“The journey, not the arrival matters.”
T.S. Elliot
We
scheduled a Canada and New England cruise with friends in September
2023. A friend we met on a past cruise, invited us to join them on
this cruise and we jumped on it. This cruise was very reasonably
priced when we booked it so it was a no brainer, and we booked it
right away. They invited their other friends from past cruising and
we invited our good friends from Joe’s Army band days.
Liberty
of the Seas was a Freedom Class cruise ship which holds 3634
passengers and 1300 crew members. The crew to passenger ratio is
2.79 to 1. This ship was launched in 2007 after being built at
Finnyards Turku Shipyard, Finland after an 18 month build. This
beautiful ship is 1,111.9 feet long and 184 feet wide and can cruise
at 21.6 knots.
In
2011, the ship went through some renovations which included an
outdoor video screen in the main pool area. Then in 2016, the ship
added some cabins, new restaurants, and an improved pool deck area.
This renovation also included adding water slides, two racing slides
and a boomerang style slide. They also added a children’s water
play area.
We
parked right at Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New Jersey after
picking our friends, Sue and Steve up at the Newark Airport which is
only just over 9 miles from the port. The parking is not cheap ($30
a day) but it is very convenient. After parking, we were able to
take a shuttle bus right to the ship. The embarkment process was
very easy and we were on the ship in less than 15 minutes from start
to finish. We brought all our luggage with us which we usually do
not do, but it worked out fine.
When
we got on, we looked to find a comfortable place to sit that was not
too crowded. We ended up at the Schooner Bar which was empty and
literally was the only time it was empty during the entire cruise.
We sat down and put our luggage on the side while we enjoyed a drink
and relaxed before our room was ready. We were able to meet up with
all our friends there which worked out great since there was plenty
of seating. We ended up sitting there till it was announced that the
rooms were ready.
We
grabbed all our luggage and took it to the room, got settled in, and
then went and grabbed a snack. Then we started exploring this fine
ship. We headed up to the helicopter pad for the Sail Away. Passing
by New York City was a beautiful site. We could see Lady Liberty
(the Statue of Liberty) off in the distance. We headed under the
Verrazano Bridge. When we were underneath, the Captain blared his
horn. I’m sure those vehicles on the bridge got a good scare. We
all loved it. That meant, our vacation had begun.
Right
after that, they had a parade in the Promenade. It was fabulous.
The costumes were amazing. We had never seen a parade before. It
was so much fun to see. There was so much energy from the staff and
it brought that child like feeling back when parades were special.
We felt this one was special.
We
enjoyed exploring this ship. On Deck two, there were cabins as well
as The Conference Center.
On
Deck Three there are more rooms, Studio B, the Ice Skating Rink, Main
Dining Room, and the Platinum Theatre. There was a wonderful Ice
Skating show in Studio B. The entertainers were fabulous and put on
a great show. During the day, anyone could get a pair of skates and
try to ice skate. That is also a fun activity, watching people
trying to skate for the first time.
Deck
four is where the Schooner Bar is located. As I said before, this
bar was always full with either a trivia show or a piano player
entertaining the crowd. There also was the Sabor Restaurant, Casino
Royale, which was a busy place at night when we were out to sea, the
Photo Gallery and Shop, Boleros Lounge which featured a Salsa band,
Centrum, where the main glass staircase was located, the second floor
of the main dining room and another floor of the Platinum Theatre.
The dining room was very lovely with a extra large crystal chandelier
hanging over the main area. Each level was named after a Renaissance
painter with paintings throughout that level showing their art work.
We
were thrilled to find out there was a Promenade. It was located on
Deck 5. The Promenade has some great places to check out. We were
happy to find Sorrento’s Pizza (wonderful pizza served nice and hot
all day long), Hoof and Claw Pub which was disappointing as they
served no draft beer, retail stores, Ben and Jerry’s, Cupcake
Cupboard, Cafe Promenade, Shore excursion desk, Next Cruise Desk, R
Bar, Star Lounge, Guest Services, and the Main Dining room. We ate
on this level and were pleased with the food they served. The staff
works so hard to make our dining experience a good one. The
Promenade is where the colorful and energetic parade was held on day
one. Later on in the cruise they had a meet and greet with the
Captain and his ship mates. When he did the announcements we were
surprised to be able to understand everything he said and found out
he was Canadian. We had usually only had Greek Captains before so it
was a big change. On another day, they had a ceremony honoring all
veterans that was very nice.
Deck
6 through 10 is only rooms.
Deck
11 has two specialty restaurants both Chops Grille and Govanni's
Table. We did not try either one of these restaurants on this trip
but have in the past and they never disappoint. The Splash away Bay
was a great kids area that was well underused on our ship. The
children who were on our ship must have loved there time there as
their were no waits. Along with the main pools whirlpools, pool
bar, the Solarium the adults only pool features deep water with
stools in the water and bar to put your drinks on. There were also
two whirlpools that project off the side of the ship for better views
that felt great and were hardly ever full. The Vitality at Sea
Fitness Center was state of the art and large, and the Windjammer.
We found the food to be good but nothing special at the Windjammer.
Deck
12 has some rooms as well as Vitality at Sea Spa, the Sky Bar, the
movie screen, running track, nursery, Adventure Ocean, Johnny
Rockets, a pay restaurant which is set up as a dinner, Fuel Teen
Disco, and the Video Arcade.
Deck
13 had Liberty Dunes, the miniature golf course, the rock climbing
wall, Sports court, The Perfect Storm, Cyclone and Typhoon, Flow
rider, and Tidal Wave. During this cruise there was a lot of fog so
if you were playing miniature golf, the fog horn sounded every five
minutes or so and the fog horn was right there and would scare you if
you weren’t prepared. It was a nice miniature golf course. My
friend, Sue got me to try the water slides on this ship and I must
say it was fun. I had always been scared to try before but she gave
me the courage.
Deck
14 has the Viking Crown Lounge and Diamond Club. We really liked the
Viking Crown Lounge during the day with all the windows and great
views of the ocean. It was a nice quiet spot on the boat.
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The
only thing on Deck 15 is the Skylight Chapel. What a beautiful little
chapel that you can come and sit in quiet and reflect on all your
blessings.
We
really enjoyed this ship and especially enjoyed having our friends
with us. It was wonderful having dinners together and then going to
see a show. We enjoyed the shows. They preformed Saturday Night
Fever in the theatre and it was a high energy show but didn’t seem
to go over that well with some of the older crowd on board. The comedians
were funny. We were disappointed that the Love and Marriage show
didn’t come on till 10:30 at night. We missed it as after a long
day we couldn’t hang with the big dogs.
The
cruise ship was kept clean and the staff was very helpful and kind.
We enjoyed the cruise and would recommend this ship. The cruise band
was very good and we enjoyed their one performance. We only wished
they could have preformed more. Our room was always kept perfect and we loved our little towel friends that were left for us to enjoy. Great job for all the crew.
Till next time. Bye for now.
