This was our first Princess Cruise and we loved it. Yes the ship was looking a little tired in places but it is not new! We did not expect the service to be as good as it was - having previously sailed with celebrity - the staff were excellent, very attentive and willing to go the extra mile. The food in the restaurants was good - the buffet restaurant is smaller than celebrity and more limited in choice but still good. We loved the international café but something different.

We bought the drinks package before the cruise - at £33 each per day including service it was a bargain. This includes all drinks up to $10 - all speciality coffees either sit in or take away - all your drinks to take ashore - bottles of water for your fridge in room. Wine by the glass was fine and didn't miss not having a bottle. We saw people buying wine packages/coffee packages and soft drinks packages - by the time you have paid for that it is actually more than the drinks package which includes everything! We did have a laugh because we sat with different people each night and the common phrase they would use is oh we don't drink enough to warrant the drinks package - they then proceeded to drink 2 bottles of wine!!! With 5 days at sea - it is worth it even if you drink soft drinks during the day. Also, for those in the UK if you buy before you go it is a little cheaper than buying onboard.

Our cabin was fab - it was on deck 10 - we had a very large balcony so I could sit in or out of the sun. Deck 10 is good too as it has the laundry room with ironing facilities if you need it. I liked the layout of the cabin - with the clothes rail being in a separate corridor away from the bedroom - much easier to pack and unpack. Our cabin steward was very good and we had problems with our TV which he got sorted. Read more