Jump to content

Liberty 2/25/18 7 Nights


twangster

Recommended Posts

11 hours ago, twangster said:

 

5a97747e18d4d_LibertyDay4Night-11.jpg.96516aeb70884d37919a2b693f6f4b63.jpg

I can't get over these pics! They are amazing! There's so much color on the pool deck.. are all Freedom class like this? I went on Indy way back in 2008 and haven't been on any of her sisters. The Galveston port of Liberty has always deterred me, but I am really itching to try it out...

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/1/2018 at 7:58 AM, Sabrinaklai said:

Not on all ships though right?  Isn't it closed off on Oasis class ships and opened for special events only?

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.

On 3/1/2018 at 7:59 AM, HLWIser said:

I can't get over these pics! They are amazing! There's so much color on the pool deck.. are all Freedom class like this? I went on Indy way back in 2008 and haven't been on any of her sisters. The Galveston port of Liberty has always deterred me, but I am really itching to try it out...

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:

yks6QE3.jpg

Independence:

eRk3Xg2.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, twangster said:

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.  

I live in Texas so it's a little different for me, but I have never had a problem with Galveston's port and it's actually a pretty cool town if you know where to go. It's certainly no Miami, but Galveston definitely has a few things going for it. One of those things is definitely great rates on Liberty. For anyone who is there the day before a cruise there is a historic area downtown called The Strand that is worth checking out. Pleasure Pier is also a pretty cool little amusement park located on a pier hanging over the water. It is all lit up at night and also looks really cool from the beach during the day with the rollercoasters and Ferris Wheel in the background. It makes for some great photos on the beach.

 

Great Photos on this live blog @twangster. I went on the same cruise last April and it's been fun reliving it through this blog.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, twangster said:

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.  

Yes, agree, IAH is all the way north of Houston, so if you can fly in to Hobby, it is best, Galveston and Liberty have become my go to cruise, if I can't find something else I would prefer, different ship, different itinerary etc., I always fall back on Liberty because I know she is close, drive-able, and a great ship, I'm getting a little tired of Cozumel, but at least it is decent sized island and I can always find something to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

CTdieM9.jpg

f73GOpO.jpg

2hUAYs5.jpg

Mynlvt6.jpg

M1oe4ZH.jpg

MB8DqpR.jpg

QVquslD.jpg

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

gkV9PcS.jpg

dVYd8US.jpg

JWuw09N.jpg

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

NZGGJ1z.jpg

d2xnlbz.jpg

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

5I5V6q2.jpg

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.

sVPwiGt.jpg

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

1Om4mRZ.jpg

lACSiAF.jpg

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.

mfWdow2.jpg

wvV9P7Q.jpg

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

UV4JfDl.jpg

RnekSHA.jpg

c8zjRxZ.jpg

mxiF21z.jpg

Ready for a beverage I stopped at the Krazy Lobster.

fL8R8Y9.jpg

iMcHBUS.jpg

eITEqUn.jpg

jvcQUJW.jpg

limTtbt.jpg

aIrHh0y.jpg

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.

D3e8D6s.jpg

73vPlFH.jpg

yJCEgZp.jpg

cxp7rw9.jpg

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great photos! Interesting about the seaweed on the beach. Must have been a storm off shore and with the on shore winds that's where it ends up. We have the same thing occur here in NC on a lot of our beaches. But, for the most part, we don't have folks out there raking up nor bobcats to remove it. :27_sunglasses:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, Costa Maya and Mahahual look great !  I guess it's been a couple of years since we've been there, too.  I really enjoy this port.  I hope that Royal will start sending more ships there - particularly the O class ships as this port can accommodate them.  I really don't understand why they don't alternate this port with Coz more than they do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Wow, Costa Maya and Mahahual look great !  I guess it's been a couple of years since we've been there, too.  I really enjoy this port.  I hope that Royal will start sending more ships there - particularly the O class ships as this port can accommodate them.  I really don't understand why they don't alternate this port with Coz more than they do.

That's how it looked in December when we were there.  My daughter loved that dolphin swim area that @twangster captured in one of the photos.  It was a pleasant surprise as we had zero expectations for CM.  We ended up there due to an itinerary change due to the damage to the Eastern Caribbean ports.  My sister and I just spent the afternoon wandering around that cruise port area.  There was more than enough there for the day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

c9do6I7.jpg

76eo41J.jpg

nPAo80Z.jpg

o2xrBNV.jpg

gDhsO3M.jpg

o3Yukpm.jpg

kSuWNPR.jpg

CsORWJF.jpg

a4PXURS.jpg

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Wow, Costa Maya and Mahahual look great !  I guess it's been a couple of years since we've been there, too.

