This ship could do more to accommodate passengers who need help getting around, especially during disembarkation. I would avoid Princess in the future just because of the carelessness at disembarkation.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
My parents are elderly, and my mother walks with a cane or a walker. The staff at the port was very helpful in allowing her to not have to stand and wait in line, but I think it would be even better if there was a staff member whose responsibility it was to look out for people needing extra help and to direct them to a more suitable embarkation process.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The food was average. The choices at the buffet were often repetitive, though the selections covered a wide range of countries' cuisines. I enjoyed the choices, but the ship did not make it clear that different sides of the buffet were not necessarily serving the same food. I missed out on the build-your-own ramen because of this. The heated meats were often overcooked. The lamb was usually good, though. The tenderloin and lobster option at dinner one night was cooked very well. More non-dairy desserts at dinner would be helpful for those of us who are lactose-intolerant.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
The casino was terrible. I heard one person describe it as a "bad casino." My mother likes to play the slots on the ships, but after a brief experience on this ship, she said she might as well just throw her money at the machine. These slots were so tight and so focused only on removing your money from you that they took any fun out of playing them.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
I participated in and enjoyed many of the activities. I participated in steel pan player Wilson's lessons and end-of-cruise performance, and I loved it and him. I would do this again on another cruise. However, the cruise should make clear in this class's description that it is a progressive class that leads to a performance. Had I known that, I would have attended from the beginning. I thought it was a drop-in, drop-out class, as did other people who showed up on the last day looking to attend the class.
The band Pinnacle was good, fun, and talented.
We really enjoyed the quiz games.
Comedian Troy Thirdgill was funny and entertaining.
I attended most of the nightly theater shows. They were only okay, for the most part. I thought the quality overall could be kicked up a notch.
Children's Programs
I did not attend any children's programs.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff was the best part of the cruise.
We ate all our breakfasts at Michelangelo.
Velanco was our primary server at breakfast, and he could not have been more helpful and attentive to us, particularly my mother, who walks with the assistance of a cane. Velanco often went out of his way to help her to and at the table. Also, at lunch, one day while my mother and I were wandering around looking for the rest of our party, Velanco saw us and, without our having to ask, he told us where the rest of our party was. He was wonderful.
We ate all our dinners at Botticelli.
The first two nights, Pedrito and Cuthbert waited on us. They were excellent servers, friendly, and determined to make sure we enjoyed our dinners and our cruise. We also saw Cuthbert in the mornings at breakfast, and he was always friendly and helpful.
Albert and Mitchel waited on us for the next eight nights. We also saw Albert in the mornings at breakfast and Mitchel at lunch in the buffet. They were hard-working, entertaining, professional, and determined to make our cruise as wonderful as it could be. Both were attentive, answered all our questions about the menu, and entertained us with their food knowledge and their welcoming and friendly personalities.
Homer, our cabin steward, did an excellent job keeping our cabin in order every day and restocking everything we needed. He was friendly, helpful, thorough, and professional.
Julian, a supervisor at Michelangelo and Botticelli, was super helpful and friendly to us and also made us feel special on our cruise.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
I enjoyed the artwork, ornaments, and color scheme of the carpets throughout the ship. The ship was clean, but seemed older. This was the roughest sea journey I have ever been on. The ship rocked and rolled for all ten days. Many people made jokes about feeling like they were drunk. My mother, who walks with a cane, has been on more than 30 cruises. She said she had never been on such a rough cruise, and she often had to stop walking while the ship rolled.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
The beds were really comfortable and the balcony was an adequate size. However, it also had a tiny shower and an annoying motion-detector light in the area outside the bathroom. I cannot describe how great an annoyance that light was. That area is where you stand to decide what you will wear, so I would often stand in there without moving. Except that I had to regularly move and wave my arms around because the light kept turning off. I would avoid this ship in the future just because of that one light. Also, no hair dryer? And there were not enough outlets for charging phones and laptops., but I believe that is by design.
Ship tip
Check all areas of the lunch buffets before deciding what you want to eat. They don't all serve the same food.
I love Cartagena from other visits. This one was too short, and the traffic in Cartagena made it us do less in the port than we intended because we were afraid of not making it back to the ship in time.
Traveling with elderly parents and a lot of luggage. The embarkation process made no accommodation for my mother, who was using a walker. My elderly father had to walk around to find our luggage and we had to get their large suitcases to a place where a porter could then help us. I would avoid Princess just because of this disembarkation process. Many cruisers are elderly and need additional assistance. This cruise line needs to make accommodations for such people. I thought the disembarkation was cruel and thoughtless.
Well. The motion light has been on every Princess ship I’ve been on lately. I’ve just covered up the sensor with a piece of paper and tape. Then I remove it when we leave. It is an older ship….so might expect some issues there.
Odd on the handicapped assistance for embarking and disembarking. Fort Lauderdale and Princess had very good wheelchair assistance (slow, but dependable) when my wife needed it. Port side took us to the waiting room in the terminal and the ship’s company took over and got us to where we were going onboard. But that WAS pre-Covid.
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