We booked this cruise in July, 2016. It was the week and route we wanted and I read that it was a new ship. We have sailed on a brand new ship before and loved it, so this sounded perfect. Unfortunately, nowhere in the literature back then did it say anything about this ship being designed for the Asian market. The changes made on this new ship did not make it as enjoyable as previous Princess cruises.
The Food - The food in both the World buffet and the dining room left a lot to be desired. In the buffet, the food was always cold. The waiters were not particularly attentive as we have experienced on previous Princess cruises. There were two sections to the World buffet, and often the selections were different. We seemed to always pick the wrong side to sit on! Our best lunch was at the pool. We had cheeseburgers and fries. We really missed the pizza parlor that is by the pool on the other Princess ships.
We ate dinner in the Anytime Dining Room on 6 of the 7 nights. We had an excellent waiter (Michael J) on three nights only! Unfortunately, on the other nights our waiters seemed inexperienced.
Our cabin was just aft of mid ship on deck 14 and a perfect location. The mid ship elevators were close so getting to dinner or the buffet was easy. Our mini suite was very roomy with lots of storage and a large closet with a safe. The best part of a mini suite is the size of the bathroom with a nice tub. The room had a full size couch (not a love seat) but the balcony was very small. It was only as deep as the chairs. We usually enjoy sitting out on our balcony, but it was too small to enjoy. Although everything was new I found my bed to be very uncomfortable. After two nights of no sleep I finally asked our room steward if she could find me a mattress topper - and she did!! It's helped.
This was a trip to a family owned Spanish horse farm. It was fantastic!!!'
Great tour guide. When the rain prevented us from getting to Potofino she arranged for the bus driver to take us on a scenic tour above the town. She handled the complaining passengers very calmly.