Not quite the experience that we expected, but still enjoyed the cruise. The stops at Bruges and Bilbao were particularly good.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
The Medallion made embarkation very fast.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Food in the main dining room was good. Sabatini's was excellent. The Crown Room was not at all worth the additional charge.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
There were plenty of activities, but not tailored towards the passenger demographics. The films shown were for adolescents, but the vast majority of passengers were 70+. Many of the activities were also for a younger crowd. The fitness center was never crowded and seemed to have plenty of exercise machines for the most part, but could have used more cycles.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
It was nice to have some good visiting performers on a ship. Too many ships seem to rely on their ensembles almost exclusively. The comedians were quite funny. The mentalist put on a good show. The Enrichment lecturer was quite interesting. I would have liked to see additional lecturers for this cross-Atlantic trip. On a previous trip we took, there were three Enrichment series.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Our room steward was excellent. The waiters were generally quite good. There was a bit of a disinterested and occasionally hostile attitude from some of the staff.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
In general, the ship design is good, but Princess ships tend to have bottlenecks in their design. The ship was clean, but some areas seemed a bit worn.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
"Mini-Suites" are barely bigger than regular cabins. We did appreciate the little bit of extra room. Having a larger shower (tub with shower) was definitely a benefit.
We took the ship excursion bus to the city of Bordeaux. It is a 2 hour trip each way. Having never been there, we enjoyed our walkabout, but don't feel the need to return. There was an ugly incident with the local guide who lost her temper at a guest who did not pick up a map on the bus.
The museum itself was amazing and worth the trip. Some of the collections were interesting, but not up to the level of other major modern art museums. The Old Town section was vibrant. We took the shuttle into town. Word of warning- the shuttle line gets very long in the early afternoon.
We toured Lisbon on our own as we have been there a couple of times before. The trip to Castelo de S. Jorge was well worth the hike- interesting to see and a great overlook of the city. The sidewalks and building mosaics are something you don't see anywhere else.
Not the fault of Princess, but the Immigration lines were outrageous. Although we applied for Global Entry renewal months ago, our renewal had not been approved yet. Didn't really matter as the Global Entry line also backed up. Don't waste time and on the Princess transfers. We waited almost 40 minutes for the transfer. The taxi and Uber waits were much shorter.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
