This was definitely a cruise like no other!! We were on the 8/30/04 sailing of the Enchantment of the Seas; however, thanks to Hurricane Frances, we got 2 extra days at sea!! Traveling on the cruise was myself (27), my husband (29), and my brother (26). We booked the cruise directly through RCL online, back in early January because we wanted a shorter cruise that took us to Belize. This was my 10th cruise overall and 7th on RCL.
Day one - Arrival in Ft. Lauderdale. We took an early American Airlines flight out of LaGuardia and arrived at Ft. Lauderdale airport a little after 11 AM. I booked the Embassy Suites online directly through Hilton.com and got a pre-paid rate of $99. This was the third time that we have stayed at the hotel. We liked it, but noticed that it needed a little refurbishing. There was some wear & tear that you could see in some areas of the hotel, rooms, and the pool. However, for $99 the rate included a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the pier the next morning, made to order breakfast for everyone and a cocktail reception.
The suite was made up of two rooms. One part was the bedroom with a TV, sink, and the bathroom with another sink & shower and the other room had a small kitchen sink, fridge, table & chairs, another TV, a chair and a large couch that pulled out into a bed. The pool area was nice, but some of the tiles were broken and the gate to the pool was broken. However, we still spent the afternoon at the pool in the sun and then had dinner at Outback Steakhouse across the street. We stopped in the Publix across the street to pick up some bottled water for the trip. Then we watched the MTV music awards that night before bed.