Overall we enjoyed this cruise and Princess is a brand we like very much, with a very distinctive atmosphere on board that we like a lot, but a few observations are in order. A lot of people remarked on the 'sell - sell - sell' attitude on board, sure that the ship was being run by a certain jewellery firm. Could have made more effort with the huge screen on the upper deck. Yes they had concerts and the 'Movies under the Stars' that we enjoyed, but for most of the day they just showed adverts and the cruise director wittering away about stuff we already knew and had already heard over the ships broadcast system or indeed read the not insubstantial paperwork about. Also, apart from a few straggly decorations and the odd plastic tree here and there it would have been difficult to realise it was christmas. No christmas lunch, no carols, little christmas music, no santa etc. etc. The ship opposite us in St Kitts organised santa to arrive on the jetty, all the kids on the upper deck to see, christmas music playing etc. What did we have - nothing! If i had been travelling with children i would have been miffed. I don't know what i expected but somehow i expected more.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Left our overnight hotel early-ish, we were at the cruise terminal by eleven am to find hundreds of people already there. However, we were ushered through to check-in and paperwork was quickly done, including a change of cabin that we didn't realise until we got on board. So, fifteen minutes after arriving we were walking into the Atrium, found our cabin and all was ready, we were impressed by the slickness of the whole operation. To be fair to all the other cruise lines we have sailed with this was not really better, they are all pretty good from what i can see, it just seemed slicker and earlier?
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
We ate at both of the ships main dining rooms, usually on a table of eight and enjoyed the company of everyone we met, half the fun on these cruises we find and, with Anytime dining on Princess Cruises you get different folks every night. One thing i never realised before was just how some of these folks can eat! One night we didn't want appetisers and waited and waited for our mains whilst the other folks ate every one available - four each! We just sat there chatting, in awe of the sheer skill involved in clearing almost the entire menu in one sitting. The food i thought a little bland, no real strong flavours and obviously mass produced without too much tasting involved. Having said that i'm no foodie and it was always perfectly acceptable and we left full and happy every night. The buffet was usually for breakfast only for us as my wife is a fan, i'm not but she and tells me this was just ok really, nothing special but good bread and rolls. On the rare occasion i had anything like deserts they were either bland or undercooked or both. I tried the Pizza place, thought it was okay but i'm no judge as everyone i spoke to seemed to like it a lot. My wife is a Burger expert and tells me the ones on board were 'really good', praise indeed!
Crown Grill
4 out of 5
New years eve (my birthday) we decided to go to the Crown Grill for a steak and it was almost very good. The actual steak was really good but everything else was 'almost'. Soup was good, but there was a large chip in the bowl. Good selection of vegetables but they were all boiled to death (could have spread the asparagus on bread), desert was good but the ice-cream was melted, wine was nice but the white was warm (no, sir doesn't want ice in it!), you get the picture i'm sure. So, nothing bad enough to ruin our night and we enjoyed ourselves in a very nice atmosphere and with good staff and reasonable food, but with little more care it could have been excellent.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We were in a different port almost every day so made almost no use of the facilities.
Entertainment
Hate the onboard entertainment and never go.
Children's Programs
no children
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff were almost universally good. I never saw anyone who wasn't smiling or happy to help, and there seemed to be plenty of them. Our room steward was also excellent and couldn't do enough for us, thank you joe!
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Ship was pretty standard and almost the same as the Emerald princess we were on five years ago. Nowadays the Atrium seems a bit small as it was well used and always seemed to be full of people. The Market Place buffet and upper deck in general had been refitted a couple of months ago and looks good for it and the rest of the ship was always clean and tidy.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
First impressions of our cabin were good, clean and spacious. All seemed in good condition and was pretty standard with bed, small table and armchair and of course the excellent new beds they have installed in every cabin on this ship, best bed on any ship we have ever found - by far! Bathroom was very small but adequate for most peoples needs and storage was taken care of by the huge hanging space and shelves. An in-room safe, hair drier and small flat screen tv (with three movie channels ) and a small balcony with a couple of chairs and small table complete the facilities. Overall we were very pleased and enjoyed our stay.
Ship tip
Think very carefully about the drinks 'packages' before you purchase them. You would have to be a serious drinker to get your moneys worth. Maybe you have seven or eight drinks per day, every day and if you do then go for it.
We didn't have a flight until later in the evening so asked to be changed to a later disembarkation which they were happy to do, so we spent two hours sitting in the lounge waiting to be called. When we eventually got off the ship we collected our luggage and left, slick as always. However, when we got outside there was chaos, hundreds of people all standing in the rain, looking for their transport. Doesn't seem beyond the organisational skills of man to get buses in one place, shuttles in another etc. and BIG signs so everyone knows where they are!
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