Profile and Photo Tour of Liberty of the Seas

Liberty of the Seas was one of the first ships profiled on Beyondships. The ship had just come out of the shipyards and Royal Caribbean had brought her to the Cape Liberty Cruise Terminal on the Jersey side of New York harbor to show her off and for some pre-inaugural activities. In May 2007, she was the world’s largest cruise ship - a title she shared with her sister Freedom of the Seas - - and her size was impressive. In addition, her décor was somewhat more subtle than her sister and thus more relaxing at least to my eye. Captain Herman Zini who was in the process of bringing out the ship spoke with pride about Liberty during our interview.




Earlier this year, Liberty went through a major refit during which a number of enhancements and improvements were made. Accordingly, it seemed like an appropriate time to travel to Miami and revisit her. Moreover, during the time since I was last on her, the Beyondships’ profiles had become much more comprehensive and it would enable me to get the material I needed to do a profile of Liberty that was as comprehensive as those for the other ships on the site.



One of the first things I noticed about Liberty was that she no longer felt very big. After sailing on Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, which are about a third again larger than Liberty, she no longer felt vast. Rather, it seemed a comfortable size.



Another question in my mind was how the service would be on Liberty. All of the ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet had contributed crew members for Oasis and Allure. Had all the good people been cherry-picked away for the line’s two new flagships? I was relieved to find that they had not. The service was quite good, friendly and professional.



The new enhancements blended well into the existing ship. The Cupcake Cupboard looked like it had always been part of the Royal Promenade and no one seemed to notice that the barber shop was missing. The outdoor movie screen in the pool area provides a focal point and is colorful at night. While its placement is not ideal for viewing, its location is about as good as it could be given where the pools and the hot tubs are located.



An addition to the programming onboard is the Dreamworks Experience. This entails having the characters from Dreamworks animated movies participate in various onboard activities such as parades and children’s breakfasts. The ship has also been equipped with 3-D technology so that the movies can be shown in the main theater. The children onboard seemed to enjoy the Dreamworks programming and it does not intrude into the adult world except that one may occasionally encounter Shrek when walking through the public rooms.



In any event, you can see for yourself what Liberty of the Seas is all about - - the new Liberty profile with copies of daily programs, menus and other information is at http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-LOS-Profile.html The comprehensive photo tour and commentary begins at http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-LOS-tour-1.html

Super-cruiser Mario; Dining with the Officers; Norwegian Jewel and Zuiderdam Restaurant Reviews

This week Beyondships features something different. In the past, we have brought you interviews ship officers, cruise line executives and people whose work involves them with ships such as marine artists and ship designers. This time, we bring you an interview with a passenger. But what a passenger - - Mario Salcedo has done over 500 cruises with more than 400 of them on Royal Caribbean ships.




Mario is a man living his dream. A successful businessman, Mario rose to hold a prominent position with a Fortune 500 company. Rather than just continue on that path, he turned his back on the corporate life before he turned 50 and dedicated himself to living the life he had always dreamed of. Now he essentially lives 52 weeks a year on cruise ships, mainly RCI’s Liberty of the Seas.



A friendly and outgoing person, Mario likes to chat with his fellow passengers. His is a unique story and he is often asked about how he manages to live at sea. People are also interested in tapping into his expertise and knowledge about cruising.



Beyond ships interview with Mr. Salcedo is at http://www.beyondships.com/Cruise-articles-Super-cruiser.html



In recent years, the tradition of having officer tables in the ship’s main dining room has all but vanished. A few lines still have a captain’s table on formal nights but with the exception of Cunard Line, one rarely finds tables hosted by the staff captain, the chief engineer, the hotel director or one of the junior officers.



It is a shame that this tradition is fading away. Dining at an officer’s table gives passengers a unique insight into the operations of the ship and personalizes the relationship between the cruise line and the passengers. Also, I have often found that people who sit down at an officer’s table as strangers often arise as friends. Indeed, I still hear from people who I dined with at an officer’s table years ago.



Somewhat surprisingly, Norwegian Cruise Line, which has a tradition of being non-traditional, is experimenting with reviving this tradition. Of course, various modifications had to be made in order for this tradition to fit with the modern cruising environment. However, the pilot program has been received very well on Norwegian Jewel with many more passengers signing up for it than can be accommodated.



