Basically it was a GREAT trip; we enjoyed all the ports and the shore excursions. The day long excursion through the Panama Canal was truly amazing and well worth the expense. As for the on-board experience...that part was pretty mediocre. Princess's attention to detail appeared to be virtually non-existent. We'd highly recommend the adventure to anyone...but we'd also recommend NOT booking the trip on the Princess Cruise lines.

1. Princess notified us the day after we could cancel the cruise without paying a penalty that they were canceling the advertised stop in Huatulco. I called Princess and asked why and they said it was for "operational" reasons. I asked what that meant, specifically, and the guy on the phone said he wasn't sure. I emailed Princess, via our travel agent, to inquire as to the reasoning and suggested that if we weren't going to stop in Huatulco, that perhaps the ship could stay an extra day in Acapulco. Princess never responded to the email - obviously, they really care.

2. My wife and I like to watch the docking process when we get into port, so, about a week before we were to leave, I contacted Princess to see if we could switch from the Starboard side of the ship to the Port side - the side that's normally closest to the shore when the ship docs. I was pleased that we could, indeed, get our room switched. I wasn't happy that the Princess wouldn't let me (the guy that paid for it) implement the room switch...I had to contact our travel agent. Only they could switch rooms. As it turned out, it was a bad move. Unlike our earlier cruise, Princess docked on the starboard side 5 of the 7 dockings we made (why do they call it "port"?). The only port we got to watch the docking procedure was in Guatemala. Read more