What a fantastic vacation we had aboard the Caribbean Princess the week of August 12 on the Eastern itinerary! I, my wife and our son and daughter (one each in high school and college) flew to Fort Lauderdale from Boston on the day of embarkation. Despite having to change planes in Washington, the flights (on US Airways, arranged through Princess) went off without a hitch, and we arrived at FLL on schedule. Waiting for a last piece of luggage to appear on the baggage carousel, we missed a large group of passengers to board a transfer bus to the pier. This left us and a couple of others alone in approaching the Princess employees responsible for the arrangements. They were less than communicative, but we gathered from their mumbled comments around mouthfuls of lunch that another bus would be along soon. They didn't ask our names or for any identification. I was expecting a more professional welcome. After maybe a half-hour delay, we were off for Port Everglades where we sailed through the embarkation procedure and were aboard by 2:00.

We headed to our rooms. We were booked on the Caribe deck, side by side in balcony staterooms. Along the way, we met our room steward, Bonifacio. He knew I had rented a tuxedo, and mentioned that it was waiting for me in the room. I would later find that I was one of the few tux wearers aboard. The suit had been pressed but not cleaned since the previous wearing, as evidenced by the tell-tale food spots in the lap area of the pants. The staterooms were amazing, and Boni opened the divider between our two balconies. Wow! Compared to our last cruise when the four of us shared an oceanview room on the Norwegian Majesty, we had almost double the space in each cabin! The nice thing about the Caribe deck balconies is that they are larger than others, as well as being only half-covered. That way you can take your choice: sun, or shade. The bathroom is more than adequate but the shower is small. Don't drop the soap!

Our cabin location was toward the aft end of the starboard side near the stairs. This was good - it was up a few decks to the buffet and down a few for the Palm dining room. It was also not good because the stairways can be noisy late at night. We were awakened more than once. Toward the end of the cruise when packs of unruly teens roamed freely we endured the noise of a congregation right outside our door, and later the sound of adolescents screaming at the top of their lungs for minutes on end. When underway, one could sometimes feel the gentle motion of the ship. I enjoy this. It reminds me that I'm on a ship and not in a hotel. Read more