I recently had the opportunity to participate in this program and was able to discuss it with Jewel’s Hotel Director Hugo Vanosmael. The article is at http://www.beyondships.com/NCLJewel-officers.html



One of the dining venues on the Jewel is Mama’s Kitchen, a casual Italian restaurant. It could perhaps better be described as an American-style Italian restaurant, serving dishes that one is more likely to find in the States than in Tuscany. By this, I mean no slight. There is a reason that this type of cooking is popular not only in America but worldwide - - it is good. In any event, I have posted a review of Mama’s Kitchen that also looks at Canaletto, a similar concept on Holland America’s Zuiderdam. The review is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/Cruise-articles-Canaletto-Mamas-review.html

Norwegian Sky - - Profile and Photo Tour

What impressed me the most about Norwegian Sky was how nicely NCL has blended the elements of its Freestyle Cruising into the more traditional passenger ship décor of the ship. I tend to associate Freestyle with the contemporary décor of NCL’s more recent ships. However, the idea of having a number of alternative venues for dining, libations and activities fits well with the more classic design. As proof, the Sky has six restaurants, nine bars and lounges a theater, two swimming pools, five hot tubs, basketball and volleyball, golf driving nets, a library, shopping and more.




For people who really like ships and the traditions of the sea, there are some quite nice rooms including Captain Cook’s Bar and the wood-panels Mark Twain Library. The French specialty restaurant Le Bistro is done in a pretty Second Empire/art nouveau style.



This is not to say that Norwegian Sky is old or old fashioned. Her lines are sleek and her mural-painted white hull glitters in the bright sun. The ship entered service in 1999 and is the newest ship competing in the short cruises from Florida to the Bahamas market. For awhile, NCL assigned her to its NCL America subsidiary where she did cruises around Hawaii under the name Pride of Aloha. Before returning her to the main fleet in 2009, the ship received a multi-million dollar refurbishment. As a result, the public areas look new.



The short Bahamas cruise itinerary is a popular one. It attracts young people and young families interested in trying cruising for the first time, visitors to Florida who want to add a trip to the Bahamas to their holiday, and people who want a short break.



The Sky offers alternating three and four day cruises from Miami. The three day itinerary goes to Nassau and to NCL’s private island Great Stirrup Cay. The four day cruise adds a stop in Freeport.

Beyondship’s profile of Norwegian Sky is at http://www.beyondships.com/NCLSky.html and the multi-page photo tour and commentary begins at http://www.beyondships.com/NCLSky-Tour-1.html For those interest in the ship’s itinerary, we also have a photo tour of Great Stirrup Cay http://www.beyondships.com/NCL-GreatStirrupCay.html

Celebrity Millennium - - Profile and Photo Tour

The first time I saw Celebrity Millennium, I was standing on the walls of Fort Morro in the old section of San Juan. Looking out at the approach to the harbor, I could see a sleek looking ship moving rapidly towards the island. Her shape was reminiscent of an arrow and like the old SS United States, she seemed to have a determined look about her. Even though she must have been slowing to enter the harbor, she still maintained a look of motion as she passed the rocky coast below the fortress - - a fine sight on a sunny early winter morning.




As the name hints, Millennium entered service in 2000. She was the first of four 91,000 gross ton ships built for Celebrity. While they would now fall into the mid-size category, they were considered large when they were built. They also were technologically advanced with azipod propulsion systems and gas turbine engines.



Inside, Millennium was elegant and sophisticated. Although Celebrity was now owned by Royal Caribbean, the ship continued the Celebrity tradition of having an extensive collection of contemporary art.



Millennium was also to host Celebrity’s first true alternative restaurant - - the Olympic Specialty Restaurant. For those interested in nautical history, this venue was and is particularly exciting as it includes carved wood panels from the White Star Liner SS Olympic - - the sister ship to the Titanic.



The Millennium class ships are in the process of going through a transformation. In 2009, Millennium had a $10 million revitalization in which the accommodations were redone and various changes were made to the public areas. Shortly thereafter, Celebrity decided that it would incorporate some of the popular features of its new Solstice class ships into the Millenniums. It began this Solsticization in 2010, with a major refit of Celebrity Constellation. Later this year, it will do an even more extensive revitalization of Celebrity Infinity. Summit and Millennium are to follow. It seems likely that new ideas will flow from each refit and thus the four ships will continue to differ slightly in their features for some time to come.



The refits of Millennium and of Constellation underscore the robustness of this design. It can incorporate new features without losing the sophisticated atmosphere which has made these ships so popular.



The Beyondships profile of Celebrity Millennium with copies of programs and menus is at http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Millennium-Profile.html The multi-page photo tour and commentary begins at http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Millennium-Tour-1.html