Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas is a Freedom-class cruise ship capable of carrying up to 3,798 guests! We cruised on her for four nights and here’s our take!
This review, pictures, and video footage are prior to the recent enhancements that the Liberty of the Seas underwent mid-2026. This was our first of three recent Royal Caribbean cruises and spoiler alert, we have another one scheduled late 2026.
Getting aboard
We boarded Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas for a cruise in May of 2025. Our port of embarkation was Bayonne, New Jersey — also known as “Port Liberty” — and we were destined for Halifax, Nova Scotia. Oh Canada! Eh!
The Canada-bound cruise was a four-night adventure. We boarded on a Tuesday afternoon, had a day at sea, one day in port, a day at sea, and then an early arrival and disembarkation on Saturday.
A perfect first cruise?
This four-night cruise was the perfect length to get our junior adventurer acclimated with the cruising lifestyle. In fact, we hadn’t been on a cruise together — that is my eldest roommate and I — since 2013 and that was an ecotourism cruise with sister company Celebrity where we went to the Galapagos Islands. Not on the Beagle.
I do want to point out, there was entertainment around every corner on the ship. Dancing, music, dancing lessons, skating, you name it, it was going on in every nook and cranny. Our cruise director Cory Rogers, he was energetic and friendly. Five stars for Cory.
A little about the Liberty
Liberty’s maiden voyage was on May 19, 2007, so the girl has a little age to her. She was built in Finland.
The Liberty of the Seas is 1,112 feet long and we don’t care how many meters because this is America. Just kidding, she’s 339 meters overall length for those of you who are the rest of the world. Her breadth is 185 feet or 56 meters. When loaded, she pulls a draft of 28 feet or nine meters. The Liberty is part of the “Freedom-class” of vessels.
Liberty has 15 decks, and is staffed by 1,360 crewmembers. Those crewmembers are responsible for 1,899 staterooms and up to 3,798 guests!
Some renovations
The Liberty was renovated a couple of times at the Grand Bahamas Shipyard.
During a 2011 renovation they added a new nursery, a movie screen on the pool deck, the cupcake shop was constructed, the inclusion of the Vintages Wine Bar, carpeting changes, and deep cleaning of state rooms and public areas. It was a seven-day maintenance and upgrade period.
In 2016, the ship had a water park put on her called The Perfect Storm, complete with three slides. A Flow Rider surf simulator was also installed.
Eating and drinking options
There are quite a few dining options on the Liberty. Naturally, there’s the included dining room, which you need to make a dining reservation for and set up a time for your meals. There’s also a buffet that’s open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner called the Windjammer. There’s the Cafe Promenade, and also Sorrento’s, a pizza shop. That’s all the complementary dining locations onboard.
For specialty restaurants that require you to fork over a little extra cheddar, there’s the Chef’s Table, Chops Grille, Giovanni’s Table, Johnny Rockets, and Izumi Sushi & Teppanyaki (prior to 2026 upgrades, there was a Sabor Taqueria and Tequila Bar).
I’ll note that if you have the Deluxe or Refreshment beverage package, you can get milk shakes at Johnny Rockets. Those would be included, otherwise be ready to pay.
There are a multitude of bars and lounges where you can get a drink. Boleros, the Hoof and Claw — Royal Caribbean’s English pub, Olive or Twist, the On Air Club, Pool Bar, R Bar, Schooner Bar, Sky Bar, Solarium Bar, Squeeze, The Plaza Bar, and Vintages.
Some things to do
For the kiddo’s and teens there’s an arcade, a teen disco — which we did not see operate when we were there, as well as the Adventure Ocean Youth Program and Royal Babies & Tots Nursery for the little tikes.
Some of the other highlights that the ship has include an ice skating rink, basketball court, mini golf course, rock climbing wall, a casino, card room, conference center, jogging track, library — which was not much to write home about, mind you, medical center, art and photo gallery, several pools and hot tubs, their Royal Theater, a chapel, a solarium, a karaoke bar, and a spa and fitness center — which I did not even check out, because I got lost at the buffet.
