This was my first cruise, and I was very disappointed with my "cruise experience". Friends and family had reported magnificent experiences on other cruises that just didn't seem to be the case for this cruise. I spent a good deal of time talking to other people on the cruise to see if this experience was "typical". Without exception, the experienced "cruisers" on this journey stated that this was the worst cruise that they had ever been on. Those with "Princess" experience said that the quality of the Princess cruises has decreased dramatically and that this would be their last Princess cruise.

Problems with the cruise were evident from Day 1. Embarkation from Southampton was a two hour circus, with long lines, poorly communicated instructions and inattentive staff. We were scheduled to leave Southampton at 5:00 PM on June 7, but were detained in port for some sort of "technical problem" which was never defined. Announcements were made every few hours that the "issue" was taking longer than expected, he would update us later (which he never did) and that our safety was his primary concern. He never mentioned a bilge pump problem or that the ship had failed an inspection a day earlier. As a result of their poor maintenance, we left port exactly one day late, resulting in our being a day late for our first three ports - Guernsey, Cobh and Dublin, and missing our fourth stop in Liverpool.

We also missed our scheduled stop at Edinburgh due to rough seas. Instead of finding another port or reaching Paris a day early for additional sightseeing, we meandered our way to Paris, taking two days to reach Le Havre. Humm, reduced fuel costs and keep the casino and shops open for additional revenue opportunities. Way to go Princess! What a wonderfully innovative way to take care of your passengers. Read more