Two adults in our early fifties, this was our first cruise - so we have nothing to compare with - but both felt we had a wonderful experience and can't wait to cruise again.
Being in the snow belt - we flew in to Ft Lauderdale a day early. We were getting in late, so wanted an inexpensive hotel - pretty hard to find! We ended up at the Holiday Inn by the Sea in Lauderdale by the Sea - obviously under renovation and still pretty shabby. The staff was nice and the "downtown" was only a couple of blocks away - although the shops were t-shirt oriented and touristy. We ate in a great Greek restaurant, complete with belly dancer entertainment. We paid 18 dollars to take a shuttle from the airport and then another 18 dollars to take it to the port the following day. These shuttles are the large vans that are ridiculously difficult to get into unless you are lucky enough to be in the front seat.
We listened to some poor advice and DID NOT go to the port early. We could have arrived at 2 pm, but were told we would experience long lines, so we asked to be picked up at 2. With the 20 minute drive, plus picking up other passengers, plus open bridges that held up traffic, we did not arrive until after 3 pm. There was no line at all and the person helping us said they has processed @ 2,000 people in that first hour! Next time we will go much earlier, so we don't miss so much time at the pool the first day.