Background and embarkation - we are from the Seattle area, my husband and I are both 39 and our boys are 12 (almost 13) and 10 yrs old. This cruise was my 3rd cruise, my husband's second, my kids first. It was our first on Princess. I had high expectations after everything I'd read and Princess sure delivered.

We arrived in Galveston the day before (4/6)which was great because not only were we not rushed we got to enjoy another port! We ate dinner at a place called The Spot. We really enjoyed it...met the owner too! We stayed at the Baymont Inn and Suites close to the seawall and it served our purposes perfectly (continental breakfast included etc,). It's a few miles from the cruise terminal but we preferred being on or near the seawall plus we had a rental car from Houston Hobby that we had to return Saturday morning in Galveston anyway. We rented from Hertz as they don't have a drop charge for a one way rental. Picking it up in Houston was a piece of cake. Returning it Saturday morning was a bit more of a pain than expected. My husband dropped me and the kids off at the cruise terminal at 11:30am then made his way to Hertz just a few miles away. The line was really long just to even pull into the parking lot so it took awhile. He got back to us shortly after 12:30pm. But even so we were all through security and in our room before 1:30pm. Next time, I'd return the car earlier or even the night before (using the drop box) then take a shuttle or taxi to the terminal from the hotel. When we first arrived at 11:30am the security line was short if anything. By 12:30pm it definitely had grown (it snaked out the door and down past where checked luggage goes). But the whole embarkation process really went smoothly nonetheless.

The ship is lovely and upkeep is constantly going on. I only noticed a couple areas where the carpet looked a bit worn but I bet they'll be replacing it. We stayed on the Caribe deck in a balcony cabin (c735) and in an interior across the hall (c737). Although the closet space and bathroom appear small there certainly is space for everything especially when there is only 2 people per cabin. The suitcases fit nicely under the bed and out of the way too. We loved our balcony as the Caribe deck has the largest and they have both a covered and uncovered area. It really became another room for us. Our mattress was nice. There was no sagging as I've read in other reviews. We must have had a new one. We slept very well every night - no sore backs at all! Our cabin steward, Wee, was fantastic. He always had a smile on his face, always asked how were doing and if we needed anything. Read more