A Look At Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas

For many, many years people from the Northeast have enjoyed cruising on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas from Cape Liberty, New Jersey.  Ready for a change, those same travelers rejoiced when it was announced that the brand new Quantum of the Seas would replace the Explorer in November of 2014…only to bemoan her redeployment to Singapore in early 2015. However, all is not lost because after the shuffling of ships was completed, it was announced that Liberty of the Seas would homeport in Cape Liberty from May 2015 through October 2015!

Those that have cruised on the Explorer of the Seas will feel instantly “at home” on Liberty of the Seas.  It’s like the Explorer on steroids!  Built in 2007, the Liberty of the Seas includes all the amenities that debuted with the Freedom-class and was then refitted with numerous Oasis-class features during a 2011 stint in dry-dock. The end result is an amazing ship that cruisers of all ages will look forward to experiencing!

Liberty of the Seas offers energetic cruisers lots of different ways to keep active! There are mountains to climb (the iconic Royal Caribbean rock-climbing wall), oceans to conquer (in the form of a Flow Rider surf simulator) and battles to fight (check out the full-sized boxing ring for a high intensity cardio workout)!  Work up a sweat on the full-sized basketball court, or chill out by gracefully gliding across the ice-skating rink.  Be sure to leave time for a family tournament of mini-golf!

There are 4 pools on the Liberty, including the Solarium, an adults-only retreat, as well as the H2O Zone water park!  Little cruisers will have a splashing good time running through the Zone’s interactive water geysers and everyone knows that happy kids equals happy parents! A huge video screen has been installed in the main pool area showing movies in the evenings and music videos and such throughout the day.  And speaking of movies, there’s an indoor 3D theater that the whole family can enjoy!

“Saturday Night Fever: The Musical”, which premiered in the West End at the London Palladium in 1998, tops the list of Broadway caliber entertainment!  Fans of the original movie will find that Liberty of the Seas' version includes the same wonderful cast of characters and one show-stopping song after another! It won’t take longer than the intro number to have guests clapping their hands and dancing in the aisle!

Through the Royal Caribbean and DreamWorks affiliation, kids can look forward to movies and themed activities featuring characters from Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, and more! There are meals, parades, photo ops, Meet & Greets, and lots of other fun programs that the whole family will find enjoyable!

Like all Royal Caribbean ships, there are plenty of dining options aboard the Liberty of the Seas.  Aside from the Main Dining Rooms and the Windjammer Café, guests may choose to dine in Jade (sushi and Asian fusion), Sorrento’s Pizza, the Café Promenade, Johnny Rockets, Chops Grille (steakhouse) and Portofino (Italian cuisine). There’s even a gourmet cupcake bakery!

So Northeast cruisers, exult!  Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas is coming soon to Cape Liberty, New Jersey. But don’t procrastinate, because she will be homeporting here limited time only, and you don’t want to miss the chance to enjoy this magnificent ship!