No more cigar lounges
One thing I’ll tell you they don’t have any more is a cigar lounge. The Liberty of the Seas used to have a cigar bar or lounge and if you’ve watched an older video about the ship, you might get excited to learn they had one, but that was once upon a time. Well, I’m here to tell you that they don’t anymore. You can buy cigars in the General Store and there are cigar nights, outside on the weather deck at the pool bar, but no mas cigar bar. Smoking is restricted to the port side of deck 11 on the pool deck and also in the casino.
Internet package
Other amenities that you’re going to want to look into would be the Voom Starlink internet packages and the drink packages.
We did get a three-device internet package. It was a pretty painless process and did not require much after initial login. It was nice to be able to have connectivity, but remember — you’re on vacation, so try to put the electronic pacifiers down.
And, for you do-bees, some work can wait! I say that noting that on our last two cruises both my eldest roommate and I had to break out our computers to actually do “work.”
We got the internet package during one of the many sales Royal Caribbean has on their offerings.
Drink packages
For drink packages, there are three different options available; the Classic Soda, the Refreshment Package, and the Deluxe Package. My eldest roommate and I each got the Deluxe Package. We’re not big drinkers, but we got them on sale, and we did not want to nickel and dime ourselves the whole cruise. Just pay and get it out of the way.
To Deluxe or not to Deluxe?
We made the mistake of not getting any packages on our second cruise. The first night in — when we were snowed in in New Jersey — I got a bit tipsy and ended up buying the Deluxe Packages for us and the Refreshment Package for my youngest roommate. Don’t do this. Buy your packages on sale!
Our latest cruise we bought our packages during one of the sales. However, our next cruise, we only booked the Refreshment Package and we’re legitimately going to see if we can beat the $1,000 + it would cost (less the Refreshment Package) for the pair of us to have the Deluxe Package by buying our drinks out of pocket. Wish us luck!
Non-alcoholic packages?
Our junior adventurer took advantage of the Refreshment Package, which included non-alcoholic signature drinks, soda, premium coffees and teas, juice, bottled water, and milkshakes at Johnny Rockets.
The Soda Package includes soda, and sodas, and soda. Yeah. That’s about it. Soda. You get a cool refillable cup with the soda package, which is good for fountain drinks. They have Coca-Cola Freestyle machines — although I did not see any myself, but I wasn’t looking. Which, those machines are nice.
Prior to mid-2026, Royal Caribbean did offer the refillable cup to all drink package holders. However, they now only give them to the Soda Package people. If you pay more for the Refreshment or Deluxe Packages — I know, this does not make sense — you don’t get a refillable cup. You can purchase one for about $5.00 though if you’re so inclined.
If Royal Caribbean was smart, they’d sell the RFID chips they use to authenticate the validity of a cup’s status. And, I’d proffer to say sell much better cups that won’t leak. Their refillable cups, frankly, $uck. Just buy the RFID and have it affixed to the bottom of whatever refillable cup a passenger wants to use. Or, figure out how to teach the Coke machines how to read room keys.
Bottled water — pay attention. As noted, bottled water is included with the refreshment package. So if you want bottled water and that’s what you drink, the Refreshment Package is going to be the package you’re going to want to have. Or stick to tap.
Worth it?
When we did the math, we figured we had to drink four to six bottles of water, a couple specialty coffees, a milkshake, and two alcoholic beverages to pay for our Deluxe Packages. Did we meet that quota? Maybe not, but we still did not have to worry about any surprise charges at the end of the cruise.
As for drinks. We probably drank our fill of alcohol for what we’d have as a quota for an entire year in those four-and-a-half days, but that’s okay, we were on vacation!
This is why we can’t have nice things
Now, something that needs to be discussed is that some cruisers used to take advantage of an unofficial loophole when it comes to these drink packages. As a rule, Royal Caribbean requires all adults in a stateroom to get the Deluxe Package if one gets it. This was cut due to people scamming the system.
People used to call in to Royal Caribbean and tell them that the other adult or adults in the room can’t drink because of x, y, z reasons. Royal Caribbean used to honor that, like in the case of expectant mothers or people in recovery. This was a courtesy they used to extend.
