It's not like we had a bad time, in fact, we had a great time, but compared to other cruise lines, this experience on Princess (our first), was kind of underwhelming. The ports were great, except the one we missed due to a medical emergency on board (Grand Cayman), our main disappointment was with the ship, or more accurately, with aspects of the on-board life. First off, it felt like the ship was under-staffed, compared with other cruises I've been on (about a dozen). The staff that they had did a great job, no complaints, but there just were not enough of them. This meant very long waits for waiters in the bars, and for room service, which typically (but not always) took close to an hour, if the order came at all (failed twice). The 'order to location' function in the Princess App, which would deliver 'room service' to any location on the ship, simply did not work. We tried it half a dozen times, and only got our order if we had one of the staff follow up on it after and hour with nothing. If they can't make this work, they just shouldn't offer it. The buffet was consistently disappointing. By far the worst I've ever experienced on a cruise (inc Carnival). Salads and desserts were fine, but the entree dishes were consistently unappetizing. The dining rooms were better, although still not quite to the standard of other cruises I've been on. The entertainment on board was lack-luster and repetitive. The live musical performers in the lounges were good, but just how many trivia contests can one go to? The headline comedian was frankly terrible, and bombed completely during the set we endured. The comedian/magician was good, the production shows were good, but mostly it seemed like it was trivia contests and bingo, which quickly grew tiresome on a 14 day itinerary, especially one with so many sea days (and an extra sea day thrown in due to the missed port). The casino was too small, and they had too many tables offering weird 3-card poker games that hardly anyone was playing while players were two-deep waiting to play at the too-few blackjack tables. And while I'm complaining, that breakfast muffin sandwich, one of the only breakfast choices available by room service, was simply and consistently terrible. Cold and unappetizing, consisting of an untoasted cold english muffin, a cold piece of canadian bacon, and a cold egg. Nothing else. Terrible in the same kind of way that the buffet was terrible.

The ship itself was fine, especially for one the age of The Caribbean Princess, there just wasn't a lot to do on board. The Medallion is great! Much more convenient than keeping track of a ship-card. Our cabin was clean and comfortable. Our room steward Roshan was fantastic. Our favorite bar waiter (in the Wheelhouse), Kape was great, and in the way the my favorite cruise experiences have been great in the past (she remembered us and our orders!) Wheelhouse was the only bar we found where table service was prompt, probably because it was a small venue, but mostly because Kape worked her tail off. We also enjoyed the services of Ruth and Vincente in the casino bar (and the Ukranian young man, who's name I forget). One absolutely fantastic highlight was the Chef's Table, which I highly recommend. It was a very memorable experience! Jody, the cruise director was a very positive presence throughout, more-so than other cruise directors I remember (and she even intervened personally on our behalf to get one of our missing 'to location' orders delivered). Oh! And our favorite wait-team in the dining room, Randy and Simba in the Palm Dining Room, who, unfortunately, we didn't discover until the last few days of the cruise.

I'm not saying it was so bad that I'd never go on Princess again, but unless its an itinerary I can't get with another line, I'll probably stick to Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Celebrity for my future cruising. I went into my first Princess cruise thinking it was a premium line, but my experience just put it in the 'Mid' category.