This was the third cruise for both my wife and me. All three have been on Holland America ships.
Embarkation: The process went smoothly as expected. We had one hiccup somewhat of our own doing where our two children, 9 and 11, both had low grade fevers. It took about 20-30 minutes to get a ships doctor into the processing area to evaluate our kids before boarding, but we'd probably wait that long in a typical clinic. Once we were cleared to board, our room was ready and clean.
Service: I need to qualify that we made a number of requests that go beyond the ordinary for a cruise crew to accommodate. Our son has numerous food allergies. On the first day or two, they struggled to come up with food that avoided his allergens that he would eat. After they got the hang of it, though, they came up with numerous options, even desserts that he could have. They made sure we had the menu for the next day and could preorder. The wine steward had a new puzzle for the kids to figure out every night which made them feel special among a typically older clientele.
Other than a couple of broken hardware pieces on the cabinets, all was up to snuff.
Learned a lot about the history of Ft. Lauderdale. Guide on our boat tour went from bad joke to bad joke
Relaxing day in powdery white sand and turquoise water
Smaller boat, but our guides were obviously very comfortable in the water with us.
Ocean World is an experience to remember, especially if you do the Dolphin Encounter/Swim