Tell me about Liberty of the Seas

[RandomUser123]

Might be looking to book a 9 night cruise on Liberty of the Seas in May out of Bayonne (Bermuda, Labadee Haiti and a couple DR stops). Never been on this ship or class.

 

How is the Solarium? From the pics I am feeling a bit underwhelmed by it especially after just being on Anthem. 

How are the pools in general?

Do the kids like the splashzone area (kind of looks like a version of what they have at CocoCay from the pics).

How is the food on this ship in WJ and MDR.

What is the nightly activity like?

Never been to Labadee, is the lunch provided similar to what you get at Coco Cay which I enjoyed. 

[PhillyFan33579]

This may not be an option for what you are looking at, but Liberty is the one Freedom class ship I wouldn’t sail. Unlike Freedom and Independence, Liberty has not been upgraded/amped yet and at least in my opinion it shows. 

[Tree_skier]

I've been on Liberty twice and loved her both times.  It is not a Quantum or Oasis class ship so doesn't have quite the same entertainment options but it does have a musical (Saturday Night Fever) and it has an ice rink (Quantum class doesn't) so you get an ice show just like you would on Oasis class.  What it doesn't have that is most noticeable is the Music Hall which is a great venue they book great music acts in.

 

I'm not a pool guy so I rarely hang out there and can't help there but I loved the two person water slide.  It as a hoot and they also have a Flowrider.  

 

The WJ and MDR food is as good as any other class of ship.

 

 

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, RandomUser123 said:

Might be looking to book a 9 night cruise on Liberty of the Seas in May out of Bayonne (Bermuda, Labadee Haiti and a couple DR stops). Never been on this ship or class.

 

How is the Solarium? From the pics I am feeling a bit underwhelmed by it especially after just being on Anthem. 

How are the pools in general?

Do the kids like the splashzone area (kind of looks like a version of what they have at CocoCay from the pics).

How is the food on this ship in WJ and MDR.

What is the nightly activity like?

Never been to Labadee, is the lunch provided similar to what you get at Coco Cay which I enjoyed. 

 

Was on Liberty this past October. Read my review here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2887375-sea-dog-is-live-with-life-on-liberty-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness-in-the-mdr-10-16/

 

Solarium is small but nice.

Pools are fine and so are the hot tubs

Kids have a splashzone

Food in the MDR was excellent

We did not go to many of the headliner shows but they do have a broadway musical Saturday Night Fever which is awesome

DOn't know about Labadee

[Liljo22]

Sailed the Liberty OTS back in June.  This ship was the one I was most excited to sail out of Galveston for the longest time.  I will say I was a little disappointed but still had a great cruise.  She is in need of a dry dock but is still clean. 

 

The solarium wasn't used a lot on our cruise but it is nice if you want to get away from the crowds at the main pools.  The main pools were no different than what you will find on most cruise ships. 

 

My kids are older so they didn't use the splashzone but it looked like there was a lot to do there.  They loved the water slides/flowrider.  The tube slide is one of the best slides on a cruise ship.  

 

Food was about what you expect.  Its going to be hit or miss.  I will say the desserts were all pretty bad in the MDR.  I don't like that they pretty much turn everything into a pudding.  

 

On my cruise the nightly activities were lightly attended.  We spent most of our time in the Star Lounge listening to the house band there but they didn't really have a good flow.  They would get the crowd going for a few songs and then want to talk for 5 minutes with everyone.  The Schooner Bar was a fun time with the piano player. We checked out Olive & Twist one night but didn't really enjoy it.  

 

Personally, I sailed her once and don't need to do it again but I did have a great cruise on her.  It just is not going to have all the bells and whistle you find on the newer ships.  

[Ozark_Kid]

Liberty has been amped, it has just been awhile.

Liberty of the Seas was last refurbished in 2016.  Like all Royal Caribbean ships, they receive upgrades about every 5 years.

