Monday, December 16, 2013

Royal Caribbean Cruise Review: Liberty of the Seas

As many of you know I just got back from a wonderful vacation aboard Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas which stopped off in Labadee Haiti and Montego Bay Jamaica. We were actually suppose to go to Falmouth Jamaica but we had to re-route due to high winds. This post will be a review on the cruise as well as some great photos.

This is my 7th cruise in 4 years and thus far the cruise lines I have been on include: Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruise Line, Princess Cruise Line and now Royal Caribbean. I think cruising is a great way to travel because of the fine dining, entertainment, activities and you get to see more than one city, island or country all for one all inclusive price. Cruising is also the most pampering vacation you can take because everything is done for you, the service is fantastic and you don't have to lift a finger!

The Ship: Liberty of the Seas


The Liberty of the Seas can host an astonishing 4,000 guests and 1500 staff members on board. It is 15 stories high not including the staff quarters which is another 5-6 stories below sea level! This ship is the epitome of a floating city!  



The Cruise Compass
Every cruise ship has a lot to offer each day in terms of activities. On Liberty of the Seas the itinerary is called the cruise compass. The cruise compass is delivered to your room every night and it lists all the activities for the following day so you can plan out what you would like to do. There are also organized activities such as sports tournaments, trivia and game shows where the guests participate.

I also got some cute towel animals with my itinerary.

The Deck
One thing I loved about this ship was the layout. There was a lot of deck space, lounge chairs, a big screen to watch movies on and lots of swimming pools, bars and hot tubs. 


There are always movies being played, music, dancing, and deck parties going on that are a lot of fun. One of my favorite activities is lounging out on the deck at night in the warm Caribbean breeze and watching a movie under the stars!

 Beautiful photographs from the deck of the ship!
Another reason I love the deck of the ship is not only for relaxing but also for the beautiful views and photos I get from up there. 

Pulling away from the cruise port in Fort Lauderdale you can get some great photos of the coast.



From the side deck you can also get gorgeous photos of the ocean. I love being out on the open water with nothing but blue ocean surrounding me, it is very serene and peaceful. It is also one of my favorite places to lounge around because the side deck is usually very quiet and uncrowded. Some guests also report seeing dolphins although I have never been so lucky.

In the evening the deck is also the best place to get photos of the sunset!

Inside the ship
The Liberty of the Seas is beautiful on the inside. The Royal Promenade is designed like an outdoor street and looks a bit like a shopping mall. There are cute boutiques, cafes and restaurants that line the street as glass elevators whiz up and down the 15 stories and people sit out on patios munching on pizza and sipping coffee.

The inside of the ship was all decked out for Christmas!



Here is a view from above the street where you can see people shopping and strolling

Amenities
There are always things to do on a cruise. This ship has some of the best amenities at sea so lets review them!
Ice Skating at sea!
Yes, you read that correctly! On Liberty of he seas you can ice skate which is included in the price of your cruise. They also have amazing ice shows.

Rock Climbing
There is also a soccer court, tennis court and basketball court

A separate splash pad and pools for the kids

Casino for those who like to try their luck

Mini golf

The theater
This large theater is where I saw comedy shows, magic shows a Cirque du soleil type acrobatic show and even a full Broadway show!! 

The arcade
There is also a library, karaoke booths, sports bars, pubs, and an internet cafe.

Surfing

The gym 

Hot tubs
There are many hot tubs on board and a full spa 

Adult only area on the deck (night time)


More entertainment
One of the great things about this cruise was that the entertainers were fantastic! Along the Royal Promenade (the main street on the ship) they have full parades! The entertainers come dancing down the street to Soca music and there is a Caribbean parade with colorful costumes.


The ice skating show was my favorite, it was like acrobatics on ice! very impressive.

Dining and food
When you cruise food is in abundance, in fact many people gain quite a lot of weight on a cruise if they aren't careful. This is the the main dinging room. For dinner the cruise offers fine dining with a menu that changes every night. You can order as much or as little as you want and there are usually 3 courses with appetizers, main entree and desert. While on the ship the price you pay for your cruise includes unlimited food in the dining room, certain cafes and eateries as well as the buffets.

Room service is usually available free of charge but on this ship you do have to pay if you order anything after a certain time at night. There is a lot of food! and I thought the food on Liberty of the Seas was good. I would rate it 3/5. They did have a variety available but I found that some of the dishes lacked flavor. I like tasty food but since the chefs have to cater to such a wide variety of palettes they tend to under spice in my opinion. The deserts were fantastic!


The cupcake store was not included in the price of the cruise but they were only $2.50 each. I didn't buy one because there was so much free desert included that I didn't feel the need to buy more!



Bars, lounges, live music and night clubs
There are bars and lounges all over the ship if you are interested. They also offer live music in the lounges  throughout the ship and there is a club if you want to dance late into the night.