The scammers
As one can imagine, these scammers would get one package and then the package holder would get the drinks for both people. People too cheap and/or who are wickedly dishonest would have more than one person ride on one Deluxe Package. Nice, right?
Royal Caribbean dropped the hammer
Well, expectant mothers and friends of Bill W. can thank the cheap SOBs that scammed the system for years, because Royal Caribbean made an official blog post on August 2, 2025 saying that they’ll no longer make any exceptions. So thank you to all the folks who ruined it for people who could really use the exception.
According to a Royal Caribbean spokesperson, “Beginning August 1, Royal Caribbean will no longer be able to grant exceptions to our policy that both guests in a stateroom must purchase the Deluxe Beverage Package.”
They clarified that “this rule only applies when someone buys the Deluxe Beverage Package, which is the unlimited alcohol package. There’s no similar requirement for the Royal Refreshment Package or Soda package.” And they further explained that, “The cruise line has determined the level of abuse of the drink package benefits in sharing with those that have circumvented the rules reached a breaking point.”
The other cute thing that Royal Caribbean needs to look into are bookings with one family split into multiple rooms. The same dishonest people who would scam the system the old way, will still scam it via the room arrangements by splitting the adults and kids. Royal Caribbean, you’re leaving more money on the table, look into changing your policy to clip the folks who are scamming you this way too.
Get your buffet on at the Windjammer
As explained earlier, there’s a buffet on the ship, as is tradition! I mean, really, would you have it any other way? We got into the buffet for breakfast a couple times and lunch once.
The buffet had a very extensive spread. For breakfast options, you had a lot of your standard items. Hot and cold. For cold stuff, expect yogurt parfaits, cold oats, and scores and scores of crumpets and breads. They also would keep out a nice spread of cold cuts and other delicatessen selections.
There were also cold cereal options, just look for the large cylinders that look like they’re storing house points. That’s not what those are, they’re actually cereal dispensers. Gryffindor!
For hot options, buckle up, because they have it all. I mean, do they have it all? Well no, not completely, but they have a ton of options from eggs, to little premade benedicts, to potatoes, and so on and so forth.
The lunch choices were really varied too. Expect to see salads, salad bars, sandwich options, and burgers.
Food overall
That’s one thing I can say about the food on the cruise, all of it was pretty much top notch. Now, we did not even look into any of the signature extra dining options, but if it was included, we did give it a shot.
As a sidebar, we did eat at Chops Grille while on our Odyssey of the Seas cruise back in February. It was great and if you’d like to read about that check out our review of that dining experience.
We ended up eating most of our meals in the main dining room. The menus were thematic and changed every night. I’m not going to say that the food is bottomless, but our waiter didn’t ever say, “No. No second entree for you!” Even though he probably should have because my BMI is dangerously close to my age. The only added food we paid for was a filet mignon one night I believe. Our aristocratic junior adventurer had it rather than one of the other options that was being offered.
The portions were actually not bad sizes. If you sat down and got the appetizer, entree, and dessert — and ate them like a normal person, you’d be satiated. Yes, we may have double fisted all of the above each, and probably should have dialed it back — er, but we did not.
The cafe and pizza joint
The Cafe Promenade and Sorrento’s pizza shop are two other included eating locations. They’re both located on deck five on the, you guessed it, Royal Promenade.
Sorrento’s pizza shop we did get a few slices at. This is a great location to get a quick snack if you’re in the mood. Just watch the clock on all of these locations. They’re not 24-7!
The Cafe drink options are only included in the Deluxe and Refreshment packages, otherwise get ready to pay. The Cafe also served an assortment of little tea sandwiches, crumpets, doughnuts, and other little lite fare foods to nosh on. If you want a coffee or tea and a crumpet for a light breakfast, the cafe is the spot to go. These are signature coffee drinks, so expect to get an Americano if you’re looking for something not too fancy or hit the urn in the corner.
Starbucks
Many of Royal Caribbean’s ships have Starbucks onboard. The Liberty, at the time of our sailing, did not have one. The Cafe Promenade was the place to go. A June 18, 2025 announcement from Royal Caribbean said that they are adding a Starbucks to the Liberty of the Seas. The inclusion of a Starbucks is part of their “amplified vacations” announcement which guests are expected to see in spring of 2026. Post-renovation, there’s now a Starbucks on deck four of the ship.
