I was one of the lucky travel agents to be on the Inaugural North America cruise on the Liberty of the Seas by Royal Caribbean International sailing from Cape Liberty, Bayonne NJ. It was a complimentary 2 night cruise to no where to give us an idea of the vast amenities and beauty of this new baby sister to the Freedom of the Seas. The ships are identical in size with some subtle upgrades and improvements.

Cabins- we got to tour most of the cabins on the ship including the Royal Suite (to die for), the Family Penthouse suite, Grand Suite, Owner's Suite, Junior Suite, Balcony cabin, Promenade Family Stateroom, Oceanview Family Stateroom and the Promenade cabin, to which we were assigned. I'm actually very glad that we were in the Promenade cabin since I have not stayed in this category before and I wanted to see the benefits over the inside (many) and the oceanview (also a few). I'll try to explain as much as each category of cabin as I remember it starting with the Promenade cabins first. These cabins are interior cabins but have a window facing the large galleria in the middle of the ship. We were on Deck 8, which is the highest level of this category of cabin. I would recommend this deck as opposed to the lower deck 6. The Royal Promenade is light 24/7 and some shops are open to the very wee hours. There might be some noise associated from the party revelers but in our 8th deck Promenade cabin, you couldn't hear any noise at all from the Promenade. We were actually located just a few door down from the elevators and we didn't hear any noise at all from the hallway or elevators. Pros to this cabin: It is lower priced than the ocean view cabins. The oceanview cabins are on the lowest passenger levels of the ship and the promenade cabins start on deck 6. Yes, it does not have the ocean view but you can see daylight which helped enormously when it came to having to get up in the morning. About ½ of the Promenade cabins are connecting which is great for families. 2 small love seats (one under the promenade window - great for people watching) Cons: if you need the beds separated into 2 twins, it is tight getting around the bed. Interestingly, the beds are rounded in one corner to make it easier to pass by.

In all, I would highly recommend the Promenade cabins to my clients who would prefer to be midship on an upper level but may not want to pay for a balcony. The cabin amenities (the same for all of the staterooms not at suite level): Great plush beds European style linens 100% plush Egyptian towels Adequate closest space with a good amount of hangers. Decent but limited drawer space (typical on most cruise ships) Plasma flat screen TV Refrigerator Portable Hairdryer Bathroom amenities - only shampoo/conditioner in the shower stall. Bar soap. The suites have the upgraded bathroom amenities. Decent storage space in the medicine cabinet, shelf under the sink and numerous hooks on the back of the bathroom door. Shower - typical Royal Caribbean- the joke is- you soap the walls and shimmy around to soap your selves up. Need to open the shower door to shave your legs. Read more