Jan. 7, 2006 Eastern Caribbean was our first cruise on Princess. We've sailed 9 times on RCCL and twice on Carnival. Since this is Princess' mega ship and our favorite ship is Royal Caribbean's Mariner, I'll structure this review as a comparison between the ships and the cruise lines by P+ or RC+.
We flew into FLL around 10:30 a.m. and took a taxi to the dock. There was a lot of traffic congestion and it took about 25 minutes. Once there, we waited in a room and were given a number and called to check in at about 11:45. We had pre-registered online, so it only took seconds. We were on the ship before noon, and our luggage arrived at our room by 2 pm. On last year's Mariner, we were in the Platinum check-in and it was a mess. Our cabin was on the Caribe deck with a huge balcony. Much larger than Mariner, plus there was more storage, a larger closet and just a better flow. We enjoyed the bathrobes and they provided shampoo and conditioner, unlike RC. The hair dryer was easier to use, but not great for styling. Our room steward , Mark, did an excellent job. No towel animals on CP.
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