Royal Caribbean Group — Attraction in Miami

Humbly, this was my first cruise and here is the review. But first the details: Liberty of the Seas-Galveston,TX-23 Nov to 01 Dec 2019-Res#4040181-Roatan, Belize and Cozumel.

THE GOOD Organized check in and check out at Port Galveston with great reception staff, courteous port workers and ICE agents. Had the KEY pass and once on the ship we went to our jr. suite and it was clean and smelled great. Bathroom on point, sheets stiff, cold A/C , bed firm and on demand hot showers. Closet was perfect size there are plenty of drawers and if you use a CPAP call guest services for an extension cord. Unpacked, went straight to the bar (drink package...hell yea!) and checked out the ship. AMAZING...a floating shopping mall with bars, restaurants, pools, eateries, more bars, art work and live music.

THE BEAUTIFUL Room was cleaned everyday with one of those cool towel animals displayed to prove it. The power flush on the toilets is a thing of beauty...WHOOSH and fugetaboudit! Hand sanitizer everywhere and if you forget a crew member will give you a squirt before you go into the dining area. Use it! All the ship crew is friendly and will smile or say "hi", even the boiler room guys, so don't forget your manners at home and smile and say "hi" back. The ship is in immaculate condition, spotless and odor free. There are crew members who are dedicated to cleaning 24 hours a day. Don't believe me? Go to the Casino at 4 AM and there will be crew members cleaning, wiping, polishing, vacuuming, mopping, shining...what have you and happy about it!

THE UNBELIEVABLE The service is top notch! At the evening dinners you will not see one waiter idle, all of them are serving with a purpose and treat you like family. Want seconds? Ask. The food at the buffets are better than just good, it is made with love by chefs who will ask you if you liked it or what you didn't like. They listen and every diet conscious or food allergy person will find something to eat as they post "gluten free" or allergy warnings where needed. We normally don't eat three times a day, but when the aromas hit you-you are drawn to the source and there you will food as far as the eye can see. A unbelievable sight indeed.

SHOUT OUTS ANDRES from Panama, our evening server is the MAN! Kind, professional, quick and a great sense of humor. He will bring a bread basket to your table to put your i phones in if you request it. His helper RAJU from India left no glass empty and was quick to remove your empty plates. ANA MARIA from Rrrrrrromania is not only gorgeous but a very funny and personable host at the Rembrandt restaurant were we dined in the evening. GLENROY at the Schooner bar knew my drink by the first day (Crown and Coke) and when I walked up to the bar he was already making it. The STARBUCKS crew-coffee HOT, fresh every single morning and with all the fixings you need to make your perfect cup of coffee. The MEDICAL OFFICE who gave me a band-aid and some ointment for my toe scrape that happened while running into a beach chair on the pool deck and no, I wasn't drunk. Our room steward (I forgot your name, but not the tip) thank you for making sure our cabin was squared away at all times. The CAPTAIN, who ever you are kind sir, thank you for a smooth sail while we were underway. Well done sir and your officers and crew are absolutely incredible. And lastly...

C'MON MAN moments... The guy who was yelling in the Schooner bar that his drink did not have the any Gin in it. He threatend, "I'll drink it...but when I come back...it better have some Gin it!". Ooooo I was eh-scared...C'mon man!

The parents who think the ship is their floating day care and let their kids run amuck. PLEASE don't let them take over the elevators and push every button up and down then ask you for a tip when you get to your floor. C'MON man!

The jerk on the pool deck who squared up on a crew member because he bumped into him with his mop and throwing the f-bomb like he was going to fight him. Bro, leave the tough guy act at...

Traveling with my wife (27) and daughter (2) plus friends (30, 30, 9, 2). We’re from Arizona and this is our second cruise ever — our first was on MSC Virtuosa out of Martinique.

🛏️ Room: We booked a balcony ocean view. It’s modern, bright, and makes great use of the space — feels like the “Apple Store” of staterooms. Bed and pillows are comfy, sheets are soft, and the bathroom is small but well-designed. Balcony is a bit tight but still enjoyable. 10/10 layout overall.

🎢 Amenities: There’s a ton to do — it’s hard to be bored! Our toddler LOVES the Surfside Neighborhood with its water park, playground, and carousel. Hideaway hasn’t had much energy yet, and while the Category 6 water park is fun, the ship layout separates the big slides from the toddler area by about 10 decks. Makes “parent swapping” tough. Wish they had placed these closer together, but still, plenty to enjoy. 9/10 overall for activities.

🍽️ Food: Chops Grille was a letdown — overpriced and both my wife and I ended up feeling sick afterward. We only went because the buffet (Windjammer) closes at 9 pm, but honestly, the buffet is fantastic! I’m not a buffet person, yet this one impressed me — lobster tail, steak, salmon, halibut, shrimp, grilled chicken, and more. Main dining looks elegant but food is just okay. Base Camp was downright awful — bad food, worse service (one worker slammed the door after refusing a simple request). Overall food so far: 6/10, saved by the buffet alone.

