ROYAL CARIBBEAN SHIP OVERVIEW
Royal Caribbean was founded in Norway in 1968. Currently, they are based out of Miami, Florida, but they have over 35 departure ports internationally. This cruise line prides themselves on being extremely family friendly, offering affordable family trips to the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. As of this year (2024), there are 28 ships operating, the newest being the Icon of the Seas. Our sailing departed 5 days before the legendary departure of the largest cruise ship in the world.
We set sail on the Liberty of the Seas in January 2024. This ship departs from Port Everglades, located in Fort Lauderdale. For a ship that was last refurbished in 2016, the rooms are pretty dated. We were told by some of the staff that the ship’s refurbishment was delayed, due to covid, but it is scheduled for upgrades in late 2024/2025. If you are considering taking a vacation on the Liberty of the Seas, I would advise to wait until these upgrades occur, or consider one of their newer ships.
We compared similar travel durations and destination offered by Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line. After much research, we decided to travel with Royal Caribbean because they offered the most family friendly amenities at the most affordable rate. They seemed like a good fit for our family, but they may not be a good fit for yours, so make sure to do your research.
GETTING TO THE CRUISE PORT
The Fort Lauderdale cruise port is fittingly called Port Everglades. The two closest airports to this port are the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and the Miami International Airport (MIA). FLL is 3.1 miles and MIA is 28.5 miles away from Port Everglades. We flew into Miami because it was around $600 cheaper. Since our girls were under the age of two, they flew as lap infants to cut down on the cost. I will mainly talk about MIA, since that is where we flew into.
HIRE A CAR:
We chose to hire a car from the Miami Airport to Port Everglades. When we arrived, ride share services were close to $125 one way. We chose a local SUV black car service to transport our family to and from the port. This cost us $180 round trip plus tip. I would choose this option again when travelling with infants because:
The driver provided personalized service, helping gather the luggage from arrivals and loading it into his car. Remember, two infants requires a lot of luggage!
He provided water in his very comfortable SUV.
We were able to get through port security faster than other cars because he was familiar with the staff at the port and the process of arriving.
When we arrived to the port, he helped us unload all of our luggage.
Lastly, we were able to schedule our pickup at the end of the cruise. This was the biggest plus! Other guests were waiting for ride shares, which were extremely backed up, due to the thousands of guests exiting the ship at the same time. As soon as we stepped curbside, our driver was already waiting right out front. He helped us load our luggage into his vehicle and we were headed back to the airport within minutes.
SHUTTLES:
Shared shuttles are available from the airport to Port Everglades, one of which includes the Metro Shuttle Service.
THE TRI-RAIL:
The Tri-Rail line is, by far, the cheapest option. The Tri-Rail is located at the Miami Airport and travels to the Fort Lauderdale Airport in about 40 minutes. From there, you must find alternative transportation from the Fort Lauderdale airport to Port Everglades. The cost is $5 per passenger for one way travel. Also, children under 5 ride free. The price was tempting, but we did not choose this option because of the amount of luggage we had with two infants.
TAXI / RIDE SHARE:
Taxi and Ride share services are always available at the Miami Airport. These services will cost between $45-125, depending on the time of day the flight arrives.
CAR RENTAL:
Car rental companies are usually open and have cars readily available.
ROYAL CARIBBEAN TRANSPORTATION SERVICE:
All Royal Caribbean ports offer transfer services for a fee. When we arrived at the airport, there was a long line of individuals who were waiting for the Royal Caribbean shuttle to arrive.
ROOMS AND SUITES
This is definitely something to consider with kids. We chose a Superior Ocean View Balcony room, which had a 199 square foot interior and a 66 square foot balcony. Our room was located forward of the ship. This room offered the best views while cruising.
The main disadvantage was that it was the furthest away from restaurants, the baby pool, and the nursery/play area. It was a long walk to any amenities located at the aft of the ship and a tight squeeze through the corridors with large strollers and impatient babies. Also, during dining hours, the elevators were crowded with strollers or other large devices (like wheelchairs). We waited upwards of 15 minutes to catch an elevator sometimes.
ADVICE: With stroller bound toddlers and infants, I would recommend staying closer to the aft of the ship. When dining with children, if possible, leave early or late for meals
WHAT IS ROYAL UP?
Royal Up is a bid-based program, which allows cruisers to bid for stateroom upgrades. We opted into bidding for an upgrade from a Superior Ocean View Balcony to any of the suite class staterooms. Despite providing a substantial offer, the cruise was sold out by departure day, so our bid was not accepted. The balcony room did not feel cramped when the pack ‘n plays were stowed away. The Royal Up program is a wonderful option for upgrading at a discounted rate.
ADVICE: Make sure that you are satisfied with your purchased stateroom just in case you do not receive an upgrade.
DINING ON THE SHIP
Liberty of the Seas offers five complimentary dining options and seven specialty restaurants for an extra cost. Unfortunately, we did not dine in any of the specialty restaurants during this cruise.
The Windjammer Café offered a good variety of buffet style dining options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This was the most convenient restaurant for children because seating was immediate and food was readily available.
The Main Dining Room offered a 3 course, elevated dining experience. It was, by far, our most enjoyable place to dine. When booking the cruise, cruisers had the option to pay extra to choose their dining time. If a dining time was not chosen prior to boarding, the open dining seating started around 630pm. The line was very long, which was important to consider with hungry young children. Beach attire was not welcome, so dress to impress.
