Princess is a lovely cruise line and they do not disappoint. They do need to reign in the behavior of some of their entertainment staff, for example Oliver. The cruise has a lot of seniors on board and young folks tend to be few. Some of the things that happened to us with Oliver, my 30 year old kids and one bar waiter felt creepy. Room and dining staff were absolutely superb. If I can fault princess on one thing.....they need to stop making folks with full drink packages chase down bottled water one bar a time (they will only give you one bottle, so you need to run all over the ship collecting bottled water so you can put a few in your refrig.) Otherwise, they bring bottled water to your room BUT they charge you 2.50 for a small bottle and 3.75 for a liter, AFTER you paid for a premium drink package. Nickel and dime crap for a cruise that is not cheap. Get over yourselves Princess. Also, supervise you entertainers so they are not trying to party with young guests who are not interested and are not kissing people's wives necks as part of their act and behaving generally like idiots on a cruise line designed for experienced cruisers and older folks. (Send Oliver to Carnival). The last thing I expected was an undercurrent of creepiness by certain folks on a Princess Cruise. (I am a still practicing psych nurse of 43 years and I have been around the block). (FYI- My kids chose Princess because they wanted a low key, quiet cruise. I will go on any cruise line.)
Embarkation
5 out of 5
easy
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Never went to the dining room. Traveling with adult kids with food allergies and like to eat in buffet so we can get what we want without having to dress up. We like lots of Indian/ethnic food, fruits and vegies. We did eat one night in restaurant Bayou and it was beyond superb.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We are a doctor and two nurses who work with people all the time. Our jobs are high pressure, busy and can be hectic. We go on cruises to relax, visit with each other and have privacy. We did no activities on ship other than taking in music in the Wheelhouse bar, though I did enjoy the onboard choir concert by the folks traveling who volunteer to sing while onboard. (what a great idea).
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Never went to theatre. Bar entertainers were pretty good. Did not like the loud steel drum in the bar. Steel drum in atrium was fine as acoustics are more expansive. I would like if they stuck to jazz, bossa nova and quiet singing and music in bars.
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
No kids with us.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Room steward was superb. Bar staff was wonderful until they made inappropriate, over-personal comments. Cruises to me are about escape, luxury and service. I don't want to hear wisecracks from bar staff about my age, etc. A word about drink packages. I take my two adult kids on cruises and I pay (son and his wife are young and work their tails off). I buy everyone drink packages so they can get whatever they want whenever they want including specialty coffees, juices, sodas, cocktails, etc. The staff likes to "memorize" your package number so they don't have to bother with your card. A couple times I found numbers of drinks charged to my "number" that had nothing to do with me. We are gracious, quiet, well-behaved and friendly folks. One eve, I had a familiar and well-liked waiter suddenly ask me why I drink so much. He stated there were 13 drinks charged to my number. When I informed him this was impossible, he retreated and I never heard another word about it.. I still do not know why he said this. We were sitting having a quiet conversation and were all lucid, pleasant and sober. That was shortly before an entertainer employed by the ship approached my young adult kids to come have cocktails with him and some other folks who were really drunk. I am wondering if the waiter was trying to insult me and get me to leave so the entertainer could party with my kids who were some of the few younger folks on the cruise. The entertainer and waiter made contact earlier in the evening. The whole incident was very strange. My kids were uncomfortable it. We avoided that bar, which was lovely, for a few days. (The next day a waiter at the pool bar said "what is wrong with you, you have only 2 drinks on your drink package. You have 13 more to go. You better get busy.") I don't need advice or comments from any waiters, thank you. I paid for my cruise and I know how to behave.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
No complaints about the ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
cabin was perfect for a panamax ship. No complaints. Balcony was one of the best seats in the house for Panama Canal. Cabin adjoined my son and his wife's room which I highly recommend for women traveling alone.
Ship tip
Get a good balcony room for both Panama Canal and Alaska.
I am biased by this port due to meeting a jeweler friend here who made a gorgeous custom piece of jewelry for my son's wife's birthday. We had a ball in Cartegena. The city is very pretty and shopping is good. Constant hawkers shoving things in your face is exhausting.
The land that time forgot. Gorgeous homes with parts of roofs missing or parts of walls missing. Long-unfinished construction projects. High rise apartments with only 2 units inhabited. Weird place. I would not venture into the streets in this place.
Nice shopping in port but locals need to understand that shouting "Lady, lady come here, you need a T shirt, you need...... " over and over is not welcome. Exhausting after a while though the people are friendly and will stop if asked. Kids did an excursion to rain forest which they loved though this area is very hot.
Sorry, cannot rate as I was ill and could not get off ship. Kids went to beach and loved it. They went to local Burwood beach by cab. Locals fellow cooked spiny lobster and served them refreshments. They really enjoyed this place.
Creepy or maybe they were just trying to make small talk. I get that some people just do not want to relax and not interact with others and that is certainly your right but since 90+% of people enjoy or at least don't mind talking to crew members you will need to forgive them for not knowing your privacy inclenations. Maybe a private yacht is the way to go.
It's stated very clearly that beverage package does not cover mini bar and bottled water in the room so it shouldn't come as a surprise. And, they never give more than one drink at a time if you have a package - that's the rule. You have to come back or go to a different place. It's not nickel and diming, just to prevent sharing.
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