Home Suite Home - Liberty February 13-20, 2022

melmar02 · February 18, 2022

Day 5 Costa Maya.

"So what if it's a port day," we thought. "It's reduced capacity," we thought. "Surely the Windjammer won't be a madhouse at breakfast," we thought. We thought wrong!

My friends, if you have never been in the Windjammer for breakfast on a port day, don't. Doesn't matter if you go early or late, there is something in the air that puts the masses in a mood for chaos. There is some crazed mentality that takes hold of the passengers, and the Collective loses any manners they had to begin with. It's not the relaxing vacation you are looking for - trust me, just order room service.

Anyway, after our breakfast in the Thunderdome, we started to get ready for our excursion. This is when the alarms started to sound. We got past all that, and stepped foot on Mexican soil a little early for our Salsa Experience.

This tour was through Royal, and I think we paid about $65 per person. We took a 5-10 minute bus ride to an area behind Blue Kay eco hotel. Masks were to be worn the entire time unless eating, drinking, or on the beach. The room we were in was small for the 35 people in the excursion, and with a little rain, it was really hot and humid in there. We were in groups of 2 (me with DS, DH with DD) to make a guacamole and two kinds of salsa. We altered the recipes a little because of the kids - leaving out raw onion or peppers, etc. Surprisingly, the kids loved them all! They've gone out of their way to try new things this foods this trip, which is very exciting for DD as she is not comfortable with unfamiliar foods.

We then did a little salsa dancing.

After the short time dancing, we had 50 minutes at Blue Kay's beach.

You can't visit Costa Maya without saying hello to the flamingos!

We got back of the ship and headed to the pool. DS and I tried out the water slides. They're really fun if you push yourself the whole way!

We got ready for dinner in the MDR, and DS had a 7pm reservation in Adventure Ocean. He only wanted to stay an hour as we were all pretty tired - I think mostly from being slow roasted in the hot room during the excursion.

Our new zoo additions tonight were Boris, the new Bugs Bunny (the old bunny is now Puppy), and Tonsu (I think - I don't really know, but it may be a Pokémon name?)

Tomorrow is Cozumel!

melmar02 · February 20, 2022

Day 6 - Cozumel

We decided against the Windjammer this morning and enjoyed our blissfully calm breakfast in Chops.

We left the ship around 9:45 to meet our tour just inside the shopping area. Our group had 35 and was a mix of three different dolphin experiences at Chankanaab. They split us up into cabs and after a quick 5 or so minute ride, we arrived at the park. We got a quick tour highlighting the different areas we could explore after the dolphins and where we could get lunch which was included in the excursion.

We were given access to lockers to store our belongings and fitted with life vests. Then we split into groups. Our group was our family of four and another couple.

We then got into the water with Isabella and her trainer. In addition to petting Isabella as she swam by, we each did 4 interactions with her - we held our hand up and she stood out of the water to touch the hand with her nose, she stood up as we touched the inside of her pectoral fins, she put her nose in our hands for kisses, and we held her as she smiled for the camera. Then we swam to the middle of the enclosure and she swam upside down and pulled us. Finally she pushed us by the foot on a boogie board - that girl was fast! We were in the water for a long time - 30 to 40 minutes.

Next we moved to another enclosure where a couple manatees were swimming. This was all 35 of us and was advertised as a 10 minute encounter. Basically, the trainer walked in front of us on the platform with as much lettuce as she could carry, and we pet the manatees as she went by several times. DD wants to be Marine Biologist, specializing in animal rehab, and I'm pretty sure this excursion sealed her decision.

We decided to go ahead and get lunch at the buffet. It was OK, not a lot of variety. In hindsight, I wish I had booked an earlier time for this excursion so we could have explored the park more. We decided to go back to the ship pretty early to have some pool and water slide time and get ready for formal night. I think we'll come back to Chankanaab our next time on Cozumel so we can explore their beach, snorkeling, pool, and other activities. They picked us back into cab vans for the return trip. I purchased this excursion on Black Friday for $99 each.

A note about the dolphin photos. You cannot take your own pictures - no go pros, water cameras, etc. And their pictures are not cheap. I'm glad I researched ahead of time and knew what to expect. Their packages range from $40 for one photo with one person in it to $220 for all the photos their photographer took of your party.

After swim time back on the ship, it was lobster time! The kids each had one tail, and our waiter brought 2 each for DH and me without asking for the extra.

Our cabin attendant mentioned to DH that he was running out of towel animals, and we got our final three tonight. Jupiter, Apollo, and Isabella the fish / dolphin / manatee depending on what angle you look at them.

Here the entire zoo which has 15 animals!

Tomorrow is our last sea day.

melmar02 · February 22, 2022

Day 7

DS wanted to go to Adventure Ocean after breakfast, and DD finally decided to give the teen club a try. We left our tablet at home, and after a week of no video games, she was going through a little withdrawal. So off they went and DH and I, with surprise time without the kids, headed to the casino. DD met us in the room a couple hours later, we picked up DS, and had our final lunch at Sorrento's followed by a little Ben & Jerry's.

We went to the room and I helped the kids pack. They went back to AO, and I paid my final visit to the casino. I'm not a big spender, and racked up a whopping 250 points this trip. DH even less. Prime is probably out of reach for us.

While packing the kids, I noticed the soaps in their bathroom were different than ours. We had the Malin and Goetz products in our shower plus the rum scented bar soap on the counter. Additionally, we still had a mystery soap on the shower.

The second bath in the suite had BioEnergy products.

We finished packing, all went to our final dinner, delivered our extra tips, and the kids abandoned us again for AO. DD said next time she'll go at the beginning of the cruise.

If you have been on Liberty, you know Kenger, aka Ms. Washy Washy. She has different glasses and headbands every night, but the final night she goes all out!

I wound up in the suite lounge to say goodbye to this cruise with a lemon drop. Currently Liberty is using the bar in Olive or Twist to fill drink orders. Amit, the concierge, was supposed to be leaving the ship; however, his replacement was not there. It looks like he'll be there for a few more weeks. He said he is not even sure who the replacement will be.

We had our final breakfast in Chops to avoid the hectic Windjammer rush and were in the suite lounge by 8:00 to be escorted off the ship. Facial recognition made debarkation a breeze, and all too soon we were back to reality. Fortunately we only have about 110 days to our next cruise.