twangster

Last in, last out.  We departed Costa Maya just before the sun went down.  Winds have died down and it's a short distance up to Cozumel. Captain James announed we would be doing ~9 knots with smooth seas.









With that Saturday Night Fever tonight in the theater.  Photography ban continues, no pictures.  

Day 5 - Costa Maya
We arrived on time but going topside I felt like we were station keeping 1/2 mile from the pier.  Sure enough the Captain came on to announce a Costa ship was having difficulty getting tied up at the pier in the wind.  I hadn't even noticed the wind until I went outside. 
It was pretty windy.  Soon enough the pilot boat came our way and we began to approach.   One of the benefits of azipod drives is incredible maneuverability and I learned on the Indy bridge tour that the Freedom class ships are like sports cars in terms of power.  Captain James had no difficulty making the pier despite a significant wind blowing us directly from the side and in the direction of the pier.  I'm sure it wasn't as easy as he made it look.
My last visit here was four or five years ago and they have done a lot with the cruise port area.  It's really quite nice here.







There is a snorkel area as well as a dolphin area right at the port - walking distance from the ship (both for a charge).



The pool area has been expanded immensely.  My understanding is the pool is free although some seating is reserved for the bar & restaurant.


With three ships in port it didn't feel that busy.

Today I chose to walk to town.  It's a cheap taxi ride but I needed the exercise and I had plenty of time.  It wouldn't hurt to burn off some Windjammer anyways.

At this point this is a nice concrete boardwalk along the ocean with amazing views at every turn.  


At Blue Kay beach I walked along the shore for a while.  The Mahahual beach area is known for seaweed.  I'm not sure what it is about this shore but they were raking it up and using a bobcat to remove.


Much like the boardwalk in St. Maarten there are lots of bars and restaurants along this stretch.




Ready for a beverage I stopped at the Krazy Lobster.






I opted for the $3 per person taxi ride back to the ship.  My driver was from Mahahual and he spoke very good english.  He told me how he likes this area of Mexico so much better then "up  North" (Cancun) and other areas where drug cartels operate.  None of that here he told me, it's quite safe.  I asked him if he likes or dislikes cruise ship visits and he told me he loves them.  it means work and income which is hard to come by in Mexico.  
Back to the cruise port he dropped me off and I made my way back towards the ship.  $10 between beer and a taxi including tip makes for a pretty cheap excursion day.




Hot from my day in Costa Maya I opted for a slide on Liberty to cool me down.

Radiance, Voyager and Freedom class have helipad access. 
Anthem has a Winch pad.  You can only get there by booking a photo session with a ship photographer.  I assume all Quantum class are the same.
Oasis class has a helipad sail away party one day for GS and above suite guests.
Freedom, Liberty and Independence all have the same main pool deck.  The colored columns on Liberty are shorter.  Otherwise the adult only Solarium and main pool decks are very similar.  
I found flying into Hobby airport (HOU) easier as opposed to Bush airport (IAH).  $50 Lyft ride, left hotel ~9am, 1 hour drive.   Liberty was a pretty inexpensive cruise, under $400 pp (2 x for solo).  While the Lyft ride is $30 more than cruising from Port Everglades or Cape Liberty, the cruise fare was much less.  $30 is really nothing in the bigger picture.
I'll do Galveston again.  
Freedom:

Independence:

 

Anyone.  If there are high winds they will close access but other than that it's open to anyone onboard. 

Tidal Wave Slide - must try.

NCL left before us and we followed soon after in her wake.


Helipad sunset - literally sailing away into the sunset.


Full moon tonight

I decided to visit the Windjammer after dinner.  I have no idea why.  It was sort of an involuntary reaction.  The pork tenderloin was pretty good.  The RVC was very moist.  I could only squeeze in a small slice in the name of research and out of respect for @Sweety.  I feel so bloated as I write this.

In other news the 10 drink card is $79 plus 18% gratuity.  
Voom is pretty spotty right now.  I haven't been able to watch periscopes or stream for most of the cruise and tonight is no different despite excellent weather.  It seems there is more to O3b than just the platform itself. I've read that there are spot beams that follow ships and it seems Liberty isn't in the limelight this cruise.  I've got more pics to post from the day in Cozumel and our departure but the post above took three attempts.  Sea day tomorrow, hoping for better Voom once we are in the sea of endless oil rigs.   Voom speeds have been up and down.  Sometimes offering the normal 4Mb/2Mb but too often 1.2Mb down and 1.4Mb up.
My T-Mobile service works pretty good in Cozumel.  LTE with 9Mb down, 25 Mb up.  It was nice having solid internet while in port.
 

Dinner in the MDR.  I put on the suit and tie but spotted a pro in the elevator.  He had one of those tuxedo t-shirts but was wearing a dark jacket over it.  Good from far and far enough good for a cruise.  Oh Alexa, order me a tuxedo shirt...
I ordered the upside lobster tail AND the prime rib.  Unfortunately the ship has run out of horseradish sauce. 

 Top tier event in Studio B.  Since I was dressed up with no where to go, I figured why not?

Liberty has ALS - Air Lubrication System, the air bubbler system so the ship runs on a cushion of air. This was added in the last dry dock.  Speed right now is 25 knots.  
Top tier count - Platinum 330, Emerald 153, Diamond 338, Diamond Plus 152, Pinnacle 37.  

I ducked into the Diamond lounge after lunch to capture the night 6 dinner menu, still part of the new all-in-one menu.  I haven't decided yet if I just do the Windjammer or MDR for this the second formal night.

Top tier event at 7:15pm in Studio B.  1st time I've seen this on formal night and during prime time.  Dress code is formal.  I've got a jacket and tie just not sure I feel like wearing them tonight.    Maybe I can get a seat in the Diamond lounge tonight.  These seven day cruise are way too short.  I should have done a B2B.  

