Floating Nursing home with horrible food and horrible entertainment

We disembarked this floating nursing home as soon as it arrived on the European continent in Cherbourg, France. We counted the days when we could get off this ship. We walked 20 minutes to the train station and bought tickets for the train to Paris. Luckily there was a train an hour later and the ride was only 3-1/2 hours. The average age of the people on board this ship was 75 years old, and most had walkers, canes, and scooters. And all these people would talk about was how many times they have sailed on Princess Cruises....most of them 20 + times. Puhleez....how boring having the same stupid experience over and over again. Personally I feel life is too short to not expose ourselves to new and different experiences. I have been cruising since 1980. In the 80's when I was a travel agent I could go on any cruise for a mere $15 a day. I have been on almost all of the cruise lines and most of the cruise ships over the years, even after I was no longer a travel agent. I therefore know the difference between a fantastic cruise I would rate a 10, and a crappy cruise like this one that I would only give one star and that is just for the service staff. We were bored stiff on this ship for the 10 god awful days we had to be on it. We spoke with some people at breakfast one morning who told us that there were actually people in their late 70's and 80's who LIVED on board these cruise ships since it was cheaper than being in a retirement home or a nursing home!! Some even died on these ships! How bizarre. The activities and entertainment were obviously centered around this age group and this demographic. Things like card games, trivia games, pictionary, ballroom dancing in the piazza every night. The rest of the entertainment was a joke. The dancers and singers for the big shows always appeared like they needed more rehearsals since they always looked and sounded very amateur. The dancers merely showed off their costumes before strutting off the stage after doing “maybe” a couple of sloppy kicks they qualified as dancing. They showed no dancing skills whatsoever, and the choreography was non-existent and disjointed since it appeared everyone was doing their own show to the same music, at the same time. Same goes for the entertainers/performers hired for some of the other shows like the comedians, the magician, and the so called big name entertainers in show biz that I had never heard of. More likely lounge singers from the 70's or 80's era. They were all absolutely atrocious. On a scale from 1 to 10, I would give most of them a 4. My husband and I walked out of the first 3 shows after only 20 minutes. The other nights we just stayed in our cabin and watched movies. The seating capacity in the Princess Theater was another joke that did not leave us laughing. Not enough seats to accommodate even 50% of all the people on the ship! If we wanted to see any of the shows, we had to be in the theater 30 -45 minutes before to secure our seats, otherwise it was standing room only way in the back of the room where you may, or may not, see the stage. What the hell!! It was even more ridiculous when they used the Vista Lounge for any of the shows. They obviously need to replace the bulky swivel chairs and the other bulky lounge chairs with more sensible seating to seat more people. The first night before we realized what we were up against, we ended up in this huge argument with the old people standing in the back of the room who were not able to get a seat. We apparently stood in front of them when we tried to find a place to stand to see the show. And let's not even talk about the food on this ship!...Food in the main dining rooms was below average, sometimes inedible. The only sure thing was the crème brulee dessert. Food at the buffet bistro was only a slight improvement over the main dining room. Same goes for 50% of the desserts. They always looked amazing and decadent until you tasted the disappointment. Fruits like cantaloupes, pineapples, and watermelons were tasteless. The pineapples were not peeled and most of the time the skin was fermented and moldy, and the pineapple itself was tough and sour, and grey in color. Breakfast was the only time I could get a decent, satisfying meal in the Bistro. Cruising is obviously not what it used to be. I suppose when the cruise lines only charge $50 a day p.p. For a balcony room, something's gotta give for them to still make their profit margin. The only good thing about this cruise was the service staff. I have never experienced a more attentive, kind and friendly service staff than what we experienced on this ship. It's just too bad the MBA's had to screw up this Industry also. NO more cruises ever for us.