I traveled alone on this cruise because I wanted to spend some time in Portugal and Rome before the cruise and this cruise departed from Rome. It also stopped in two ports I had never visited so another bonus. This is a very small ship with only 672 passengers so the experience was totally different from the BIG ships. The elevators were very fast and almost always, I was the only passenger on the elevator. And the only time I encountered a line at any venue was on the Mexican Sunday Brunch extravaganza. So, unlike every other cruise I have been on, the aggravation level each day was greatly reduced. Far and away the most beautiful library I have have ever seen on a ship. An incredible amount of books and lots of comfortable seats and tables. And there a table specifically for puzzle lovers who worked them each day. There is a very small entertainment venue but I never encountered it completely full. And the chairs were very comfortable. Not theater chairs but really nice free standing chairs. The buffet, while quite small in comparison to most of the big ships had very good food and one of the best dessert selections I have seen on buffets. If you are someone who likes sampling the specialty restaurants this is probably not your cruise ship. There are two specialty restaurants on board, an upscale Italian, Sabatini's, and a steakhouse, Sterling Grill. I did sample each and the food was very good along with exceptional service. But they alternated openings so only one of them was open each night. Read Less

I had been nudging my spouse to make a trip outside the western hemisphere and get some new passport stamps. This cruise was available at a good price two weeks prior to sailing so we jumped at the opportunity. So glad we did. We spent two nights in Rome prior to sailing at the Hotel Quirinale. The staff was very accommodating from storing our luggage prior to check in, preparing a sack breakfast when we had an early tour scheduled, to providing directions and calling taxis. The included breakfast was quite nice. The room was small but lovely and fit all of our needs... clean and comfortable. We took the 7-hour Rome in a day tour from the Tour Guy. If you have limited time, do this. We saw the major sites, skipped the lines, and our guide, Maria, shared a wealth of information and was able to answer all of the questions presented to her. Embarkation could not have been easier. There was not a line and we were on board in under 10 minutes, and our luggage beat us to our cabin. As noted in prior reviews, a small ship is the way to go to avoid lines. Disembarkation was just as easy and not crowded. Had we chosen to, we could have disembarked 30 minutes prior to our assigned time, but we had no plans and a long wait for our upcoming flight so... The on-board entertainers are outstanding. Very talented and personable people, and they all work hard leading other programs, dance, guitar and origami classes or ping-pong, Wii, and mini golf. The Dancing with the Crew performance was not to be missed. I was not as impressed by the visiting performers; they were not as talented as those I've seen on the larger Princess ships. The venue does not lend itself for viewing a performance unless you happen to get a front row seat; the majority of the seating is at one level. The food was delicious in the main dining room, buffet, and pub lunches. We especially enjoyed the sushi and Mongolian grill. We too encountered the wait for the Mexican brunch, but it was worth it! Every crew member was friendly and helpful. Gustavo waited on us at breakfast. He not only remembered without prompting how my husband prefers his oatmeal, but he also offered travel information for his native country. Pompeii is not to be missed whether you book it through the cruise or an onshore vendor. Pictures and documentaries do not do it justice. Wear comfortable shoes and bring water. The information shared by the guides is fascinating. I loved Palermo! We shared a taxi and 3-hour tour with another couple. We went to the top of Pellegrino, the Cathedral, the royal house, four corners and even crashed a wedding. So much history to see. Compared to Rome and Naples, the city is clean. No graffiti, trash and homeless. Gibraltar and Cadiz were both great for walking. We took the tram to the top of the rock and walked our way down. I got in over 9 miles. Guard your gear from the monkeys! They like to take glasses, hats etc. FYI, if you visit the Siege Caves, there is no exit at the end. You must retrace your steps uphill. It's not that far but worth noting. The parks in Cadiz were beautiful. We walked to the fort and enjoyed the beach. In Santa Cruz de Tenerife we took the ship excursion to the Volcanic National Park. The views are incredible. You'll want to wear your seat belts! Our driver covered those winding roads competently, but very quickly. If you like sea days as I do, you can't go wrong on the Pacific Princess. There were numerous activities scheduled for entertainment or wonderful locations for relaxing. Read Less

We chose the 17 day Renaissance Explorer from Civitavechia (Rome) to Fort Lauderdale. This gave us the opportunity to spend four days in Rome before boarding the beautiful Pacific Princess. We booked an obstructed Oceanview guarantee and were booked in cabin 6036, which luckily had a view between two lifeboats and was a beautiful cabin. We are "old style" cruisers, enjoying the smaller ship experience, set dining times with the same waiters and table-mates each evening (second sitting), formal nights and smart casual for the dining room, and no amusement parks on board. Princess has the best entertainment at sea and we enjoyed wonderful production shows, incredibly talented musicians and singers, and interesting and educational speakers. No hairy chest contests here! Fun game show formats, trivia several times a day, guitar lessons and dance lessons. My husband is a musician and for the first time in many years of cruising, he had use of a Princess guitar which he kept personally for the entire 17 days (calluses were kept intact and his daily practice regime was possible). I am a retired dancer. choreographer and director - I loved the talks with the entertainers where we could hear all about the hiring and rehearsal procedures, and life on board as a professional entertainer. The service was excellent. In fact, every crew and staff member on board was friendly - we felt like one big family by the end of the cruise. We also enjoyed all of the ports, and the sea days were especially wonderful with so many events and activities available. Embarkation and debarkation were a breeze - no wait at all! There were very few children on board and the ones that were on board were delightful and well behaved. The food was excellent - always new items on the menu every night with a wonderful selection of favorites. Made to order omelets and eggs available in the lido buffet with a great outdoor table section facing aft. We definitely hope to sail on the Pacific Princess once every year. Read Less

