Myself (51), my wife (49), daughter (16) and 2 of my daughters friends (also 16) were on the August 11-17, 2007, Western Caribbean sailing of the Liberty of the Seas. This was our fifth cruise: 1st cruise was on Costa Rivera to Alaska in June 1992 (elegant dining and Sitka was an interesting port); 2nd cruise was also to Alaska on RCCL Vision of the Seas during summer 1997 (enjoyed Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm Fjord); 3rd cruise was on Carnival Victory during August 2001 from NYC to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (we received written permission from Carnival to leave the ship in New Brunswick and drove along the coast to see tidal changes in the Bay of Fundy by visiting the Hopewell Rocks and the tidal bore of the Petitcodiac River; then drove over to Nova Scotia and went fossil hunting at Joggins, before rejoining the ship); and our 4th cruise was a spur of the moment, 3 night cruise last August on RCCL Sovereign of the Seas (we enjoyed Coco Cay). The Cruise Critics boards and the internet were essential in planning this trip. Three items were of most importance to me: posters linking their Liberty of the Seas Cruise Compasses to Cruise Dailies, posting of the Dining Room menus for the Liberty of the Seas and reviews of the ship and shore excursions. Having this information prior to the cruise made our days stress free.

Day 1, Saturday Depart Miami - Casual Dining We arrived at the port at 11:30 am after early morning flights (My wife and daughter flew into Miami following a swim meet in Indianapolis; while I flew into Miami from home with my daughters friends). Embarkment was smooth, but somewhat boring. I think RCCL could enhance the boarding experience as they cue cruisers in line with various TV monitors playing videos of the upcoming trip; maybe even as a marketing tool showing the details of the ship (spa treatments, gym, dining options, shore excursions available at the various ports of call); only a thought. I chose this Liberty of the Seas cruise because it fit our personal schedule, Caribbean port itinerary (Swimming with the Dolphins in Cozumel), and being a new ship with all the amenities the ship offered: expansive gym, Flow Rider, ice skating ring, large promenade, etc. The gym is well appointed with Life Fitness (LF) 95Ti treadmills and LF 95Xi ellipticals with a few LF Summit Trainers. Being new, it was a great place to work out with an expansive view of the ocean. I used the treadmill and elliptical daily (except for day 5 as I was hot after visiting Grand Cayman) and was impressed by the smooth glide and stride of the equipment.

First up, my wife went to guest relations on the Promenade deck to rent Dect Phones to be able to communicate with our teenagers during the cruise ($50 rental for 2 phone; loss of phone fee $300; the phones worked great all week, but we needed to switch to walkie talkies when on shore except at the port shops in Cozumel). The ship is beautiful as the architecture of the promenade, artwork and layout is truly stunning. I recommend that cruisers take the time to view the paintings and textured artwork in the stairwells as well as the interactive artwork found at the entryways to the staterooms off of the stair cases. For example, our staterooms were on starboard, Deck 8 next to the Royal Caribbean "Online" internet cafe where the art theme was magic. There was three dimensional artwork including 2 interactive hands on pieces which when rotated depicted a rabbit doing magic trick in a hat and a second of a magician causing a body to rise. I implore cruisers to spend a minute enjoying the artwork found throughout the ship. My wife and I were in a Deck 8, D2 balcony room, while the three girls were in an interior room across the hall. The rooms were well appointed and the flat screen TV's had onscreen ordering and the ability to check our sea pass charges. We did not use our balcony much on this trip as we spent a lot of time outside on the upper decks. Read more