Background: This is the 6th cruise for my wife and I (3x on Carnival, 1x on Disney, and this was our 2x on Royal Caribbean). Our kids had joined us before, but were mostly too young to remember much. We LOVED our last cruise on Disney, but simply couldn't afford their premium prices, so we went with Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas for a 4-night cruise and couldn't have been happier!

Checking In: The ship terminal in Ft. Lauderdale isn't pretty (more on that in a bit). I was accustomed to arriving and checking-in through a nice, well-lit building. Instead, the check-in area seemed to be a (hopefully) temporary, warehouse-like facility. We parked our rental car at Park 'N Go at 1101 Eller Drive, which was convenient, close-by and very affordable. The transfer shuttle brought us right up to the front of the terminal, where a very friendly porter helped with our bags. NOTE: They don't have staplers, so if you aren't able to tape/staple your printed paper luggage tags, they'll make new ones up for you. Once inside, the lines moved quickly however we had a very slow agent - not sure if she was new, or just slow.

Stateroom: We typically book an outside-view balcony room, but since we booked relatively late, there weren't any available. Since it was only a 4-night cruise, we decided an ocean-view only room (i.e. porthole window) would be fine - as we wanted to spend as little time in our room as possible. I thought the room was fine, however the lack of a wide-view and fresh air seemed to make my wife a bit dizzy when looking out the window. NOTE: This is our 6th cruise, so I expect a small, tight room - especially for two adults and two kids. If you're new to cruising, don't expect a large room (unless you want to pay extra for it!). Read more