We have sailed on the Pacific Princess before, 12 years ago when she was called the Tahitian Princess, and our memories did not betray us. We had a wonderful time. We were on the 12 night Greek Conusseur leg of the voyage, Venice to Rome, with port stops nearly everyday. We loved the entertainment, there was quite a variety of shows from classical to comedy and we thought the sound system was brilliant. (My partner was a sound engineer). I learned to play blackjack, not sure if that was a good thing, but the casino staff were friendly and helpful and very professional. I thought the food was great, we had late dining and made good friends with our table mates. I love the decor of this ship, with the domed painted ceilings and the murals reminiscent of Guagain. Our cabin was ok but I would not choose that location again. I thought being right in the bow would be fun, but the movement was pronounced. The shore tours were interesting but I’m not a port person, my partner is though and he enjoyed going on as many as possible. I loved doing the watercolour painting, but my partner opted for mandolin lessons that were a bit of a shambles. He took it all in good humour though. Embarkation was a breeze in Venice and even though we were a bit early they processed us and had no queues at all. Disembarkation was equally as efficient. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary. We have never been to some of the countries and ports visited on this voyage. We were impressed by the ports. We enjoyed all the excursions we took. customer service was superb. Embarkation was a breeze. The crew was attentive friendly and professional. The ship had been recently refurbished. We found it very easy to get around. We enjoyed the food. It was better than we anticipated. The cruise director Peter was a lot of fun. we thoroughly enjoyed the ship entertainers as well. From beginning to end it was an amazing cruise. It was sad when it ended. It is rare to take a cruise and not encounter any problems. It was so difficult to say goodbye to the crew who took such good care of us. The captain was so friendly. The officers were very present. They were all so welcoming. Read Less

We were so excited to be going on a transatlantic cruise, as well as having several stops in Spain and Portugal. We had been told there would be many activities on board on sea days, but we didn't find that to be the case. There was little to do. The schedule looks pretty full, but on further evaluation, many of the "activities" were simply drop-by type things, like pricing the artwork or spa demonstrations. Even if there was something we were interested in, ofttimes we couldn't get in. The Princess Theater is a decent size, but Princess Live and the Vista Lounge are w - a - y too small. The ship could definitely use a medium-sized theater. Did not like having events in the Piazza because of lack of seating and/or floor room, i.e. for Zumba classes or line dancing, and the sound wasn't great. We found that to get a seat required arriving at the venue 30-45 minutes ahead. Elevators were a real issue also. There are too few and they are too small. We were constantly waiting. Although we usually like to take the stairs instead, our stateroom was close to the top floor, so there were more stairs than we were comfortably able to do. This is a minor thing, but the paper towels in the public bathrooms are absolute crap. They fall apart with a drop of water, so when drying my hands I ended up with little pieces of paper all over my hands and on the floor. The ship is lovely, but it lacks the "wow" factor. The dining rooms are nothing special. The entertainment was OK on most nights, but only a couple of the performers were exceptional. The production shows were ridiculous. I would have preferred to see the singers and dancers in more shows that were a lot less "techy". I didn't particularly enjoy either of the big shows. I would have liked to have had more lectures, more movies inside, trivia about the ports were were visiting, more craft activities, more cooking demonstrations, etc. On the positive side, our stateroom was absolutely wonderful, and our stateroom attendant and dining room wait staff were exceptional. Everyone was very pleasant and helpful. Although I have liked Princess on our several prior cruises, I doubt I will want to sail on this ship, or any built just like it, again. It just missed the mark on too many things that are important to us. Read Less

Was excited to be on a brand new ship that was part of the Royal Princess group. Had a good itinerary and was happy with my past cruises on the Royal and over 20 past Princess cruises. We have had a total of 40+ cruises on various lines. The Medallion system is a lot of hype about nothing. I never had a problem carrying a cruise card in my pocket and presenting it for a purchase. I can't imagine how many millions of dollars Princess invested in it's hardware, software and implementation. This however was the least of my dissatisfaction. First, the removal of the crooners lounge was a mistake. This was always the 'go to' place between shows and activities, along with being a primary destination when there were some of the better 'interactive' entertainers. I'm sure that past Princess cruisers know who I am talking about. The Rock Opera show was hyped as spectacular. The passengers on this cruise were mostly seniors. Most of the ones I spoke with felt the same as I did-that it was a waste of some good singers and dancers. It just is not our music. The individual entertainment was ok. There was a great pianist ,some decent singers, and a decent comedian. Princess's foray into a late night show was a disaster. I love an adult show but this was not funny or entertaining at all. People in the back were lucky as they could escape without being conspicuous. The food is another story. We ate in the dining room 4 nights out of the 14 nights. We have always felt the Princess was the only line where the buffet was better than the dining room. On this cruise, the buffet was pretty good and the dining room was awful. My friends shared this feeling also. They did have 1 lobster tail night in 14 nights. Other cruise line have 1 per week. All the better choices formerly on the dining room menus have been moved into specialty restaurants. The highlight of the cruise for me was the band called Static. They came aboard on the 4th night and livened up the atrium. The ship was clean, the staff was friendly and polite, and the rooms were well designed with lots of drawer space. Embarkation and disembarkation was very smooth. We are 'elite' category and receive extra benefits but it is time to consider other brands. Read Less

