This cruise was chosen because I my work closes down Christmas week and I was looking for a cruise and the cruises out of Florida were too expensive so I went with this cruise. I had been on two previous Mexican Riviera cruises so I didn't really go for the destination, just to cruise. Embarkation was very easy and we were on the ship by approximately 11:15am. A local Christmas singing quartet was on the ship and was performing in the Atrium; it was very nice to sit and listen to them perform. The other entertainment was fairly good including a singer from the West End in London named Paul Baker; this man was a fabulous singer. There was another entertainer named Jammin Jay Lamont and he was very good also. The production shows were good and the orchestra was very good. This was my first time on a Christmas cruise and there was a lot of holiday songs and events. The service and staff on this cruise was not up to my previous Princess cruises. The staff seemed a bit grumpy at times, it took 20 minutes for my waiter to show up on the first night, the Maitre'D was rude when I wanted to talk to him about the service, my orders were forgotten twice in the International Café, and I felt that the staff was just not as good as in the past. I also feel that the food was average (my medium well filet was done well, nothing was outstanding except for one dessert, selection was just so so). We did take a Princess excursion in Puerto Vallarta: Deluxe Sunset Cruise. The excursion was fine but the sunset wasn't the best since it was very cloudy, but it is always nice to be out on the sea on an excursion. We also did a non-Princess whale watch in Cabo San Lucas. The cruise overall was ok but it was just not as good as previous Princess cruises.
My cabin was an interior which I knew would be small but did not expect the bathroom and especially the shower to be as small as it was, but we made do. The cabin steward was fine and kept everything clean and tidy.