This was my fifth cruise, my partner's third, and our second on Princess. We're a male couple in our early 60s, still pretty active. We booked an obstructed view cabin, E506, at a really great rate, and chose the itinerary in part because it offered ample opportunities for good diving.

We got to Port Everglades about 1:00 and embarkation was a breeze.

Ship: The Crown Princess was spotless, the decor what we expected from having been on the Dawn Princess. The line's look tends toward beige and bland, inoffensive but not overly impressive. Certainly a comfortable environment, like a midrange chain hotel, but lacking a certain "wow factor." We much preferred Celebrity's sleek modernism and excellent art. (And I do wish that Princess would stop hiding its decent permanent art behind schlock destined for auction. One of the murals in the Explorers Lounge had been damaged, clearly by the framed art leaning up against it.) Our cabin was very nice, and despite lowish square-foot statistics, it seemed sufficiently roomy, especially with the large closet space hidden from the main cabin by a partition. But it's the 21st century, Princess; if it weren't for my power strip, I would never have been able to charge my camera battery with the inadequate outlet. Read more