Liberty of the Seas 10/7 boring review

[BonTexasNY]

Why boring?  No pictures, no suite or balcony, Emerald status so no Diamond Club.  No specialty restaurants. No port excursions either.  I mean how boring are we?

Cruised with DH.  We had the best time in our Promenade cabin, MDR dinners, paying for drinks.  Wine most nights for dinner.  Thank you RCI for allowing us to bring wine on board, in addition to a few cans of diet Sierra Mist soda.  No questions asked upon check in, which was a breeze.  Got to the terminal approx. 10:15 and was up in the Windjammer having lunch less than an hour later.

Food improved over our last Liberty cruise in Dec. 2017.  First night did not start off well.  DH asked for a regular salad; lettuce, tomato, cukes, onion.  Waiter told him only Caesar Salad was on the menu.  What?  No other salad?  I said loudly (to DH's consternation) "this is NOT the Royal Caribbean I know"  Waiter was miffed and then went into the survey talk.  He didn't specifically order us to give him a 10 but he did his best to let us know we should favorably respond.  He even told us not to blame him if we didn't like the food, that it wasn't his fault.....sigh.  I tried not to give him the stink eye.

I always loved the chopped tuti salad on sea days.  Sad to say they don't chop the salad anymore. Not sure why they cut that out. (no pun intended)I Each cruise I take it seems the ingredients get fewer and fewer.

Second night, until the last night, instead of this "no salad" waiter, we had the head waiter, the guy wearing the black jacket (used to be red?) that cuts out the lobster tail from its shell.  He was WONDERFUL.  My husband never got his salad but never asked for one after the 1st night.  We had wonderful table mates and asked the wait staff to hurry things up and not drag dinner into the 2+ hours it usually takes.  Out in approx. 1 hr and 15 mins.  Nice!

Mark, our Cruise Director was wonderful, funny and engaging.  Out of our12  previous cruises he led the funniest Love and Marriage game I ever saw.  Congrats to the couple that won, married 71 years, both in their 90s sweet and funny.

Enjoyed the Country Band in the Star Lounge.  Never got to the pub or Schooner Bar for their entertainment.

Ice show as always was amazing.  We enjoyed the aerial (did I spell that right?) show in the nightclub.  Comic was ok but I'm getting tired listening to cruise jokes.  OK so I DID laugh when he physically tried to show us how a certain umm activity is done in the shower.  I'm a big Sat. Night Fever fan  and did not enjoy RCI's production.  We saw it back in Dec. and thought it was just ok.  This time around was disappointing.  Not sure why we even bothered this time around.  I'm sure many loved it.

Hats off and kudos to Capt. Anders for steering clear of the hurricane and getting us to all of our ports on time and safely.  Other ships experienced bad weather and diverted to Jamaica.

What made the cruise so wonderful was getting together with our friends Denise and Roger whom we met on The Voyager approx. 5 years ago.  This was our 3rd cruise together.  I know it won't be our last.  We were also fortunate to have Sandy, Ken, Lynn and Dan at our table every night for dinner.

Getting off the ship wasn't as bad as I feared.  Whole process took less than an hour and we were on our way home.  I don't remember how long it took last Dec.  Oh, and we took a bottle of champaign off the ship but nobody asked  questions.  Custom forms are no longer used.

Capt. Anders confirmed Oasis will be coming to Galveston in 2020.  New class of ships to come named Icon.  Smaller than Oasis, larger than freedom. 

OOps I forgot to mention that the pizza in Sorrentos improved greatly...yum.

I rambled long enough. Questions anyone?  If you read through my boring review, congratulations!

[SG65CB]

Thank you for the boring review. But it's after midnight and I'm still awake, I think it's due to the excitement over the salad. Can you post some more boring stuff to help me out? Maybe talk about the drive from Dallas to the port, or the disembarkation and going through customs.  Thanks in advance. 

[BSocial]

 Like previous poster, I also can’t sleep, and picked up the iPad to pass the time.    Bad decision - Now my laughter is keeping me awake, reading comments from both of you!

Good news to hear the confirmation of Oasis class ship to Galveston in 2020

Thanks for your review.

 

Edited October 17, 2018 by BSocial

[JBSteelerfan]

Glad to hear pizza has improved.  Thanks for the review!

[BillOh]

8 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Why boring?  No pictures, no suite or balcony, Emerald status so no Diamond Club.  No specialty restaurants. No port excursions either.  I mean how boring are we?

 

Mark, our Cruise Director was wonderful, funny and engaging.  Out of our12  previous cruises he led the funniest Love and Marriage game I ever saw.  Congrats to the couple that won, married 71 years, both in their 90s sweet and funny.

 

Capt. Anders confirmed Oasis will be coming to Galveston in 2020.  New class of ships to come named Icon.  Smaller than Oasis, larger than freedom. 

OOps I forgot to mention that the pizza in Sorrentos improved greatly...yum.

