I have always loved snorkeling the reef at Princess Cays. It's one of the best I've ever visited. This was our first stop of the cruise, so everyone's first opportunity to enjoy the Caribbean sun. I didn't hear a single complaint from anyone about the beach or their experience there.

But the tendering process... Again, Royal herds everyone into a dining room to wait for a tender instead of simply allowing people to proceed directly there. That "herding" seemed to anger many people. I've done other Princess cruises that simply allowed you to proceed on your own and it was much easier.

We took the whale watching tour in Dominica. It was breath-taking. I highly recommend it.

We've snorkeled St. John near St. Thomas several times, so decided to simply get off the ship and walk around the town this time. Big Mistake! The town is relatively small and simply filled with jewelry stores all trying to trick you into coming into their store. We walked up to Blackbeard's Castle, but didn't want to pay even more to see any more. Few taxis were running back to our port (we were at the "alternate" port with little shopping and very few buses and taxis), so we tried a taxi who left us sitting 20+ minutes while he tried to find other passengers to fill his vehicle. We eventually walked away and tried another.

Bottom line: St. Thomas is an over-developed tourist trap. Take an excursion to see its natural beauty and save yourselves the aggravation of visiting the local town.

I hated the excursion we took and felt it was a waste of time and money. I wish we had used the time to wander around the town and explore the forts more. Grenada looked fascinating with a rich history, but we wasted much of our day on the excursion.

Aruba is VERY developed. The city we explored is pretty but simply more touristy stuff: jewelry, electronics, booze. We wish we'd taken an excursion to see the natural beauty the island probably possesses.