We embarked on 06/06/2017 for the British Iles. It was my DW's birthday on embarkation day and our travel agent ordered a birthday package so I was expecting balloons and a greeting on our cabin door. Not only was all the birthday greeting stuff not there, the cabin smelled strongly of urine. We also went through a whole package of sanitizing wipes just to get to even so to speak. A lot of the shelving had not been cleaned in a long while. Our cabin steward said that his predecessor just moved off the vessel and that he would take better care of us. (Which he did). Our fridge didn't work and he kept the ice bucket brigade going the whole time.
The ship overall is in excellent condition after her dry dock. I sailed on the CB Princess in 2012 and she is better looking now than she was then.
I have heard some disappointing reviews about the new buffet and was ready to be disappointed. For the most part, the food there was pretty darn good. A couple of nights it was lights out good. One night there was Indian food and I have to say it is hands down the best I have had on a cruise ship. Before embarkation we dined at a Michelin rated Indian place in London and the CB princess gave them a run for their money. The MDR was good when we ate there. (Nothing to write home about). We ate at the new Sabbatini's and some stuff was lights out good and some other choices just OK. It is worth a try. Planks was excellent. (Way too much food though). The new Ernesto burger was really good. You have to wait for them as they are cooked somewhere else and then brought to the Salty Dog Grill. I tried one when everyone was in Glasgow and recommend them to my family when they got back. A couple of days later my family wanted to try them and got them after about 20 minutes. DW and I waited almost an hour to get ours. Somebody messed up and the headwaiter removed the charge for them. IMHO, the food on the ship has not really slipped. Some choices are better than others but that is how it always has been. I forgot to mention that we dined in the Crown Grill on the first night. It was a perfect birthday dinner for DW.
I was fortunate enough to score an Aft cabin. The only downside with E734 is that it is right over Club Fusion. We heard the noise from there nearly every night. The cabin had an oversized deck for a balcony category. We had a balcony dinner there which was excellent.
We enjoyed the wake views on many days.