I’ve actually managed to post new photos from a recent trip!

Here’s the link to the photo album:

Southern Caribbean (2011), Caribbean Princess (San Juan Roundtrip)

Having spent a fair amount of time in Old San Juan, we opted for a shore excursion / airport transfer ($39/pp.) to visit El Yunque, the Caribbean National Forest. We departed the ship at 8:00am and were on our way to the rain forest about 30 minutes later. The drive takes 45-60 minutes (each way). We made a number of stops in the forest, including a 20-25 minute walk along a nature trail. Today officially starts the rainy season… a fact that wasn’t lost on us during the visit.

Here’s a photo of one of the waterfalls in the park:

Like our other rain forest experiences, this too was lovely. Who knew? Puerto Rico is great!

We returned to the airport around 1:00. Since we have only carry on luggage and because I snagged an upgrade again for us on AirTran, we were able to skip the LONG check-in lines and the LONG security lines. All told, we managed to zip through in less than 15 minutes (versus what I have to imagine could have been a 1-2 hour process).

We’re now awaiting our flight which departs in a few hours.

Another successful trip! Six more countries (making the total 45)!

Next up (in July) will be our beloved London and then on to Northern Europe.

Usual warning: this assessment is more-or-less subjective and based on our experiences. Your mileage may vary.

Ship

Overall, we weren’t wowed by the look and feel of the Caribbean Princess. Despite its size (as of this writing it’s the second largest ship we’ve ever sailed on), it doesn’t feel especially “grand” in either its bulk or appointments. The décor seems relatively nondescript. Let’s call it classic “Cruise Ship-esque” (you know, stylized nods to traditional travel-centric motifs, especially Mediterranean).

Highlights include the Crown Grill (art deco-inspired with lovely wood wainscoting), some of the more nautically-themed bars (which always feel apropos to me on a ship), the casino (while non-descript, feels open, airy, and inviting), and the outside pool decks (again, not a riot for the senses, but well configured).

The lowlight has to be the main stage theatre (very low ceiling; utterly devoid of style or charm). I think it’s the single most underwhelming theatre I’ve ever experienced on a cruise ship. The other trouble spot seems to be the Horizon Court / Café Caribe area: here the décor is very nice (one of the better looking Lido buffets we’ve seen), but the design/layout is suspect (too little space for too many passengers; poor foot traffic flow, especially around the food).

Overall, Caribbean Princess is tidy, well cared for, and pleasing but somewhat forgettable.

Cabin

We’re in cabin #B201. This is a forward balcony stateroom on the Baja deck. Like the rest of the ship, the décor is fairly nondescript and the layout is a little “different.” Instead of the more typical layout with the entryway split by the bathroom on one side and the closest on the other, the cabin has a doorway to one side of the room. This configuration allows for a sort of “walk-in” closet / dressing area and a squarer (rather than rectangular) bathroom. The upside: a lot more storage space and dressing privacy. The downside: it makes the cabin feel smaller than the actual square footage.

Three additional pluses for the cabin: 1) the balcony seems a little larger than some others we’ve had in the past, 2) it has a mini-fridge (always useful), and 3) it has a relatively new flat-screen television (with jacks for hooking up iPads, etc.). Two other minor gripes about the cabin: 1) it lacks a loveseat / couch, so comfortable seating is limited, and 2) the shower has a curtain rather than a door (not uncommon, but always annoying).

In all, it’s a comfortable cabin. It would be less than ideal for three people, but it’s well suited to two people, especially those who pack more heavily, are on longer voyages, or sharing a cabin with someone who’s “close but not that close” (given the more private dressing area).

Sonia, our cabin attendant, has been very good throughout the trip. She’s efficient, unobtrusive, and friendly, though not especially personable. She just quietly goes about doing her job well.

Dining

On our last cruise (aboard Celebrity), we went in with high expectations for food and service, but we came away less than impressed. On this cruise, we went in with no preconceived notions (or maybe even a slightly negative bias, based on my mother’s prior experience some years ago and a slight theme of “Princess now isn’t the Princess of old” that I’d seen in online reviews and message boards). Yet, we’re coming away favorably impressed—almost uniformly good (or better) food paired with good (or better) service.

