We saw an unbelievable deal on an inside cabin to the western Caribbean on the April 25 sailing on the internet, and decided to go for it. When we spoke with the agent, we were immediately upgraded to another inside cabin, this time on the Verandah deck aft. I would highly recommend getting a cabin in this vicinity due to the proximity of 24 hour food/pizza, and the usually quiet aft pool. It was great being able to run upstairs for coffee, a beer, or a quick slice of pizza.
Anyway, we pulled our son out of school for a week and headed to Miami. We arrived Saturday night for the Sunday cruise, and stayed at the Airport Hilton. It was a beautiful hotel with a very good breakfast buffet, but ask for a room that is not facing the airport as it can get very noisy. We took a short taxi ride to the airport, around 11:30. The following is a brief description of our experience.
Embarkation: Filled out the documentation online. Waited in line 20 minutes max. The terminal itself is very plain and resembles more of a warehouse than a terminal, but it serves the purpose. Besides, we were there for the ship anyway.