ABOUT US: I am a 51 year old self employed insurance agency owner and my wife is a 49 year old federal employee. This was out 11th cruise since we got married in 2000. We have cruised on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Princess. This was our 4th cruise in a row on Princess. PRE-CRUISE: We stayed in Jacksonville, Fl the night before the cruise. Accommodations were at the Hilton Garden Inn at the Airport. They have a park and fly program which allows you to leave your vehicle at the hotel at no charge if you stay with them for at least one night. Their shuttle took us to the airport and the flight down was uneventful. After arriving at the Fort Lauderdale airport, we were met by Princess Representatives who were to take care of our transfers to the ship. After a little over 2 hours at the airport, they finally transferred us to the ship. The only explanation given was something vague about a security issue at the port. The port, unfortunately, knew nothing about a security issue. We arrived at the port at 12:00 Noon and had our first glimpse of the Emerald Princess. The largest ship we had sailed on was absolutely beautiful. Embarkation was very quick and we were on the ship by 12:40. We had the welcome aboard lunch buffet and thought it was quite good. The room was very nice and the balcony was also larger than we had previously had. We departed the port about 1 hour late, around 6:00pm. We went to the Wheelhouse Bar that night and listened to a trio we had heard on two previous cruises. If you have a chance to hear the Brian Elwood Trio, do so, they are very good. DAY 1: Princess Cays - This is Princess' private beach. Very good BBQ Buffet on the island, hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, baked beans, potato salad, etc. The downside to this stop is we had to get up at 6:30 in the morning prior to getting off the ship in Saint Thomas. Probably OK if you have something scheduled in Saint Thomas, but we were simply going shopping. This is a ridiculous situation which could have been solved by adding this stop to the end of the cruise. Dinner was in the buffet, we rarely go to the dining room, and was mediocre at best. More under food later.... DAY 2: At Sea - Not a lot scheduled for a day at sea. Princess has never quite gotten the hang of days at sea. We slept late and loafed on the balcony or up on deck most of the day. DAY 3: Saint Thomas - Arrived in St Thomas and quickly processed through customs. We docked at the new deep water dock (Crown Bay). A new facility with places for many shops, but only a very few were actually open. We took a cab downtown, $4 each way, and shopped most of the day. Bought jewelry and had lunch in town at a little place called Take a Break. Very good sandwich and great Caribbean drinks. After return to the ship, we went to the Wheelhouse Bar and watched the Pete Neilson Duo. A very poor show and would not go see them again. Day 4: Dominica - Early morning as we have an early tour. We did the Trafalgar Falls and Emerald Pool tour. An excellent tour with a very knowledgeable guide. Lunch on the ship and then back off to shop. Junk stalls and t-shirts was the extent of the shopping area. Day 5: Grenada - Cancelled due to poor weather. Went to the show in the Theater, excellent show and well worth the time. Day 6: Bonaire - We did a tour of the Mangroves by skiff. An excellent tour and one of the better stops of the cruise. Great shopping and a very clean nice island We would definitely come here again. Most shops closed from 12:30 - 2:00 for siesta. Day 7: Aruba - Arrived at 7:30. Two other ships in port. Leisurely breakfast as we had no tour to catch. Got off the ship mid-morning and roamed around the town for several hours. We had lunch at Iguana Joes, great lunch and fabulous drinks. Would highly recommend it for lunch. Aruba has been built up a lot since we were last here 4 years ago. This has rapidly become one of the top shopping ports. We went to the Magic and Comedy show in the Explorers Lounge that night and very much enjoyed it. Days 8 and 9: At Sea - Typical sea days
FOOD: We felt overall that the food had gone down a lot since our last Princess Cruise. The buffet has been turned into the Caribe Cafe at night and features a theme buffet every night. We personally felt that the old Horizon Court concept was much better and featured much better food.
PROs of the Ship Limited Smoking Areas Very Friendly Crew Great Room Steward New Ship Very quick room service