In order to give you perspective, we chose this ship based on the fact we had sailed on the Regal on five different occasions and were excited to sail on the Sky during her inaugural season, we have also sailed on Princess’ Grand and Crown class ships but prefer the Royal class ships, having said that, we have enjoyed every cruise with Princess. Embarkation: We embarked in Barcelona, although we have priority embarkation, there was no line up and we embarked within minutes of arriving at the port even though we had to pick up our medallion as we are Canadian and not entitled to have the medallion shipped to our residence. First impression: the ship is beautiful, modern decor, everything we loved about the Regal with many improvements such as the layout in Princess Live and Take 5. The public spaces seemed bigger and more open. The Piazza is beautiful and spacious. Alfredo’s and Le Mer both have outdoor seating which we enjoyed on a nice day. The center pool area on the Lido deck is great with 2 large pools and 4 overall on the ship. We were blown away by how great the ship looked. Service: we found the service to be as good as any on any other Princess ship. Yes the ship is new and there might be a few growing pains but that is to be expected. The crew were friendly and went out of there way to help, is the service perfect, of course not, worth complaining about, absolutely not. Overall it was very good. Our room steward was very pleasant and professional as was the dinning staff at our 7:45pm traditional dinning. Entertainment: we found the entertainment to be top notch, the comedians, singers were all great including the gentleman who appeared in multiple theatrical shows in London. Rock Opera was amazing then only to be outdone by 5 Skies. The two best production shows that we have seen on any ship. The cruise director and assistant cruise directors were also excellent in particular Rachel and Stephany, who in spite of a few rude guests and a physical altercation over chairs during trivia kept the fun and enjoyment going. Food: overall quality of the food at the buffet and main dinning room was very good. I can saw that of all the meals that I had on board that I was only disappointed once. The service was very good. The Crown Grill was good as ever. We read a few complaints about the elevators, not enough, too long a wait, etc., when exciting a theatre with a capacity of 900 is it realistic to think that you won’t have to wait for an elevator, probably not. Overall impression: our overall impression was very good to excellent, are there a few minor issues which no doubt will be ironed out, were we disappointed that the escape room was not operational, yes, did it ruin our trip, no. We enjoyed the Sky Princess so much that we are booking a Caribbean Cruise on her this winter. Read Less

DECEMBER 6 , 2019 This report is about Our just completed Maiden Voyage on the SKY Princess This is going to be a 21 days cruise from rome to ft. Lauderdale Lets begin with my and my wife big expectation for this special cruise as we never took a maiden voyage but we are elite on princess and we look forward to this experience , we board the ship in the port of civitavecchia near rome , driving up to the ship she look wonderful to me not knowing what was waiting for us , the check in process was fine , the cabin was fine the worst was just around the corner . 1 ) the first evening dinner the food is terrible , presentation sucks , food looks like is been seating around , i order tagliatelle al pesto , over cook on the pasta and the pesto is from a cheap jar i' m thinking we just left and they do not have some fresh basil and some olive oil and fresh garlic ? We are in trouble left the dining room and go up to the buffet same story up there and by the way the food is cold what's with that ? I ask the server if they have a power problem he just shrug off , he does not seem to care . 2) next morning my wife wants a latte at the coffee bar , she is served a latte in a paper cup with a paper lid that as she starts drinking from it the top start falling apart in her mouth , we ask the barista what with this he says princess is going green so all there cups are paper but we see myriad of plastic gloves every where what's with that ? 3) this ship does not have any cover pools or jacuzzis , so it is very cold on this cruise we saw nobody until the left few days , they spend millions for pools that can't be used unless you are a polar bear . 4) lets talk about the food in general breakfast , lunch or dinner is terrible , i have to say this is the first cruise i lost weight 7 pounds to be honest , presentation terrible , looks and taste terrible , food is cold , my god the cold cuts like prosciutto , coppa , salame needs to be cut thin and it has to be kept cold and don't put olive oil on top , i came to the conclusion that if you are from india or china you are probably ok with this food , lots of spices similar to currie but the majority of this passengers are from north america and by the info i got they where over 1500 of elite passengers , this is terrible. The desserts are boring and taste bad , also no donuts , this is the first cruise i actually was left with eating jello can you believe that ! 5) princess theater , what a bust , the first production show was terrible too dark , over the edge this are seniors lets stuck to the classics , the second show was not any better , in the 7 days while crossing the atlantic there was nothing going in the theater , no movies on the big screen what a bust. The piazza music basically sucks , same quartet very depressing music and same over and over i ' m asking myself where can i escape ? 6) the cabin is no better , the steward not cleaning the room , mirrors have spots from the moment we got on board until we completed the cruise , the corners of the carpet area never been vacuum , for a new ship this is very depressing , i also noted on my balcony and i taken a photo above my head there is a bracket that supports a drain hose from the above balcony that is missing the big bolt but someone did paint over , i wonder how many bolts are missing thru the ship . 7) another big problem , every port in spain we loose the satellite signal so can't watch any tv and also limited channels , offer additional channels for a fee if necessary , very boring for this being the highest tech ship and going for seven days and nothing to do , give me a break. 8) room service is terrible , is either short staff or they do not care , the only day that i call i sat for 24 minutes with a recording , i hung-up call passenger service and they said the only way was to e-mail them and to be waiting they would call me but never did . 9) on the 19th day on the way to malaga i got norovirus symptoms major vomit and diarrhea never before i got this sick and talking to the crew we find out the ship was been sanitized for exactly a outbreak of norovirus the week before we boarded the ship but nobody said anything about that to us . 10) the breakfast in the morning we like to order room service , the food is old , the juices are water down and as to top it off as elite they offer room appetizers in the afternoon , we order one time it was terrible , we did not touch any of it . 11) on the 25th we got offer a steak dinner by the casino host , we went to the crown grill , a total disappointment , i order the scallops appetizer those were the smallest scallops i have ever seen , the steak was to tough that i only could eat the fillet side and my wife order the lobster and actually that look like a very large shrimp , will not ever go back , ty. 12) now at the end of our cruise there was the thanksgiving dinner , i thought they will have a wonderful meal as this being a food base celebration but no , turkey dinner was equal to a frozen microwave dinner or similar but cold and this in the dining room , so we left and went up to the buffet and for our surprise same horrible experience up there so i just give up. So to recap , i will never cruise on the sky princess and i might not cruise on princess large ship again and if i cruise on princess i want to know who the chef will be and who is the food and beverage director is or for sure it will not be for more then 7 days . Read Less

