This cruise was booked to celebrate my daughter's 30th birthday- 2-18-07, which was also our sailing date. I originally booked the cruise in Dec 2005, for the 2 of us. By the time we sailed, there were 11 ladies ranging in age from 30( Jen, my daughter) to 82 ( my mother) and almost every decade in between! Jen, my friend Carol, and I flew out of Dulles International on Thursday, Feb 15 on a direct flight into FLL. Although we were 2 hours late leaving Dulles, and United kept us in the plane at the gate during that time, the flight itself was fine. We arrived in FLL about 9:30pm, met our friend Marsha who had flown in about 1 hour earlier, and proceeded to our hotel, the Best Western Oceanside Inn where my sister-in-law awaited us. This hotel has had some mixed reviews, but we found it very clean, very comfortable,and a great location just off the south end of the beach park. The 5 of us shared a room with 2 large doubles, maybe even queen beds and a rollaway. While we were a bit cramped because of all of the luggage, we were just fine- the staff was very accommodating, providing as many extra towels as we needed, and anything else we wanted. The hotel has a hot breakfast buffet included in the price of the room which was really pretty good. We were also within walking distance of many shops and restaurants. We relaxed, napped, and took a boat tour of the intercostal Waterway on Saturday, and saw the Star Princess in port.

Sunday- we left the hotel at 11:15 or so, got to Port Everglades at about 11:20. The liquor stores were not yet open, and I am not sure if they opened on Sunday or not, so we did not purchase any hard liquor. We did buy several cases of water, which we tagged and had delivered to our cabins since it was much less expensive than buying bottled water on the ship. When we arrived at the port, we gave our luggage to the stevedores, and got on line outside the terminal. The line was pretty long outside, and we were told that only 400 people had already gone in, and when the terminal was clear, we would go in. We waited about 20 minutes, then we went right in, went through security, and were directed to the check-in desks. It was so smooth. We showed passports and credit cards, and in less than 1 minute were handed our cruise cards, and on our way upstairs. I need to add here, that we all booked through the same agent, but some booked laterand were wait-listed for traditional late-dining. Our travel agent, and Princess did a fantastic job of cross referencing us, and making our dinner arrangements so that we were all together, with a standing reservation for 8:15 pm everynight in the Coral Dining Room ( a personal choice dining room). All of the dining rooms are identical, with the same menu each night. The only difference was we didn't get the Baked Alaska parade on the last night since people come into the dining room at different times, and it's too difficult for them to coordinate. Anyway- back to the review. We waited a few more minutes on the boarding line, then had our embarkation photo taken and proceeded to the ship. Since I had previously sailed on both the Star and the Golden, I was very familiar with the ship's layout. The main difference is the addition of another full deck of balcony cabins- the Riviera Deck. Otherwise, with a few minor differences, this ship is almost identical to the others, but even more beautiful. Our cabin, C250 a balcony double was more than sufficient- I like Caribe deck since the balconies are quite large. Food: We always had room service deliver coffee and oj each morning about 7:30. They were ALWAYS on time, and polite. We had breakfast in the Horizon Court, and found the selection great, food VERY good, and plentiful. Jen's favorite was the French toast- I tried to stick with oatmeal most days, with a bit of fruit, although I do have weaknesses for smoked salmon and corned beef hash- both of which were indulged just a tad! Lunch was normally a combination of the buffet in the Horizon Court and the Cafe' Caribe. They usually had slightly different offerings- the Oriental buffet in Cafe' Caribe was great- everything from Sushi to Duck, to Beef and Broccoli.....Salad Bar was always fresh- you can also get fresh made subs, and sandwiches... Free Ice Cream in the Horizon Court- starboard side from 3:30 to 4:30 each day or you can pay $3.00 at "scoops". I tasted the pizza on deck as well, and it was very good. I heard that the burgers, fries, and hot dogs were also excellent.l Dinners in the Coral were wonderful- great service from Miguel and Daniel, and head waiter, Davide. We also ate at Sabatini's one night- NOT TO BE MISSED....go hungry, be prepared to sit for several hours, and enjoy the service and the wonderful food- I had a Veal chop which was to die for! Activities: I am a gym rat- the best equipped gym I have seen yet on any cruise! Tons of cardio machines from treadmills to ellipticals and cross trainers- Cybex and Precor. Great selection of cybex weight machines and free weights. I also love the running track above the gym- nicely cushioned and a great place to get a view while you run. We spent most of our sea days around the Calypso Reef pool enjoying Movies Under the Stars- what fun to lay in the sun, chat and watch movies at the same time! Some of our group missed dinner a couple of nights and did the MUTS and loved it! I didn't do any shore excursions, but Jen did the swim with the Dolphins on St Maarten and Anguilla and loved it. I went off the ship at St Maarten and went shopping and then to Orient Beach with some of the others. That's an "interesting" place. We sat on the clothing optional beach, and observed. On St Thomas, we took the ferry from Red Hook to St John, and went to Trunk Bay- the most beautiful beach I've seen! Back on board- i thought the Cruise Director, Kelvin was very good- funny and entertaining and friendly- We played Bingo, hit the Casino, ( Jen won at 3 card poker several times, and Marsha hit the slots for some good cash as well. We went to the Crew talent show, and also had happy hours in the Wheelhouse, Explorer's and Crooners- ( our favorite). I think I've gone on long enough, but I would rate this cruise a 10 out of 10!! Everything was perfect! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at debbesa1@aol.com

Debbe