FORT LAUDERDALE
Saturday, Jan 12
karenport

We don't get on the ship until tomorrow (Sunday), so today is just a day to relax and enjoy Fort Lauderdale. We walked just a short ways from the hotel, along the beach-front road and we found a nice little place to eat breakfast with a view of the ocean. After that we walked south down to Port Everglades to see the channel where the ships depart from a different perspective - different from our usual perspective of being on the ship!

The beach is beautiful! Very wide, with a nice big sidewalk alongside of it, and lots of park areas with tables, playgrounds, volleyball courts… you name it. We walked on the sidewalk until it veered away from the beach as we got closer to the Port, but we knew that we could walk the actual beach the whole way, so from there on we walked in the sand. That's a workout!

But it was worth it, we got to the "point" at the end of the channel where the ships have to pass to enter and exit Port Everglades. We could see the ships, and there it was: Oasis of the Seas! In all the years I have cruised since Oasis first set sail in 2009 I have never encountered it at another port. Never laid eyes on it before! I'm so excited to get on the Allure tomorrow! I also spotted my friend's ship, The Grand Princess. I texted her throughout the day and I lived vicariously through her as she boarded and enjoyed the first buffet lunch on board. She texted me pictures of her gorgeous room and balcony and I'm jealous!

After spending some time back at the hotel relaxing and watching some sports on TV, we headed out again to enjoy the beach. We watched a few cruise ships depart on their weekly journeys, as we anxiously await tomorrow. As I write this we are about to go eat dinner at a beachfront place that claims to have the best burgers in Fort Lauderdale.
Very walkable public beach. They've done a great job developing this area!
View of our hotel, Courtyard Marriott, from the beach
Unusual signage to the beach area!
Tom at "the point" with the Atlantic Ocean behind him.
Standing at "the point" (see map to the right). Oasis is directly behind me, but this shot does not reflect it's immense size!
Port Everglades, via Satellite Map. The blue dot is where we stood at the "point" of the channel, leading out to sea. There were 8 ships in port, unlike the day this satellite photo was taken.