Liberty of the Seas to Canada from NY/NJ - is there a better choice?

[Emerson31]

We have not cruised in over 10 years , we've been on 5 cruises in the past all RC and all out of Bayonne.  We were looking to take a Sept 2024 cruise to Canada in a suite on  Liberty of the Seas.  But reading the reviews I have serious concerns.  I read how dated, rusty, worn the ship is not to mention the underwhelming food.  Are there any other good choices you would recommend, out of NJ or Manhattan going up to Canada?  What cruise lines - I dont want cheap but I do want value.  Thanks for any thoughts.  

[George C]

Welcome to cruise critics, we sailed Liberty a couple of times but not recently, this sounds like a great cruise , I prefer the oasis class but doubt they cruise Canada, I would definitely book it. 

[shipgeeks]

Vision of the Seas, from Baltimore, does a nice 9-night C/NE cruise several times each season.

[TeeRick]

Actually quite a few cruise lines sail Canada/NE from NYC (MSC, Silversea, Carnival, Princess, NCL) - just do a search or perhaps contact a TA.

 

That being said, Liberty is older but most would say she is in very good shape.  

[Crazy planning mom]

The NCL Breakaway does this itinerary also.

[DonnaK]

We did this itinerary on Liberty in August 2023.  It was wonderful.  Don't listen to the complainers,   We stayed in one of the newer panoramic OV cabins on deck 12.  highly recommend.

[mets123]

1 hour ago, shipgeeks said:

Vision of the Seas, from Baltimore, does a nice 9-night C/NE cruise several times each season.

Vision is much older than Liberty.

[F27TW]

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, Emerson31 said:

I dont want cheap but I do want value.

Unlikely you will get that with RCI in a suite.

[Another_Critic]

2 hours ago, DonnaK said:

We did this itinerary on Liberty in August 2023.  It was wonderful.  Don't listen to the complainers,   We stayed in one of the newer panoramic OV cabins on deck 12.  highly recommend.

Did the same itinerary in Sept. 2023.  We did miss Saint John so we could avoid a hurricane heading up the coast.  Headed back to Cape Liberty early.  We had a port day in Cape Liberty.  😄

[MJSailors]

Princess does some nice NE-Canada  cruises out of Red Hook Brklyn.

Some itineraries include Quebec.

We have been on the NCL Breakaway twice. I do not recommend that ship. Fool me once…,fool me twice… -just sayin’ 

MJ🙎🏻‍♀️

[Tazzybear14]

I am booked on the Sept 26th sailing.  I amnot concerned about the reviews.  We are on a cruise ship.  That is all I need:)  Good luck, hope to see you on our cruise!

[pyrateslife4me84]

We loved Liberty last summer. 
 

People love to complain on the internet. In my experience, miserable people are miserable on vacation. Happy people are happy on vacation. 

[Scottdalfonso]

We are doing Liberty to Bermuda in July, but in August we are trying Princess to Canada\New England. The ship looks really nice, and pretty new- the Enchanted Princess. Maybe check into them...

[CT Sean]

A little late response, but my wife and I were on Liberty last summer for a Bermuda cruise after a nearly 10 year cruise break and never once though the ship seemed old and poorly maintained.  The only food that disappointed me was when I ordered something in the main dining room that didn't really "work" on a mass production scale. It didn't bother me enough to remember what the meal was.

 

The only thing that was genuinely terrible - an embarrassment to whoever made them - was the creme brulee dessert. but the servers replaced it with something that could be scaled to 3000 and it was very good (apple cobbler maybe?)

[WisconsinFan]

We are doing this one in October. We have been on Liberty many times, but not since 2017. We aren't worried about some "rust" as they do work hard to maintain all the ships and sea air is extremely hard on all vessels. If you are now just thinking of booking this for the fall, good luck on "value" as we booked over a year ago and have only watched everything go up as the ship has filled up. If you go in expecting to be disappointed, I am sure you will be.

[DaniDanielle]

On 3/14/2024 at 12:16 PM, MJSailors said:

Princess does some nice NE-Canada  cruises out of Red Hook Brklyn.

Some itineraries include Quebec.

We have been on the NCL Breakaway twice. I do not recommend that ship. Fool me once…,fool me twice… -just sayin’ 

MJ🙎🏻‍♀️

The Breakaway was the worst cruise we have taken.  We went on her when she was brand new and  we were not impressed.  We even got a good casino price plus the free casino drinks and still disliked it. It was the only ti e we could not wait to get off a ship!

[Tree_skier]

15 hours ago, Tazzybear14 said:

I am booked on the Sept 26th sailing.  I amnot concerned about the reviews.  We are on a cruise ship.  That is all I need:)  Good luck, hope to see you on our cruise!

I'm booked on this sailing as well. I've been on Liberty of the Seas twice before and love her.  Don't worry about the reviews.  While she's not the youngest girl in the fleet she is still in fine shape.  

 

We'll see you onboard.

🙂

 

Edited Wednesday at 05:45 PM by Tree_skier
Punctuation.

[cmsjab]

We sailed the NE/Canada itinerary Sept 2023 on Liberty. We booked value (interior guarantee) and had a fabulous time. We did not find the ship to be in disrepair or dirty. I would not hesitate to book this ship again. 

[The Fun Researcher]

Royal really keeps up their ships, better than other lines we've sailed IMO.  Don't dwell on the nay-sayers.  The Liberty is a wonderful ship.

 

Yes, the permanent furniture in the rooms (closets, drawers, desktop) are the older style beige/peach color but it's not decrepit.  We'll be on the Liberty to Bermuda next month and CAN'T WAIT!

 

[Bunny12av]

We did this cruise in September last year.  Ports were great. 9 days.  Ship was clean. Food was fair to good.  Buffet was the worse.  It was over crowded, with limited selections, that ran out constantly.  No seats.  People tended to spend hours there, despite them asking to please leave so that others could have a table.  If you can overlook this, it is worth it for the ports.  We personally, would not sail her again, if it was longer than 5 days.  

Edited Wednesday at 08:05 PM by Bunny12av

[Karma5]

Liberty is in good shape. I was on her last year and will be again this year...........and I have been on a lot of ships...............

[leaveitallbehind]

On 3/14/2024 at 10:02 AM, mets123 said:

Vision is much older than Liberty.

I realize I am commenting from an old post, but just making some comparisons. Liberty has been in service since 2007 (17 years) and Vision since 1998 (26 years).  Vision is currently the fourth oldest RCCL ship.  IMO Liberty offers more in terms of venues and ship design with the Royal Promenade, etc.  Vision is a much smaller ship as well.  JMO but my preference would be Liberty, but it has been many years since we've sailed on her so I have no recent experience to draw from.

Edited Thursday at 12:48 PM by leaveitallbehind

[Jimbo]

On 3/14/2024 at 12:16 PM, MJSailors said:

Princess does some nice NE-Canada  cruises out of Red Hook Brklyn.

Some itineraries include Quebec.

We have been on the NCL Breakaway twice. I do not recommend that ship. Fool me once…,fool me twice… -just sayin’ 

MJ🙎🏻‍♀️

I would add Vision to that list also for not recommended. Fool me once ,  but Never fool me again.

Edited Thursday at 01:14 PM by Jimbo