PRE CRUISE AND EMBARKATION

We are a married couple in our early 50s with no children. These were our 6th and 7th cruises and our third time to do back to back East and West Caribbean cruises. Our previous cruises have all been with Holland America, except for the very first one years ago on a now defunct cruise line. Because of the nature of our occupations, we travel extensively throughout America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia so are accustomed to eating various types of food (we love food of all cultures) and interacting with people from different cultures (we love people of all cultures).

After a business trip ending in Alabama, we drove from there to Ft. Lauderdale, utilizing a one-way car rental. It was a long drive but saved a lot of money over flying. The toll road is definitely the route to take as there was little traffic, no construction and we made quick progress. We stayed at the Hampton Inn Cypress Creek a few miles from the FLL airport using our Hilton Honors points. It was a nice hotel, very clean but the smallest Hampton rooms we had ever seen. The staff was friendly and helpful. We did a trial run to the airport the night before to see how long it would take us. No problem...about 15 minutes. We then dined at what had to be one of the best Italian restaurants we'd ever visited. It was a block or two west of I-95, a right turn off Cypress Creek Road (same street as the hotel is on). It was rather small and part of some kind of mini mall. So sorry, can't remember the name. But we ate way too much and started our cruise the next day already full (we don't recommend that!) Read more