This is the 3rd Caribbean cruise I have taken with Princess, the others being on the Coral Princess and the Sea, this was my 14th Princess cruise. I chose to do a back to back eastern and western and it was great!I flew from SFO to FLL 2 days early to get some Ft Lauderdale beach time, of course it was sunny and warm. I stayed at the Embassy Suites Hotel which is always nice and took their shuttle to the ship. We arrived at the port in about 5 minutes, there was no traffic! The boarding process was quick and smooth and I was on the ship by 11:40am.

The Emerald Princess The ship is the in great shape! Most everything was clean and shiny. The only area that looks worn is on the top deck where the Astroturf is coming up a little. I booked an oceaview cabin on the Emerald deck at the front of a lifeboat so I had a great view of the water As with all other Princess cabins this one was neat, clean and well stocked. The public rooms are great and the ship is easy to navigate. The Princess Theater makes watching the entertainment great wherever you may be sitting. I used the internet cafe almost everyday and never had to wait for a terminal.

The Food Since I have food allergies I eat both breakfast and lunch at the Horizon Court everyday. For breakfast I usually have fruit and hot cereal of which there is always an abundant supply of fruit, my favorite being the papaya. The fruit was always fresh, ripe and delicious. For lunch I made a huge salad of which there was always a great selection of veggies to choose from. I like to put cranberry sauce on my salad and the Horizon Court staff always made sure I had some everyday. One thing I have found on cruise ships is that you can ask for almost any food item and the staff will get it for you, they almost never say no! One of the great things about this style princess ship is that the Horizon Court is in the back of the ship with plenty of inside seating as well as on the very back you can sit outside on the deck overlooking the pool and the ocean while eating on the bar/railing that has built in stools to sit on. As long as it isn't raining I dine here for every breakfast, lunch and snack for the whole cruise, it's wonderful and scenic (I was on the Golden Princess out of San Francisco on a Mexican Riviera cruise and did the same). For dinner I have always eaten in the main restaurant at the later seating. This way I don't have to rush to dinner and have the same waiter and table mates each night. All the dinners were great every night. I order a special salad, sautEed vegetables for each night, while choosing between the various fish, lamb and chicken items. For dessert I either had a bowl of berries, or they made me an Apple Tart Tatin. Like I said if you ask they will make it for you. The head waiter and crew were always friendly and efficient, getting me everything I asked for. Read more