Royal Princess - Eastern Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale

Where this cruise calls, day by day

5 ports and 3 sea days over 7 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Fort Lauderdale, FL

   United StatesDepart

   Port Everglades is the easy one. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International sits barely two miles from the berths - the shortest airport-to-ship hop of any major US homeport - and the eight passenger terminals are spread far enough apart that traffic rarely knots the way Miami's does. Check your terminal number before you set off; they are not close together.

   • Las Olas Boulevard for lunch, then the walk down to the beach
   • The Water Taxi loop along the New River and Intracoastal, past the yacht basins
   • Bonnet House Museum and Gardens, a 1920s estate hemmed in by condo towers
   • Hollywood Broadwalk, 20 minutes south, for a flatter and cheaper beach day

   Getting ashore

   Eight passenger terminals (2, 4, 18, 19, 21, 25, 26 and 29) ring the harbour on separate access roads, and FLL is about 2 miles out - often under 15 minutes door to door.

   Best months

   Nov-Apr (Aug-Oct is peak hurricane season)

2. Day 2

   Princess Cays

   BahamasPort

   Princess leases the southern end of Eleuthera near Bannerman Town - a 40-acre beach strip rather than a whole island, and a close neighbour to Disney's Lookout Cay. It is a tender call, which slows the day noticeably, and the offering is deliberately plain: a long beach, a barbecue lunch included in the fare, and bungalows, floats and snorkel gear for rent.

   • The half-mile beach and its roped swimming area
   • The included beach barbecue
   • Snorkel gear, kayaks and banana boats (extra cost)
   • Private beachfront bungalows (extra cost)

   Getting ashore

   Tender port - roughly 15-20 minutes each way, and choppy conditions cancel the call outright.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr for the calmest tendering; Aug-Oct calls are the most at risk of being missed

3. Day 3 · At sea

4. Day 4

   San Juan

   Puerto RicoPort

   The piers sit directly under the walls of Old San Juan, which makes this one of the few Caribbean calls where you step off and are already somewhere worth being. Blue cobblestones, 16th-century Spanish fortifications, and a working city rather than a shopping arcade. It is also a major homeport, so a call often lands in the middle of turnaround traffic.

   • Castillo San Felipe del Morro on the headland
   • Castillo San Cristóbal and the city walls
   • Casa Bacardí distillery, reached by the Cataño ferry
   • El Yunque National Forest, about an hour east

   Getting ashore

   Most ships dock at Piers 1-4 in Old San Juan and you walk straight into the historic district; the largest ships use the Pan American piers on Isla Grande, a short shuttle or taxi ride out.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr is driest and busiest; Aug-Oct is peak hurricane season

5. Day 5

   Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

   U.S. Virgin IslandsPort

   The busiest shopping port in the Caribbean, and it feels like it — four to six ships on a peak day and duty-free jewelry stores stacked end to end along Main Street. What saves a call here is everything outside town: Magens Bay's long sheltered crescent, and the ferry to St. John, where about two-thirds of the island is national park.

   • Magens Bay
   • Ferry to St. John for Trunk Bay and Virgin Islands National Park
   • Coki Beach and Coral World Ocean Park
   • Skyride to Paradise Point above the harbor

   Getting ashore

   Most ships dock at Havensight, about a mile east of town — a mall at the pier, a cheap open-air taxi, or a 20-minute waterfront walk; Crown Bay is a similar distance west.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr dry season; Aug-Oct is hurricane season

6. Day 6 · At sea

7. Day 7 · At sea

8. Day 8

   Fort Lauderdale, FL

   United StatesArrive

   Port Everglades is the easy one. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International sits barely two miles from the berths - the shortest airport-to-ship hop of any major US homeport - and the eight passenger terminals are spread far enough apart that traffic rarely knots the way Miami's does. Check your terminal number before you set off; they are not close together.

   • Las Olas Boulevard for lunch, then the walk down to the beach
   • The Water Taxi loop along the New River and Intracoastal, past the yacht basins
   • Bonnet House Museum and Gardens, a 1920s estate hemmed in by condo towers
   • Hollywood Broadwalk, 20 minutes south, for a flatter and cheaper beach day

   Getting ashore

   Eight passenger terminals (2, 4, 18, 19, 21, 25, 26 and 29) ring the harbour on separate access roads, and FLL is about 2 miles out - often under 15 minutes door to door.

   Best months

   Nov-Apr (Aug-Oct is peak hurricane season)