This was the first cruise for my husband and me, so we approached cruising with some trepidation. Would we be bored? Would our room be clean? Is the food good? Were the staff eager to please?

Princess is trying the new routes of 3- and 4-day cruises in and out of Los Angeles. We booked a mini-suite on the Emerald Deck for an October 24 sailing. We were also sailing with six friends with cabins scattered across the ship

We headed to the Port of Los Angeles and had no problems finding a porter to take our bags. The car was parked in the lot ($12.00 per day) and we made our way to check in. Unfortunately, the escalator was broken, so we waited for the elevator which also had its own problems. Still, we made it to a check in station and then through security and were seated in the "Group 2" section. We were told we would be embarking around 1 PM. At 11:30 AM they started calling the Elite group to head to the ship. About 15 minutes later, our group was called and we were in our mini-suite about 15 minutes later. Read more