We decided to change our flight and arrive the day before our cruise on the Caribbean Princess after reading the advice of experienced cruisers. We are really glad we did. We rented a car to go site seeing and headed to our hotel. We were a little apprehensive about the hotel because we had gotten the great price of $103.00 per night. We stayed at the Comfort Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport & Cruise Port. They have a shuttle to the port for $10 per person. It was an older hotel but it had been beautifully updated, was very clean and the staff very welcoming, knowledgeable and helpful. Our room was huge, beautiful and spotlessly clean, with a super comfortable king size bed. We drove down to Miami Beach to see the home of Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees (nerd fan here) and the incredible mansions and condos of the rich and famous. It was pretty fascinating! After we returned the hotel staff suggested a restaurant next door and we had an especially delicious dinner with a table right on the water overlooking the marina there. We had a leisurely morning the next day and turned our rental car back in at the airport around noon and took Lyft ($11 for two of us) to Port Everglades. Even though it was our driver’s first time to the port it was well marked and after a brief delay at the entrance gate we drove straight to Terminal 2. It was very well staffed and we were directed right to the luggage/passenger drop off area and in five minutes we were entering the terminal. The line moved very quickly with staff every few feet to guide everyone through. We were through customs, were assigned our cruise cards and Medallion, and were on the ship in 15 minutes. Our room was ready immediately and our luggage arrived 10 minutes after we got to it. Princess really has their act together for embarkation! We were first time cruisers so we had no clue and it went like clockwork. We were impressed with the city and the port. Next cruise we will go a couple of days earlier and spend more time in Ft Lauderdale. It’s a beautiful place with so much to do and see.

Easy boarding, took luggage right away. Had to wait till they open the doors but it wasn't too long. Onto ship at 11am. By 11:10 drink in hand 🍹🍻🍷🍸

Getting in a day early made for a stress free start to the vacation.

Visited: Feb 26, 2017

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Arrived at port 10:15, dropped luggage off, through security and check in process all in a 15 minutes. I was placed on the platinum waiting area and boarding began at 11a

I really like sailing out of Port Everglades. Royal Caribbeans Terminal 18 is a breeze to get through for embarkation and disembarkation. Most of the hotels are fairly close so it's not a long ride to the port.