To save time and money, I booked the redeye flight from our home town airport in Eugene, Oregon, to Miami. This got us into Florida the morning our cruise was scheduled to depart. From my experience cruising before, I knew that waiting at the cruise port too early in the morning would make for a miserable day. Luckily, our travel friends had arrived a day early and were gracious enough to invite us to spend some time in their room at the Embassy Suites-Miami Airport Hotel.
After a delay in Eugene airport, as usual, we frantically changed planes in Portland and met with Mike and K
elly, the other travel couple, in the Seattle airport. I really love SEATAC airport. Anthony's has great fish tacos- and you can get the same plate offered in the restaurant from the take out area for half the price. There is great shopping and dining. You can feel the pride of the Northwest beauty in the art and architecture throughout the building. We started our party with margaritas at a mini version of Chili's restaurant near the gate. It was exciting and surreal to realize that we were finally on our way. The flight was faster than expected with a strong tail wind and onboard entertainment. We were fortunate and had an empty seat on our row, so I spent most of the night re-arranging myself in different sleep positions while Paul kept a stoic stare at the TV monitor. Upon arrival in Miami, Mike and Kelly left with a driver they had pre-arranged through their travel agent. We had the unfortunate experience of realizing that a piece of our luggage did not make it off the plane with us. This was sincerely disappointing, as it contained all of our toiletries and medications. Luckily, Paul had the foresight to put his prescriptions in his backpack, as they would have been difficult to replace on such short notice. We spent some time with baggage agents who assured us that they would do everything to get our bag delivered to us at one of our ports. I had little faith in this promise after a lost luggage experience over the Christmas holiday, but that is another story.
Irritated and tired, we arrived at Embassy Suites around 8:00am to meet up with Dana and her husband, Brian. They had managed a good night sleep and their enthusiasm was refreshing, considering our mood after the dilemma in the airport. The hotel staff was happy to help us with our request for a toothbrush even without a current reservation. We purchased several much needed sundry items in the gift shop for a horrendous amount. However, I am not comfortable borrowing deodorant from any friend, and was uncomfortable with spending time searching for a local drug store. I had plenty of time to shower, change and re-arrange items to ensure I would have access to my bathing suit and other necessities before luggage would arrive in my room onboard.
The hotel serves a complimentary breakfast, including cereal, fruit, yogurt, pastries as well as cook to order omelets and other hot food. The eatery was located in the main atrium of the hotel, which is a beautiful tropical environment that includes a lovely pond with coy, lush plants and Mediterranean décor. They were happy to feed us, even as guests to another patron.
Dana and Brian surprised us by arranging limousine transportation from the hotel to the cruise port. We stepped out of the lobby around 11:00am with our luggage to find a stretch hummer waiting for us. I felt like a rock star, cruising through Miami, sipping champagne on the way to the cruise ship. We were immediately met by helpful porters who unloaded our luggage and ensured it was properly marked for room delivery.
Embarkation was almost a non-stop process. We entered the building and scrambled to retrieve our passports and boarding documents in time to get onto the escalator
s, through security and a series of check points. We stopped at one point to wait for Dana and Brian, and spotted a family wearing matching tie-dye t-shirts. Jokingly, I mentioned to Paul that they must be from Oregon. Overhearing me, the man responded that they were indeed from Bend. What are the chances? As suite guests, there was a designated line that took us to a boarding agent immediately. After taking a picture for our seapass account, we were handed a number and asked to be seated until our group was called to continue. At this point, I called Mike and Kelly to find out they were actually behind us. After maybe ten minutes, we were up again and making our way towards the ship. The line to board was only slowed by passengers getting their picture taken. By noon, we were finally onboard! 
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