Firstly, let me say I never expected to go on a cruise! I thought cruising was for wealthy people who were a little above the rest of us - yeah, right - how wrong can you be?! My husband and I booked a week long cruise on Liberty for our 25th wedding anniversary, and I devoured everything I could find about cruising before going as I felt a little overawed. There were some questions I couldn't find the answers to, but reading reviews and watching videos helped hugely. So, from an honest viewpoint, here's my take on my cruise.

I loved it. I loved the ship - the size of it shocked me every time I boarded or disembarked and I loved the fact that there was so much to do and see all the time. Liberty is showing her age and is just about to head off to the US for a refit, we were told. By showing her age, all I mean is that there were some grubby marks on the walls in some restaurants and some of the shops and bars on Royal Promenade looked a little tired. However, overall, it was spotlessly clean and well cared for and very pleasant. The pools and deck areas were beautifully taken care of.

We booked a balcony stateroom and I'd tried to find out what would be in the room, but still hadn't worked out some of the info...so here's what I couldn't work out before: There ISN'T a kettle/drink making equipment (but you could take drinks from any restaurant back to your room or order via room service and it really didn't matter - even to a Brit who is addicted to tea!). There IS a fridge. We removed all the room service stuff and filled it with the wine we were allowed to take and with the water bottles we got on ship. You CAN take any drink from any restaurant/bar back to your room...so I didn't need the 2 bottles of champagne I brought on board - I could take my cocktail or champers or whatever back with me to enjoy on the balcony or while getting ready, or whatever. There are LOADS of hangers and clothes space - nobody told me that before, but there was no problem about hanging up all our posh clothes!! You DO get complimentary toiletries. There was a body wash/shampoo dispenser in the shower and bars of soap too. Room Service was utterly reliable, even when we had to be off the ship at 7.30, they were punctual and the food was as good as it was in the Windjammer breakfast but so much more convenient. Those were the things I hadn't been able to ascertain beforehand, so I thought I'd mention them all. Read more