My husband, 56, and I, 57, had an altogether lovely time on our cruise on the beautiful ms Zuiderdam!

We flew into Ft. Lauderdale from Philadelphia and spent the night before at the Sleep Inn in Dania Beach, right near the airport. I'd had a tough time finding an available room in advance, since there was a boat show planned for the weekend we arrived. However, I finally had success on hotels.com, paying just under $100 total for the room. The hotel was clean and nice, with included shuttles from the airport and to the cruiseport and a nice breakfast buffet. I was somewhat put off by the odor in the room-- it seemed a combination of mustiness and pine oil (the smell of which I abhor!), and I actually had some trouble sleeping because of it. Since by then it was the middle of the night, I didn't bother complaining or asking for another room. It certainly wasn't the end of the world.

The hotel was conveniently located near shopping, and there was a terrific Mexican restaurant in the little center right across the street. We chatted with the owner, who informed us that we were entitled to a 15% discount because we were staying at our hotel. What a nice perk! We enjoyed our dinner immensely. Read more