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LIVE from Liberty of the Seas May 16 - 19: Ask Us YOUR Questions!


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Steve, I'll get the ball rolling: I heard that the antipasto displays in Sorrento's were moved to the back of the pizzeria to make way for a storefront bar. Please tell me whether the delicious mozzarella and olives I snacked on every afternoon on Freedom are still there!

 

Happy cruising,

Melissa

 

Liberty's Sorrentos has both items.

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Hi Steve, My wife and I will be taking our first ever cruise on Liberty this Saturday. We don't really know what to expect but have alot of questions. My wife would like to know if they provide irons on the ship? Thank you in advance...and tell us lots about our ship. Thank you.

 

 

Hey Nu, jump over to our Inaugural Roll Call thread, we'd love to have you join us at the Meet and Mingle. You picked a great ship for your first cruise.

 

I'm not Steve but I can tell you that there are NO IRONS allowed in the staterooms, RCCL does not provide them or allow them. They do offer decent prices on pressing though. Looking forward to meeting you Saturday!

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Does the Casino have poker tables? If so, what games do they spread.

 

When I say poker, I am referring to games which are played against other players, and not the house.

 

Thanks!

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Hi,

London calling (well, Birmingham actually!), very excited about our trip on Liberty to the Western Caribbean this summer, we booked through RCI UK and pre-paid our gratuities, but can you tell me exactly who and what these cover and if we are liable for any more, as I am a bit confused. When we pre-paid for the Queen Mary 2 we just gave tips to people who did an extra service for us, including cabin stewards and bar staff. Just wondered if it was the same here?

 

Also, can you tell me what kind of weather we can expect in Miami, the Keys and Caribbean late July/early August. Will the downpours be fast and furious but over quickly, and with enough sunshine to sit out on our ship balcony?

 

Finally, what time can we REALLY expect to embark? We have only been on 2 cruises so far, one Transatlantic one Med, and each time we have arrived fairly late (the Med one cast anchor as soon as we got on!) and did not have time to relax and have a good look around before dinner, and we'd like to do that this time. RCI say not before 2pm, but if we turned up around 11am-12 noon would that be okay? Or would there be loads of people there already?

 

Many thanks.:)

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Hey Steve - Thanks for the information, but most of all HAVE FUN! See if you can find out what night will be lobster night on the Eastern route. I'm sailing on May 26 and don't want to miss the dining room on lobster night. Thanks, Richard

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Cruise Critic's Senior Contributor Steve Faber just arrived in Miami (and we mean that literally -- we just got off the phone with him and he just got off the plane!); he'll be aboard Liberty for the next three days and attending its long-awaited christening ceremony on May 18.

 

Got a question for Steve about the ship? Start posting! After he boards the ship this evening, he'll be posting answers and "blogging" his first impressions right here -- and will continue to do so through Saturday. Although Steve is unable to answer questions about specific cabins, pretty much everything else is fair game (let's hope he tries out the FlowRider AND sends photographs).

 

Steve, I'll get the ball rolling: I heard that the antipasto displays in Sorrento's were moved to the back of the pizzeria to make way for a storefront bar. Please tell me whether the delicious mozzarella and olives I snacked on every afternoon on Freedom are still there!

 

Happy cruising,

Melissa

Intro & @ Melissa

 

It’s wondrous what a decent night’s sleep will do for the weary traveler. Everything happens so fast on a two-night cruise to nowhere, you feel you have to jam pack every moment to get it all in, but a brief breather puts a lot in perspective.

 

First of all I continue to marvel at how simple this ship is to navigate. Anyone who has experienced a cruise on a modern liner will feel right at home with its conventional architecture – two public decks stretching stem-to-stern with main restaurant at one end, main showroom at the other, and the lion’s share of public rooms in between. To be sure, the Royal Promenade looks different but, like the grand atriums of past ships, it forms a focal point helping to orient strolling guests. (Liberty still has a Centrum, but it is a downsized adjunct to the Royal Promenade. Although on this sailing there are mostly invited guests, all of whom presumably are experienced cruise travelers, I was amazed at how few folks I saw with that disoriented, bewildered look you often see on the faces of newly boarded passengers. I also have to give a tip of the hat to Royal Caribbean for having what I have always considered the best signage on the seas. “You Are Here” charts and Lucite models are ubiquitous, augmented by nifty touchscreen interactive deck maps. (You touch the place you want to go from a menu and the monitor shows you where it is and how to get there from your present position!)

 

Now, as far as navigation, there is what I consider a “quirk” factor. I am used to room number conventions that put even numbered cabins on one side of the ship and odd on the other. You get used to looking at one cabin on either side of the stair/elevator landing and you know which side has your cabin. On Liberty, the convention is that odds and evens apply to left and right sides of each of the hallways that run down both sides of the ship, but the starting and ending numbers differ from side to side. Confusing at first.