I rambled long enough. Questions anyone?  If you read through my boring review, congratulations!

 

FWIW, I always say I can get something out of any review and yours included, so thanks.       We had Mark Walker on his last cruise on Majesty, I would look forward to having him as our CD again. 

I've heard rumors of an Oasis class coming to Galveston, but this is the first somewhat official report I've seen.  I'll be curious to see the itineraries.

Was there any signs of the pizza and its quality?  I've been one to call Royal's previous pizza offerings bad to crap, but I just experienced what I thought was the "new improved" pizza on Enchantment and was wondering if this is what you saw. 

Edited October 17, 2018 by BillOh
Fixed a typo

[BonTexasNY]

8 hours ago, SG65CB said:

Thank you for the boring review. But it's after midnight and I'm still awake, I think it's due to the excitement over the salad. Can you post some more boring stuff to help me out? Maybe talk about the drive from Dallas to the port, or the disembarkation and going through customs.  Thanks in advance. 

Drive down to Galveston was thankfully uneventful.  Of course we stopped at Bucees to gas up and stretch our legs.

We stayed at the Quality Inn Seawall Sat. night.  OK place for one night.  They keep our car for the duration of the cruise, no charge and they give a good continental breakfast with make your own hot waffles.

Customs was a breeze.  Took a few seconds for him to be sure we are who we claim and then we were out.  My DH did mention that we had a bottle of champaign and he said "don't worry about it"

We waited to disembark in the 5th deck dining room, the designated Crown and Anchor departure lounge for all C&A members.  Once in the terminal, try to get on line for a porter, bypassing the long line snaking around the terminal waiting to reach customs.  Two lines for porters; one for handicap passengers and one for everyone else.  Very organized. Port official took turns from both lines.

Hope this exciting addition to my boring cruise review helps you fall asleep tonight.

[Tulsacoker]

We were in Liberty at the end of August and thought the pizza at sorrentos was terrible... must have changed since then

[BonTexasNY]

BillOh, not sure what pizza I had but it was cheesy and stringy, a true mark of good pizza.

[BonTexasNY]

1 minute ago, Tulsacoker said:

We were in Liberty at the end of August and thought the pizza at sorrentos was terrible... must have changed since then

Food is subjective.  It might have been the same as yours but there was a definite improvement over the pizza in Dec.

[JaniceB]

Thanks for taking the time to bore us, sounds like you had a great cruise with friends.

[dwayneb236]

Did the Liberty in Jan and thought the pizza was fine. Did the trick.

[HBE4]

12 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Why boring?  No pictures, no suite or balcony, Emerald status so no Diamond Club.  No specialty restaurants. No port excursions either.  I mean how boring are we?

I rambled long enough. Questions anyone?  If you read through my boring review, congratulations!

 

There is no such as a boring review. In fact, this is the perfect review as we are sailing on the Liberty in less than 3 weeks so it's nice a current review on her as most current reviews favor the newer ships, obviously.  Plus, your cruise style matches ours as well i.e. Not Diamond, rarely teat in specialty restaurants, etc....except we always do balconies 

Plus, it was a nice size review for me.

Question about Promenade room: was there much noise from the Royal Promenade? One of our party will be on deck 7 Interior Promenade room so just curious.

[dude_hdt]

HBE4,

We were in deck 7 Promenade for July 29th sailing.  Don't recall being bothered by noises...if there were any at all especially at night.  We weren't in the room much during the day time when there might have been band playing in Promenade.

Pizza was pretty good on that sailing.  Burger in Windjammer was one of the worst I've ever had...must want you to fork over $ for Johnny Rockets or something.

We'll sail on Liberty again for Dec 30 and will have deck 8 Promenade to view the New Year's Eve festivities below...before joining them.

[akysnetflix]

Hi BonTexNY,

Great review, very informative. My question is regarding getting some soda (coke zero, my fav) and bottled water on the ship (seems like they only have Evian!!). What's the best way do get a 12-pack (or a 6-pack) of each onboard without being questioned / or losing them to security? I'm sailing on the Liberty on 12/2. Thank you very much!

[BonTexasNY]

54 minutes ago, akysnetflix said:

 Hi BonTexNY,

Great review, very informative. My question is regarding getting some soda (coke zero, my fav) and bottled water on the ship (seems like they only have Evian!!). What's the best way do get a 12-pack (or a 6-pack) of each onboard without being questioned / or losing them to security? I'm sailing on the Liberty on 12/2. Thank you very much!

RCI now allows soft drinks, water too maybe ?  The drinks must be packed in your carry on.  We brought 6 cans with us, no problem. I think a case of 12 is allowed.  We were never questioned about the soda nor the wine we packed in our carry on.  Not sure about the quantity of water.

