From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23

[Lovetocruise2002]

It’s a rainy sail away. 

[OCSC Mike]

2 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

We sailed Freedom last July but that felt different because that ship was amped. And we had the Ultimate Dining package. Before that, it was all OA/QN class. Not counting Freedom, the last non OA/QN was Indy back in 2018. 

That makes sense. My impression is that there's a drop down to poor Liberty from Freedom/Indy since it never got the amp.

We were on CocoCay on Indy 3 times along with Freedom last year and chatted with several Freedom passengers at the pool and I was very jealous that they had El Loco Fresh while we only had Fish N Ships (with zero free items at the time), lol.

[WannaCruise]

I'm always amazed at seeing these suite type rooms.  I think the rooms that we stay in are the size of the closet you showed  Enjoy!

[Ampurp85]

I wanted to sail Liberty, but the pictures are putting me off. I have sailed Indy and Freedom; I love Freedom but felt Indy was a smidge dated and I was solo in a JS then. 

Is that Evian water? I forgot because there have been so many twists and turns if you have any dining packages? Also how did the internet work out?

[WAAAYTOOO]

We are sailing Liberty, Freedom and Independence in the upcoming months due to the limited casino offers we received in the past few months.  Not expecting much….but a comp cruise (even a short one on an old ship) is better than no cruise, so here we go….

[melmar02]

2 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

 Not sure what happens on other smaller ships but luggage that you leave on the curb doesn’t seem to be getting delivered. They were all just in a giant like near the service door in the hallway and people were all going to pick it up themselves. Maybe it’s a NJ thing? Lol But yeah, we had to go grab our own luggage from the mass pile

We didn't have that issue the times we  sailed Liberty from Galveston. Hopefully that changes when she gets to FLL.

Glad your have everything unpacked and out of the way. I like to get that done first too. I can't relax knowing I have chores later!

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, WannaCruise said:

I'm always amazed at seeing these suite type rooms.  I think the rooms that we stay in are the size of the closet you showed  Enjoy!

#teamcloset

We affectionately call our interiors, caves... cool, dark, and cozy.

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

That makes sense. My impression is that there's a drop down to poor Liberty from Freedom/Indy since it never got the amp.

After only a few hours on board, I would have to agree. This sailing on Liberty checks off all 3 Freedom class ships for us. I would definitely say there is a slight drop. 

50 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Is that Evian water?

Yes! We got the Evian package and that was what was delivered. There was also one bottle of Vellamo water (guessing that comes from being in the suite), and 6 bottles of Tru (from being D+). 
 

53 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Also how did the internet work out?

We ended up getting the VOOM for one person; 4 devices package.

29 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Not expecting much

That is pretty much mentality for this sailing.

 

[Lovetocruise2002]

Ok, going to vent on the first day. 3 things. 

1. There was no kettle in the room today. I ran into the suite concierge first and told her. Then I told the room attendant later. Both are telling me that they no longer provide kettles in suites and they were removed about 6 months ago? What??! 

2. There were visible, decent sized, rice cracker crumbs all over the chair in the second bedroom. Not a bit deal. We just dusted it off. Willing to overlook that. However…..

3. Not able to overlook that as Hubby was looking for space to unpack his stuff, he found underwear that was not any of ours in one of the bottom drawers. Hmmmm…..

[LandstromCruise]

28 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Ok, going to vent on the first day. 3 things. 

1. There was no kettle in the room today. I ran into the suite concierge first and told her. Then I told the room attendant later. Both are telling me that they no longer provide kettles in suites and they were removed about 6 months ago? What??! 

2. There were visible, decent sized, rice cracker crumbs all over the chair in the second bedroom. Not a bit deal. We just dusted it off. Willing to overlook that. However…..

3. Not able to overlook that as Hubby was looking for space to unpack his stuff, he found underwear that was not any of ours in one of the bottom drawers. Hmmmm…..

WOW! 

[LandstromCruise]

39 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:
 

We ended up getting the VOOM for one person; 4 devices package.

 

Gave into the freeloaders, huh?

