We chose this Cruise due to the time of year, cost and destinations. We have cruised Princess @8 times over the past four years. This Cruise was disappointing in several ways. Lounge entertainment was poor unless you like steel drums every day, several times a day. The recorded music was a loop playing the same songs every day. I joked to my wife if I heard Eye of the Tiger one more time, I'll go crazy....lol. The other entertainers were not of the quality we experienced on past Princess cruises. There were two piano players, one was boring in personality and playing skills while the other was very loud singing and playing, to the point we had to leave the lounge. It seemed like the remaining entertainers were crew members, not professional entainers.

Food in the main dining room was ok but nothing to get excited about. The service was poor due to a table of eight nearby complaining and getting most of the attention. Just a few examples: Twenty minutes to get coffee, frozen butter (only three patties for two people???), butter delivered fifteen minutes after receiving our bread. Yes, this sounds minor and maybe trivial but it's not what we expected based on past Princess cruises. The Crown Grill was a much different experience. Great food, great service and YES, four patties of unfrozen butter for two people. I emphasis the butter as a minor but valid example of our experience.

Our stateroom steward was simply the best we have ever had. He was friendly, responsive, caring and called us by name every day. The people working the pool area and bars were cold and rude as well as hard to get attention for drinks, plus we were over charged once and double charged another time (resolved by front desk lady who was easy to work with) Princess no longer provides papers receipts, so check your invoice daily. I don't know when or why the bulk of workers on Princess was changed but most are no longer from Philippines with the new members accent sounding of Eastern block countries. The personalities are much different and unfortunately so is the quality of service. I suspect its cultural differences just like what you find in different parts of the USA but from a customer perspective, service has degraded. Embarking and disembarking was fast and efficient. Will we use Princess again, probably yes, based on other cruises, but we'll also consider other cruise lines as well.