Liberty of the Seas Review
Neither as good nor as bad as you will hear....
Rating by category
Additional details
A Christmas family cruise for the 12 of us; spanning ages from 2 to 78! Cruisers included several with experience as well as first timers. All in all, a genuinely great experience, but expectations must be tempered as there are enough annoyances and "cracks in the fine china" to ruin your time aboard....IF you let them!
Embarkation:
Galveston is a convenient departure port for many from the central states, as seen by the overwhelming number of Texans, et.al, aboard. The area around the cruise ship terminal is industrial, but the terminal is functional and handles crowds impressively. TIP: Google maps routes you down Harborside towards the terminal, but that will result in at least a 45 min wait to turn left into the unloading area...go on down to 25th street to enter directly into the area. Once in, unloading was smooth. If you have a lot of bags, use a porter; it's worth the $10 or so in tips. We used the Port parking...was awesome. Reserved online, easy access and they don't charge if you have Disabled Veteran Texas plates. The security lines moved quickly (another TIP: our 78 year old used a walker, but had we put her in a wheelchair, they would have expedited us like high level C&A members), as did the registration...online check-in was VERY valuable and made the actual check-in a piece of cake. Minus the traffic issue, we were aboard in a little more than half hour. Cabins were ready by 1 pm and most of our bags were already delivered!
Cabin Review
Superior Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony
Clean cabin (we had 5 in a row for the whole family party). Balcony well worth it, although they changed out balcony furniture at the end of our cruise and the new looks even better! TV worked fine mostly, although occasionally, the software for room service, etc., would be overloaded. TIP: bring a plain extension cord....there's plenty of electrical outlets, but they are only in one spot away from the bed(s). Bathroom was fine...and our attendant worked hard on our behalf. The safe initially didn't work, but maintenance was prompt and fixed it.
Port Reviews
Galveston
Living in San Antonio, we drove to and from Galveston; the port area is very industrial, but the one year old terminal is very good. Port parking is highly recommended!