We've sailed on over a dozen cruise lines, but never on Princess. The smaller the cruise ship, the better, from our point of view, and the prospect of being on a ship with over 3000 passengers gave us pause. Nevertheless, we chose this cruise on the Emerald Princess because of its distinctive itinerary (Guernsey; Cobh/Cork; Dublin; Belfast; Glasgow; Orkney; Invergordon; Edinburgh and LeHavre), as well as the fact that it sailed roundtrip from Southampton, which would allow us to fly nonstop from our home city, Miami, to London. We also did not want a British Isles cruise that went to Iceland, having spent 3 delightful weeks there in the spring. So we decided to chance it. The itinerary met all of our expectations, and hearing so many horror stories about connection flights going awry, we were very glad we had not needed to change planes.

Top marks go to the cabin and dining room staff. Our cabin steward was absolutely the best we have ever had on any ship (and we have never been disappointed with any of them). One of the reasons we opted for a Club Mini-Suite was that it entitled us to eating dinner at our leisure in a special section of the Main Dining Room at a time and table size of our choosing, which was a table for two. Our waiters and headwaiters could not have been better. If the food itself had been as good as the service, it would have warranted 5 stars. We did have a few very fine meals in the MDR. Only one entree was actually sent back for replacement with an alternative. We did not sample any of the Specialty Dining venues.

The World Fresh Marketplace buffet offered a nice variety of fresh and prepared food options for all three meals. Many items were already apportioned in cups and small dishes, avoiding the need to handle servining utensils. Only one side of it was open (most likely due to staffing shortages), causing significant overcrowding at popular times. The pizza at the Slice Pizzeria was surprisingly good, and Coffee and Cones right next to it had good coffee options as well as ice cream cones and shakes. Lounges and bars each had their limitations--you couldn't get Irish coffee in the Explorer lounge--and the lack of menus made it easier to just order familiar cocktails and mixed drinks rather than try anything new. The International Cafe had a few breakfast items. It would have been great if they had offered some small sandwiches during the day to go with the drinks. We were surprised by the lack of British beers and Scotch and Irish single malt whiskies in the bars or offered for sale on the ship that would have given a more localized feeling to the cruise. Read more