Our first cruise without the mouse - Liberty of the Seas - August 28, 2016 - COMPLETED

[ukintheus]

thanks for this!!
Is the buffet quality equivalent to say Souplantation on land or a middle of the road Vegas buffet?
What would the MDR quality be equal to-- like cheesecake factory, Chili's?

We were very unimpressed with the buffet in general, so I'd put that about on par with a Golden Corral maybe? MDR is a little harder to say because 1) we only ate there twice and 2) the food was better the second night than the first. I hate to rate it on our limited experience, but the menu wasn't as interesting to us. On DCL we struggle to pick something because so much is good, or sounds good. Our experience on RCI was that there was only really one or two things that even sounded good to us. The food wasn't bad, it was just the entire experience was a lot different. If I had to rate it, I would say the quality of the MDL food is one step below DCL.

 

[CesD]

We were very unimpressed with the buffet in general, so I'd put that about on par with a Golden Corral maybe? MDR is a little harder to say because 1) we only ate there twice and 2) the food was better the second night than the first. I hate to rate it on our limited experience, but the menu wasn't as interesting to us. On DCL we struggle to pick something because so much is good, or sounds good. Our experience on RCI was that there was only really one or two things that even sounded good to us. The food wasn't bad, it was just the entire experience was a lot different. If I had to rate it, I would say the quality of the MDL food is one step below DCL.

were u able to try the promanade cafe and pizza place?

 

[ukintheus]

were u able to try the promanade cafe and pizza place?

Yes. Promenade Cafe had sandwiches similar to Goofys which were good to grab a quick bite. They also had pastries in the morning and some dessert type things once the sandwiches came out. We tried once slice of Pizza from Sorrentos and thought it was fine and again it hit the spot. They also had salads and sandwiches in Sorrentos but we didn't try them.

 

[wide awake]

Is it easy to find soda any time of day? We are used to DCL deck 9 and were sorely disappointed in a Holland America cruise we took three years ago. Even though we had a soda package it was impossible to get a soda early in the morning. We had to wait until the bars opened, or for room service. Really annoying. We've booked Allure for spring break and hoping for a better experience.
Also, are the ships kept up? The HA ship was dirty...dirty windows, carpets scuffed and patched, just overall dingy and this was for an Alaska itinerary which is one of HA's signature cruises. Loved the library on HA but would never cruise with them again unless a great deal and itinerary.

 

[CesD]

Also, are the ships kept up? The HA ship was dirty...dirty windows, carpets scuffed and patched, just overall dingy

Liberty just came from a big facelift so it is probably (hopefully) in good shape

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I enjoyed your last past. Interesting about my time dining. Is that something you can opt in and out of each night or do you have to make a choice for the whole cruise? For example if the next night you wanted to go to the early main dining can you do this? I was confused reading on their website it says my time dining I thought like NCL just turn up when you want but it appears you have to book.

Wow I was beyond impressed with the ice rink! How cool ! Literally!

The pub is nice touch I like the look of that part of the ship so that the shops and bars appear to be in a street. Reminds me of those fabulous Vegas hotels like Ceasers.

Dinner looks nice drooling at the desserts!

 

[msjprincess]

I enjoyed your last past. Interesting about my time dining. Is that something you can opt in and out of each night or do you have to make a choice for the whole cruise? For example if the next night you wanted to go to the early main dining can you do this? I was confused reading on their website it says my time dining I thought like NCL just turn up when you want but it appears you have to book.

Wow I was beyond impressed with the ice rink! How cool ! Literally!

The pub is nice touch I like the look of that part of the ship so that the shops and bars appear to be in a street. Reminds me of those fabulous Vegas hotels like Ceasers.

Dinner looks nice drooling at the desserts!

It's one or the other for the entire cruise you can't do it on a day by day basis.

You don't have to make a reservation with MTD. You can just show up and wait for the next available table. On our last cruise we had MTD and I didn't make any reservations. We were seated immediately most nights. The only time we had to wait was the second formal night. We walked up at peak dinner time and we're a party of 5 so there was a bit of a wait. For our next cruise I made a reservation online for formal night. The rest of the time I plan on winging it.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

It's one or the other for the entire cruise you can't do it on a day by day basis.

You don't have to make a reservation with MTD. You can just show up and wait for the next available table. On our last cruise we had MTD and I didn't make any reservations. We were seated immediately most nights. The only time we had to wait was the second formal night. We walked up at peak dinner time and we're a party of 5 so there was a bit of a wait. For our next cruise I made a reservation online for formal night. The rest of the time I plan on winging it.

Thank you for that explanation! That is useful to know. So you go for Any time dining and you can't go into the main restaurants that do the first and second seating at all? But you select others instead?

 

[msjprincess]

Thank you for that explanation! That is useful to know. So you go for Any time dining and you can't go into the main restaurants that do the first and second seating at all? But you select others instead?

