My husband, 11 year old son and I sailed on the Liberty on a 6 day cruise from 4/6-4/12. We drove from Tampa to Ft. Lauderdale the day before with 2 other couples and their two children. We all stayed at the Hampton Inn, which cost $99 for the night, plus an addition $20 to park our car there for the week (you can park for $20 for up to 10 days). This hotel was absolutely fabulous. They drove us to a waterside restaurant they recommended for dinner the night before and picked us up when we were done. Perfect, we didn't have to worry about a designated driver, where to go and how to get there. The next morning they took us to the port at 10:30am, which is about a 5 minute drive away.

Embarkation was a breeze. They immediately took our luggage, we had no line, sat in the waiting area for approximately half hour and was on-board, having the drink of the day and eating lunch in Emile's by noon. I highly recommend getting to the port no later than 11am or you will wait in long lines.

We have sailed Carnival 2 other times, and of course, staterooms are small, but we truly felt the staterooms on this ship were a very nice size. We had an ocean view room with a couch that turned into a bed for our son at night, and of course we had the 2 twins made up as a double. Beds, pillows, duvets were all comfortable and lived up to the Carnival Comfort name. I lied down on my son's bed and it was not very comfortable, probably fine for a child, but I wouldn't have wanted to sleep on it for a week. Our room steward was absolutely fabulous and called us by name after the first night. The room was always spotless; clean towels every time, clean sheets, fresh ice and he always kept our cooler full of ice. Stateroom service was above our expectations. Read more