After multiple Princess cruises, we decided to try our first Transatlantic. This was the longest cruise (14 days) we've ever taken, but after a year of personal stress, we were looking forward to some interesting ports and plenty of rest and relaxation. Having read previous reviews of Transatlantic cruises, we knew chances were good we might miss ports. As such, we chose to only book Princess tours which ended up working to our overall advantage. This was my 18th Princess cruise, and my husband's 16th. I was pleasantly surprised that the passengers were a good mix of age groups, although there were very few children.

About three weeks prior to the trip, we were informed that we had been upgraded to a full suite from our category AC mini-suite. This was a wonderful surprise which I am sure also helped considerably in our enjoyment of the trip.

We arrived at the dock in Southampton by private car, and while the lines were a bit long, they moved fairly quickly. This was the first time we had departed from the new cruise terminal. It seems to have plenty of check-in desks and also had multiple security lines prior to boarding the ship. I believe this helped in the speed upon which we were able to board. This was our second trip on the Crown Princess, so we were already familiar with the layout. As we were fairly early, we chose to go to the Horizon Court for lunch. We immediately noticed a change from our trip on Princess last year: You no longer pick up your own silverware. It is on the table. Also, drinks are provided by the staff in the Horizon Court. Later in the trip, we also had staff carry our trays and assist us in finding a place to sit. Overall I think this is an improvement from the way things used to be handled. There was also signage indicating the entrance and exit to the buffet. Read more