We're not "every year cruisers" but have had some experience. We normally choose Celebrity, but decided to try something a little different. I'm a big follower of reviews & Princess seemed like a good option. Embarkation was a nightmare! We stood against a wall for the better part of three hours waiting to board supposedly due to Coast Guard & Homeland Security Inspections. All the while an obnoxious, loudmouth cruise representative screamed into a mike like talking to a bunch of children. The delay may have been beyond the control of Princess, but they could have handled it much better. Better customer service could have turned a difficult situation into a mere inconvenience rather than a black eye for the company.

The crew overall was very cordial, efficient & extremely hard working. After a couple of days, it seemed like greeting old friends. Some of the passengers, however, must have never recovered from the embarkation debacle because we've never encountered so many rude passengers! They were not only rude & demanding to the crew but to one another as well. Very disappointing. (note: we met several folks from the UK, Canada & Australia who were most polite & pleasant. The rudeness came mostly from our fellow countrymen from the U.S. Shame on us!) In comparing this particular ship to our Celebrity experiences: Our cabin was much smaller than a similar cabin on Celebrity. However, the storage space is much better on Princess. Bedding was wonderful!! The entertainment on Princess was fantastic so here I would rate Princess over Celebrity as I would the disembarkation, which went extremely smoothly. All other areas I would rate comprable. All in all, I would rate the cruise as good experience but still feel that Celebrity offers a better overall product.