Caribbean Princess at sunrise in Fort Lauderdale

[Spaniel Lover]

I'm staying at the Lago Mar resort in Ft. Lauderdale this weekend, and got the day started by watching six cruise ships pull in to port: Independence Of The Seas, Oasis Of The Seas, the Westerdam, Carnival Freedom, Ruby Princess, and Caribbean Princess. There was a 7th ship, but it arrived too early for me! I woke up at 4:45 AM local time, which was 1:45 AM on my body's clock... since I had just flown in from California!

 

Anyway, I've got a oceanfront room on the ground floor at the Lago Mar, which is a fantastic hotel right on the beach. From the patio of my room, here's the view I had of Caribbean Princess coming in to port at the exact minute the sun made its first appearance!

 

 

Caribbean Princess was the last of the ships to arrive this morning, which meant there was the most light for getting a good picture of her. The ship I was most interested in seeing, Oasis Of The Seas, came in so early that it was total darkness and photography at that hour was pointless!

 

Tomorrow I'll be getting on board Allure Of The Seas, to complete my year of cruise experimentation: this year I've sailed on Princess (twice), Carnival, Norwegian, and (tomorrow) Royal Caribbean. I was a happy, loyal Carnival customer for quite a few years... and then got the chance to do an almost-free cruise on Princess this year. That opened my eyes to other possibilities beyond Carnival, and made me decide to try out NCL and RCCL in addition to Carnival and Princess so that I could really see what line was the best for me.

 

By the way, if you're planning a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale...

Give serious consideration to staying at the Lago Mar resort. Pricey, yes... but DEFINITELY worth it. It's the best hotel I've ever stayed at. It was great to watch the cruise ships arrive this morning from my patio, and on top of that they have a breakfast buffet that's FANTASTIC!

[paul929207]

Great picture. THanks

[JimmyVWine]

Awesome!

[Bimmer09]

I am glad you were up so early- fantastic shot!

 

I like your plan of trying the different lines. Hopefully you'll give us your impressions at the end.

 

Norris

[Mom33]

Lovely picture! Thank you and enjoy your cruises. :D

[Woobstr112G]

Fantastic Picture. Thanks for sharing.....:):):)

 

Bob

[philv]

Great pic! We are sailing on the CB in March. Staying at the Marriott on Hollywood Beach pre-cruise. We went to Hollywood Beach for the day last year and were so taken with it, we decided to locate there to get maximum beach time. Enjoy your cruise!

[ready2cruzagain]

Thanks for the pic! We will be on her in a week!:D

[kwagmyre]

Wow, thanks so much for posting this. My wife is getting on board this very ship today with a friend of hers, it's her first cruise without me so I am both nervous and excited for her. Really great to see this morning.

[Happy girl2]

Great picture :):) Can not wait to be back on her In January.

Thanks for sharing

[momK]

Beautiful picture!

Daughter and her hubby will be boarding the CB today--2nd cruise for her, first for him. I am watching their four children. We'll be watching the webcam for CB and Port Everglades when they leave at 4. (I'll be on the CB for New Years with hubby, ds, and his wife. Can't wait!) :)

[islandatsea]

Great picture of the ship !! Thanks for sharing.

[MicCanberra]

Cool, I love it, thanks for posting.:D

[momK]

Happy grandbabies! We watched the Port Everglades webcam and they saw Mommy and Daddy waving at them from the balcony!

[csk]

We just got off the Caribbean this morning, captain said lots of traffic into port, and we were last one, about 20 minutes or so behind schedule, were in first group to get off and were still at the airport by 8am, have a great cruise!!

[scubacruiserx2]

Great capture , very nice !

[lynwar]

Hi

This is a marvelous photo. When you are on the ship, get up early and go up to the astro turf area around Deck 16-where the putting green is to have a wonderful perch for seeing everything while arriving back at port. I get there no later than 5:30AM but am usually up there between 4:30 and 5:00 AM, with my coffee. It's up by those two poles with the round things on top behind the Sanctuary. It's always my final "excursion". You can see over the Sanctuary from there.

It's so quiet at that time. You witness the flags going up, the final checks of the pools and decks by the maintenance people and see fellow cruisers who also enjoy witnessing the homecoming.

 

I also watched watched the sail away, which was a bit late today, (4:37 PM or so), but it was fun listening to the port traffic. I hope

MomK, I hope that your daughter and hubby will check out Bert Stratton in Crooners. I met him on our September cruise. Lynne with an E.

 

Again. What a nice photo of the ship. Thanks.

Lynne

[jrzebird]

Hi

This is a marvelous photo. When you are on the ship, get up early and go up to the astro turf area around Deck 16-where the putting green is to have a wonderful perch for seeing everything while arriving back at port. I get there no later than 5:30AM but am usually up there between 4:30 and 5:00 AM, with my coffee. It's up by those two poles with the round things on top behind the Sanctuary. It's always my final "excursion". You can see over the Sanctuary from there.

It's so quiet at that time. You witness the flags going up, the final checks of the pools and decks by the maintenance people and see fellow cruisers who also enjoy witnessing the homecoming.

 

I also watched watched the sail away, which was a bit late today, (4:37 PM or so), but it was fun listening to the port traffic. I hope

MomK, I hope that your daughter and hubby will check out Bert Stratton in Crooners. I met him on our September cruise. Lynne with an E.

 

Again. What a nice photo of the ship. Thanks.

Lynne

 

Burt wasn't on the CB as of last week. Unfortunately, I don't remember the piano man's name. Not one of the 'usuals'.

 

Great photo, OP. I wish I could be an early morning person, as it is the best time of day. I just love late nights and the boogie! :cool:

 

Maureen

[lynwar]

Bert was to return to the ship 11/15-12/22. He will recognize the names Lynne and Trevor.

 

I'm a night owl myself, but do make myself get up early on the last day. I tend to sleep in on my cruises so miss the early morning activities. We did make the 10:30 AM trivias some days but are usually eating breakfast in the HC right before it's switched for lunch. Hubby goes to bed earlier but likes to be up early. We meet in the middle most of the time. :)

 

Enjoy your cruises, Everyone!! Lynne

[RocketMan275]

Spaniel Lover,

 

I know you're at sea so it may be awhile before you see this but I want to extend a very big thank you for posting this. I've been weighing hotel options for several days for a future cruise. Lago Mar was very high on my list but I was still undecided. You've convinced me. I'll be calling to make my reservation tomorrow.

[RocketMan275]

Thanks again. Booked an ocean front too.