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CRUISE REVIEW
LIBERTY OF THE SEAS Bermuda, Canada, New England Fall 2025 By Richard H. Wagner |
Liberty of the Seas in Bermuda.
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This was a five day cruise to Bermuda followed by a 9 day cruise calling at Boston, Massachusetts, Portland, Maine, Halifax. Nova Scotia and Saint John, New Brunswick Both cruises were roundtrip from Bayonne, New Jersey, Royal Caribbean's homeport in New York harbor.
Short cruises have become very much the darling of the cruise industry and cruises of five days or less are proliferating. This is so even though short cruises mean that in a given year, a ship will do more cruises thus incurring more homeport fees and the associated cost of having to hire more often the check-in staff, baggage handlers and other personnel needed to turn around a cruise ship. However, the cruise lines find short cruises attractive because they are popular with young families the ideal market segment in the view of many cruise line executives. To take a short cruise, a young family does not need to use up many of their scarce vacation days and children do not need to be absent from school for long. In addition, short cruises are viewed as an opportunity for an extended party - - while a few days of drinking and going wild can seem attractive only the most dedicated party animal can carry on partying for a full week. Liberty of the Seas' 2025 schedule presented an opportunity to compare a short cruise with a long cruise as it was doing short Bermuda cruises followed immediately by long cruises to ports in Eastern Canada and in New England. Inasmuch as the ship was the same on both cruises with the same officers and crew, the length of the cruise would be highlighted as a distinguishing factor. The Bermuda cruise was to consist of the embarkation day, one day sailing to Bermuda, two days in Bermuda and a day at sea returning to Bayonne. Passengers were disembarked and new passengers boarding by 10 a.m. on the following day so it cannot really be counted as a cruise day. There were indeed a considerable number of young travelers on the Bermuda cruise – families with small children, young couples and groups of young people. However, young people did not appear to be the mahority. Rather, most of the passengers were made up of middle-aged and mature people. People were having a good time on the cruise but it was not a wild party. Passengers were having fun but they were well-behaved. Liberty presented a full schedule of activities and entertainment including its production show of “Saturday Night Fever,” its ice show, and the block party in the Royal Promenade. Everything was packed into a shorter time frame but it did not feel rushed. The number of passengers on the nine day cruise was about the same as on the Bermuda cruise. However, the composition was different. There were very few children on the ship. Most passengers seemed to be of retirement age – people who did not have to worry about being away from the office for a week and a half. Still, the atmosphere aboard seemed much the same as on the Bermuda cruise. The schedule of activities and entertainment was similar but there were more performances. If you missed the first performance of a show, chances were that you could see it on another night. Some additional activities augmented the schedule. Of course, there were differences between these two cruises besides the length. A Bermuda cruise is primarily about sunshine and beaches. A Canada New England cruise is about scenery and history. However, what was surprising was how similar the two cruises felt. It was like a 14 day cruise calling at a variety of ports ranging from semi-tropical Bermuda to the urban sophistication of Boston to the rural beauty of St. John. I have enjoyed cruises on Liberty of the Seas in the past. However, I was particularly struck by the friendliness of the crew on these voyages. Everyone seemed happy and eager to help, which enhances the cruise experience of the passengers. The ship missed her last major dry dock session due to the COVID pandemic. As a result, she does not have the same range of features as sisters Freedom of the Seas and Independence of the Seas. This is to be remedied in a major refit in the Spring of 2026. Despite having missed her last scheduled refresher, the ship is in good condition and appeared well-maintained. Weather is always an issue for cruises from the East Coast of the United States during the autumn. On these cruises, there was no severe weather. There were some passing showers in Bermuda but it was mostly sunny at sea and in the ports of Canada and New England. However, the cruise to Bermuda following these cruises was diverted to Canada. due to the presence of hurricanes to the south. |
Above: Liberty in Boston.
Below: After sunset in Halifax. 
Above: Liberty is equipped with an ice skating arena in which ice spectaculars are performed by professional skaters.
Below: The Birthday Bash, a programming event celebrating everyone's' birth, was held in the Royal Promenade. 
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Cruise ship review - - Royal Caribbean International - Liberty of the Seas - Canada New England 2024