I thought same thing. We're going back for the first time since 2010 and it's incredible to see how much as changed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/1/2018 at 10:38 PM, RestingBirds said:

Ok...I'm definitely going to consider an itinerary with Costa Maya now, looks amazing.

 

On 3/2/2018 at 6:56 AM, Boston Babe said:

@twangster you really should think about making travel brochures, incredible pictures.  I was very hesitant about Costa Maya, I thought we would just stay on the ship in January, but WOW did you change my mind, now I'm looking forward to it so much!

 

On 3/2/2018 at 6:58 AM, rjac said:

Yeah, what she said!:27_sunglasses:

 

On 3/2/2018 at 7:41 AM, Matt said:

I thought same thing. We're going back for the first time since 2010 and it's incredible to see how much as changed.

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.  

On 3/2/2018 at 7:21 AM, Sabrinaklai said:

Up until December, I thought Cozumel had the most brilliant blue water.  The water in Costa Maya is even one up on that.  I can't even describe it. ?

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:

7m3zvj4.jpg

hC9sfHO.jpg

Huh.  Looks like I went to Cozumel on that cruise as well, and ran into a familiar ship. 

Liberty back in 2015 sans slides:

zBB3IwY.jpg

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.  

AOIN7c2.jpg

wTO5AJ9.jpg

UcRU6lb.jpg

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, Sabrinaklai said:

Up until December, I thought Cozumel had the most brilliant blue water.  The water in Costa Maya is even one up on that.  I can't even describe it. ?

Believe it or not, the water in Bermuda is even more beautiful.  It was the biggest surprise to me about Bermuda.  I didn't expect that beautiful blue water.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, rjac said:

Great photos! Interesting about the seaweed on the beach. Must have been a storm off shore and with the on shore winds that's where it ends up. We have the same thing occur here in NC on a lot of our beaches. But, for the most part, we don't have folks out there raking up nor bobcats to remove it. :27_sunglasses:

I stayed a week in 2015 up the coast at a place called Puerto Morelos, it's about midway between Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, stayed in a little AirBNB about a half block off the beach, anyway, they fought the seaweed problem the whole week we were there, locals said it was do to the overly warm water in the gulf and that the seaweed was blooming and growing like crazy and yes @rjac because of the wind and the angle of the coast it's the last stop for the sea weed.

You would think some really smart person would go down and figure out how to turn all of this excess seaweed in to a bio fuel or something, never ending renewable energy source.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

I stayed a week in 2015 up the coast at a place called Puerto Morelos, it's about midway between Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, stayed in a little AirBNB about a half block off the beach, anyway, they fought the seaweed problem the whole week we were there, locals said it was do to the overly warm water in the gulf and that the seaweed was blooming and growing like crazy and yes @rjac because of the wind and the angle of the coast it's the last stop for the sea weed.

You would think some really smart person would go down and figure out how to turn all of this excess seaweed in to a bio fuel or something, never ending renewable energy source.

Search for 'Sargossa Sea'.  It's much bigger than the Gulf or Caribbean Sea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargasso_Sea

How about "Sargossa Beer"?  Might be a little salty.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.     

rwUr5f8.jpg

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Search for 'Sargossa Sea'.  It's much bigger than the Gulf or Caribbean Sea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargasso_Sea

How about "Sargossa Beer"?  Might be a little salty.  

 

I got it!   We'll call it:  SarGose Sea!

 

In case you didn't know, gose is a beer made with salt.  An example:

Image result for Westbrook gose

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

8fRKhRK.jpg

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:

C4bJa6a.jpg

 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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back To Day 6 - Cozumel

I let the crowds disembark and then headed towards town on foot.  

k38zt1C.jpg

AoT1xpk.jpg

i6Yr596.jpg

VbQOMl0.jpg

Looks like its lifeboat exercise day.

sQwq3Uc.jpg

dsbrgg0.jpg

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

oiTK6QX.jpg

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

RdQxEXq.jpg

The walk towards 'downtown'.

LBgp82B.jpg

lHcbjnl.jpg

Sunset bar.  Time for a Marg.

7VRjOpr.jpg

IpUgoGY.jpg

asZfEAH.jpg

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

Z2m3tv7.jpg

The water is pretty mesmerizing here.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

sEvoEEl.jpg

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.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, twangster said:

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.     

Liberty CZM Ferry-1.jpg

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

Thanks for sharing that, we'll be there next week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, twangster said:

 night 6 dinner menu, still part of the new all-in-one menu.  

5a99b6c00a508_LibertyDay6Menu-1.thumb.jpg.5a8e4b64a86dec678eabc772cdc41fc3.jpg

Is the all-in-one menu thing fleet-wide or is it just on Liberty? Also, do you HAVE to order dessert when ordering your appetiser and entree or can thou order it after eating your entree?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...