Enchanted Princess Autumn 2026: Is the Caribbean Worth It?

Quick Reference: Enchanted Princess, Autumn 2026

Let’s get the awkward part out of the way. If you pictured Enchanted Princess in turquoise water this week, she’s actually wandering around Italy and Greece. Her autumn starts in the Mediterranean. The Caribbean is the final act. She crosses the Atlantic and starts sailing from Fort Lauderdale on December 3. Astronomical autumn runs until the solstice on December 21, so the December 3 and December 17 departures still count. That’s a thin slice of Caribbean, and this article is about whether it’s the right slice for you. (The “Bahamas” in the headline is one stop: Half Moon Cay, on the December 17 sailing. More on that below.)

The Ship’s Character and Who It Suits

Enchanted is big but not the biggest. She carries 3,668 passengers and 1,346 crew, which works out to roughly 2.7 guests per crew member. She’s the kind of ship where the Piazza, the multi-level atrium hub, does the heavy lifting. There’s live music, bars and restaurants stacked around it, and plenty of people-watching from the balconies above. Reviewers on Cruise Critic generally rate service, embarkation and entertainment highly. They’re less thrilled with cabins and the fitness room.

The signature bits are the SeaWalk, which has glass-floored walkways arcing out over the sea, and the adults-only Sanctuary. Then there are the two Sky Suites, which Princess announced in 2019 as having the largest private balconies any cruise line has offered: 1,012 square feet on the starboard side and 947 on the port side. The MedallionClass wearable handles cabin entry and ordering, and reviewers say it works best when you use it properly. Crown Grill, the steakhouse, gets consistently good reviews.

Who is she for? Couples, friend groups and multi-generational families who want a polished, mainstream resort with a lot to do. Who isn’t she for? Anyone who wants a ship that behaves like a theme park, or an intimate small-ship experience. For the full ship profile, see our Enchanted Princess page. On hygiene, her latest CDC Vessel Sanitation Program score is 93, from January 6, 2026. The pass line is 86, since 85 or lower is unsatisfactory. You can check any ship yourself with our CDC inspection lookup.

The Itineraries on Offer, and Which to Pick

The full schedule lives on our Enchanted Princess itineraries page, so here’s the short version. One honest caveat first: our own port data covers only the 21-night sailing from Rome on October 20. I confirmed the rest through third-party listings, and those sites sometimes disagree. Check the final routing with Princess before you pay.

The Caribbean pair:

• December 3, 14 nights, Circle Caribbean. After two sea days, the listing I found has St. Maarten (Dec 6), St. Kitts, Martinique, Dominica, St. Lucia, Trinidad, a sea day, Aruba (Dec 13) and Curaçao (Dec 14). Two more sea days follow, and she’s back December 17. That’s eight ports and five sea days. Other listings name some of the ports slightly differently.
• December 17, 10 nights, Eastern Caribbean with St. Kitts. This is the sailing with the Bahamas stop. The newer listing I checked has a private-island stop (Half Moon Cay), Amber Cove, San Juan, St. Maarten, Antigua and St. Kitts, returning December 27. An older-looking listing says Princess Cays instead, with a different order. Princess is adding Half Moon Cay to select Caribbean sailings from November 2026, and trade-press reports differ on whether it replaces Princess Cays or sits alongside it, so check which island your booking confirmation shows. Christmas Day falls late in the sailing, and one listing puts it at sea.

The Mediterranean lead-in: A 7-night Aegean loop leaves Rome on October 13, which is two days from now. It calls at Salerno, Santorini, Kusadasi and Katakolon. The 11-night Rome-to-Athens sailing (Oct 20) and the 10-night Athens-to-Rome sailing (Oct 31) together make the 21-night “Best of the Mediterranean”. The 23-night sailing from November 10 is the 7-night Aegean loop and the 16-night crossing stitched together. The 16-night Rome-to-Fort Lauderdale crossing leaves November 17 and arrives December 3. It calls at Palma, Gibraltar, Casablanca, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and La Palma, then has seven sea days in a row (Nov 26 to Dec 2).

