I use a wheelchair, but I can walk some, just not long distances. Embarkation was a breeze, and we could go right to our cabins immediately instead of waiting in public areas for a couple of hours. That was a plus. Also, we could eat lunch right away, and there were always plenty of crew available to help us with getting lunch trays and get us iced tea or water. I walked through the buffet line since it was a short distance and uncrowded. I really like the idea Princess has for there to be a one-way direction through the buffet line, one entrance and one exit. It helps keep people from breaking in line, as they often do on other cruise lines. I loved getting my breakfast coffee and juice brought to me at my table on Princess, something that other lines don't do. I also enjoyed the fact that there were tables specifically designated for wheelchairs (scooters and walkers, canes, too) because it was sometimes hard to find a seat with a wheelchair.

The best meal was the first night's prime rib, which my husband said was in the top five prime ribs he had ever tasted. During most meals I found something that was really delicious, but a few times the food was just okay, not great. Our servers worked their butts off and we gave them special monetary recognition for that at the end of the cruise. Both the buffet area and dining rooms were themselves clean; but I once found lipstick on a water glass that looked fresh. That was the only time anything food-related was not satisfactory.

As far as excursions go, my husband and I did every one of our excursions locally, most of which were identical to tours offered by the cruise line but at local prices (lower) and with the same service quality. We saw Princess bags on other people's arms who did the same excursion as we did, but we paid a local person. We pride ourselves on giving our money to the local economy instead of to corporations, and saving lots of money in the process. Read more