Every review should undoubtedly be taken with a grain of salt, as each person’s experience of a vacation will be filtered through their own unique set of needs, tastes, etc. That said, I wish I had paid greater attention to the reviews on this site before booking my cruise, so here is my experience, for what it’s worth.

Atmosphere/ship in general (or, what I wish I had known):

The ship was dated and tired. In both appearance, amenities, programming, and clientele. The cruising ‘lifestyle’ is definitely geared towards the white, conservative, 70+ crowd, with events and services including ‘how to look 10 years younger’, ‘how to lose 10 pounds’, napkin folding, and countless jewellery shows and expensive art auctions. Tired platitudes about what ‘ladies’ enjoy, jokes about foolish husbands, and basically your generic sexist, heteronormative talk were all around the ship. This is not the place for younger (or just socially-conscious folk, as this does not have to be mutually exclusive with age) travelers, and if I had considered this more heavily prior to booking, we would not have gone. Princess - and all cruise lines, for that matter - will have to drastically revamp their programming and overall culture if they hope to appeal to younger, more socially progressive generations. Read more