We had sailed up to Alaska from San Francisco 2 years ago. Decided to take our adult sons this time. This was our first time in a suite and it really made the trip. Great space and balcony, access to club class dining and special breakfast area. We love Princess and now on the Suite life.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We came in on a sightseeing bus from Anchorage and were able to board very quickly. Our room was ready and we had time for an early dinner before we sailed out.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Overall the drinks on board were pretty disappointing. The same drink orders were inconsistent from one bar to the next. The drink menus were misleading with descriptions promising Luxardo cherries and maraschino cherries being delivered. By the end of the cruise it a appeared that some of the mixers were no longer available, the drinks we received changed with no explanation.
Bordeaux main dining room was OK but the service there seemed overloaded. Club Class dining was much better but were only able to visit a few times since we were traveling with our 2 adult sons who were not in a suite so we couldn't eat with them in club class. On the first night, the head waiter in club class, after explaining that we couldn't all be seated in club class did have the staff bring us all appetizer portions of the special club class arrabiatta pasta that was only in club class.
In order to all eat together and have better food and service, we ate 3 nights in specialty dining. Twice in Sabatini's which was very good. Food was all excellent, portions were large, everyone enjoyed it and the menu was varied enough that on 2 visits you could either get the same as before or try something new. The visit to the Bayou Cafe was very disappointing. We live in Texas and have access to so pretty good Cajun/Creole food. The Cajun/Creole was awful. We tried to order raw oysters but they weren't available. The seafood soup was OK but it wasn't gumbo and the portion was tiny. Jumbalaya was awful, mostly small chunks of dry chicken. We had 3 total Cajun appetizers and didn't finish any of them even though the were very small portions. Porterhouse steaks were done nicely and were the only thing that were redeeming. All the sides were also kinda blah.
We went to Sabatini's for suite class breakfast most mornings (without boys) and it was great. Typically only less than 10 people in there and wonderful service. Food was always fresh. It was nice having the same servers every day and in the evening at the specialty restaurants. We felt bad going to Sabatini's in the morning because our sons complained about the buffet and Bordeaux (their only options). We went anyway and they managed breakfast on their own.
Loved the afternoon tea. We went everyday that we were on ship.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Didn't really use much, but it's nice that they were available.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We went to one of the shows in the princess theater and it was pretty good. Variety of songs from different eras. Something for everyone.
Children's Programs
Our children were 24 & 26
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our steward was amazing. He kept our room refreshed but was never in the way.
Club class, specialty dining, and tea service, the waiters and all staff were amazing. Very attentive and on top of things. Many remembered you after a visit or two. Our "reqular" Sabatini's waiter for breakfast and dinner, Fredy, came over in the Bayou Cafe to check in on us, even though he wasn't working there that night.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Ship was smaller than we are used to. There were fewer amenities but also for much less contention getting off the ship and moving around in general
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This was our first time in a suite and we are hooked!
Loved the bathtub! The bathroom was great.
Bed was comfortable and the views out the balcony doors was amazing.
We had enough room for our boys to visit.
Our 2nd visit here, this time with our boys. We did the same fishing trip that we'd done before. Catch rockfish and than they cook them up for lunch. Great fun!
No excursion but we spent a day here because our flight home was canceled and we had to rebook. We stayed downtown and ate ate a number of different ethnic restaurants. Wow!
We waited our turn and got off pretty efficiently. Our flight was canceled so instead of a Princess transfer to the airport we walked to a hotel we booked online.
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