We were on our second transatlantic cruise, this one on the Royal Princess, which left from Barcelona and also called at Valencia, Cartagena, Cadiz, Gibralter, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Lanzarote. Amazing time: lovely ship with lots to do on many days at sea (which we love); good friends; great experiences.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Basically we walked from the taxi directly onto the boat. This may be due to our loyalty status with Princess (platinum; not the highest) or just serendipity, but it was seamless and easy. Not much time to even look at the Barcelona cruise terminal, which looked interesting.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We always enjoy the main dining rooms, and eat there most of all because one of us has a serious food allergy. Princess has always been fantastic about dealing with that there. We were in the Concerto Dining Room with a reserved table of six, and it was wonderful. The food is standard Princess fare, but we like it very much, and some of it -- especially the Norman Love desserts -- is inspired and amazing. Most of is it very good; only occasionally do you have a meal that doesn't meet your expectations.
We also ate at the Crown Grille, which was amazing in every way. The food was excellent!
We had most of our breakfasts and lunches at the Horizon Buffet or Bistro -- also good quality, tastiness and abundance. We especially liked the "afternoon snack" part -- the guacamole, chips, etc. and the Asian and TexMex offerings nearly every day. The pastries there are great, as well.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We enjoyed the Halloween party probably most of all, but the balloon drop party and the 70s party were also top on our list. We loved the productions, and the cast was AMAZING. We also enjoyed the water/light shows and just sitting on the main decks (16 or 5) and watching people or people doing other activities. We work out everyday and the exercise area was great; my only caveat here was that the outdoor deck 17 smoking area was right outside, so when someone would open the deck door, you'd get a huge waft of smoke. We enjoyed the deck 18 track, too.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The production shows were amazing. The singers/dancers are very, very talented. Most of the other musicians were great; one or two were only so-so. There was a string quartet onboard that was absolutely the best. Some of the other performers were fine, but not that special (comedians, instrumentalists).
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Almost always this category is a five for us with Princess, and this cruise is not an exception. Our cabin steward, Alex, and the head waiter in one of our restaurants, Marius, stand out.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Much better with the midship stairs! All this was fine, great even.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
A standard balcony, and, on the Royal, a small balcony area. The cabin was great, no complaints. The cleanliness was exceptional, probably due to the excellent room steward, Alex.
We didn't do an excursion in Valencia, but did take the Princess shuttle into the center of town, where we watched a great cultural dancing show in a square (lots of fun, and interesting) and climbed the tower/gate into the Old City. We also had some gelato and coffee, and enjoyed just wandering around the Old Town very much.
This was one of our favorite ports. We took a "best of Cartagena" tour and enjoyed walking around and seeing all the sites, followed by some shopping, gelato and strolling.
My favorite port! We got ourselves out to Europa Point via bus, and spent a few hours there wandering around in the wind. We strolled around the shopping district, stopping for a few hours at Costa Coffee to have some excellent brew and use the WiFi. Then we did a "stroll on the upper rock" tour that took us back to Europa, to St. Michael's Cave, and the Great Siege Tunnels -- absolutely amazing. LOVED it.
We didn't do an excursion, and maybe should have, but we did walk around. It was a confusing city (despite good maps) to navigate but it was pretty. We wanted to find some landmarks, but that was difficult due to poor street signs, nevertheless, it was enjoyable.
We weren't feeling the best so we did not do anything here but get off the ship and walk the thousand miles to the shopping area, and turn around to go back. Probably would have liked it better had we done the volcano/cave/camel excursion we'd planned.
Princess was, for once, WAY ahead of themselves, so we got off about 30 minutes early. We went immediately, even without standing in line, to a taxi to the airport to pick up our rental car. No hassles at all. Every easy.
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