We have traveled on large ships before where all the common areas of the ship were very crowded and it took a very long time to get off and on the ship at the ports. We were pleasantly surprised that Princess has this down to a science on the Regal Princess. The ship never felt crowded; we were always able to get a seat in the theater; and getting on and off the ship in the various ports was easy and quick, even when we had to tender to shore.

The Baltic Sea is very smooth sailing! The sea is protected by land and is not very deep, so there is very little movement on the ship. The ports are all wonderful! We booked all our excursions through SPB Tours (Warnemunde, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki and Stockholm) and were extremely satisfied with the tours and the knowledge of the tour guides. They took care of everything, and we had no problems getting off the ship in any port, even in St. Petersburg. It is not true that you need to get a visa to get off the ship in St. Petersburg if you don't take the ship's excursions!

The food was very good, not great. As long time Princess travelers, we've noticed that the unique appetizer and entrée options that we looked forward to are no longer on the menu. Also, it would have been nice to have more of the regional cuisine. We did have an issue with the anytime dining one evening when the beeper they gave us never went off and we waited for over an hour. The dining personnel said they rang us twice, but we never received the message. Read more