We just got back from the October 4th sailing of Enchantment of the Seas to the Cayman Islands and Cozumel. We traveled with five adults and our son, who is 16 months old. This was my very first cruise, so I didn't have anything to compare it to, but I do know we had a really great time... with just a few annoying bumps in the road.
Embarkation: We arrived at FLL on the morning of our sail date, trusting that we would be able to find a cab company with a car seat for our little one. We did this at our travel agent's suggestion, instead of paying the ridiculous $20+/pp fare for the 10-minute ride arranged through Royal Caribbean. The taxi dispatcher said "No problem" to my special request, then started loading our luggage into a taxi with no car seat. When I protested, he suggested that we get in the car anyway and just hold the baby in our laps. Um, no. So we found the Royal Caribbean representative at the airport, who assisted us in borrowing a car seat from our airline and arranging to have it returned. So score for RCCL - their representative Claude went outside of his job description to help us get safely from FLL to the port.
We arrived at the port and encountered a scene of controlled chaos. There were racks of luggage stacked everywhere, and a porter blurted out directions to tag our bags and leave them on the curb. Leave them on the curb?? "We'll get 'em!" he shouted. Hoping he was correct, we started the long, hot, wet (it was raining) walk to the terminal entrance. Then we went through the Homeland Security checkpoint, removing shoes and the whole nine yards. Then we stood in line for 10-15 minutes waiting to check in. Then stood in line again to check ourselves onto the boat. Then up the stairs, up the gangway... by the time we finally got to the ship, we were hot, sweaty, and exhausted from wrestling with a tired toddler and our carry-ons. In the next half hour we learned by trial and error that the staterooms aren't available until 1 pm, that those yummy-looking pina coladas they shove in your face upon arrival will cost you 8 bucks, and the buffet lunch offered for early arrival would consist of leftovers from the previous cruise in an overcrowded dining hall. Current mood: Tired, frustrated, and wondering if this wasn't a huge mistake. Thankfully, it got better.