We have received great info over the years from these Cruise Critic posts. Finally decided to pass along a few observations in return:

1. First of all, this is a great itinerary. Hard to imagine hitting all these cities by plane in 9 days.

2. The ship was in great shape and actually felt larger than we expected, have cruised on the Golden and Grand Princess. This ship felt almost as large, and handled the one or two rough sea days well. We had a standard balcony cabin. We usually opt for a suite, but the expanded balcony and room is not necessary on a shorter and colder weather cruise with so many ports. We had plenty of room and the bed was actually very comfortable. Bathroom is pretty small and shower is tight for a > 6' person. Water pressure, however, was very good. Read more