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Give me Liberty annnd an $18 DX Package? I'll Take it! Liberty of the Seas Feb 16-23 Western Caribbean


GregD

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44 minutes ago, Baked Alaska said:

 

I think that "somebody" wants to come along, too! It's hard for me to leave our "somebody"(Manny) with sitters, but I know he will be happy-ish. 

Our dog Rusty would prefer to come with us as well. He is a huge snuggler, and sometimes I feel that we are his “emotional support humans” It is hard to leave him with the boarders sometimes.

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I mean, look at that face!

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Hotel Tour: We are staying at a Homewood Suites by Hilton. We have a 2br suite. 

Living room
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Master BR has a king size

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Bedroom 2 is two queens

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There is a small kitchenette 

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I always find these situations funny....

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I do a lot of codes inspections with the FD, so when I see stuff like this I wonder how this got past the design phase.??‍♂️
 

The kids are already in the pool

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I’m up early this AM because well, it’s 7 in NY and my internal alarm AKA bladder started screaming at me. While everyone else is sleeping let’s get caught up. Oh did I also mention ITS CRUISE DAY!!!

happy jonah hill GIF


Last night we headed out for some dinner. My father has traveled to Houston many times for business, and he recommended a place called Fajita Willies. 
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We were happy we made this choice. The food was good. The portions are large, and priced well. All in with an App, drinks, tip, we were only out $65.
 

Early into the meal, we were starting to lose this guy. He’s a boy who likes his sleep, and getting up at 5 am for our flights was rough on him.

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Here is a shot of the meals.

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I got the mixed fajitas. Lydia got the kids taco that she loudly exclaimed that “this taco is even better than the ones you make dad!” Kid, I would certainly hope so????‍♂️ Johnny got a quesadilla, and Heather got a combo with an enchilada and a taco. Chips and salsa and deep fried jalapeños rounded out the food. The salsa is made fresh every day by a woman who comes in the AM. It’s flavor was rich and smoky, and what surprised us was that it came to the table warm, almost hot. We were discussing this with the waitress who looked at us like we had theee heads when we told her that in NY it’s served cold. 
 

With full bellies, we headed back to the hotel. Poor Johnny was unconscious three minutes into the ride. We all called it an early night since we were tired. That is all of us except for my sister Julie who was supposed to meet a friend for dinner. That turned into a late night for her, as her friend got out of work waaaay later than she had planned. She didn’t get to dinner till close to 9pm. Oh well, we can sleep when we are dead.

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So yeah, ITS CRUISE DAY. The plan here is eventually I’ll drag everyone out of bed and we will have breakfast here at the hotel. We are to meet our shuttle to the port between 11-12 at the baggage claim area of IAH terminal C. So we will probably leave the hotel around 10 to head back to the airport. 
 

We have been getting updates in a Facebook group from a passenger who is currently on the ship. They were expecting fog so Liberty has been sailing full speed ahead, and were due to get into port late last night. He just posted that they have made it to port and are tied up. 
 

He has also posted that there is an issue with the gangways. A minor thing, but I do like that elevated view of the ship as you board. Oh well.AF72C50F-4818-46B8-B4FE-C544912B8C7C.thumb.jpeg.f95879b641f917393a5e865d5a843dd8.jpeg


The kids are still on NY time and both are now up, and asking to use the iPads while I’m working on these past two updates. At least with this 2br suite we can give them the iPads and we can have a little bit longer period of peace and quiet.

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So we are here at the airport waiting for the shuttle. For people who are considering the the Royal Caribbean sponsored shuttle, the check in desk is located in terminal C right next to the #10 baggage carousel. 
 

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Pay attention to what the people at the desk tell you. There are multiple shuttles today headed to the port. After we got checked in there was a group of people who had checked in earlier that came back to the waiting area and they had actually missed their bus. It must have only been by a minute or two, because they were able to make a call to hold that one up. 
 

Our ticket in the eDocs say meet between 11-12, but as we checked in, we were told that once everyone is checked in the bus will leave, so you shouldn’t wander far. They have a list of everyone’s arrival times, but they must not get the dates. One of the reps said they were about to call me because our arrival time was listed at 1:35, but that was yesterday, not today. 

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We have made it on the ship!

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currently in the windjammer....stuffing food in our mouths since we are hungry!  More updates in a bit about the transfer, embarkation process etc. later. Muster is soon, then we have to get the kids registered for adventure ocean. Time for some more food. But first, find some booze!

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2 hours ago, Duke Grad said:

For us non-nerds, is that fast or slow?  Assume that's from LOS internet connection.