During the drydock, Royal Caribbean added:

Perfect Storm water slides
Tidal Wave, first Boomerang style slide at sea
Splashaway Bay aqua park for kids
Sabor Modern Mexican
Giovanni's Table
R-Bar
26 new Panoramic Ocean View staterooms
Additional 53 staterooms throughout the ship
 

I believe Liberty is the only RC ship that has The Tidal Wave .  It is really neat.  

While cruising Allure we visited Labadee last month and enjoyed it. Labadee lunch buffet is simular to Cococay.  Here are some pics.

 

 

 

 

Although Liberty is smaller than the Oasis class ships it is still a great ship for families.   We have cruised it a couple times and we would not hesitate to cruise it again. 

[Ashland]

When is Liberty due for her next drydock? Since her last one was in 2016 she should be due for one. I'm hoping so as we sail on her Canada/NE in Oct 2023 out of Cape Liberty.

[LibertyBella]

i am booked on Liberty in June.  Yes, I know it is a smaller, older, ship, but this is only one of the multiple cruises I am taking next year.  

 

I selected this cruise because I liked the relaxing itinerary, I can drive to the port and park (no flights, yippee!), the price is great, warm weather destinations always appeal to me, even when it is hot here, and I do not have to spend too much time planning or packing. Bermuda also has some of my favorite beaches in the world.

 

Of course there are bigger, fancier ships, but for this cruise I just wanted a simpler and less crowded/hectic experience.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Ashland said:

When is Liberty due for her next drydock? Since her last one was in 2016 she should be due for one. I'm hoping so as we sail on her Canada/NE in Oct 2023 out of Cape Liberty.

She had her mandatory 5 year dry dock last year (nothing meaningful done during that) - don't expect anything before her next one in 2026.

[jcc1025]

We  sailed Liberty severl times out of Galveston and love the ship. No a larger class but still nice. Great Kid's club area and enjoyed the on board intertainment. We really liked the nightly Pud music and went there most nights. 

[Ashland]

I don't understand some above saying Liberty is a small class ship.

I couldn't disagree more. To us a small class is Radiance & Vision class.

[molsonschooner]

6 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I've been on Liberty twice and loved her both times.  It is not a Quantum or Oasis class ship so doesn't have quite the same entertainment options but it does have a musical (Saturday Night Fever) and it has an ice rink (Quantum class doesn't) so you get an ice show just like you would on Oasis class.  What it doesn't have that is most noticeable is the Music Hall which is a great venue they book great music acts in.

 

I'm not a pool guy so I rarely hang out there and can't help there but I loved the two person water slide.  It as a hoot and they also have a Flowrider.  

 

The WJ and MDR food is as good as any other class of ship.

 

 

The 2 person water slide(Tidal Wave) is awesome. There should be one of these on all Royal ships

[molsonschooner]

8 minutes ago, Ashland said:

I don't understand some above saying Liberty is a small class ship.

I couldn't disagree more. To us a small class is Radiance & Vision class.

Liberty is a great sized ship. Back in 2007 , she was the biggest cruise ship in the world

 

[George C]

We also sailed Liberty a couple of times , we also really like Ladabee much more developed than coco cay . Really enjoyed there ice show and play Saturday night fever.

[buffet24]

2 hours ago, molsonschooner said:

Liberty is a great sized ship

It can carry over 4000 passengers.... yeah, I would agree that is a pretty Big ship... 😉

[OSUZorba]

10 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

This may not be an option for what you are looking at, but Liberty is the one Freedom class ship I wouldn’t sail. Unlike Freedom and Independence, Liberty has not been upgraded/amped yet and at least in my opinion it shows. 

Really Liberty is half amped. She was the first to get slides and Splashaway Bay. Still has the original gym. She is a great ship.

Edited November 15, 2022 by OSUZorba

[OSUZorba]

3 hours ago, molsonschooner said:

The 2 person water slide(Tidal Wave) is awesome. There should be one of these on all Royal ships

They had a lot of issues with it when it was new and still have far more restrictions on it than they had originally planned. Probably why they never added another one. It is crazy fun though.

[OSUZorba]

11 hours ago, RandomUser123 said:

Might be looking to book a 9 night cruise on Liberty of the Seas in May out of Bayonne (Bermuda, Labadee Haiti and a couple DR stops). Never been on this ship or class.

