This is not our first cruise (11 prior)but it was our first NCL.

We usually come to town a day early and fly into Fort Lauderdale. We stayed at the Cambria Suites which is a new hotel in Dania Beach. The hotel shuttle was timely and we quickly arrived. The hotel is very nice. Our room had a comfortable bed and two flat screen TV's. The staff was very pleasant. After settling in, we took a cab ($20.00 with tip)to the Hard Rock Resort and Casino. This is a stop we have made at least four times before. They have a mexican restaurant that we keep coming back to. After sitting down and sipping our margarita's, it hits us...we are on vacation!!

The next morning we planned on going back to the airport to catch our shuttle company QLS ($15.00 per person)to the Miami pier. An hour before we were scheduled to meet them, they called us and upon hearing that we were at a hotel, they offered to pick us up there. This is usually a couple dollars more, but they did not charge us. This was our first time using this company (heard about it on the boards), but it won't be our last. They were fantastic. The shuttle arrived to pick us up, stopped at two more hotels in the area to pick up other passengers and then off to Miami. We arrived at the pier close to 11:00 and walked right in and began the embarking process. This took maybe 15 minutes. The ship was not boarding as of yet, so we were given a boarding number (4) and sent to a waiting area. Within 15 minutes the boarding began and we were on the ship in no time. This was by far one of the easiest embarkings we have ever had. FYI, after reading the warnings on the boards regarding NCL's alcohol policy, we did not attempt to take any liquor with us. But we did see several people coming out of a room pulling their luggage....the "bad boy" room looked to be in full swing. Read more