CRUISE CRITIC:

I need to start by saying that I cruised with 72 of my best friends who I never met before .. all from our Roll Call for Sept 9 on Cruise Critic. This was such a great group of people that it made for a very special cruise.. as you will see.

EMBARKATION:

Some of us had met the night before in Ft Lauderdale so when we got to the embarkation lounge we found our new friends right away. We arrived at about 11:00Am and were on the Ship having a Mojito by noon. Very easy process.

SAILAWAY:

Did I mention our CC friends .. well we had our own sailaway party at the Terrace Pool .. a good time was had by all. Weather was nice or if it wasn't I don't think we cared.

SHIP

Our Mini Suite was lovely and our cabin steward GIL was very very good. We had traditional dining and we just loved the people at our table. It was a bit strange that this was a table for 10 and when all of us were on hand there were only 8 but so be it. Now they did start the new Princess menu's this cruise so there were possibly some kitchen issues, but that should not really have affected our service from the waiter. He never once asked the names of the people seated at our table, He and/or his assistant never poured a second glass of wine that we had to call them over to order and my husband had to ask for every cup of coffee he wanted even though we told them the first and second and third etc nights that he would want coffee when we got to the table. I am not able to eat a lot of anything but I love a cruise because you can try it all .. so I mentioned to the waiter at the start that I would never finish my dinner and it had nothing to do with quality .. but every night he asked loudly, to my embarrassment, if the meals were not right and could he bring me something else The Maitre'D finally started stopping by every night to see if there was coffee and our waiter did get friendlier as the cruise went on. Obviously this was not the waiter for us.

We had heard that this ship did not seem crowded, but as opposed to the Sapphire I felt that it was very crowded. Plenty of loungers on all decks, but the new reserve problem was with the few smoking tables on the lido deck . Still we always found a way to as politely if we could join someone and met some very nice people that way.

Casino was fun, Trident Grill and Pizza were great .. and the dancing in the Wheelhouse before and after dinner was lovely. In fact the Wheelhouse became the un-official meeting place to dance and drink before we all went off to whatever our dinner plans were. FOOD:

Ok up front I didn't like the new menu, but this was the first week of it's use and I think perhaps one should wait before making judgment in order for the ship's galley itself to become accustomed to the selections. The Lamb Shank was outstanding and was, interestingly enough, the Lobster. The choices were limited if you were not a fish lover but fantastic if you are a vegetarian. The Fettuccini Alfredo is still there.

We skipped Sabatini's this time but did go to Sterling for an amazing meal.

The buffet's were buffets and after I found the Omelet bar tucked into a corner of Horizon Court I was fine.

Trident Grill had wonderful Burgers and those great fries. I don't like Pizza so can't help you there. PORTS

In St. Martin/St. Maarten .. we had a lovely tour with Joyce who is an amazing tour guide. Enjoyed all of the sights, most of the island .. and the Guavaberry Colada at Orient Beach.

St. Thomas was another story .. did I mention the Roll Call people .. well we did it up in St. Thomas. 20 of us had Godfrey for the day (nice to have Godfrey .. when you are shopping downtown you just say to the guys trying to give you a tour .. no we have Godfrey ... hey even if you don't say it .. they walk away) Godfrey took us wherever we wanted all together or in smaller groups. Some of us went shopping, some when to Mountaintop .. then He took the Mountaintop people to Secret Harbor and picked up the shopping people and took us to mountaintop. Yum the Banana Daiquiri's. Then we all went to Secret Harbor too.. Blue Donkey's there and some lunch (a really good idea at this point) .. then some on to Dusty's Love Shack .. too funny and tiki bar in the middle of a strip mall parking lot .. but a must see for me. Ummm Guavaberry Smash .. Wild crown headed back to the ship.. in time I might add.

Princess Cays was really great. We rented a Bungalow and were treated royally. Set for lunch for 6 .. although they served enough food for about 15 and would run and get you more of anything. Air Conditioning, loungers .. shade of palms and umbrella and lovely swimming/snorkeling beach right there. If you can get one .. do try the lovely bungalows

DISEMBARKATION:

The best I have ever seen. We had a 9:45 disembarkation time .. and were off the ship and though (um was that really customs ..took seconds) and luggage in hand we left the building. Right in front of us .. sign said if you are flying Southwest.. check your bags here. Well we did .. and what they didn't tell you was it was a $20.00 charge for our 4 bags. but we left them there and picked them up in Portland Ore hours later without a hitch .. worth the money any day.

The Cruise Critic Roll Call group make this the best cruise .. the ship will never be my favorite but a cruise is what you make it. We loved the cruise.