Hi,

My name is Lori, and I am new to this group and looking into booking our 1st RC cruise.

My husband and I have cruised 2 times on Carnival back in the late 80's, and then on Disney Cruise Lines in 2006, and 2007 with our 2 girls ages 7 and 10.

We are thinking about going on the Dec. 6 sailing of the Liberty of the Seas. I've got a few questions, and was hoping you experienced folks could help me out.

We would like to book a balcony-Cat. D1. Does anyone no of certain cabins in that category to stay away from either because it's a noisy location, or just for some other reason?

Also, can someone tell me what level the kids clubs are located on? We found it very convenient to be 1 floor above them when we went on the Disney Cruises.

Any tips on where to get the best deal on a RC cruise? Seems all the so called "cruise deal" websites advertising great prices are all around the same price as the RC website. I was able to get in on a deal of blocked rooms both times for our Disney Cruises and saved quite a bit.

I know I have more questions, but just can't think of them right now. I'd love to hear any advice or info. you are willing to share.

Thanks!

Lori

I think any cat.D1 you pick would be fine.Adventure ocean and The arcade are on deck 12.The best price for a RCI cruise is through their website or through a TA.You can not go wrong with RCI.

Hi Lori.

As avid RCCL fans, here's what we do... we get the deck plans and try to find cabins with 1) no public areas above or below, 2) not real close to elevators and other open areas 3) away for stairs and 4) away from crew areas. That does whittle the number of cabins "acceptable to you" down quite a bit. Then I go to see my favorite, long-time TA and sit there as we call RCCL and go through my "wish list" one by one.

I have to say there is a reason we do this... our 1st cruise back in the early 80's on an old Carnival ship, wife and I had an inside cabin with the elevator shaft on one side and stairways(old woodend ones)on two other sides! AND.. we had bunkbeds! It took me more than ten years to get the wife back on a cruise. We laugh each time we talk about it but it has guided us to to this day to get good cabins.

Hope this helps!

Lori,
We prefer mid-ship, mid-level cabins. The higher the cabin is from the water, the more back & forth motion you will experience (remember the effect of a tedder-totter? The least amount of rolling will be mid-ship (in the middle); the most amount of rolling will be an outside cabin (obviously). The closer you are to the water, the more noise there is from the water.

As far as balcony views - ask the TA or the RC representative if it has an obstructed view - the room s/b coded as such if it does.

As far as the Kids clubs, find a floor layout available at the RC website. The Liberty is the same as the Freedom of the Seas (which we were on for our 25th Anniversary last Christmas) - the Kids clubs and arcades are at the aft of the ship on a floor that has no cabins (its all a public area).

As far as the best deal possible. Good luck. Get a RC Visa and earn points and become a stockholder (for a short period of time). We earned 800 VISA points which gave us an $800 discount applied to our ticket. We received a $100 on-board credit from being a stockholder - unfortunately, we bought the shares at $40 and now they are trading at $32.90. So the secret to on-board credits is to buy and sell the stock within a short period of time!

If you determine a super sharp way to save $ on rooms - let us all know how! The last time we were on the Freedom we placed a $ deposit down for our next cruise (with no expiration date) and received a $100 on-board credit. Since we buy everything with our VISA, we will earn a bunch of points every month - so that helps as well.

As far as believing that prices will go down if you buy early or at a certain time, I've read the RC shareholders reports for the last three years - They claim that they are running at over 100% ACPD (Average Capacity Passenger Days). Now you and I both know that it is impossible to book & sail with over 100% capacity - however, RC claims to do so. I can't figure out how they do it, but perhaps they include unrefunded passengar deposits into their formula. Regardless of their method of calculating ACPDs, if they believe that they are booking at 100%+ and they are continuing to build extremely large vessels, don't look for too many discounts since at this time (1) they believe they are at full capacity and (2) they know they have a heavy debt burden to service.

Again, if you find any way to find super deals - let us know!

Hi Lori,

I sail a D1 cat all the time and am very happy with that cabin category. I think as long as your girls are young you will be fine. When they get a little bigger you’ll probably want to invest in the JS for the extra room. 2 in a D1 is great, 4 can be a bit squeezie once they get out of grade school.

As far as location, D1’s are located on various decks on the Liberty, 6-10. Coveted locations are always the ‘hump’ and the fan tail.

The Hump is the area around the elevators that bulges out. Depending on the ship configuration, there can be a wall between the elevator and the actual cabin doors so you tend to avoid the foot traffic. But this is not true of all ships. The mid section would be convenient for you since you are traveling with kids, less walking and easy access for them.

Forward cabins are probably the least popular. If there is going to be movement on a ship that’s usually the first place it’s felt. It can be very breezy on a balcony at the bow of the ship.

D1’s on deck 6 are located just above the Centrum area, Champagne bar and guest relations. I’d skip that location. Deck 7 has D1’s far forward and mid aft, they would be fine. The same is true of deck 8. Deck 9 offers more cabin options as well as the hump cabins but there are also a lot of connecting cabins so be careful what you book. If you were looking for a hump deck cabin I’d suggest 9330 or 9630. There are also aft cabins on this deck.

Deck 10 is always a matter of personal choice. You will be situated under a rather active deck, the fitness center, the h2o center, the windjammer. This deck always sells so someone likes it but if you’re looking for quiet, I’d opt for another!

As was previously stated, kids club is located aft on deck 12.

As far as ship movement. Not to worry. Then new ships are incredible and you will hardly feel any movement at all. The large newer ships are very stable. I sailed in Ivan and in a ship much smaller than the Liberty. One bonin and a wrist bands and you couldn’t keep me in my cabin.

When to buy? Early bird booking specials. Sails open up to 18 months in advance with wonderful pricing, full inventory options as well as a long and free layaway plan. Pricing increases based on supply and demand so when there is a hot cruise that is selling like wildfire, the price will elevate accordingly. I had a Hawaiian that sold out in 8 weeks and the price was increased every other day. However, just prior to sail, cabins became available, at very dear price. My D1 went for more than $2,500 over what I paid for it. Early birds are the way to go!

Even groups can’t give you a price that isn’t there but what they offer is a fixed price for a period of time. During this period, the public price will escalate, making the group price look very handsome indeed! However, had the individual booked the same time the group blocked, all things being equal, the price would have been the same.

I hope you have a great cruise. I am sure your girls will be enthralled with all the latest bells and whistles on the lovely lady Liberty.