JUST BACK FROM THE LIBERTY OF THE SEAS!

After finally catching up on laundry, cruise news, emails and phone messages; I can sit and tell you all about my most recent cruise onboard IMHO the greatest ship in the world! Im talking about my annual family cruise with my husband and my four sons. Last year we chose the Freedom of the Seas and this year the newer sister ship, the Liberty of the Seas! WOW! What a great ship! We visited the western caribbean ports of Montego bay Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Royal Caribbean's private island of Labadee. I have always called the Voyager class of ships my favorite, and still love them, however the Freedom class is in a class of their own! They share a lot of the same design, but only bigger and also have some things that the voyager class do not; like the FLOWRIDER! Oh my! Whats it must be like to body surf on top of the biggest ship in the world! Of course I only watched, but from the looks of those who chose to surf, its unbelievable!!! There is so much to do and see onboard, that if I hadnt done the Freedom and then the Liberty, Im not sure I could have seen it all!
In addition to my husband and children I also cruised with my Dad and his wife and two children, my sister and her two children and some friends. I also had a group I was cruising with that was actually two groups in one. From the conversations I had with them all, there was not one who was disapointed! Also, I got to meet a family celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary who were in the cabins surrounding mine! I was suprised to find out that some were right from my surrounding town! Yes, on a ship that holds up to 5000 people I did manage to find new friends/neighbors!
I stayed in a Junior Suite, stateroom #1406 on the AFT of the ship deck 10. If you know me you know I absolutely love and swear by the AFT balcony cabins! First, the obvious... the larger balcony! Why not get a bigger balcony for the same price of a JS with a smaller balcony? Besides the long walk to the back of the ship gives you a chance to walk off all the food! I am truly amazed at the view of the wake on all my cruises take a glass of wine out there with your honey and its sooo romantic!....to me there is nothing like it! I absolutely am mezmerized by the moon light view from the aft, where there is nothing but water....ahhh! There is even a lounge chair or two for a quiet time sunbathing or perhaps a good book or nap! My boys as usual complained that they always have to have an inside cabin! With my group I had a chance to book various staterooms onboard, I had a Royal Family Suite booked by one family of 7. They loved the cabin and were very comfortable in it. I also had several E1 balconies booked on deck 8, D1's on deck nine and 10 and atrium view cabins as well as a few insides. I had a total of 4 JS booked and all were a little bit different. It was a lot of fun traveling with old as well as new clients/friends! Many in my group took the opportunity to book a future cruise while onboard. I highly recommended it. You can book a "NEXT CRUISE" with only a $100. deposit and recieve up to $200 onboard credit once you choose your cruise! Its a no brainer, when I got home I had 7 faxes waiting for me! The time frame is infinite...you decide when you are ready! Also another perk...if you do decide within 30 days and confirm the booking, you get to give the same onboard credit to one or two family or friends if they choose the same sailing with you! Thanks Royal Caribbean for that deal!
You would think that a ship as large as the Liberty carrying up to 5000 people would be terribly crowded....Im telling you that at no time did I find a single line longer than a 3 minute wait! I did hear of lines and trouble finding a table in the Windjammer for breakfast, but nothing that would stop me or any of mine onboard from cruising her again! It is to be expected that during the peak breakfast run there will always be a little frustration finding a table, or a lounge chair by the pool on a sea day, in my experience that can be on any cruise ship. All in all, one of, if not the best cruise I have EVER been on! The crew worked non stop to make sure we were all happy and satisfied. My room steward, Alex and waiter, Randy assistant waiter GiGi were the best I have ever had! Every night Randy would suprise our table with a new trick or two, he was the greatest!
Well, I dont want to make you feel any worse than you do already if you werent onboard with us! I already have a group started on the Freedom for next year, same week. The NJ teacher's convention week of 11/2 will be the perfect time to take the kids away as they will only miss 2 days of school with the added Election day off! The rates are great and the ship will visit the eastern caribbean this time.....Hurry, pick up the phone right now and call me! The required deposit is only $500 for the whole cabin, and nothing more due until Aug 08!
check out the website: www.freedomoftheseas.com