My picks: For a first Caribbean cruise, take the December 17 sailing. Ten nights is long enough to feel like a holiday, and the ports are easy. If you want to tick off islands you’ve never heard of, take December 3. If you love sea days, the November 17 crossing is the one. Seven straight days of nothing but ocean is either your dream or your nightmare, so be honest with yourself.

The Ports and What’s Worth Doing

In the Caribbean, St. Maarten is the easy win on both sailings: beaches, shopping and food in one island. Dominica (Roseau) is the one for people who want rainforest and waterfalls over a beach club. St. Lucia is the dramatic-scenery stop, with the Pitons around Soufrière. Willemstad, Curaçao is worth a wander for its candy-coloured waterfront. On the December 3 itinerary, Aruba is the long day: the planetcruise listing shows 10 AM to 10 PM, while the other stops on that listing wrap up by 6 PM. That’s enough time for a beach and a proper dinner ashore, but port times can change, so confirm them with Princess. San Juan on the December 17 sailing rewards you with Old San Juan’s forts and colonial streets.

The Bahamas stop: Half Moon Cay. Half Moon Cay (Princess calls it RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay) sits on Little San Salvador Island in the Bahamas, between Cat Island and Eleuthera. It’s the only Bahamas call on the December 17 sailing, and the day after you leave Fort Lauderdale, so it’s your first beach day. One listing shows the ship there from 9 AM to 4 PM. Princess is adding Half Moon Cay to select Caribbean sailings from November 2026, with Enchanted Princess among six ships on the list. Princess’s lunch on the island is complimentary, and Princess Plus and Premier drink packages work there. How you get ashore depends on the ship: some Princess ships dock at the new pier on the Carnival side, while others anchor and tender guests to the Holland America side. Drink packages are honoured only on whichever side your ship uses. Which arrangement Enchanted Princess gets isn’t confirmed, so check the port guide in the Princess app or ask Princess before you plan around a specific beach. If your sailing is still listed with Princess Cays, that’s the older option on Eleuthera, reached by tender. The private-island day is for sand and doing nothing.

On the Mediterranean sailings, the crowd-pleasers are Santorini (ships anchor off the caldera and passengers go ashore by tender, so allow extra time), Kusadasi for the ruins at Ephesus, and Katakolon for ancient Olympia. Dubrovnik (the ship docks at Gruž) is on the Athens-to-Rome sailing. The city limits daily cruise calls to two ships, so the Old Town is busy but not unlimited. Kotor is the moody bay-and-mountain stop.

Conditions and Packing for This Season

Caribbean in December: Hurricane season officially ends November 30. Storms can still form after that, but the risk is lower, and December sits in the drier season. Expect daytime highs from the upper 70s to low 80s °F, steady trade winds and sea temperatures in the high 70s to mid-80s. Pack swimwear, a light cover-up and a thin layer for the evening breeze on deck. If you’re booking the December 3 sailing, you’re the closest to the storm-season tail, so take out travel insurance that covers itinerary changes.

Mediterranean in October and November: October typically runs 65 to 78 °F. Rain becomes more likely as the month goes on, especially in the west. By November, one yachting source reports unsettled weather and daytime highs of roughly 10 to 18 °C (50 to 64 °F). So pack layers, a packable rain jacket and walking shoes you trust on wet cobblestones. Don’t plan on sunbathing.

Crossing the Atlantic: Bring both wardrobes. The November 17 crossing goes from Spanish and Moroccan weather to Canary Islands warmth to full Caribbean in a fortnight. Pack for formal-ish evenings, a lot of sea days and a real hobby.

Money and Where the Value Is

Prices below are snapshots from third-party listings, quoted per person, double occupancy, taxes and fees included. They’re not quotes. They’ll move.

• The December 17 sailing showed an inside cabin at $1,149 per person on one site and “from $1,160” on another. At $1,149, that’s about $115 per person per night, or $2,298 for two.
• The December 3 sailing showed a balcony at $3,039 per person. That’s about $217 per person per night, or $6,078 for two. It’s a different cabin type and a different length, so don’t read it as the same product at a higher price.