We always wanted to take a TA and be on a new ship very early after launching and this trip fulfilled our desire. There are not a lot of negative comments about the ship or crew that can be made. Yes it has its creaks and groans as we sailed into the Atlantic but none that kept us up at night. WE booked an inside cabin that is fore and aft and are sleeping that way so the gentle rocking helps. We have booked on the TA for the Enchanted as well and expect to experience the same type of ship experience in 2020. Princess has stopped providing after dinner mints and toothpicks using the excuse of environmental issues, others on the cruise think it is a cost cutting issue. All I can say is we miss them. The ship seems to be much more open in the public spaces due to the additional width of the ship. The piazza has not increased in size so dancing can be a challenge. Princess theater is much bigger and some shows are standing room only. The production shows are ok, but the specialty performers are much better. The food is good but the desserts are ho-hum. We were able to walk right on the ship when we boarded and the medallions are a time saver. Internet continues to be a challenge and the IT staff has been very helpful. We don't like not being able to link more than 1 cruise at a time on Ocean Medallion. Read Less

We spent 3 days in Barcelona prior to the cruise. Highly recomend that if you are boarding a cruise in Barcelona that you spend a few days and enjoy this beautiful city. Embarkation was a breeze only took about 20 minutes to go through security and board the ship. The Emerald princess has been remolded since the last time we were on it, it looks good with the updates. We had a cabin on deck 10 with a very large balcony, good size cabin with plenty of closet space. We ate most days in the main dinning room, food was good and service was fast. As long as we didn't share a table with others we were in and out of the dinning room in 45 minutes. As far as the World Fresh market goes so much better the the old Horizon Buffet. Food was good in the buffet but they ran out of peanut butter, So I was bummed out I had nothing to put on my english muffin in the morning. Bar service was very good, staff always there and ready to serve you, except for the female bartender at Crooners, she was having a BAD cruise. I avoided that bar after my first experience with her YIKES! That is my only complaint about this cruise. Everyone esle was wonderful. The ports on this Itinerary is why we chose this cruise, each was great in thier own way. I really love the small town feel of Cartagena. Disembaration was another story, not the cruise lines fault but US customs was so backed up we sat on the ship an extra 2 hours before we could get off, luckily we had a late flight so no issues. Read Less

We definitely enjoyed our cruise on the Emerald and we will be returning for the February cruise in the Pacific. Several of the shore tours were outstanding. I’m especially referring to the tours on Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Ponta Delgada in the Azores. Since we have visited these islands on previous cruises we know there are several excellent tours from which to select. Cartagena and Malaga were also very interesting stops. The food was good but uneven; however, the Crown Grill continues to provide excellent dinners. Sabatini’s has been replaced by the Curtis Stone six-course meal. For us that is too much food. Two of our trivia teammates tried this new venue and didn’t recommend it to the rest of us. We might try it on our next cruise. The orchestra on this ship was outstanding. Overall the production shows and the various entertainers were above average. My wife and I enjoyed the various offering. For the life of me I can’t understand why the sound system in the Princess Theater nearly blasts one out their chairs. Tone it down, Princess. The piano player in Crooner’s Bar, Kory Simon, was outstanding. In addition to a broad range of music offerings, he is excellent interacting with his audience. The Crooner Bar was heavily populated in the evenings. What continues to disappoint my wife and I Princess’ continued tendency to cut corners. This was our 26th cruise on Princess ships so we have some experience at what some call “nickel and diming” their clients. For example, the coffee card that allowed cruisers to use the card for cups of regular coffee without punching the card is now history. The Pub Lunch is no longer offered. I guess we would prefer charging more for the basic cruise and stop the nickel and diming. The former Grill is now the Salty Dog Grill Deck 15. It is true that the offerings have been expanded. You can now purchase a special burger for $8 dollars. I tried one and it was horrible! Read Less

