We arrived in Ft Lauderdale the Friday before. We stayed at the Gallery One Hotel using some points. (not a bad place see trip-advisor for info!)

So, we've read all of the reviews about how easy it was to move 6000+ passengers through embarkation. Well, they were right! We actually got to the ship a little earlier than normal thinking that the lines might be a little difficult. We walked up to the desk area and never had another person in front of us. From the time we arrived at the pier to the time aboard the ship, it might have been 15-20 minutes and that is only because the gentleman checking us in was new.

we made sure that we didn't bring hand carry luggage on board. These couple of hours made if possible to tour the ship. It was great. The rooms were available when they said they would be and bags arrived before 5.00. Read more