Embarkation at San Pedro was a breeze. A good first impression: Princess had the dining room open for lunch on the first day, so rather than fight the crowds at the buffet, I had a very nice civilized lunch.

My cabin was a standard balcony cabin. I love the big closet, but the one thing I don't like about Princess cabins is the 'armchair.' Maybe Twiggy would be comfortable sitting on that thing, but I certainly wasn't! I much prefer the little love seat you get on the similar class cabin on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. My steward was a nice guy, but he had a nasty habit of coming into the room without knocking - sometimes at very inopportune moments. And the last evening, I was enjoying my balcony for the last time, and he tried to insist that I get out so that he could wash it down, 'because tomorrow is turnaround day'. Well, I paid A LOT of money for that balcony, and I told him I wasn't going anywhere. Needless to say, I did not give him an additional tips!

Dining was basically fine. I think I had a mediocre meal in the dining room once, but all the rest of the time I was very happy with the food there (I had Anytime Dining). the specialty lunches on the deck outside the buffet were also very good. However, the food at the buffet was mostly mediocre - a few decent things over the course of 14 days, but not as good as when I was on the Star a couple of years ago. Ate at Crown Grill - that was a very fine meal! I generally had breakfast at the international cafe. The cappuccinos there were excellent, as were the breakfast pastries, especially the apple turnovers. In fact, I way preferred the breakfast items to the tea time items, so I'd routinely ask for a couple of extra turnovers in the morning, put them in a baggie, and enjoy them with my afternoon tea! The staff at the intl. cafe was also excellent. Read more