Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas November 2014 Review

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Ship – The ship is gorgeous. I really like the central design of the promenade and other areas because it makes everything very accessible. The promenade was a really cool area that made you feel like you were in a little piece of city and included a separate pizza and patisserie sandwich shop. Pools and spas were clean and spas were heated nicely. They tend to be crowded on sea days, but on port days you can have them all to yourselves. My favorite bar was the champagne bar because of the comfortable seating and excellent staff.

Cabin – We had an interior room on the 10th floor, cabin 1656.  The room was a really good size with a sitting area and desk. The bed is two twins either separated or apart with comfortable linens. The bathroom is the typical small room with sink, toilet and shower, but the shower had a nice door closure instead of just a shower curtain. The room also came with a flat screen TV, safe and refrigerator. There was a curtain area separating the bed from the main cabin, which was really nice if someone wanted to sleep or dress in private. It was a one of the best interior rooms I have encountered. 

Service – The staff was very friendly and accommodating. They went a little extra to serve you and always were very personable and smiling. The wait staff was great, but the one exception was that they misplaced my mother’s card and insisted they did not. They had given it to another person at our table by accident. The assistant Maître d Roxana was amazing. I like the special Indian meals and she went above and beyond to make sure I had the special meals I wanted. Our cabin steward was very friendly and out of sight for the most part, which I thought was not a bad thing. I just left notes and everything was done. The bar staff was also great in the Champagne bar. They would read my mind and knew to get my order without me even asking.  

Food – The menu was either hit or miss. I would suggest getting what the waiter suggests. Some things were a little oily. I got the special Indian and it was really good, but not as good as my last Royal ship. The lido has the nice “hockey puck” burgers I love and a nice breakfast spread every morning.  The pizza and sandwich shops were also good for little snacks. I wish they had the soda machines like other ships so we could fill up our reusable soda cups. 

Casino – The casino is a really good size and can be a little smoky. They had a really good selection of slot machines and tables. I did not spend a lot of time there since my mother is allergic to smoke. 

Entertainment and Activities – This ship had great entertainment. There was a full character parade on the promenade deck. There was an amazing classical guitarist Voltek who played a mix of classic and new songs. He was incredible and a “must see” on any cruise. The show of Saturday Night Fever was really good, not exactly Broadway quality when it comes to sound, but very entertaining and good. They had an acrobatic ship that was a little quirky with the singing, but the stunts were awesome! They man actually held a woman by his teeth. Then there was the ice show, which was based on different operas, ballets and shows. It was great quality and a few spills here and there, but what do you expect with a rocking ship. It is definitely worth seeing. We did some trivia and even attended the art auction, which were both fun. 

Port Days – We stopped in Belize first, but opted not to get off the ship and take advantage of the empty ship and adult deck. The spas, pools and chairs were all open and so we got to relax in peace. Cozumel was the next stop. My mother and I opted to go to Xcaret with the cruise line excursion. We met inside the ship and then were lead out to the ferry, which was a 45 minute ride to the mainland. Once there we were met by the tour leader and lead to the bus for another 10-15 minute ride. Once there was tour leader gave us a tour of the park, which was a very efficient way to see things. On your own you might not have seen so much. Then we did the underground river, which my mother passed on. The water was freezing, but it was such a relaxing enjoyable experience and cooled you off from the heat. Afterwards we were brought to a restaurant. This is hit or miss, and the cost is about 20-30 for the whole meal with tip, so a little expensive for Mexico. You can always just leave the group at that point since then you get free time. We only had about an hour left so we went to see the butterfly garden. You need to go to the top portion to see all the butterflies. It was all really cool. Then we met the rest of the group and made our way back to the bus, ferry and ship. This excursion is a bit strenuous with over 6 miles of walking and the tour guide goes pretty fast so take that into account. 

Embarkation/Disembarkation – We got to the port at 1:30pm because were told to show up late because the ship was coming from Spain and customs would take longer than usual. The line was outside and wrapped around the whole building. We stood there and it took about 30 minutes for the line to start moving and then another 45 minutes to get through. The cruise director did hand out apology letters and water for everyone (more towards the entrance if you made it there). The staff inside tends to be a little rough around the edges, but once inside all is good. 

As for leaving the ship, we opted to let them deal with our luggage and our tags were set for 10:00AM, which worked for us since we needed to be there for our ride at 11:45AM. They were backed up again and we were told we could not leave till 11:30AM, but I talked to a Royal Caribbean staff member after time started to tick down and he said we could go at 10:30AM since we were in a rush. We got to take elevators and then got put in this line. It took us over an hour to get off the ship and had to deal with line jumpers and over all chaos. We just made our ride, which was a whole other issue.  

The ride was with Florida Express Bus, which had nothing to do with the cruise line. We booked a round trip from Sarasota to Ft. Lauderdale. We were left stranded in Sarasota with no pick up. They claimed they driver was there and he was not and we showed up 15 minutes prior to the timed pick up. Luckily, we found another service and were told this was typical of this company. 

On the way back we made sure to call dispatch and we were told if we were not there by 11:45AM (our designated time) they would not wait and would leave. We were stuck in customs and got out at 11:42AM and I ran to the shuttle, which I saw shutting doors and the driving going to leave without us. He had no idea how many people were supposed to be in the shuttle. My mother had no time to go to the bathroom and we were crammed into a van that was too small for the amount of people. There were not enough seat belts for everyone and luggage crammed up to the ceiling. We finally made a stop after 1.5 hours and were not allowed a bathroom break. My poor mother was in a panic along with some other passengers. 

It was the worst service ever! And very dangerous!

Conclusion – I really liked this ship and it had a lot to offer people. I even spoke with some families with kids and they really liked the program they offered. We had a fabulous time and really gave me another view compared to my last Royal Caribbean experience. I would definitely cruise again!