Let’s start with the main dining room. Although none of the dishes have been wildly memorable, the overall quality has been consistently high. Indeed, I think the main dining room food has been as good as (and perhaps better than) that of any prior cruise. What’s more, the service—despite using AnyTime Dining (the “eat when you want” option, which usually seems to degrade service slightly)—has also been exceptional. Based on our experience, we’d rank Princess #1 in main dining room performance.

Moving on to the buffet, we’ve also found high levels of quality and service. It reminds us most of Holland America’s buffet venue. Unfortunately also like HAL, the selections are somewhat more limited too (relative to say the offerings at Royal Caribbean’s Windjammer Buffet). However, unlike HAL and (to a lesser degree) Celebrity, the operating hours of Horizon Court / Café Caribe (as well as the burger/hot dog grill and pizza station) are much better / later. For example, dinner is available until 11pm (as are burgers and pizza). Indeed, the buffet is basically a 24-hour operation aboard Princess—that could be especially helpful when traveling with Emerson or on less leisurely itineraries (such as late nights in port in Europe). On a related note, we agree that Princess deserves the title for providing the “Best Pizza At Sea.”

I’ve already talked about the specialty dining venues extensively. So, I’ll attempt to summarize here.

The Crown Grill ($25/pp.) was excellent. “Best at Sea” worthy? Maybe. We thought it a notch above Cagney’s on NCL. It’s probably better than Chops aboard RCI, though Libby’s slow braised BBQ pork shank aboard Brilliance remains etched in our minds. It seemed roughly on par with the Pinnacle Grill aboard HAL in terms of food and service quality. Yet, somehow, we enjoyed it more than HAL’s offering, which might have been more due to the selections available or our collective mood. In the end, we liked that the Crown Grill’s approach is to simply prepare really good food… rather than attempting to make dishes ‘sophisticated’ merely by tarting them up unnecessarily.

Sabatini’s ($20/pp.)—the Princess Italian offering—is also probably “Best at Sea” worthy. But, that’s mostly due to weak competition rather than the strength of the Princess showing. Sadly, nearly every cruise line with an Italian offering goes in one of two tragic directions: 1) a poor attempt at Olive Garden cuisine (e.g., NCL), or 2) a bad rendition of 1980’s Italian fine dining (e.g., Royal Caribbean). Princess falls into the second category… they just execute it better than others, which isn’t exactly an accolade.

Now, let’s talk about Ultimate Balcony Dining. At $100 per couple, it ain’t exactly cheap. But, it’s excellent value for money. You get specialty restaurant caliber food (let’s call that $25/pp. in ‘retail’ price), two cocktails (avg. $6/pp.), a half bottle of sparkling wine ($20), flowers ($10), and an 8×10 photo ($20). By my calculation, that’s $112 in goods/services for $100… plus you get a unique experience, dedicated wait staff (two servers), and the luxury of a leisurely, relaxing meal on your private balcony. To us, that’s MasterCard commercial “priceless” worthy. So, if you have the means, I highly recommend it.

Finally, I have a few random notes: the beer selection is pretty good (e.g., Blue Moon, Franziskiner). The wine selection is mediocre (but as a plus Princess allows you to bring wine aboard the ship!). The specialty coffees are good, but the coffee card makes them an excellent value (15 drinks for $30—if only Starbucks had such a card!). The International Cafe also offers good breakfast pastries, sandwiches, soups, and desserts. And, the “Power Hours” drink specials ($2.99 from 8pm until late at all bars) are actually a special price (unlike most ships’ “drink of the day” offerings).

Entertainment

We saw relatively few shows and guest performances (in part or whole). Therefore, I can’t comment on these extensively other than to say that the ship’s performers seemed to be somewhat below par relative to our past cruise experiences (which, I might add, isn’t generally an especially high standard to start).

As this was a port intensive cruise in the Caribbean, there was little in the way of enrichment and nothing in the way of guest/port lecturers (other than the usual inane ‘port shopping expert’ presentations—message: “buy crap from stores where gets a commission).

In the food/wine enrichment department, nothing really can compare to Holland America with its dedicated culinary showroom, guest chefs, and partnership with Food & Wine magazine. As such, Princess’s program seemed more typical of most cruise lines (cooking / cake decorating demonstrations, ice carving, wine tastings, etc.).

