Group: This was our 4th cruise as a family (2 adults aged 43 and 4 children aged 15,16,17 and 18. The couple traveling with us had never cruised before, their ages 50, 50, 19, 17 and 16.

Pre-cruise: We flew into Miami 1 day early and took our pre-arranged shuttle to South Beach and checked into the Pelican Hotel. Very small, eclectic hotel in the heart of Miami Beach. Booked on Hotwire for $160 per night and I was a bit skeptical at first but the hotel exceeded our expectations. Great stay, very friendly, right across from beach, they provide beach chairs and towels for free, free Internet, free happy hour from 5-7(drinks sitting outside Ocean Drive), small rooms but awesome location!

Cruise Embarkation Day: We ate breakfast at the Pelican Hotel in South Beach and had our pre-arranged shuttle pick us up at 10:30am to drop us off at the Port of Miami. We arrived at the port by 11am and dropped off our luggage with the porters. We headed through security and they definitely checked everything. We had brought on 2 - 12 packs of water and they unsealed and shook every water bottle. They did not open up our 12 packs of sealed cokes. Once they realized we had no alcohol we were on our way to check-in for the cruise. Very smooth process and we were on the Lido deck by 11:30 eating lunch and soaking in the rays at the pool. We wore our bathing suits under our clothes/coverups knowing our luggage would not be ready until later in the day. Note: We were told not to arrive until 1:30 but of course since we cruised before we knew to arrive early and we were glad we did. Our cabins were ready by 1:30 and all of our luggage had arrived on our beds! We enjoyed the day at the pool eating all day and drinking. Read more