Originally, Theresa and I were scheduled to fly from Denver to Fort Lauderdale, via New York City, on JetBlue. After the events of September 11, we decided to drive instead and managed to convince the nice people at JetBlue to give us a full refund. To make things easier on the sitter, we decided to take one of the kids with us.
My college roommate and his wife had also booked this cruise, but his company sent him to a conference that week. We ended up buying his cabin space for our oldest daughter, and booked our youngest daughter into our cabin.
The drive from Denver to Fort Lauderdale was long (2100 miles) but relatively uneventful. We spread it over three days - the first day to St. Louis, then into northern Florida the next day, leaving a short trip for the last day. We checked into our motel early in the afternoon.
We found a great deal on the internet - the Ramada Sea Club, up the beach a few miles north of the docks. However, this turned out to be less than a great deal. The door frame on our room was offset enough that the door had to be loudly slammed to close at all. I wasn't able to complete a data call from my laptop at all - either it would never connect or it quickly disconnected. Management refused to give me a refund for the 75-cent local calls, claiming that "they never said it would work". If that's the case, why do all their phones have data port jacks? The room was generally run-down, and the beds could stand to be replaced. Finally, I was not able to get any hot water for a shower, although an hour later there was plenty. This motel may have been great in the 50's but it is sadly in need of renovation today.
Debarkation day dawned rainy, and the rain persisted off and on all day. We packed up, stopped by a store for last-minute supplies, then drove to the dock. The parking garage was huge, and we were able to find a slot immediately. Checkin was a breeze, and we were onboard after a wait of less than an hour.
Copyright © 2008 by Dana Cline
Last updated on 7/8/2008
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