Port Everglades — Local services in Hollywood

Well we went on the Carribean ship. Seven days out of Fort Lauderdale. Great close Port. We had to wait for over 2 hour to pull out. I found out that if you directly book with Princess, they will wait for you. With all the storms there was 48 people we waited for. Four other got flown out to The Cayman Islands. We love Princesses. Line. We joined drop and go since we live so close. But for what we paid for room it was small-and the shower was smaller terrible but we did have a small balcony on the starboard (sp ) side. 14 floor Riveria floor. Lots of food not such friendly employee. I can name 3 employees that smiled.our shower was SMALL . I can’t imagine if you were bigger then me how you would fit In shower. Food was good. Plus plenty of all kinds , shows not so great very disappointed. Usually the best .the crowd is getting younger then prior years. Ports , Grand Cayman, Rolatine ( Honduras) , Belize , then Cozumel. Owned my Carnival. They fixed the islands nice all Carnival it up nice. But .. plenty of pools adult pool plus lots of bars . I found this ship to be dirty,our balcony grout job bad , rust . Understand it’s on Ocean but reallly ? Four other specialists restaurant that you pay extra it was worth it. Our steward was great . My one sever in the Island dining room was Andre he was the bomb I was the only person who ever tipped anybody because your tips are included in price. But if you have a special person who takes care of you what’s a couple extra bucks. .this was our 4th on Princess. Carnival bought princess I think since it was brought it went down . to shows , buffet you help yourself at buffet with silver things everyone’s touches it and doesn’t put it back in dirty little white dish , so if the dish is hot so is the severing spoon, GROSS ONLY SRVER WAS Andrea in the Island dining room.No one looks you in your face no smile or look at you in the eye . One casino was smoking one was not . Again the wine list was terrible my cruise was a disappointment. Our steward was great I called him Sushi cause his name I couldn’t pronounce. Plus Sheila in the spa was great but with dine lights on . Wine list is getting worse since Carnival took over. Entertainment child like , egg dropping really, breaking of balloons, majority of people over 40 really. I’m a wino so I don’t don’t drink hard liquor. Not happy . Glad to come home...

We had already cleared it with Royal Carribbean that we can travel seamlessly with: 1) Official Birth Certificate & 2) state issued or govt. issued ID (temporary issued DL or ID which usually are printed pieces of plain paper are OK too). So at the port entrance gate the security personnel gave my friend and I a difficult time because we didn't have a "physical" ID/DL. I kept trying to explain that the plain piece of paper is an official govt. issued ID because it was printed at a legitimate Texas agency that handles IDs and DLs. Therefore it satisfies the ID requirements needed to travel legally abroad. In addition, I had told them that a representative from the cruise liner we were about to travel with has told me over the phone that having a temporary issued DL and birth certificate is equivalent to just presenting with an US Passport. I also referenced an email they had sent to me regarding this matter. After waiting almost 45 minutes so that they could verify what I was telling was indeed true, my friend and I almost missed the final check-in times and thus the cruise. Had the employees been trained properly on knowledge of ID acceptance and exceptions, I believe my vacation could have started a bit more smoother. After that, baggage personnel at initial check-in were very nice, but were expecting a cash tip. If I would carry cash, I would of been more than happy to have given them a dollar or two because they were pretty cool. But that did kind of surprise me that baggage check-in staff members expect tips. The rest of the experience was smooth sailing. Next time I will NOT drive and park there...daily parking rates too expensive...

Wow. Quick in and out! Uber dropped us off at 25 for Holland right outside the building, the bags went straight from trunk to a porter and within feet, we were in the building. Our experience was very quick and proficient getting on board and their were minimal ramps to climb to get up to the ship….compared to others were you zig zag multiple times on a high incline. Leaving the ship was just as quick and easy. There is a row for taxis that can wait, a row for Ubers that have to be ordered, and then rows for everyone else. Gosh, why can’t other ports be this easy?

The airport is super close. $20 Uber, if that. The FLL airport was a dream in departures and arrivals even during Spring Break.

My pics are from the plane as it was taking off. Notice how close the port is to just open water! Everything about this location is quick in and out, I swear.

There is a new huge and tall terminal being built for a cruise line which may change the feel for certain travelers.

The port area, in general, I am told wasn’t the best for a while but things are changing and money is definitely being poured into the area. I’m assuming more cruiser hotels will...