Our ship, the Golden Princess!

Decks: 18
Height: 201 feet
Length: 951 feet
Width: 159 feet

Our cruise was filled to capacity, about 4,000 people, but the ship is well laid-out and we never felt crowded.  Dining options included 3 main dining rooms, 2 specialized dining rooms, 24-hour buffet, poolside pizzeria, poolside hamburger and hot dog grill.  There were 5 pools and 9 whirlpool spas.  Princess has "Anytime Dining" in addition to "Fixed Seating."  We did Anytime Dining, which means that you can go to one of two restaurants any time you want (that they are open), in addition of course to the 24-hour buffet option.  We would show up and the hostess would ask if we wanted to share a table.  We always said yes, because we liked meeting new people.  The first night we sat with two other couples, one of which we never saw again the whole week.  The other couple we ran into 3-4 times every day.  By the third day, we gave up and began meeting Dave and Randi nightly for dinner.  They were older than us, from Connecticut, and had been on lots of cruises.  It was fun to compare notes each evening and we just laughed every time we ran into each other!
       

St. Lucia was the only port that we had to tender in for.  The deep-water dock could only accommodate one ship, and in most ports there were three of us on the days we were there.
   

We got the best views of our ship when we were in St. Thomas:
  

We spent a lot of time on Deck 14, where there was the 24-hour buffet, an indoor pool (with a retractable glass roof), outdoor pool, several hot tubs, pizza, and ice cream!  The pools were pretty neat when the seas were rough and you could feel the movement of the ship.  They have low walls all around because they are filled to the brim and there is water just a few inches deep in the overflow area.  When the ship is moving more, the water sloshes in and out of the pool, making wave noises.
      

24-hour buffet dining area, a fun spot on deck, and the long, long hallway to our room: