[The Travel Slut]

May I suggest a cruise to "sample" what the Caribbean has to offer?

I just returned from another cruise and have done the Caribbean almost 10 times and done almost all the islands that accept cruiseships.

I've posted several times here the reasons for cruising and tips for 1st time cruisers.

In addition to enjoying the ports of call, your cruiseship can be considered a destination in itself.

Some notes I took on the Coral Princess cruiseship from early March 2007:

I spent 10 nights on the Coral Princess in March 2007 on a cruise that took me from the port of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Ocho Rios Jamaica, The Panama Canal (and Gatun Locks), Colon, Panama, Limon and the rainforests of Costa Rica, Georgetown, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico.

I found the ship to have few flaws, the food was outstanding 90% of the time, and staff was both easy to find, willing to help and genuinely happy.

Basic Coral Princess information:

1,974 passengers with 90% outside staterooms and 737 staterooms with balconies. It was designed specifically to be the largest cruiseship to be able to navigate through the Panama Canal (with about 18 inches on each side to clear).

There are five (5) primary dining locations including two dining rooms, a New Orleans-style café (The Bayou Steakhouse), an Italian trattoria (Sabatini’s), and the Horizon Court which is the buffet-style 24-hour restaurant with panoramic views from the bow. Also, there is a pizza parlor (free), ice cream station (fee), and grill (free) above the Lido deck pool).

There is an on-board wedding chapel with video and web-cam capabilities, a world-class spa, golf simulator, full Las Vegas-style casino, and art gallery. In addition, there is a Library with listening chairs, Internet café, a walk-around promenade deck, fully-supervised Youth-Teen center (with their own pool), an indoor & adult-only pool, and plenty of spaces to find some quiet time.

The Central Atrium on deck 6 has the shopping area with the normal duty-free items including fine gifts & accessories, apparel, sundries, fine jewelry, liquor, cosmetics and perfume.

Other areas of the ship that should be checked out include:

Churchill’s Cigar Lounge offering premium cigars, fine spirits, ports and cognacs
The Princess Theater for Broadway-style shows
The Universe Lounge for everything from major movies to study-at-sea programs
The Explorers Lounge for karaoke and disco dancing
The Wheelhouse Bar for the lightest music and friendly staff

The Travel Slut Top 10 Tips about the Coral Princess:

1. Take advantage of the coupon books made available for on-board purchases. Good
savings can be had this way
2. You're allowed to bring 1 bottle of wine or champagne on-board but not alcohol or beer so
take advantage of this.
3. You may request a daily fruit basket via your room attendant but it has to be requested
4. If you crave a very late night meal (or snack), the Horizon Court restaurant serves up great
specially made food not available elsewhere. I enjoyed caviar one night
5. Sabatini’s, the Italian alternative restaurant, serves an 8-course meal in an intimate setting
& you'll not leave feeling hungry. There is a additional fee here & it is a nice break from the
dining rooms
6. Personal choice (anytime dining) is an option allowing you to choose when & where to eat
in lieu of traditional late/early main dining seating. The Bordeaux restaurant is used for this
and main dining is in the Provence dining room. Note: Once you select Personal Choice,
you can't opt for main dining.
7. Room service is available 24 hours a day & my experience was great each time. The
longest I waited was 15 minutes for a large breakfast (which I had delivered at least 5 times
during the cruise). The food & coffee were hot, & the service prompt & easy to order by
phone or doorcard.
8.There are coin-operated self-service Laundromats (with irons & ironing boards on each
deck). There is also a full laundry & valet service. For USD $2 you can wash a huge load of
clothes & dry them also. It allows you to take fewer clothes & on your last day at sea, you can
spend a couple hours doing a weeks’ worth of laundry before going home
9. Robes are available for use during your cruise but they must be requested. You can also
purchase them. Ask your room attendant
10 Special disembarkation is available to those that wish to offload their own luggage. If you
can and want to carry off ALL of your luggage by yourself, you will be permitted to leave
the ship as early as 7:15 a.m. on the last day.

Again, this is not specific to any particular island but many are similar and getting a taste of what each has to offer seems to me to be a great way to explore future travel possibilities.