When thinking about booking a cruise for the summer I wondered: is the Caribbean Princess "experience" big enough that sailing her in consecutive summers could be fresh the second time around? Having just completed our summer sequel on the CB, I can enthusiastically answer "yes!"

The Caribbean Princess was our home away from home for seven nights in August 2007. Sailing out of Fort Lauderdale, we enjoyed our first taste of the Caribbean. 2008 offered the chance for nine nights aboard and the convenience of a New York embarkation - near enough to avoid air travel! We booked the cruise on the last day of March and included the Princess Motorcoach transfer from near our hometown to the Brooklyn pier for only $79 per person. No flying, driving or parking? Count me in! Best of all, we'd have two more nights to enjoy onboard. We booked the August 15-24 run to Bermuda and the Caribbean.

Everything about the trip to the pier and embarkation was perfect. We were aboard by about 2:30 PM. Our first stop was to make reservations for Sabatini's. Then, we hit the Horizon Court for some overdue lunch. Boat Drill in the Grand Casino, our Muster station, took a bit too long but was uneventful. Read more