We chose this itinerary because of the varied ports it offered in South America. I had cruised with Princess once before, through the Panama Canal, in 2001. My husband had never cruised with Princess before.

EMBARKATION: The cruise that preceded ours was 4 hours late docking in Buenos Aires. Therefore, when we arrived at the airport, instead of being transferred to the ship, we were transferred to a downtown hotel as a holding ground. We were directed to an overcrowded "hospitality room" and served water, iced tea, and cookies. On one hand, it was nice to see a little of downtown Buenos Aires. On the other hand, we were not told how long we would be there, and therefore unable to wander around. We finally were able to board the ship at 5:00 p.m., a few minutes after we were supposed to have sailed. A mandatory muster drill ensued a few minutes later, and we missed our first dinner in the dining room. We asked if we could attend the later seating or Anytime Dining that evening, and were told we could not, that we had to eat at the buffet. Not a good first impression.

CABIN: We splurged on a mini-suite, D405, midship. It was great. The balcony afforded an excellent vantage point to see the glaciers, etc., during "Scenic Cruising", and the interior was spacious. My husband was able to watch TV in the sitting area after I went to bed, without disturbing me. SERVICE: Very uneven. The cabin steward (Adolfo) was polite and responsive to our requests, but didn't really try to establish a bond with us, despite my many attempts to engage him in personal conversation. On my last cruise, I wanted to take the cabin steward home with us. This time, the steward did his job well, but without personality. The dining room service was incredibly varied. We did switch over to Anytime Dining, so did not have the same waiter twice. Some of the waitstaff were excellent. Others were aloof and didn't seem to care. I think service has gone generally downwards since Princess established their automatic gratuity policy. The Purser's Office staff were unenthusiastic and not very pleasant. Read more