A large ship; largest in the Princess fleet. You'll have plenty of walking to do, but lots of options for entertainment and food. A hypnotist was awful; comedian was funny, dancing & singing troupe was fun, trivia games were uneven. Some venues were always crowded, so you had to arrive a half hour early to get a seat for many shows. Casino was small, but games were always available. Shops were adequate, but I don't use them much. Food in the dining room wasn't that good, but the food in the aft cafeteria style was wonderful everyday ... much better than other ship lines. The hard rolls on the ship were fabulous!, and I don't usually eat that much bread. Service staff was very courteous and helpful; they also seemed unusually happy with their duties. Stateroom was more than sufficient. Lots of pools and hot tubs. TV carried international version of ESPN, which irritated the USA passengers (more scores and highlights for soccer, rugby, cricket ... less for NCAA/NFL/MLB/PGA).
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The main dining room food was inconsistent. Many passengers noticed this. We discovered, however, that the quality of the food in the aft cafeterias was terrific everyday. That venue became very crowded. The ship's coffee was awful. We had to purchase the "international coffee" at the optional cafe. You could always get a wonderful hotdog, hamburger, or slice of pizza. The room service menu was also varied.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
All of the acts and venues were quite good, except for the bogus hypnotist. Lots of variety, as usual, on such a large ship.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Everyone in the crew was polite, helpful, courteous, happy.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Not a big deal, but it looked as though the ship might be ready for dry dock upgrading and I believe one of the crew mentioned this was due later this year.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We had an aft balcony stateroom and it was more than sufficient to meet our needs. Plenty of closet space and a comfortable queen bed.
Boston has much to see and the city has its own distinctive personality. It's very large, of course, so take a tour of what interests you most. We took a walking tour of the Freedom Trail, which was very interesting. It is a long walk! They have a riding tour of the same sights, but I suspect you'd miss seeing some of the most interesting parts.
Not much to see in Bar Harbor (Bah Hah Bah), unless the leaves are changing. We were at least a week too early; maybe two. The Acadia Nat'l Park is essentially there to see the leaves, so we didn't see much.
Not as big a city as you'd think. We walked the pleasant harbor boardwalk to their casino, took an inexpensive taxi to the Citadel, and then walked through the small shopping/pub district back to the pier. One of the excursion options was a "Pub Crawl," and we should have done that.
Newport is the playground for the rich and famous, and used to be the play ground of the even more rich. Take the tour of the Doris Duke home; we toured The Elms mansion, and while impressive, the guide mentioned that the Duke home was wonderful.
Port of St. John is wholLy uninteresting, except for the reversing river resulting from the tidal movements the Bay of Fundy. That was very interesting (especially for those who take the river ride in that current), but it only takes a few minutes to see.
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