RCCL-Liberty of Seas trip report

Happy100

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Background- We are a family of 3. My son is 12 and we have only sailed Disney as a family. In addition I took a Carnival cruise with my friends a year ago. This was our first RCCL cruise. My sister and my brother in law sailed with us and this was their first RCCL cruise as well. We cruised LOS over Spring Break April 2-9. The ship was full but I don't think it was a sold out cruise.


Embarkation- Galveston cruise terminal doesn't give you the impression you have started your vacation. It's appearance I think is worse then an airport terminal. We arrived around 11:30. There were long lines which probably took most passengers at least an hour to an hour and half. But thankfully we were in a junior suite so we sailed through. Totally worth the cost difference of a junior suite for this perk.

Windjammer-The embarkation day lunch was just ok. We didn't see any fresh shrimp or crab. Throughout the cruise we were disappointed with the food in here and the chaos of the place which may be due to the set up of it. Breakfast terrible-eggs very watery. I ate the pastries and fruit but my son and husband ate waffles and french toast which they said was the best tasting breakfast option they found. We did eat lunch here a few times. Jade was the tastiest but still just ok. Hamburgers were disgusting. We never ate dinner here. All in all I would describe the Windjammer as edible.

Johnny Rockets-We did eat lunch here once and we did like it. The hamburgers, fries and onions rings were good. The milkshakes were great. If you have time and want a burger pay the up charge.

MDR-We did my time dining but after reading reviews it became clear to me that you need to book reservations in advance. So I did online for us for every night at 6:30. We didn't dine in the MDR till the second night and we did really like our waitstaff so we requested them every night at 6:30 but were told they could only accommodate us at 6. Which was fine. The wait staff was great and the food here was good. Sometimes you would eat a standout dish but all in all the food is comparable to other cruises lines dinner food. What we didn't like was the matre'd (if that is what you call the head waiter above the table waiters) stopped by our table to try to sell us the ship tour and lunch activity on two separate nights. The last night we saw him, he came by and asked if we booked the tour, we said no and then he said ok and left, apparently we are only important if we book it . Seriously they shouldn't be coming by to sell us anything while we are eating dinner. Very tacky and sleazy!

Chops-We did the first night done right here and it was awful. The only great thing was the steak. The sides were fine and the service atrocious. The restaurant was not full at all. Pretty empty in my opinion and we only had one waiter. Surprising since in the MDR you have two. I would have expected at least 2 if not 3. We never saw the matre'd not sure there was one. Our waiter appeared to be overwhelmed yet again restaurant not full at all, and it appeared he hated to be there. Seriously I am not exaggerating. I was pretty shocked. Due to the poor service we never went back to Chops or tried the other upcharge's for dinner. The MDR staff was far superior and the food comparable.

Junior Suite-The room was spacious and we did have an aft one so our balcony was big. We loved the spaciousness of the balcony but didn't appreciate the structure but we didn't let it bother us either. The room needs to be remodeling but it was cleaned daily. The mattress is very very hard. I had called several months in advance and requested the mattress topper (egg crate topper) but it wasn't on our bed, so we immediately called and requested one. I strongly advise to check your mattress as soon as you get in your room and if you think it is too firm immediately request the topper. They have a limited number. With out the topper our vacation would have been negatively impacted for sure. We all spent more time in our room then any other cruise we had taken before so the balcony was great.

Daytime entertainment(inside ship)-This ship really didn't have anything and I did look. We did pay the $30/person charge to do the cupcake decorating and we had a great time. However this shouldn't cost anything or it should be a nominal fee ($5-$10). I do feel it is overpriced.

