Well, first we drove down from Michigan and stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando. We did Universal Studios and had an awesome time, before we went on to Fort Lauderdale. Arriving in Fort Lauderdale 3/5/04 we stayed one night in Best Western Marina Inn. It was so close to the port and we seen our ship docked from our hotel balcony.

Arriving to the port we did not know what to expect hearing that security was tighter here than in Miami port. However, it was a breeze! We arrived at 11:00 am. Embarkation went so fast, because we booked a suite we had priority. Not that we needed it, because there were no lines anyway at that time. Our friends who did not book a suite were on the ship 5 minutes after us.

The ship is beautiful and our 2 girls were in awe. We walked around a bit and then headed to the Windjammer Cafe for lunch. By the time lunch was over we were ready to go to our rooms. We had ordered B-day decorations for our suite and we ordered Bon Voyage decorations for our friends. Plus we ordered our 2 girls and our friends 2 children the Adventure Ocean Back-Pack and the Adventure Ocean Snack Pack Coolers. For my husband I ordered a Velour Robe and Beach Towel (it was his and my daughters Birthday). They all loved the surprises!! The decorations were great!! Read more