Pre-cruise We flew in a day early (Sunday) and stayed at Courtyard Marriott on the Beach in Ft. Lauderdale. I got this hotel on Priceline for $100 and it was an absolute steal! The hotel was wonderful! Great location right on the beach and Las Olas. Upon arrival, I learned we had been upgraded to a suite with an ocean view room. The hotel was in great condition, and we enjoyed walking on the beach before dinner at a nearby restaurant, Coconuts (which was very tasty!) Our only complaint was the pool bar seemed to be out of almost everything we wanted to order, and the drinks were very expensive. But I highly recommend this hotel!

Monday We took a taxi to the port and arrived around 11:30 a.m. We ran into some issues with the porter, who refused to put luggage tags on the case of soda and bottled water that we had brought along. He said we'd either have to fit them in our suitcases, or carry them along. Well, our suitcases were full, so that didn't work. I finally managed to fit the soda in our garment bag, but had to carry the water on ourselves. This was very irritating.

Checkin was pretty smooth and we walked on board the ship around noon. We went straight to the Windjammer, which was very crowded already, and enjoyed lunch. We had a bit of a problem finding a seat, but we enjoyed a fairly tasty lunch (honey stung chicken was a favorite). Then we headed down to our stateroom, which was ready. Read more