The flight to Fort Lauderdale was problem free. We always try to fly to the port city one day before sailing and that is what we did on this occasion. Saturdays and Sundays are major turn around days for cruise ships. That was obvious when we arrived at Fort Lauderdale airport. We passed through the departure lounges still crowded with returning cruise passengers. The luggage pick-up area was busy but not overcrowded and the Cruise line greeters were there collecting new passengers. During the taxi ride to the hotel we were able to see at least six ships in Port Everglades harbour.
It is now the morning of Sunday 27 January and we are waiting at our hotel until it is time to travel to the port. Yesterday's ships have departed making way for the early morning arrivals and today's five turn arounds. With the arrival of 11 AM I was texting with Chris who was already aboard the Silhouette and in the taxi moving toward the port.
Entrance to the port area was quick, waiting only for two vehicles ahead, and security was satisfied by our NEXUS cards. The sign board had the Silhouette on Berth 25 and the driver had no difficulty finding it. Once out of the cab the porters had our luggage onto one of the pallettes and we were off to check in with our carry on suitcases. There were no lines awaiting entry and but one couple ahead of us at the check-in desk. We continued to show our NEXUS cards but it became apparent that they were unfamiliar so we returned to the use of passports. The whole check-in process including extra discussion regarding the form of identification took less that 15 minutes and we were walking up the gangway to the ship. We were advised, many times, that our staterooms would be unavailable until 1:30 PM but all the public areas were open and there was food service available. Chris and Marie met us immediately after boarding and graciously offered their stateroom to store our carry-on bags while we explored the ship.
Having arrived at the terminal quite early our boarding experience was quick and easy. It was clear, however, that the crowds grew larger as time progressed and I am sure wait times increased. Judging from past experience the check-in area appeared to be adequate to keep wait times to only a few minutes even at peak times.