This was our first cruise ever. We booked in September 2009. We had almost as much fun planning and anticipating over the several months before our cruise as we did actually being there.
We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale the day before our cruise. We flew in with friends from KC and met up with other friends from CO at the airport. We used fortlauderdaletaxi.com for a shuttle service. It worked out really well. They took us from airport to hotel, hotel to cruise terminal, and cruise terminal to airport. The driver made a stop on the way to the cruise terminal for us to pick up sodas and water to take on board. I thought they were very reasonable and would use them again.
Stayed at the LaQuinta on West Cypress Creek. It was a little far away but worked out really well. Waffles are very important to several members of our party and LaQuinta lets you make your own. It was clean and comfortable. The pool was really nice too.