JanDCruiser

Just got off a 13 day New Zealand cruise on Golden Princess. The ship is a bit worn but still very nice. It is heading for a major retrofit Pros Wonderful employees that worked very hard to create a good vacation experience. Food in the MDR (Donatello and Bernini) was very good. The new Princess Bed was incredibly comfortable. I want one! Events were usually well run. Voyage was excellently managed The ship has skywalkers which is pretty cool. Plenty of venues and activities. We were never bored. Cons Buffet was pretty standard. Not enough employees in the mdr’s. They really struggled to provide good service but they seemed to be spread thin. Half of the entertainment was not quite as good as on my previous princess cruises but many would say it was good. The other half was pretty good and enjoyable.

The crown princess was a well run ship. Our steward was probably the only employee that was not friendly. He was all business. We like to be around happy people so Princess should make sure the employees know they at least need to smile. The buffet was actually really good. We had fine dining twice. The food was good but we waited so long half the table left before it got there. Otherwise the whole experience was great. Employees were very kind and funny. They really looked out for my elderly mother in law. Constant maintenance was occurring in preparation for the next cruise which was to be a trip around South America. Everything was clean. The itinerary was modified for safety and we went to Ensenada on a different day than expected but we had fun nonetheless. Our balcony stateroom was well kept and room service was fine. I had low expectations because this was only a 3 day Ensenada cruise in early December. The review got wiped out so i am re-adding it.

Four day repositioning cruise Vancouver to LA This was a great short cruise. Wonderful musicians. Polonia string quartet and pianist. Pleasantly surprised by their excellence. The crew was especially good. The room steward Glenn was a great guy. Dining staff and wine manager were very good. I cannot think of a single person who feel short unless you count bored retail clerks. The size of the ship compared to number of guests was good. The ship was full but never felt crowded. The anytime dining was well run and the food was very good. Not incredible, but very good. The horizon court buffet was clean and the food was good. About what you expect for a buffet. There were some children and more people in their 30s and 40s than usual. No disappointments.

Surprised. This is my favorite Princess ship so far. It has most features of the larger ships plus the fabulous Universe Lounge. It is the smallest princess ship I’ve been on. I fear they are planning to replace the Universe Lounge with cabins. If that happens the Coral Princess will become awkward like the Island Princess. I love the layout of the ship with a continuous promenade on one level. The ship was by far the best managed so far. Food service in the mdr’s was great and the food was varied and consistently very good. The wait staff is super well trained. The international cafe, bars and alternative dining were wonderful. I do not like or use buffets so I cannot critique the horizon court. The entertainment was the biggest surprise. The quality of music, shows and other entertainment was really good. One night they flew in one of the top violinists in the world. Unbelievably good. They had so many music venues I never saw them all. The wine events and spa were also very well run. The wine lists were fairly comprehensive. Many of the employees have been with Princess many years. Maintenance activities were continual. The ship has so many viewing places on top. This made for a great scenic cruise.

I just got off the Ruby from the four day culinary cruise to Santa Barbara and Ensenada. I had no idea it would be the annual culinary cruise but was glad it was. Someone needs to do a better job on the website to advertise this annual event. It was also my first Ruby cruise. What a great cruise! I didn’t expect a great cruise at all because of the many passengers and the shortness of the voyage. But it felt like a longer voyage. The guest chefs were really down-home and original. Their ethnic twists on cooking were refreshing and I learned a lot from them. The entertainment was really good. One doesn’t expect much from a short cruise but the comedian Carlos Oscar and singer Gazarra were truly wonderful. The live shows were good, as were the bands, the sets and other activities. If only I had won the bingo (barely missed the jackpot!) The food was great in the dining rooms - And international cafe. I avoid buffets because I prefer the service and artistry of the dining room venues. I find most people are either buffet eaters or fine-dining eaters. So to me the buffets will never be exciting!!! They offer plain (to me) but plentiful fare. They look fine but it appears difficult to get window seats because they are hotly sought after. The room service staff was prompt and cheerful and the orders accurate. I took Princess side tours and was very pleased. The prices were par with stand alone tours and the quality was just great. I saw my whales (whale watching in Santa Barbara ) and drank my wines (getting gifts from the wineries in Ensenada too). There was plenty of time for site seeing on our own too. This was the newest Princess ship I have been on. It was in really nice shape. I saw the review from someone complaining about last week’s maintenance activities but I can honestly say that I saw none of that. I am an active walker and covered every possible public venue multiple times. There were so many good employees that I was really pleased. They are good role models for the others. I was surprised to virtually never see officers. On every other Princess cruise I have taken, they are all over. I don’t know if that is good or bad, but it didn’t bother me and everything seemed well managed. The only bad thing on the cruise were the elevators at disembarking time. Getting space on an elevator with walk off suitcases was truly impossible. I have never had that problem on any other Princess cruises. I don’t know who dropped the ball. I cannot give the cruise or crew a bad review over elevator and passenger issues the last hour. Everything else was fine. Generally better than fine. Good job, Princess. And thanks for a great cruise!

This was a great cruise. The steward was exceptional (Sandrie). The anytime dining was excellent and the service was super. We had some funny servers. The teen boys loved eating and the servers and they had good times going. I can say the servers work hard. If you are good to them they will be great to you! Our balcony suite was ok. The balcony was worth every penny. For Alaska you need a balcony. The ship Needed an update. I guess the ship was maintained a couple of months later so that was good. This was a ten day cruise. Too bad it wasn't 20 days!

Vancouver round trip. Sitka. Glacier Bay. Juneau and Ketchikan. May 13. 2017. Emerald Princess. This was an outstanding trip. Who would imagine fair sunny skies in Sitka and Glacier Bay? Unbelievable !!! Park Rangers and the Captain said it was the best weather of their memory. The entire cruise was wonderful. From the anytime dining to to activities and excursions. This was a well run ship. We also learned a lot on this cruise. And it was one of the few which passed between the mainland bc and Vancouver Island. That was an experience in itself. The ship is huge but seldom were crowds a problem. We never had to wait more than a couple of minutes for dinner. The drinks and food were delicious and served perfectly. Our steward was a marvel. We finally were able to take the ultimate ship tour. That was awesome. Well worth it. The Captain was a cool guy and very proud of his crew and operations. The ship control systems are incredible. The only problem with the cruise was the port of Vancouver. Three large ships at once made embarcation a horrible three and a half hour process. The princess part was efficient but the Port Authority and US and Canada government processes were ridiculously sluggish. From now on we might avoid Vancouver cruises.