Brooklyn cruise port is a dream to travel out of if you like to drive to your port. Parking is ample and very close, which is rare for anywhere in NYC. The staff at the port are all friendly and helpful. We like this port much more than others in our area.Embarkation was efficient and fast. Cabins were ready early, and sail away was fun. We had early seating, which is not so much fun on the first day, because it starts at 5:30, which I think should be pushed back on the first night, as you are just getting into vacation mode when you need to rush to get ready for dinner. That being said...dining room staff was outstanding, which was the case through out our cruise. We really noticed an improved, super friendly, very accommodating wait staff this trip. That was the positive about the dining. The negative, the food. Not the quality of the food, rather the taste. We only had 3 meals that were rave worthy. the balance of the meals were bland and tasteless. Dressings on salads were unrecognizable, always tasted like they weren't mixed before serving. Gravies, flavorless. Sauces, pale. I felt like the cooks never bothered to taste what they were preparing, because if they did...they would never let them go out like that. I am not professing to be a dining expert, but I know when something tastes good and when it doesn't taste at all. The breads and rolls were delightful, the pastries, not so much. Another dining gripe, is the lack of seats in the Horizon and Caribe dining areas. You wander aimlessly looking for a place to sit, while balancing your plates, due to the lack of trays. I am sure it saves tons of money on food...but it doesn't make for an enjoyable dining experience. Seating seems to be a problem all over this ship. 3000 plus passengers and theaters that hold approx 700 people. Doooh, not good planning. The piazza, which is one of the ship's gathering areas where many events are held, is missing one major feature.....seats....yikes.Enough of the negative. Well, maybe not. The weather the first 5 days was awful. Fog, cold, dreary were the norm. Cruise lines can't control the weather, but it was a bummer. We missed the first port, Sydney, due to crappy conditions. Charlottetown, a bit of a yawn, but quaint. Halifax, was fun as always. Bar Harbor and Newport are our favorites. We bought some great vinegars and shipped them home from Bar Harbor along with an outstanding lobster lunch complete with "to die for" blueberry pie, and Mansion tours our ritual in Newport. We had a nice lunch on Bellevue in a cafe with outdoor seating, to finally bask in the good weather.The entertainment on this ship was very good, in fact, much better than what we had on our last cruise in April (Celebrity). The cruise director very good at his job. We liked their morning show, and started our day with it. His side kick, quirky and amusing. I would find myself giggling at his antics. We opted to walk off with our luggage this morning. It was fine, except for the broken escalator, which made it a bit more difficult for some people. All considered, I would rate this cruise an 8 of a possible 10 with the biggest positive being the fabulous crew. I must say...the food was the biggest disappointment, but we didn't go hungry. We actually got to eat a hamburger on this cruise, which we never do, and enjoyed it.We would sail again with Princess, but would pray to have a different chef.