DH and I with our friends started our vacation in London for 2 days before embarking on cruise. We stayed at the Premier Inn County Hall right next to the London Eye. Of course we went on the Eye. The next day, we all took the “Afternoon Tea Bus”. This is a double-decker bus outfitted with tables and a proper tea is served while you drive around and see the sights. Both savory and sweet treats were wonderful. Since we all had been to London before, we wanted something a little unique and we found it.

Our car service picked us up Sunday morning to drive to Southampton. As usual, Princess embarkation was a breeze. They know how to do it! There was a delay is accessing our rooms but we had no problem getting a wonderful lunch at the buffet.

We have sailed with Princess multiple times. This was the first time on Royal class ships. We had a standard balcony room. The storage still remains good. The balcony is definitely smaller but held two chairs and a small table. Since this was a port intensive cruise, the balcony wasn’t much of a factor here, but, had we been on a longer cruise with more sea-days, I probably would not have been as happy. We both LOVED the entertainment choices available to us. We had a large TV (?42 inches) with on-demand movies that you can start when you want. Other than the on-demand programming, which included all of the port talks and lectures, the news programming was Fox news, MSNBC news, ESPN, BBC and some other channels. Read more