Very relaxing, laid-back cruise -- because of the fellow passengers.
FUN entertaining staff. Good food. Great service everywhere.
Nice pool areas, loved the Movies Under the Stars.
** Great first experience on Princess **
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Fort Lauderdale embarkation always seems to go smoothly. We did not know we were supposed to get plastic boarding cards once in the terminal, but once we saw everyone else with theirs, we just went and got some.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The pizza by the pool area was DELICIOUS and always HOT!! We tried the grill by the pool, and I really liked the grilled chicken sandwich.
We were somewhat disappointed with the Crown Grill Steakhouse. (just the ambiance alone was different than what we expected - waiters laughing and singing - it seemed like we were back on Carnival (!!) HA!) Granted, most people are there for birthdays or anniversaries, so I guess I understand. The salad I had with Grape Vinegarette was a lovely appetizer. My Filet was done a bit more than "Medium", the way I ordered it, but it was still tasty. The chocolate dessert I had was scrumptious!
The Main Dining Room gave GREAT service, and was mostly very good food. I especially liked the Spiced Jamaican Jerk Chicken, lasagne, fettuccine Alfredo, and the beef tenderloin. There were too many seafood options every night for someone like me who does not eat seafood (!). And I was wishing there were more chocolatey desserts on the menu. I mostly just created my own chocolate sundae every night.
The Buffet was very good the one night we chose it for dinner. I appreciate a good rice dish, with some kind of chicken or pork, there was always fruit, rolls, butter, and desserts to choose from. Breakfast at the buffet was adequate - lots of fruit, toast, pastries, and we used the "order your own eggs / omelette" option a couple times. Nice feature because they bring it to your table when it's ready.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We enjoyed the pool every day, something we don't ever even use on Carnival or Royal (!!). The few people who were using the pool were calm, relaxed, well-behaved, and the water was nice and deep for actual swimming. You could even find a lounge chair (or two!) right in the middle of the day!! We were amazed!
We played the mini golf once, which was fun. And Cornhole.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We LOVED the "Party Band Topaz" that played by the pool most afternoons, and in the Piazza.
I went to most of the shows in the Theater at night. Enjoyed all of them except "Magic To Do", which just seemed very weird to me, so I walked out.
The two Vocalist Shows, Issac Matthews and Shae Rafferty, were amazing!!! Great voices!!
Jamie Wilmott was very good also.
** And I absolutely LOVE that there is a live Orchestra !! **
Comedian Miguel Washington was hilarious!!
Comedian Jason Love really cracked me up!!
Magician / Comedy Show Eric Buss Was a HOOT!! Very entertaining!
Children's Programs
Did not bring kids along
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our room steward was wonderful.
Our waiters in the MDR "Botticelli", were very personable, even played the guitar for us. Great service every night.
The Cruise Director, Lloyd, made himself visible and was a delight. * I loved his question-and- answer session *
Everyone who served us in the Buffet, bars, pizza, ice cream line, grill, etc... gave us smiles and wonderful service.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Clean ship - good layout - easy to learn your way around
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Cabin was big, bed was super comfy, mini fridge was ICY COLD (Yay!), temp in room remained comfortable.
Bathroom was surprisingly "compact", but we managed. Good thing I'm a petite 5'3" person weighing in at 115, because the shower was TINY! (I really don't know how a bigger person could manage in there)
Ship tip
Walk outside on Deck 7, up the stairs to Deck 8 in the front of ship. You'll be right over the water from the bow of the ship with a beautiful view!
Easy to embark here. Convenient to airport / hotels
We stayed an extra night post-cruise: lounged by our pool, walked to a dinner spot, and took an Uber to the Hollywood Beach Boardwalk. Very nice.
Nice beach stop. Sand is white and soft. Went snorkeling, saw lots of good stuff.
Lunch was pretty good: green salad, potato salad, bbq chicken, lots of fruit
Local Tour: Serenity Tours and Taxi
Our own personal tour. He drove us to the North side of the island to Toucari Bay for snorkeling and lunch. THE BEST snorkeling!! I could have stayed there for days! There were tube sponges, spiny sea urchins, needle fish, schools of squid, small yellow fish in sea grass, tiny dark fish by the rocks. We actually saw an octopus, which was awesome (!!) and a Rock Fish blending right in to the rock he was perched on.
** Best port day of the trip **
St Lucia is always one of our favorites!! We took another local tour: Spencer Ambrose speed boat to Jalousie / Sugar Beach with lunch. Highly recommend this trip!!
Once again, we did some awesome snorkeling. Saw a couple eels, and lots of other stuff. Lunch and drinks were served right at the beach. You can see one of the Pitons from the beach - you're that close! We would do this trip again.
local tour: Beyond the Beach
Our guide was nice, but the van was HOT!! We went towards the south. It was OK, but we probably would do something different next time. The beach we stopped at was very nice. We jumped in the water to cool off, and snorkeled again. Saw a HUGE sea turtle!!
local tour: "Adventure Antigua" all-day boat tour
It was OK, but we would do something on land next time. Lunch at Great Bird Island was nice, with our feet in the water! Snorkeling was disappointing - not very much to see and murkier than the other places we've been.
Easy peasy. Left our luggage outside the room the night before. Departed the room around 8am. Sat in Buffet area for a little while for breakfast, then went to assigned meeting point (MDR). Got called within about two minutes, then walked off ship. It is very crowded once you are outside the terminal, but you just have to be patient.
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