They are still working out the Princess medallions and IT personnel were on the ship working on it every day. They'll get it tuned up eventually.
I wanted to see the new Panama canal, and from that aspect it was great. An ex-diplomat narrated the transit, and after an hour on the PA system it got old.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Pier 2 in Port Everglades supported a very easy embarkation process
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
Drink??? Horrible. We purchased the "soda and more" drink package only to find out that bottle water (my wife's go-to beverage) was not included, AND THE SHIP RAN OUT OF DIET COKE. That's right, for the last 3 days they poured it from a can, if the bar / restaurant had it. If not, make another choice. Last 2 days most locations were out completely.
Food was just OK. The "World Market" buffet was predictable. The main dining room anytime dining worked well for us, especially when we made reservations. The Crown Grill (steak) and Sabatini's (Italian) were disappointing. They were not a memorable experience at all, and the many empty tables told us we didn't get the memo that others on the ship obviously did read. We liked the Plank's BBQ specialty ($12 pp) but didn't try Steamers (seafood) due to the limited menu.
Room service had a continental breakfast only, but eating it on the balcony was a nice way to start days at sea. My buddy in the cabin next to us did not get his ordered room service 2 consecutive days.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Stateroom steward was awesome. Barstaff was very attentive. Pool servers not so much. They would often walk past tables cluttered with obviously empty drinks and plates that needed bussed.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
For the most part the ship was clean. Design-wise; more than once we went down an elevator to a deck and would have to go back up to a different deck to go fore or aft to get where we wanted to go.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This was a "mini-suite", but not exactly large. The bathroom did have a tub / shower so it wasn't cramped. There was a sofa, but the cushions were hard as rocks and not comfortable. There was an extra large balcony, but actually only comfortable in size. It was open to above so there was no privacy. The door to the cabin next where our friends were to us didn't open fully which impeded access to that balcony. That limited our ability to be together on the balcony. The other door from their balcony heading aft did open and had a latch to keep it that way.
Ship tip
This was my first Princess Cruise and likely my last. My friends were constantly comparing them to other cruise lines and Princess always lost the comparison.
WORST. We docked at an industrial pier and stayed on the ship, watching the container ships being unloaded. Crappy souvenirs being sold from tents on the pier. This was only useful to pick up people from excursions, which we didn't do. We transited the Panama Canal in the Sanctuary, and that was well worth the money for that day since we remained on the ship. I would have liked to see more of the Country on an excursion, and many people commented on the train ride to the west coast.
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