This was my 11th cruise and my 3rd on Princess. We sailed from Los Angeles on Monday, December 20th, 2004, for Hawaii. I was a little concerned about taking such a long cruise for a couple of reasons. First, I was scared of getting seasick on the 10 sea days in the Pacific Ocean. Second, I am 22 years old and was concerned that there wouldn't be any 20-somethings onboard as was the case on the majority of other longer cruises I had been on. I was assured by my travel agent that since this was a Christmas/New Year's cruise, there would be plenty of young adults onboard and not as many old people. As for the motion sickness, she told me I was on my own ... We arrived at the pier at approx. 12:15 p.m. and gave our luggage to the porters and fell into the line. Embarkation was smooth and painless and we were on the ship in no time.
My room was C631 on Caribe deck 10. I had a very small inside cabin. I didn't really need a window but I was glad to be on the 10th floor mainly due to the mid-ship location.
I met my family for "Lido Lunch" after embarkation and observed the standard buffet fare. Mozzarella and tomatoes with salads, fish, rice and potatoes, etc. It was hit or miss for the duration of the cruise. The Lido area can be very busy and crowded especially on the first day in port, so it's best to get there early.