We wanted a transatlantic cruise, and Rome was an attractive port in which to spend pre-cruise days. Genoa, Toulon, Barcelona, and especially Azores, were all interesting ports. Genoa was dropped, and replaced with Livorno about 12 days before sailing. We couldn’t stop in Toulon due to rough seas and high winds. Barcelona and Azores were wonderful, but at least 4 of our 9 sea days were very rough. We’ve investigated the fall crossings for several years. They normally set sail by the third week in October, so I’m not sure if the later sailing contributed to the rough seas. The last theee days, we had lovely, warm weather and smooth seas. This is a good value cruise, but it is not the typical mix of Princess passengers. Entertainment was not quite up to the standards of other Princess cruises, but Magic To Do is a very well-done, professional show. The food was good, and service is overall very good, especially in the staterooms. One issue we had was that we both came down with colds. My husband’s symptoms occurred immediately upon entering our stateroom. Mine developed 4 days later. We both noticed that we felt much better when we were out of our rooms, especially when we were in fresh air. Not sure if the feather bedding contributed to the symptoms/seriousness of the colds, but the stateroom sure didn’t help.
The cabin location was an issue in two areas: rough seas and internet access. Because our ship experienced a great deal of pitching, something stabilizers don’t correct, we felt every bit of the motion in this far forward mini-suite. Also, internet service from our room was unreliable and very slow.
We used Princess transfers to the ship. It was efficient.
My husband was down with a bad cold, and we didn’t leave the ship.
Lovely drive, beautiful lakes, and very nice wine and cheese tasting.