WHILE the newest debuting Princess ships certainly have their sparklingly innovative features, it was quite a restorative pleasure sailing on a ship which has become a good familiar friend over the years, the CARIBBEAN PRINCESS.

Actually, I remember sailing her right after her 2011 refit, when she was first decked out with her dolphin-themed Piazza area with with iridescent columns and its tiled walkways leading to the different shops. It was fun to see that central area still looking bright and shiny, Mediterranean and inviting. Additionally, she's actually had several small face-lifts since then, including fresh jewel-toned carpet medallions in front of the elevators, and the public areas are being beautifully kept up. And on our cruise, the Ice Cream Shop was just about to be ripped out and put in again in a updated style.

Don't you love how Princess cabins have a wonderful familiarity to them? So, as you unpack, you find yourself putting things easily in the same places in the cabin and bath as you have for years, as if you had done it just last week. One advantage to a familiar older ship was a little more space---we enjoyed small gratuitous expanses hither and yon in the public areas, which have now been re-deployed into snugger designs in later ships---and we found the Caribbean Princess has slightly more spacious hallways leading from the public areas. Read more