Pre-cruise we stayed at the Marriott Marina. We had a balcony room overlooking the port. There was some excitement the night before when one of the boats parked in the marina burst into flames. FTF had some advantages. We had an hour wait to board because the prior sailing was Western. But when we did get on at noon we went straight to our Empress deck balcony cabin. Nice to be able to unpack, change, and not haul our suitcases around. Our steward fixed us up with a foam pad and light blanket. The water we ordered was waiting. There was also a pile of paper-one piece for every deposit we had made into our onboard account in all the months prior to the cruise! Thought it odd they didn't simply have one invoice. We cleaned out the mini bar and used it for our water-the fridge barely cooled them down. Not a complaint just an observation. Our cabin was very clean and comfy. Only had one complaint with the neighbors, they'd turn on their balcony light then leave for the night! It was so odd and annoying-like they expected someone would break in from the ocean. We love the back pool area-that's where we spent most of our days onboard.
The food was excellent. Yes breakfast in the lido buffet was the same every morning. However there were over 70 items on offer. For those that complain-were you eating all 70 items EVERY morning? We ate in the MDR every night except the two "formal" night-we have decided to forgo that prommy madness. The last formal night we ate in the steak house which was just wonderful. The bar staff seemed to be a bit disorganized (strange recipes abounded throughout the ship). There was little to no alcohol in the frozen drinks. I gave up on them on the second day. You could buy a "float" of rum for them, but that pushed the cost to more than the iced umbrella drinks-which I stuck to.
Enjoyed our ports-HMC, yummy upscale picnic and lovely beach, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Grand Turk. Halloween on Grand Turk hung out at Jack's Shack with Topher. The shows at night were fun. They ranged from really well done, to just above a high school production. Dancers in Rainbow Brite tutus and wigs anyone? The house band was awesome. Very relaxing and enjoyable cruise overall! We love the Liberty.