Background: My wife(age 27) and I (age 32) got married onboard Liberty of the Seas in 2008. I have sailed 5 times now and she has sailed 4 times, all on Royal Caribbean ships. We booked this cruise as a holiday family vacation. Most of the family is scattered across the United States. It was also a surprise to have an Aunt and Uncle joining us. No one knew but us.

Pre-Cruise Hotel: We drove from Michigan to Florida and had a wonderful stay at the Hyatt House Dania Beach hotel. This hotel is about 5 miles from the port. The hotel is new and was clean and the rooms were all suites with kitchens which worked out well for our group of 10. We only needed 3 rooms as 2 rooms had two separate bedrooms and bathrooms each. The Hyatt House includes a full hot breakfast buffet everyday, which is why I choose this hotel over Hyatt Place. Even though Hyatt Place is closer to Port Everglades, the reviews on TripAdvisor were less than great and the hotel does not provide a HOT (you must pay for hot items) breakfast. Only continental breakfast is included at Hyatt Place.

We left the Hyatt House at 10am and arrived shortly after at Terminal 18 to board Oasis of the Seas. We had to wait a few minutes for the rest of our group to arrive. Once all together, we entered the terminal and proceeded to go through security and check in. Check in was lightening fast as everyone has already said. We did a group photo and then went upstairs to sit in the GOLD section awaiting to board the ship. Boarding happened at 11:30am and I'm guessing we were among the first 500 people onboard. We made a beeline up to Park Cafe and had a lovely lunch before the rush. Read more