We wanted an easy vacation, starting with an efficient, easy embarkation in Brooklyn (where we live). That was great, no hassles of transportation to and from the ship. We enjoyed our trip, had a lot of time to relax, saw some new and interesting sights in ports, but ultimately the weather was a factor and a bummer. Our Bar Harbor port was cancelled because of bad weather, and that was one of the reasons we took the cruise. So the extra sea day was excruciatingly boring to us. Guess we're just not made for cruising on a ship.

That being said, the ship is lovely, the service was professional, warm, and caring. We had dinner a few nights in the Anytime dining room, and sat at a table with other passengers and had interesting conversations. The other evenings we opted for the Horizon buffet--always made sure to go after 7:30 to avoid rush hour--and enjoyed the range of food there. Always a delicious, fresh mix of ethnic, regional, and traditional food and I could dine as caloric or as healthy as I chose to with each meal. The food was better than the cruise I took with another cruiseline a few years earlier.

A lot of days were quite cold, it even snowed in Halifax, so that meant we needed to be flexible with port plans, and it was too cold most times to stay outside for very long on the fitness decks. But we tried...even watched a movie bundled under 4 blankets...the weather is always going to win out. Missing Bar Harbor was a major disappointment for us, but I understand that it is not something Princess can control. Read more