Evening entertainment-Saturday Night Fever was good but not great. My 12 year old did attend and I didn't feel anything was inappropriate for him but the story line was just confusing. Since I had seen the movie I understood what was going on but younger kids wouldn't necessarily and I am not sure a lot of teens would either. It is an old movie and to appeal to younger generations they need to pick another story. The Up in the Air was just ok for us. I was really looking forward to this show due to past reviewers and I found it ok and again confusing. It seemed like a bunch of different acrobatic acts mashed together with different sets. The common theme was the stuff in the air. Sorry not developed well at all. Encore was great do not miss this. Loved it. The juggler and band were also very good.
There were a few trivia games we attended an enjoyed but they hold them in a small space and there are usually a decent amount of people attending them. Very cramped.

Casino-I am not a gambler but I really feel the slot games are very out dated. Up date the gaming options please. Very Very smokey and it did affect other areas of the ship; promenade, photos, art.
BTW...the art area is not nicely done or put together it was apparently squeezed in. Very disappointing.

Top Deck activities- Main pool- although the pool itself wasn't as crowded, every chair around it was. Get there early if you want a chair and if you don't stay with your chair be prepared to come back to a chair with someone else in it. So many empty chairs and towels more then I have seen on any of my other cruises and this was at 8:30 am. I did see RCCL staff walking around and removing towels from chairs. Poolside band the first day was great the others it was a Bahamian island music band it was good the first day but seriously after 3 days of this band, their music sounded the same. Should have changed it up. The mini jumbo tron was really never on during the day except for about an hour the last sea day. It would have been nice to have movies, trivia or something on while lounging.
Mini Golf-fun but very windy if you attempt while cruising, so do it while in port if possible.
Slides-I didn't do them but my husband and son did. My husband thought they were fun water slides. My son didn't because they were very slow for him. He is skinny and small for 12 so he tried them once and never went on them again. My son and hubby did enjoyed ping pong.
Flowrider-closed so much but fun if open.
RockWall-closed so much but again fun when open.

Teen club-My son was in the teen club and did two activities the first two days. He didn't like them. Not many kids and very boring. The options in the club were limited and really not appealing to my son. It seems the activities are reminiscent of what you would get at a summer camp minus the fun water activities. Pretty lackluster and not really creative. My son spent a lot of time in the room watching tv. This was very disappointing to me because my son is very outgoing and was never in the room on our Disney cruises. Royals kids activities may appeal to other kids but definitely not my son at least at this age.

Bars-Way too many in my book, not enough quick serve eateries especially on the top deck. Their focus is selling.

Excursions-We did book 2 excursions through the ship and they were both fun. Belize tendering is very time consuming. The time it takes to tender is 30mins this doesn't include your wait time. A lot of wasted time waiting.

Ports of call-Roatan, Belize, Cozumel. We enjoyed them all.

Summary-Cruise was good but not great. We will not cruise out of Galveston anytime soon. We just didn't feel like we were going on vacation when in Galveston. All in all we enjoyed our vacation but we weren't thrilled. We only take one big trip a year since both my husband and I work and this didn't leave us fulfilled at all. No wow moments pretty lackluster. Out of 10, I would give it a 6.

If I were to compare it to our Disney cruises there would be no comparison. Disney is just much better for our family. My husband said you pay 1/3 to 1/2 the price of Disney but get 1/2 the experience. Just not worth our vacation time. In addition you trade strollers and young kids for wheelchairs and canes.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask.
 
Thanks for the trip report. I was thinking about RCCL after 11 Disney Cruise trips. Its a LOT cheaper, but we are naturally worried about the quality.
Do you remember why they closed the wave rider and the rock climbing wall? Was it because they were in a port? My husband is looking forward to climbing the wall when everyone is off the ship. He doesn't do excursions. I hope it's not closed. Also, is there a movie theater? Thanks
 
I have done both DCL and RCCL and several others.
Disney of course is the best, but also cost the most. I have to limit our cruises with them.
Second, we do really like RCCL. I didn't like sailing out of Galveston either, but that was the city and getting there, not RCCL.
We didn't have much of a wait there and had chairs to sit it, so it was fine for us.
I loved the ship.....the set up of it.
The entertainment, not as good as Disney, but much better than some others we have been on.
I agree with not enough day time activities.
I though the food was good.....cruise line food. Pretty much all the same.
We watched the Flo Rider for hours and hours. I think it is closed in port, didn't see it closed any other time.

