It’s my final cruise for 2024, and to wrap up the year, I’m taking a trip on a line I haven’t sailed on before: Princess Cruises. This famous cruise line was born back in 1965 when they set sail with a chartered ship, the Princess Patricia, offering cruises to the Mexican Riviera. The line’s big break came when it became the iconic “Love Boat” of the 1970s and ’80s, thanks to the hit TV series of the same name.
Many credit Princess and the Love Boat for the massive growth of the cruise industry, exposing millions to this form of vacation through the hour-long weekly show that aired in prime time on ABC.
For this trip, I’m sailing on the Enchanted Princess, one of six in the line’s Royal-class series of ships, which first made their debut in 2013. She was built at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, entered service in November 2021, and has a guest capacity of around 3,660 passengers. Besides the five Royal-class ships built for Princess, a sixth was built for P&O Cruises and sails as Britannia.
In full disclosure, this cruise was provided to me by Princess Cruises as part of their casino match program. I was given a standard interior room for $200 plus taxes and fees. The $200 was returned in the form of onboard credit.
This cruise is a ten-day trip through the Caribbean, with stops at Princess Cays, Bahamas; San Juan; St. Maarten; Antigua; St. Kitts; and St. Thomas—all destinations I’ve been to before, except for Princess Cays, which I’m looking forward to exploring tomorrow.
Bidding on Stateroom Upgrades
Princess allows passengers to bid on stateroom upgrades. Administered through a third party called Plusgrade, several cruise lines have adopted this method of letting travelers pay for upgrades through a bidding system.
Once your cruise has been paid in full, you’ll receive an email with different upgrade options, minimum/maximum bid costs, and a scale that rates how successful your offer may be. My upgrade choices included premium oceanview and several different classes of balcony staterooms.
You can bid on as many different stateroom categories as you want, and the more you bid on, the greater the odds of scoring an upgrade. A credit card number is required when submitting your bid, and it’s only charged if you win. For those who travel solo, like myself, bids are priced times two.
A few days before departure, I received notification that I had “won” an upgrade to a standard balcony stateroom for a total cost of $550 ($275 per person). Being that this was a holiday cruise, I was surprised an upgrade was actually available. Just a few days earlier, I received an email from Princess offering me a free cruise and onboard credit equal to the cost of this cruise if I would give up my room, as the sailing was oversold.
Additional Add-On Packages
In addition to the cost of my upgrade, I also purchased the Princess Premier package, which is their top-tier all-inclusive bundle. It includes unlimited drinks up to $20, unlimited dining in specialty restaurants, all gratuities, premium Wi-Fi for up to four devices, unlimited digital photos, and other add-ons. At $90 per day, it’s worth it for the specialty dining, Wi-Fi, and drink package alone.
Exploring the New $90 Princess Premier Package with Unlimited Perks
Embarkation
Sailing out of Fort Lauderdale is usually a pretty painless procedure. However, today there were six ships in port, and traffic getting into Port Everglades was almost as frustrating as PortMiami.
Enchanted Princess was sailing out of Terminal 2, which is at the far north end of the port, next to Disney Cruise Line’s terminal—far removed from the terminals used by Holland America, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity.
I arrived at the terminal at 11:50 a.m., waited in line to drop off my luggage, then parked the car in the attached garage. I parked on level 2 and then had to take an elevator to level 5 to access the sky bridge, which led to another elevator to reach street level and enter the terminal building.
Once inside, it was a quick trip through security and right to the check-in desk, where my passport was scanned, and I was presented with my “Medallion.” More on that in a moment. After a few more checkpoints, I was on the ship by 12:30 p.m. Not bad, but I’m definitely not looking forward to that process in reverse with two suitcases and a backpack on debarkation day.
Princess Medallion
If you’ve ever been to Walt Disney World, you’re probably familiar with MagicBands—those wearable devices that let you unlock your hotel room, pay for food and drinks in the parks, and scan into turnstiles for FastPasses (or whatever they call them now). Princess Cruises uses similar technology in the form of a wearable “Medallion.”
This device acts as your room key, boarding pass, shipboard charge card, and a way for crew members to identify you. With this thing hanging around my neck, as I walked to check out my stateroom, a digital display suddenly showed my name and photograph outside my stateroom door. At the same time, the door handle glowed green, and my door automatically unlocked.
Very cool stuff!
When you go to a bar, restaurant, shop, etc., as you approach, crew members see your name and photo on their digital devices and greet you by name immediately. It’s a little creepy the first time you go to grab a beer and the bartender says, “Hello, Mr. Scott, what can I get for you today?”
If you’re not keen on wearing this thing around your neck on a lanyard, like me, they have accessories you can buy that let you wear it like a watch or bracelet, or even clip it to your shirt or belt.
Stateroom R721: Standard Balcony Stateroom
As I mentioned earlier, I was originally booked in a standard inside stateroom but was upgraded to a standard balcony room, R721, on deck 14 (Riviera deck), aft. The room has two twin beds that combine to form a queen, a single USB port built into the bedside lamp on each side of the bed, two U.S. and two European power outlets at the desk/vanity, a mini-fridge, a big-screen TV, and a safe. If you have multiple devices, you’re going to need something to keep them charged up, as power and USB ports are sparse considering the ship is fairly new.
