My husband and I researched cruise lines exhaustively before settling on Princess. We heard great things about them and they were all true. I am 25 and my husband is 30. We sailed on the new Caribbean Princess from June 26th to July 3rd.

Embarkation When we arrived at Port Everglades we were immediately unnerved because the line was literally the longest line we had EVER seen. We thought it would take at least two hours to get through. We had been told that you weren't able to board until 12:00 pm, and so we arrived at about 11:30. We went to the back of the line and waited. At 12:00 sharp the line started moving, and we were on the ship 30 minutes later. I feel bad for those who had been there at 8:00 am and earlier, because they got on the ship maybe 20 minutes before we did, but they had waited SO long. We had express check-in and it really didn't seem faster than the regular check- in, but we found the whole process painless. When we walked onto the ship we were awestruck. She is absolutely divine. We first went immediately to our cabin. Since we were celebrating our honeymoon we were excited that they had decorated our cabin door with balloons and a sign. Note: I had previously alerted Princess that we would be on our honeymoon otherwise we would not have been recognized.

Cabin Once inside the cabin we were very pleasantly surprised. I had sailed once before on Disney, but we had a suite then. I had no idea what to expect this time. Our cabin was on the Riviera Deck, and we had a balcony. After having a balcony I would definitely recommend it. It really made a difference. We sipped coffee, and enjoyed breathtaking views anytime we looked out. A perfect backdrop to the perfect cruise. The cabin itself was appointed nicely. Apparently all cabins on the Princess have a refrigerator, which was convenient. We had brought some of our own wine. There was PLENTY of storage. We had a total of five suitcases, so believe me we had way over packed, and had storage space to spare. We put our suitcases under the queen sized bed, the closet was huge, and had a shelf where we put shoes. There was a desk with four drawers, and two nightstands with 2 drawers. Also there was a large cabinet that opened with about 6 shelves for toiletries that didn't fit in the bathroom. The bathroom was super tiny, but fine for us. There was plenty of room for everyday toiletries such as toothpaste, makeup etc. Note: You cannot use a blow-dryer or curling iron in the bathroom. There is not a plug for it. That is what the desk/vanity is for. This was just as well because while my husband was showering I could get ready at the vanity. Almost as soon as we arrived in our cabin our steward Herman arrived. He was wonderful. Very polite. He called my husband Sir James throughout the cruise. Anytime we left the cabin and came back he had tidied everything and made the bed. At one point I paged him and asked for a corkscrew and a spoon. He brought both to our room. Here is some really good advice. It's not as fun to unpack and make reservations before exploring the ship but I recommend it. After we unpacked I set out to make all of our reservations for the week. I had booked before we got on the ship massages for us both and power snorkeling in St. Maarten. However, we wanted to book other things as well. For one thing we had "anytime dining." I had wanted traditional fixed dining but we were waitlisted for that. It did not matter though because I reserved a table for 2 every night at 8:30 in the Palm dining room. The first dinner we had was so wonderful that we requested our waiters Adrienne and Vasilli, at table 89 every night thereafter. In fact we canceled our reservation at the Sterling Steakhouse, which we had booked for Thursday night, because we enjoyed our dinners so much at the Palm. Those who had "anytime dining," and did not make reservations were waiting in line, just like at any neighborhood restaurant on a Friday night. Planning is KEY!!! Read more