We were looking for a one week cruise over Christmas. This cruise was the correct time and we had cruised on Princess several times before. We flew to Fort Lauderdale the night before our departure and stayed at a hotel near the airport and cruise terminal. We also knew another couple that would be on this cruise so that was an added bonus.

The hotel had a shuttle to the ship so it was an easy ride over about 11:30 am. We dropped our luggage and went through the boarding process. Princess has a medallion that you get ahead of the trip and it makes boarding very easy. We also downloaded the app that worked out better than I expected. It was very useful for communicating and locating shipmates while on board.

We really enjoyed the ship being decorated for Christmas. There were a number of Christmas trees around the ship and a huge one in the center of the ship. I was a little concerned that we may have too many children on the ship but it wasn't a problem. We did the later dining so it was mostly an adult event. The food was good and the service was great. The Italian restaurant was very good and we were happy that we scheduled it. Read more