This was our first experience on the Grand Princess and, unfortunately, I can say we were disappointed in the ship but not the itinerary. The ports of call from Civitavecchia to Livorno, Cannes, Barcelona, Gibraltar, Casablanca, Cadiz, Lisbon, Vigo, Le Havre & Southampton were great! There were wonderful options at the ports of different places you could go if you had already been to that port before.

There were only a couple of issues I wish they would fix. One: The port days are very short for the amount of time needed to see the port stops. Especially in Spanish ports where night life is very important. It would be great if Princess stayed late or overnight at a spanish port or two. Two: there were only 2 days at sea for a 12-day itinerary. An additional sea day would go a long way to slowing down the pace for the passengers (which was hectic, to say the least).

We didn't use Princess for our flights or pre-cruise hotel accommodations so I can't comment on them. But embarkation and disembarkation were smooth and flawless. The personnel were friendly and efficient. I can't say the same for the photography staff. Often when at port, the set up for ship photo taking were in the way of the flow of people leaving the ship. Pictures often ended up with other passengers in the background. Read more