I took my first cruise in 2004 on Royal Caribbean's "Enchantment of the Seas" and had a blast! With that cruise experience, I felt pretty good about this next one with Princess. I also used this site beforehand to check out some of the comments and recommendations, which was helpful and accurate. Rather than bore you with a windy bio of my trip, I will give you some of the highlights and some of the things that I think are important to know!

BOARDING: Despite what they say about boarding at 1 p.m., I got right through. Luggage is checked outside, and make sure you have your tags on. If you don't know what room you are in you can check with one of the staff, as they have a list. Make sure you have your ID, passport and boarding pass out and available; this keeps things moving pretty quick.

CABINS: We had an inside room (no window) and this was not a big deal, as we were only in our room to change and sleep. The room size was comparable to my my last cruise, and there was plenty of storage space for 2 of us. The shower was hot, with good water pressure, and it is so nice to have room service twice a day! The only problems we had were the air conditioning went out (5 cabins were affected) and the toilet overflowed (for no reason). Both were fixed in a timely manner, and it did not take away from the overall experience. Remember, if you eat or drink anything from the room, they will charge for it -- it is not free, unless you are an Elite Member! Read more