This was the Southern Caribbean Medley starting in Ft. Lauderdale with stops in Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire, Aruba. I was travelling with a friend and this was her first cruise so I thought Princess was the best line to start with. We flew into Ft. Lauderdale the day before just in case of bad weather in the north and stayed at the Crowne Plaza near the port. The hotel was great although the location was in an industrial area and not convenient to shops or restaurants. We chose to eat in Kiki's in the hotel and had a lovely meal, reasonably priced. It was a bit chilly to use the pool although the pool area was terrific with great views of the Port and of the Emerald Princess the next morning sitting in her berth.

Embarkation: We arrived at the port before 11 and had to wait until noon to start the registration process but once that started, we were on board quickly. The room was ready when we boarded so we dropped off the carry on luggage and headed to Horizon Court for lunch. We sat on the Outriggers Terrace and enjoyed our first meal watching the yacht traffic around the 17th St. bridge, very enjoyable.

Accommodation: I am of the belief that you don't spend sufficient time in your room to warrant the extra cost of a balcony or oceanview room so chose an inside. This room while the typical Princess standard with lots of storage space and well appointed, the noise coming from the Horizon Court kitchen during the night was not nice. Lots of banging and dragging and rolling of carts. After complaining to Passenger Services, we had a couple of people come up and listen and then told us that it was coming from the kitchen 2 floors above. Not much resolution unless the kitchen staff would be told not to work during the night. Definitely would not chose that location again. Read more