My husband, myself, and our two children (10 & 5) went on this cruise. Thanks to cruise critic, I spent over 4 months planning this vacation to the tiniest detail, and it paid off! By far, this was the most exciting, amazing, and pampered vacation I have ever been on. We are Canadian, so it was cheaper to fly out of Buffalo to Ft. Lauderdale than from Toronto to Miami. We booked a pre and post cruise stay at the Sleep Inn in Dania, Florida. The accommodations lived up to their expectations. The pool area was nice, and we had a large room with a sofa, microwave, and fridge. As well, it included the airport shuttle and an amazing continental breakfast that includes eggs, biscuits and gravy and waffles. This paid off on our last day when funds were running low. Being right beside a Walgreens, I was able to purchase, and nuke dinner right in the comfort of our hotel room. I highly recommend this hotel, and if you can, staying pre and post cruise as you will need the rest!

EMBARKATION: We went early!! The cab ride cost approx. 60 dollars to the dock and we arrived around 10:30. This allowed us the luxury of beating all of the lines, however, we ended up having to sit in the pre-boarding area for an hour before customs cleared the ship. So I'm not really sure if it was worth going early after all.

OUR ROOM: We were on Main deck (2nd floor) with an inside cabin- four to the room. It was a tight fit, but we don't spend a lot of time in the cabin anyways. The kids loved the bunk beds. Our room Stewart was a bit of jerk though. Love love love all the free bathroom goodies. Read more