Great Caribbean Cruise

Item: Liberty of the Seas
Rating: 4.6
Author: Blandone

Liberty of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Blandone

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 45

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 20, 2017

Ship: Liberty of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 7398

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

Started well but ended poorly due to a hurricane and the staff's poor preparation for this :(. The ship was beautiful and the ports of call were spectacular and the staff were VERY friendly but were not giving out the same information about options for disembarking or remaining on the ship. We had about $1,000.00 extra expenses due to the hurricane and alternative plans.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Embarkation was quick, efficient, and organized.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

The food was plentiful but not always the tastiest we've ever had. Don't misunderstand, the food was good but not great.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

We enjoyed the flow rider, water slides, upper deck pools, and the fitness center. Everything was well maintained and clean.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

The comedians were excellent and very entertaining as were the acrobatic shows, and the musicals.

Children's Programs

Didn't bring kids along

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Everyone, without exception, from the stewards to the waiters, and captain were very positive upbeat and welcoming.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Everything was beautiful well maintained and very clean...first rate

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Size of the cabin was more than adequate for two, the beds were super comfortable but the shower was a little on the small side. The balcony was amazing.

Ship tip

The ship staff had to deal with a hurricane that kept the ship from docking and the disembarkment was very lengthy and disorganized but in all fairness to them they hadn't had to deal with something like this before. The staff were reporting conflicting procedures and policy. Many passengers had to visit the medical facilities due to running out of medicines and were forced to pay an office visit cost of $80, which should have been waived in our opinion. Also, many were forced to either remain on the ship with an unknown docking time and place or disembark and pay expensive flight and hotel costs that they should have received a voucher for.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

4 out of 5

No excursions due to embarking point

Thumbs Up 0

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

5 out of 5

Beautiful island, enjoyed snorkeling and interacting with monkeys and sloths.

Thumbs Up 5

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

5 out of 5

Visiting the Mayan ruins was incredible and the resort for dining and fresh water swimming was spectacular

Thumbs Up 1

Cozumel, Mexico

4 out of 5

Shopping was good but snorkeling was a disappointment because the water conditions weren't conducive to snorkeling around the best and advertised reefs. The staff did the best they could but was still disappointed

Thumbs Up 3

Disembarkation

2 out of 5

Hectic, lengthy, and disorganized. Some passengers had no choice but to disembark because of running low on medicines that the ship didn't have, worry for family, kids, pets, and jobs, and the need to buy expensive hotel and flights to get home. Royal Caribbean SHOULD HAVE GIVEN VOICHERS FOR THIS!!!!!

8 Comments

DBinVA 7 years ago

From the review, I have to assume that some people took only enough meds to cover them during the planned cruise length. You really should take some extra any time you're traveling. There are are lots of reasons your schedule can be disrupted--flight delays, etc. A fee of $80 seems reasonable for an office visit. It's not the cruise line's fault if you're not prepared.

Thumbs Up 0

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mebobh 7 years ago

I don't understand why someone would think Royal Caribbean should have given vouchers for hotel and flight. What happened wasn't in their control. They already had a huge expense of missing the next passengers and nearly doubling the cruise time with no extra charge.

Thumbs Up 0

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1grissom 7 years ago

We always cruise in Jan and Feb. we live in the coast and it is always a concern.

Thumbs Up 0

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plantlady095718 7 years ago

Trip insurance is worth it!!

Thumbs Up 0

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dawgtrainer 7 years ago

Ironically the only additional expenses we had (there were 7 of us) due to the extended cruise was the extra tips we gave our staff and the 50% (day by day) beverages packages we elected to purchase which came out to a whopping total of $200 (again there was 7 of us). No complaints here they did a great job with a tough situation!!

Thumbs Up 4

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mattward 7 years ago

Here is a tip: Next time don't book a cruise during hurricane season. If so you get what you get.

Thumbs Up 3

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1stcruise773 7 years ago

so sorry to hear this. just please keep in minds that some of the issues with this storm was it went from a tropical depression to a category 4 hurricane in 30 hours. it's strengthened really fast. but am glad your safe.

Thumbs Up 1

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akinhome 7 years ago

in defense of the " staff's poor prep"...we were literally told about it the TUESDAY before the FRIDAY that it hit so you were already on your nice vacation while everyone else had about 3 days to figure life out...and that doesn't even count the next TWO times it made landfall in the same area...

Thumbs Up 6

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