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BACKGROUND: I am an American living in The Netherlands. We took a family vacation total 7 people. 4 Adults, 3 children (20, 17 and 12). The family has never been out of Europe so I knew this would be a real treat. My boyfriend and I had cruised previously and also did the Freedom of the Seas last year. It just worked out this year did Liberty. This was my 6th cruise...2nd with RCI.
We started our journey in Amsterdam via Charles de Gaulle…never will I go to that airport again. We would have missed our flight if we did not get in the front of the line. But ok enough of that. We landed in Miami, headed straight to Aventura to shop. We stayed at the Marriott for the night. We took a taxi to the port at noon on Saturday. $50.00 for 7 people and bags. Hotel was great 100,00 per night.
Let me preface this with the ship was sold out….we were told oversold so I do not know what that means…..the statistics were 63% were international cruisers and the other 37% were American and we had 474 children on board. Not once did we encounter massive lines for food, ice cream, shows, etc. So I will not complain about that in my review. We were always able to find a chair at the pool, sometimes not together but ok….but the people who take a chair and never come back..what can you do on that? I am sure RCI will not hire chair watchers….although it would be a great idea!
We were on board RCI LIBERTY OF THE SEAS the ship by 1:15. Embarkation was smooth…no issues. Rooms were ready and waiting! SWEET. We immediately went for lunch at the Windjammer and then explored the ship some and participated in the sail away party. Headed for dinner for the late seating @ 8:30. Our waiters were great the whole week. Singghi and Nicolas took care of us the whole week. No matter how many cruises I take I am fascinated by the food and how much of it you see!!!!
Sunday was a sea day…..explored the ship, went to the spa…tried to relax during the massage but I knew the sales speech was coming at the end so that is really not worth it to go to try to relax….the sun was out so we enjoyed that while we could.
Activities we participated in: We went to the ice show….OH MY GOD it was fascinating I still get goosebumps from the finale! Cannot say enough about it. We went to a few shows…though the shows looked good but to me they did not make much sense to me. The visuals were amazing…but the themes really did nothing for us. We played Bingo…never again….what happened to the good old days of just punching out a paper bingo card….well that was $32,00 and if you wanted 18 chances to win….it was $67,00 for 2 electronic bingo things….rip off….but ok it was fun. Leigh and the crew made it fun. I have had better activity crews but they were good. They seemed really stretched and tired. I think they need more people on this team but they did good for the 6 I can remember. We went to all the street parades…cannot say enough on these….I know they do it week in and out but it was great! The singers were decent. We did the flow rider, rock climbing, mini golf, basketball and some pool activities. It was really fun! My favorite was the QUEST that was wild! We came in 2nd only because the other team cheated! HAHA!
SERVICE: Service was good as usual. I did not encounter any issues at all. There was always someone to get you a drink and to take your plate away or clear a table for you. No issues there. Our room porter was great, we never met him but that is fine with me….our room was always clean and always had a towel animal at night.
FOOD: The food at the Windjammer was good. The food at dinner….I have to say I was worried…last year it was not so good but this year it was a 100% improvement. So we had no issues there at all. The lobster melted in my mouth. We did not do any specialty restaurants.
PORTS/EXCURSIONS: 1st port of call was Labadee! IT was great despite all the bad reviews I read. Yes you have to tender but it was fast. It was so hot…the saying Hotter than Haiti sure was an oxymoron. You just stood there and the sweat poured off you so it was good for all the food we ate! We went and did the Dragons Breath Zip Wire. It was awesome I highly suggest it. The price is high but it’s a great experience. It takes about 2 hours or so to do it so time it well. They are strict on the weight and height. So if your near 250 lb then be sure your on the line. It is an amazing view from the top. We then headed to the beach for a bit and then to the BBQ which they bring from the ship. That is a pretty amazing thing to bring all that food to an island and cook it up and serve over 4,000 people and the food was not that bad….again read a lot of reviews on how bad it was I thought it was fascinating. All those cooks in that heat cooking….it was amazing. 2nd port of call…I think it was Grand Cayman…IT POURED….so that was not fun. We did some quick shopping and headed back to the ship. Funniest thing…we saw chickens hanging outside of KFC! 3rd port of call….Ocho Rios….not a pretty site when you pull in but ok….we did Dunns. I was not prepared for what we did but it was awesome. We did it on our own. We got a taxi guide for 7,00 per person for the day. He was great. He took us to Dunns….we stopped to get shoes which was 7,00 to rent per person…then we went to the park the entrance fee is 15,00 to climb the falls. So 29,00 plus a tip for the driver. We climbed the falls….the water is cold but refreshing and sometimes a very strong current. After that we headed into town to do some shopping. They are not too pushy but a bit. Did a lot of rum tasting…that is free. Headed back to the ship for a late lunch. 4th port of call…Cozumel…every time I come here it changes…..we snorkeled in one of the reefs it was awesome! Water was clear seas were pretty calm, the boat was spotless and the crew was great. Cannot remember the name…..but it was one of the excursions they offer on the ship. We went on to playa Mia beach club for 1 hour of lunch and drinks…then back to the boat. Did a bit of looking around and headed back to the ship. It was just so hot. Not normal! We did not use the children’s activities but it looked like they were all having a great time.
SUMMARY: I feel there is a lot of nickel and diming on the cruise. Yes we all know we have to tip out at the end of the cruise for the services that is fine. Yes we all know that alcohol is not free and we must pay for all drinks. Again you know this coming on the ship. But what is not fun….all the sales pitches, all the extra costs to use the gym (spinning, classes, etc). I know they need to make money as well but you know….you want to relax on your vacation…not have to look at something and say YEAH I want to do that but its going to cost you another 20,00 for this and that. For example….PHOTOS…hello…how much money does it cost for these cruise lines to print out all these pictures everyday…..lower the costs of the pictures by putting as many on line as you can on those kiosks…..maybe you would sell more…. I personally cannot justify 20,00 per 8x10 photo. I know if I went to a professional it is more…but I am on a cruise….I don’t want to pay that much for a picture. Bingo is way overpriced. I do have to say though that the clothes and shops on board have very decent prices and the clothing is great quality. But it just seemed everywhere you turned it was for 9.99 you can have this and for 20,00 you can have that…..BUT in the end it was a great vacation, we all had a great time, we will be back on The Oasis next year…and the phase that kept being repeated the whole cruise of DIT IS NIET NORMAL (this is not normal) will for sure be repeated over and over again when we come back. If you made it this far…thanks for reading! Oh yeah disembarkation….we did the take your own luggage off between 6:00 and 7:15….PERFECT! I will never give my luggage again the night before.
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