My wife and I arrived at the Southampton cruise terminal at about 10:30 AM after a 4 night stay in London. We had taken the National Express bus London Victoria Coach Station to Southampton for 7 pounds total and a taxi from the bus station in Southampton to the cruise terminal for 5 pounds. The Princess check-in was efficient, and we were on the ship by 12:30 PM.

This was our 5th Princess cruise and our second on the Crown Princess. (We had previously been on the Crown Princess in April 2010 in the Western Caribbean.) Our room, a balcony cabin on the Aloha deck was comfortable. Clothes storage is generous with ample closet space, hangers and drawer and shelf space. An LCD TV is provided. TV offerings consist of CNN World, BBC News and various other channels of Princess information and movies which seem to rotate through the day. Bathroom space is tight, but adequate. Basic soap and shampoo items are provided. Our room steward provided cleaning in the morning and early evening and turned down the bed at night. Bath robes were provided on request. We also requested fruit delivered to the room, but this was never provided - not a big deal because fruit may be removed from the buffet. A small refrigerator is provided and is stocked with soda and bottled water for $1.95/each, but there is some other refrigerator space for other cold storage in the room. Room temperature was easily set at the thermostat. The bed was not luxurious but was comfortable.

Food choices are numerous. (While the food was not always outstanding, I think it silly to complain about it because there is always something satisfying to eat - if you don't like something on this cruise, get something else.) We had anytime dining for dinner, but sometimes, after consulting the posted dining room menu, chose the buffet for dinner. In the dining room, we usually ate fairly early when there is no wait, but even when we arrived later in the evening, there was not wait as long as we were willing to share a table, usually a good experience. Dining room food was generally very good, but I was a bit disappointed in the quality of the beef served this trip. I especially liked the fish dishes. I find Princess desserts to be disappointing, but the vanilla ice cream served in the dining room and sometimes at the buffet to be about the best I have ever had. We had breakfasts at the Horizon Food Court (the buffet) where there are always ample selections. We ate lunch once in the dining room (very good) and split the rest among the buffet, the pizza bar (good - serving a thin crust cheese, pepperoni and/or special variety of the day) and the poolside grill which serves tasty burgers, hot dogs and fries. I tried the soft serve ice cream next to the pizza bar once and found it disappointing. I am addicted to Diet Coke, so upon boarding, I bought an unlimited soda sticker for $4.50/day. My wife purchased a prepaid specialty coffee card for use at the International Cafe on deck 5. We did not eat at additional cost Crown Grill or Sabatini's on this trip, but Sabatini's on our April cruise was very nice. Read more