We flew in the day before so not to have to worry about airline difficulties --- we had reservations at the Ft. Lauderdale Hilton Marina. A reasonable rate was offered and three of us stayed in one room. A short cab ride from Ft. Lauderdale airport under $20 with tip. Only drawback this summer which I was unaware at booking was the restaurants were closed due to renovations and the only place to eat on site was the pool bar. (Not a very good selection for lunch and supper both)We made do because after all we are fixing to go on a cruise! We stayed in a tower room which was nice and up to date and clean. Would not want to stay in the villas as they need remodeling. Next time I would stay on a higher floor in the tower for a better water view. I would stay here again. Walgreens is a few blocks down the street and my daughter and I walked it, but would not walk it after dark just a little too far and felt a touch uneasy for 2 women walking on their own. But otherwise a great place! We felt very safe on hotel property!!
Woke up and left hotel at 10:30 for port. Caught cab right out front with no waiting. Fare was $10-$15 for fare +tip to port. Less than 5 minute ride. We got our luggage with a steward + tip to steward for good measure and we were off to embarkation. Walked right up to desk by 11:00am, paperwork and boarding pictures made, then to Crown and Anchor section(only gold level) for a seat to wait for boarding, was told boarding would not begin until 12:30 in an earlier email, however we were boarding by 11:15 and on ship by 11:25. Cabins were made available after 1pm.
Once onboard we immediately went and purchased on premium beverage package and I would definitely do this again! We waited to purchase once on board as we had some onboard credit to use and this made it quite a deal. I am not a heavy drinker but the convenience was awesome for ordering beverages, service exceptional, and bottomless wine glass a dinner a plus. I did get my money worth as we did not get off for long at ports and I was able to use this package everyday. My next stop after purchasing drink package was to excursion desk to reserve a cabana on Labadee. Since we were not doing any excursions at the other ports we opted to renting a cabana on Labadee if available and on the website prior to boarding it stated to inquire once onboard about Cabanas ... we felt very lucky as we were told at 11:25am when I made it to the excursion desk we got the LAST cabana on Nellie's Beach over the water. It was a pure TREAT!! Will definitely do this again. We stayed the entire day on Labadee, had our own personal attendant to get our bar drinks or cokes for my daughter. The cabana came with our own bottled water, flotation mats for the beach, as well as we had a special buffet with the suite guests. We felt very pampered and will be disappointed in future cruises if we do not get a cabana. The sun can be very hot and having the shade when you want it was great! Plus they had a golf cart to take you back to the ship when you were ready to leave.We had the late dining at 8:30pm and had show reservations pre arranged for after dinner most nights. My mother in law had a difficult time making the late shows so she might opt for early dinner the next time. This was her first cruise. However, having teenagers the late shows work better for us and gives us more pool time as we do not have to come in early and get ready for dinner. There are some must shows to see ... we always enjoy the LOVE and MARRIAGE show, the broadway show, ice show, and the QUEST. We missed COME FLY WITH ME, but I heard it was great. I enjoyed the casino ... I just play penny slots, but I did win a little then lose a little but overall came home with a little more money about $100 more than I went with plus a tshirt! Yay! My favorite day time activity was lying by the pool. We chose to lay out at the beach pool which was usually crowded but we were always lucky enough to find 2 chairs side by side even when we would not get out there until 11:30 or 12:00 noon.
11323 - boardwalk with balcony - absolutely loved location and view; can see ocean out the back of the ship as well as view aquatheatre; only drawback is no privacy on balcony like if you have an oceanview balcony, but that is not a problem for us. After doing a boardwalk balcony I will not go back to a regular ocean balcony unless I am lucky enough to get a suite. The bed is by the closet; loved the public balcony at the end of the hall for sailaways or for further viewing aqua theater. Very little hall traffic cause you are toward the end of the hallway.