[WAAAYTOOO]

Are they going to bring you a kettle anyway ?  Should be an easy fix…   Why would they still provide the coffee maker but cease providing the kettle ?  Nonsense

A number of years ago, in our one and only interior room (Grandeur), we found a whole dresser of someone’s unmentionables in our cabin.    The attendant came and removed everything but that definitely should NOT happen in a suite !

 

[Neesa]

@Lovetocruise2002 We were given a tea kettle on the Wonder when we asked for it in the CLS last month.  I was surprised because we were told NO on the Mariner (panoramic suite up front) NO on the Harmony in a CLS & NO on the Serenade in the 2 bedroom owners suite.  We don't drink coffee & I love to prepare tea in the cabin early to start my day, just another suites amenity that is being phased out it seems. 

[Ampurp85]

I was on Grandeur this year and I had cleaning cloths and supplies left in my room more than once. Then on my April Freedom the room was completely dirty. Garbage on the floor and food left in the cooler. It seems like the crew on smaller ships are stretched too thin.

[Neesa]

3 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I was on Grandeur this year and I had cleaning cloths and supplies left in my room more than once. Then on my April Freedom the room was completely dirty. Garbage on the floor and food left in the cooler. It seems like the crew on smaller ships are stretched too thin.

We need a stronger response emogi for something like this!!!! 

Maybe a red head with steam coming out of it?

[OCSC Mike]

9 minutes ago, Neesa said:

We need a stronger response emogi for something like this!!!! 

Maybe a red head with steam coming out of it?

[Neesa]

4 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Nailed it! Yes please......him!

[SweetPea]

I'm so sorry we weren't able to keep the rain west for you! We had our niece and nephews today, and during the rain you can chalk up my brilliant temporary tattoos project as "It seemed like a good idea at the time." 

I'm enjoying your review. Without going into detail on our end, i think you're confirming for us that Royal is still a very hard sell to us in anything less than Q or O Class. 

[Geezer Of The Seas]

At the risk of being tarred and feathered, I'll mention on our April trip on Wonder  (a junior suite) we found both the Lavazza machine and a tea kettle in the cabin.....with a selection of tea bags.

I'll leave now to outrun the pitchforks. 

[SMOKEY0202]

How again things aren't consistent across the fleet.......

Did you indulge in Ranger Cookies yet?

How was dinner?

 

[Lovetocruise2002]

4 hours ago, LandstromCruise said:

Gave into the freeloaders, huh?

Yup. Keeping the peace lol

4 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Are they going to bring you a kettle anyway ?  Should be an easy fix…

Apparently not. They told me they have no kettles on the ship and to use the Lavazza machine. The more I think about this, the more annoyed I am. 

4 hours ago, Neesa said:

I was surprised because we were told NO on the Mariner (panoramic suite up front) NO on the Harmony in a CLS & NO on the Serenade in the 2 bedroom owners suite.

Ok, while that is still not ok, it makes me feel a bit better to know that you had the same “No kettle” experience on the smaller ships. I am big on having hot water in the room to make tea. You guys have seen the amount of tea I bring each cruise lol. 

4 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I was on Grandeur this year and I had cleaning cloths and supplies left in my room more than once. Then on my April Freedom the room was completely dirty. Garbage on the floor and food left in the cooler. It seems like the crew on smaller ships are stretched too thin.

I remember reading that in your blog. On Wonder last month, every deck we walked down, you could see stateroom crew working into really late hours just to get things done. I was just saying to Hubby earlier that when we went back to the cabin after dinner, the halls were clear and all the stateroom attendants looked like they had packed it up for night. That was around 9pm. 
 

 

2 hours ago, SweetPea said:

Without going into detail on our end, i think you're confirming for us that Royal is still a very hard sell to us in anything less than Q or O Class. 

I think it might have to do with what @OCSC Mikementioned earlier about Liberty getting left behind with no amp. I will think more about this through the sailing and let you know what I really think at the end. 

1 hour ago, SMOKEY0202 said:

Did you indulge in Ranger Cookies yet?

D15 was so sweet earlier this afternoon. She found them in the WJ and brought them to me lol

[Lovetocruise2002]

Dinner - Night 1 - American Classics menu in the MDR

We signed up for My Time Dining and made reservations each night for 6:45pm. That is when MTD starts. When we showed up at 6:45pm tonight, this was the scene. I will let the pics speak for themselves. 

