We have taken 20+ cruises and chose Princess this time because we were traveling with 8 other people who chose this ship and itinerary. Princess always has beautiful ships and this was no exception. We booked a "balcony deluxe" instead of a regular balcony because this room includes a sofa bed and provides a little more space. (The balcony rooms are small.) The room was very nice, but the balcony was very small. On other ships our balconies usually hold both a chaise lounge and one regular chair with a table, but this balcony only fit two small chairs and a small table. The ships breaks "break up" in several places, so it is a little more difficult to just walk from one end of the ship to another in several areas. Elevators required a more extended wait time because people needed to use them to even go up or down one level. (This is just a fact, not a criticism because I understand there were mobility limitations for many of the guests.) We usually just took the stairs. Without exception, the food in both the buffet and dining room were absolutely fabulous. Everyone thought the choices and variety were excellent. There were a lot of activities offered, but we felt most were geared to a more senior crowd (which was 80% of the ship.) We would have preferred more festive music on the lido deck while sunbathing, but Princess usually showed movies on the large screen TV during the day. At night it was great to watch the "movies under the stars", but I prefer not to watch a television during the day on vacation. It was lovely in the evening sitting under the stars on the cushioned chairs with warm popcorn and a blanket, watching movies. Service was excellent and Princess has the most efficient boarding and disembarking procedures of any ships I have been on. As far as the ports, Princess Cayes was as expected. You are tendered ashore where there is a large beach with shops run by the ship. A buffet was included that served hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, ribs, and salad. The food was very good and plentiful. They also provided ice water at the end of the buffet line. As far as the beach, it is quite rocky on the shoreline and when walking into the water, so I would recommend wearing water shoes. I purchased a "clamshell" online prior to the trip. It is $40.00 and covers two people and two beach lounge chairs. It was great to have some protection from the sun and was well worth the money. It is a good idea to preorder since there are a limited number available. There is not much to do but enjoy the beach on this excursion. St. Thomas is absolutely beautiful, with lots of excursions available. We went on the St. John Catamaran Sail, Snorkel and Beach tour. It included a 45 minute ride out on a catamaran to St John where the snorkeling was great. Honeymoon beach is a beautiful spot. We saw lots of tropical fish, an eel and sea turtles while snorkeling. The boat ride back included snacks, rum punch, mimosas, etc and was worth every penny. Larry and his crew took excellent care of us. St. Maarten is also a lovely port where you can just walk off the pier to the shopping areas. Water taxis cost $7.00 round trip to take you to Phillipsburg where there are streets full of shops, restaurants, bars, etc. (We just took the 20 minute walk there.) The only negative is that all the shops closed at 5 p.m., so plan your day accordingly. There were many tours available but we just wanted to walk about on this day. I would definitely come back to see more of St. Maarten. We were told by locals that the french side of the island had been hit very hard by the previous storms and pretty devastated, so we just stayed on the dutch side for this trip. We will definitely be back because there is so much more to see. This ship was using the new medallion program throughout the vessel. It was nice to just approach our cabin and see it recognize us and just unlock, but many of the staff were still having difficulty with their devices recognizing and reading our medallions when purchasing something or when using slot machines in the casino. The medallions replaced the previously used cruise cards. You could wear them around your neck on a necklace or put them in your pocket. I purchased a clip ($5.00) that held the medallion and attached to a belt loop on your clothing. It was very convenient and had an elastic line that stretched out so I could just pull the medallion line out to make purchases without disconnecting it from my belt loop. This was much nicer then having to wear something around my neck. We had some difficulty with some of the APPs associated with the medallion (like linking with our shipmates to help find one another), but I am sure it will get better with time.