Perfect relaxing cruise to the Bahamas

Prior to boarding I purchased the soda package. Keep in mind we are Diamond Plus customers and had booked the Grand Suite, Cabin 1586. Although I think the beverage package is significantly over priced, it is convenient for the amount of soda I drink. However, looking at Princess Cruise lines they are offering a beverage package for any balcony room or above booked (see note below), something I will consider in my next booking. Irked by the price I then had to contend with the number of fountain soda machines that were NOT working. I went to five bar service locations before finding one that worked. Because of the fountain devices NOT working, they were pouring soda out of the bottle! The reason I get the package is the bottle and can soda is too sweet, so imagine my frustration when not only did I pay the outrageous price, but then had soda that I did not like and cannot drink. When we finally asked a bar manager we were told the fountain soda devices should be working (which we were previously told by one bar personal that the practice had changed, and they were supposed to pour it from a bottle). I found only one convenient one working in the Solarium pool area. The ones that were not working were (1) in the Windjammer, (2) the bar by the café on the promenade, (3), the bar by the large pool on deck 11, (4) and the bar on the promenade across from the ice cream parlor. So, you might be thinking why didn’t I use the machines located throughout that allowed me to use the Soda cup. The one in the Windjammer was frequently not working, and both on the Promenade had no carbonation. Quite a useless service you provide for the exorbitant cost. Dining - We had early seating in the main dining room. Our waiter and assistant waiter were very pleasant and attentive, anticipating our needs before we had to ask, one example was refills on the drinks were always readily available. Also, our section Maître ’D, Jacob was excellent in his service delivery. My niece was gluten intolerant. He attended to her every day to see how he could modify the selections to exclude the gluten. This made it a very memorable dining experience for her. We were seated in the dining room on deck 5 at table 548.

Most went out of there way to assist. Some of the bar attendants were less than pleasant. Cabin attendant was excellent.