🧹 Service: Our stateroom attendant is great — friendly and consistent with daily cleaning, towel animals, and greetings. However, MSC cleaned twice daily, and overall, Royal Caribbean’s service feels less attentive. Some crew aren’t the friendliest, which surprised me for such a high-end cruise. Still, the basics are covered. 7/10

🍹 Nightlife: Better than MSC in terms of variety — there’s live music, bars, and plenty of activities — but not much of a club scene or place to “let loose.” Lots of salsa dancing and chill vibes, but not really a party atmosphere for 20s/30s guests. 5/10

⚓ Sailing quality: Not sure why, but this ship feels very rocky. Weather has been perfect and seas are calm, yet we feel the motion throughout the ship (top, middle, front, back). Neither of us gets motion sick normally, but this cruise has us feeling queasy at times. We never felt that on MSC Virtuosa. 4/10

Shows 🎭 : I cannot provide a review because they are never available. All booked up…

🌴 Overall: A stunning, modern ship with endless things to do, great buffet food, and a fantastic family layout. However, service inconsistency, rocky sailing, lack of show availability and early boarding time at ports and weak food outside the buffet keep it from being a perfect experience. I wish I had spent half the money and went on MSC for double the cruise experience quality.

Would I recommend it? No — manage your expectations if you’ve sailed any other cruise line at all… MSC or otherwise.

At the end of our last evening, I was taking photos of my wife who had spent a lot of time getting ready. Our toddler was nearby in her stroller — about four feet from the stairs, with the wheels locked. A security guard approached and told us to move the stroller back. It felt unnecessary and intrusive, as he couldn’t even see where my daughter was from his position. I calmly explained that she was completely safe and that I would never put her in harm’s way.

What bothered me most was the way he handled the situation — instead of showing understanding or respect, he was argumentative and disrupted what should have been a special family moment. I expressed that after paying a significant amount for this cruise, I expected to enjoy my evening without unnecessary interference from staff. The interaction left a bad impression and was not the note I wanted to end...

This cruise was sold as "Best of Cuba", three days in Cuba. What a joke! Before the cruise started they dropped one of the ports and substituted Key West. We were suppose to start boarding for the cruise at 11 AM but because of "technical difficulties" with the ship we were not allowed to start boarding until about 12:15. No problem. We boarded and directly went to the bar, got a drink and set by the pool, still no problem. We figured that by 3 PM our cabin would be ready, and it was, but found a cabin that hadn't been updated since the ship was put into service in 1990! Formica, particle board and cabinets with that golden oak wood edging were everywhere, straight out of the 80's. The cabin and the bathroom with it's flickering florescent lighting reminded me of Grandma's house. In the bathroom there was plastic countertops with cigarette burns and more 80's decor. Towels that had raggedy edges form too many washings like the ones I use to wash the car at home!

The food in the Windjammer Restaurant was more like a high school cafeteria. Abundant, yes, delicious, no. Lots of hamburger, hot dogs and pizza with a few other offerings sprinkled in. My son LOVES shrimp. He could literally eat shrimp three meals a day but two bites of the shrimp in Windjammer was all he wanted. If this child won't eat the shrimp you know it's bad! One night they had some small grilled steaks, chicken and pork loin cutlets. If you closed your eyes, your taste buds would not have been able to tell one from the other, bland and tasteless. The main dining room food wasn't much better, pretty bland and never hot, just warm. The selection was better and the service was good but again very bland mass produced food. There is the Chops Grill on board which you have to pay extra to eat at. Luckily we did so we had one good meal while on the ship.

The major problem with the cruise was CUBA! We pulled into port at 3:30 PM. My son and I were lucky in that we were one of the first groups to get off the ship at about 4:15 PM. Many on the ship weren't allowed off the ship until after dark. Royal Caribbean tried to blame everything on the Cuban Government but going through customs in Cuba was a breeze .We were scheduled to take a 5 hour tour of Havana in a classic car. We were taken by bus to where the old cars were waiting. The problem was that by now it's 4:30ish and it got dark about 5:30. We literally got to see almost nothing of Cuba except car headlights. Since everything in Cuba is owned by the government, everything closed at 5 PM. The bus stopped at a very over crowded store for just a few minutes so we could buy a bottle of rum and a few cigars, then dropped us back at the dock about 7PM. We had paid for a 5 hour tour and only got 2.5 hours, most of which was in the dark! EVERYONE was complaining but Royal Caribbean still wanted to blame it on the Cuban government. The ship then pulled out of port at 5:30 AM. 14 HOURS IN CUBA AND 12 HOURS OF THAT WAS AT NIGHT IN THE DARK! HOW DO YOU CALL THAT "BEST OF CUBA"?

Several days later we pulled in to Nassau, Bahamas. Again we had scheduled a shore excursion through RC. Thirty minutes before we were suppose to meet on the dock for our deep sea fishing excursion, RC called to say the excursion had been cancelled due to "mechanical difficulties". I went straight to the shore excursion desk and was told that the excursion had been cancelled due to lack of interest. (They had trouble keeping their stories straight no matter what the situation.) The manager of the shore excursion desk simply said, "Sorry, you're free to go into town and try and book something on your own". Lucky for us we were able to do just that and about half the price of what RC wanted...