 I hope you enjoyed the photos. If you have any questions about taking a cruise vacation please leave a comment below.

I will have the photos of the stops we made on this cruise in Labadee Haiti and Jamaica up soon so stay tuned!

27 comments:

  1. Looks absolutely amazing, I've never been on a cruise but it looks like a great experience! Xx

    Makeup by Candlelight

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  2. Wow, that ship is huge! I've never been on a cruise that big, so the ice skating rink and theater was surprising to me. You always take such beautiful pictures! Looks like you had a great time!

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  3. Great review! I've only been on one cruise and that was Carnival which I thought was great for the kids. Royal Caribbean I look forward to doing one day.

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  4. Holy crap! That cruise ship looks amazing and like so much fun! Where did you board? I'd love to go on this one day!

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    1. I boarded in Fort Lauderdale but you can also board from Miami and they have cruise ports in other cities as well!

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  5. Looks like such a wonderful trip and you got some gorgeous pictures! I am so jealous! The ice skating show seems like it was especially amazing.

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  6. oh WOW!!! It looks amazing! I have never been to a cruise but I would like to in the future. Looks like a fun vacation. I will be on vacation next month but it's not on a cruise though :)

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  7. That looks like an experience of a lifetime!

    XX, hello, Cathy

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  8. wow your photos are amazing! i can't believe how huge that ship is! i've never been on a cruise, but you're making it look so awesome.
    -- jackie @ jade and oak

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  9. What a beautiful experience! I envy you.
    effortlesslady.blogspot.ca

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  10. Omg, that cruise looked AMAZING!! I would never want to leave. We have been thinking about going on a cruise for a long time, you just reminded me that we DEFINITELY need to go, it looks like the ultimate getaway.

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  11. Oh my I am sooo jealous right now!

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  12. Oh my goodness! I didn't know all of this was on a cruise! They have so many fun activities! I love how they decorated it for Christmas. Christmas trees and all! I love Johnny Rockets and that cupcake shop is fab! So glad you had a great time. They think of everything including the cute character towel. Thanks for sharing doll.
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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  13. It looks like you had a fabulous vacation! I've always wanted to try a cruise, but am also terrified of being out of sight of land on a boat. I can swim, but it's is still scary to me to see nothing but water. That ship is just amazing though. It's so huge! And with so much to do, I'm amazed. I just know I'd lose my golf ball off the side of the ship playing mini golf though! :)

    http://mattekat.blogspot.ca/

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    1. Kat, you may not see land but usually when you are out there land is always very close by. There is nothing to be afraid of you may even forget that you are on a ship! They also do mandatory safety drills before the ship leaves for the cruise so that everyone on board knows what to do and where to go just in case there is an emergency. There are life jackets all over the ship and in every room (just in case) and there are state of the art life boats that are motorized and do not sink even if they take in water. You are safer on a ship than in a car or an airplane. You don't have to know how to swim to go on a cruise LOL

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  14. What a huge ship! You can do everything there.
    Very beautiful photos!
    I have never been on a cruise, I'm a little afaraid of that.

    http://www.beautyandthemist.com/

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    1. Demi, there is really nothing to be afraid of, as I mentioned to Kat above you have a greater chance of something happening to you in a car or on an airplane. Ships are very state of the art and big with a lot of luxuries!

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  15. Wow ! I agree with everyone here that is one huge ship. Great photos! I have never been on a cruise.I am also scared perhaps because I can't swim loll. Great post hun :) Can't wait to see the rest of the photos :)

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    1. No need to be scared, you don't even need to know how to swim lol you will be on a HUGE floating city and you won't even think about your fears when you are there. I recommend checking the weather first and not traveling in the Caribbean during hurricane season but other than that it is a lot of fun and something everyone should try at least once. Some of the people I met on the cruise have been on 70 cruises!!

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  16. Welcome back in the blogger world! I really missed you! That cruise ship looks amazing! Your pics are stunning! Thank you so much for letting us in on your trip. LOVE!!! XOXO, Sissi http://www.beauty4free2u.com

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  17. Wow, looks amazing !
    I have never been on a cruise before !

    xox,
    little-chaka.blogspot.ca

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  18. Looks like you had an amazing time! You got some really beautiful pics. Makes me kind of tempted to go on a cruise sometime. But I am terrified of being on a ship in the middle of the ocean, so I don't know if I'll ever be able to.

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  19. Beautiful photos and you make me want to go on a cruise! I've always avoided them, but that looks like a spectacular experience!

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  20. Amazing shots! The ship looks so beautiful, can't wait to see the rest of the pics -Shabana

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  21. Wow this ship is amazing!! Looks like paradise! I want to go on a cruise so bad now! haha

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