It's slow compared to land broadband speeds, but definitely fast for satellite internet on a cruise ship. O3b internet is definitely one of Royal's highlights.

I guess a good reference point would be that you can stream pretty much any Netflix show on a phone or tablet at those speeds, with no appreciable pausing or stuttering.

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How did the RC transfer work out for you guys? I thought it was the worst thing RC ever offered. I think it also might be independent of them. Even though we were told they run every 30mins, we waited 2hrs to leave. I vowed to only use ride sharing from there on out. Plane landed at 9:35 and we didn't get on ship until almost 3pm, missed out of food......?

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Man, what a day! Soooo much to catch up on here. After all we have done, where to begin. 
 

air2sea shuttle: @Ampurp85, so the shuttle wasn’t bad. Like I had said earlier, we booked through air2sea since it was cost effective, and provided some security for travel delays. I’m a very patient person and know delays can be part of traveling. That doesn’t mean I won’t do everything in my power to prevent delays from messing up my vacation. We had planned on staying in Galveston the night before, but with Mardi Gras happening, hotels were pricy and when we got around to booking there was nothing to be had. This is how we ended up near the airport, and I wanted to be a nice brother so that my sister could see her friend. So now the decision became how to get to the port. With 5 of us and multiple suitcases, Uber wasn’t really an option. I looked at other private companies but with booking through Royal it had a kind of set it and forget it. 
 

billy mayes set it and forget it GIF
 

we had a nice bus to take us to the port.

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we soon encountered heavy traffic on the highway to Galveston that was not moving.
 

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The driver took us around the traffic and we made it to the port.

we left IAH at noon, and we were unloading at the port by 1:30. 
 

my final thoughts. I felt the shuttle was worth it. I got to sit back and enjoy the ride, and not have to stress about it. In the future, I would only use this if the distance to the port was far from the airport. 

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So back the live/semi live portion. We got to the port at 1:30. We got some brief instructions from the shuttle operators. Oh, @Ampurp85, this was a third party company as well. We were given the option to use the porters, or carry our bags across the street to the drop-off area. With a small tip exchange , our bags were whisked off by the porters and we headed to the terminal. There was a surprisingly long line in the terminal still but we got to use this one.583B5AB4-2D20-4015-9DA9-6A2A9F60CAA2.thumb.jpeg.e216d8c72e7aca4124e096866e2b9ee5.jpeg

and we were through security. We then got to the checkin counter. We were asked our corona virus screening questions, pictures were taken, and we headed on board. With our last cruise being on Navigator and in Terminal A being so fast and easy, today seemed slow and cluncky. Not that I am really complaining, it was all of 10 minutes from drop-off to on board. Terminal A seems much more efficient. 

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Getting on the ship as late as we did, the rooms were already open, so we headed there to drop off our carry on bags, and went and stuffed our faces.

Stateroom Tour: So we are in the GS2BR on the aft of the ship. We have been in three 2br grand suites now, and I have to say this is my least favorite. 
 

You open the stateroom door into this hallway

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there is the second bedroom on your right with it’s own bathroom.

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there is also a large closet in the hallway on the left.

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main living area

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Master bedroom 

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Overall, the suite seems cramped with that hallway. We were in the same room on Navigator, and the layout of that room was much better. Our first foray into suite snobbery was on Anthem and that suite was great. 
Like many have noticed on other ships Liberty doesn’t disappoint with its lack of outlets. In the second bedroom there are no outlets near the beds, so if you like to sleep with your phone near you for any reason, plan accordingly. I bring adapters for the European style plugs so that helps.

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Sail away: After the cattle rustling of mister drill, we went up to the suite lounge for sail away. We had a great time there. The food was delicious that they had for their happy hour, and the drinks were flowing. We met some very nice fellow cruisers. Thankfully we got out on time because the fog rolled back in right at the time we were to depart.

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This picture was taken at the end of mister drill. By the time sail away happened, you couldn’t see those drilling platforms across the channel.

Thankfully we got out, and I happened to cath the pilot returning to port from our balcony as we got ready for dinner.

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Tilman Fertitta, who owns the Houston Rockets and the restaurant company Landry’s was out on his yacht doing laps in the Galveston Harbor.

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Mystery Dinner Theatre: So this was interesting. The premise of the story here is that there are two mob bosses who control the ports in NY and NJ and they have plans to join forces and control all of the ports and cruises etc. There is a lawyer, two women fighting over the attentions of the bosses, and a waitress who seems to want to know too much about all of them. Eventually there is a murder and it’s up to us to figure it out. Spoiler Alert, it was Colonel Mustard, in the Ballroom with the candle stick. ?