My Time Dining is in the main dining room, but it's in a dedicated area. For example, the Main Dining Room on Freedom Class ships is 3 floors high. One floor is for My Time Dining and the other two are for traditional early and late dining times.

It's different than NCL's Freetime Dining. MTD is just a way of being able to eat in the MDR whenever you choose instead of having to eat at a set time every night.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

My Time Dining is in the main dining room, but it's in a dedicated area. For example, the Main Dining Room on Freedom Class ships is 3 floors high. One floor is for My Time Dining and the other two are for traditional early and late dining times.

It's different than NCL's Freetime Dining. MTD is just a way of being able to eat in the MDR whenever you choose instead of having to eat at a set time every night.

Oh I get it now! What a great explanation! I like this idea. It can be annoying to have a set time. Thank you so much!

 

[msjprincess]

Oh I get it now! What a great explanation! I like this idea. It can be annoying to have a set time. Thank you so much!

Glad I could help. It can get confusing and RCCL website leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Glad I could help. It can get confusing and RCCL website leaves a lot to be desired.

Indeed. It really doesn't do them justice does! I am sure we would have cruised with them by now but the website left me so frustrated! It's a shame because they seem good.

 

[CesD]

for our upcoming cruise, i chose MTD. i made reservations online but i chose a later time for port days since i figured we would want time to rest. we'll see how this works

 

[ukintheus]

Is it easy to find soda any time of day? We are used to DCL deck 9 and were sorely disappointed in a Holland America cruise we took three years ago. Even though we had a soda package it was impossible to get a soda early in the morning. We had to wait until the bars opened, or for room service. Really annoying. We've booked Allure for spring break and hoping for a better experience.
Also, are the ships kept up? The HA ship was dirty...dirty windows, carpets scuffed and patched, just overall dingy and this was for an Alaska itinerary which is one of HA's signature cruises. Loved the library on HA but would never cruise with them again unless a great deal and itinerary.

You can get soda from the Promenade Cafe at any time as it is open 24 hours. It is a pity they didn't install the Freestyle machines. I did miss the soda station on DCL because I don't drink soda but I do like to put some of the Minute Maid Light into my water from time to time. It wasn't a deal breaker though. Next time I would just take some of those squeeze add-ins. They ship was in great shape, as mentioned it went through a dry dock earlier this year. I think LOS was in better shape than the Wonder was when we sailed on her earlier in the year and the staterooms were in better shape than the Magic even post-dry dock.

 

[Canadian Disney Mom]

I was on the same sailing! I keep looking at your pictures to see if I can find myself in them. My own version of "Where's Waldo" I have sailed on the sister ships Freedom & Independence and love the Freedom class ships. I really enjoyed all of the stuff they added since the latest drydock. Hopefully they add them to the others next time they go to drydock.

I have been on 6 RCL cruises so far (3 on this class) and have 3 more booked (2 on this class). We always do MTD as we love the flexibility. One of our upcoming cruises is on the Anthem and I was disappointed to find out yesterday that they are doing away with Dynamic Dining on the Anthem

Can't wait to see the rest of your report!!

 

[ukintheus]

I was on the same sailing! I keep looking at your pictures to see if I can find myself in them. My own version of "Where's Waldo" I have sailed on the sister ships Freedom & Independence and love the Freedom class ships. I really enjoyed all of the stuff they added since the latest drydock. Hopefully they add them to the others next time they go to drydock.

I have been on 6 RCL cruises so far (3 on this class) and have 3 more booked (2 on this class). We always do MTD as we love the flexibility. One of our upcoming cruises is on the Anthem and I was disappointed to find out yesterday that they are doing away with Dynamic Dining on the Anthem

Can't wait to see the rest of your report!!

I recognize your name from CC! Thanks for following along. I saw several people with DCL lanyards on the ship, and met another family on an excursion that had previously sailed DCL and were trying RCI for the first time too.

 

[ukintheus]

Monday - August 29th – At sea day

We both woke up early as we had had an early night and we both slept really well. The cabin was quiet and the bed was comfy. The AC also appeared to be working really well, and the temperature of the room had been really nice. The only strange thing (to us) was that they made announcements over the PA system in the hallways up until about 10:30 pm, giving info in various things going on around the ship. At 7 am we decided to go and get some coffee from Promenade Café on deck 4.



This Morgan is outside the wine bar, Vintages. It was one of the places I was looking forward to going to when I was doing my research. Spoiler alert - we never even walked through the door! We didn't drink wine except with dinner this cruise, so we just never made it in there.



After grabbing a couple of lattes from deck 4 we went to Windjammer to get some breakfast. It was fairly quiet with a few people around but not at all busy.

