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This is a beautiful ship with superb staff. Princess is known for the friendliness of their crew. Almost unfailingly one is greeted, apparently sincerely or a good show of the same, with a smile and a warm greeting. We have sailed on Carnival, Disney, Norwegian, and RCI and have not encountered this on another cruiseline. Mark, the cabin steward for L201, was exceptional in his service and approachability. He must have had eyes in the back of his head because he would time his cabin service for the time that people were out of the cabin even if it was only for a short time. He knew everyone's names and schedules within days of the cruise starting so he could plan his service. Thanks, Mark!
The dining on this cruise was good or very good at times but not excellent. We tired of the long dinners with too fancy food selections and sometimes opted for the buffet or the other more relaxed dining venues.
It is true that the ship is too large to dock in the cities so be prepared to go on long bus rides at almost every port. The bus rides can be as long as 2 hours each way which makes for a very long day. By the end of this cruise we were so tired of these long bus rides day after day that we decided to visit the closest city that Princess bused people to from the port. This was Laem Chabang. Many of our fellow passengers did opt for the long bus trip to Bangkok but we were happy with our choice just to go on land.
We went to the CuChi tunnels in Viet Nam. This is a sobering experience. One has the opportunity to enter a small tunnel typical of those used by the Vietnamese during the war. The wood platform and grass are put into place once one is in the tunnel and it is completely dark. Not for those timid of enclosed spaces! We did enter the Americanized (larger) tunnel and thankfully this wasn't too long but gave us an opportunity to experience being underground. Examples of booby traps for soldiers are demonstrated also and this is heart wrenching. All in all this excursion was well worth it but distressing to know what our soldiers went through during the war.
Princess employs an enrichment speaker (named Hutch) who talks about the history, culture, and sightseeing at the various ports. These are wonderful.
Princess also had a wide variety of activities and experiences onboard during sea days. There are a number of Aussies who typically take these cruises and they are really fun.
We love Princess and would happily travel again with them.
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