Flagships of the Caribbean

CARIBBEAN PRINCESS
Looking down at my wrinkly fingers, I realize it’s time to get out of the pool and dress for dinner. We’re nearing the end of our cruise on the Caribbean Princess, newest ship in the Princess Cruises fleet, and I am giving the clock hateful looks as it ticks away the last precious moments. 

Like every other child of the ’70s, I loved The Love Boat — Hey, Gopher, get me a root beer and sit your cute butt down. So taking a Princess cruise (the show was set aboard a Princess ship) for our first wedding anniversary sounded like the ideal romantic getaway.

As we stepped on board, the three-story atrium opened before us. I nudged Bill and cooed, “What an elegant, romantic setting.” He rolled his eyes and glanced down at our map of the ship, trying to find the casino. I wanted first to nose around and check out the specialty restaurants and theaters, then find the most secluded of the seven hot tubs. He wanted to follow his nose to the nearest of the Caribbean Princess’ 10 bars.

I’d been concerned about feeling trapped inside tiny cruise-ship quarters, especially after a week of constant canoodling. But our outside cabin had plenty of room and even its own balcony featuring a constantly changing view. I leaned out over the railing, feeling the sea breeze as the ship moved out of the harbor. It was a glorious, queen of the world feeling, and I rushed inside to pull Bill out so we could watch together as the ship steamed into the open ocean. He took a quick glance outside, then rubbed his belly and said, “Buffet — now.”

The next morning, Bill was contrite. He’d needed a little time to decompress from the real world and, after a hearty breakfast, he claimed he was in full-on romantic cruise mode. Marriage is all about forgiveness, right? Maybe, but I decided to test him anyway. We looked over the huge menu of onboard activities. I could tell he was salivating over the golf simulator, putting green and basketball court. “Hmm,” I said, “this merengue class looks fun.” Much to my pleasant surprise, he said fine. And to his surprise, we both had a blast — so much so that he suggested we sign up for another dance class the next day. From that point on, the cruise became the romantic fantasy I’d always imagined — minus Gopher, plus Bill, who has an even cuter butt.

My man was on board with dressing up and reserving an intimate table for a seven-course dinner at Sabatini’s Trattoria; we sang oldies with the piano man at Crooner’s Martini Bar until curtain time for Caribbean Caliente, a Latin-themed Vegas-style production; we shook it late into the night at Skywalkers nightclub, 16 decks above the sea; and we each enjoyed a hot stone massage in the Lotus Spa.

On one of our last nights, it was Bill’s idea to skip the casino and socializing, and instead order room service and sequester in our suite. Nice big sigh. After a year of marriage, our honeymoon wasn’t over — it was just lost at sea. And we found it. — Michelle Doster

The Caribbean Princess sails the region year-round out of Fort Lauderdale. For information, call 800-PRINCESS or visit www.princess.com.

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