We sailed on the Royal Princess in October on its first transatlantic cruise from Venice to Ft. Lauderdale.

We are experienced cruisers and our 30th cruise on Princess and probably the worst. First of all, when we walked into our balcony cabin (deluxe) off the back of the ship the carpet was filthy, and the drapes torn and dirty.. Mind you the ship was only not even 6 months old! We asked our cabin steward what was going on here-he shrugged his shoulders and told us that our balcony was virtually unusable because the smokestacks blow ash on our balcony and when you walk out, and then back in you bring the ash on your feet onto the carpet. (this is on all balcony back off the ship cabins) The carpet was shampooed before we got there, but it still was so dirty. So we couldn't use our balcony at all. Next we sent our laundry to be cleaned the minute we got on. After 7 days I was begging our steward to find our underwear and clothes!!! This was due they said to so many elite passengers being onboard. Well, they should know in advance how many elite passengers they have and plan for that!! 19 nights is a long cruise and the cruise line should be prepared. Then for 7 days-I said 7 days we had no HOT WATER!!! They would come and fix it and then it would break etc. Not acceptable!! Can you imagine showering for 7 days in cold water? Then three days the T. V.'s were not working, just another technical problem. Also beware of where your cabin is-We were below the Vista lounge and could hear the music late into the night in our cabin-very disturbing!!! Sometimes they have very late shows and its hard to sleep when you have boom,boom going on in your cabin. Last three days no internet because it was down. Dining room service was disappointing also-ate first seating because we like to have the same waiter, so they get to know your likes and dislikes-but food was sometimes cold. The headwaiter was excellent and did the best he could to please us, but our waiter-not so good.

On the plus side the Atrium was nice although they did away with the center stairs so this makes the elevators a nightmare! The Horizon grill is great-we love the way it is set up and the food and service was terrific. The pool area is too small and the fake trees a joke and a waste of good space. So is the fountain waters-stupid, and again a waste of space. The cruise director Sam is not great either-for a 19 night cruise she never had enough going on, so we spent a lot of time at the pool. Luckily for us the sailing was smooth and warm for a transatlantic sailing. I read a ton of books. Princess has a lot of work to do to catch up with RCCL especially when it comes to entertainment-It was just O.K. some nights we skipped it altogether. The T.V. system is good and is on demand and there are plenty of movies to watch-but that's not what your on a cruise to do. All in all- lets just say it was disappointing, but we still like Princess (believe it or not) and will sail with them again just not on this ship!!!. Princess really spent a lot of money on a less then perfect ship-it has so many flaws-its know wonder the prices are falling for this ship-word of mouth travels fast. Don't waste your money-go on another Princess ship.