Cabin: 

We had a port side deck 10 balcony cabin just aft of midship. If I went on this ship again I would move down a deck or two, and I'd try to get on the starboard side. The crew re-sets the deck chairs between 6 and 7 in the morning, which will wake you up, and the smell of the smoking area will make it down to the balconies below. The room itself was excellent. I appreciated that the room safe was noticeably larger than on Oasis ships. There was plenty of room, it was well-decorated, and always clean. The balcony featured chairs with reclining backs, which were much better than those on Oasis, which are straight, low-backed chairs that are much less comfortable.

I'd give this a higher rating, but the planning isn't where it needs to be. Pedro St. James is an interesting and very well-done presentation on the founding of democracy in the Caymans. 

The Turtle Center is also well-done, but the problem is that you don't have enough time. Pedro St. James is across the island from the Turtle Center. You take the bus out to the house, spend time there, then take the bus all the way back, past the cruise port, through town, and finally to the Turtle Center where you're given 2 hours on scene. 

That sounds like a lot, but you're hungry by this time and there's been no opportunity to eat, so you grab food in the center's restaurant. The food's good. Overpriced, but all restaurants in attractions are overpriced. The problem is that the service is very slow, so by the time you finally get out and over to the snorkeling pond (which is very well done) you have, if you're lucky, 20 minutes in the water before you have to dry off and get back to the bus. That's not nearly enough time because the pond (that's a misnomer, it's more of an artificial still river - very large and well-designed) is a lot of fun. Fish swim right up to you, as do the turtles. Best of all, the section the turtles seem to like to hang out the best is shaded by a building on land, so you won't get sunburned even if you float there for an hour. This would have been right up there with our favorite snorkeling experiences in the Caribbean if we'd only had more time.

Next time we cruise to the Caymans we'll just go straight to the Turtle Center and spend the day there, but if you still want to check out the history (you really should) then you'll want to buy something to eat later at the cruise port before the tour starts so the Turtle Center restaurant doesn't waste most of your time there.

Our driver was a lot of fun, and even swung us by Hell on the way back for a quick look, which wasn't part of the advertised tour but was a cool spot to see.

Book this one through the ship - we hit, of all things, rush-hour traffic on the drive back. I'm not sure if that's normal or if something weird was happening. We still had about 30 minutes before the last tender by the time we got back, but that's cutting it a little close.

First, know that you aren't going to Appleton Estate. You're going to an Appleton Estate adjunct they set up because there's no way to get you all the way across Jamaica to the actual estate and back before the ship leaves.

They start you off right - at an outdoor bar with all the rum punches you want. I know it's tempting to go to town here, but hold off -- if you drink too much now, you won't get much out of the rum tasting that comes later.

After the bar, they take you on what I suppose you'd call a virtual tour of the distillery. There are big photos of the main parts of the distillery which will be good enough for you to know what they're doing if you already know about liquor distillation, but will probably leave you a little confused if you don't. The tour guide is very knowledgeable about the process, but it's kind of hard to visualize the difference between a pot still and a column still (and the difference in the end result of distillation between the two) unless you've actually seen them in person somewhere else. 

After the "tour" comes the rum tasting. You'll taste the 3 big sellers (signature, reserve, and 12-year rare) plus a sample of rum cream, while learning what to look for when evaluating spirits.

Then it's time for lunch at the jerk chicken house next door, which is included in the tour. Delicious. It's a nice, relaxing shore excursion that leaves you plenty of time before and after to wander Falmouth.

Mayan ruins were interesting, and our guide was very knowledgeable. These ruins don't have the pyramids that sites on the mainland have, but there's still a lot to see and learn here.

The beach stop was very short, but beautiful.

The chocolate tour was also interesting. Some were surprised that it's not an actual chocolate factory (cacao trees don't grow well on Cozumel), but they still take you through the process of making chocolate, then let you taste some freshly prepared chocolate, and then show you how they made that. The chocolate alcoholic drinks are cheap ($5!) and tasty. Then there are samples of other chocolates they make in the gift shop.

Several times we'd have called an elevator, and 2 or 3 of them would go right past our floor before one finally stopped.The solarium is good - a deep pool and two cantilevered hot tubs.

Liberty of the Seas Review

Good ship. Great staff.

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Cabin Review

Superior Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony

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