Let me start with a little history. I'm in my 30s AND As a former travel agent of 5 years I've done a fair amount of traveling, although this was only my 5th cruise. In my own personal quest of finding the best of the best I've sailed on the Golden and Grand Princess, the Carnival Glory, and the Disney Magic. I rarely try the same thing twice. If I do, then it's gotta be good-I mean really good. That being said, although I had an enjoyable cruise I will not be sailing on the Liberty of the Seas a second time.
We flew into Miami too early to board the ship so we decided to rent a car at Budget near the Miami airport and drop it off near the cruise port. It's a good thing we had plenty of time to burn because this was a complete fiasco. Especially finding the drop location by the port. Returning the car was the most difficult part as there isn't really a place to pull off of the busy street. You don't even know if your at the right spot as there isn't much signage indicating this was Budget. The employees didn't speak very good english and the return process took a while. We were in line with several other people who were as frustrated as we were. Since none of the car rental agencies provide a shuttle to the ship you're forced to rent a cab which were scarce and took a while to arrive. The final blow is that the cab costs about 20.00 even though the car companies tell you it's 8.00-10.00. Once we arrived at the pier everything went fairly smooth and despite the long lines it was quite organized. We were onboard within 45 minutes. The ship was truly magnificent and upon boarding, it took my breath away. It was everything I had hoped for and more elegant than any of the other ships I'd sailed on. Our cabin, though nicely appointed was quite a bit smaller than any I'd ever stayed in.
We chose this particular ship after much research as well as reading several reviews. We are foodies and it was important to us to be on a ship with an excellent dining experience. The food on this ship was not great and I don't know why it's rated so well. It was our least favorite of all the Lines we've sailed with. The buffet was average and the same everyday. For such a large ship there weren't many options. Aside from the buffet there was Sorrento's which served pizza and antipasta and was much better than the buffet. The dining room was the best and still didn't blow me away. I can't think of one meal that I'd love to have again. We didn't pay to eat at the other restaurants so I can't comment on those. It was a huge disappointment that there wasn't any poolside food-not even burgers. Nor were there any beverage bars near the pool aside from the bars. There was however a self serve icecream machine. The room service menu was lacking to say the least. The entertainment was 50/50. Let me say that these people just don't know how to throw a party. Every attempt was cheesy and lacking. The comedians, juggler and ice skaters were great but the "award winning shows" were typical and nothing spectacular. The main singers had ear piercing voices that came across as shouting a lot of the time. The theatre however was beautiful. The most entertainment came from the cruise director Alan Brooks who was awesome and very funny.