Pre Cruise Hotel

We have learned not to take chances when it comes to getting to the port on time. We have had the 4 hour drive to Miami take as long as 14 hours. So we always travel to the port the night before the cruise embarks. Port Everglades is 3.5 hours from home and that is pretty much how long it took us to get the Fort Lauderdale today. We did a one way car rental, dropped it at the airport, and took a taxi to the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina. Why a taxi? Because we overpacked and didn’t want to lug our suitcases to the Rideshare location. That is how we are going to roll on this vacation!

The hotel is beautiful and a very short hop to the port. We had a nice dinner seated outside. The hotel is packed! Lots of cruisers. We have a great view and our room has a balcony. One of our best travel tips is to pick a hotel chain and stay there as often as possible to accumulate points. Our stay is 100% covered by points. I travel so much that we accumulate points in 2 different chains. Our stay in Barcelona will also be 100% covered by points. Who doesn’t like FREE STUFF!!!!

Tomorrow we will take a shuttle to the port and board the ship that will be our home for the next 14 days.

This is the view from the12th floor. We are off to a good start!