When it comes to storage space, this is the first time I’ve been in a room with an open walk-in closet. Once you enter the room, the closet and bathroom are immediately to the right, with all your clothes hanging right in front of you.
It’s a little odd but provides an incredible amount of space to hang clothes. There’s also a small rack of shelves, which also holds the safe.
The bathroom is probably one of the smallest I’ve had on a ship. It’s very, very tiny with a small sink, a few shelves for storage, and a shower with a shower curtain. While the bathroom is small, the shower does have enough space that the curtain isn’t creeping up on you.
For two people (the maximum this room can accommodate), there is plenty of storage space and room to maneuver in the living area.
Out on the balcony, there are two chairs and a small table. It’s a very narrow space, and with the chair as far back as it can go, if I sit down, my knees are about a foot away from the railing. But it’s all about the views, right?
Video Tour of Enchanted Princess Stateroom R721
First Impressions
I always say first impressions count. And my first impression of the Enchanted Princess was: “Wow, this ship is gorgeous!” The moment you step inside and see the magnificent atrium and “Piazza” decked out for the holidays, you have to stop for a minute and take it all in.
The three-story centerpiece of the ship features shops, bars, lounges, and restaurants all in a very elegant setting. Having been on the Queen Mary 2 several times, I remarked to a friend that the décor reminds me a lot of that magnificent ocean liner.
I’ll be sharing many photos of the various public spaces over the course of this cruise, so you’ll be able to get a sense of just how beautiful this vessel is.
Sail Away & Afternoon/Evening Activities
Before departing, everyone had to participate in the emergency drill, which, like the majority of cruise lines today, is reduced to just visiting your muster station, having your Medallion scanned, and watching the safety video in your stateroom or in the Princess app.
We were scheduled to depart at 3 p.m., but the Captain made an announcement that there would be a delay because baggage was still being loaded onto the ship. It wasn’t until 4:30 p.m. that the lines were pulled in and we were on our way.
From the moment I arrived onboard, there was entertainment all around the ship. From carolers popping up spreading holiday cheer to various musical acts and a DJ by the pool, there was no shortage of things to see and do until dinner.
The evening’s main entertainment was magician Nathan Coe Marsh, who put on two shows in the ship’s main theater. I attended the 7:30 p.m. performance, and while entertaining with a lot of sleight-of-hand tricks that left you wondering, “How did he do that?” the show lingered and dragged on.
It was a very long 45 minutes.
Dinner at Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria
When it came time for dinner, the Enchanted Princess offers multiple options besides the main dining room, which has walk-in, reservations, and early/late traditional seatings. If you’re looking for steak, the Crown Grill is the place to be. For seafood, head to The Catch by Rudi. Craving pizza? There’s Gigi’s, a sit-down pizzeria. Want a burger and some Irish whiskey? O’Malley’s Irish Pub has you covered. And if you’re in the mood for Italian, Sabatini’s is the spot.
I didn’t make reservations in advance, so I decided to try my luck at Sabatini’s after the show. I arrived around 8:20 p.m. and explained to the hostess that I didn’t have a reservation. She looked a bit aggravated and told me I should use the app to make one. I explained that I had tried, but nothing was available.
After looking around the restaurant and seeing several empty tables, she reluctantly seated me. It was clear she wasn’t thrilled about accommodating a walk-up so late in the evening.
Once seated, my server and his assistant introduced themselves, dropped off some bread, explained the menu, and took my drink order.
Dinner at Sabatini’s is $45 per person or included with the Princess Premier package. It’s a six-course experience, which turned out to be a whole lot of fantastic food!
First came the Arancini—rice and mushroom balls served with marinara sauce. Delicious!
Next was the soup and salad course. I chose the minestrone, a rustic, thick soup loaded with vegetables and beans in a flavorful broth, followed by a homemade burrata salad with fresh tomatoes. Another winner!
For the pasta course, my server recommended the lobster-stuffed pasta. Three pasta “purses” filled with lobster meat, topped with a sauce and more lobster. Fantastic!
For the main course, I opted for the Osso Bucco, which was fork-tender, very flavorful, and served on a bed of risotto. Again, delicious.
For dessert, my server suggested the Chef’s Special, a small sampling of all the desserts on the menu. These tiny delights were the perfect ending to a delightful meal, accompanied by excellent service (except for the grumpy hostess).
Final Thoughts on Day One
After dinner, I visited the ship’s casino to try my luck. I dropped $100 into a slot machine and ended up playing for about an hour. No big wins, but it kept giving back just enough to keep me entertained. The casino has both smoking and non-smoking areas, plus a bar.
Before heading to bed, I stopped by O’Malley’s Irish Pub for a nightcap, then took a stroll around the open decks, enjoying the night air with a very full belly.
Tomorrow, we arrive at our first port of call, Princess Cays in the Bahamas. This private destination (not its own island) promises a relaxing beach day.
As always, thanks for following along!
Princess Patter for Day 1:
