A little about us to give some context to our review: DH and I are in our early 30's with a three year old daughter. We haven't cruised since 2005, since becoming preggo and having our daughter. Our previous cruises were on Enchantment and Majesty. We typically eat at chain restaurants like TGI Friday's and Applebees and stay at hotels ranging from the Day's Inn to the Sheraton, but every so often will splurge on high end places. This cruise we were accompanied by both sets of our parents.

FLIGHT We flew into Ft. Lauderdale a day early. Given that it was our first flight with our child, and we were carting luggage plus an umbrella stroller and a carseat, it went very smoothly. The highlight for me was seeing my daughter laugh and say "Wheeeee wheeeee" as the plane took off. So cute. As we ascended, she complained that "my ears are screamin!" and I gave her some craisins to eat to prompt her to swallow, which took care of it. Continental serves a snack box with a mini turkey sandwich, chips and a mini candy bar - a nice touch when compared to stale pretzels! (On the way home, the plane had the in seat TV service with "complimentary" headphones - but a $6 charge for the TV! In truth, we decided to pay for it, and found it was well worth the $18 we spent. Our daughter was entertained the whole time (we don't have TV at home, so it fascinates her), and the flight went much more quickly for us.)

HOTEL We had reserved the Best Western Ft. Lauderdale Airport South for our overnight stay, and planned to use their free shuttle to the hotel from the airport. The shuttle runs about once an hour, and we had to wait a half hour or so for it. We didn't mind, and all went smoothly there and at check-in at the hotel. The hotel is pretty new. Our price including tax was $150. Considering the free shuttle service and included breakfast buffet, it was a good deal for us. It was very clean, the dEcor was modern and fresh, and the beds were quite comfortable, with nice linens. The breakfast buffet included scrambled eggs (which were not so great), sausage, French toast, make your own waffles (batter provided with waffle iron), muffins, and the normal continental breakfast fare. Also had three types of juices available. I would recommend eating early, as the line for the buffet gets very long towards 9am. Read more