I've got both plates included in this photo. We both got basically the same thing. A fried egg from the omlette station, biscuit and gravy and a sausage. Scott got mushrooms and I got grilled tomatoes. The biscuits were better than DCL who basically take hockey pucks and throw them on the buffet I think. Now that I am looking at the photo, I also got tater tots and they were really good!



We wandered over to the Solarium and found a couple of comfy loungers to plonk onto for a while.



We sat there until about 9:45 am and then decided to go back to our cabin. We went and checked out a couple of pool towels along the way. This was different to DCL in that you have to check towels in and out using your sea pass card. Supposedly there is a $25 per towel charge if you don’t check them back in. So with $50 worth of towels in hand (ha ha) we decided a mimosa would be a good idea. We visited Hugh in Sky Bar for these two cuties.



Walid, our stateroom host, met us outside and we chatted to him for a little while. It seemed that all the crew we spoke to were on 7 month contracts and got 2-3 months off depending on their preference as to how long to go without being paid. Most do 2 months. We sat on the balcony and enjoyed the loungers and the extra space.





The water had turned to the beautiful blue color that showed that we were heading south and the earlier clouds from the morning had pretty much gone.



We sat reading and listened to the sound of the waves and watching little pieces of orange seaweed float by. For this part of the trip our verandah had shade in the morning and it was a great place to chill and read and just relax in general.



Before long we had to get ready and leave for the Meet & Mingle organized through Cruise Critic. It was in the Olive or Twist bar and started at 11 am. There were good views from up there.



The meet and mingle was very crowded, which surprised me. It’s organized through RCI and they had someone there giving us a bit of insider information and we learned that the Tidal Wave was going to be closed after day 3, although I didn't think I would ride it as I hate drops of any kind. The main reason I signed up to attend the Meet & Mingle is that someone had kindly offered to organize a cabin crawl and we got the information for the cabins that were going to be available. The crawl was going to start at 2 pm so we wandered to the back of the ship with the intention of going to see the water slides and Flowrider. As we got there the skies opened so we gave up on that and wandered down to deck 4 again to escape the weather.

For some reason everyone has a photo of the dog, so here's ours.







Looking up from deck 4 elevators.



While we were down there we decided to get a couple of sandwiches at Promenade Cafe. These hit the spot but they didn't seem as interesting as the ones offered at Goofys on DCL. They were pretty plain Jane, and also the selection didn't change at all during the week.



After sitting there for about 30 minutes and doing some people watching we gave it another go up on deck and the sun was out. FlowRider was busy and it looked like it would be really hard. I thought Scott might be interested in trying it, but he wasn't bothered.



This kid did well considering he had about a bucket of water shot up his nose a couple of times.





We wandered around the back of Flowrider and found a good place to watch people on the Tidal Wave.





Not people we know and we never went on it - I knew I wouldn't.







Walking further around you came to where the water slides dump out.





Also back in this area is the rock climbing wall and the basketball court.



After taking a good look around at the back of the ship and exploring some more we ended up back up at Oliver or Twist.



After all that activity it seemed only fair that we try Windjammer for some dessert. It was absolutely packed and we had a really hard time finding a seat but eventually found one close to the entrance. Bread pudding, which was good and some type of mousse dessert that had no flavor at all. It reminded me of the desserts on the buffet on DCL - very pretty but not worth the calories!



The buffet was fast becoming our least favorite place so far, between the crowds and the food just not being all that great. We went back to the cabin as we had an hour to kill before the cabin crawl began and I took this photo of the Promenade area from the elevators at the front of the ship.



Here's another random photo for you. The other thing that we found really different (<- read "strange") is some of the artwork around the ship. We are not into art at all and so there was probably some real significance that we were missing, but here's an example of a picture on the wall on the staircase.

 

[Canadian Disney Mom]

I recognize your name from CC! Thanks for following along. I saw several people with DCL lanyards on the ship, and met another family on an excursion that had previously sailed DCL and were trying RCI for the first time too.

I lucked out and was able to get the same name for both sites

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Sounds like a nice day at sea! Cool the the Morgan. There is quite a waiting list for those babies new. I hear up to 7 years.

How cool about a cabin crawl I love that idea I am beyond nosey!

Interesting about the taking a refundable fee for the towels. A lot of European hotels do this.

Those water slides look interesting!

The ship seems to have a lot of activities like the climbling wall etc.

The meet and mingle sounds a nice idea.

 

[Canadian Disney Mom]

Interesting about the taking a refundable fee for the towels. A lot of European hotels do this.

There is not actually a refundable fee for the towels. What the do is scan your seapass card when you take out a towel. They can it again when you bring it back. Supposedly if you do not bring a towel back at the end of the cruise, they will charge you $25. I have never seem it happen and do not know how they could do it logistically, especially if you have a cash account.

I always thought the scanners were to freak you out so you would THINK you would get charged