Our girls could not make it through 3 courses both times we dined. We ordered our food in a timely fashion, yet 2 courses still took around 40 minutes to be served. The service staff was very friendly and professional. They brought fruit cups to our girls immediately, so that they were not waiting long for their meals. They were also willing to box our dessert to go.
MILK FOR INFANTS
All staterooms had mini refrigerators for personal use. We brought containers from home to store milk in the refrigerator. Glasses of milk could be delivered to the stateroom for free during breakfast room service hours. After breakfast, room service was charged a fee.
ADVICE: Take cups of milk from each meal to store in the stateroom refrigerator OR order extra glasses of milk during breakfast room service.
If you run out of milk or water during the night, Sorrento’s Pizzeria was open until 3am. They may be able to provide milk, but they definitely had water. The café on the promenade opens at 6am.
BABIES AND TOTS PROGRAM
Liberty of the Seas offered a baby and tots program for infants and children ages 6 – 36 months.
The open area play space was free for use by all cruise-goers with children in the above age range. It offered TV’s, soft mats, and age-appropriate toys. Children must be supervised by an adult.
The nursery was also a great daycare-like amenity offered on this ship. The cost was $6 per hour until 6pm, then $8 per hour after 6pm. The nursery staff provided a phone to parents for direct and easy communication. They can also watch children on the boat if parents prefer to go on an excursion alone. Our girls loved the playroom, so we went daily.
We used the nursery/daycare services once during our vacation. Since they try to keep a 3:1 child to caregiver ratio, it was recommended to reserve spots directly with the nursery as soon as possible. The staff were extremely friendly, caring, and patient with our children. When we arrived for pickup, one of our daughters was asleep in the nap area, so they do have cribs for naptime.
DRINK PACKAGE
We opted into purchasing the Deluxe Beverage Package during our vacation. This included all non-alcoholic beverages, specialty cocktails, beers, wine by the glass, and coffee. Royal Caribbean does not allow individual adults staying in the same stateroom to purchase this drink package. If one adult purchases this package, all adults in the same stateroom must purchase the package.
We did not purchase drink packages for our children. Water, juice, and milk were always available at the Windjammer Café for free.
ADVICE: If you drink alcoholic beverages, I recommend purchasing a drink package. Individual cost for alcohol and coffee is expensive. Cruisers without a drink package were paying upwards of $14 per beer on the ship. Keep in mind that the beverage packages can also be used on Perfect Day at Coco Cay.
PERFECT DAY AT COCO CAY
Prior to cruising, I was skeptical about spending an entire day on an island that was, essentially, just a playground for cruisers. I would prefer to explore different islands and immerse myself in different cultures. After we visited the island, I could not be happier that it was included in our itinerary.
There were easily accessible restaurants and bars located all over the island. Drink packages purchased on the ship could be used on the entire island. The Chill Grill was, by far, our favorite! They offered beachside favorites, like burgers, tacos, potato salad, and fresh fruit. We pulled up highchairs next to a shaded picnic table and enjoyed our meal with our toes in the sand.
There were beach strollers available all over the island. Advice: pull your stroller backwards through the sand. This eliminates the need for the bulky beach strollers.
Life vests of all sizes were available on the island free of charge. There were also plastic beach toys available for purchase. The toys we purchased cost $25 and vendor took credit cards. If you have space in your luggage, it would be cheaper to bring your own toys with you.
Free beach chairs and umbrellas were located all over the island. Study a map of the island prior to arrival, so that you have an idea of where you want to set your “home base” for the day. If you want first pick for beach chairs, arrive to disembark early! There was a long line of passengers exiting the ship at the same time. My girls were still having breakfast during disembarkation, so I gathered our towels, exited boat, and placed our towels on the beach chairs at Chill Island. It took about 20 minutes to walk round trip. When I arrived back at the ship, there was no rush to leave for the island, since our seating was already secure.
The waters of Harbor Beach were calm and serene. The beach was full of young children playing in the sand. There were no waves, so the water was much more inviting for children to safely play.
The Oasis Lagoon prides itself for being the largest freshwater pool in the Caribbean. The swim up bar located in the center of the lagoon attracted vacationers who were looking for a party. The DJ was playing a variety of music and the crowd was having a blast. The music and rambunctious crowd was too intense for our young girls, so we did not stay at the lagoon too long.
There were plenty of other free attractions on the island for older kids, like Splashaway Bay and Captain Jills Galleon. For more of an adventure, Thrill Waterpark and Up Up and Away were available at an extra cost. We did not pay extra to visit the Coco Beach Club or rent a cabana and, honestly, I did not feel like we needed to this visit.
When the girls are older, these are amenities that we might pay extra for, but it was not worth the cost for infants. Royal Caribbean has done an amazing job creating an adventure island that houses a little something for everyone of all ages. It really was a perfect day.
EXTRA
I am a seasick goddess. My sea bands were not working for me on the ship, especially during the day of “cruising”. For all of my seasick friends, free Dramamine is available at the guest services desK
Highchairs are always available, just ask. Hosts and waiters will bring the highchairs to you
When flying with a lap infant, American Airlines will block off the middle seat from being purchased by another passenger. They only release the seat for purchase a day or so prior to flight departure. Keep an eye on the seat map on their app. If someone purchases the middle seat, you can move to an empty row prior to your flight. If the flight is sold out, you can mentally prepare yourself to be a little cramped with your lap infant during the duration of the flight