This was our 19th cruise and the 6th with Celebrity. We stayed one night prior to embarkation at the Marriott Courtyard Ft. Lauderdale Beach. The hotel is fine. It's not new or fancy but it was clean and the location can't be beat. It's withing walking distance of many restaurants etc and is right across the street from the beach (there aren't actually any hotels in that area that are on the beach).
Knowing that the cruise cabins aren't usually ready until 1:00 or later we decided to check out of the hotel late and arrived at the pier about 12:30ish.
Check in was efficient and we only waited in line for about 5-10 minutes. We got on board and while we were deciding whether to go have lunch or go up on deck first they announced that the cabins were ready. It was a bit after 1:00 at this point.