We usually cruise a few times a year but not with Princess because of the itineraries. We wanted to take our family on a Panama Canal cruise for our anniversary which is why we chose this particular cruise. We are from Orlando so we drove down to Ft. Lauderdale the night before the cruise and stayed at the Hyatt Place because they let us park for free while we were on the cruise. They had a shuttle service for $7 per person each way to and from the port. It made it really easy to just get dropped off in front of the terminal.

Even though we were in a suite and had priority embarkation, there was a short wait but nothing to complain about. Once we were on board, we were able to go to our cabin directly and our luggage came quickly. We were pleasantly surprised at the condition and decor of the ship. In my opinion, it is a really nice ship and I really liked the decor. Our suite on the Dolphin deck was spacious and had a nice jacuzzi bath tub and separate shower. We also had a nice walk in closet and plenty of drawers for our clothes. The suite has a curtain which can be drawn to separate the bedroom from the living room and the balcony was a nice size with wooden furniture consisting of a table and two chairs and two chaise lounges. We had a beautiful orchid in the room as well as a nice fruit basket and a starter supply of drinks. I traded most of them for Perrier with no problem. The bathrobes were plenty big and the shampoo, conditioner, lotion and soap were just fine. We had free unlimited laundry with the suite which we used extensively. Our cabin steward couldn't have been more attentive....he really was top notch. We did have one of our grandkids spend the night and found that the pull out couch quite hard so we asked for another mattress which resolved the problem. We frequently used room service which was great and also used the room service for afternoon tea.

We ate in the Provence Dining room at the 5:45 seating and found the food quite good and the service impeccable. There were 12 of us in our group but it was no problem for our waitstaff. We sometimes used the buffet and pizza area but if there was any shortcoming on the ship, I think it was the buffet. That being said, I think that's just a personal preference because lots of people seemed happy with the food and ate lots of it!! We also went to Sabatinis for the suite breakfast program a few times which was really nice as it was quite peaceful and delicious. Read more