We went on this cruise because it was a good value. 29 days with prepaid gratuities and $1000 onboard credit in a balcony for around $4000 each. It sailed from Barcelona to Los Angeles (home) through the Panama Canal (our first time). The ship was refurbished in April. We had not been on this ship before but some people said it was all new inside. The crew was great. Very friendly and they did their jobs well. The food was good in all the venues except Share. We have eaten there on two different ships and been unimpressed both times. Unfortunately, the Crown Grill was just OK. Which is not good if you’re paying $29 each for it. Entertainment was good. The onboard troupe was excellent. Some of the other acts were just OK, but most were very enjoyable. In 29 days we saw quite a variety. The Cruise Director’s staff was excellent. Very entertaining. There was plenty to do onboard. The ship has ‘Medallion Net’ Wi-Fi now. A few days it did not work well, or at all. They gave various reasons for the problems. In the end they refunded 30% of the cost. The ports were fun and varied. Two of our shore excursions were cancelled, which was disappointing. Seeing the Panama Canal for the first time was interesting. We took an excursion in Costa Rica from an onshore company, Odyssey Tours’ ”10 in 1”. It was all day and we saw a lot. There was an immigration problem in Ft Lauderdale and everyone was delayed disembarking. Our tour was rushed because of the problems. When we got back to LA there was problems disembarking again. It took an extra three hours to get off. Both times it was not the fault of Princess (I don’t think). Both the cruise and ship were wonderful. We enjoyed it a lot. Read Less

Excellent cruise. The boarding and disembarking process was very organized and smooth. The food at the sit down restaurant is the best we’ve ever had on any cruise. It is definitely the best food we’ve ever had on a cruise. The Market Place buffet was also excellent. The Inside cabin was large and very well kept by the cabin steward. The captain spoke to the passengers on a daily basis from the Bridge keeping us informed as to location and weather. The ship was always clean and had laundry services on each level. This was very helpful on a long cruise. Very satisfied with the Emerald Princess. Thank you to the staff. The Lotus Spa staff and crew were very helpful. We used the facility daily. Also, the gym facility is excellent. It was always clean and very well equipped. The number of ports was a perfect selection with a day at sea (to rest) in between. THANKS TO ALL AT THE EMERALD PRINCESS. Read Less

Excellent in every way! Boarding was fast and efficient; luggage delivered quickly; room steward ("D" as he wanted to be called) was nearby to greet us and explain what he was going to provide and asked if we had any special request. Fantastic service. Cruise was a combination of celebrations my wife and I usually celebrate (birthdays, anniversary) as we do not do anything special during the year. Cruising is our time for the celebrations we share with other passengers. One of our stops was in Casablanca, Morocco. I was stationed there with the Navy in 1971 thru 1973 at a location north of Casablanca called Sidi Yahia near Kenitra. Wanted to show off the country to my wife. Was a good experience for her. The activities were plentiful and there was plenty to do. The sea days my wife was able to do some quilting project and I was sitting nearby reading or working on a project. All of the crew and officers were friendly and very helpful. The only glitch was disembarking and clearing customs in Florida. We were held in the lounge for an extra 45 minutes or so. No fault of the Princess Cruise line. Will do another one with them again within a year. We try to do at least on cruise a year. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the wonderful Mediterranean and Adriatic itinerary which began in Rome. For 21 of our 28 days we sailed into great ports and enjoyed ourselves immensely. The last seven days we relaxed as we sailed back to Fort Lauderdale. A dream trip to be sure. We have been home for almost three weeks, and have had time to reflect on our experience. The ship is lovely because it is new, but the layout is mostly tried and true. It is almost exactly like the Regal and the Royal. Nothing innovative that we could see, but there's nothing wrong with that. Both those ships are terrific. The food, as other reviewers have expressed, was indeed a real disappointment. On this ship, the food served in the dining room, was merely okay. From temperature to quality, sadly something is wrong. We never eat in the buffet so can't comment on that venue. The pizza near the pool was greasy. Alfredos was fine but the ovens broke down for a period of time. We found the food in the International Cafe to have been significantly downgraded from previous Princess ships. Sad. Our standard balcony cabin has only one chair and very little counter space. Other than that it was great to be on a new bed. We couldn't get into most of the shows in the theater. Our preferred dining time wouldn't allow us to get to the theater at least a half hour before a performance. There was entertainment in the piazza. The positives. Clean new cabins. A staff that is eager to serve. One will never go hungry as there are choices. In conclusion, for 28 days we enjoyed the magnificent ocean and the services the ship offered. Would we do it all again? Definitely yes. Read Less