So theater part stared in the Star lounge. We were given champagne and some small canapés, and the show started. First thing, this show is NOT PG. There were many references and innuendos throughout the show. My kids were too young and they all went right over their heads. There were some families with younger teenagers who looked like they were cringing a little.

The cast did a great job, it started out a little rough, lines were forgotten, characters were broken, but they did an amazing job of with the improv that it became part of the show and made it funnier and that much more enjoyable. 
 

If you choose to do this show, be warned if you sit in the seats closest to the dance floor, on along the isles leading to it, you may become part of the show. The cast WILL interact with the audience, and throughout the show, audience participation is encouraged.

Following the show, we were then brought up to Giovanni’s in groups that were assigned at check in, where we were all seated together at long tables. As a group you work together to solve the murder. The case comes up as well and the show continues there. You have opportunities to ask questions to the cast memebers to help you solve the crime.

We had a limited menu that we got to choose from. Everyone is served an anitpasti plate with some Prosciutto, mortadella, another cured meat I have never seen. There are some olives, arugula and peppers. Coming from an Italian family, it’s was pretty good. I will apologize now, my picture game was not on point here. After a few cocktails in the suite lounge, champagne at the start of this, and at dinner the wine was endless, our servers were topping off our glasses the minute we took any sips, I quickly forgot to take pictures as the food right away. The wine was included in the cost. There were no questions on weather or not you had a beverage package or not.

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You then had a choice of appetizers. There was a Minestrone Soup, a beef carpaccio, and a tomato mozzarella plate. I got the carpaccio.

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Entrees was a choice of Filet, prawns, or gnocchi with a Gorgonzola sauce.

I ordered the filet, Heather got the prawns, and Julie got the gnocchi. The staff were accommodating, and were able to bring out some spaghetti with butter for our kids. Turns out there was no set kids menu, so plan accordingly.

The filet was very tender and cooked perfectly.

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The shrimp was a little overcooked, but still tasty.

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I never got a picture of the gnocchi. This also tasted very good. 
 

Dessert was a choice of tiramisu, and chocolate cake and ice cream. We all go the tiramisu, which was good. At this point I was well over a bottle of wine in sooooo, sorry about the picture.

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Final thoughts. We had a blast doing this. We laughed hard, made some new friends and had a great meal. At $79 the price is a little high, but with the alcohol included and ennnnndddlleeessss the value proposition is there. Would I do it again, absolutely. 

 

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Now we are all caught up. We were pretty tired at the end of the dinner. It was nearing 10 when it ended, so 11 NY time, we have not adjusted yet, so we headed to bed. 
 

This morning we were all up, not by choice, at 6ish ship time. Stinking time adjustment. Coffee was obtained, I found 2 cruising ducks, and now we will be going about our day. Today and tomorrow are sea days so we will be exploring the ship, checking out the activities etc and generally relaxing. It’s still pretty foggy, but the seas are calm at least. image.thumb.jpg.b73d4e53c0734b3aa9abb53558750549.jpg
 

The sun is trying to break through and burn it off. The temperatures are pleasant. 

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29 minutes ago, emsff02 said:

I forgot to add, at the end of the dinner, you fill out a card of who done it, and why. The correct answers are put in a bucket and one is drawn. The winner got a bottle of wine and some RC swag.

Do you think it would be worth it if you already have the unlimited dining and deluxe drink package?

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15 minutes ago, emsff02 said:

Quote from the wife

”absolutely, because it is a dinner and a show, and was absolutely hysterical”

Too bad it's on Day 1 though.  I don't know about most people, but I am usually pretty tired out by dinner time on Day 1.  Was that time your only option?

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6 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Too bad it's on Day 1 though.  I don't know about most people, but I am usually pretty tired out by dinner time on Day 1.  Was that time your only option?

We are doing liberty in June and I just booked it via cruise planner.  It is only available one time during the sailing and it is on Day 1 at 6pm.

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Thank you so much for the review of the Dinner Theater.  I always struggle deciding on activities where a large part of the cost is tied up in the alcohol as we don't drink, but the food looks marvelous and the show sounds fun. A little extra for entertainment with dinner never seems like a bad idea.

Did you figure out who done it though?

 

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In Chicago our mystery dinner is $68 a person and no alcohol is included, its also basically pasta. I can see the mystery dinner being worth it when you are doing alcohol/specialty dining ala carte. You get specialty dining, drinks, and a show...two if you include the other cruisers?. Also they give quite a bit of food.

Also no offense but that 2br suite looks really cramped, it has to be the layout.

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