This experience did not get off to a good start. We arrived the day before the cruise. There was no Princess representative at the terminal we arrived in. Other cruise reps directed us to another terminal. We had to drag all of our luggage to another terminal walking outside with all the traffic and having no idea where we were going. We finally found the Princess stand, and the rep was quite rude (we didn’t even complain about the situation). We did get an apology from another rep, but they just blamed it on Princess for telling them to be in the wrong terminal. Then we waited quite some time before boarding the bus. Considering the hotel is only a short distance from the airport, you may be better off taking a taxi. We stayed at the Hilton Marina. This hotel is billed as a 4 star hotel. It is not more than a 2 star, which is surprising for a Hilton. It may have been 4 star in the 80’s. The decor is old, the hotel is dirty (there was food on the floor of the elevator when we arrived, and it was still there when we checked out). The restaurant was closed when we arrived in the afternoon. This was all arranged through Princess Cruises. We paid $500, for 1 night, and it definitely was not worth the money. I am sure you can make accommodations on your own that are more economical. If it truly was a 4 star hotel it may have been worth it. The following morning we went down stairs at the designated time (you have to insist on this information when checking in, I persisted until they gave me the sheet - at first I was told a rep would be present in the morning, but you need this info before hand). The Princess Rep at the hotel was absolutely useless. If we had not been vigilant in watching our luggage, we wouldn’t have known our bus had arrived. We followed the bell hop staff. They were more helpful than the Princess rep. After waiting 45 mins for the bus, we found out that we could have walked to the port in 10 mins. So, what I am saying is, it was a big waste of time and money getting the pre-package from Princess Cruises. The staff at the port were also rude and abrupt. Once we got on the ship, everyone was helpful, knowledgeable, courteous and things improved dramatically.
We were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. We enjoyed our cruise very much. The entertainment was outstanding. There are 2 show times for the entertainment in the Princess Theatre. The first showing fills up quite early. I recommend going 1hr before show time. The second show, you should go 30 mins in advance if you are particular about your seats, 15 mins is sufficient to get seats. We enjoyed watching the movies under the stars.
The buffet was amazing, and better than I anticipated. We chose to forgo the formal nights, so this was one of our options. I wasn’t expecting table service for our beverages, so I was pleasantly surprised. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner had great food and service.
We enjoyed this cabin. Plenty of space for 2 people. There is a large closet with ample hangers (I brought extra hangers but did not need them) and space to store your luggage. There is also a cabinet/dresser with shelves for folded clothes. The bathroom is small, which is to be expected, but there are 3 shelves for toiletries, which was sufficient for us. I heard a recommendation to bring a shoe organizer to hang your toiletries on the back of the door, but I found this unnecessary. It was lovely to be able to sit on the balcony and relax. We utilized our balcony a lot. When we arrived in our room the bedside table drawer was sitting on the floor broken, and the refrigerator was not working. I called housekeeping and these items were fixed when we returned from lunch. Our cabin steward, Blessy, was very nice, accommodating and efficient.
We rented a clamshell. The bbq was good, but long line to get food.