Background Information - We are a family of 4 (myself, DH, DD 15, and DD 10) sailing during spring break from Washington State. This is our 4th cruise as a family and all have been on HAL. My DH and I went on 2 other cruises, one on Princess and one on Carnival.

Hotel Info - We decided to fly in a couple of days early, to make sure that we arrived with plenty of time before boarding the ship and had reservations at Springhill Suites in Dania. We chose this hotel because of the complimentary shuttle service from the airport and to Port Everglades. It also has a complimentary expanded continental breakfast. Arrived in Ft. Lauderdale around 8:30 p.m. We called the hotel to request shuttle pick-up and was directed to a specific area outside of the baggage claim area. The shuttle picked us up within 15 minutes. This hotel is clean and the staff was friendly and helpful. There isn't too much around this hotel if you don't have a car, but there is a shopping area across the street if you need some last minute items for your cruise. (K-mart, BJ's, Barnes & Noble) The breakfast was good for complimentary, but the dining area was a little crowded, so we took the food back to our room. They also have yummy chocolate chip cookies in the evening at the front desk.

The shuttle service to the cruise terminal is very organized. There are 3 shuttle pick-up times.....10:45 a.m., 11:45 a.m. & 12:45 p.m. The shuttle you are scheduled on depends on which cruise line you are sailing. We were on the 11:45 shuttle. It took about 15 minutes to get from the hotel to the drop-off point at the cruise terminal. We were very pleased with the shuttle service. Read more