After sailing with Disney 6 times we want to try something new.
We are thinking of going with Royal Caribbean in the Liberty of the Seas.
If anybody has taken a cruise in this ship can you tell me about it?
Also I have some questions?
How are the shows?
How is the childrens club?
Are you allowed to change table assigments like we Do with Disney?
How are their specialties restaurants?
Do they have a movie Theather?
Do they have free sodas ?
If they dont are we allowed to bring our own?
Tell me anything you can . Thanks
We cruised on both Navigator of the Seas and Independence of the Seas this past August to the Med. We loved both ships! My DD is 10 and she had an awesome time in the clubs - just be aware they aren't open all day like Disney. They close for a couple hours during meal times. Although they did offer a Kids Dinner at Johnny Rockets quite a few times during the cruise. You can get late night group babysitting from 10pm to 1am in the club for $5/hr, or you can get in-room babysitting for $8/hr -but that is limited, as it's based upon crewmembers volunteering to work after hours.
I didn't go to the specialty restaurants, but on Independence they offered My Time Dining which is awesome. We really liked being able to schedule dinner around our activities. And you can request a table for just your family, so you can dine at YOUR pace!
Their production shows weren't as elaborate as Disney, but DD did enjoy them. The shows are geared toward an adult audience, but nothing x-rated. They have these huge parties in the Grand Promenade in the evenings, but they don't start until around 11pm, sometimes closer to midnight. Because like most cruise lines, if you have second seating dining, you still go to your show AFTER dinner. By the way, the ice shows are not to be missed!
They do have a small movie theater, and also pay per view movies on your TV. Their soda package is only worth it if you drink like 3 sodas a day. So rather than pay $2+ per soda onboard, I picked up some cans at a market in Barcelona and brought them and some water bottles onboard. We refilled the water bottles with the tap water and it tasted fine.
Johnny Rockets has a $3.95 cover charge per person but it includes all the burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, fries, onion rings, and desserts you can eat! They do charge for drinks. But we'd walk in with our own soda cans and they'd happily give us cups of ice for them. Johnny Rockets is the only restaurant you can go to in your swimsuit - if you eat outside. But they have frozen yogurt out by the main pool area, and fresh fruit in the adults-only solarium.
The flow rider is really cool! You have to be 52" to boogie board and 58" to surf. If your kids are shorter than that, and you think they might be bummed that they can't do it, then I'd suggest doing a Voyager class ship now. The Voyager class has an inline skating rink instead of the Flow Rider.
We loved RCI - I've cruised them before, but this was our first time on their larger ships. I was really impressed by how wonderful and personalised the service felt even with all of those folks onboard. In fact, we are doing Back to Back cruises on Independence next March in the Caribbean.
I think you'll LOVE Liberty!
