This is my third cruise with Carnival. My first two were both on the Sensation and this is my first, but definitely not last, time on the Imagination.

I went with my 17 y/o nephew as a graduation gift for him. His mother and sister could not make it due to work and school. So to begin with, this was my first time in Miami. We flew in the night before and stayed at the La Quinta Inn and suites in Fort Lauderdale. I stayed there because they offered a free shuttle to the Port of Miami. The hotel was nice and offered a continental breakfast the next morning, nothing really fancy just basically hard boiled eggs, bagels, toast, juice, coffee, tea and a waffle maker. Nothing to write home about but enough to take the edge off your hunger until you boarded the ship. There was nothing really close near the hotel that was in walking distance, except the Bennigan's restaurant next door(don't eat there!). If you wanted to do any sight seeing or get some last minute things for your cruise, you are going to need a car or take a taxi to get to there as nothing was near the hotel.

I should mention that I used SAS transportation to get from the Fort Lauderdale airport to the hotel and also used them to get picked up from the port after the cruise. They were great! When I got into FLL I went to call them to let them know we arrived and needed to be picked up when I realized that I had not locked there number into my cell phone. I went into full panic mode when someone called( I forget the young man's name) saying he was from SAS and was calling to see if we had made it in yet. He was very professional and told us what we needed to do once we came back from the cruise. My driver from the cruise port, Mike, was also very professional and both drivers were courteous and arrived right on time. I never waited more then ten minutes before they arrived. Great service. Read more