Itinerary / Ports

Like dining, I’ve talked about the ports extensively in earlier posts. So, I’ll attempt to summarize here:

San Juan, Puerto Rico – we really liked historic and charming Old San Juan. We wouldn’t hesitate to sail out of here again. And, we’re looking forward to seeing more of the island after disembarking from the ship.

St. Thomas – for good or bad, this is what you might expect from a Caribbean island port of call. It has attractive surf and sand, lots of duty free shopping (of potentially dubious value), and little in the way of cultural or historical significance readily on display.

Dominica – a less developed island, yet rich in natural beauty. While Roseau is underwhelming, the rainforest is breathtaking and not to be missed.

Grenada – much like Dominica, it could be a textbook definition of a ‘tropical paradise’ with its amazing diversity of natural spices and fruit growing in a beautiful environment.

Bonaire – the port town of Kralendijk, while clearly tourism oriented, seemed unbothered by the arrival of our ship (indeed, many of the beach bars were closed) – ultimately, the best aspects of the island are along its shores: have a beach day or enjoy the water by diving / snorkeling.

Aruba – similar to Bonaire but more populated and developed (for good or bad). Here again, the island’s shores are a great asset, but it’s a fine port for shopping as well (and, unlike St. Thomas, a bit more upscale in form and substance).

Summary

All in all, a very good—maybe even a great—vacation.

While the Caribbean isn’t our favorite destination, we really enjoyed most of these ports. Highlights included Old San Juan (for its history and charm), Dominica and Grenada (for scenic splendor and natural beauty), and Aruba (as a shopping destination).

As for Princess, we’ve come away very impressed.

Like every cruise line, Princess has its positives and negatives. That said, the highs have greatly outnumbered the lows on this cruise. Princess also offers some unique features such as “Ultimate Balcony Dining” and has pioneered other innovations like “Movies Under the Stars.” Finally, Princess doesn’t seem to nickel-and-dime passengers as much as some lines once they’re aboard ship. Here are some examples of good value: the soda package price is reasonable, the bring-your-own-wine policy is liberal, the nightly drink specials represent a decent value, and the specialty coffee card provides real savings. Finally, the food (and associated service) has been consistently some of the best we’ve experienced on any cruise.

We definitely plan to sail with Princess again. What else can I say?

When all was done, we ventured out to explore Oranjestad in Aruba. While not exactly charming, the city is attractive and in good condition. We enjoyed walking along the waterfront (wonderful shades of blue and green water… turquoise, aquamarine, cerulean, and royal).

Unlike St. Thomas, the shopping and resorts seemed a little more refined and upscale with fewer retailers of trinkets and trash. Here again, it pays to know pricing (free WiFi, which you can find in most ports, is a good means to double check value before making a purchase). Example, I found a Seiko watch for $300 in Aruba ($450 MSRP), which can be bought in the US for less than $200. Products from Europe, however, offered better value: Libby purchased a Longchamps purse; I got a Frederique Constant watch (not well known in the USA, but a good quality/value watch that I’m familiar with from our travels in Europe).

We returned to the ship for a light, late lunch (big dinner at Sabatini’s tonight). We ate in Horizon Court. Like last night, our impression remains the same: good quality (for a buffet), somewhat limited selection (relative to other cruise lines), and a bit crowded (both the serving and seating space seems physically constrained–it should be interesting to see what it’s like on a sea day tomorrow at peak times). We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing aboard the ship… reading, blogging, chatting, etc.

Tonight’s dinner in the ship’s Italian specialty restaurant was decent. Basically, you pick a main course (secondi piatti), and they serve you a sampling of a number of dishes (cold and warm antipasti), thin crust pizza, pastas, etc. You don’t get a lot of any one thing (though I’m sure you could ask for more), but you get a lot of everything in total. It was basically good… though nothing especially great. Overall, it was still the best Italian specialty restaurant food we’ve had at sea. But, that’s more because the competition (from HAL, RCI, and NCL) have all been rather weak. I’m still waiting for an amazing Italian meal on the high seas (like we’ve had with Asian and steak/seafood).

Today’s box score: +1 country (Aruba–bringing our grand total to 45!)

Here are a couple of photos from today:

I attended the “Welcome to the Captain’s Circle” lecture, which was mildly informative. Libby participated in the “On Deck for the Cure” walkathon to fight breast cancer (sadly, only one other passenger participated). But, she did get hats for us and pink balloons for the cabin.

