This was the first cruise my family and I had taken. The Princess line came well recommended by my travel agent based on what my family was looking for in fun and relaxation. We sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale on the 18th of November. We stayed at an Embassy Suites the night before. The hotel was very nice, but I felt it was overpriced a bit. The hotel was not booked through Princess, it was booked through my travel agent. She neglected to get me the cruise package which included free transportation to the port, but the hotel was nice enough to give it to as at no charge. Full breakfast the next morning...very nice, but extremely crowded. It was hard to find a table...almost everyone there was leaving that day for a cruise. We got to the pier by noon. The lines were quite long, but actually seemed to move quickly. Should have taken the advice of so many cruise critic members and waited until after 1 p.m. when the lines subsided. Oh well...live and learn. Once we got onto the ship (around 1:00) we found our room quite easily and was surprised to see that our luggage was there minutes after us. Our room steward (Adrian) stopped by and welcomed us. He was very helpful and fun to talk to. I mentioned that we were supposed to have a glass of champagne waiting for us because of booking a mini-suite and he came back immediately with an apology and a bottle of wine. Spent the rest of the time before leaving port just wandering the ship and taking it all in. Went to the muster drill...very quick drill...all should attend!!
The ship is very clean and the room was great! I had no complaints about the room or bathroom. THe shower worked great!! Plenty of closet and drawer space. The only problem we had in the room was that the balcony door lock stopped working halfway through the cruise and never got repaired. Also, beds were a little too soft for my taste.
Food was fantastic. Keep in mind that this was our first cruise so I have nothing to compare to. Ate breakfast in the Horizon Court each morning. I thought the selections were delicious. Lunch was also in the Horizon Court...again no complaints except that I didn't know when to quit!!! We ate in Portofinos on a few nights and the Horizon Court the rest of the time. Portofinos had delicious food...Thanksgiving night was quite crowded and the wait was very long (formal night...everyone wanted to look there best skip the buffet I guess.) Took too long for our dinner to arrive that night. I can only think it was due to the masses!!! My husband and I enjoyed a night in Sabatini's ....well worth it!!