tanyam76

Wow, spring break makes a huge difference! Random day of March 18th was $365 for the same room we paid $195 in October. Oddly embassy suites is $335 for the same date which is any higher than their normal rate.

I must say we have stayed at the Renaissance on 17th street that is quite literally across the street from the entrance from Port Everglades.  I have stayed here at least 5 times.  They are fairly priced, the hotel is immaculate, and they offer a nominally priced shuttle service to the different terminals, though I would suggest an Uber.  I also can give kudos to the Hyatt Marina that is relatively adjacent to the Renaissance.  Another selling point to the Renaissance, its across the street from Walgreens!  :-D 

I don't have experience with hotels in FLL but having just taken a quick look on Trivago I have to agree with WhiteSoxFan that the pricing seems very high. Are you set on a particular itinerary out of Fort Lauderdale? Perhaps consider one out of Orlando/Port Canaveral, where hotel rates seem to be a lot more reasonable (from my very brief search). It might also provide an opportunity to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios if that's of interest (certainly is for my daughter).
 
I am also planning a cruise in March 2018 with my daughter who is 10 now but will be 12 then. We have done several RCCL cruises with her over the past few years, and she loves it and always has plenty of things to do that she finds interesting. If I were to ask her, I think the list of top things would be:
Going to the Adventure Ocean and hanging out with other kids her age The pool Flowrider Climbing wall Mini-golf Shore excursions, especially when they include snorkelling Cupcake decorating class Bingo Going to the evening and ice shows Shrimp cocktail appetizer in the main dining room Lobster dinner in the main dining room In general, the newer ships have more things to offer kids this age -- especially the Quantum, Oasis, and Freedom class ships -- but to be honest, for the her the main thing is the pool and Adventure Ocean, and everything else is just icing on the cake with some ships having more icing than others.

How many nights prior to the cruise will you be staying? odd question ,  I know, but if you are staying multiple nights I HIGHLY recommend Lago Mar! it is a beautiful resort on the beach. it has a nice pool,  out door play area, life size chess board, soda shop, restaurant, large private beach area, and it's two properties down from the entrance to pier so you can walk down and watch the ships sail out on Saturday. the staff is fantastic & the price for a room with 2 doubles was less than I am paying at embassy suites this coming april. the only down side is that it not convenient to local restaurants and stores so we had to uber a lot if we needed to get something from the grocery or wanted to eat somewhere other than the on site restaurant (which was great by the way). 

I live in Fort Lauderdale, ask away....
 
First things first, March is Spring Break and the pricing anywhere near the beach including the 17th street corridor is going to be abnormally high. If you can stomach the price I recommend the convienence of the Embassy Suites or Hilton Marina (both located minutes from the port as well as dining and Fort Lauderdale Beach).

I can't help with hotels but am curious to see the responses.  We are going in January and we are flying in and out of Orlando and driving a rental car back and forth.  We have DVC so our stay is covered in Orlando.  My sister, who is also going, is looking at going in and out of Ft. Lauderdale and the hotel pricing is very high IMO.