I attempted to go use the golf simulator, but it was sadly closed for a putting competition (also without participants). So, I went to the casino and wasn’t an hour (and $10) playing the $0.02 slot machines. Meanwhile, Libby was on deck somewhere reading.

We arrived in Bonaire around noon. We spent a couple of hours wandering about the town. A surprising number of businesses were closed. Bonaire’s a small island with relatively few residents (about 13,000). And, I suspect that we’re now a bit passed the tourist season… so the island seemed very sleepy. I’d recommend diving or a beach day (if you’re into either of those things).

After another leisurely day, we had dinner (or any meal) for the first time in the Lido buffet, Cafe Caribe / Horizon Court. The selection at dinner was limited, but the food was good (for a buffet) and the service excellent (indeed the number of servers seemed to outpace patrons–and all were busy doing something).

After dinner, we returned to our cabin. We stepped out onto the balcony and discovered… “naked lady”… again… two decks down. You see, the Caribbean Princess have some decks with sun exposed balconies. As such, these balconies aren’t even remotely private to those above them. “Naked Lady” seems not to care… she was out there, full monty style, in front of us, the Captain (Bridge directly above), God, and everyone else. Moreover, since this wasn’t just the topless sunbathing Libby witnessed a few days ago, I feel compelled to issue this public service announcement: if you’re on a Princess ship, staying in a balcony on the 9th or 10th deck, look up! If there’s no roof, ask yourself two questions: do I want people to see me naked? would people want to me naked? If either answer is “no,” keep your clothing on!

I’m finishing up writing this entry from the Lido deck, while sipping a Long Island Iced Tea ($2.99 — Power Hour Special), munching popcorn, and watching “The Tourist” on the Princess Movies Under the Stars big screen. Cool, yes?

See for yourself…

Today’s box score: +1 country (Bonaire)

Unlike prior days, this was scheduled to be a brief visit with an all aboard time of 1:30. As such, we opted for a ship organized excursion in order to maximize our time. We departed the ship by 7:40 to start out tour.

We traveled north along the west coast of the island. We visited the Dougaldston Estate, where we witnessed the processing and production of cocoa. We then drove through a lovely town called Gouyave before proceeding inland to the rain forest. Like Dominica, Grenada is lush and fertile. It has all manner of foods and spices growing: breadfruit, papaya, mango, nutmeg, pineapple, cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, bananas, citrus, etc.

Our tour took us through the Grand Etang forest, stopping at the volcanic crater lake. We also visited Annandale Falls (photo below) and Fort Fredrick (for a breathtaking view of St. George’s town and the southern end of the island. All in all, this was an excellent tour and overview of the island!

We returned to the ship around 1:00 and had another nice lunch in the Coral Dining Room. After lunch, we went back to cabin and enjoyed the sail away from our balcony. We passed another relaxing afternoon doing… absolutely nothing.

Tonight, we ate dinner at the Crown Grill ($25/pp.). This is one of two speciality dining venues aboard the Caribbean Princess. I started with a prawn and tarragon foam appetizer (excellent). We both had the “black and blue onion soup” (think French onion soup made with Jack Daniel’s [in lieu of sherry or cognac] and with blue cheese added to the Gruyere topping–also excellent) and a marinated goat’s cheese and spinach salad (good but unremarkable).

For our main course, Libby opted for the grilled shrimp and onion fried rice with citrus slaw (sounds simple, but was elegant in taste and presentation). I opted for a medium-rare filet (perfectly cooked) and added grilled Maine lobster tails to the selection (the waiter brought me three — oh my!). We also had a selection of potatoes and vegetables. The garlic steak fries were amazing (maybe the best “French fry” I’ve ever had and trust me, I’ve eaten French fries). We mashed the meal down with a bottle of Le Crema Pinot Noir (good “go to” wine that pairs well with most dishes… plus it’s not a wimpy Pinot!).

For our sweet treat, I had the sampler: four miniature versions of the chef’s signature selections (all were good, but none spectacular). Libby opted for the warm fudge cake and chocolate ice cream (a mini version of which was on my sampler, but her full-size dish was better executed with a more of the warm, gooey center). Service was once again very good too.

All in all, we came away from the Crown Grill impressed and would highly recommend it.

Today’s box score: +1 country (Grenada). Another excellent day!