I have one Disney cruise booked and 2 RCCL for next year.
Besides the price, I find Disney doesn't change up the itineraries enough. I love all the new ports we have been to on RCCL.
 
Thanks for the report! I am on the fence with Royal, just when I think it's a for sure yes then I second guess it and cancel :)
I hear what you are saying, sometimes cheaper isn't always better when it comes to family vacations.
Thanks again, it's nice hearing the comparisons.
 


Thank you for your report! We have been on the Disney Wonder and the Fantasy (more than once). On the flip side, we have done Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, and Oasis of the Seas multiple times. I found better service for our family in the MDR on Royal.. The Disney servers, while nice, were always bringing out an "excellence" chart to ensure we understood how important it was for us to rate them high. Also if you did not feel like ordering an entree, the servers felt it was their duty to bring out EVERYTHING in order to find something to entice you to eat. I felt uncomfortable with their servers. However we have been lucky on Royal that the servers are genuine, personable, efficient and very good at making your family feel special. On Disney our family was jammed into a space that was not wheelchair friendly. On Royal we were given spacious oval or round tables with a place that was easy in and out for a wheelchair. So although I am a lifelong Disney fan... I have been wooed away from DCL by the RCCL experience. Soooo much more bang for the buck! Lovely accommodations, delicious food, and interesting activities.
 
Thanks for the trip report. I was thinking about RCCL after 11 Disney Cruise trips. Its a LOT cheaper, but we are naturally worried about the quality.
Do you remember why they closed the wave rider and the rock climbing wall? Was it because they were in a port? My husband is looking forward to climbing the wall when everyone is off the ship. He doesn't do excursions. I hope it's not closed. Also, is there a movie theater? Thanks

Generally the Flow Rider is open from 9am-5pm on Seadays and will alternate between stand-up and boogie board. On port days it usually doesn't open until 1-2pm but doesn't stay open any later. On non-Oasis ships the rockwalls always have pretty poor hours, generally just a couple hours a day. I'd say hours of operation is one of the biggest, glaring differences between Disney and RCL. However, RCL's ships have a lot more things to be open/closed than DCL. IIRC, the slides actually stayed open until 6 or 7pm. I think part of the problem is they only have ~8-10 crew members working all of the sports deck, and they do private lessons on the Flow Rider, Teens events and they even have to work some of the late night dance parties.
 
Thanks for the trip report. I was thinking about RCCL after 11 Disney Cruise trips. Its a LOT cheaper, but we are naturally worried about the quality.
Do you remember why they closed the wave rider and the rock climbing wall? Was it because they were in a port? My husband is looking forward to climbing the wall when everyone is off the ship. He doesn't do excursions. I hope it's not closed. Also, is there a movie theater? Thanks

Yes in port the slides, rock wall,flow rider were closed. Even when not in port they weren't open as much as they should have been. no movie theatre on liberty.
 


Generally the Flow Rider is open from 9am-5pm on Seadays and will alternate between stand-up and boogie board. On port days it usually doesn't open until 1-2pm but doesn't stay open any later. On non-Oasis ships the rockwalls always have pretty poor hours, generally just a couple hours a day. I'd say hours of operation is one of the biggest, glaring differences between Disney and RCL. However, RCL's ships have a lot more things to be open/closed than DCL. IIRC, the slides actually stayed open until 6 or 7pm. I think part of the problem is they only have ~8-10 crew members working all of the sports deck, and they do private lessons on the Flow Rider, Teens events and they even have to work some of the late night dance parties.

We did notice the floor rider open the most but as you said they weren't always open to the general public, private Lessons which were very costly took up a lot of the morning hours. However my husband loved watching the flow rider wipe outs. Yes low staffing levels is exactly why I noticed all these outdoor activities for kids closed so much more then I would have expected.
 

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