 

There is one aspect of the ship, however, which, for me, is a major quibble, and that is the “smoke factor,” especially along the Royal Promenade. To be fair, our departure from Miami was rainy, so the entire sailaway celebration was moved to the Royal Promenade, and coupled with the scheduled “Pirates Parade” produced larger than normal crowds. The Royal Promenade is the locale for a number of the ship’s lounges and casual “snackeries.” And it is lovely the way the space has been carved up so that you have a number of smaller, more intimate rooms, rather than large lounges. However, small, enclosed spaces are the devil to ventilate, and even if there are smoking and nonsmoking sections, the entire space reeks. In the case of the Hoof and Claw (Liberty’s English Pub) there was no nonsmoking section whatsoever, and when I asked the bartender at Vintages (Wine Bar) where the demarcation between sections was he gestured to indicate that about 2/3 of the room was in the smoking section.

 

Now, as long as we are on the topic of the Royal Promenade, I’ll tackle Melissa’s question: Yes, the displays at Sorrento’s still feature antipasti and pastries right up front, though, having not sailed Freedom of the Seas, I can’t compare the size or extent of those displays.

 

And thanks to all CC Members who have filled in some of the blanks. (I’m learning so much…who knew about Henries).

 

And to Laura, miss you too…and thanks for your posts. I’m working on the remaining blanks, so far no matter how many times I ask, the Penguins refuse to disclose there true identities. But I’m not giving up!

 

As for those of you with questions about staterooms, I’m going to do some photography today and email to Melissa…I’ll let her determine where to post them…

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My only question is if Petersen Fernandez from India is a waiter in the dining room now as he was on the explorer of the seas and we were just told that he was moving to the Liberty when he came back from his vacation as we missed him!!!! Steve, if you find out for us that would be wonderful!!! It does seem that some explorer crew members switched to the Liberty before she came to Bayonne.

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cruising on Liberty 4/08 and could not get accomodation I wanted....tell me Deck 3 (inside hall behind the "on-air club"), will DH, 3 kids and I be truly inconvenienced by the location. It looks close to elevator by the art gallery???? Give me your thoughts!

Can't wait to cruise Liberty! Have fun!

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What are the differances between Freedom and Liberty?

 

Who is the Captain, CD, Hotel Director and maitr'd?

 

What is the colour theme of the staterooms?

 

The Captain is Hermann Zinni

Hotel Director is Raimond Gschaider

Maitre d' is Peter Henezi

 

I think the other questions have been answered by others.

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Hi!

I have a few questions:

 

1. We sailed Freedom last year and LOVED it. I'm interested to know what's different or improved on Liberty.

 

2. We were on last year's member cruise and there were lots of classes (art projects sponsored by Crayola, cooking demonstrations with recipe cards, etc.) have those been added to regular itinerary?

 

3. How is the motion at the very front of the ship? Our cabin windows face front and I'm concerned about feeling too much motion or vibration up there.

 

4. Heard they considered adding a photography studio so families could make appointments for formal portraits instead of waiting on lines and then being surrounded by crowds -- did they in fact do that?

 

5. There were only two open skating sessions for the kids to ice skate on Freedom -- will Liberty have more time available?

 

Have a great time on your trip!!

Wish we were there!!

Thanks!

 

Okay, JNJSMOM, here goes...

 

1. Others have covered most of the primary differences, but I want to stress again that the main difference between Libert & Freedom is in programing rather than physical structure, with expanded adventure, wellness and wedding offerings taking the lead.

 

2. Yes, Crayola is again playing a major role in providing materials and programing for all ages in partnership with RCI, and this style of corporate sponsored enrichment will continue.

 

3. Liberty is a very smooth-riding ship, though nobody can guarantee a completely motion-free ride on any ship encountering extreme sea conditions. As for taking a forward cabin, the only time you can expect significant noise or vibration is when the ship is using thrusters to maneuver into or away from the pier, or from the process of anchoring.

 

4. Though there is no photo studio per se, there is one change made on Liberty to one of the photo alcoves used for posing subjects. Slightly enlarged, it also features an automated backdrop handling machine which can quickly change from one background to another at the touch of a button.

 

5. I'm still waiting for an answer on free skating sessions...

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Is there a special meaning for the penguins outside the fitness center windows?

 

Sources high up in the Fitness Department when confronted with your question stated unequivocally: "If you find out the answer, please let us know."

 

So, neither the Fitness Folks nor the penguins are forthcoming, but here's my take on it. Remember that the ship's theme is "Illusion or Reality," and that much of the art is in the form of a juxtaposition of real and simulated images. Therefore, a tableau of arctic penuins sunning themselves on the deck of a ship in the tropics fits in with the theme.

