This is our 3rd cruise, first cruise with Carnival Cruiselines and our first time cruising with kids (2). We've cruised before with Royal Caribbean: Enchantment of the Seas (1/98) and Monarch of the Seas (1/96). We did not stay in a hotel as we flew on the same day from Detroit. Fortunately, we have arrived on schedule, about noon and all our luggage arrived. We quickly found a cab that took us to Port everglades, which is a very short ride, but we were delayed by a motorcycle event and by the long line at the Port Everglades Entrance Security Check. With all that, the meter came out to about $21. Once we got to Port 19 I believe, there were porters that took the luggage from us for Transfer to the ship. I was worried, but when I checked, we were assured that these guys are OK. Then we stood in line: Our 3 year old sat in the stroller, and fell asleep in no time. Our 7 year old had to walk, and quickly got tired. We were told that we had to fill out the immigration forms for Bahamas and Tortola. I spent most of the time in the line, which was at least 40 minutes filling out the forms and entering passport information. Once we got our sign and sail cards, we waited in the security check line, which was fortunately short, and then in the picture taking line, which was also short. We did try to change the cabin, as it was a forward cabin and I was concerned about my wife and 7 year old getting sea sick, but there was no chance. We were told that the ship is full. Once we got inside the ship (lobby deck), we were so impressed by its beauty and luxury. Then we took the elevator one level down to the main deck to where our stateroom was. Thought the room size was decent: certainly bigger than Royal Caribbean ships, and the bathroom was definitely quite a bit bigger than Royal Caribbean's. What was so impressive is all the storage room. And there is plenty of room under the beds to store the luggage.

Food: We enjoyed the buffets at Emile's: Breakfast was great, especially the bacon and half grapefruit, and lunch was quite decent. Did not care for the Mongolian style, but enjoyed the chinese and sandwich bars, the pizzas, the burgers, and thought the Caesar salad at the pizza bar was great. With all the negative reviews regarding the dining room food, we made sure that we stuck with the waiter's recommendation, and that strategy worked well for us. Can't say the dining room food quality was great, but it was quite acceptable. Enjoyed the Tilapia, the lobster, steak and duck. Whatever you do, do not order meat above medium. Breakfast in the dining room was quite nice, similar but better and more enjoyable than the buffet. The bagel w/ cream cheese, smoked salmon and capers wa great. With kids, we never made it to the midnight buffet. Our waiter Janush was great: treated us like Royalty.

Activities: In days at sea, we spent all our time in the pools and the whirlpools where the temperature was appropriate for the kids (not hot at all). Enjoyed the contests and trivias. The Jamaican band was great. Compared to our previous Royal Caribbean trips, the deck is definitely livelier on the Liberty. Since it was windy, the water slide was open for one or two times for the entire cruise duration. It's Ok, but not as exciting as it looks. It's really really slow. With the exception of the second comedian (Will Marfori), the shows were just great, including the last show: Carnival Legends. The first comedian, Happy Cole, was hilarious, even my 7 year old could not stop laughing. It was quite a relief for us that all the main shows in the Venetian Palace were appropriate for kids. For those interested, both comedians had second R rated shows at midnight. Read more