My overview of the cruise is that it was adequate for what it was. It was relaxing much of the time but we walked a long way on the ship from one end to the other many times with our canes (My walker wasn't a viable choice as there was not enough room to negotiate the hallways because of the ever present room service carts). Actually had nothing to do with "Wine Country" that I could see. Won't do the cruise again.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Went very smoothl. The cruise personnel were very helpful and friendly.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The food in the dining rooms was good for the most part. Excellent at times. Had mahi mahi as a final night dinner that I sent back because it was not good. The buffet was good. We ate there for breakfast during the entire cruise. Had bacon on each breakfast, but the bacon on the last day was so greasy I didn't even get any.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Too cold most of the trip to enjoy the pools. There were a LOT of musical entertainers, guitar (which was terrible), piano, violin, etc. Some game activities with trivia seeming to be the main choice to offer. All of the production shows were excellent every night. As with any cruise line now, the main thrust of the cruise was to get you to spend as much extra money as they could manage to get out of you during the cruise. A great example of this is the availability of a simple cup of regular coffee that is listed as one of the free drink offerings. There was only ONE place aboard ship (other than during dining) that you could go to get a cup of coffee that was part of the complementary package. That was the deck 14 aft buffet cafe. Bot my wife and I use a cane to walk and walking isn't easy for us. If we wanted to have a cup of coffee we had to walk from our room on deck 9 midships, down the hall to the elevators, take the elevator to the 14th floor, walk half of the length of the ship past both pool areas (one outside in the rain) and finally to the cafe. We drink coffee regularly and so this became a chore several times a day. I did use the "How are we doing so far" sheet in our room to complain about this to ship staff. The next evening we were tracked down by the head of the food department who apologized for the inconvenience but could offer no other solution than room service. Very inconvenient for older folks!
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The ship's stage shows were all excellent. One performance group that played mainly in the main lobby was good but usually very loud. There was a female solo guitarist that was not good at all. Most other offerings were enjoyable.
Children's Programs
I am 74! My wife is 72! Not having any more kids for a while!
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Overall service was very good especially from dining staff. The cafe staff were good most of the time. The staff were all tired as this had been a long trip for them.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
It is understandably an older ship. The upkeep was very good and only showed some wear and tear in places. See my above for my idea of the layout.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Excellent size with a very nice balcony (not too usable due to weather). It was very comfortable.
Ship tip
Bring a water bottle in order to stay hydrated. Expect to walk A LOT even if you are infirm.
We did an open top bus ride around the city. The weather was very nice for the trip and we loved seeing the different parts of the city. As we can't get aroound very well, we stayed on the bus for the entire tour. We did walk around Fisherman's Terminal as best we could and then got back to the ship. Some better direction from the ship to the points of interest such as the ticket booth for the bus tour and Fisherman's Terminal would have been helpful.
Walked out of VanTerm to the train station (again we didn't really know where we needed to go) and managed along with another couple and several people on the street to finally find the train terminal.
Why not use elevators that are mid ship? I realize the waits are longer, but the elevators are right there and are at the entrance to buffet on Lido deck. Buy Princess plus and get all the coffee you can drink from international Cafe which is two decks down at mid ship elevators. I'm also sure if you asked, you could have a carafe of coffee brought to your room with room service which is still free
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