First cruise on Princess--previously have sailed on most of the other mainstream lines--chose this 8 day cruise due to needing to leave on a particular embarkation date. This was our 3rd pandemic cruise--protocols were strictly adhered to and most folks were good about following rules (6 in an elevator max), masks on in public places, etc. The casino was where I noticed some folks wearing masks on their chins. Overall I felt very safe--saw the Hazmat medical team on our floor once--found out later the tests came back negative. 2 complete floors of cabins were empty--in case guests/crew needed to be quarantined. Also--there were many cancellations prior to sailing, so the cruise was only 1/3 full.

The public spaces on the ship were beautiful--loved the glitzy atrium-great for people watching. Loved that there were 3 huge pools on board--one of them with stairs leading into the pool making it easy for me (recovering from a broken leg) to enter. The entrance is particularly suited to anyone with a disability. Loved the adult only Retreat area pool and bar--the bar servers were particularly attentive. The Seawalk was impressive.

We booked a mini suite (more on that below) and opted for the club class. The perks were a mixed bag. The small bottles of wine on embarkation was forgettable and the early embarkation and disembarkation were nice, but not essential. The canapes that were available as a perk were almost laughable--we were travelling with friends and when we ordered several orders of canapes--the bare minimum of one plate of 4 was always delivered. The only perk that was truly worthwhile was the club class dining. Breakfast, sea day lunch, and dinners were served in a separate area of the dining room with the same servers nightly and the food came piping hot (most of thee time) and fast. There was no tableside preparation of food that was advertised-but there was always a club class specialty such as rib eye steak or lobster newberg that was added to the menu. Definitely thought that this level of service was a good value. Food itself was mostly above average with a few flops. The chef served cubed zucchini/squash/carrots with at least one of the entrees for every dinner for at least 5 days--we soon got tired of that. The bananas foster which has been such a signature dish on many cruise lines over the years was unimpressive and some of the beef was tough. Read more