We decided on a cruise versus Hawaii due to the fact of that the cost of traveling to Hawaii was the same cost as the cruise, but the cruise included all our food, traveling, and sightseeing whereas we still had to pay for food, transportation, and activities in Hawaii.
I went on this cruise knowing that I have two children under the age of 3 and a husband who has never cruised before. With that in mind, we went with a ship that will allow for us to enjoy the pool with our toddlers while giving my husband and I activities and features that will make our part of the trip enjoyable.
Liberty of the Seas is great for toddlers in the sense that: (1) there is a separate waterplay area for toddlers in swim diapers, (2) all the dining areas are equipped with high chairs or booster seats, and (3) there is babysitting services available if you wish to spend an hour or two without the kids. Plus, many of the staff and cruise goers are very friendly to the toddler kids!
I knew the cabin was going to be small, so we did not take our car seats (thus the private shuttle), but we did take umbrella strollers. We had an interior stateroom on Deck 8 and it consisted of a sofa and a queen bed (two twin beds pushed together). Space was a premium, so we put our two umbrella strollers under the bed and did not take any car seats. We had a total of three luggages and one duffle bag, which all fit in the provided closet. We spent a lot of time in the cabin when the kids were napping, so on our next cruise, my husband and I decided we'd get a balcony where we can enjoy the view if the kids are sleeping. There's also no bathtub, but the kids had fun with the shower. Also, they provide playpens that fold up if you wish to have one of your younger kids sleep there. We ended up having one kid sleep on the sofa and one kid sleeping with me and my husband in the bed, which worked for us. There is also a mini fridge in the room.
The immediate port area didn't have many things for the toddlers to do and it was quite busy.
The immediate port was nice and safe, however, once you walk outside the gates, the "real" Jamaica is there and safety can be of concern. With the toddlers, we spent much of our time in the port area then went back to the ship.