My friend and I, both in our early 20's, took our first cruise on December 16, 2007 on the Radiance of the Seas to the Western Caribbean.

We flew in to Fort Lauderdale from Canada the night before, and while it cost us quite a bit more, it was a good choice as there was a big snow storm at home on the day of the cruise with many flight cancellations. We had a short stay due to our delayed arrival at the Holiday Inn Express Air/Sea Port in Fort Lauderdale. The hotel offers a free shuttle to and from the airport, however this only runs until 1:00am, and as we arrived after that, we took a taxi - it cost about $12 from FLL. The hotel was very clean with comfortable beds, a wake-up call which rang 30 minutes early, and a very loud air-conditioner. Overall, our stay was okay though, and the free breakfast in the morning made it worthwhile. With it's close proximity to both the airport and Port Everglades, I would consider staying here again for 1 night pre or post-cruise in the future.

After breakfast, the hotel called a taxi for us, which arrived within 5 minutes. It cost around $12 to get to Port Everglades, and we arrived around 10:40am. Read more