Balcony or Bust

Liberty of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 17

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Verified Review
Liberty of the Seas

7 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 11, 2017

Ship: Liberty of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9526

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

The balcony and complimentary and very well organized kids camp was worth the trip alone. First, research the class of ships and the specific ship to see if it meets your expectations. We wanted a kid friendly ship that didn't feel like people were stacked on top of one another, and Liberty of the Seas didn't disappoint. The ability to walk onto a balcony was priceless and I'll never do without one! Bring your allotted two bottles of wine. Don't book expensive excursions through the ship. Buy through or wait until you get there. There is plenty to drink without buying the drink packages, unless you want to drink a ton of alcohol. I bought a 15 specialty coffee pass and used it, but the free coffee was decent and plentiful, so not sure I'd buy another pass. We ordered a few pina coladas and otherwise drank our wine -way cheaper than drink packages. The only thing I didn't like was all of the up-selling attempts. That was annoying. The food was inconsistent, and should be better in the MDR for what you pay. Two nights were really good, two nights were bad, and two nights were ehh. The one night we ate filets at chop grill, which costs extra, was awesome. We won't be multiple cruise people (maybe one more to Alaska), but it's worth doing every 5-10 years. 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Inconsistent food quality in MDR dinner, but always good for buffet once you find what you like. Service was consistently extremely slow during MDR dinner. I understand that it's part of the experience, but this was past the expected waiting times. I think maybe our team just had too many people to take care of.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Awesome! Always something to do!

Children's Programs

5 out of 5
Can't speak highly enough about the staff and programs. We have a 6 and 7 year old, and their group only consisted of kids from 6-8, so that was outstanding. Every time I went in there, they were doing something well organized vs free-for-all. My kids loved it and wanted to go every day. The security is great and we quickly trusted the staff. We've never let anyone else watch or be alone with our kids other than family until this cruise. Also, it's complimentary other than from 10pm-2am, which we never did. Great program for kids and the parents to get some time together.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
I've traveled the world and know not to be "that guy" -too boisterous or obnoxious (except with my wife). But I'm a people-person and was excited to meet our cabin steward. When I met him, I extended my hand and greeting him with a smile. I was disappointed when he spaghetti-handed me, never made eye contact, and began to speak so softly that I could not understand a word he was speaking. I asked him three times in our first conversation to please speak up -same voice volume with no attempt to speak louder. Cultural differences aside, he could have at least made an attempt to speak louder a little louder (I have selective hearing, but my ears are fine). Regardless, he did a good job through the week and we eventually had a brief conversation at normal volume. He wasn't the friendliest guy and just seemed to not enjoy his job.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

Awesome -reasearch where you're at compared to venues around the ship -you don't want to be met the casino or near the top deck. Our room was nice and quiet 99% of the time. Having a balcony feels like another room, and your own personal section ooutside (because you do). I'd never go without now.

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

3 out of 5

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

3 out of 5

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 17

4 Comments

marvelmates    7 years ago

I'm a huge worry wart too, but maybe we just lucked out

Patrick4    7 years ago

I just need the comfort I guess, I've seen ships leave folks on excursions booked off ship that run late.

marvelmates    7 years ago

I told my husband we will cruise every 5yrs, 5yrs comes up quick! We booked all 3 of our excursions off ship and we had great experiences, if you do your research and rely on reviews, you should be satisfied.

Patrick4    7 years ago

nice review. I pay extra for the excursions through the ship. I've been on several cruises where off ship booked excursions run late and the ship will leave you. Booking through the ship guarantees they wait on you 😀

Other reviews of this sailing