Liberty or Mariner

C

Cruzin

Guest
We are trying to decide on booking either Liberty of the Seas of Mariner for an Eastern cruise in May. Any pro's or con's on either? We have been on several RCL ships but neither of these. We are looking at either a balcony or a JS. Is the JS worth the extra money? Also, a big consideration is the itineraries. Liberty goes to San Juan but doesn't dock until 3 pm. Besides walking around Old San Juan are there any other excursions at this time?


Cheers!
Sue
:)-D
 
C

Cruizer

Guest
The Liberty of the Seas is a bigger version of the Mariner of the Seas. The difference is the Mariner of the Seas has an inline skate tract that the Liberty of the Seas does not. The Liberty of the Seas has a Flowrider (a surfing simulator) and a miniature water park called the H2O Zone which is a big hit with the kids.

The JS is basically a larger version of a balcony cabin, except that it has a few upgrades also. Do you need the extra room? Are the upgrades of any interest to you? How much time will you spend in your cabin? How much is the extra cost worth to you (in other words, what, if anything, are you going to have to give up to afford the JS)? You have to decide if the JS is worth the extra cost. To me it is not, others will say it is. But the only one who can really answer this question is you.

I don't like getting into port late. However, there will be shore excursions available.
 
M

Mbandy

Guest
I have always wondered about the evening stop at San Juan. Seems like a waste to me but I've never done it so I can't really critique. I like the Mariner's itinerary better but I can't wait to go on a Freedom class ship. Had to cancel our cruise on Liberty last fall :( so that makes me want to go even more.
 
S

spoheating

Guest
I've been on both. My kids love the flowrider, but can't say we would pick one ship over another just for that. The Liberty is newer, and that can be fun. I did notice at tender ports that gettign 600+ more people on and off took a little more time, but this was not a big inconvenience. My favorite ship is probably the Mariner. I would definitely book the Liberty again though after having been on her. We've never had a staff person we didn't love, and the Liberty was no exception. I would say for us it would be a toss up. The H2O zone kept more smaller kiddies out of the main pool area, but also attracted more families to the ship so there were more kids in general. Again a toss up. Good luck deciding. I think I would let price determine.

We did an evening into Old San Juan and walked to El Morro and returned through old San Juan on foot, arriving back at the ship before dark. It as lovely, inexpensive, and we had a great time. The buildings are old, quaint, and picturesque.
 
P

PH8

Guest
I've been on both too..........Love them both..........Only reason,I would pick the MA over the LB,is the driving distance and the port.. I hate the drive to Miami......and I love the port at Canaveral...........but as far as ships,cant go wrong with either...........
 
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