Pre-Cruise:
After a second cold winter in a row, we really enjoyed the hot weather on our five cruise. My husband and I cruised without our children this time. It made for a really relaxing cruise.
We flew to Fort Lauderdale from Detroit the afternoon before our cruise. For the second time, we stayed at The Embassy Suites on 17th. It's not the cheapest hotel by any means, but it's clean, you get a couple of drinks and snacks (popcorn, chips and dip, carrots/celery, etc) and a full breakfast in the morning. The rooms are spacious and the pool area is nice. We had dinner at the Irish pub across the road. It was okay. There is a large Publix right next door to the hotel. It's a convenient spot for one night pre-cruise.
First time with a balcony - now we'll never cruise without one.