What a pleasure it was to be aboard the Sky Princess. As a solo traveler, I planned this cruise 18 months in advance and at no time was I disappointed, Embarkation was a little delayed due to the novo virus and the sanitisation of the ship, however we all had a seat to wait comfortable in the port of Rome. Not such a big deal, but there is always that 'I just want to get on' feeling. Rooms were not ready when we boarded, however the salty dog burger and bud light from the bar filled the gap nicely for an hour or two. Disembarkation was perfect, no issues at all, however I have been to the port may times and know the layout and where to get the shuttles to hotels etc. I booked a hotel for two nights as the airports and airfares were horrendous due to the thanksgiving weekend. It was no hardship to spend two nights in a hotel in Fort Lauderdale though before my long flight back home to Australia. The ship itself was spotless and the crew cared for it every day, from the decks cleaners, to the room stewards. It was perfect. I like the layout of the ship and as a long time cruiser only with Princess, I did not miss crooners at all and in fact loved the fact that the piazza was 'the place to be' after dinner for a spot of dancing. No partner required. My stateroom was a BB balcony and I loved it. Again, spotlessly clean and maintained by Jeffrey whom I wished I could bring home with me. The bed was super comfy and the linen was good quality. I always travel with my own pillow, however I ditched it in favour of the wonderful pillows in my stateroom. The balcony was excellent and I enjoyed several 4pm beverages either ocean gazing or port gazing. Some cruisers felt that it was difficult to identify which side of the ship you needed to head to when getting out of the lift. The carpets on each side are very slightly different - worth checking that out early. One side has a swirl of gold and the other side has a swirl of orange. Once you find it, no more criss crossing to find your stateroom. I generally dined in the MDR, always no share solo for breakfast and lunch so I could catch up on some work, but always a chance to quick chat with the couples beside me. Again, no disappointment for me with any meals. My breakfast was generally lovely plate of fresh fruit of my choosing and and delicious freshly made omlette. Both were well prepared and just the ticket to get me going for the day. Lunch again in the MDR and again always at the same table. The waitstaff, particularly Tatiana, were exceptional. Christina at the door always greeted me like a long lost friend. Dinner was traditional at the same table every night and I love that aspect of 'catching up with friends' over a delicious dinner. I have no complaints about the food - there were one or two dishes that were not to my taste, but I chose the wrong option - not the food. I did not catch any shows at all in the theatre, however I did enjoy the enrichment lectures albeit at 9am in the morning so the dancers could practice. I did miss the fact that there were no movies in the theatre during the day time, again, due to the dancers practicing. I also did not participate in the activities, however I was a watcher and the cruise director was generally very visible and friendly. Captain Laakonen, was wonderful and more visible than any Captain I have seen on any of the princess cruises. His noon broadcasts were filled with information and good humour. Loved the Elite cocktail parties. The service was outstanding by all member of the crew and staff. I have nothing but high praise for the efforts they put in to help us guests enjoy our holiday. Even though Novo was an issue for them and the extra workload was immense on them. Some have mentioned the hand washing before the buffet: On my 28 day portion, there were staff located there and everyone washed their hands prior to entering. (even though I was only going in for a cup of tea LOL) I went on shore excursions through princess for each of the ports. Yes, I find they may be a little more expensive but really, it is a drop in the ocean and for a solo traveler it is peace of mind and I saw some wonderful sights. None of the excursions were a disappointment to me. I did not shop at the shops, I felt they had gone very very upmarket and I chose to shop in the ports. I cruise for a holiday and therefore not particularly interested in the entertainment side - I love just reading and enjoying the ambience. For solo travelers who are considering, just do it. You can be alone if you choose, or you can chat with others. Cruisers are very friendly people. Yes, you do pay more, but you get the holiday you want and how wonderful to go to a restaurant every morning and lunch and read or catch up on work. Nap in the arvo if you want. Finally, A huge thank you to: Jeffrey my room steward. All the staff in Vines for keeping me supplied with Champagne for my pre dinner beverage of choice. Tatiana in the MDR for my breakfast and lunch service. Ben and Armando in the dining room for Dinner service, my table mates and I struck gold with you two. Would I cruise with Princess again, You betcha, I have five cruises lined up ready go in the next two year. Read Less

Chose this cruise because of great port diversity: Rome, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Athens, Santorini, South France, Barcelona, Morocco and more. And Because we always have enjoyed Princess and specifically the Emerald. Room was great, see below. cabin steward outstanding. Ship has been updated nicely. Service in main DR was outstanding. Unfortunately the food was terrible! which was a big disappointment for my three travel companions and me. I have been on 48 Princess Cruises, and the reason we have gone so many times over the last 30 years was because we always loved the cuisine. Princess always had a good amount of Italian influence in the menus and food prep, now it appears to be influenced by English and Australian chefs. Menus were unappealing. Beef in the DR was very tough. Marinara sauce for Pasta and Pizza was terrible, so that knocked out choices we normally would have liked. Sent several meals back which is not something I have done in the past. Many dinner choice felt like they were a lunch choice. I feel like Princess is trying to attract new clients with their new menus and themes, but may loose their solid base, if the food continues in this direction. Waiters were outstanding, but the food they could not do anything about. Ports and shore excursions were great. Two production shows were great, two were boring. Comedians and Vocalists average other then Steve Kellwodd who was great. Love Lado strings duo in atrium every day. Enrichment lecturer was very good. Have a few more Princess cruises booked, hope to see an improvement. Read Less