Can you tell which line was for reservations and which line was for no reservations? Yeah, we couldn’t either. First comment out of D17 was, “I don’t remember Indy being this chaotic.” 

[Lovetocruise2002]

After we actually got in there, dinner was not too bad. I am still not in food coma status, but for all the complaints I have seen in the RC Dining group about the new menus, this was ok. Nothing that I am going to go home and dream about but decent. The kids really liked their meals though. D15 got the fried chicken and D17 got the spaghetti. My favourite of the night was probably the Spinach and Artichoke dip. 
 

[Lovetocruise2002]

With not much going on tonight other than the welcome aboard show, we decided to split after dinner. Kids did their own thing, not sure where, and Hubby and I went to grab the Liberty ship model from the shops on the promenade. I collect them. Then Hubby finished off our stroll with a slice of free Sorrento’s pizza

Everyone is back in the cabin now and probably headed to bed. Need to catch up on sleep. 

Another wonder…I always thought that the glass block shows up on the night you reach the milestone? Well before this sailing we were 2 points away from the next milestone for a block. Doesn’t that mean that tonight (Day 1) is the night I should have received it? Well, there is no glass block here. My D+ welcome amenity (bottle of wine) is also not here. Maybe the loyalty ambassador is also stretched thin on these smaller ships? Lol

[Ampurp85]

I too enjoy the dip, but they normally give you like 6 chips.

My understanding is that everything is delivered the second day because turnaround day is rough. 

[Neesa]

I received my block last sailing. There was a little paper in the suites leather folder that said congratulations! Since everyone doesn't take their blocks check here if you want it and leave for the stateroom host. At that point if you chose one it will be delivered before sailings end. I filled mine out and walked it to the C &A ambassador where he took the paper and gave me the block. Just an FYI.

I don't enjoy or participate in boiling my water for tea in the coffee machine, it does not taste right! 

When we are not sailing a Q or O ship class I ALWAYS opt for traditional MDR, the absolute manic chaos that ensues to sit for dinner via MTD takes away my vacation "high" While weighing dinner at 5:30 (early) seating vs dealing with that mess for all of the monies I separated myself from, it's a hard no. It seems MTD is hit or miss and my patience is low for the "miss"

 

Edited August 25, 2023 by Neesa
updated thought

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, Neesa said:

I received my block last sailing. There was a little paper in the suites leather folder that said congratulations! Since everyone doesn't take their blocks check here if you want it and leave for the stateroom host. At that point if you chose one it will be delivered before sailings end.

Same experience for my FIL/MIL in June on Wonder.

[Neesa]

7 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Same experience for my FIL/MIL in June on Wonder.

Great! I'm glad this helps. I always sit down on the balcony and look through everything in the suites folder. Always the same, but alas not this time. The letter expressed if you didn't do this they would assume you did not want your block, and not deliver it.... so essentially unknowingly you would miss out on receiving it. My positive self told myself, Self...they are doing this so as not not to give blocks to those who are not interested, my little devil side thinks they hope you miss it, forget and leave it behind, thus eventually saving money giving out less blocks in the long run. Bad devil, my Royal would never do that!

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, Neesa said:

Great! I'm glad this helps. I always sit down on the balcony and look through everything in the suites folder. Always the same, but alas not this time. The letter expressed if you didn't do this they would assume you did not want your block, and not deliver it.... so essentially unknowingly you would miss out on receiving it. My positive self told myself, Self...they are doing this so as not not to give blocks to those who are not interested, my little devil side thinks they hope you miss it, forget and leave it behind, thus eventually saving money giving out less blocks in the long run. Bad devil, my Royal would never do that!

I didn't realize we were passing 140 on Harmony last year and received no letter. This was during the extreme backlog. I called C&A afterwards and 5-6 months later the block was mailed as promised.

I'll be the optimist and say if you "miss" your block you may still be able to get it... but you could easily be correct.

