We left Boston late in the afternoon Saturday October 14 on a direct flight. Arrived at Ft. Lauderdale, collected luggage and called for complimentary shuttle to Amerisuites. This is the one that has been bought by Hyatt and will be undergoing some renovations. The hotel is in desperate need of repair and refurbishment. The staff was not helpful and in fact double billed us (still waiting for credit). Will definitely go back to Holiday Inn Express on SR84 next time.

Slept in until 9:00 on Sunday October 15. Called a taxi since the free shuttle was booked when we checked in. Taxi was easy and inexpensive. Left hotel a couple of minutes after 11:00 AM and were in the pier in no time.

Embarkation was definitely different than our previous cruise in May, 2005 on Zuiderdam. A couple of things to make note of. There was a line! It moved quickly and staff made sure we knew what we needed and where to go. I recognized a roll call member in line and introduced our family. We checked in and everything went well. On the way through security we met another roll call member. Went through security and were on the ship. Sorry I can't remember the time it took but it wasn't that long maybe 30-45 minutes at most. Read more