This was our 24th cruise (7th with Princess)We live in Orlando and stayed at our son's place Saturday night in Bal Harbour Sunday morning after a quick breakfast we took the elevator down to the beach, and stayed there for a couple of hours...Vacation starts now....WEEEEEEEEEE...We arrived at the pier at noon and were in our room 15 minutes later. I wanted the opportunity to be there early enough in order to make a reservation for "the chef's table". we were on Dolphin 525, mini suite close to the elevators in the middle of the ship...Nice. ( The balcony is out in the open but trust me well worth it to be in the sun all the time. Yes it is true that people above can see you, but I don't care, breakfast on the balcony every morning, wow.... ) Immediately called to make reservations for Sabatini's and Crown grill, and of course the chef's table...(I have to be honest...Two weeks ago I knew nothing about the chef's table, didn't know it exists)...So there the important stuff is done...Now we can unpack my one suitcase and my wife's four (one was full of shoes, unreal)Anyway, I know better, so just go with the flow...After sitting down in the explorers lounge during the drill we went to visit the ship...It is big. Our last two cruises on Princess were on the Island Princess and the Coral Princess (a bit smaller). We had 2712 passengers on board, and never felt crowded. For all those mega critics who did not like their cruise, it was always about not fast enough, or too much waiting...I just have one question...Not fast enough???Where are you going??? We are on vacation, so time should be relative...And if you miss a show or a comedian, it will be repeated twice, so relax, enjoy life...Shows and comedians are at 8:30 and repeated at 10:30 and again the next day at 8:30 pm...This from an avid cruiser, don't go to the first show, it's jammed packed..The second one is about 80% full and the repeat the next day is wide open...Get the anytime dining, so you are not pressed by time (your wife can take 1 and 1/2 hour to get ready, you won't mind)

If you like specialty coffees, but a coffee card, you'll save about 30%...We never tried burgers and hot dogs, not our thing...Sabatini's: $20.00 cover charge, but well worth it.Dinner takes about 2 1/2 hours with several courses, this was our fourth time in this specialty restaurant in the past 3 years, and the first time we were able to finish the meal...Simply astonishing. Leave room for desserts...The Crown Grill: $25.00 cover charge, and again great..everything was impeccable, service, food, and location..On Wednesday we met at 7 pm outside the International cafe for the Chef's table... (there is a charge of $75.00 per person for the chef's table, with max of 10 persons, and it only happens once)We were met by Daniel the Maitre D' and proceeded to the galley (kitchen) for a visit by the executive chef Christophe. We had champagne with the following appetizers: Blue crab margarita with avocado and mango, salmon tartare, mini cheese quiche with truffles and cherry tomatoes, and roasted new potatoes with sour cream and caviar. We then went to a special table in the main dining room and the meal started...Asparagus risotto with lobster tail and claws, then a strawberry sorbet with (a lot of) Grey goose vodka, mmmmmmmmm. Now I'm starting to feel good...Then chef Christophe prepared and flambe a roast veal shank and veal tenderloin, carved in front of us. A baked camembert with pined nuts and finally a passion fruit dome cake with a whiskey soaked raspberry and mango glaze finished this gargantuan meal. Pictures were taken as a group and individual couples with the Executive Chef..Christophe then gave us an official autographed Princess cook book. This was the best experience I had in 24 cruises, well worth the $75.00 per person... Ports of call: Princess cays: shower and cloudy...did not use, we stayed on board. Ocho Rios: been there several times and we knew to avoid locals who harass you every 5 seconds. We did the chair lift, it was nice, nice view and a quiet ride for 15 minutes (put sunscreen on prior to getting on )Cayman islands: we did the 7 mile beach...That was horrible, super mega crowded, over two hundred people on a 50 yard beach by 20 feet. We live in Florida so we are used to beaches, but never so crowded that we felt like sardines....Cozumel: visited the San Gervasio ruins, interesting, learned a lot...When we returned to the pier I asked our guide where do the locals eat a quick lunch. She pointed us to an SUV tent area where locals get their real Tacos etc...Boy what a difference, the food is great and so different from our Taco bell and others...If you get a chance, try the tent near the general taxi stand across the street from the main pier..Tacos are $1.00.. (fish, shrimp, pork, or chicken tacos)...Bet you you can't eat more than two.

we used the Sanctuary, and it is relaxing and quiet, no music blasting...The entertainment was nice but we had already seen the shows on previous cruises...The comedians were funny. Remember this is not Broadway, and they do not try to be...They do entertain us and it should be taken that way, and in that spirit, we enjoyed it... Read more