This was our first cruise with Princess and from the moment we were met by the Princess staff at the Miami airport things weren't right. We purchased transfers to the ship and back to the airport again. The staff was very indifferent and it showed in their attitudes and appearance. We finally had to ask one of the many Princess employees to help us with our luggage as they stood there with their hands in their pockets. We were led on a very long walk to our bus. A Greyhound bus was to be our transportation for the ride from Miami to Port Everglades. Upon entering the bus the first thing we noticed was how dirty and smelly the bus was. The driver talked and swore to himself during the entire ride to the Princess terminal. Right before he let us off the bus the driver all of a sudden wanted to become everyone's best friend and mentioned several times that gratuities would be greatly appreciated, for what!

Once we collected our luggage from the bus, we entered the Princess terminal. Our wait in line was very short and the representative at the desk checking us in was very pleasant, unfortunately he would be one of the few pleasant persons we would encounter that worked for Princess. We then made our way to the ship. For a while I was confused, were going on a cruise or to prison? Orders were barked at us at every twist and turn. When we finally boarded the ship, we were told which floor and cabin we were assigned to and sent to the elevator. As we stepped into the elevator I began to press the button for our floor. All of a sudden a women turned around and told me that only she was allowed to press the buttons and to leave them alone! She was wearing a Princess uniform. She never explained why I couldn't press the button for my floor but I imagine it was to expedite the elevators. Welcome to Princess Cruises!

Our cabin was an outside room with a balcony. The room was very clean and well cared for. It was small but the space with used efficiently. Before we could even put down our carry on luggage there was a knock at the door. It was our Cabin Steward, Marian. He was very friendly and welcomed us with open arms. Marian explained everything we would need to know about our room and what our expectations of his job should be. He assured us that if we needed anything at all he would find it. Everyday our cabin steward would stop to talk to us as we would come and go. One evening I mentioned to Marian that the bed was very hard and I was not sleeping very well. Although he had already turned down our bed for the evening, he remade the bed for us using a waffle type mattress pad. I slept soundly from then on. Not once were we disappointed with our Cabin Stewards service. Read more