CALFROM

We always stay at Hyatt Place 17th St. Great location and great hotel. You can jump on the sunshine trolley if you want to hit Las Olas.

I recently stayed at the comfort suites 302 federal highway in Dania. It was nice, clean and cheap.  There were restaurants and limited shopping within a long walking distance.

You should be able to see all menus for MDR and Coastal Kitchen in the Royal app.  You can then decide where you’d like to eat each night or at least get a rough idea.

@CALFROM Actually the Suite Concierge will book the shows you want ahead of time just like your dining.  When you get the email from them around 5 days out ask them to book your shows that require booking and tell them what you prefer. (ie aqua show first performance etc)  Usually there are only a couple of shows that require reservations.  Actually you can ask the Suite Concierge when they email you to send you a PDF file of the show schedule for the next week (week you will be on)

Those staying in a suite can embark and hour each way. I.e. if you have a 12pm check-in, you can arrive at 11am or 1pm. 
The concierge should email you between 5-7 days before your cruise and will schedule your coastal kitchen and MDR/MTD reservations. You can dine at both, possibly even the same day.
From 11am to 11pm you can enjoy beer, wine, soda and bottled water in the suite lounge. From 4/5pm to 8:30pm you can enjoy mixed beverages at the lounge (also during your dinner at CK) plus some snacks. 
You can order from room service for free, without the 7.95 service fee and that includes selections off the MDR menu during dining hours. 
All shows will be booked onboard, but the concierge can help you with that. Also, suite guest has some sort of priority seating whether it be reserved in the balcony area or being allowed to come in up to 45min before the scheduled start time.

We took the tour with Royal Caribbean. We opted to do the small group one which was a max of 12 people. Our tour guide was great and very knowledgeable of the ruins as well as the flora and fauna. Many of the ruins are long travels from the port. This one is about 50-60 mins on nice CV maintained highways . The ruins themselves were fun to explore and learn from. So many times when they say ruins it’s just a few old structures. These were ruins of a well developed city/community from ages ago. Just a few photos of some of the ruins to give you an idea. 

At the interchange of Griffin Rd., and I-95 there is several popular hotels, Hilton, Marriot, a couple others, they are the "Airport Hotels.  There is also a Bass Pro with a good, I've heard, we don't do much seafood, restaurant.  Also, just a mile or so west on Griffin Road is Tropical Acres Steak House.  This place puts Chops' Steaks to shame.  Anyway, they all have transportation to the port available, not complementary the last time I checked.  
Disclaimer:  I grew up within a mile of there.  It didn't look anything like it does now.
https://www.tropicalacres.com/menus/
Also, just down the street is the Rustic Inn.  If you like Crab, Frog Legs, Alligator, and a bunch of other critters, this is the place:
https://www.rusticinn.com/
 

The Ramada on SR84 is a real dump. There are better options a bit farther away and much nicer if you prefer not to pay a premium. Do not let proximity to the port be your deciding factor as everything is well connected by highways and little to no traffic on the weekends. I suggest you look at the suburb of Plantation or Sunrise where they have plenty of mid tier (new hotels) at normal prices for this time of year. I would personally rather sleep in my car then at the Ramada. 

All I can say is....you are a good friend.  Not so sure I would have made this sacrifice !!

We had a reservation for the Embassy Suites at a very decent price (I had booked as soon as I booked the cruise).  This is for our September cruise on Allure.  The couple traveling with us waited to book the hotel and the price at Embassy had gone way up!  So going against my better judgement (and keeping us staying at same hotel) I cancelled 😞 the Embassy and booked the hotel they chose.  It is the Ramada by Wyndham Ft Lauderdale/Cruise Port on State Rd.  This one is way cheaper so I am not expecting much…I guess I will find out exactly 2 months from now!  

I’ll be following this since we will be bringing my parents down from the Midwest for our September cruise.  We have not stayed in the area for a cruise but I have been at a number of the hotels for work stays.  
 
Since it was mentioned so just adding that I have been to the restaurant at Bass Pro on a couple of occasions.  It was decent, more of a convenient thing on the second and third times.  If you are in the area or shopping there it is an acceptable option but there are some better options if you want a fancier meal.  It seems to be on par with a little bit nicer chain restaurant.  There was a dish or two, I think it was a smoked fish dip app that was pretty tasty, but don’t quote me on that.
edit:  Yes to the Rustic Inn.  If I recall the food was good but parking seemed to be an issue around there.

Check out the Riverside Hotel on Las Olas which might be perfect for you. Anywhere in DT Fort Lauderdale is basically 15 min or less to the port. I am local so please let me know if you have any other questions regarding dining suggestions exc. 

Depends on what you are looking to walk to.  I find that the ones near the port (17th Street area) have a lot of strip mall type shopping and restaurants in the area that are safe to walk to.  We've stayed at the Embassy Suites the Hyatt Place before and I'd stay at either of those again.
If you want to experience the upscale shopping and dining in the  Las Olas area, then it's entirely reasonable to stay near there.  You are correct that it isn't that much further from the port/airport area than the 17th Street hotels.

Thanks so much for the info.  My son lives in Pflugerville.  Just moved there a year ago from Chicago!

Years ago, we did our first tour with Native Choice in Costa Maya.  It was when David, the owner, was doing the tours himself.  It seriously changed the course of our daughter's life who was in the 6th grade at the time.  His story is amazing.  The company has grown quite a bit since then, but the heart is still the same and I recommend Native Choice to anyone and everyone.

We did the Dolphin swim in Roatan too.  It was an awesome experience.

We really enjoyed the Chacchoben ruins in Costa Maya.

A trip to one of the Mayan ruins sites is definitely top of my list for Costa Maya.  For Roatan, if you happen to want to do a dolphin encounter, they have the very best one I have ever seen, both in regards to how you are treated and also to how well and how humanely treated the Dolphins themselves are.  It is run by the Roatan Institute of Marine Science, and is an actual research facility, not just a tourist trap trying to get your money.  I know the management there, and have visited many times over the years, and they are absolutely the best I have ever seen.  Every time my regular recurring group of actors and fans from the Doctor Who TV series finds ourself cruising on an itinerary that includes Roatan we always make sure we are there.  We have actually come to know several of the Dolphins families over the years, seeing first the parents, and then their children, visit after visit. Here is a pic from our first visit with "Gracie" way back in 2003, we saw her again in 2006, and both her & her daughter "Maury" in 2013. The entire main facility is built in a natural cove and the Dolphins are well enough treated that they stay ther of their own volition and are free to jump the fence that protects them from predators and come and go as they please should they wish to do so, I doubt many other Dolphin facilities can boast that.

Maya Chan is a great beach day!!

We did native choice in Costa Maya.  They were good.

We're planning to use this outfit in Roatan https://roatanreeftours.com/
 

I use Rony's tours in Roatan - they offer a wide variety of options.  HOME - Roatan Tours, Cruiseship Activities, Excursions, Zipline Canopy Tours with Ronys Independent Tours, Roatan (ronystours.com)
Costa Maya has very good Mayan Ruins - I like Native Choice - Costa Maya Excursions | Activities in Costa Maya, tours and travel information (thenativechoice.com)
or you can go to the beach - Costa Maya Beach Resort - Maya Chan Beach

@CALFROM how active is your party? What do they like to do? 
There are animal sanctuaries in Roatan that provide a very interactive visit with the animals. We used Roatan Getaway Tours on our last trip and they were great.
Snorkeling is also pretty good. Clear, calm, warm water - EASY snorkeling for beginners. We saw lots of conch (live, not just discarded shells), a spiny lobster and a ray. Not as many colorful fish as in other places, but still really interesting.