Once Libby awoke, we went down to the coffee bar for our lattes and then watched our arrival in Dominica from our balcony. We docked at the pier right in downtown around 9:00 am.

We departed the ship around 10:00 and walked uphill, stopping for a visit at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Fair Heaven, to the 40 acre Botanical Gardens. Unfortunately, the gardens were under construction with an irrigation system installation. It also started raining… heavily. But, we met Jeff, who was in the middle of a tour with some fellow cruisers, which we joined (@ $15/pp.) for a ride through the rain forrest.

Visiting the rainforest is clearly THE thing to do in Dominica. We drove on steep, narrow roads through the mountains and valleys. We were utterly surrounded by the lush tropical foliage, including bread fruit trees, bananas, ginger lilies, and bamboo. Being of volcanic origin, Dominica remains populated with boiling sulphur springs. We visited the bubbling and steaming springs at Wotten Waven to enjoy the smell of rotten eggs in the midst of a tropical rain downpour.

Our guide suggested you really need a week in Dominica to fully explore the island. I believe him–we merely had a glimpse of what the island offers. We returned to Roseau around 1PM. Since we’d already seen the town (not too much to offer tourists), we returned to the ship for lunch.

We opted for a sit down meal in the Coral Dining Room (we still haven’t tried the buffet–a staple of our last cruise). Libby had fried calamari and parmesan chicken (both very good). I had a gazpacho soup (very good) and gnocchi in a gorgonzola cream sauce (good but the gnocchi were a little too dense). Service, as seemingly typical on this ship, was excellent.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing: reading and napping.

Dinner tonight was in the Island Dining Room. Service started a little less well than what we’ve been used to, but the staff quickly got back on stride by the time our appetizers were finished. The food again ranged from pretty good to very good–that’s a not unimpressive string for food aboard a cruise ship. Highlights included Libby’s Caesar salad, our chicken fajitas (tonight’s “homestyle” menu option–which we think is another nice touch, as you sometimes get tired of eating “fancy” food), and Libby’s fudge cookie a la mode.

After dinner, we saw our first production stage show aboard Princess: “Piano Man.” What to say? Weak vocalists, poor male dancers, and a campy staging. Think: Mel Brooks meets Christopher Guest. Admittedly, we’re Broadway/West End devotees, but I think this was nonetheless a poor showing even by cruise ship standards.

Today’s box score: +1 country (Dominica)

Here’s a photo of downtown Roseau and the mountains beyond:

We started the morning with specialty coffees, which we enjoyed out on our balcony. We then proceeded into town via a short, cheap ($4/pp.) taxi ride. Princess docks well outside of Charlotte Amalie at Crown Bay. It’s not the most convenient, but it’s perfectly workable.

We arrived in downtown around 10am. Charlotte Amalie sits on a picturesque bay. Two other ships were in port with us: Carnival Victory and Celebrity Equinox. The town has few sights but a lot of duty free shopping. Indeed, it’s something of a Mecca for jewelry shopping. I have to say though, neither of us were blown away by the duty free “deals.” Since I have Internet access, I did a little real-time price comparisons on two items. At the lower end of the market, I found a Seiko watch ($170 in St. Thomas) online for $160. At the high end of the market, I priced out a $20,000 Bregeut watch (which I tried on!) at the same rate in St. Thomas as online. We found a similar pattern in women’s jewelry. Bottom line: while the prices in St. Thomas are good, they seem to be far from extraordinary relative to US market prices (regardless of the deep discount from MSRP / list prices).

All in all, we spent about four hours wandering around the city. We returned to the ship at 2pm for a light snack before our balcony dining tonight. We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging about just watching the world go by. The view from our cabin is wonderful (as noted above) and made for a nice backdrop to a leisurely afternoon.

Tonight was formal night, which we skipped. Instead, we did “Ultimate Balcony Dining” with an emphasis on ULTIMATE. Where to start? Setup began at 6:10… table, linens, stemware, LED “candle,” rose bouquet, water pitchers, ice buckets, oh my!

After all was setup, the photographer arrived to take a series of sunset pictures with us (the dinner includes an 8×10 photo). We were then served our cocktails (strawberry daiquiri and mojito respectively) and a selection of canapés (shrimp, salmon, two kinds of caviar, ham, etc.). Next, we had wonderful blue crab cakes with a mustard cream sauce served in a puff pastry crown. This was followed by a mesclun salad with marinated cherve, olives, and walnuts dressed with an aged balsamic vinaigrette.

