My husband and I (both 55 years old)had an absolutely fabulous time on our Princess Cruise. The ship is very clean and beautiful. Embarkation was quick, our luggage arrived in our room about 45 minutes after embarkation. Staff was friendly and courteous-directing us to our cabin at every turn. We stayed on the BAJA deck-mid ship-port side. It took us a few days to get a handle on finding our way around the beautiful ship. We were a little hungry, so we headed to the International Cafe. We found a little table, got some food and drink, and sat listening to the string quartet, and watching all of the people getting use to their new surroundings. We wondered over to Vines, and booked a wine tasting. We then walked around the ship and headed back to our room for a cocktail and relaxed on the balcony. My husband and I did not go to any of the nightclub activities or shows. For us, we make our cruising experience very relaxed, away from crowds and the hustle and bustle of some of the activities on board the ship. We thoroughly enjoyed our cabin, sitting on our balcony, strolling around the ship. At night, I love listening to the waves and the gentle rocking of the ship. We were at sea the first 2 days of the voyage, first stop was St Kitts. We took a cab to the St. Kitts Marriott and got a day pass to their beautiful facility. Contrary to other reports on Cruise Critic that I read, the day pass is $35 per person (not $35 per couple). The $70 for the two of us was very well worth it. The beach was absolutely beautiful with lots of cabana's and chairs. The water was a beautiful blue. Cost for the cab varied. We paid $24 dollars for the 2 of us to get to the Marriot, and only $10 on the way back. Next day we went to Barbados. The ship set this excursion up-"Sail, Turtles and Beach" The catamaran sail was nice, our tour guides fed the turtles, and we did indeed swim with alot of turtles. It was a nice day.On the 5th day of our cruise we stopped in St. Lucia. I booked this trip myself with "Carnival Tours" We went on the Soufriere Adventure. I cannot express how much fun we had and how much bang for the buck we got. We met our guide at the pier, got on a catamaran and headed down the coast towards the Pitons. It took us about 2 hours to sail to the Pitons. We got off the catamaran where a van was waiting for us. We toured a volcano site, then a cocoa plantation. We then headed back to the town of Soufriere and up another mountain to a great restaurant. They had a delicious buffet waiting for us. The restaurant overlooked the ocean and we had spectacular views. We then went back down into Soufriere and got on the catamaran again for our relaxing,memorable trip back to our ship. We had a fantastic time. Price for that was $100 per person phone number is 758-452-5586.Day 6 brought us to the beautiful waters of Antigua. I booked a tour myself with "Creole Cruises"..it was the Lobster Cruise, again it was superb!!! A beautiful boat picked us up at the pier. There were maybe 15 people on the boat-the captain and 2 helpers. We headed to the open waters and cruised along the shoreline. Points of interest were shown to us including an exclusive island called Long Island I believe. After cruising around we stopped to snorkel for a bit. Got back on the boat and headed for a deserted beach. We dropped off the 2 helpers and their food and went out again for snorkeling to a place that had lots of star fish. The water was unbelievably beautiful. After snorkeling we got back on the boat and went to the beach that we dropped the helpers off at. The beach was gorgeous, the water many shades of blue. Our "chefs" had the grill loaded with huge lobsters and chicken for those who didn't want lobster. When it was time to eat, wine was placed on the picnic tables (there was also an array of other drinks as well being offered)and we had tossed salad, spiral salad, bread, potato salad. Everything fresh and delicious...the lobster were excellent! After we ate we took a brief hike to the top of the island we were on for a spectacular view. We took our time, got back on the boat and headed back to the ship. My husband and I were just thrilled at how wonderful all of our excursions had been. Each one better then the last. This excursion was $130.00 per person, phone number is 1-268-784-9654. Day 7-St. Thomas. We were tendered from the boat to the island, took a cab to the American Yacht Harbor in Red Hook which is at the East end of the island. There, we met Captain Max for our Snorkel Cruise. We got on her beautiful sail boat, and headed for St. John. We snorkeled at a couple of different areas and had a ball. She had drinks and snacks for us along the way. While we were docked at St. John, we had lunch on the boat which was delicious....another great excursion...unbelievable. Cost $130.00 per person-phone 340-690-0200. Phew...day 8-we can sleep in, but no..I had to check out the laundry facilities on the Baja deck and did a couple of loads of laundry. It took longer than I though. Just can't keep me away from my womanly chores. On day 9 we arrived at Princess Cay. We tendered to the island, and we found the clam shell & chairs we reserved through the ship $29. We sat in the chairs, and the next thing I know, my husband said.. "wake up, its time to go"!! We slept the day away, so I can't say too much about Princess Cay. I have to say that this cruise was terrific. I think what I would do differently is go to the anytime dining next time. We had the late seating on this cruise, and by the time we were done eating it was after 10pm. I think I would like a little more flexibility there. We had fabulous table mates, two other couples. We never lacked for something to talk about. We also put $100.00 down each for another cruise. They have a deal that if you don't book it within 4 years, you get a total refund. If you do book a cruise within that time frame (depending on your cruise length/room) you could get $100 per person on-board credit. Everyone on the ship was helpful and accommodating. I guess if I were to pick everything apart, I could find some minor things wrong here and there...but we really enjoyed ourselves. IT WAS FANTASTIC!! We loved the Emerald Princess and were happy with the staff members.