Review: Liberty of the Seas 8/25/07 sailing

[mikensuenfl]

This was our 25th cruise with RCCL and the first time on one of the BIG ships. First, let me tell you that the food was the worst we have had on any of our cruises (other than Costa). Second, the dining room service was the worst ever (again, other than Costa). That being said, we enjoyed this cruise more than almost every other cruise we have taken. That should give you all a clue about how great this ship and its crew are.

 

The Captain - the best we have ever sailed with. Captain Charles is very visible on the ship (he attends the parties). He is vocal (he makes announcements). And he is not only pleasant to talk to, but has a wonderful sense of humor. Very very approachable. You will love sailing with him.

 

The Cruise Director - We can't figure out why we have never sailed with Ken Rush before. We've had some great Cruise Directors in the past, but Ken is really really great. And his staff speak very highly of him. In fact, we had RCCL employees and staff from other ships taking a vacation cruise and they had nothing but praise for him. You will love having Ken as your Cruise Director no matter on which ship you are fortunate enough to find him.

 

Diamond/Diamond Plus Lounge Concierge - Kristina Staric is a gem. She is pleasant, helpful and friendly. Her assistant for this trip was Roger and he was great too. She has continental breakfast items every day and, after our experience at breakfast the first day, we ate all but one breakfast with her. The room is terrific, all windows with a great view, and the company was wonderful. If you take this cruise and can do so, don't miss meeting Kristina.

 

Loyalty Ambassador - Janey (pronounced Janee - don't forget the e) is not only pleasant to deal with, but very knowledgeable. We booked three more cruises with her and signed up for the NewCruise deal (I think that's what they are calling it - we've all been calling it the Ghost Cruise). You put down a $100 per person non-refundable deposit for a future cruise and it guarantees you the onboard credit, even though you don't pick a cruise at that time. Since we do a lot of our booking from home (either online with RCCL or on the phone with them), we now are going to have the onboard credit. This concept is great and we commend RCCL for implementing it. So, if you get on the Liberty, make sure to go see Janey. You'll love her.

 

To be continued in part 2.

[mikensuenfl]

The shows - The shows were very well done, the singers about the best we have heard on any of the ships (and we've heard some really good singers in the past). The costumes and settings were superb, the lighting and music excellent. The aerialists unbelievable. It was like being in Las Vegas. In short, don't miss the shows if you do get to sail on the Liberty.

 

The ice show - FANTASTIC. We went twice. DO NOT MISS THIS.

 

Bar staff - some of the nicest we have ever experienced. Michael in the dining room was wonderful. Li Ling was the only one we would order from at the shows. We have never had bad service from one of the bar staff and this trip was no different and only got better and better.

 

The Promenade - the shops are lovely, the staff very friendly and helpful. But best of all are the parades. DO NOT MISS. Bright, colorful and very very entertaining. They have a bridge/stage that comes down from the "roof" with musicians and aeralists. GREAT.

 

In summary, despite cold food (the cole slaw was the warmest item at lunch one day) and poor service in the dining room, we loved this trip and hope to take it again sometime in the near future. Cabin was lovely, cabin attendant terrific. Definitely a ship to sail on if you want to have a wonderful time. GET OUT THERE!

[Langley Cruisers]

In summary, despite cold food...

 

You know, that would be my one and only complaint, too. Some of my items in the Dining Room were cold. I know it must be from trying to serve almost 2000 people at once - some hot items will suffer. It was a small complaint for me and in no way ruined my cruise, but I was a little disappointed.

 

Thanks for the review and glad you had a good time! We were aboard just the week before and loved her.

 

~Karen

[mikensuenfl]

For the first time we had cool or cold food. At lunch, the hamburgers were so bad we switched to pasta, the only hot food we had the whole trip, except at the dinner with the Captain. Service and food were great that meal. At dinner, though, our waiter and assistant were very nice, but not efficient. The first night the assistant dropped some food down my back. The second night, a knife in my husband's lap. Twice we never got to have dessert or coffee. But as you said, our trip was not ruined because the food, while an integral part of the cruise, was not the most important part to us.

[funfamilyfun]

We loved our recent cruise on the mariner...but our hot food was only hot once or twice and our cold food wasn't cold either. I agree that they are serving a lot of people, but they need to figure out how to do it and keep the food at the appropriate temperatures.imo

[mikensuenfl]

I agree they need to figure something out, but this is the first time in 25 cruises with RCCL that we have had a problem. We've been on the Majesty (10-15 times), the Enchantment (4-5), Jewel, Explorer, Liberty, Monarch (2), Song of America (no longer in service) and always had good, hot meals and excellent service. I think the Liberty is still getting its sea legs, so to speak.

[Tralynn222]

Thanks for the review. What itinerary did you sail? We're going on the Western in a few weeks and are soo psyched! Could you give us some info as to what excursions you did and your experiences. Thanks!

[EggDropErin]

Glad you enjoyed your trip. Sorry to hear about your dining ordeal. We never had that problem on Freedom. The one time I would say the food was cold was the first day onboard in the Windjammer. Other than that, everything improved from there.

[mikensuenfl]

Traci,we Did The Western .trip.. In Labadee We Went Ashore And Swam And Ate.. Grand Cayman We Went To Stingray City With A Independent Tour Op. Great Time.. This Was Our Second Time In Two Years With Them.. Hurt My Leg At M,ville In Mobay... Had To Stay On Ship In Cozumel.. If You Want To Just Go To A Nice Beach,paradise Beach Is Very Nice In Coz.... Short Cab Ride.. Once Again,we Had A Great Time,overall..... Mike

[nellydean]

Thanks for the review. What itinerary did you sail? We're going on the Western in a few weeks and are soo psyched! Could you give us some info as to what excursions you did and your experiences. Thanks!

 

Hi, we did the liberty western on july 28th and did these excursions:

 

Jamaica: Due to the negativity of posters about this place we opted for a ship's tour to Negril Beach and Margaritaville. It was a long journey (just under and hour and a half) and the bar was ok, nothing special, a bit quiet, but the beach itslf and sea were beautiful - however, the water trampoline was not working, which was a disappointment. After lunch we were taken to the shops in Negril but only had about 20 mins, which was not enough time. If we went to MoBay again, we would most definitely go into town under our own steam, as we feel we missed out on the local scene.

 

Grand Cayman: RCI's land and sea adventure, which was a trip to the turtle farm (interesting but far too long and no time to shop), followed by a 5-min

dash around the rum cake shop, and then a pit-stop in Hell (literally, just enough time to buy and post 2 postcards and run over to see the jagged rocks, it was ridiculous), after which we went to Stingray City sandbar, which was very exciting and beautiful, but be warned that the stingrays are big and can be a bit intimidating - our son got scratched by one and was in tears and a lot of pain (none of which is on the $30 video we bought from the boat!)

 

Cozumel - for us, this was our most interesting stop and I would suggest that instead of going on a tour to a specialist place you just get a taxi into town like we did and enjoy the colourful atmosphere. Yes, they do all try to persuade you to come into their shops, but a polite no thank you suffices, plus the tequila is to die for! Try one of the several tequilleria along the main promenade - we found a great shop/cafe called Viva Mexico, with very friendly staff who dressed all the customers in giant sombreros and sang songs

 

Have a greta time, we did :)

[Mr Veendam06]

Hi Mike remember me Mr Veendam .Weel i off feb.16/08 on a 11 day S Caribbean cruise from NYC NO Flying here LOl !! How"s your leg doing ? Also how was the Majesty cruise .

Mr Veendam