 Worldwide
recently had the opportunity to co-host a group clients and representatives of
Host Global Alliance on board Royal Caribbean's - Liberty of the Seas. This
event was to showcase a modern cruise ship to these industry buyers, to let them
see and experience the various amenities available to corporations for their
meetings and incentive programs. I think many people in the corporate travel
industry as well as experienced cruisers take for granted what first time
cruisers see and feel and are often surprised by the reality they experience.
Our itinerary was a four night cruise with two nights at sea
and only a single port call at Cozumel our group thought this was ideal in many
ways and initial general comments were there is so much to see and do on the
ship that this itinerary would be perfect for meetings.
If you are not familiar with the Liberty of the Seas let me
give you some brief general information. The ship carries 3,634 passengers on a
double occupancy basis with a crew of 1,360 smiling faces. There are over 30
dining and public room options. The conference and meeting room areas are in my
opinion are among the best at sea with truly hotel style dedicated meeting space
for 368 guests, screening room and board room plus several other options for
small groups. The vast majority of the cabins are spacious outside balcony
cabins (844) with all of the normal amenities.
The first impression on boarding the ship is WOW! You enter
the Royal Promenade area that is 5 decks tall and as long as a football field
lined with individual styled and themed shops, bars, lounges and eateries. If
you haven't been on one of Royal Caribbean Voyage class, Freedom Class (which
the Liberty is part of) or an Oasis class ship you have not seen nor experienced
some of the most innovative ships at sea. There is honestly nothing else like
them at sea. Yes, other ships now have rock climb walls, basketball courts,
numerous food outlets but do they have ice skating rinks and ice shows, flow
riders or Johnny Rockets? How about dining rooms that span three deck levels
that allow for taking over a complete level for groups around 900, 650 or 500
passengers and even to down around 70 guests for small groups.
Probably the one thing that most impressed our group was the
on-board entertainment. Now keep in mind that this was a very experienced group
that have been there and done that all over the world. The Ice Show wowed
everyone especially people that understand the talent required to put on a full
performance on a small rink. Having seen the show on other ships, and the shows
change regularly, I know that this show never fails to impress. The ship has
the rights to the show "Saturday Night Fever the Musical". this beyond a doubt
the best production show I have ever seen on a cruise ship with a cast and crew
of 55, our group thought you'd pay upwards of $100 to $150 to see this show in
Vegas and you not would complain. Other Royal ships have rights to Hair Spray
and Chicago and this seems to be an expanding trend. This was an out of the park
home run. The third show we caught was an aerial show. Bearing in mind that
this group have all done the original Cirque Shows many, many times, so my tough
audience rated this show as good, but, not extremely good like the other two
shows. Of course on top of this you have many, many options for all other sorts
of live entertainment in a variety of venues. From hot latin beats to laid back
jazz, there really is something for everyone by way of evening entertainment on
this ship.
Of course food is always a topic on any ship. But from a
professional perspective the question of food takes on an entirely different
issue. The fact that you can have so many choices, from casual buffets to the
more formal dining room, an original Johnny Rockets burger, a steak house, a
fantastic Italian restaurant and a fast food Asian option, the fact that never
have to plan even one meal is very appealing. There are always restaurant
choices and food available 24/7, as well as room service, most of which is
included in the cruise fare. Dine around, yes they can do that. Special diets
they can do that too. Meals with variety on an ever changing basis are all part
of the cruise experience. Of course cruises always bring to mind food and the
Liberty did a great job of showing our client what to expect on a cruise and how
it takes menu planning off the planners plate.
As mentioned earlier this ship has great meeting space. Not
only can you use the main showroom, with out of this world A/V capabilities, and
various lounges. The ship has flexible meeting space in the Conference Center
that can be 1 large room for 368 or 4 smaller rooms and of course all with the
necessary a/v all at no charge.
the Liberty of the Seas offers 4 and 5 night cruises from
Miami, 5 night cruises from Barcelona going to Cannes, Florence and Rome as well
as 7 night cruises from Barcelona.
Want more details on this ship give me a call or
email
Steve Bless - 954 452 8800 |
