This was my husband and I's honeymoon. We were very excited to check out two ports we had never been too (Grand Turk and Amber Cove). We are from Dayton, OH and made the decision to drive down to save money. It was a long one! (16.5 hours). We left Dayton two days early to take our time travelling. We left early in the morning and stopped in Atlanta for a lunch with a friend that lives there. We then made it to a Courtyard Marriott in Warner Robins, Georgia where we would stay for the night. This was a beautiful hotel with great staff and it is right on a strip with restaurants, fast food and stores. Definitely recommend. We got up the next morning had breakfast at Cracker Barrel and hit the road again. We made it to Ft. Lauderdale around dinner time and we checked into our hotel which was the Renaissance Hotel. This was a beautiful hotel as well but I wouldn't say it was light-years above a Courtyard or other chain hotel. This is also in an area with lots of shops and restaurants. We had dinner and relaxed in the room. The next day we got up and booked the shuttle to take us to and from the port. This was through the company Quick and Safe. Only $6 per person per way. So $24 all together for the both of us. I thought that was pretty reasonable. We had originally booked to park our car and Park N Go but decided to cancel that and just leave in the hotel garage. Park N Go was $65 for the week and free shuttle to and from the car/port. Was only $12 more for the week to park at the hotel and it was in a covered garage instead of open lot and we parked towards the top where it wasn't crowded. Yes it was more expensive but honestly just more convenient and felt safer to me. We go outside to wait on the shuttle and they are 30 min late. Not a huge deal it wasn't a rush to the port but slightly frustrating. There was a guy that came and looked at all of our tickets and only took one couple so he obviously was on a different route. Finally ours showed. They did load our luggage for us and the van was clean. There was a lot of traffic so he took us the back way so it was quicker. We got to the terminal and headed in for the embarkation process. It was a bit more crowded than I have experienced in the past but the whole process only took about a half an hour. I never think embarkation is an issue. We head to our room just to check it out and see if we can meet our room steward. For the first time in all of my cruising the room was ready! We are not FTTF or Platinum members so I thought this was great. Our luggage also arrived very quickly, both suitcases before dinner. We checked out the ship and grabbed a drink. Then came the muster drill, hot and annoying as always but have to do it. The first night was great.

The next day was a sea day. Didn't do a whole lot. Did play some bingo, laid out for a bit, played some ping pong and just relaxed. This was elegant night so we did get dressed and go to dining room. All of the food was great. Dining room, buffet, Guy's, Blue Iguana, Pizza Pirate, Deli, Room service. I didn't get to try the fish and chips again and I was disappointed but I definitely will next time. We also did not eat in the steak house. We had late dining in the Monet dining room. Our wait staff was great. We only ate with our table mates once and they never returned.

Grand Turk was great. We did the dune buggy tour (booked all excursions through the ship). Definitely recommend the excursion. We shopped a bit and headed back to the boat. Amber cove was awesome also. I want to visit both again. We went to the Lifestyles Holiday Resort for a beach getaway. It was open bar and they provided food. Highly recommend this excursion as well. The next day was our sea day and this was the worst I have ever experienced on a ship before. It was rocking so much you couldn't walk straight. Sea sick bags were out and everyone pretty much stayed in their rooms. I NEVER have an issue with any boat (big or small) and I felt pretty crappy. The weather was great too that is what made it so odd. We barely ate and pretty much watched TV in our room all day. Luckily we hit land the next day and never had any other issues. So odd! Glad that doesn't happen often or I wouldn't be a frequent cruiser. Captain blamed it on the wind. I am not sure but it was pretty bad. I am surprised the pool had any water left! We only made it to one dive in movie and missed all of the comedy. We just fell asleep pretty early every night. We did visit the casino. In Nassau we went snorkeling on the catamaran tour. We had previously done the same tour so knew what to expect. It was good but not great this time. Didn't see as many type of fish. But still a great tour. Read more