This was our tenth cruise on Princess. In the last few years we have also cruised one time each on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. We had been to St. Thomas and St. Martin several times, so this cruise was booked to get away from winter cold and to try out the new ship.

We arrived at the Port Everglades cruise terminal around 12:30 p.m. Because we've sailed on Princess more than enough to be Platinum, we enjoyed the perk of separate security and check-in areas. We simply walked up to an x-ray machine and ran our bags through, walked straight to a check-in agent and picked up our cruise cards, and walked straight onto the ship—no line or wait anywhere. As always on Princess but not the other lines we’ve been on, our cabin was ready for us when we boarded. It was spotlessly clean. We had booked a premium balcony cabin, but Princess upgraded us at no charge to a mini-suite.

The ship is spectacular. Upon boarding through the Piazza, it was immediately obvious that the space was way larger than on the other Princess ships. The décor is softer and a bit more sophisticated than on the older ships. Turquoise has been next to banished as part of the color scheme. Read more