This was our 21st Princess Cruise, our fifth Canada/New England Cruise. I have elite status with Princess and booked a BA balcony cabin last March. I drove to the Best Western off exit 5 and I287 in New Jersey the day before and we stayed the night. We had dinner at the Ruby Tuesday next to the motel and had breakfast at the motel prior to leaving for Red Hook at 11 AM on Saturday morning. We arrived at the port and parked the car at noon, checked the bags in and entered embarkation building after filling out our forms.

Embarkation: We were directed to the handicap lane since I was carrying a cane. It only took us 10 minutes to get our cards and be on our way to the ship. We were in our cabin by 1 PM.

Cabins: The cabin A443 (cat. BA) was attractively decorated and good sized for the price. The balcony, while good size and offers good privacy. The bath room was nice and we enjoyed the shower. Cabin service was efficient and unobtrusive. I got a free mini bar set up and we enjoyed it. Took advantage for the free laundry for elite members on one occasion. The 10% discount in the shops was used more than once. Read more