My View: Will we be Enchanted by Princess? (Live Views from a Princess Newbie)

[APDMOM]

My View: Day 1 - Port Everglades

[APDMOM]

Boarding timeline:

 

Port arrival- 9:49

 

TIP: Take a picture of your checked suitcases in case they get misplaced.

 

[APDMOM]

Pause here… forgot CC does not allow larger pictures from iPhone. I need to resize a few before I continue with the timeline. 

[Daniel A]

3 minutes ago, APDMOM said:

Pause here… forgot CC does not allow larger pictures from iPhone. I need to resize a few before I continue with the timeline. 

Was there a separate green lane prior to entering the terminal, if not, when did the green lane begin?  Thank you.

[APDMOM]

10 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

Was there a separate green lane prior to entering the terminal, if not, when did the green lane begin?  Thank you.

The green lane started after security. 

[APDMOM]

Arrival timeline continued:

 

We walked to the elevator, took a pic of our parking level for a reminder, then took the elevator to level 5, as instructed:

 

Bridge to terminal:

 

After taking another elevator back to ground level, we dropped off our checked luggage and joined the long line.  Even though the doors were supposed to open at 10:15, per a posted sign, the line was already entering the building. We were inside by 10:06.

 

10:06 - Security

 

10:08 - joined the green line

On the way to the ship:

 

10:20 - walking the gangway onto the ship

 

Welcome Aboard!!

[APDMOM]

@wallyj Thank you for the best tip of the day!

 

TIP:  When you line up outside the terminal, the line will divide into 2.  Take the left line.  It has a shorter turn and ends up moving faster than the right side.  

[APDMOM]

First ✅ off the To-Do List:

 

We found a seat in the piazza to watch the safety video on each of our devices, then walked to our muster station to scan our medallions.  I recommend getting this done first so that your vacation can really begin.  By about 1:30 PM there were still over 1,000 people who needed to complete these two simple steps.  🤪

 

Buffet Lunch:

 

We really enjoyed the buffet lunch.  It was not crowded at the time we went (11 AM), and the food options were varied.  The salad bar was very impressive!  The soup was not that good, but we enjoyed everything else.  

 

TIP:  Walk around the whole buffet to get an idea for the layout.  It is very different from any other buffet we experienced and it is a bit challenging to figure out.  If you don’t walk through the whole buffet, you will miss some unique offerings.

 

Rooms were ready around 12:45, if I remember right.  I was on a WhatsApp video call with my sister and mom in Namibia, so I did not pay close attention.  

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Sailaway:

 

We went for a quick swim in the aft pool, which was too crowded for our taste. So, we made our way to the Retreat pool, which was much less crowded.  On the way out, this was our surprise ‘almost sailaway’ ship horn announcement.  I had no idea…Truly “The Love Boat” 😄

 

 

Edited July 14 by APDMOM

[APDMOM]

PS: Not sure if that video posted… Will check when the internet is better.

[canadarocks]

3 minutes ago, APDMOM said:

PS: Not sure if that video posted… Will check when the internet is better.

Definitely did. Thanks! 😁

[APDMOM]

Sailaway Views:

 

I love seeing our future (and past) ships in port.  We will be on Reflection for a second time Spring Break 2025:

 

 

 

 

The View from our Aft Balcony - we were surprised to find a lounger on the balcony!  It was not in previous photos we found of our cabin.

 

[APDMOM]

Medallion Order

 

I decided to try the app for the first time to order a drink for sailaway.  It took about 30 minutes to deliver to our balcony, at a time that I think the bars must have been very busy.  So a good first experience.  The only thing that was slightly confusing is that the order still stated ‘preparing’ when it was being delivered at our door. 🙂 I am sure this system will be super popular once all the kinks are worked out.

[JGmf]

Happy your cruise started and seems to be going well.  Looking forward to continuing reports...

[APDMOM]

Dinner: Amalfi

 

TIP: Make dinner reservations prior to the cruise if you prefer a set time.  We made all our reservations for 5:20 PM, as we like to eat early and enjoy the evening entertainment.  Amalfi offered small tables and we like the aft location.

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

TIP: I rate food by our experience as follows:

Excellent (will order over and over)

Good (good enough for one time, may order again)

Okay (good enough, but will not order again)

No go (not even worth the calories)

 

Our Dinner Options:

 

We are not foodies, but we tend to compare food from ship to ship and cruiseline to cruiseline based upon our taste.  Tonight’s options had us a bit disappointed.  None of the dishes had the ‘Wow, I could eat this every day’ taste.  Everything was okay to good, but nothing stood out.  

 

Shrimp cocktail - Good (DS says it is not as good as on other cruiselines - it is usually his go-to order)

 

Rum infused Pina Colada Chilled Soup:

Okay - just not worth the calories to me, and not up to par with other chilled soups I had in the past.

 

Caribbean Black Bean Soup:

Good

 

Cajun Fried Chicken:

Good

 

Seared Mahi-Mahi :

Good (a bit bland and DH had to add salt and pepper)

 

Bahamian Seafood Stew: 

Okay 

[APDMOM]

Live Entertainment:

We scoped out the live entertainment around the ship tonight.  WOW!  There is so much talent here.  We could hardly choose a favorite, but Pinnacle ended up taking that spot.  However, we did not see all the live entertainment yet, so the final verdict is still pending.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by the steel drum music - very mellow and classy!  I did not think I would enjoy that for an evening lounge experience, but it was really different from other steel drum performers I had seen in the past.  This will be one of my go-to places this week.

 

We also enjoyed Glitz Duo and Gold Strings Duo.

 

The pub entertainment was enjoyable, but that space is too small - it was packed.  It is an Irish duo and not something I can listen to all evening.  

 

I will post some video samples later this week.

Edited July 14 by APDMOM
Attempted pic attachment

[APDMOM]

Evening Highlights:

 

We ended the evening with the best appletini I ever had, a really good sandwich from the International Cafe, and the Welcome Aboard party with Pinnacle.

 

TIP: At the International Cafe, you can opt to have the sandwiches warmed up.  Try the Mortadella warmed up - it was our favorite ‘dish’ of the day.

 

 

Selections at International Cafe today:

 

 

 

Pinnacle - such a talented group!

 

Edited July 14 by APDMOM
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[APDMOM]

My View: End of Day 1 - Port Everglades

 

 

Look at that Thunderstorm from our balcony!  It was a beautiful sight, and perfect end to a memorable day.

 

 

 

[WisCruiser2]

Our favorite evening entertainment (every night!) in February was the jazz trio in Take 5. So sad that they made the venue into casino...

[APDMOM]

Day 1 Princess Patter

 

Download PDF

Princess Patter Day 1.pdf

[canadarocks]

Thanks so much for doing this! An awesome review so far. 😀

[Wishing on a star]

Welcome onboard!!!  

We have been considering booking Specialty Dining for the first night, as this menu does seem to be, well, not the greatest.

I notice that the early show in the theater is 7:30.  Not 8:00.

On our next cruise, we could not get an early reservation for supper on the first night, so this would make an early show possible.

Like you said... Lots of options onboard!!!

 

[Scottdalfonso]

Thank you...following along as we will be on our first Princess cruise late next month (from NYC) on this ship. So definitely appreciating all of the tips and pics!

[APDMOM]

My View: Day 2 - At Sea