We spent a week in NYC prior to boarding (and it was hard to leave)!! Our cabin was a great surprise as it was stated an 'obstructed view' but there was NO obstruction! The cabin was room and the steward was more than helpful. The ship (Crown Princess)is a beautiful ships with many public areas, restaurants and bars. Entertainment was coordinated so that you could see two outstanding shows in one evening or you could see one each night as they repeated the entertainment venues over two evenings. Great idea, which allowed us to see all the shows/entertainers we wanted to. The most outstanding thing about the cruise was the staff ~ which I consider to be one of the best (if no the best) cruise staff I have encountered in the 29 years I have been cruising. Always pleasant, helpful, professional and friendly! The only real shortfall was the food ..... we were completely unimpressed with the buffet area ~ and my husband is a buffet junkie! The food choices were a bit bizarre ..... at the small late-night buffet the sandwich choice was corned beef and tongue (combined)!! The dining room service was outstanding ~ we had a wonderful young woman server ... she and her assistant were the reason we ate in the dining room every single evening! The food - not so good. It was OK but I cannot remember one real outstanding meal and the biggest disappointment was 'lobster night'!! The lobster was overcooked and even though they brought us a platter full of tails, all we tried were tough! :( Be that as it may - we don't cruise for the food and it was good but not great.
The ports of call were great......Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, St. Johns, Halifax, Sydney, Saguenay and Quebec City. We did not get off in Saguenay and due to a medical emergency on-board we did not stop at Sydney. We did a combination of ship excursions and pre-arranged activities on our own. All were great - especially the independent tour we did with two other couples in Halifax - it was fabulous and the driver was superb. We connected with one of the other couples through the Cruise Critic boards- Yeah!! My husband and I agree this is one cruise we would do again .... even though we have a long 'bucket list' of other cruise!
