We left from Providence because it's less of a hassle than Boston and leaving your car for the duration is alot cheaper. The flight was uneventful; landed in Ft Lauderdale around 11AM. We took a cab to the Birtch Patio Motel which was 2 blocks from the beach and a short walk to Sunrise Blvd. I lived in Ft Lauderdale 35 years ago for 3 winters. Ft Lauderdale is really run down compared to many years ago. Our Motel was very nice for the money. The Motel gave us a coupon for Frankie and Vinnies Italian Restaurant off of Sunrise (very good). If I had to do it over I would stay at a Hotel that included transportation from the Airport and to the Cruise Ship. If you could find one from around $160 per night you would come out ahead; Cab fares were very expensive.
We arrived at the Liberty around 11AM; embarkation took about 1/2 hour and we had a cocktail in hand by 11:45. Carnival brochure says to arrive at ship at 1:00, but they were boarding when we got there at 11AM. They had us on an early dinner seating; but we enjoy eating later. We talked with the Maitre'D and he asked us if we wanted a table of 2 or be seated at a larger table. Couldn't believe it because other years late seating was very difficult. We opted for larger table because we enjoy the social aspects of Dining. To our surprise there was only one other couple at the table of 8. Food was just OK in main dining room, so we ate at Harry's for 3 evenings.
2nd day out was very rough sailing and my wife had to get a shot at the infirmary for sea sickness. Alot of people had a problem; they had barf bags taped to the elevators. She rallied after 4hours, I watched the Patriots while she slept. We didn't go to the main dining room that night but had Prime Rib at the cafeteria style dining room (very good) 3rd day we arrived at Cozumel, rainy day. We shopped near the ship. We have been to Cozumel before. Reason we picked this Cruise was Costa Rica and Panama.