We love to cruise and generally like to have a minimum number of sea days on our itinerary. As a result, we were a little hesitant to book a transatlantic cruise with a 7-day crossing fearing we'd be bored. Not the case! The Royal Princess is a beautiful ship, and there was so much to do. There were many activities, lectures, shows, cooking demonstrations, ship's tours, movies, entertainment, etc. It was actually very relaxing to begin our vacation with a chance to unwind before a busy tour schedule once we arrived at our destination.

One of the best features of Princess is their very efficient embarkation and debarkation process. Even with over 3000 passengers all trying to board within the same four hour period, Princess manages to make the process quick and easy. Once on board, as always with Princess, our mini-suite mid-ship cabin was lovely. Our cabin steward made sure we were well taken care of and the room was spotlessly clean. The food aboard the Royal is wonderful. We always make it a point to get to know the maitre d' in the restaurant, and from the first night on he made sure we had our preferred table at our usual time. He and his staff were a delight, and made great suggestions as to menu choices and wines.

Our destination was Portugal and Spain. We visited a number of ports, each and every one of which was a wonderful experience. We always choose the Princess ship's tours, and we are never disappointed. The tour guides are very knowledgeable and friendly, and the buses and drivers are safe and extremely comfortable. You can be sure that you will see all there is to see and you won't have to stand in long lines to visit the sights. When a meal or snack is part of the tour, the venue and the food are outstanding. One of our favorite stops for example was at a wonderful olive oil mill on the island of Mallorca that had been in the same family for over 400 years. The owner spent time with us explaining the process for pressing the oil, and then treated us to lovely tapas and homemade sweets. Read more