Ft. Lauderdale to Santiago, Chile, December 2-20, 2011

The Panama Canal rules and South America is not a copy of Mexico.

Our trip started with a Southwest Air flight from Jacksonville to Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), since I had frequent flyer miles to use or lose. We arrived in FLL the evening of December 2, meeting our friends Charles and Nancy that travelled with us on the cruise and post-cruise. We stayed at the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port Hotel on 17th street, which was across the street from the FLL cruise port. The hotel was not a luxury hotel, but nice and convenient. Also, they offered a free shuttle to the cruise port. Prior to heading over to the port on the 3rd, we walked around the area, did some last minute shopping. We purchased two bottles of wine to carry on the ship, since Celebrity allows this on embarkation. I found some good wine without corks, so I wouldn't have to deal with a corkscrew. We enjoyed the wine sitting on our balcony during the Panama Canal transit. Read more