We are a family of four (two children age 6 and 9) who flew in from overseas the day before embarkation. We had booked a family room in Embassy Suites by Hilton Fort Lauderdale - 17th Street. The hotel is a prime choice in terms of how close it is to the Port. The hotel had friendly staff, a great (complimentary!) breakfast buffet, a fairly nice pool area and free drinks during Happy Hour in the evening. In terms of the rooms the hotel is nothing extraordinary.

A strong recommendation is to choose uber, rather than a more expensive airport shuttle on Embarkation Day. We payed much less than the guests who crammed into the shuttle buses, even when we chose the uber XL (Mercedes SUV).

Embarkation was a positive surprise, as it was professional and smooth. We had packed a bag with swimsuits, sunhats and sunblock, and carried this on along with some extra clothes for the kids. This was a good recommendation, as the checked in bags did not arrive until late afternoon, several hours after we were aboard. In the checked in luggage, we had also brought mini-sodas and snacks for the children and the 2 allowed wine bottles for us. This was conveniently bought the evening before at the Publix store located within short walking distance from the Embassy Suites Hotel. Read more