This is my second cruise. My first was almost 20 years ago so I guess this is my first cruise (again). Our group of 8 consisted of the following: me (41), husband (46), 4 yr old daughter and 2.5 yr old son, sister (37), her husband (46) and their daughters (4 yrs and 7 months). 4 adults and 4 kids.

We flew to Ft Lauderdale the day before to rest and relax plus not miss our flt out and our ship. Recommend to all to fly in the day before and not stress over a missed departure. Hyatt Place was 3 star and good hotel and location with free shuttle to/from airport and port with nice free breakfast. Room was good. Price was only $75 on Hotwire so that was a good deal. Mall across the street/parking lot with a few good restaurants. Good size room and clean.

Boarded the ship in 15 mins. We were lucky. Staff saw us with kids and strollers and showed us to a special area where all the wheel chair passengers were checking in. We provided ID and took our pictures and we were boarded quickly. This was about 1:30 pm. We knew not to go at 11am when everyone else was going. Didn't see the regular line ups but heard stories of long wait. Good thing we had kids to get into the special line. Read more