We booked a standard balcony stateroom mid-ship on Aloha deck. Caribbean had not gotten the new Princess Luxury Beds as of our cruise so we did request the egg crate topper.  So although the bed was not ultra luxurious, it was comfortable enough that we didn't have any back aches - though the pillows left a lot to be desired. 
All the usual balcony stateroom features - desk, 2 chairs, small round table, fridge, etc.  Balcony size is good with 2 chairs and a small table and plenty of room to maneuver around.  Unfortunately the bulky block hair dryer is installed and the shower has the beloved butt clinging shower curtain.  The hair dryer stopped working the first day and we called for maintenance - they replaced it with a new one. The in cabin TV/movie entertainment system is definitely showing its age.  Time to modernize these cabins!

Always enjoy leaving out of of Ft. Lauderdale.  Great pre-cruise dining and activities to enjoy.

Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)

We did an all day customized private tour with Gaby Lieuw of Sand & Stilletos.com.  She took us to Christoffel National Park, a few beaches and scenic lookouts, one of the flamingo areas, lunch at her favorite fish restaurant, and through a couple of the renovated neighborhoods that are part of the Unesco World Heritage Area. Outstanding tour - I really feel like I have a good appreciation for the island.  Gabby was a great tour guide and well worth the $100pp cost.

We did the ship's excursion to De Palm Island.  It's an all inclusive food & drink (incl alcoholic) beach getaway.  Snorkeling was included if you wanted.  There were other free amenities (pool, water slides, zip line) as well as for a fee (helmet diving, massage).  There is a turtle exhibit and a peacock exhibit.  There were plenty of lounge chairs, and we were able to get chairs under a palapa. There were a few families, but it was mostly adults and it wasn't too crowded.  The water area is shallow and it's rocky on the bottom so definitely plan to wear water shoes.  We had a relaxing beach day which is exactly what I was looking to do in Aruba.

We had an afternoon snorkeling excursion with Woodwind.  It was a short walk to the Divi Flamingo Casino which is where Woodwind's office / meeting point is located.  There were about 25 people all of whom were from the ship.  Woodwind is the #1 rated attraction on TripAdvisor and gets top accolades on Cruise Critic.  We had wanted to book the morning tour, but it was fully booked when I had tried to make reservations.  We found out when we arrived that 6 people were no shows for the morning - what inconsiderate behavior!  
Contrary to the email confirmation, they didn't take the payments before we started so we all boarded the catamaran.  It took us over an hour to sail out to the Klein Bonaire Marine Park even though the island is only 5 miles off shore.  During that time  though, the three snorkel guides spent time with each of us choosing what snorkeling equipment we wanted to use.  They have it all and you can get whatever you wanted - fins, half and full wetsuits, UV/rash guard tshirts, regular snorkel masks (with or with out prescriptions if you don't wear contacts, new full face masks that allow you to breathe thru your nose normally, head coverings, flotation belts, and noodles.  I tried the full face mask as I have had trouble mastering the mouth breathing required with a normal mask.  I loved the full face mask!  I could relax and focus on enjoying all the fantastic sea creatures.  Scott tried a prescription mask which worked well although he would sacrifice a little fuzzy vision for the ease of the full face mask next time.  After getting everyone equipped, the lead guide Dee gave us snorkeling tips.  Then we we were separated into three groups, each with a guide, and each group started getting into the water.  Dee put us in her group since we were some of the least experienced snorkelers.  The water temperature was very pleasant.  Snorkeling in the Klein Bonaire park requires less effort because of the current or drift.  I see why Bonaire is so highly rated for scuba & snorkeling!  We saw an amazing variety of fish, sea cucumbers, and even a small reef turtle, and of course the coral reef.  Dee would free dive to point out specific types of marine life.  There was also a underwater photographer who went around taking photos of us and the marine life.  We had about an hour in the water.  After we got back on the catamaran we could have drinks of our choice and they served us a plate of local style meats, veggies, and noodles.  We also could review the photos taken and if we wanted to purchase they were put on a USB thumb drive for $40.  We chose to buy them since we forgot to check the battery on our waterproof camera we brought and it was dead. We also paid for the excursion $55pp on the return sail back - they take cash or VISA/MasterCard.  We got back to shore and walked back to the ship by 4:20 just in time for all aboard at 4:30.  We highly recommend Woodwind and would definitely do another snorkeling tour with them again in Bonaire.  Overall, we really liked this island and will look forward to future cruises that feature this port stop.

One of the perks we got with booking this cruise was one free specialty dining so we opted to use it for Crown Grill since it was Formal Night again.Dessert/Snacks - Horizon Court for Chocolate Journeys dessert almond chocolate coffee cake and Chocolate Journeys white chocolate mousse cake, International Cafe for white & chocolate mousse parfait, Scoops for soft serve cones/milkshakes and popcorn, 
 
We attended the Elite/Suite/Platinum Cocktail Party three times during the cruise.

Caribbean Princess Review

Southern Caribbean (ABC Islands) - Caribbean Princess 8n

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Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)

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