This was our first cruise ever, so we did not know what to expect, though Cruise Critic was a good source of information. Overall, we were disappointed. The crew seemed tired and, in general, were not very helpful (perhaps understandable as this was their last trip north for the season). The 1st day was a madhouse and we were not prepared for the zoo in the boarding area where we had to clear customs (we were directed to the wrong staging area and, in general, we did not get any directions on what do do and where to go). The minute we got on board, the push began to buy the unlimited alcohol passes - we were dismayed by this effort to take advantage of the passengers; either they would make an unwise financial decision (drink passes very expensive) or would drink an unhealthy amount of alcohol during their week aboard. We were also disappointed in that our special requests made at the time of booking were ignored. One member of the party purchased the unlimited soft drink pass only to find that the soft drinks were only available from the bars on the boat and were not carbonated (when we complained, we were told that is just the way it is - the bartenders apparently do not go to the trouble to hook up new CO2 cylinders when they run empty).

The assigned dining room was okay, and the food is also okay, though plentiful; recommend going with anytime dining as this gives you so much more flexibility. Recommend the specialty restaurants, especially on formal nights, though they do cost an extra $35 per person per night - they made a nice change from the tiresome buffet. My wife had the best comment about the food in the buffet: "sure looks good but it has no taste". The buffet, though had some advantages: open most of the time and nice views (all of the other restaurants have no views). Overall, our opinion of the food was that it was mediocre, which was disappointing, since we were looking forward to it. Other more experienced cruisers told us that they shared our opinion.

You should know that tipping is completely optional, despite the verbiage in the Princess literature (another tip from an experienced cruiser). You can see the purser at the beginning of the cruise and have that automatic tip removed from your bill. We would have much preferred to tip as we went, as the level of service definitely varied from good to bad. Read more