My wife and I, both early fifties, took a cruise just to get away from the hustle and bustle of our everyday life. We planned it only about 3 weeks in advance which is definitely last minute for us. Our departure date was February 2.
We arrived into Ft. Lauderdale the evening before (I have a fear of flying in the day of embarkation) and spent the evening at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport & Cruise Port on Marriott points. There is a free shuttle from the airport. The hotel was full of pre-cruise folks. If you do not have a vehicle there is NOTHING near the hotel to eat; however they do provide a free shuttle to local restaurants which is a nice touch. The hotel is very clean, comfortable, and the staff was very pleasant. Breakfast the next morning was a little chaotic with lots of folks but everyone was very nice and accommodating.
There is an outfit that sets up in the lobby that will shuttle you to the cruise port. It is a reasonable price ($7 or $8 per person I think) but be prepared for multiple stops. We were the 3rd stop and did not get off the shuttle van until over an hour after hotel departure and the cruise port is only 10 minutes away. Next time we will call a cab to take us directly to our ship.
We had an inside balcony that overlooked Central Park – room 10187. It was just a few steps from the elevator/stairs which was very handy. I didn’t know for sure if I would like a balcony that didn’t have an ocean view but we really liked it. Sitting out on the balcony looking at Central Park with its greenery, birds piped in through hidden speakers – it was great. I would definitely do it again. Our cabin steward learned our names and likes very quickly and did a great job keeping our room picked up.