This was my husband and I’s seventh cruise, we are in our mid thirties with three kids. It was a getaway for just the two of us to celebrate our 11th anniversary. We were in C223, a mini suite on the 10th deck. It was an excellent cabin with an excellent room steward named Reymond. He kept our ice bucket full, and never impeded on our private time. The water on the ship is almost unbearably hot. Even at the coldest setting our shower was almost too hot- that was our only major complaint regarding the room. We had a very nice large private balcony and spent an enormous amount of time out there. The elevator in the forward part of the ship is a bit of a pain since you can only go to level 7, and then have to walk down to the next bank of elevators to go lower. Not that big of a deal to us, but there was a lot of grumbling about it. We appreciated being only two levels below the buffet for our late night cravings. This is also the level with the not so secret employee break deck. Walk down your hallway toward the front of the ship and through the unmarked door. There is a deck there that is used by the crew. We never found it necessary to go out there except for Panama Canal day. It was completely empty and had a great view as you’re entering the locks.

Thursday: Red eye from San Francisco on Jetblue, arrived at 9am- flight was a few hours late. Princess transfer doesn’t leave airport until 1130. We would just use a taxi next time, port is only a 15 min ride away. Smooth checkin and in room by 12. Lunch was being served in the Provence dining room. Called the dine line to be put in the list for chefs table. Muster drill was simple and in the theater.

Friday: At sea, Signed up for Ultimate Ships Tour. Mani Pedi at spa was just ok- two hours long and included a hand and feett massage. For 200+ with tip I’ve had better gel manicures. Started chipping on the 9th day of the cruise but didn’t want to bother with a fix. Husband did "time for men", which was an ok shave- he bought a few of the products they were pushing but didn’t end up using them. They aren’t exactly pushy, but it’s annoying to have a relaxing time only to be pushed to buy something at the end (happened to me each time I went to spa). Since I frequent the spa’s at home I know this isn’t just unique to the cruise ships. We attended a Cruise critic get together with white elephant gift exchange- thought it was great to meet everyone in person. The gift exchange was filled with laughs and very fun. Picked up our scavenger hunt after and wish we had kept all our paperwork from first day since it’s included in the hunt. Attended the Port talks with Chris Roberts, which were all excellent and always replayed on television. Ate at the Bayou that night, very good. Had enough time to catch Guardians of the Galaxy (movies under the stars). This was the first Formal Night. Read more