We consider ourselves fairly experienced cruisers with sophisticated palates and appreciation for good music. Our experiences with Princess have always been good although an 11-day Panama Canal Crossing on the Coral Princess was amazing. This was a disappointing 7-day trip on several counts. First the ship. Crown Princess has lost its luster. The ship gets heavy use and it shows. The balcony cabin on Riviera was clean and comfortable but the outside windows were soiled and the corners and the outdoor carpet on the balcony we grungy. The cabin steward was polite and efficient and kept the cabin neat and clean. On other ships, we always see the staff cleaning, polishing, and touching up throughout the trip - not Crown Princess. The staff actually looked tired and over-worked. An example of failure to pay attention to detail was a black grand piano at one of the venues - it's side was filthy as if someone applied polish but forgot to come back.

Beverage service was excellent and fairly priced. The food was ... OK but totally inconsistent. How chef John Convery allowed overcooked fish and other poorly prepared dishes to leave the kitchen was telling. The meat didn't taste right and was of poor quality. They said it was American beef that was previously frozen. A meal at Sabatini's was very nice though and overall they did a nice job on pasta. One of the dining rooms lost our bottle of wine (they save what was left of your bottle for a future meal).

The entertainment was ... OK. Our crooner was excellent but went hoarse and a musical production written by the illustrious Oscar, Toni, and Grammy winner Stephen Schwarts - Magic To Do, was a total flop, just awful. How he could have put his name on that production is beyond me. Tea was nice but waiters went in circles and only one scone guy for dozens of passengers. Lots of good activities for LGBT. The Lotus Spa pool was an oasis. All said and done, you get what you pay for and we certainly made the most of our time together.