MaggieV57271476

We picked this cruise because of the dates and ports. We have traveled with Carnival and Royal Caribbean before but this was our first Princess cruise. Two words: LOVED IT. The ship itself was in excellent shape. No complaints whatsoever there. Can't think of ever seeing anything in ill repair or even showing ware. The staff was AMAZING for the most part. Absolutely loved Crooners Bar. Felt completely welcomed and like family by Beverly and Thomas. Both wonderful bartenders and very friendly and gracious people. As a woman, I have never felt comfortable going to a lounge alone. But in this case, I was completely at ease to wait for my husband at Crooners. The staff was amazing. I felt as comfortable waiting for my husband there as I would in my own livingroom! The "anytime dining" dining room was fine. Though on the nights we dined at a table for two found it to be painfully slow and inefficient. So much so that decided we would rather dining in the Horizon Court where the food was very good and the staff very attentive. We only went to a couple of the shows but enjoyed them very much. The piano player in Crooners was enjoyable. The Casino staff was good too. Get to know the dealers as they are very helpful in explaining new games. We were actually up a few hundred dollars by the end of the cruise. :) We did a excursion in every port and enjoyed all of them and found them all very reasonable. Since we have previously done the falls at Dunns River Jamaica,... we opted for the river tubing excursion (can also be done with a zip line tour). We found that the guides were wonderful, enjoyed meeting the other ships guests that we were teamed up with, and most of all.... the river was pristine and gorgeous. Abosolutely loved it. The water was clear and beautiful, the surroundings lush and clean. The parklike setting at the end of the float was a lovely suprise too. We all wished we had more time to enjoy it. There is a bar, grill and shops. Set in a a very very pretty tropical park setting. We all just loved it. 5 star excursion. The only possible complaints I could think of was the slow service for two in the "anytime dinning" which I already mentioned... but also, many people were talking and upset (crew and cruisers) about the mature captain, who was supposively married, parading his very young mistress around... including the captains dinner. I saw his "date" on a few occasions with him. So I can vouge for that. But what I don't know is if he really is married. If that is true, then I find it offensive and disrespectful. As much of the crew and cruisers did as well. Overall, the cruise was amazing. The high point being the Panama Canal. Unbeleivable marval that was.