My husband and I took our very first cruise last year. We chose Carnival "Victory" specifically for the Eastern Caribbean ports of call. While it was an amazing first cruise, we felt like there was something better waiting for us on another cruiseline --and boy, were we right.

We just completed our second cruise on Sunday to the Western Caribbean aboard Royal Caribbean's "Liberty of the Seas." We were craving more clear blue water beaches and fun shore excursions again this year while traveling in a balcony stateroom (only way to go). We specifically chose this ship because of the amenities and that it had been refurbished in 2016 (our Carnival ship last year was much older, smaller, darker and had no other dining options to the standard buffet and dining rooms). The specialty restaurants, pubs, lounges and promenade shops on the this were outstanding. But it was the large adults-only Solarium pool area that was the clincher for us empty nesters. The fishbowl-like hot tubs jutting out high over the sea were simply amazing.

The food in the dining rooms at breakfast, lunch and dinner were excellent and the waitstaff superb and attentive. I must say though, that while the Windjammer buffet offered such a wide variety of menu items, the fact that it closed between meals on such a large ship created a stampede & log jam upon opening that we avoided it all costs by opting for sit-down meals in the formal dining room. Read more