Background information - This was my first time sailing on Princess. I had just taken a sort of impromptu Carnival cruise a couple of months earlier (probably won't sail them again), and based on what I knew about Princess, I was looking forward to something more relaxed. I've previously sailed on Royal Caribbean, NCL, Holland America, and Carnival.

Travel information - We flew into Fort Lauderdale the day before the cruise and overnighted at the Embassy Suites near the port. The hotel is very conveniently located and handles a huge amount of cruise traffic. We thought the hotel was very comfortable and liked our room and the complimentary breakfast as well.

Travel to embarkation Port - We had rented a car with Avis, who maintain a rental facility at the Hyatt hotel on the causeway next to the port. It was perfect weather on the day our ship sailed, and we had several hours to kill so we drove along A1A, had some drinks across the street from the ocean, and then dropped our car off around 1pm. Avis provides a shuttle between their facility and the port, a service we had utilized last year, and it worked just great. Read more