ABout us. We are two females, late forties and mid fifties, traveling together. We both have lived all or most of our life in Georgia. This was my 13th cruise in the last 8 years but my friend had not cruised in over 15 years so it was like a new event for her. I have been on NCL, RCCL, Princess, and this was the second time on HAL.

We flew in from Atlanta to Ft. Lauderdale on the day before the cruise. The flight was on time and we got our luggage quickly. We had a room at the Marriott Spring Hills in Dania Beach and it was very nice. They have transportation to and from the airport and to the port the next day. When we checked in, they asked at that time if we wanted the shuttle the next day and put us on a list for the proper ship and said to be in the lobby about 11:45 for the 12:15 shuttle. Since check out was at noon, that was great. Both from the airport and then from the hotel to the ship they had a van or small bus with a trailer pulled behind for the luggage. That made it nice. The room was great, the beds comfortable, and everything was clean. I would definitely stay there again without hesitation.

We got to the ship about 12:30 and since we had a suite, check in was a breeze. We walked on and were directed to the Lido for the buffet lunch. It was crowded but we were able to find a table. Lunch was good but we had a big breakfast at the hotel so were not very hungry. We got to the room about 1:30. Read more