One of the things to know about Starbucks onboard Royal Caribbean ships is that their drinks are not included. A Royal Caribbean FAQ addresses this by specifically stating: “If guests have purchased the Deluxe Package or Refreshment Package, Starbucks® coffee will not be included.” So if you have one of those packages and don’t want to pay out for coffee, the Cafe Promenade is for you. If you’re a total Starbucks freak — which I kind of am, but maybe not in this instance — this might sway whether or not you get a drink package or the type you get.
New to the Liberty in 2026
Since we were just talking about the new-to-2026 additions to the Liberty, in addition to adding a Starbucks, Royal Caribbean has some other things in store for the ship. They’ve announced that they’re reimagining the pool deck, adding an escape room onboard, a Japanese restaurant, as well another Mexican restaurant — El Loco Fresh. El Loco Fresh is one of Royal Caribbean’s complementary dining locations.
The arcade
One of the locations we spent some time in was the arcade. Being from Jersey, we have a fair amount of awesome arcades down at the Jersey shore. You might not get your fist pump on at the arcade on the Liberty, but it’s actually not a bad video arcade.
There’s a multitude of different games, the ever-so-addictive claw machines, and even prize vending machines where you can cash in your points.
The arcade is not over-the-top expensive, but just be mindful if you’re using your room key as a points card. Once you run out of credits, the machines seem to have no issue with just slapping the charge onto your stateroom for a neat little surprise.
Keys to the kingdom
I’ll say we did let our 8-year-old junior adventurer run free with an unrestricted room card.
When he came back with a bag of popcorn after doing some exploring on his own, we asked him, “How much did that cost?” He said, “Nothing. But they made me write my name on a paper after I gave them my room key.”
After he discovered what that really meant, the next time he came back to us he had a stuffed ship under his arm and he said all he had to do was explain to the girl in the store that, “Yes, I have permission to charge this to the room.”
A small price to pay for the freedom he experienced. This came in handy though when he used his Refreshment package to run off and get me espresso when I needed a pick-me-up (mind you my eldest and I did spring for the Deluxe packages).
Entertainment
I mentioned that there were a ton of entertainment options on the ship. The ship has its own orchestra, which musicians can be seen playing throughout the ship, as well as in the theater. While we were there, we did get to see a guest entertainer — Marcus Monroe, a comedian and juggler. He was pretty funny and I now follow his socials.
The ice skating shows were awesome and their in-house Saturday Night Fever-inspired show was also really impressive. There were a lot of options on the Liberty — more than we can say about our the Explorer of the Seas cruise from Italy to Greece. To be frank, it seemed like the Explorer just could not get their $hit together.
The crewmembers
The incredibly friendly and helpful crewmembers on the Liberty need to be saluted. Around every corner there was an employee willing to go out of their way to make both our stay and journey a top notch experience.
Whether they’re playful or professional, everyone that we encountered were high caliber. We got to get a bit more up close and personal by watching towel folding demonstrations, chatting with representatives at Next Cruise, and during our cupcake decorating class. The class was a lot of fun and everyone who participated in it seemed to enjoy themselves.
The kitchen and dining room staff were all awesome. We also participated in a cupcake decorating class.
Cory Rogers, our cruise director, was pretty cool and a total class act. As noted, we’ve gone on two other Royal Caribbean cruises since this 2025 Liberty of the Seas sailing and so far Cory was the best. Frankly, the other two cruise directors we had were akin to warm flat cola. Just, blagh.
Overall experience
While this review does not completely cover every nook and cranny of the Liberty of the Seas, and it’s about a year late, we had a blast. Would I recommend the Liberty? Sure. We’ve sailed on what I’d consider a slightly smaller version of the Liberty, the Explorer of the Seas. And the Explorer I’d say was a tad lacking, the extra real estate on the Liberty does make a difference.
She might seem dated, but the Liberty of the Seas is worth going on. As for us? Considering the upgrades and the escape room, etc. I’d likely give her another shot. A perfect ship for a quick get away or for first-time cruisers.