We had a deck 6 Promenade cabin.  We were out of the cabin when all the noise/parades took place.  We did cut short one of the PR happenings and barely heard anything in our cabin.  No noise was heard late at night from the pub

I wonder if the pizza varies from ship to ship?

I saw no smoking signs on some of the slot machines, for which I was thankful. Not sure how much of the casino is no smoking.  I came home with a casino voucher for 2 cents.  So much for lady luck on the Liberty.

Edited October 17, 2018 by BonTexasNY

[vickiw0318]

Hi, Bonnie.  Good to see you cruising again.  Your review was great.  My exceedingly boring (and never published) mental review is "I did absolutely nothing and had a fantastic time."

[HBE4]

2 hours ago, dude_hdt said:

HBE4,

We were in deck 7 Promenade for July 29th sailing.  Don't recall being bothered by noises...if there were any at all especially at night.  We weren't in the room much during the day time when there might have been band playing in Promenade.

Pizza was pretty good on that sailing.  Burger in Windjammer was one of the worst I've ever had...must want you to fork over $ for Johnny Rockets or something.

 

Thank you dude_hdt.  Good to know. They will probably not spend to much time in the cabin anyway, except on sea days when they may try to sleep in.

Happy to hear the pizza is still pretty good and sad to hear the hamburgers in the Windjammer are still aweful. And I don't think the JR burgers are worth the $10-$11. But I'm sure I can find something to eat. 😉

[HBE4]

2 hours ago, akysnetflix said:

Hi BonTexNY,

Great review, very informative. My question is regarding getting some soda (coke zero, my fav) and bottled water on the ship (seems like they only have Evian!!). What's the best way do get a 12-pack (or a 6-pack) of each onboard without being questioned / or losing them to security? I'm sailing on the Liberty on 12/2. Thank you very much!

 

According to FAQ on Royals website, you are allowed 12 bottles of non-alcoholic beverages per stateroom. But it has to be carry-on, not checked.

Of course, I've heard stories from others that they've been able to check a case of water with no problem at other ports.

I guess it's one of those rules that may not be universally enforced.

[SG65CB]

Started reading your pre- and post-cruise updates in my office during lunch. Fell asleep and missed a meeting. Looking forward to reading the rest tonight. Thank you! 

[HBE4]

2 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

I wonder if the pizza varies from ship to ship?

 

I believe the recipe has been changes and they are using better ingredients.  But it's being rolled out on a ship-by-ship basis. Bill-OH posted a pic of a sign they use to advertise the new & improved pizza.

[HBE4]

So there is a country band in the Star lounge every night? I’m looking forward to it but just wondering the variety of music. Are the songs of the Rascal Flatts, Zac Brown, Brooks and Dunn variety. Or the more traditional George Jones, Dolly Parton. Johnny Cash.

Or does it vary by night?

EDIT: Reading back my question, I sound like the guy from Blues Brothers movie. "We have both kinds of music: Country and Western". LOL. No offense.

Edited October 17, 2018 by HBE4

[Tree_skier]

Thanks for the great boring review Bonnie.  I'm going to try and do a boring live review of our Liberty cruise starting Oct 28th.  We'll see how that goes.

Edited October 17, 2018 by Tree_skier

[Ladysilver]

Thanks for your review! 

[wolfganghowell]

Hi Bonnie, hope all is well.  We cruised in early May and the pizza was fine but it was the same style.  Hopefully the new and improved version will be there for us when we go back in March.  It's funny how the Captain keeps telling everyone Oasis is coming but officially Royal won't confirm it.  I prefer Freedom class but I can understand wanting to try Oasis out of Galveston.  Ports won't change and might even be more limited.  Does Oasis class even go to Grand Cayman - I can't imagine tendering from it.  I had the same tutti salad issue on another ship awhile back about them not chopping the salad.  A headwaiter heard me discussing it at the table and took it back and had them chop it.  I think it's a laziness issue on the crew - some don't want to do it since it takes more time.  But they should absolutely chop it - especially if it's requested! I can't see them eliminating that - it's what makes the salad so good!  Thanks for the review.

[ssb]

As for new terminals and Oasis in Galveston :  

Qualification Design Bid Build Processes are in progress by PORT of Galveston for the following :

NEW Terminal # 3:
     At Pier 10 - A 190,000 SF+ cruise terminal building, passenger boarding bridges, surrounding/adjacent site work and utility and roadway capacity improvements with approximately 2000 parking spaces to be provided , and to be completed by June 2020 .

NEW Parking Garage for Terminals # 1 and # 2 :
   A multi-Story structure with at least 3,000 parking spaces, 
excluding the first (ground) level which must remain open for railroad and shuttle travel. The parking garage will be at and replace current cruise terminal Surface Lots A, B, and B West. and to be completed by December 2019.

  CITY has begun improvements for Harborside from I45 to Ferry Road , and for new new ingress egress and traffic lanes for terminals1&2 . 

Edited October 17, 2018 by ssb