After sailing on Carnival (3x), Holland America, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian, we decided to splurge a little and sail with Princess, it was the BEST decision we've ever made! We stayed at The Forum the night before as we'd driven down from Atlanta (not sure if there was a taxi/van service for those who fly in). EMBARKATION: Upon our arrival to the port, we were greeted by a VERY RUDE port authority "cop" manning the gate. While this has nothing to do with Princess, it did sour our mood just a bit. Then, the signage wasn't very clear as to where to go, so we ended up parking, then realizing we hadn't even dropped off our big bags yet, so this mean we had leave the parking deck, go back around the structure, drop off the bags, then head back to the parking deck. Again, maybe not Princess's fault, but not a good start. We arrived around 11am as we were told they probably wouldn't let folks in until noon, but we had to check out of the hotel, so we went ahead to the pier. A good thing we did as when we arrived they had already let a good number of people through the doors into a holding area to fill out the necessary last minute paper work. We were given numbered, laminated cards upon entering the door (we were in group number 7). Before we even got seated good they began calling group number one. We went to our respective deck's line (a MUCH nicer and organized way of getting people on board than all the other cruise lines listed above). The miserable part about getting on board was the wait inside the gangway. It was like a sauna and we were in line on this gangway for about 30 min (a bit irritating as we could see the other gangway and there was NO line - maybe it was for those who had cruised with Princess before, never bothered to find out). Otherwise, a good process. CABIN: Great layout compared to other cruise lines we've been on. I liked having the "wall" of closet space block the light from the hallway with the bed flush against the back wall. This wall was full of hangers and had plenty of space for all of our clothes. This was our first 10 day cruise and we weren't sure if we'd have enough room for all of our clothes, and BOY DID WE!!! Also great cabinets for folded clothes and safe. We enjoyed the bathroom and the large shelf that was under the sink as we kept all of our unused things there (extra bottles of sunscreen, lotion, etc.) The bed was the BEST bed we've ever had on a cruise! We have a rather soft bed at home and so travel is not always the best sleep. This bed however was just like being at home (other than the fact that it was a queen size bed and we have a California King). Although the TV was flat screen, the programming wasn't formatted properly so things were cut off quite a bit, not a big deal as we didn't come on a cruise to watch TV, but if it was late at night or packing and wanted to watch something, it drove us crazy! FOOD: Could NOT have been any better! IT was the BEST we've EVER had! Our first meal onboard was at the main dining room as we didn't want to have to deal with the crowding of the buffet that normally ensues the first day of a cruise. The appetizer was a seafood medley with a cream sauce. The plating was so elegant and the taste was out of this world, we KNEW we had chosen the right cruise line this time! Food across the board was excellent. We ate at Sabatini's ($20/person cover charge) the first night just to see what it was like and we ate, and ate, and ate! It was 8 courses of food and we almost needed wheel-barrows to get out of there! The only disappointment we had was that the main course was over cooked and did not live up to the rest of the courses that proceeded (very dry lobster tails and a scoop of rice pilaf). We did find a gem in the International Cafe. We thought there was a cover charge for this but was pleasantly surprised when it was ALL free. There were several choices of sandwiches, salads, and desserts, and there was a different sugar free dessert everyday which was nice for my hypoglycemic husband. ANYTIME DINIG PLUS!!!: The best thing about this was that while we could eat whenever and wherever (out of the 2 anytime dining rooms) we wanted, we found a group of wait staff that took great care of us and were able to sit with them every night from night 5-10. The Maitre D' was very accommodating in giving us "reservations" for the exact section we wanted. I know this was out of the ordinary as we did have "anytime dining", but this just showed us that at Princess, they truly cared and wanted to make sure we as the customers were pleased with every aspect of our trip. POOLS: We were greatly pleased with the amount of pools this ship had. No more scrunching around one central pool that could hold maybe 50 folks. We found the Terrace Pool