Grand Mediterranean cruise and TA from Barcelona to Florida. Almost too many ports for us seniors. Fantastic ports except Morocco. Princess shore excursion was awful. Tour guide went on a political rant and brought us back 2 hours early. Princess gave us 25% non refundable onboard credit. Remodeling of buffet was very good. Hand washing stations, more selections, better layout. Never congested. Back areas had specialty breakfast and lunches. Evenings back areas were a low cost specialty restaurant. Or overflow seating. New tables and chairs. Rooms and public areas had new carpets. Wall mounted tv. Shelf where tv used to be had an outlet so we used it as a charging station and storage. Room still had small table and we were able to get barrel chair. Chair Appeared to be brand new. New pain and varnish on patios. Good overall maintenance on ship. Food in dining room was unchanged. Menu repeated after 2 weeks. On Mediterranean leg, 2 restaurants were anytime dining, but on TA cruise one dining room was anytime and second became anytime at 7:30. Great waiters. Fairly fast service. Morning staff in buffet was often minimal in back areas. Often took 10 minutes to get coffee and juice or table cleaned. Pizza area much improved with larger selection Planks meat restaurant was $12, tons of food, good desserts. Crown Grill was very good. Only went there because we had so much OBC. Princess has cut entertainment staff. On cruise a year ago there was a cruise director, assistant, 4 junior, and activities director. This time cruise director, 3 junior, no evidence of activities director. Seemed like lots less activities. Teen center was opened afternoons on TA due to no kids on cruise. Very popular. Would live to see it continued. Production shows were all repeats even though it was 18 months since last cruise. Good variety of entertainment. Kory was very popular in crooners. Elite access for tenders was very fast. Don’t know about regular travelers. Took private tours mainly, so can’t evaluate tours except Morocco, very poor, azores very good. Had electrical problem in room and repaired quickly. Elite laundry took 3 days due to large number of elite. Done very well with no damage. Recommend both itineraries even though almost too many ports, especially on Europe part and when the 2 are combined. We had 6 days of ports in a row. Booked as 2 cruises to get more OBC Read Less

This was a great cruise, with fascinating ports. And a good season to travel, good weather. The service was top notch, best cabin steward and waiters. Really no complaints except for front desk people who were a bit rude. We tried the Share restaurant and it was fine, something new and tasty. entertainment was fine, except for too loud in the theatre and piazza. I don't like to be deafened. We just had a fine time, and the transatlantic portion was very relaxing. I would have used the gym if I knew it was free, they never say. The main problem we had is that many excursions are not very handicapped accessible. Lots of steep steps to get in buses. None had a wheelchair lift, so some people stuck on the bus most of the time. I wish they had more handicapped options. So many of the people used canes, and we are not considered much. Read Less

We did a 40 day 3 back to back cruises from Rome To Los Angeles. The regular Rome to Barcelona, Reposition Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale, then Panama Canal Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles. We did a Princess excursion at each stop. Overall weather was perfect, we did have rain in Greece, and a stop in France was cancelled due to winds and rain, but overall given the time of year we were very lucky! The ship did list one morning in high winds off of Europe. We originally chose Any Time Dining, but liked our waiter Roberto and assistant Maria so much this was changed to Fixed for the last 2 cruises. They were very good to us each night, many nights we were the only diners they had (apparently not busy at 5PM seating, noticed lines at 7). Had coupons for the Curtis Stone Restaurant, service was good, food was so so, and apparently they serve the same food each night. Went to Crown Grill 2 nights, and enjoyed our meals there. We had a balcony room, but they moved us at Ft. Lauderdale, we tried to see if room could remain changed, but apparently someone else booked it before us. Both rooms were quiet, one on 15th fl, front of ship, the other 10th fl (Aloha) rear of ship. Both were very quiet. Cabin attendents on both were good, the first was much better than the second, but I think it is a personality thing, as everything got done. Food was good, but seemed to get much better on the Panama Canal Cruise for some reason. Embarkation in Rome was good, embarkation in Ft Lauderdale was terrible. In Ft. Lauderdale all passengers had to disembark for authorities to check the ship. Princess started checking in passengers, and went to lounge, but ship was not cleared to board yet, causing the passengers to be literally crammed in the lounge after check in for at least an hour before boarding. We did all the Princess excursions, and liked all of them except the city tour in Mexico. Read Less

Elite member of Princess, have always enjoyed our experiences but not this time. First time I have found that I wish we had not gone at all. Embarkation was fine, cabin, while old was good except ONE plug that worked. Dining, found the food in the dining room OK but very little variety and I very much resented that I could not get brewed coffee on my coffee card until I either sent a poor server out to find it as it was not available at the Horizon Court either..Oh well, what you got was not very good anyway. Entertainment-- write that off, two male singers, two female singers, two shows and I believe there was someone who told jokes.....very little variety . That plus there were so many people coughing at times they were hard to hear. Service, lots of service people all who were very good at their jobs BUT especially in the Horizon Court I felt that more effort should have been made to disinfect the chairs, salt and pepper shakers and to keep the food area cleaner and the hand washers filled and to encourage people to use them. Shore Excursion people not nice to deal with, rude at times. Read Less

