Liberty of the Seas Review
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Additional details
We chose this cruise because of a Regional At Sea Bridge Tournament, without much interest in the cruise ports, because we planned on taking advantage of the daily duplicate bridge sessions. Previous reviewers had given "OK" reviews for the ship, and mediocre reviews of the main and deck 11 dining venues. We were much more impressed with both the ship and the main and buffet dining venues than what we had read, possibly because the ship was refurbished about a year ago.
We ate every dinner in the main dining room, and found the food to be the best main dining room food of any of our 15 or so cruises, with several meals rivaling the quality of specialty restaurants (e.g., tender and cooked to order prime rib, tenderloin, rack of lamb, and medium rare Ahi Tuna), with great starters and deserts, and great service from our waiter and the rest of the staff. The food at the Deck 11 buffet was also very good, with pork ribs, skirt steak, roast chicken, lovely Asian food, good Italian options, and great service from the staff, who came back repeatedly to offer drinks and refills on coffee, water, and such, as well as remove used dishes to keep things clean and comfortable. The major downside of this buffet was that one-half was always closed at noon, making it more crowded than necessary, and with the half facing shore closed, preventing an otherwise lovely view while in port. Given the large number of passengers, the buffet should have both sides open.
Embarkation was a nightmare, mainly due to port security delaying embarkation, due to an issue with the incoming passengers or contraband (never found out exactly why), causing us to stand outside for 90+ minutes, during which the cruise line should have provided more information, as well as complimentary snacks or at least something to drink while we waited to get inside where others were sitting. Because of the delay, we had to go almost immediately to the life jacket drill, after which we discovered the the buffet closed at 3PM, leaving us only a couple of small complimentary dining options, or having to pay to relieve our starvation. The ship should have reopened the buffet after the drill, an "outside the box" response to delayed boarding that they couldn't control.
Cabin Review
Spacious Ocean View Balcony
Our balcony cabin was very "freshly" updated, with a great layout that made it feel larger than it's generous 280+ sq. ft. The bathroom is "compact," with a very nice shower (kind of like a space capsule cylinder), and not much floor space if two people are there at once. But this design, with the king-size bed closer to the balcony gives a large, comfortable living area, and a long, comfortable sofa between the bathroom/closet end and the bed. There is plenty of storage space, under the bed for suitcases, ample drawers, augmented by clothing trays in the closet, generous supply of hangers, a nice refrigerator, hair dryer, and in-room safe for valuables. Our cabin attendant was friendly, helpful, and did a great job of cleaning the cabin twice a day.
Port Reviews
Falmouth
If you are interested in exploring the rest of the island, this may be a good port. But if you (like us) no longer want to bake in the sun, and would like to find "local atmosphere" in port where the ship docks, avoid getting off the ship. The ship docks at a "plastic port," which is filled with shops offering dubious "bargains" on watches and jewelry, and the trickiest worded "guarantee" I have ever read (dis-satisfied buyers have 30 days to submit registered jewelry or watchmaker's statements about the purchased items, and have to obtain the merchant's permission to return the items for credit -- fat chance). Aside from these tourist traps, there are no interesting sites within walking distance of the ship.