We departed out of San Juan for a 7-day cruise over Christmas which included the ports of Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, Tortola, and St. Thomas.

Departure: Everything went very smoothly and there were plenty of staff on hand to direct us upon our arrival in San Juan. After claiming our luggage, we were obliged to drag our bags outside to a waiting truck located at the airport curb - an unnecessary step in our opinion. The trip from the airport was inconsequential and registration at the port proceeded efficiently and without a hitch. We were allowed to board the ship immediately (especially appreciated given that the San Juan port is crummy) and our baggage was delivered within 2 hours. The ship was supposed to depart around 11 pm but due to flight delays, we pulled out of port at around 1 am.

The Ship/Cabin: This was our first trip on this Princess class ship and while daunting in terms of size, it quickly became familiar. Still, not all venues are accessible on a given level and the signage is often confusing or lacking. Many have noted that the public spaces including carpeting, tile, etc. are worn and this is fairly accurate. For a 4-year old ship, it sure has seen a lot of use. Nonetheless, the public spaces were kept clean and our cabin (a Jr. Suite) was in excellent shape. We especially appreciated our large balcony with 4 chairs and as some have noted, the Dolphin deck (9) is less desirable in that its balconies are completely exposed to the ones above it. With respect to the ship's travel, we encountered mostly calm-moderate seas and while the ship exhibits minimal pitch, it yaws (side-to-side) more than other ships we've been on. Unlike some other ships, our cabin was extremely quiet with no external noises, squeaks, heaving, etc. Also, we were pleased with the degree of lighting, water pressure, etc. and the walk-in closet area was particularly nice as well as the cabin's size. Read more