This cruise was a disappointment. Two ports were cancelled (one third of the total) because of weather and no alternate ports were substituted thiugh it seems like they could have easily been added without a deviation from the revised route. The onboard activities were uninteresting, consisting of things like zumba classes, line dancing, and penny whistle classes. There was only one enrichment speaker, scheduled for early in the mornings, and a few talks by bridge crew. Other “enrichment” activities were sales pitches for jewelry, art, or spa offerings. The lack of activities was a real disappointment, especially given that we had eight consecutive sea days. In addition, though the ship was attractive, inside public areas lacked space where passengers could just sit and enjoy a view of the ocean. The atrium was attractive, but provided totally inadequate seating space for those wanting to watch and listen to the entertainers performing there. On the plus side, the food was quite good, and the cabin (interior) reasonably comfortable, although the shower was cramped and the shower head was too low for anyone taller than about 5’10”. Evening entertainment was adequate, although it was often difficult to find seating. This was my first cruise with Princess, and I’ll probably not be sailing with them again. Read Less

CROWN PRINCESS REVIEW We have recently completed the Crown Princess Transatlantic cruise. Unfortunately the crossing was very rough due to the effects of Hurricane Lorenzo and we missed two ports as a result. The Captain was forced to forego the Azores in order to go further south. He did manage to get us some sunny weather although it remained rocky throughout. I don’t think we will try a late summer crossing again. We have taken two spring crossings which were much smoother. Spring crossings are not subject to Hurricane season effects. The ship is definitely showing some wear but nothing to impact our enjoyment; we did hear from a crew member that the Crown is due for a refurbishment soon. Dining room meals were very good with lots of choice and excellent dining service. I was disappointed in the specialty coffee offered, very weak coffee and not the best quality. Also the pastries were tough and somewhat greasy tasting. Our room steward was excellent, cabin was cleaned promptly and well and she was very friendly; in fact we found all staff provided excellent, friendly service. We had a problem with our AC which was quickly solved. We took the cruise for the itinerary which offered some unusual ports. Favourites were Bruges, Bilbao and Lisbon. Bordeaux was disappointing, mainly because of the very long drive into the city (unless you were interested in the closer wine tours). Entertainment was just average but there were lots of trivia challenges which were very popular. We were disappointed in the production shows which seemed to have been scaled back...most of the shows were single vocalists. All was well until disembarkation. Once off the ship we encountered huge lineups for customs and after clearing customs it was a chaotic free for all. Masses of people trying to find taxis, Princess bus transfers, tour busses and virtually no signage or a Princess employee located at the customs exit to direct passengers to the proper place. There should have been staff organizing a line for each area and maintaining control of the lines to control line cutting. There were plenty of staff available on leaving the ship wishing us a good journey or a good day or warning us to hold the escalator handrails so Princess certainly cant claim staff shortage. In over forty cruises I have to say I have never experienced the like. I dont know if this is a Port Everglades problem, but Princess could have taken some initiative to help their passengers rather than leaving them in the lurch. I would like to thank the lovely porter who made the effort to get the passengers into some sort of organized line and I would also say shame on those who cut into the lines after he did so. Read Less

Princess takes great care of suite passenger so we enjoyed breakfast in Sabatini's, club class dining, special room services menu items, priority spa reservations, room service on debarkation day and many other extras. We think the cabin price is worth it. We've never complained about quality of food on our many Princess cruises and this one was no exception. In fact, we thought food on this trip was particulary good. Club Class dining each night had a special tableside dish that was delicious each time. We visited the Crown Grill and Sabatini's for diner twice each during the trip and enjoyed truly exceptional meals and service.The crew we encountered was all top notch--friendly, cheerful, attentive and professional. I would have like to have ticked five stars above but we were very disappointed about having two of six ports cancelled. The culprit was the weather which of course is out of Princess's control but the complaint is how missing these ports was handled. We happened to be on a Princess cruise in the maritime provinces of Canada during Hurricane Sandy that caused several of the eastern seaboard stops to be cancelled. Rather than just bob about until it was clear to sail south, Princess found a couple of places for us to visit while we waited. In the current case, Crown Princess merely changed course and aimed to the next stop after a cursory announcement from the captain. It seemed to us that in the case of cancelling the Azores call, we could have remained at Lisbon to have the advantage of a full weekday ashore or stopping at Madeira. Surely the captain knew before we left Lisbon that Hurricane Lorenzo would keep us from the Azores, so we could have stayed at the dock. If we couldn't, an explanation of why not would have been the courteous thing to do. Likewise, an explanation of why Madeira couldn't be a substitute would have been appreciated, especially since we got close enough to that destination to transfer a medical patient from Crown Princess to a boat sent out from Madeira. We think the passengers deserved more than silence. One other minor gripe. Our coffee card from an earlier cruise was refused as having expired. At sale, the cards are advertised as being good on later cruises for specialty coffees and there's no mention of expiration. Pretty cheap on the part of Princess to declare one has expired. Read Less