Then there’s the stuff that isn’t in the fare. Princess raised its daily crew gratuity by $1 per person per day on March 8, 2026. It’s now $18 for standard staterooms, $19 for mini-suites and cabanas, and $20 for suites. The automatic service charge on onboard purchases went from 18% to 20%. At $18 per person per day, 10 nights adds roughly $180 per person, or about $360 for two. That takes the December 17 example to around $2,658 for two before drinks, Wi-Fi and excursions. Guests with Princess Plus or Premier packages don’t pay the daily gratuity separately. Our cruise tipping guide explains who gets what and when to tip extra.

On value, the December 17 sailing is the only Caribbean departure with an inside-cabin fare snapshot above, about $115 per person per night, and the December 3 figure is a balcony, so the two aren’t a like-for-like comparison. We don’t have a verified US dollar fare for the 16-night crossing, so check Princess for current pricing before deciding whether it suits your budget as well as your love of sea days.

Timing: When to Book and What Sells Out

The October sailings are basically last-minute. The October 13 sailing departs in two days and the two October 20 sailings in nine, so those are for people with a flexible calendar and a packed bag. The Caribbean sailings are the ones you can actually plan. The December 17 sailing is the holiday departure, and holiday-week sailings tend to firm up first. Aim to commit as soon as you’ve settled on cabin type. Availability by category changes daily, so check current inventory with Princess or your travel agent rather than relying on any listing.

If you’re deciding on cabin size, our cabin size guide is worth a skim. A 14-night sailing in an inside cabin is a very different thing from 10 nights on a balcony.

FAQ: Enchanted Princess Autumn 2026

Does Enchanted Princess sail the Caribbean in autumn 2026?

Only at the tail end. She spends October and November in the Mediterranean, then crosses to Fort Lauderdale, arriving December 3. Two Caribbean sailings leave in the autumn window: a 14-night Circle Caribbean on December 3 and a 10-night Eastern Caribbean on December 17. Anything later falls in winter.

What is Enchanted Princess’s CDC inspection score?

Her latest CDC Vessel Sanitation Program score is 93 out of 100, from an inspection on January 6, 2026. The passing line is 86, because 85 or lower is unsatisfactory. Scores reflect one inspection on one day, so use them as a snapshot. You can look up any ship on our CDC inspection lookup.

Is hurricane season over for a December Caribbean cruise?

Officially, yes. The Atlantic season ends November 30, and December is in the Caribbean’s drier months. Storms can still form after that date, though the risk is lower. The December 3 sailing is the one closest to the tail of the season, so travel insurance that covers itinerary changes is a sensible precaution.

Which Enchanted Princess cruise is best for first-timers?

The 10-night Eastern Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale on December 17. It’s long enough to feel like a real holiday, the ports (San Juan, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Kitts) are easy to enjoy independently, and it avoids the long stretches at sea of the crossing. The 14-night December 3 route is better for repeat cruisers.

How much are gratuities on Princess in 2026?

Since March 8, 2026, the daily crew gratuity is $18 per person for standard staterooms, $19 for mini-suites and cabanas, and $20 for suites. A 20% service charge applies to onboard purchases such as drinks and specialty dining. For two people in standard cabins on 10 nights, that’s roughly $360 in gratuities. Princess Plus and Premier packages include them.

Is the Rome to Fort Lauderdale transatlantic cruise worth it?

If you like sea days, yes. The 16-night sailing from November 17 calls at Palma, Gibraltar, Casablanca, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and La Palma, then has seven consecutive sea days before arriving December 3. That’s five ports in 16 nights. It’s great for readers, spa-goers and anyone who wants to decompress. If you want a port every day, pick a different sailing.

The Bottom Line

Enchanted Princess is a polished, mainstream resort ship with a solid sanitation record (93), and her autumn is a Mediterranean season with a Caribbean finale. If you want Caribbean sun, you’re really choosing between two December departures. Pick the 10-night December 17 sailing for an easy, well-trodden Eastern Caribbean holiday with a Half Moon Cay beach day in the Bahamas. Pick the 14-night December 3 for the deeper southern islands. Pick the November 17 crossing if sea days sound like heaven. If it’s the Mediterranean you’re after, the October sailings are basically departing now, so call a travel agent today. Whatever you choose, verify the final routing with Princess before you pay, because the listing sites don’t agree with each other. The full schedule is on our itineraries page.

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