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Steve -

 

3 people in a telephone booth is crowded, but 5,000 in Dodger Stadium seems deserted. How well does Liberty of the Seas handle its 3600+ passengers? At the pools? At the Buffet? At the big show theater?

 

Thanks!

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Intro & @ Melissa

 

There is one aspect of the ship, however, which, for me, is a major quibble, and that is the “smoke factor,” especially along the Royal Promenade. To be fair, our departure from Miami was rainy, so the entire sailaway celebration was moved to the Royal Promenade, and coupled with the scheduled “Pirates Parade” produced larger than normal crowds. The Royal Promenade is the locale for a number of the ship’s lounges and casual “snackeries.” And it is lovely the way the space has been carved up so that you have a number of smaller, more intimate rooms, rather than large lounges. However, small, enclosed spaces are the devil to ventilate, and even if there are smoking and nonsmoking sections, the entire space reeks. In the case of the Hoof and Claw (Liberty’s English Pub) there was no nonsmoking section whatsoever, and when I asked the bartender at Vintages (Wine Bar) where the demarcation between sections was he gestured to indicate that about 2/3 of the room was in the smoking section.

 

Hi Steve

Thanks for responding to my question. It'll be interesting to see what sort of stories and theories form about the penguins!

The "smoke factor" in the Royal Promenade concerns me a little. Even though that whole area is enclosed, smoking is allowed? Is this just in bar areas? Is smoking allowed in Sorrento's? So basically if we don't want to walk through a cloud of smoke, we should avoid Promenade during busy times of day? Maybe morning would be best time to venture to the Royal Promenade. Do you think the smoking factor will affect those staying in a Promenade room?

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I would like to book dinner at Chops, for one night of our cruise. However I do not want to book it on the night that lobster will be served in the dinning room:confused: . Can you find out on the 7 day cruise what meals are served on what nights ? Much thanks and enjoy:)

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Capt Zini has been on Liberty a long time now, helping with her construction (whatever they do over there). When does he get to leave and go on vacation. It's my understanding that Capt Charles Teige will then master Liberty OTS.

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Just curious, haven't seen too many pictures of the Royal Family Suite on either Freedom or Liberty. Just wondering what it looks like and if it is worth the extra price. We are thinking of taking 5-6 adult children and keeping the adjoining room next to it for us.

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Hi Steve

Thanks for responding to my question. It'll be interesting to see what sort of stories and theories form about the penguins!

The "smoke factor" in the Royal Promenade concerns me a little. Even though that whole area is enclosed, smoking is allowed? Is this just in bar areas? Is smoking allowed in Sorrento's? So basically if we don't want to walk through a cloud of smoke, we should avoid Promenade during busy times of day? Maybe morning would be best time to venture to the Royal Promenade. Do you think the smoking factor will affect those staying in a Promenade room?

 

In reference to the smoking - I never noticed it on Freedom. I can't imagine the rules changed that much regarding smoking since I went on the Freedom last October. The only place I ever smelled smoke was in the Casino and the Nightclub. Otherwise, I never noticed it. I think you'll be fine.

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Does anyone know if any of the networks will be carrying the christening ceremony aboard Liberty like they did Freedom?:)

 

Not too likely. Remember that the national (and global) interest in Freedom of the Seas was that it took the crown as the world's largest. Liberty is one of TWO largest cruise ships...that makes it more like dog bites man rather than man bites dog.

 

However, I am told that, tentatively, WFOR TV4, the Miami CBS affiliate will be covering locally for South Florida, where it still is big news since Liberty's deployment will add 4000+ berths to Miami's cruise capacity. But remember that Royal Caribbean's naming ceremonies are far less spectacular than on some other lines, with all the speeches taking place onboard in the main showroom, and the actual bottle drop covered only on closed circuit video.

 

Nonetheless, I'll be there to cover it.

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1. Is there a movie theater on board? How often are showtimes?

 

2. What are the hours the pools and hot tubs are open?

 

Thanks!

Jen

 

Hi Jen:

 

1. There is no movie theater.

 

2. The pools and hot tubs are open 24/7.

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Was Ken Rush the Cruise Director on Freedom last year?

 

Is the Flowrider working on Liberty? Last year on the second sailing of Freedom the Flowrider was not working most of the time.

 

Thanks,

Patti

 

The FlowRider is working just fine -- a little too well according to some wipeouts!

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Does the Casino have poker tables? If so, what games do they spread.

 

When I say poker, I am referring to games which are played against other players, and not the house.

 

Thanks!

 

Hi Zax,

 

I was surprised to discover, that despite the skyrocketing popularity of poker, Liberty of the Seas has no actual player vs. player poker tables (e.g., Texas Hold 'Em).

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