We began our trip by flying from Washington Dulles Airport to Ft. Lauderdale Airport. We chose to come in a day early so that we would be relaxed and not rushed to get to the port. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Air/Sea Port. It was very nice and included a deluxe continental breakfast and free transfers to/from the airport and cruiseport. The rooms were clean and the staff was friendly.

We arrived at Port Everglades at around 10:30 am and were quickly processed and allowed to board the ship. We were told they were having an early embarkation day. By 11 am we were sitting on the Lido Deck eating lunch! We enjoyed sitting around watching people board and took the early embarkation time to walk around and get acquainted with the ship. We weren't permitted to go to our cabins until after 1 pm. No problem, there was plenty to see.

We booked an 8A balcony cabin and were given #6485, a nice aft cabin. We were very pleased with the size of the room and balcony. Aft balconies are about 4 ft. longer than the side balconies. The only negative thing I can say about aft balconies is that there is not a lot of airflow and it tends to get very hot! We didn't spend nearly as much time as I hoped on it due to the extreme heat and lack of a breeze. Read more