ABOUT US: We are a married couple in our early 30's, who have previously taken 3 cruises in the Caribbean all on Carnival (expect Princess vs. Carnival comparisons throughout this review).

CRUISE:

EMBARKATION: Prior to the cruise we stayed one night at the Renaissance Marriott, which offered a fabulous view of the harbor and float planes. We walked to the port from the hotel (about 4-5 blocks downhill) arriving at 11am. There were two ships in port that morning, a Holland America ship and our Coral Princess. The luggage drop off for Holland America was well signed. However, the luggage drop off for Princess was not, but at that time of day it was not yet busy and there were lots of Princess employees to point us in the right direction. This was the first port where we were not hassled about tipping when dropping off our luggage (We have found that the ports of Ft. Lauderdale and Miami have been a nightmare with aggressive baggage handlers demanding excessive tips). Check in when smoothly and the lines moved very quickly and were done by 11:30am. However, the boat was not ready until 11:45am, so we were temporarily put in a holding area. Read more