Coastal - West Coast Cruise Reviews

Very busy dark ship. Opening times didn’t work for us. Shows all booked.

I recently embarked on a voyage with Princess Cruise Line on the Discovery Princess. While the ship itself was beautiful, my overall experience was disappointing and didn’t meet my expectations. The ship lacked a variety of activities for children. They had a multi-purpose court and two ping pong tables, but the equipment was worn down and in need of repair. They didn’t organize many outdoor activities, which was a letdown. The cabin was clean, and the stateroom staff was very friendly. They certainly contributed to making the stay more comfortable. The food, unfortunately, was only mediocre, even with the upgrade to selective restaurants. Dining always seemed to take a long time, regardless of the hour or how busy they were. The service was inconsistent, with some staff not being as friendly as expected. However, one restaurant stood out with stellar customer service, making us feel like valued customers. My biggest disappointment was with the communication from the cruise line and the value I was getting for my money. There were services included in our packages that we were unaware of, and it seemed we paid twice for some of the services. Even when we asked for clarification, the explanations were vague and not all benefits were thoroughly provided. There was also some incorrect information given by staff about available services. In the end, I was not happy with my overall experience. I would definitely try a different cruise line next time. I also wish I had done more research as I have since found many others complaining about the same issues with Princess Cruise Lines.

Last one on HAL. Death by a thousand cuts. No one thing did it, just lots of little things. The whole bottled water thing tore it for me. Booked online. ZERO notice about bottled water counting toward hard limit is mentioned. No other cruise line does this to my knowledge.

Buffet ran out of ice tea and was never replenished during one meal even after I reported it.

Another great time on Princess. Not that they do anything that much better than any other cruise line but for a relaxing time with great food and service, it works. Don't think it is some kind of luxury line though -you are not paying for that. Keep expectations realistic, and you will have a great time.

Good cruise. California is not exotic, but we found many fun activities on shore. Meals and service were first rate.

We recently returned from a lovely Fall sailing on the ACL Constellation through the San Juan Islands and along the Puget Sound, near Seattle. Embarkation was simple and quick, and soon we were seated for our first lunch, served with a nice selection of wines and always, a tempting choice of desserts and homemade ice creams! The ACL staterooms are much larger than those on most of the cruise lines, and we found more than enough drawers to easily stow all our belongings. After an entertaining introduction to the crew and dozens of excursions to consider, we had time to relax before each night’s reception/‘cocktail hour’ in the third floor lounge. We particularly enjoy the smaller round dining room tables, which make it easy to meet and chat with other fellow cruisers and keen travellers at each meal. The cocktail hour, with a well-stocked bar and friendly crew/bar tenders, is also a great time to relax and share stories with others. Though barely necessary, there are always warm appetizers available at this time - our favourites being the ones with salmon, scallops and other delicious shellfish. We noticed several new dishes on the menu, no doubt due to the charming Chef Nelson, from New Orleans. She has an infectious personality and we loved the cooking demonstrations she did once or twice, in the lounge at cocktail hour. We were disappointed when she left to join another ship, but it will be a treat for other ACL cruisers to discover her talents! We spent the next 10 days exploring cute little towns on the San Juan Islands (Port Townsend and Friday Harbour), as well as Puget Sound towns like Bremerton and Tacoma with great museums and huge harbours, all with a rich history of shipping, fishing, logging and naval exploration. In addition to local walking tours or hikes, and bus trips to go further afield, there were excursions on the water, affording an opportunity to view the coastline, and scan the shores and open waters for eagles, herons, sea lions, seals and even whales! We had a great time on a Jet Boat tour that sped beneath Deception Pass with a huge bridge connecting 2 islands. There was a day-long excursion that gave us the opportunity to sail from Port Angeles to Victoria, B.C., Canada. We needed our passports, but the U.S./Can. Customs clearing was quite quick, and soon we were off to the incredible Butchart Gardens, just outside the city. We saw sites along the way and were entertained by the jovial knowledgeable driver. The bright sunshine made a gorgeous backdrop as we sailed home out of the Victoria Harbour, and back to our ship. All of the above trips and choices were well-organized and explained in detail each night before the evening entertainment. Throughout the cruise we heard good comments about ‘Kody’, our excellent Cruise Director. He is one of the best we’ve ever had on our many cruises: he was unfailingly warm, attentive, organized and so engaging and funny! Both he and our amazing Guest Speaker/Naturalist Katie, were a true highlight of our time onboard. Katie was also easy and fun to chat with and she had a depth of knowledge regarding local history, wildlife, exploration and geography that never failed to amaze, and yet she was able to make her talks sound ‘conversational’, instead of a series of facts. There was also a talented musician, Marc, who either played during cocktail hour or provided the evening entertainment with his themed music presentations, accompanied by his saxophone, harmonica, and flute! There were also onboard artists, during the week we sailed, and we appreciated being able to join in for lessons or making really nice take-home projects, even for those with little confidence in their art skills. This being the Northwest, there were some days with rain, but also much sunshine to view the trees just beginning to change color! It was never cold and even in the rain, this is a beautiful and welcoming part of the country. The Constellation is just the right size to get to know friendly people and, unlike the larger ships, we were able to explore this rich coastline in a warm and comfortable setting.

