After five consecutive years of vacationing at Disney World, my hubby and I decided to try a cruise with our kids. Best decision we ever made!! I am 40 and my hubby 38. Our two oldest boys are 8 and 7 and our daughter 4. We also travelled with my best-friend and her family, including girls ages 10 and 8.

My husband and I had been on two prior cruises (Carnival for honeymoon and Celebrity to Alaska). However, both of these were before we had children. Because we are huge Disney fans, I initially was leaning towards a Disney cruise. However, after reading reviews about RCCL's freedom class, we decided to try Liberty of the Seas. We flew into Fort Lauderdale the day before cruise. It was cheaper to rent a mini-van through Thrifty than pay a shuttle, plus we had a vehicle to drive around town for the day. We stayed at the Conrad in Miami and it was fabulous. We were upgraded to a 2 bedroom, 2 bath owner's suite that was the size of a condo! The morning of our cruise, March 7th, my hubby dropped me and the kiddos off at the ship around 10:45 a.m. and then he returned the van to Thrifty. They shuttled him back to the port for free. Getting on the ship was a breeze. There were hardly any lines and we were on the in less than an hour.

As we got on the ship, Carmen from My-time dining was taking reservations and we signed up for a standing reservation at 6:30 p.m. every night. She promised us a great table and she definitely delivered. Once on board, we headed up to the sports deck. I knew from prior reviews that in order to get an optimal time for a private lesson on the flowrider, it was important to book it asap. The flowrider opened up at 1:00 and I booked our lesson for the following day. The ship leaving the port of Miami was impressive. We spent the first day exploring the ship. We had signed up for my-time dining and it worked out perfectly for us. Read more