My husband and myself were traveling with two of our adult sons (ages 23 & 26). Flew into Ft. Lauderdale the day before and stayed at the SpringHill Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport hotel. The hotel provided free shuttle from the airport and to the port based on your ship. Each shuttle van was divided by ship. The rooms were what you would expect from a Marriott. The hotel provided hot, self-service breakfast (lots of choices), pool, hot tub, and post cruise shuttle transportation from the port to the airport when our cruise was complete ($10 per person for the post cruise shuttle service). We were happy with them and would stay there again. Close to a Walgreen's, McDonald's, Burger King, Chipolte's, K-Mart, and TGIFriday's - all within walking distance.

Embarkation Day - we took the hotel shuttle directly to our ship's port. None of that stop & drop that you sometimes have to do with other shuttles. Dropped off our bags, checked in, and we were strolling the Promenade within 30 minutes. Eventually found our way up to the pool to watch the football games on the big screen by the pool. Made for happy men while waiting for our rooms to become available. :) Rooms were ready by 1:30. Our luggage was already there and we were able to unpack, get organized, change into our swimsuits and we were off to explore this lovely ship.

1st At Sea Day - Fun day of exploring the ship, eating massive amounts of food, sitting poolside, enjoying the hot tubs, playoff football games by the pool, the ice skating show, and lots of R & R. Our sons had fun with the Karoake activities the night before and had made some new friends to hang out with throughout the trip. First formal night for dining! I, for one, love the formal nights. So nice to dress up and treat the time together as something a little more special. Good entertainment that night. Comedian brought in for the welcome aboard show. Read more