First, a little about me... I'm 34, divorced, no children. I've cruised once prior to this, on Carnival's Fascination in February 2006. This cruise was part of a group cruise for Christian singles, as was last year's.
Pre-cruise, we stayed at the Ramada Inn Fort Lauderdale Airport/Cruiseport. It's a nice, comfortable place to stay pre- or post-cruise. Unfortunately, it rained the whole time I was there, so I didn't get to take the desired dip in the pool, but not a big deal. And there's a restaurant on premises, with a free breakfast buffet included for guests. Finally, there is a shuttle available to get you from the airport to the hotel, and the hotel to the port.
Embarkation was fairly quick. I think I was on the ship within thirty minutes. Unfortunately, it was still raining, so not too many of us were on deck for sailaway. I had missed sailaway on my last cruise, so I was determined not to miss it this time! I think I lasted about fifteen minutes on deck! I went back to my room briefly and found that my luggage, with that of my roommates', had already arrived.