[asquared17]

17 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

that you leave on the curb doesn’t seem to be getting delivered. They were all just in a giant like near the service door in the hallway and people were all going to pick it up themselves. Maybe it’s a NJ thing? Lol

hey now!!

i am still going to need a moment about the underwear in the drawer….

also re: the kettle. this is silly. i WILL say my mom is like you with her tea and she typically brings a small portable kettle when we travel for this reason. she agrees with @Neesa — it’s not the same when boiled in a coffee maker (also, EW.)

it does seem like a strange hill to die on. maybe they don’t have enough kettles for the cabins? except you are in a suite. this makes no sense. 

people laugh at me when i have my floating duffel of spare items but if i were a tea drinker, there would now be a kettle in there!!

i think the crux of the issue is the lack of consistency across the suites. but let’s not get started on that

glad you all had a fun time in NYC (i too, have never been to the NYPL), a (relatively) easy boarding process (rip home genie), and are settled in.

hopefully you are feeling better today, and the weather clears up.

[MLH]

Just off Brillance for Alaska.  After so many Oasis, Quantum, Freedom Class,it was for sure  different. I didnt gain any weight as the food in the WJ never changed and the MDR served small portions.  Not a lot of alternate food places. The iternary calls for a smaller ship, but it will take a long time for me to go back on one. But, it was not over crowded even at the MTD line even for being sold out.  That is a positive!  

For MTD, tell the concierge and they can walk you to the front of the line.  

[Lovetocruise2002]

3 hours ago, asquared17 said:

i think the crux of the issue is the lack of consistency across the suites. but let’s not get started on that

^^^this is exactly the issue right here!

1 hour ago, MLH said:

For MTD, tell the concierge and they can walk you to the front of the line.  

Yes, Lorena has been great. She took care of things for us

[Lovetocruise2002]

Day 2 - Sea day

I was shocked as the whole family joined me for breakfast this morning on a sea day! Those of you who normally follow my blogs that this is not a usual occurrence. I normally eat alone.

Breakfast was at Chops. Hours are 8:00-9:30am on a sea day. Kids said they wanted to come but they would meet us there. Then when we got there, we got text saying they wanted us to order for them but they couldn’t find the breakfast menu on the app. Sorry kids, this is not CK lol

Seeing that everyone was there this morning, we got some breakfast pics

 

[OCSC Mike]

3 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Sorry kids, this is not CK

Your luggage had better accommodations on Wonder than they do now. Poor freeloaders.

[Lovetocruise2002]

After breakfast, the kids took off. Hubby and I ventured down to Studio B to check out the Top Tier party. Mainly, I was curious to see how many Pinnacle members were on board because we feel like everywhere we go, we run into one. They have all been really nice just in case anyone is wondering

Anyway, here are the stats from today;

Captain Mal is a fellow Canadian and he did a little Q&A with the audience. He is also pretty entertaining. Hubby wanted to ask him if he missed playing hockey. 

He got the puck in the little slot on the first try! 

After some remarks by the hotel director and loyalty ambassador, they finished off with a small performance by a few members of the ice cast. 

 

[Lovetocruise2002]

On the kettle, D+ welcome amenity, glass block front, still nothing. Although Lorena did tell us this morning that she will try to speak with someone else to see if she can get us a kettle.

[Ampurp85]

Can I just say the one plate on the top left looks really overdone......did you ask for well done.... or does Liberty just burn food?????

[Lovetocruise2002]

3 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Your luggage had better accommodations on Wonder than they do now. Poor freeloaders.

The kids love their room on this sailing. They have never actually had their own room before on a sailing. It’s their first time. The closest cabin we had that had separation was the Ultra Spacious Oceanview on Indy, and I don’t count that one because it only a curtain to separate the master bed from the bunk room. 

[Ampurp85]

I also want to say it has been consistent now, that a majority of the cruisers are newbies or been on 1 or 2 cruises. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

Just now, Ampurp85 said:

Can I just say the one plate on the top left looks really overdone......did you ask for well done.... or does Liberty just burn food?????

Haha! That was Hubby’s fast fare breakfast. That was my exact first thought to when they put it down but I did not say anything cause all 4 of them were already rolling their eyes at me because Lorena had come by to Chops to let us know that she was still working on the kettle.