My brother and I usually go away in January to break up the winter in Boston. August 2008 he expressed interest in joining me on a cruise. I chose the HAL Panama cruise as we have never been to Panama.
We are the odd couple, he is Oscar and I am Felix, so I chose a cabin with ample room. Little did I realize at the time that we would be treated royally? We would have complimentary laundry, use of binoculars and umbrellas, priority boarding, just to name a few. We went to Men's Warehouse and ended up purchasing two tuxedos; thought that we might as well play the part.
On January 17th we flew from Boston to Ft Lauderdale on Jet Blue and stayed at the Holiday Inn, Ft Lauderdale Convention Center. This is near the cruise port; there is an $8 shuttle to the cruise port and they pick you up at the airport. On Jet Blue we paid $185 roundtrip each as I had a credit; the hotel stay was free due to a rewards program. I have stayed near this hotel before and like the location. It is also near a 24 hr Walgreens which is good for last minute purchases. Several restaurants are also nearby.
We had a Verandah Suite on the port side to the reat of the ship that had plenty of room. Our cabin steward Ketut was most helpful. We can not say enough about him and the cabin.