute to alcohol or just being grouches in real life. I did chuckled at one obnoxious woman at the casino bar who stumbled up and slurred "I'm a preferred player". Since Royal did a big casino promotion on our sailing (after we had booked of course), almost everyone in there seemed to be a "preferred player." I do wish Club Royale had stayed a little more exclusive instead of opening it up to almost any player. Oh well. I also wish that the guy who I saw CONSTANTLY winning on Wheel of Fortune would have cracked a smile once or twice instead of looking p***ed at the world when he would hit a Spin or cash out his $1000's of dollars.

 

Liberty appeared to be in good shape. All but one employee was smiling, friendly and wanting to help. There was one bartender in Olive or Twist who was nasty to 4 of us on separate occasions. No way he would have known we were together. The last straw was a woman in our group went to order a drink - late afternoon, maybe 6 people in the place. He ignored her, waited on 2 men that came up after her and then went to speak to 2 women sitting at the bar and proceeded to talk about how he hates the suite people. The women agreed saying " Our money spends just as good as their money." Well...ok. Interesting how the two charmers appeared in the SL that night since they weren't in a suite or pinnacle. nice. He totally ignored our friend so she gave up and had to order from a waiter that had just come on duty. He knew she was upset and was exceedingly kind. He had been nasty to me two separate days for no apparent reason. He's a little older so perhaps he needs to rethink this job and find something else to do - bartend behind the scenes since he's obviously burned out and his "people skills" are done.

[LonestarV]

Bravo, thanks for the review! Will be on VotS in a few weeks and will probably try one of the places you mentioned in Cozumel. Although we DO have the drink package so maybe stay onboard and get sloshed? Decisions, decisions.