to be our favorite. Not only was the pool just outside our door, but it was also adults only. Three decks up there was the Oasis pool and the times I passed by there was never anyone in it. There were the two centralized pools, one being inside (the Calypso pool) and the outdoor pool (Neptune). The Neptune pool had a large outdoor screen where concerts were played during the day, and movies at night. The last pool was at the front of the ship near the spa. It was generally pretty crowded for the size of it but it was about the size of the Terrace pool, fairly small. PUBLIC AREAS: We loved the Piazza and the entertainment that centered around it. This was the hub of the ship as it was the main atrium. Three stories high, the stores, customer service, library, internet cafe, Vines Bar, International cafe, art gallery were all off of the Piazza on various levels. There were plenty of comfy chairs and little tables for the taking and you could sit and eat while taking in the view or entertainment of any given hour. The whole ship was very elegant and the dEcor was attractive, not the typical 80's disco type you find on other cruise lines. They were meticulous about keeping the elegant appearance as on several occasions the staff would replace small decorative tiles around the Piazza when there were not a lot of passengers around. Things I wouldn't have even noticed. The Vista Lounge was especially nice with small mosaic lamps at the tables. The Explorers Lounge, where we spent most of our evenings playing trivia, was nicely decorated with stain glass ceilings and trim. Overall, the ship was very "posh". ENTERTAINMENT: While we enjoy shows, we've seen some really bad ones while at sea, so we honestly didn't bother...that and it never worked out for our scheduling as we ate dinner around 7-8 and always wanted to play trivia that took place every night at 9:15. We did see a comedian that was very good so we saw his second show the final night of the cruise. There were also some acts that we saw in the Piazza that were quite good, but never made it to their full shows in the main theatre. We found the scheduling of events often conflicted with each other making it hard to make decisions as to what to see. This was a drawback for when on the ship at not at port. Granted, there were tons of things to do, but everything we wanted to do were always scheduled at the same time, so we found ourselves with something to do for an hour, then nothing to do for 2-3 hours then it was time for dinner. One hi-light was the Movies Under the Stars. It was so neat to be in the middle of the ocean, under a full moon, with the sea-breeze blowing watching a newly released movie. I've read that some ships do milk and cookies, or popcorn. On this cruise it was popcorn. The screen was easy to see and volume was good. The lounge chairs are wiped down and prepped with extra thick cushions with covers that have built-in pillows. We only made it to one movie, but it was a really cool experience! THE NICE, UNEXPETED PERKS: Everyday at 3:30pm milk and fresh baked cookies were served in the Piazza, just kick back at a table, enjoy the classical music, and enjoy the snack! At 4pm every day, afternoon tea was served in the Capri Dining Room to include sandwiches, cakes, cookies, crackers, scones. When we came back to the ship from a hot day at port, there were nice, cold washcloths handed out by staff (this was NEVER done on the other cruise lines we've taken). Free Princess Tote arrived at our door the night before our first port. DISEMBARKMENT: Unfortunately, this was NOT a hi-light of our cruise and is still a sore point. We did Self-assist as we know it normally is the quickest way off the ship. NOT SO! First of all, our group's meeting point to gather was in the Casino...what a STUPID idea! Let's have all the guests line up with the luggage around slot machines and poker tables...DUH! Maneuvering was difficult and we're in our early 30's, not to mention the other passengers in their 60's having issues. We docked at a different pier than we left out of so we had to take a shuttle to the parking deck...yet again another inconvenience. Not only that, the guy taking the luggage onto the shuttle literally threw our largest suitcase into the back, breaking off a wheel and ripping the handle. REALLY? We're working on getting the luggage fixed and paid for by the cruise line but it's in limbo at the moment. CONCLUSION: While this was by far the best cruise we've taken to date, there were some mishaps along the way, mainly at the end of the cruise that have made a lasting impression. We've booked another cruise on Celebrity for the same week next year to see how the two compare. All in all, it was an enjoyable time away from home and we would sail with Princess again.