HAL Pre-/Post-cruise hotel package

[MauiGirl55]

As we were late booking our cruise, I had our TA also book a pre- and post-cruise hotel package through HAL. In retrospect, I regret that I didn't book the hotel on our own. (HAL charges an arm and a leg!!!) That being said, does anyone have experience with HAL's packages? They have us booked pre-cruise at the Westin Fort Lauderdale, which is in a corporate area, not near the beach. Are there any good restaurants near there (we obviously won't have a car), shopping, etc.? When transfering from the hotel to the pier, do they generally get you there early during embarkation?

[rkacruiser]

I have booked several hotel pre/post cruise packages with HAL and have never been unhappy with any of them. However, the Westin Fort Lauderdale is the one hotel that I would not select again. The hotel is in a corporate area, next to I-95, and is a nice hotel. But, there really isn't anything "touristy" of interest in the area. There is a shopping area and some restaurants west of the hotel, but one has to walk there, going under the interstate. One of the advantages of booking a HAL hotel is that there will be a HAL representative there who can answer questions and will probably provide check-in procedures that will reduce what you may have to do at the pier.

I have found that the transfers usually do cause you to arrive at the pier early in the embarkation process.

I hope this helps.

[MauiGirl55]

Thanks for the info. Had I been given a choice, I would not have selected the Westin Fort Lauderdale, either. It's only for one night--we'll survive!

[lorekauf]

This is the hotel that I stayed in on my last cruise in Oct.09. It was a HAL hotel. I use HAL hotels pretty much every cruise and they are always in corporate areas. I can't ever recall being close to anything. I also can't ever remember being given a choice of hotels.