5 June 2007


Now that I’m back home and beginning to return to normal life, it might be worth posting a few final thoughts on the trip.

The complete trip took 29 days, but required only one hotel change….that’s one thing I like about going on a cruise.

High Points included:

St. Petersburg – It was a real treat to see so much art and history in one place and we only skimmed the surface of a few of the city sights. A much longer visit would be needed to begin to appreciate the city….and I’m not sure I could have survived much longer at the pace we were going.

Normandy – I enjoyed the art, the history, the flowers, the food, the wine and the people during the tour in Normandy. I was very pleasantly surprised by how friendly the people of Normandy were compared to some earlier experiences in Paris. I don’t know if that is a regional difference or just the difference between Big City vs. Smaller Towns that you see around the world.

Amsterdam – It is a wildly touristy place, but I enjoyed it. It would be a fine place to go sit, drink a beer and watch the people…..just watch your wallet too.

Low Points:

We saw everything that we had planned to see on this trip, so I don’t have much to complain about related to the itinerary. But if I were to do this region again, I would try to book smaller, less structured tours that might provide an opportunity to vary the schedule and reduce the crowding experienced on the larger group tours.

As I noted in some of my narratives, the major irritations came from my fellow tourists when they were pushy, arrogant or overly demanding with tour guides or the ship’s staff. It is OK to be boring, vain or overly talkative with your fellow travelers; that’s just the way some people are….and your fellow tourists can always tell you to shut up.  But when you are in a foreign country you are a guest and you shouldn’t be abusive or insulting to your hosts. 

Service, Value and Organization during the Cruise:

I may be a bit of a Pollyanna, but I was very pleased with the cruise. Were there some things I’d like to see improved? Sure. But I thought that Princess did a great job of delivering a very satisfying cruise experience.

In particular, I would complement Princess on:

Cabin stewards – Ours was outstanding

Wait Staff in the dining rooms – Once again we had friendly, patient and attentive service at dinner

Organizing a variety of onboard activities

Having a “Smoke-Free Night” at the casino during the Transatlantic crossing – please expand this practice to other cruises as well.

Special note needs to be made concerning:

The Disembarkation in Copenhagen – This was very well organized and a great improvement over previous disembarkations I’ve experienced. The remote baggage claim and airline counters are really a great idea.

John Lawrence, the Cruise Director for the Baltic segment of the cruise – John was entertaining and knowledgeable. His port lectures and history lectures are outstanding….and his morning TV show is always entertaining. I was sorry to hear that this will be John’s last Baltic season and he will soon be retiring. I wish John a long and pleasant retirement at his home in Portugal and I hope Princess is grooming someone with similar talents and energy.

On the downside, there are some things that I believe could be changed to improve the experience:  

 

Entertainment – The major shows in the Princess Theater were always out of capacity. We did not get into any of the major reviews. People, who did go, often went 45 minutes or an hour early to get seats. This is a problem you have when the theater seats several hundred people, but there are nearly 3000 people who want to go. I don’t have a good solution, but it would be nice if there was some system in place to insure that if people wanted to attend some of the shows they could do so once or twice during the cruise without having to go and wait in the theater for an hour prior to show time.

Gym facilities – I really did miss having access to the gym for the entire Baltic cruise….I know there was a flood and much effort was expended trying to make repairs…But the gym was not available….heads should roll. Oops, maybe I’m the one being a little over-demanding now. But that was a disappointment and contributed greatly to the 6 pound weight-gain I experienced at the end of the cruise. On a slightly more reasonable note, hours of operation for the gym (when it is not being flooded) need to be expanded. Since you can’t get up early and workout, you rarely have a chance to use the gym on port days. Yes, I know, the hours are curtailed because there are cabins underneath the gym and the noise disturbs the passengers…..well, DUH…why put a gym over top of sleeping quarters? Why not put it over the galley or a lounge or the casino? OK, I’m done ranting. 

Final Note:

The missing piece of luggage mentioned on the “Back Home” page, finally turned up 3 days after our return home; so all is well.