This was our third time cruising with Princess Cruise Lines; it will probably be our last. We are not sure if the problem is the change in ownership, the itinerary, the ship, the crew, or the clientele. It was probably a little of each that left me with a feeling of disappointment. Let me explain:

Airport/Transfers: After arriving in San Juan at about 11:45, we looked for the Princess representative, and could only find representatives from other cruise lines. Once we found the representative, they places us in one of two long lines and asked us to wait for about 15 minutes before we were walked out to a luggage truck, then to a waiting bus. We arrived at the ship at 1:00. A taxi would have cost about $5 more and been much more convenient.

Embarkation: Long lines....... The Princess representative was not very personable, but we were finally on the ship after another forty-five minutes of waiting. One good thing (for the alcohol drinkers) is that the liquor store in the terminal is pretty inexpensive and asserted that it was ok to take a bottle or two on-board in your bag. They will tell you "the cruise line is not real concerned about a bottle or two when purchased from us". They were right, no problems taking on-board an $11.95 bottle of Tanqueray. Read more