My wife and I, both senior citizens sailed on the Emerald Princess on February 4th from Fort Lauderdale. This was our 11th cruise and first on Princess. We flew in the day before and stayed at the Embassy Suites which was part of the Princess package. Service there was excellent as was the transportation to the ship. A cruise rep was there to insure that things went smoothly and to answer any questions that may arise. Embarkation at 1:30 was smooth and painless. The room, a balcony on the Baja deck was ready so we left our carry-on and went up to the Lido deck to get a bite to eat and explore the ship. Finding an empty table was certainly easier said then done. Somehow it seems that the public spaces where designed for a passenger load of 2,000 rather then the 3,000 that the ship carried. The ship was spotless and there seemed to be staff anyplace you turned and always with a ready smile and a willingness to help. Back to the room and our baggage was already there so we could unpack before the mandatory live boat drill. Again this exercise was made as painless as possible and then we went topside for the sail away festivities. We opted for early dining in the Botticelli dining room. We like knowing that there is a table waiting and set wait staff. Jun and Jose gave us great service and many small hints throughout the cruise. Kudos to them. The food was always great and while the menus varied there were always some set standbys available. More then once I had to ask what something was and I was convinced to try something new. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't but then something else was immediately brought forth. After diner we walked past 4 or 5 lounges on our way toward the theater. The theater was smaller then I expected resulting in an overflow mob. We soon found that you had to arrive 45 minutes early to insure getting a good seat. While the production shows were great they were only in the theater. All of the other acts would appear at one time or another in one of the many lounges and they were all great. Our first stop was Princess Cay in the Bahamas, a private island beach. It was a nice stop and a barbeque lunch was brought ashore. Because of this stop, at our nest stop in St. Thomas Immigration was there and everybody had to get in line and show passports before anyone could get off. It seems like a great waste of time and manpower but I'm not going to argue with Immigration. Having been here so often we did a self tour where as normally we do ship tours. I won't waste time on all of the tours because everybody has different tastes but I will tell you that the ship waits for the ships tour while on the others you are on your own. Ask the couple that we left behind because they were late. The ship's agent got them, provided a nights lodging and a flight the next day first to Puerto Rico and then an island hopper to meet us in Dominica. Couple this with the fact that their passports were on the ship. A thousand dollars later they caught up with us. Nobody else was late after that. Another thing that surprised me on such a new ship was that the TV was not interactive as to the tour desk, restaurants or folio accounts. Would I cruise again on the Emerald, at the drop of a feather. I envy the people I met who were doing back to back cruises.