What a great time of the year to take a cruise. We've done it a few times now and have always had exceptional weather in February, while leaving the cold behind in Canada. We booked a cruise that departed on Valentine's Day 2008, from Ft. Lauderdale, on a ship less than 1 year old, figuring that; the bugs would be worked out and the amenities would be fresh. The Eastern Caribbean gives way to such lovely islands as; Antigua, Barbados, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico and our favorite, St. Thomas, where you're sure to harbor next to someone famous at their new pier. If you're tired of the tours and excursions, be sure to take a ride over the mountain to their beautiful sandy beach on the other side of the island. Only about 15 minutes away. All of the excursions offered are much the same from one cruise line to another, so if seeing the islands is your primary bag, don't waste money on an expensive ship. We've done the excursions and choose to "wing it" when we arrive. There's always plenty of safe taxis and locals, willing to be your guide to the islands. We're in our early 50's now and wish to step it up a notch, so we book suites and spend our time enjoying the different dining venues afforded by the ships, and if we are still awake after dinner, there's always some good entertainment awaiting you. I would say that Princess was at least average in this regard. The one excursion that's worth its weight is in St. Thomas. It's called Snuba Diving. (hope I got the spelling right). You'll go out with the folks from BOSS. It's kinda like riding a motorcycle under water with a dome on your head. Great folks too! In comparison to the Celebrity Millennium, we preferred the Millennium's ship layout to the Princess Emerald. We especially liked the Millennium staff! (we took the Millennium the year previous). The ship was much more "user friendly" for us. What we didn't expect on Princess, having been on other cruises with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, was a crew that were less hospitable than from previous experiences. This was manageable for us as they weren't rude, just not the jovial sorts that we were accustomed to. The real disappointment came when I learned that the free wireless internet service, that was eluded to, was not to be, even for Suite passengers. "READ THE FINE PRINT". To add insult to injury, the ships internet, which was free to Suite guests, was down for almost all of the trip and it cost me in the 6 figures for me to conduct the necessary business I had to on my vacation for the wireless service available, and with no compassion or financial consideration from the cruise line for the fact that "their" service was inoperative and I had to rent from their 3rd., party wireless provider. Oh ya. They offered a credit on a future cruise but once bitten......... You probably know this one.....Go figure why they wouldn't manage both services themselves? Even after letters back and forth with Mr. Morrison, Specialist Customer Relations, it was to no avail. Such a pity that such a large corporation would take advantage of a Suite guest, soooooo we've booked on Celebrity again, and found a ship with a nicer Suite, and a hot tub on our deck, for the same money. And if you're like me and you have to pack your business on your vacation, this one has free "in-room" wireless. Time to catch up to the new Millennium Princess! There's competition out there!!