We chose this cruise based on traveling with friends who had Princess "status" and the itinerary of the cruise. This was our first Princess cruise, although we had cruised on other cruise lines. There were a few things we liked better on Princess (mattress comfort, size of balcony, height of balcony chairs). Then there were several things that we found off-putting to unacceptable.

Our cabin was "dirty" and not well maintained. There was mold in the grout over the bathroom sink -- a long black line of it! The carpets were stained and should have been spot cleaned. The cabin was not vacuumed for several days (the dead bug stayed right next to the chair the whole time!). The light fixtures over our balcony door were FILLED with dead bugs! Our sheets had holes in them, as did the pillow cases. The deck chairs and deck surface were covered in splattered paint that flaked off on your clothes. The phone (which you had to use to make dinner reservations) had a cord that the insulation had worn off of, and crackled and produced static on the "call". We were NOT traveling second class, although this felt like it, and this was not at all our experience on the other cruise line, for which we paid a comparable price!

The buffet food ranged from terrible, through unremarkable. It was mostly "heat and eat" frozen or packaged boxed things in quantity. Certainly not "world class" dining! The dining room food was somewhat better, but the "anytime" dining option turned out to be anything but. There were only certain times in certain dining rooms available for "anytime" dining....and you had to either make a reservation, using only the telephones in your stateroom, and you had to take a time they chose, or you had to wait (and wait and wait) for a table as a walk up. The "dress code" was a farce, as was not at all enforced, with people allowed in with shorts, even on "formal nights". Read more