Overall it was a very nice cruise--however this cruise taught me to be more careful about booking cruises where lousy weather will likely be a factor--next time I will choose a ship with a solarium so I don't feel so cooped up. It was also our 6th Princess cruise and I felt like everything was the same on this ship as on all the other ships--a bit boring perhaps--I'm probably ready to try another line.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Very efficient--no complaints. We were able to go to our room as early as 11:30.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Food was above average. We felt it was one of the better Princess buffets. Specialty restaurants were OK not spectacular--would love to see specials at the specialty restaurants--the menu seemed a bit "tired"--especially for frequent guests on Princess cruises.
Sabatini's Italian Trattoria
3 out of 5
Just OK--menu the same on every ship--food is above average--but not exceptional. Would like to see something different at this restaurant once in a while--a special dish or a special dessert.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Hot tubs were nice. Fitness center was your usual cruise ship fitness center. Pools pretty much unusable due to weather (no solarium on board).
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Production shows were very good--not as creative technologically advanced as on other cruise lines, but adequate. The Elton John impersonator was not at the same level as the production singers--but the audience seemed to love watching him anyway.
Movies Under the Stars
3 out of 5
Yes they showed movies several times a day--no one ever watched them. Too cold.
Children's Programs
No kids with us.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Service was always excellent in all places--except the Buffet--where the service was hit or miss. Frequently couldn't find a waiter to get coffee in the AM.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
It's a nice ship--very similar to others in the same Princess class. I really hate that there is little to no promenade and that there are no areas like a solarium so that the pools can be used in lousy weather. Ships that sail in New England where the weather is likely to be lousy should have those types of spaces.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We upgraded from the standard balcony to the premium deluxe balcony via the Princess upgrade bidding program. I think the slightly increased size of the room (which accommodates a small couch) is nice. The balcony was larger than the usual sized balcony and had a nice overhang which kept us dry--but having a nice balcony is really not essential on a cruise where it's likely to rain every day. We upgraded via the Princess upgrade program and if I had to do it over again--I would have bid much less for the room than I did--even though my bid was considered in the "less likely to be accepted" range--clearly most of the Deluxe Premium Balcony cabins were empty on the cruise (No names on the doors). Even though the Aft Deluxe Premium Balcony cabins were empty--they upgraded us to a less desirable side facing cabin.
Ship tip
If you are interested in spending lots of time in the casino and want to be able to sit at a slot machine or a table without waiting for 30 minutes--make sure you aren't on a cruise where there will be a casino event like the Prestige cruise.
Didn't get off the ship at this stop because we didn't have an excursion pre-planned. Getting on the tender involved a wait of several hours in the AM--just not worth it to us.
Boston is a vibrant city. The ship docks in an industrial area which is on the hop on hop off bus route. If you didn't have a planned excursion--it was easy to buy a ticket as you got off the boat (you could charge it to your room). There were also taxis avaiilable--but it seemed like it would be a long walk to downtown. The hop on hop off buses run frequently--so no significant waiting if you want to get off the bus.
Bar Harbour is a quaint town with many restaurants and some shopping (although much had already shut down for the season in late October). The problem again was the tendering. Since it was so foggy--the lifeboats could not travel independently--they had to travel right behind the larger "ferry" and as the captain put it "trail like little sheep". So--basically you had to sit on this tender that was packed as full as they could get it and wait for the larger ferry to also fill up--all the while bobbing up and down in the water. Did take a nice excursion to Acadia National Park--but the whole tendering process took 1 1/2 hours on the way back from when I first got in line to when I got onto the ship. Next time I'm not getting off the ship if tendering is involved.
Nice port--took the trolley tour--was then dropped off in downtown St. John and walked thru downtown back to the cruise ship--about a 15 minute walk which was very nice. Very easy to self-explore the city right from where the cruise ship docks.
Great review and great advice about going on a cruise to a place/time with likely bad weather. Going on this ship next week so glad to hear the food is typical or better for Princess. Other reviews have said the quality is down so good to hear from a frequent Princess cruiser. Yes, give some other lines a try.
Appreciate your feedback. Glad you enjoyed your cruise even though you are ready to try other cruise lines. You can always come back to Princess. Enjoyed your adventure into other options!😎
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