The people are the awesome part of the experience...the facilities, not so much...

Favorite parts have to be:

1.   The food was amazing and delicious, and was always available day or night.  The bakery items were beautiful as well as decadent, and the food was very high quality.  If you couldn't find something you liked, you weren't trying very hard...

2.  The people who work on the ship are there to please the guests and they all come equipped with big smiles and the patience of saints!  I witnessed a few guests being  abusive to staff, but the employees of Princess handled it completely professionally.  

3.  The entertainment was top-notch (maybe not quite Broadway, but darned entertaining and fabulous, nevertheless!)  Every night was something new and delightful, and the singers and dancers were truly professional!  You had your choice of classical music from a stringed quartet, quiet soulful music in dark places, Broadway type extravaganzas in the Princess Theater, movies on the sundeck, day and night...dancing, bands, anything and everything you could ask for!

4.  The shore excursion guides were amazing!  Informed, personable, spoke English beautifully, and really showed pride in their hometowns that we toured!  If only we could have had more leisurely tours with more time to truly experience the ports...

Now, for the not so great parts of the cruise...

1.  The temperature on the ship was hot (yes, even when the outside temps were 50-60 F, the hallways and rooms were in the high 70s, low 80s  and stuffy!)  Air circulation is very poor on the ship in many areas.

2.  The toilets still are hit and miss...sometimes stop working all together!  The shower barely dribbled water, and ours wasn't the only one, LOL.  The towels felt like sandpaper, so it was free microderm abrasion for all users of towels!

3.  At times (when at sea) there were too many sales kiosks and it just felt like someone was always trying to sell you something!  It would have been nice to just be able to walk through those areas without feeling like you had to listen to their sales pitches and come see their wares.  On the subject of money...why can't they include softdrinks and bottled water in the price of the cruise?  I don't even drink pop, but the idea of having to pay for a softdrink card is ridiculous!  The bottle of water they charge $2 for onboard the ship is sold on shore for less than $1 so I don't think it is fair to upcharge!

4.  The Princess folks need to take a step back and give people more time to explore the destinations!  In Sweden, we had less than 7 hours to see the entire city of Stockholm.  A shore excursion is almost a teaser...to entice you to come back some day and spend a week at each port!  I would truly appreciate fewer stops and more time at each port!  I think, in speaking with other passengers, many people felt exactly as I did!  Rush rush to get on the bus.  Ride, ride, listen listen, get off the bus, run to this statue, get back on the bus, ride ride, stop and go this museum, rush rush, back to the bus, you get the drift...I always felt dissatisfied, like I needed more time to absorb the surroundings!

So, all in all, a wonderful time was had by most, but it wasn't perfect.  But then again, what vacation is?  I would do it again, but probably do different shore excursions with more time at one stop rather than trying to do the "BEST OF" tours which literally run you all over the town with little time to enjoy any of the stops!