This was our first Princess cruise. We are 50 years old, and we enjoy cruising to relax in the warm climate in the middle of winter.

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale the day before we sailed. Coming from the northeast, you never know about the weather and how travel will go. We booked the Gallery One by Doubletree through Hotwire. The taxi from the airport to the hotel was $30 plus tip. It is about 2 blocks to the beach, so we enjoyed a stroll on the beach. We picked up a few items from Publix and used Starbucks' free wifi, both across the street from the hotel.

It was raining hard in the morning, so we decided to leave for the port around 1:00, instead of our usual early arrival at port. It took about 15 minutes to hail a taxi, and then another 30 minutes to get to the port, so we arrived at 1:45. There was a long line to check in, winding around the building. We were in our room by 2:15. We had our first balcony. Nice. We were on the Caribe deck, all the way forward, a great location, assigned by a stateroom guarantee booking. Read more