We (DW & I, ages 58 & 50-something), did a Southern Caribbean cruise on Crown Princess. As a nine time cruiser but a Princess newbie, I went into the cruise with some reservations after reading recent reviews on CC. All I can say is, there must be another Crown Princess somewhere, because this one (in our opinion at least), offered a great cruise with no major flaws.

PRE-CRUISE: This was a replacement cruise for a Caribbean Princess out of New York that we were forced to cancel due to a family illness. Princess very nicely offered us a switch with some added incentives - too good to pass up. So, instead of cruising with a ship full of New Yorkers (Hey! I'm an upstate guy myself, but 3,000 NYC'ers would be different), we ended up with this cruise which, while short on children, actually had a pretty good age mix for this time of year.

We booked Embassy Suites through Princess (included transfers from the airport to the hotel to the ship the next day). The hotel was very beautiful and helped prepare us for a week of stuffing ourselves by having a free manager's reception for two hours Friday night (free drinks, snacks), plus a very nice breakfast the next morning. The reception was so good that my wife filled up on snacks (while I filled up on drinks!) and wasn't hungry for dinner. I walked to the shops behind Embassy and got a Grilled Mahi Mahi sandwich with fries for take-out at Gilbert's 17th Street Grill. A delicious sandwich; I would definitely go there again, although there are many other options within easy walking distance. Read more