Loved the ship, food and staff were pretty good, one of the shows (Spotlight Bar) was fantastic, but the customs process in San Francisco was THE WORST ever.

The Pacific North West. If you like this part of the world you would have a great time. If your older you would have a great time. Not a singles or young persons cruise. No slides or Ice skatting or bumper cars

This trip was not as good as the one taken in January on the same ship. I picked it because it was not Spring Break and it went to San Diego. I think I will start with the negatives first. I made reservations for the Crown Grill ahead of time. Unfortunately they said I had a package that gave me 4 meals, but they could not use it since it was not loaded yet and to give them a credit card number to make the reservations. I should see the service desk to get the refund and my 4 free meals applied to the reservation. The ship says they can not refund my card, I have to get OBC, and it would be paid out at the end. I looked at my final statement and it appears that that was not done. SIGH! The App is still a piece of garbage, I could not make dinner reservations that would stay. I called the help line and they could not do it, but after 45 minutes they used another way in to get us our time. At least this trip we did not lose our reservations. Also, the dinner menu on the app (and TV) only roughly matched the actual menu with usually a couple of things missing or different. Biggest issue is that many venues seem to still be undermanned and with a different set of people than in January. The Coffee & Cones had a hard time making a plain milk shake. First they tried to give me the coffee shake, then they made one with ICE CUBES and would not remove the ice cubes. The last one I got I walked them through the ice cream, some milk, blend it, serve it. Had issues at the juice bar and the grill that I did not have before but they were still good We had the Premium package and found that some of it is not as good as the hype says. If in port then the prize perk does not work. Even though each person is paying, the paperwork onboard says only one winning per stateroom. The daytime musical entertainment was lacking this trip, and the few performers that were on were mostly not very good. Internet was lousy, downloads in the 0.3 to 3 Mbps and sometimes with a jitter in the 300-400 msec range. Usable but a bit slow for anything that requires a lot of downloading. Now the good, food overall was good to very good, our waiters were excellent, The staff at the MDR door were very good too and they remembered us from January. Room was comfortable, I liked the bed, wife said she had a back ache. Captain was very vocal and kept us informed and gave out some tidbits about what he talked about. Embarking and disembarking went smoothly (but then we are elite). Weather was not very good, foggy and cold with some wave action. Due to the *^&$#*@! app and the lobster cut back, I think I will be looking for other lines for year or two (like Celebrity) unless a deal I can not turn down pops up.

