This Celebrity Solstice cruise was the first 7-day cruise for my husband and me. We do a lot of traveling - Europe and US destinations as well as some boating and RV-ing - but had not gotten into cruising before.

We came from the west coast, and with a hard winter predicted, we made sure our connecting flight was through Dallas, not Chicago. We scheduled arrival to spend 2 nights in Ft. Lauderdale, staying at the Marriott on Ft. Lauderdale beach. The hotel was okay, but not up to other Marriotts I've stayed at. We were in a lock-off, but the bedroom area was quiet as you could close a set of French doors. Ate at Coconuts Restaurant across the street - nice, authentic on-the-canal seafood place.

On cruise day, we dropped off our National rental car, then took their free shuttle bus to the cruise port. Embarkation was extremely smooth and fast. But we were concerned to see a notice about norovirus. Read more