This was our 11th cruise and our second time with Holland America. There were 4 of us traveling together, husband, mother and daughter. Our reservations were booked directly with Holland America. We had been booked on a guarantee cabin and Holland America assigned us the highest category room! Knowing we were traveling together they even assigned us cabins next to each other!
We could not wait to leave Chicago! Following a very long snowy winter, our spring break cruise was just what we needed. We left Chicago the day after another 12 inch snow fall. Leaving the night before our cruise departure was a wise decision with all the flight cancellations Ohare had to deal with. There were 20 travelers wait-listed to go standby on our flight due to the snow storm. We were fortunate to leave on time to arrive in rainy Ft. Lauderdale, but it was warm and no snow! We were happy to be there, so we were patient with our 90 minute wait for the hotel shuttle bus to pick us up at the airport. We would have paid and taken the taxi had we known the wait was to be so long.
We choose to stay at the Marriott SpringHill Suites near the airport. The hotel was very nice with free shuttle from the airport to the hotel and the next morning to the cruiseship. A light buffet breakfast was also complimentary.