ACL is the only line we will cruise with! " Small ship cruising, done perfectly" is their motto and it's absolutely accurate. A marvelous experience was had by my husband and me on the recent Whale Watching cruise in the San Juan Islands, on the American Constellation. Many whales were seen by all, and we were alerted without fail to any action in the water. This was our first experience cruising the San Juans and it was amazing! Such excellent service and accommodations are not to be found on any other cruise line. We were always greeted by friendly smiles and sincere desire to accommodate our every wish. The food - how delicious! Again, the staff in the dining room were swift and accurate, and on such a small cruise they got to know our names and our preferences. Lecturers and music were excellent, as was the art class held each day. We knew Captain Bryan from an earlier cruise and he was welcoming and friendly once again.We highly recommend American Cruise Line!

The cruise was great. We had lots of quality time together, which was the whole purpose of the trip and ship is huge. I was grateful that it wasn’t full of people I don’t think I would’ve been able to handle a full boat. The food was tasty. The entertainment was good.

Great steak house great service !!!! Too short. Enjoyed the cruise

Got four days? Holland America will give you a cruise experience to get you started.

Lock up your wallet. Virtually everything is all inclusive. Free cocktails, wine, beverages snacks, Internet, most excursions are free, free internet, no tipping.

This was my first ever cruise, and I have to say I LOVED it! I didn't pack enough Dramamine, but the ship had some available in the shop, so I didn't have to deal with seasickness. I spent more money than I had planned to, but I have to admit it was well worth it! I had a blast at the shows and trivia events, loved exploring San Diego and checking out a couple tours in Ensenada. I just wish we had a little more time in Ensenada before having to set sail!

My second time sailing this delightful 5-night, one-way LA to Vancouver itinerary. My boyfriend's first cruise ever, and he loved it. Victoria is a beautiful place to visit, and having an overnight port the last night in Vancouver is a cool way to end the trip! The ship was pretty full, which caused a lot of folks to not have a good time, but we had a great time -- your trip is what you make of it!!

I have cruised with celebrity before but my most recent cruise was on Solstice in April Pacific Coast. The oceanview cafe buffet was good and I found it better than the main dining food. The main dining service was excellent but the taste of the food was below average. I felt like it was like the level of a Dennys. The oceanview cafe buffet had some dishes that were not good but since there is such a variety there was always something we could find that was good. I loved that they had fresh ramen one night. I also liked the roast beef, the breakfast, fresh fruit and the delicious icecream with even some exotic flavor like kiwi. I was very disappointed in the taste of the pizza and the fact there was almost no sauce. On a positive note, The Mast Grill burgers were excellent. The service on board the Solstice was excellent and the rooms, while slightly older, were well designed. especially liked the enclosed glass door showers, the ability to set temperature of the water, the wall mounted shampoo, conditioner and body wash. The rooms were clean. The king beds were comfortable but the pillow covers were a bit rough. It was a nice touch that they even provided makeup remover wipes and shower caps. I also liked that when you turned the bathroom light off there was a nightlight that turned on. The veranda was beautiful with the side partitions were excellently design as to not cut off your view of the ocean. The shows and entertainment were excellent as well. The activities we enjoyed were the adult coloring, watercolor painting, bocce, putting green, archery, this or that, and dance instructions and swimming in the Solarium. The outdoor pools were heated but it was too windy and cold outside for us to use them. Our kids really enjoyed the Camp at Sea and always had so much fun they didnt want to leave. The one activity that thought was poorly put together was the pictionary as they did not have an easel but a small piece of paper only some people could see. I thought that was a little odd. Overall, the entertainment and service was excellent and the food had some highlights in the oceanview cafe but below average and disappointing in the main dining room. Disembarkation was terrible as we had to wait in a line for shuttles for 1.5-2 hours. I think I would cruise again on this ship but maybe not eat so much in main dining especially for dinner.

We were hesitant about this cruise as the Eclipse in December was not what we expected. However, this cruise was much better and we are so happy with stuck with Celebrity. We could have done the same itinerary with Princess but because of our status with Celebrity plus the OBC, we choose this one instead.

Great to get away. It is not the same Celebrity that I remembered.