For our main, we opted for the surf ‘n turf: a very generously sized grilled filet of beef tenderloin and two broiled lobster tails… for each of us! All of this was washed down with the included bottle of sparkling wine.

We ended with the Princess Chocolate Symphony: a series of dark, Swiss, milk, and white chocolate mouse quenelles served with fresh berries in a white chocolate cup. In addition, they served us wonderful coffees and an entire plate full of friandises!

By the end of the meal, we were moaning out in gastronomic joy like two actors trying out for Bill Murray’s role in a sequel to the “What About Bob?” dinner scene. The service, provided by Jaime and Manny (both seasoned, veteran waiters), was utterly flawless and simply enjoyable. The cost of this experience? $100 per couple. The value of the experience? priceless! This was just a magical meal and an utterly memorable experience–one of the all-time greats aboard any cruise ship!

Here’s a photo of the table setup:

Today’s box score: +1 “country” (USVI)

We strolled along the waterfront. I have to say, we were once again struck by the beauty and charm of San Juan! It’s much nicer than we’d expected. Indeed, I think I’d actively look to sail out of this port again. Anyway, we walked to the Cathedral and enjoyed a bit of the Easter mass, which was broadcast into the plaza on loud speakers. It all felt right: San Juan is a good place to visit on Easter.

After returning to the hotel to checkout, we had lunch at the Parrot Club. We enjoyed some riffs on traditional Puerto Rican cuisine: chicken pinchos, mofongo (a kind of plantain and yuca dumpling), and fried yuca. I also had a local beer (Medella — unremarkable) and a sort of Caribbean quesadilla (pulled pork w/ tropical fruit salsa).

Following lunch, we hopped in a taxi for the 15 minute drive to ship. Check-in wasn’t supposed to start until 2:00. We arrived a bit early at 1:40ish. But, operations were already underway. We checked in without a wait and were aboard the ship well before 2:00. Our cabin, B201–a forward balcony–was also ready.

I’ll write more about the ship later. A couple of quick notes: the decor is a little underwhelming compared to what we’ve seen on same vintage or newer RCI, HAL, and Celebrity ships. The upper outside decks, however, are very impressive with a range of pools and seemingly ample space. The casual dining options look good (yet to eat there) and have excellent operating hours. We also found the soda package and specialty coffee cards to be of excellent value on Princess! Upon embarkation, we also booked ourselves in all of the speciality restaurants, plus reserved “ultimate balcony dining” for tomorrow night.

Tonight, we had Easter dinner in the Island Dining Room on Deck 5. With programs like Anytime Dining, we’ve found that service can be lacking. Not tonight! This was some of the most efficient and helpful service we’ve ever had on a cruise. Better still, the food ranged from good to excellent. We both started with a twice-baked goat cheese tart (wonderful). Libby then had a salad (fine), and I enjoyed a bowl of mushroom soup (very good). We then had a wonderful strawberry and thyme sorbet (excellent). Libby’s entree was a cocoa-crusted pork tenderloin (good flavor but overcooked) with truffle mashed potatoes (excellent). I had diver scallops with roasted red potatoes (good). Our desserts and coffee were also very good (Libby had a fudge cake; I had a trio of delights). Indeed, this was probably the beat regular coffee in a main dining room on any cruise ship.

Well, we’re off to the muster drill (at 8pm!). I’ll leave you with photos of the ship’s Easter decorations and my trio of sweets:

This will be our solo (sans Emerson) trip for the year. Since she’s used to happily hanging out at “Club Gram” anyway, we don’t think our brief absence will be much of a problem for her. Plus, the kid has already been to South America and Antarctica this year, will be heading with us to Europe this summer, and will (obviously) join us on the annual Thanksgiving family Caribbean cruise. That’s a lot of passport stamps for a toddler!

Anyway, we’re moderately excited about this trip (the Caribbean only has so much allure, though last Thanksgiving’s cruise was one of my all-time favorites). The best part is that we’ll hit six (6) new countries / “countries”: Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire, and Aruba.

We’ll be sailing aboard the Caribbean Princess (our first time on Princess).

Here’s a map and link to the itinerary: