First and foremost, let me begin by saying that I am not a certified cruise critic, but I learned so much from this web site that I wanted to share our experiences with other cruisers. We were SO much better prepared for our cruise because of what we learned from Cruise Critic, so we suggest you read all you can about your upcoming cruise because being prepared can make a world of difference. This is the 6th cruise my husband and I have taken, although the 1st in a long time without our son. In addition, this was our first cruise on a mega ship, which definitely is where the Caribbean Princess fits in. The ship is huge and beautiful, and yet, we never felt inundated by its large size. We had mixed emotions, when planning our trip, how we would react to such a large ship, since we enjoy the intimacy of cruising. We took a chance because we were able to secure such a great price, realizing we would either love the size or continue our future journeys on smaller ships. We arrived EARLY, which is the key to a successful beginning to your trip. By arriving early, you miss the long lines, which began around 12 noon, which is actually the time boarding began. We were in our stateroom by 12:15. and in the buffet line by 12:30. Our stateroom attendant, Brando, welcomed us with open arms, offering us his service whenever needed. We had pre-arranged through Princess' web site to have an egg crate mattress and our beds put together, both of which were done prior to our arrival. People were complaining about the beds on the Caribbean, and yet, with the egg crate mattress, our bed was firm and delightful. In addition, this is the first time we ever chose an indoor cabin, and I would highly recommend it. Although we always plan to spend time on our balcony, we never really did this on previous voyages, and thus, we opted for a less expensive cabin. The cabin, although not huge, definitely satisfied our needs, and we found ample drawer space and lots of closet room. As has been the norm for us, the only time spent in our cabin was to sleep or take an afternoon nap, so the inside cabin worked fine. We did find the small, very small, table to be a nuisance, taking away room, and so we moved it, almost immediately, into the closet. I would suggest the Riviera Deck, which is Deck 14 [actually Deck 13, but that's unlucky, I guess!]. This deck was extremely quiet, and you could easily walk to the buffets or take an elevator down to the main areas. The welcome buffet was offered in both the Horizon Court and Cafe Caribe. It was a typical sail away buffet with adequate seating both outside and inside the restaurant. The people working the buffet were willing to give us information on getting around the ship and various special activities. We are not big drinkers, and we appreciated the fact that we were not bombarded on arrival with various drinks in ship's specialty glasses. We did buy the soda package, which worked exceptionally well, and could be refilled throughout the ship. Following lunch, we used our time wisely to get acquainted with the ship. On arrival, you are given a map of the ship, which was a bit overwhelming, and although we anticipated using it all the time to get around, we never needed it nor took it with us at any time. There are ship diagrams by every elevator and plenty of Princess staff members around to ask for questions. Basically, after the first day, we pretty much knew our way on the ship, which is good for those of us without the best sense of direction. We did not find the bigness of the ship to hinder our getting around. Even the usual lifeboat drill was simple, since we met in the theatre where rules were explained in detail. SO much easier than going on deck with a lot of people pushing together trying to put on their life preservers. This drill went quickly, and we were on the top deck preparing for our Sail Away Party within a short period of time. For the first night, we ate at the Cafe Caribe Buffet for 2 reasons. There was a Seafood Buffet, and we really did not feel like dressing up. If we had to do it again, we would have eaten in the restaurant, only because the restaurant service was so outstanding. However, the seafood was plentiful, and it was beautiful to sit by the window and watch the scenery as we left Fort Lauderdale. For the rest of the meals, we were on Personal Choice Dinning. Usually we chose early seating, so this was a nice experience for us. We would only sail again on ships that offer such a service. It was pleasure to plan your meals around the activities, rather than planning your activities around your meals. We never missed any entertainment, and we never had a problem getting a seat. HINT read the PATTER, which is the ship's newspaper containing a daily log of activities, and then, call to make a reservation at a time convenient for you. If you need to change it or find yourself delayed, it's not a big deal. We were very lucky in that we met a wonderful waiter, Castilo, during our first lunch, and we requested his table every night for dinner. Our service was the best ever! Take a moment to share such a compliment with the maitre d: it will make a different on all accounts. We preferred the Palm Dinning Room for dinner, because it seemed a bit quieter and more reserved. That's just our personal opinion, as all restaurants serve the same food. We had heard many mixed opinions and read reviews pertaining to the food, which was rated as lower than Royal Caribbean on many instances. We would be the first to argue this point, as we never had a bad meal. Throughout our trip, we had filet mignon, prime rib, leg of lamb, lobster, crab legs, and shrimp all of which was beautifully prepared and served HOT! I wanted to stay away from potatoes and spaghetti, and Castillo always seemed to bring out extra veggies for me. Skip the starches, but leave room for dessert, which was always something different and special. The souffles were abundant, creative, and delicious. Do not waste your money paying for ice cream by the pool, because just about every flavor you can think of is offered in the dinning rooms for free! In addition, we ate in La Trattoria one evening, which is an experience not to be missed. You begin with a sampling of everything on the menu, choose a main dish, and again, sample all the desserts. An over abundance of food, of course, but a once in a lifetime experience no less. There is an additional charge of $20.00 per person for this restaurant, but it is well worth it just for the ambiance, if nothing else! We cancelled a reservation at the Steak House, only because the filet mignon in the dining room was so exceptional that is did not seem that $15.00 extra a person could perfect perfection! EVERY meal was superb including lunches and dinners& in our opinion, the food on the Caribbean Princess far surpassed Royal Caribbean and NCL hands down! Let me add that dress for the evening meals is usually dressier than other lines that we have sailed with. There are 2 formal nights, and although my husband was quite comfortable in a dark suit, there were many tuxedos seen and long dresses. On other nights, I wore dresses or skirts rather than pants, and I was quite comfortable. A dressy pants suit would have sufficed, also, but jeans were definitely not permitted in the main dinning rooms. It was nice getting dressed up and seeing others do the same. While packing I complained about this, but, in the end, it was a lovely touch. Oh, let's not forget afternoon tea in case you are hungry. This is a delightful experience, although we only took advantage of this activity once. Way too much food& scones are only the beginning, since you will be offered numerous tea sandwiches, cakes, cookies, and of course, tea. It's definitely a meal in itself. This ship did not have elaborate midnight buffets, but they were not missed in the least. Should you wish to eat all night, there is a buffet open throughout the late hours. We found the entertainment to be varied and all in all top quality. Basically, we attended every variety show or big name act offered aboard. The main show is offered twice nightly in the Princess Theatre, but there are other shows, not to be missed, throughout the night. We are big on entertainment, so this ship did not disappoint us. Shows in all venues were worthwhile, and we liked PIANO MAN so much that we managed to see it twice. If you read the daily Princess Patter and plan your day properly, you can do ALL the shows. Our only disappointment was Adam Ace, who was a far-out comedian, way too far out for us and many others who shared their opinion with us. Do not miss the Cruise Staff's show first of all, you come to know all these people, and the show is quite entertaining, plus funny! Our cruise director, James, was well known by the end of the ship, recognizing all passengers. His staff was outgoing and went the extra mile to make passengers feel at home and special. It's funny, but during the day, we played the typical cruise games of BINGO and HORSE RACING, but actually, the fun was the staff. Speaking of which, there is an abundance of activities on ship, especially on days at sea, which were our favorite. The Culinary Show was spectacular, ending with a tour of one kitchen that was spotless and huge. We, also, enjoyed the Backstage Tour quite a bit and learned a lot of how the production shows actually get produced. There were numerous pools on board, and finding a chair was usually not a problem, especially in the adult's only area. As a sidenote, there were very few children on this voyage, so noise was not a problem at all. While in port, we did not take a shore excursion, because we have been to both St. Thomas and St. Marten previously. We did, however, do some shopping in both ports, but if we had to do it again, we would have stayed on board, relaxing by the pool or watching a movie on the huge screen. We never had the opportunity to watch a movie under the stars, but only people we met on board were eager to share the fun of this activity. We definitely would take advantage of this on our next cruise. Speaking of which, for only $100.00 a person, you can give a deposit for a future cruise, which you will take within 5 years. If you take the cruise within this time period, you will receive a sizeable amount of shipboard credit, and if you decide not to cruise again, your money will be totally refundable! Sounded great to us, and we took advantage of this offer. We were prepared for a long wait for dismemberment, but like everything else during our cruise, Princess surprised us once again. We had breakfast in the dinning room [do this it takes time and makes leaving a lot sweeter]! By the time we finished a full breakfast, we waited for only 20 minutes before our number and color was called. We were waiting for our son to pick us up before 9:00 a.m. Perfect ending for a perfect vacation. Our biggest complaint was that our cruise had to end. All in all, Princess was perfect, in spite of all the rough ends we had read about. I would recommend the Caribbean Princess to everyone; even if you are skeptical about a large ship, relax, you will find your way around easily. There is something for everyone, and the staff go out of their way to make you feel at home. Although you pre-tip, we chose to tip those individuals who gave us special service. The pre-tipping did not, however, in anyway hinder our service. Everyone was helpful, and everyone seemed to go out of their way to assure our every whim was taken care of. I am very particular on trips in so many ways, and yet, I cannot find one area that I felt Princess fell behind in. We were, however, prepared with lots of information before cruising, so if you have any questions, we would be delighted to respond. A past cruiser did this for us, and we certainly benefited from his e-mails. You may reach us at: diznigal@bellsouth.net Happy cruising!