My wife and I sailed the Caribbean Princess Feb 17th to the 24th. We drove to Ft Lauderdale a few days early and stayed at the Best Western Oakland Park Inn. It is not fancy but is clean, has a nice pool and seems to be a good deal for the money. ($135 plus tax). We decided to park at the port. It is $15 a night, but the hotel was $10 per night and you had to factor in the price of the cab back and forth so it works out about the same. The parking garage is right next to the ship and had plenty of space. We got there about 11:30, got a number and waited about 1/2 hour for them to start boarding. Were in cabin by 12:20. Now about the cruise: We sailed the Grand Princess last Feb. so I will make comparisons. On both cruises we had a mini-suite. Very nice cabins and we were not bothered by the open balcony and that balconies above can look down on you. But be aware of this. Now for some observations: The Caribbean has an extra deck of cabins compared to the Grand. The extra 400 people is noticeable when it comes to the pools on at-sea days. The only thing better about the Caribbean is that it has 2 buffets and therefore extra buffet seating which made it better than the Grand where it was sometimes hard to get a seat at buffet breakfast or lunch. The food in general was good not great. Would however recommend the seafood buffet on the second formal night if you don't want to dress up (or even if you do)It has King crab leg, lobster claws, different kinds of shrimp, oysters, and beef wellington from the dining room menu that night. Excellent. Be aware however that the lobster and crab are cold served. We also tried the steakhouse one night. Probably worth the $15 extra charge, but steaks were not aged and though tasty were not very tender. We did anytime dining and never had to wait more than a couple minutes for a table for 2. We did however eat a little later (8:00) and did make reservations 2 of the nights. ( The Palm dining room is the larger room and has more 2 person tables) With regard to shore stops: Felt Princess Cay was too crowded with 3000 plus people. Rented a cabana. Don't bother. There are plenty of shaded chairs and the cabanas are stuffed together and not worth the money. St. Martin and St Thomas were fine, both very crowded, but fun. Disembarkation was the best of any cruise we have ever been on. We were told to meet in Club Fusion at 8:15. By 8:45 crew members came and got our group and led us off the ship. All in all a good cruise, but would probably go for a smaller ship the next time.