 

How is the Solarium? From the pics I am feeling a bit underwhelmed by it especially after just being on Anthem. 

How are the pools in general?

Do the kids like the splashzone area (kind of looks like a version of what they have at CocoCay from the pics).

How is the food on this ship in WJ and MDR.

What is the nightly activity like?

Never been to Labadee, is the lunch provided similar to what you get at Coco Cay which I enjoyed. 

The Freedom class has the most pool space per passenger in the fleet. 3 large pools, plus a decent size Solarium pool. Lots of hot tubs. And Splashaway Bay is really nice, much better than the kids area on Odyssey. Not only do the kids like Splashaway, I really enjoy it too (my DD is too short for the big slides, so I ride the Splashaway ones all day with her).

 

I've always enjoyed the MDR and WJ food on Liberty, I'd say basically the same as Odyssey.

 

Nightly activity has been a little weak the last couple cruises. I think it is because I always do late dinner, which conflicts with all the game shows. And then inside of the even theater entertainment being before late dinner, they've now moved it to after dinner which makes it hard with a young kid. But they have a full compliment of bands/performers, in March they had the best coverband I've ever experienced at sea every night.

[3CatsInMA]

Word on the street is that there are no mushrooms on Liberty. ☹️

[LuCruise]

9 hours ago, OSUZorba said:

They had a lot of issues with it when it was new and still have far more restrictions on it than they had originally planned. Probably why they never added another one. It is crazy fun though.

What kind of restrictions?  Does it shut down in bad weather/winds?  Curious too why they didn't include the Tidal Wave slide on other ships.

[RandomUser123]

Thank you all for the responses. Most likely we will be booking it but will wait a week before doing it in case any black friday deals come up that drive the price a little more down. 

[Liljo22]

14 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

What kind of restrictions?  Does it shut down in bad weather/winds?  Curious too why they didn't include the Tidal Wave slide on other ships.

You need to have two people to ride and the weight of the pair need to be over a certain amount.  This means that smaller kids can't ride together and usually need a parent to ride with them.  Its a boomerang slide which means it drops down, goes up a wall and then down the exit path.  If there is not enough weight, it might not clear the dividing wall.  

[LuCruise]

17 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

You need to have two people to ride and the weight of the pair need to be over a certain amount.  This means that smaller kids can't ride together and usually need a parent to ride with them.  Its a boomerang slide which means it drops down, goes up a wall and then down the exit path.  If there is not enough weight, it might not clear the dividing wall.  

Makes sense.  Thanks for explaining.

[buffet24]

22 hours ago, RandomUser123 said:

Might be looking to book a 9 night cruise on Liberty of the Seas in May out of Bayonne

We're doing the B2B after yours... on the 4 night to Canada and then 5 night to Bermuda late part of May...  😁

[CastAStone]

Just got off. It has some visible wear but its not to the point where it's like "oh my gosh how awful!". Just know it won't look like the Wonder. Its also stylistically just a couldn't-decide-mix of the old look of cruise ships with all the gold and wood and tan and the new ones with all the bright colors and white and silver.

 

As to size, Liberty is not small, its roughly as large as Norwegian's largest ships and is significantly larger than every Carnival ship pre-Mardi Gras (2021). Oasis class is just such a ridiculous size outlier in cruising. 

 

Food in MDR and WJ was hit (ribs!) and miss (the "buffalo wings" were breaded [nope] thighs [OMG no] with no spice at all [🤦‍♂️]).

 

Entertainment was hit and miss as well, but the mix of entertainers will change a lot by your travel dates. The disco thing they do in the Royal Promanade I'd say is must do.

 

The Splashaway Bay was a huge huge hit with my kids, who did 5 hours there on a 3 day cruise. I'd say ideal for 4-9 years old?

 

Liberty had a dry dock with AMPing planned in 2021 and Covid stalled it; it hasn't been put back on the calendar.

 

I think on a 9 day cruise I'd prefer something with more dining options but at the same time I can't help but say the Liberty gets my recommendation overall.