Overall, a fantastic first cruise that makes us want to go on another in 2012!
Pre-Cruise Hotel: I strongly suggest people use Hotwire or Priceline especially if you have a rental car. You will save a lot of money. You can easily stay in a decent hotel for no more than $70/night. Please note that only Alamo and National (same company) provide a complimentary shuttle to Port Everglades. Hertz's Crowne Plaza location provides a complimentary shuttle but you have to pay an additional fee to return a car you rented from the FLL Airport location there. The cost of a cab from the Pier to FLL Airport is $16 + tip (we did this on the way back as the Hertz shuttle was nowhere to be found).
Embarkation: Lines were quite long but moved relatively smoothly but took about 90 minutes from being dropped off by our complimentary Hertz shuttle. The actual check-in was somewhat slow but the agent was very friendly and it appeared to be a technical issue she had with her passport scanner.