We had cruised with P&O (Atlantic) before but although we found the formal dining experience superb, in our mid to late 50s we felt we were about 30 years too young for them. In Royal Caribbean we found a cruiseline that works for the young and the young-at-heart. The shows were truly spectacular. Words like "brilliant", "fabulous" and "fantastic" are over-used nowadays, but they really do apply to the shows on offer on Liberty of the Seas. The Cruise Director, James, was visible and approachable at all times and set the tone for a crew which always set out to respond to the hopes and dreams of their customers.

The food was exceptional. True,the best dining room was Rembrandt and we only managed to eat lunch once there. We were allocated to Michaelangelo, but asked for a table for two and were re-assigned to the Botticelli dining room. The waiters were attentive and our assistant waiter, Ashroff, was always anxious to please. I suppose the fact that they are paid a pittance and rely on tips for their income has something to do with it (sorry, a little cynical perhaps!). Buying wine is expensive (up to five times what you would pay in a British supermarket) but they have to make their money somewhere.

The excursions were a mixed bag. We visited Monaco and Monte Carlo (full day) and out tour guide was knowledgable and worthy, though perhaps not very inspiring. Our tour guide for Florence (full day) was exceptional - she was from "Discover Tuscany". She was sensitive to the needs of individuals and the group, was at times really amusing, at others truly inspiring and gave everyone the most amazing experience of a "Taste of Florence" despite the fact that the weather was not very kind to us. She also knew when to be quiet and allow us to look, appreciate, ask questions, etc. She was one of the best tour guides we have ever experienced - worth double what we paid! The final excursion - "A Taste of Rome" was turgid and boring. The guide did her best, and it's hard to be critical of anyone who does their best, but it has to be said! There was a "Christian Rome" excursion and that's NOT what we booked, but most of our time was spent in churches or queueing outside! We all would have liked time to explore The Colliseum and the many land marks around that area but instead after a very brief walk around the outside were left queueing again and were taken off to The Vatican where we spent most of out time. True we could have hired taxis to go back to the Colliseum but after spending 30-40 minutes in a long queue outside the Vatican we lost the will! The local restaurants were a total rip-off as were the shops. Out turgid tour guide kept talking about buildings we couldn't actually see as we hadn't reached them or they were obscured by other buildings like blocks of flats or factories. She told us over and over again totally uniteresting piffle (e.g. the length of St. Peter's) until many of us just took the commentary earpice out! At one point we were without water or food for over six hours - not an experience to be repeated. Read more