About us: we are two couples in our 40s. All have cruised previously, with cruises on NCL, HAL, and Celebrity. We were mostly attracted to the cruise for the itinerary and were looking forward to eating some good meals and being entertained on the cruise as well. We did a back-to-back 14 nights on the Caribbean Princess, starting out March 13th in San Juan. Embarkation was smooth, and we were able to board shortly after our arrival via Princess transfer from SJU. As we had heard, there is a duty free store within the port building. We were able to purchase wine (several bottles) and water and carry it on with no questions asked. We also bought some non-wine alcohol, which we were advised (by the clerks in the store) to squirrel away in our carry-on baggage, (which had already been screened prior to entering the building). Thus we had a handy bar setup on a shoe-string budget. The ship seems to be in decent overall condition. There was no overcrowding at all, and no smoke smell anywhere except the casino, which was unbearably smoky each evening. Public areas are similar to those on other ships and nothing really stood out as particularly nice or otherwise. Our cabins were inside ones and seemed very small. I would say the room was quite bland and less luxurious looking than those I've been in before. The upper bunks (which of course were not in use) were attached to the wall in a folded away position, but they stuck out enough that one had to arch one's back when walking around the outside of the bed. The shower was large enough to allow me room to shave my legs, which is as much as I can hope for in an inside cabin. There is open shelving and closet space - lots of space, but not very nice to have to look at (I'd rather have closet doors). My husband found a pair of ladies panties on the top shelf the day we arrived - ew - we made sure to sweep that shelf to ensure we weren't leaving anything similar when we left! The bed was firm but comfortable. The safe was easy to use and small but handy. The room was cleaned twice daily by a very polite and unobtrusive gentleman. I had pre-purchased an internet package before leaving home, and had wanted to use it mainly while in port at San Juan. I'd been told that the fellow manning the desk at the internet cafe would help me set it up when I got on the ship. Not only was he not helpful (in fact he barely looked up from his own computer screen to help me), but the directions he quickly gave me (I felt like I was bothering him or something!) did not work. When I discovered this and returned to the cafe, I found that he was gone for the evening. Thus I had no internet for the day and night in port. I decided, at this point, that it was going to be too frustrating to use the WiFi and, on a positive note, was given a polite and prompt refund from the ladies at the front desk. Entertainment on the ship was fair to good. Since the itinerary was so port intensive, we didn't have much need for entertainment, but did really enjoy the first two comedians on board (especially Rollin' Jay Moore - we saw all of his shows, even the repeat performance - Troy Thirdgil came on before him and was very funny as well). The hypnotist was pretty lame, as was the final comedian (I actually walked out on his show, as it was painful to watch, though others were laughing so who knows?) We didn't attend the production shows, but did listen to some of the bands and enjoyed them. We attended a couple of trivia events and thought they were fun, though attendance was pretty minimal. The food on board was quite disappointing. All agreed that it couldn't touch the food on previous cruises . The menus were uninspired and did not appeal to any of us, despite our having four very distinct tastes. This is not to say that anyone starved - far from it - there were some yummy cheese cakes and a few delicious menu items (pineapple crème-brulle, escargot, French-onion soup) and the pizza and burgers on the pool deck are surprisingly good, but overall the food was bland (things tended to taste the same and even look the same), meat was not very tender, and the lobster was inedible (apparently Caribbean lobster is very salty, but we all found it enough so that we couldn't eat it, despite it being one of our favourite dishes!) Of course, Atlantic lobster is available on the ship.....in the Crown Grill, which has a $25 cover charge. I ate the worst sushi in my life on this ship (I've had better sushi in Mexico!!) It was mushy and tasteless and filled with a thick layer of cream cheese. We usually like to eat in the dining room, but discovered that the few items on the menu that we were interested in were actually served in the buffet as well. Since the buffet also offered more choice (and honestly, there was no difference in food quality between the MDR and buffet, in my opinion), we opted to eat there most evenings. Service in the dining room (anytime dining) and buffet areas was good. The crew in the buffets was superb - there was always a smiling face asking to carry your plate and help you find a seat. I would say that I've never had such attentive service in a buffet. The international cafe was a nice stop. We purchased a coffee card (good savings and unlimited brewed coffee - a necessity if you like coffee, as the stuff in the buffet is undrinkable) upon embarkation, and enjoyed some nice lattes and freshly brewed coffee each day. The ports were all wonderful, each having something great to offer. We did not take part in ship excursions, opting instead to peruse the offerings and then book something on our own once we walked off the ship. In some ports we rented cars (I would suggest pre-booking rentals to ensure availability) and these ranged from $60-$80 per day. We took drivers in a Dominica and Grenada - the cost was around $100=$130 for half day of tours. We really liked the black sand beach on Dominica and the spice shopping in Grenada. Thousand steps beach is a must for snorkelling on Bonaire, and probably the most enjoyable stop was San Juan itself, which we got to visit for a full day/night on the day we were "in transit". We went to Old San Juan and climbed all over the forts, explored the core of the city (what a beautiful place!!) The history is intense. In fact, we are considering a return to San Juan as a future vacation. One thing that stood out to me more on this cruise than on the other two I've been on was the continuous "selling" on the part of crew. We repeatedly had our dinner interrupted by requests to purchase wine-tasting tickets - twice in one night, even though we had already purchased the event from that very seller just an hour earlier! The ship offers some select $2.99 cocktails and beer after 8:00 each evening (Power Hour drink specials). These were delicious and a great value, however two members of our party were unwittingly up-sold different brands of liquor, and were not informed of the price change until they signed their bills and saw that the $2.99 was doubled! I suppose it is naive to think that $2.99 includes a choice in liquor, so we put it down as a learning experience. In addition, our friend went to the spa for a haircut while onboard, and told them outright that he did not require a wash, as he had just washed his hair. Shortly afterward, he was signing his bill and discovered that he had been charged for a hair washing (no cheap service, I might add!). A simple mistake and easily caught. However, he overheard another customer haggling over a bill in the spa at the same time. On the final sea day, our guys decided to check out the virtual golf that was advertised in the Princess Patter. They were dismayed to find that the cost attached was $50 per half hour! The attendant at the virtual golf said we were the first people he'd seen so far that day (and the event was nearly over). He commiserated with us over the charge and shook his head over all of the things that were once included in the cruise fare but are no longer. I am of the mind that, with cruise prising falling the way it has (we paid less for this 2 week on Princess than we did for a 1 week on NCL 6 years ago, albeit with a different itinerary) one really can't expect the kind of food and entertainment that they previously might have. As long as one is aware, one can adjust one's expectations accordingly and still have a great time. We enjoyed our cruise experience overall - a vacation is what you make of it! We met some wonderful people on board - fellow passengers (ranging in ages and coming from all over the world, including many from Canada) were probably the most friendly and fun bunch we've ever met, and that made the trip terrific!