Another "Just to cruise" in the books.....

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 15

Helpful Votes: 442

Review summary

We've sailed this ship once before, 2 years ago, similar (though not the same) itinerary, so we knew pretty much what to expect. Some surprises, though not many, some pleasant, some not so much. We're avid cruisers (28 over the last 30 years) and are not loyal to any specific brand. We've cruised enough to have fairly decent loyalty points with most popular cruise lines, which, in my opinion, at least gives us a vantage point from which to be objective as well as fair. Here goes..... Embarkation was much as we expected, though unexpectedly as soon as we reached the 2nd level in the terminal, we immediately heard the boarding call for "platinum" and above cruisers, which included us. A short but uncomfortable wait on the open deck necessitated by a (according to what we heard...you know how shipboard rumors are!) software glitch resulted in a sweaty good time, but fortunately didn't last much over 20 minutes. Galveston handles their current ship volume fairly well, though if the rumors are true about an Oasis-class ship coming here, I shudder to think what embarkation-debarkation days will be like if you add another 2k people to the mix The first 2 days were sea days, which we enjoy most, having as our reason to cruise relaxation as opposed to crowds, lines, and the hustle usually associated with holidays. We frequented the Solarium adults-only area, and found it quiet and enjoyable. We happen to enjoy playing trivia, and the Schooner's staff were incredible, but Schooner's seems like an awfully small venue to hold trivia contests, people always seemed to be standing around with the number of people participating vs the number of available seats. I would suggest possibly a different venue for trivia games, especially on sea days. We normally chose an inside room, as claustrophobia associated therewith doesn't bother us. We've had balconies, and prefer the lower cost and more trips rather than spend 3 cruises worth on a suite. Ours was great, much as expected, plenty of storage, everything worked, and was expertly maintained and cared for. We can't say enough good things about our room steward, waiter and asst. waiter in the Boticelli Dining Room, all 3 were awesome. Our waiter (who will remain nameless) did remind us twice about a hopefully-favorable mention on our post-cruise review, which as I understand it is against RCCL rules, but he did great, and I would rather tell a small lie than get him in trouble. So what if they ask for a favorable mention, they earned it! Ship seems smaller than it is, though the Royal Promenade was crowded with the watch, T-shirt, liquor, and other displays in the center during peak times. The Hoof and Claw was a nice place to sit, have a cocktail, play cards, and people watch, as well as listen to different musicians and their offerings. We normally don't care for the bigger ships, but Liberty seems to do it right. I've heard others comment that their favorite RCCL ship classes are Radiance and Freedom, and in this I would have to concur. Not even slightly interested in Oasis class. The ships get bigger, but the ports don't. Entertainment was good, not the best we've seen, but on the weekly cruises it rarely is compared to longer cruises with more sea days. We enjoyed Landry, the comedian, both his g-rated show as well as his adults-only offering. We enjoyed the different musicians as well, and here would like to add a special comment. Unlike some cruise lines, RCCL doesn't apparently feel the need to test their guests' capacity for annoying noise endurance during live entertainment, and kept the volumes reasonable, and for that deserves enormous recognition! Our last cruise was on a competitor, and both of us were very uncomfortable with the excessive volume at the music venues. The food in the Windjammer was substandard to what we remember on our first Liberty cruise, though to be fair I felt the dining room fare was at least as good if not better. Pizza in Sorrento's was awesome! We didn't try any specialty dining on Liberty, but heard nothing but good things from our shipmates. Overall I'd give it a solid 4 stars. Service was as good as you could ask for, every crewperson you met had a smile and a kind word, reflecting normal RCCL standards. We only did one shore excursion, on Roatan (again, we've visited all 3 ports numerous times) and it was much as expected; not great, but good. It's not the cruise line's fault there weren't many fish to see. Our focus, at least for this trip, was on the cruise more so than the destinations. Debarkation was quick and easy, we do the self-assist and carry our own luggage. We live approximately 2 hours from Galveston, and were home by 10:30 am. Given the amount of traffic on relatively-small Galveston island with 2 large ships loading/unloading, it was remarkably painless. I would sail LIberty again in a heartbeat! Perfect? No, but what is? Enjoyable, relaxing, great for a carefree week to recharge before going back to work? Undoubtedly! Royal Caribbean does it right with LIberty of the Seas, I wish all our fellow cruise fanatics enjoy their week of fantasy as much as we did ours!

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

Cozumel, Mexico

Disembarkation

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