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My wife and I are very familiar with cruising and with Princess. This was New Years cruise and the Princess people did not disappoint - they threw a great party (actually a couple of great parties)for New Years.
Ports and excursions - We went to Dominica, Barbados, Antigua, the USVI and the private "island" in the Bahamas. I'd say it's an ok group of ports but the Western Caribbean is more fun with better shopping and excursions. The Champagne Reef Snorkel on Dominica was a mixed bag; the contractor running the excursion made it very educational and it was perfect for the occasional snorkeler. There just weren't a lot of fish to see. The St. John Sail and Snorkel in the USVI was great although the weather didn't really cooperate very well (some rain).
Food - Excellent as always. My wife loves escargot. We didn't see it on the menu so we asked if it had been discontinued. Presto - my wife got her escargot. Bonus points for the waiter and the ship! We had lobster twice on board and it was great both times. We did anytime dining and we liked it; it was flexible and it allowed greater shore flexibility and show availability.
Shows - Princess has a production show (don't remember the name) that features a young girls dreams. It's been around about 4 years; we've seen it once before. They need to change this. The other production show was new and good. Comedians and piano bar player were very good as was the ship's "house band"
Cabin - I guess the issues on this cruise involved our cabin ands cabin steward. The balconies on Aloha and Baja decks are smaller; pick a balcony cabin on Capri or Dolphin for a larger balcony. I think Princess has installed a pressure limiter on the shower in the bathroom; pressure is ridiculously low and very irritating. I bet they get a bunch of complaints on this one and probably a false economy. We also had issues with our cabin steward supplying pool towels promptly; we needed to pursue him for towels to go ashore.
Loading and Unloading - simple and easy, we got off on time and found our bags easily.
Ron Goldman is the Cruise Director and he was great.
We'll go again on Princess!!
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