Back To Day 6 - Cozumel
I let the crowds disembark and then headed towards town on foot.  




Looks like its lifeboat exercise day.


The last time I was here this sign almost complete.  Now it is.

The color of the water in Cozumel isn't too shabby.

The walk towards 'downtown'.


Sunset bar.  Time for a Marg.



On the way here I spotted a walkway down towards the water so I checked it out on the way back to the ship.

The water is pretty mesmerizing here.
 

Before I forget, Saturday Night Fever was the broadway show last night.  Apparently it is normally on day 7 but according to the cast during the backstage tour the new CD is making some minor changes and he moved it to day 5.  No photography during the show is allowed but I did take a quick pic while waiting for the show to begin.  Pretty full house both showings.

It was mostly good.  I'm not a big broadway fan but having done some backstage tours and following Nick Weir the VP of Royal Caribbean Entertainment I felt compelled to attend.  I'm glad I did.  
The new All-In-One dinner menus continue.  Here was night 5 in the MDR:

 i actually ate in the Windjammer again.  The timing of the sunset and Saturday Night Fever made that the best option for me last night.

Day 6 - Cozumel
We've arrived in Cozumel and will share the pier with the Allure today.
Captain James made an announcement that all excursions that use a ferry will be canceled.  A note was placed outside each cabin overnight citing a U.S. State Department warning.     

Fortunately my plan for today is a short walk up to a favorite water hole along the shore on the way to town.  

Thanks folks. 
While I chose to walk to town I'd suggest people take the shuttle or taxi.  I only walked to kill time.  It's 2.5 miles or 4 km.  
I went back in my photo vault and found some photos from February 2015.  Yesterday an NCL ship was in the way so I couldn't get a great shot of Costa Maya like I could back in 2015.  The water color back then was amazing and I agree - Cozumel has always been beautiful but Costa Maya stands out from my 2015 trip as having the most beautiful water color. 
The zip line facility was just being built back then.
February 2015:


Huh.  Looks like I went to Cozumel on that cruise as well, and ran into a familiar ship. 
Liberty back in 2015 sans slides:

Here are some more photos of the Costa Maya waters from my current trip that didn't make the cut above.  They do show how colorful the water in Costa Maya is.  



Oh, a friend reminded me technically that's sargassum, not simply 'seaweed'. 

Day 8 - Self Assist Line
At 6am I joined the line in the dining room on deck 4.  I'm something like 30 from the front.   We are all sitting at tables with our luggage lined up.  

Day 7 - Sigh Day
The day you go 'sigh' knowing it's the last night.  Ugh.
Beautiful sunset night somewhere around 200 NM away from Galveston.


Another ship has been following us since dawn (well since leaving Cozumel but I first spotted it at dawn).  It's gained us as we cruised at around 18-19 knots over the day.  I suspect it's the Carnival Breeze also heading to Galveston.  I've sailed on her and her sister ship the Magic in 2015.  In fact that's the last Carnival ship I sailed, also departing from Galveston.


I watched it over the day off our port side trailing us all day.   At most times it was on a parallel course on our port side all day then recently it turned directly at us, then back to port, then back at us.  You could clearly see both in the face of the ship presented to us and in it's wake, it definitely was steering directly at us at times when it decided to turn more sharply across our wake and to our starboard side, always hovering right around the one nautical mile that I know is standard for separation.  
In the hour near and after sunset it has gained speed and is now on our starboard side overtaking us as we cruise a nominal 18-19 knots.  

It appears to be running at top speed. 
I fear there may be a medical situation onboard and they need to close the distance towards Galveston for assistance.  I'm wondering if it changed course or if we did.  Professional mariners on both ships, I'm positive they are in constant communication, sailing these water along each other week after week.

Night 7 Dinner Menu

Pub Beers

Specialty Restaurant Menus
Giovanni's Lunch

Giovanni's Dinner

Giovanni's Dessert

Wine List 1

Wine List 2

Chop's Grille Lunch

Chop's Grille Dinner

Chop's Grille Beverages

Sabor Lunch

Sabor Dinner

Sabor Kids

Sabor Beverages

 

More pictures from around the ship:

Here is a video of us pulling away from the pier in Cozumel with a brief horn exchange with the Allure.
 

I'm guessing that isn't an official ship photographer...  note to self, be careful where you eat.

Cozumel sail away time...

One last look at Allure

The self assist line circled all the way around the dining room.   At 7:30 am they started letting us off.  Scheduled time was 8am.   By 7:45am I was through and outside.   Lyft wanted $127 (no cars nearby) so I looked at Uber which was $52.   Needless to say I am in my Uber on the way to Hobby.  My flight is at 2:30pm so I'm hoping I can jump on an earlier flight.  

Last night "Britain's Finest" were in the main theater.   They are a Beatles Tribute band.   They are very good.  
Cruise summary
All in all it was a great cruise.  I got a great rate booking it under 90 days out.   I'm glad I was able to book one of the newer rooms on the ship.   Those slides on her have been calling my name and they didn't disappoint.   
I ended up eating most meals in the Windjammer.   The vegetable curry last night had great flavor.   Traveling solo the Windjammer is just easier.   
With this cruise in the books I've completed the Freedom class trilogy.   Galveston worked out pretty smoothly but next time I'll likely do a B2B.
 
Almost to Hobby airport and should arrive there around 8:40am.    

Your ship may be bigger and newer, but I can go on the helipad anytime I want 
na-na na-na boo-boo
EDIT - And... I have a water slides.  Now excuse me while go up to the Diamond lounge, roll down a window and ask someone in the Allure suite lounge if they have some Grey Poupon.