My husband and I have sailed with Princess for five cruises. They have all been wonderful except for this one. I understand that Princess has everyone's best interest in mind in trying to prevent the spread of Noro Virus but it seems that as a result of trying to prevent this there were more than the usual number of people lining up for anytime dining instead of going to the buffet. Instead of being able to get your own cup of coffee in the morning at the buffet you had to ask someone to get it for you and put in the cream and sugar for you and they never really understood what "just" and little creamer meant. You would then have to ask for each individual item when going through the buffet such as " I would like two tomatoes, four olives, and 4 slices of cucumber on my salad. We were not allowed to use salt shakers and instead were provided salt packs. We are more dining room diners so at the beginning of the week we decided we would eat all our meals in the dining room unless we used the pizzeria or Trident Grill. Breakfast and lunch were great. The food was good and served quickly. At dinner though the lines were very long. Service was hit and miss depending on where we were seated. Kudos to Fernanda though...she rocks. I was mainly disappointed that Princess seems to be lowering their standards of what is appropriate dress for nightly dinner. I have always been told and have read the sign outside the dining rooms that shorts are not appropriate nor are t-shirts. There were many people dressed in what ever they chose to wear. I saw cut off jean shorts, t-shirts, and other way too casual wear at night. Even on formal night there were many men in shirts with no tie or jacket. If one does not want to dress formally it seems the buffet is where you would want to go. Going on a cruise is a special time for me and my husband. It is the rare time when we can treat ourselves to a bit of elegance. Regretfully I felt I was on a tacky Carnival cruise. If Princess wants to change their dress code standards then they should inform all that is has changed otherwise enforce the rules they state regarding dining room dress.

I also had to call security twice to get them to have children removed from the adult only Terrace Pool. I overheard one parent say " what's the problem, the staff doesn't care and the other pools are too crowded." Maybe. But other cruisers do care and as much as I like children sometimes I want to have a space to enjoy some quiet. There are three other pools that children can use. I know this may make me sound like a difficult person but I am really not. I just think that when a large number of people are traveling together like this we should all try to be respectful and follow the rules. We did have an excursion cancelled in Princess Cay because the operator did not renew his license but it turned out well as we decided to spend some time on the ship. We did enjoy Aruba in spite of the rain as we had a local friend show us around the island and took us to some non-tourist spots. We also enjoyed the captain's sense of humor regarding the virus and the rough seas. The debarkation was one of the smoothest ever! I have a real fondness for the Princess line as our honeymoon cruise was on the Caribbean Princess and it was such a delight and unforgettable experience. We may sail again with Princess but after this experience may consider other lines also.