Unique to Princess

• This was our first cruise with Princess.  We had the impression that Princess might be more formal than others, but did not have that experience.  We packed more “smart casual” attire, but did not find that necessary to blend in (to any formality).
• Instead of the standard “Sea-pass” we received a wearable Medallion device.
• Princess offers a choice of 2 packages, or a la cart.
  • We chose the Princess Package, for $60 per day, per person ($60 x 6 x2 =$720.00).  It included gratuities, wi-fi access for one device each, unlimited beverages (alcohol, coffee, soft drinks and bottled water), room service delivery, a couple “casual dinners” which were very nice restaurant choices, but a step below the specialty restaurants.
    • Note:  The cost has since risen to $65 pp/pd in advance, $70 pp/pd once aboard.  We will choose the Princess Package again, on our next Princess cruise.  Gratuities, beverages and wi-fi purchased individually would easily exceed the combined cost.  We often share one internet access, so having one each was a pleasant upgrade.
  • The Princess Premier (was $90 pp/pd; now $100 and $105 pp/pd) provided all the above, plus unlimited specialty and casual dinners, photos and some excursion credit, along with special seating at shows.  Wi-fi access is bumped up to 4 devices per person.

Cabin Plusses and Minuses - location

• #C103 - Forward Starboard (Rightside) - Princess names its decks and abbreviates with a letter.  With 17 decks overall (9 with passenger cabins), we were on the “Caribe” deck, which is #10.  Our cabin was just the second from the extreme forward and therefore had little foot traffic, given the dead-end, except for crew access just beyond.
• The cabin was very quiet, somewhat attributed to having passenger cabins both above and below, insulating us from noise-producing activities.  We saw some neighbors but never heard them.
• The balcony was mostly private, but with a sight line available to our downstairs neighbors, if we stood at the balcony while they were also outdoors.
• The cabin was comfortable and sufficiently spacious, with good closet space.
• The cabin steward was friendly and happy to supply our requests.

Crowded?  Kid Friendly?

The ship never felt crowded.  We only saw children at the family friendly entertainment venues.  Given the month of February as a school month, the number of children was quite limited.  We didn’t notice many child-specific areas or activities.  

Entertainment

We were pleased with the many musical offerings.  Our favorite lounge was the Crooners Bar on Deck 7.  It often offered a small jazz band, and great drink service.  Seating was comfortable and plentiful.

The mix of shows was both familiar and unique, including the following:

• A magician with television experience on his resume
• Broadway music from the very experienced “Soul of Broadway”
• ”Sand Art” (see photo below) which was hard to describe beyond:  nothing we’d ever seen before
• Singers, Dancers and Orchestra
• Acrobatic Juggler

Dining (also, see Tips)

• We enjoyed the Main Dining Room (MDR) for 3 of 6 dinners.
• We enjoyed the two “casual dining” options, using the pre-paid Princess Package to avoid any a la cart charges.
  
  • Steamers Seafood was excellent, accompanied by a choice of special cocktails.
  • Planks BBQ was quite good with a surprising variety of choices
• With dinner as our main meal, we ate small meals elsewhere.
  • The buffet, named “World Fresh Marketplace” was the highest quality, and uncrowded meal space of its kind that we have experienced.
  • Room Service - We have breakfast served about half the time when cruising.  (Description to come)
• Check your Ship App for up-to-date venue hours; breakfast or lunch times vary between port and sea days.

Fitness Center - deck 16 Fwd

• Fortunately (for committed exercisers), not everyone hits the gym while aboard.  The gym is open very early to late.  (4am - 10pm)

Ports

On this trip, we visited Nassau, San Juan and Grand Turk.

• Nassau - we have stopped in Nassau numerous times, and only walked around the market this time.
• San Juan - this port has a lot of history and can be explored on foot, or by booking one of several excursions.
• Grand Turk - on our first visit to Grand Turk, we enjoyed sitting in the water, in sight of our shoes and bags under a shaded tree in a free seating area.  As you enter the beach area following a short walk from the ship, many entrepreneurs offer lounge chairs and refreshments for a fee.  We walked less than 50 yards to a designated free area.