This is our 10th cruise, first with Princess. We have previously sailed primarily with Celebrity, and were advised things would be similar regarding service, amenities and food. Our experience did not reflect that notion.

Embarkation went smoothly-we arrived at Port Everglades via taxi cab at about 1:45pm and were in our room by 2:15 at the latest. Our luggage was very slow arriving, nearly 3 hours-barely had time to change before going to first seating dinner. Ample storage in the mini-suite, slightly larger veranda, full tub-made showering without fighting the shower curtain a possibility. Room amenities such as toiletries not as nice as we have had on other ships--some eucalyptus smelling stuff-I'd advise bringing your own (fortunately I had). Muster drill was brief and to the point-I was a little disappointed when they asked who was sailing with princess for the first time, and then booed those who admitted they'd sailed with celeb before :(, thought it would be better if they thanked us for trying them out. Cabin Steward (Jason) did a great job of keeping our cabin tidy and was readily available when we had questions. He was always able to get our cabin made up when we were gone to breakfast, and turned down when when we were at dinner in the evening.

Dining--where to start??? We chose traditional first seating dining as my husband is diabetic and we try to stick to a schedule. We had asked for a table for two as this was our first cruise alone and we really wanted to take advantage of lots of "couple time". We were seated at a table for six, occupied by two other couples who were in their late 70's (we are late 40's/mid 50's). Now, these people were great and we ended up enjoying our meals with them, although we sometimes felt like the 3rd wheel. Dinners on this cruise were categorically the worst we have had. Most food did not arrive hot, some not even warm. Sometimes we could not discern what was actually being offered, and our server seemed unable to describe the menu to us. The desserts I had were tasteless-although one of our table mates had the sacher torte and said it was wonderful. We could never seem to get coffee to accompany our dessert, it always seemed to arrive after we'd finished. Other folks we talked with said food was terrible this cruise as well. Many complained of long waits (45+ min) for anytime dining, which in turn caused them to miss the entertainment. Another note-the dining room has a very low ceiling, and work stations are scattered about the room, so there are constantly banging plates and dishes-all in all, difficult to hear. Read more