First of all, let me preface this review by stating I am not a cruise fan.After much input from my wife, I reluctantly agreed to a 12 day 11 port Mediterranean cruise with Princess. We boarded the Crown Princess in Civitavecchia Italy after spending two days in Rome. Check in was very smooth and organized as we arrived to our stateroom on board the Crown Princess. Our balcony stateroom was larger than I thought it would be and the amenities better than expected. The employees on board were consistenly pleasant, always willing to help and engage in conversation with the passengers. The cruise line employees represent over 30 countries and speaking with most of them was a joy. Prior to leaving for the cruise, I read many reviews most good, but some very bad.First the good: 1. Food. The buffets were typical buffets with a large selection of entrees, salads, sides etc. The quality of the food was average to good. As one fellow passenger noted, "average food dressed up". We typically visited the buffet for breakfast only and found it to be fine. The dining rooms, DaVinci and Michelangelo serve the same menu and each night a different theme was featured. The quality of the food and service in the dining rooms was very good. There are 2 other options for dining on board: Sabatini's (Italian) and the Crown Grill (steakhouse) which requires an additional charge of $25 per person. We dined at both and found the upcharge to be well worth it. The dinner we had in the Crown Grill was one of the 10 best meals I have ever had. In addition, several other areas offer sushi, pastry, etc for an upcharge. 2. Entertainment: We really didn't go to shows, but we did see one comedian that was ok, and went to the onboard karoke night, that was pretty typical, mostly bad singers with too much confidence fueled by too much alcohol.Movies under the stars was a nice thing, in which we enjoyed on more than one occasion 3. Activities: Again, didn't really participate much other than poolside, so I can't comment here.4. Fitness: Gym is well stocked with all the amenities you would expect and very well done. If you're into fitness, shows, comedy, I'm sure you can find something to pass the time on board if that's what you're looking for. 5. Shore Excursions: Again, great variety of stuff to see and do. In Italy, we toured the Amalfi coast, Positano, Sorrento, that was expensive ($379 per person) but included a beautiful lunch at a 5 star hotel that was worth the cost. We also toured Florence that allowed us to not wait in line to see Michelangleo's David. The line was an hour and a half. We opted for the Vatican tour as well which was well worth it. The Greek islands, Santorini, Mykonos, Corfu, etc are very small with not much to see, so I would advise not to spend good money here on a tour. You can do it on your own.6.Spa: I'm not a spa guy so I didn't go, but, there seemed to be a good variety of spa treatments if that's what you're into. The morning show with the cruise director Ron and the information provided by Rusty were very helpful regarding the ports visited. Make sure to check them out.Now the bad.1.Extra Charges: The cruise line charges for soda, bottled water and ice cream. On the way to the gangway to go on tours, the cruise line sets up a station in which they push bottled water sales telling you that you won't find water on shore. They charge you $3.00 for water, which you can find everywhere on shore wherever you are for about 1 Euro. We even found it in Athens for .50 Euro. The staff photographer was somewhat annoying snapping your picture at every opportunity, leaving the ship, dinner, etc and the overpriced photos are on display everywhere.Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the cruise and would consider it again. The benefit of seeing a good number of ports and only unpacking once was nice. It gave me a taste of places I would like to return and spend more time. The highlight of the cruise for me was Florence and sailing into Venice at dusk with Vivaldi blasting over the ships PA system. If you have an interest in cruising on the Crown Princess in the Mediterranean and Greek Isles, remember one thing, if you read reviews you will find people who find fault with almost anything. I have traveled all over the world and I think I know good from bad, so from this skeptic, go for it, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised too.