By way of introduction, we are a 50-something couple on our annual winter vacation. We have done a number of Carnival cruises in the past, and last year we did a Princess cruise. Our goal is rest and relaxation.

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale a day early, as we fly from the cold North. From FLL, we took a taxi ($25 with tip) to Bahai Mar Doubletree on Sunrise Blvd., off A1A. We loved the location, on the beach, and just a couple of blocks south of the main strip. We enjoyed lunch at Bubba Gumps and walked up to the CVS. We met friends at Coconut's for dinner. The food and service were good. We had breakfast in the morning at the little convenience store next to the hotel and then took a stroll on the beautiful beach across the street.

We left our hotel at 10 a.m., taking a taxi ($21 with tip) to Port Everglades. We got our first glimpse of the beautiful Royal Princess. We stood in line for about 15 minutes before we went through security, checked in our two allowed wine bottles, checked in, and then went to the seating area by 10:30. We sat in the seating area until our boarding zone (#1) was called at 12 noon. Read more