Came back very dissappointed in Princess
Coral Princess Cruise Review to Alaska - Gulf of Alaska
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 55
7 Night Voyage Of The Glaciers Southbound (Anchorage To Vancouver)
Sail date: September 11, 2019
Ship: Coral Princess
Cabin type: Suite
Cabin number: C703
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
Overall the itinerary of this cruise is fine and the NATURAL BEAUTY of the scenery is GREAT even though we had several rainy days. The ship itself on the outside looks good and the public spaces are less run-down. I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THIS REVIEW IS TARGETED TO OUR EXPERIENCE AS A SUITE GUEST. In no way shape or form should anyone consider this a review of the natural beauty of Alaska - all of that is GREAT and we highly recommend everyone make this a destination a goal. This wasn't our first trip, and this wasn't our first encounter with Alaska. We know how it should be done, and we were very excited to try it from the viewpoint of a more deluxe suite room. The main problem this review is targeting is the fact that we had a lot of problems with the (more expensive) room, and yet Princess did absolutely nothing to rectify the situation. We specifically got the suite because we really wanted to experience the absolute best that Princess could offer - but we were very disappointed. It wasn't the fact that the suite was in very poor condition: broken decking on balcony, dirty moldy cushions on outside chairs, shower not working, hair dryer not working (had to use spa shower facilities) and so on. That's one thing. The worst part was the Princess didn't care to take care of anything - after talking to room steward, calling front desk on ship, going to front desk on ship... the response was always "Oh we'll send someone up right away to take care of that"... Except nobody ever showed up. We saw maintenance crews in the hallway for sure - but our room never got fixed. I even tried calling Princess from Skagway, and all they said was to talk to the front desk on the ship. The real punch line is when got back and contacted Princess customer relations: they tell us it'll be a 10 week wait for any response. Edit: Got a call from Princess today saying that the NEW Timeline for a response from Customer Relations is now 10 to 16 weeks. I did want to try and contact Princess before posting this review, but I've given up. That's how much Princess cares about their passenger experience. We didn't come back "new"...We came back "disgusted".Embarkation
Overall embarkation was OK in terms of getting the cruises card. Once you get on the ship you;re hounded for photos and then directed this way and that until you're standing there, not sure where to go next. If you ask staff how to get to the room, they helpfully point out the elevators...the only problem is those elevators only go to deck 8, and we're on deck 10. And so on. Steep language barrier with staff and poorly trained.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Dining room and buffet were pretty typical. You wouldn't die there but the food was low quality (un-ripe tomatoes, and farm-raised frozen salmon)...even though the ship is sailing in Alaska - there's fresh salmon at the end of the dock guys...The rolls were fresh last week sometime, the scones at tea were pretty much croutons. Sabatini's and Bayou Cafe had excellent wait staff, but somehwat mediocre food. Nobody on the ship can cook an un-burnt omelette.
Onboard Activities
Lotus spa on ship was OK and we did get some massage treatments - AS LONG as we got it straight with the girls to STOP with the sales pitch after the massage. We're there to relax - and the sales picth for the $95 tube of cleanser (which would be $4 anywhere else) isn't relaxing. Stop it!
Entertainment
The lounge piano guy was GREAT. The so -called stage show wasn't terrific - mostly college drama club players. Let's say they tried & we found it entertaining, but a lot of times entertaining for the wrong reasons. The scenery outside is really the star of the show!!
Service and Staff
Wait staff at Sabatini's / Bayou Cafe was GREAT. We never did see the room steward after first day, and we called several times when our room mail was mixed up with other guests, and we called room steward to report the shower not working, asking about the other guests clothes that were in our room when we arrived, the broken balcony decking, the hair dryer wasn't working, etc. We'd leave out the "Please service room card" as instructed when we went to dinner, but it would still be there when we went back - but the garbage cans weren't emptied, so there is that.
Called front desk and went to front desk to report problems and they said they'd send someone up right away to check on room - but we never saw anyone.
Contacted Princess Customer Relations and they just informed me they would respond in 10 weeks. EDIT now 16 weeks response time.
Never again.
Ship Quality
Public areas were relatively clean and pretty but Atrium is cluttered up with stairs going exactly the wrong way you want to go. If you're on deck 14 walking to aft elevators you have to walk outside in the rain around the Lotus spa. If you're in the gym and go out the back door you'll wind up in "The Sanctuary" with absolutely no signage, and you'll get a young Filipino girl yelling at you to leave NOW!! About halfway thru the trip we got the notice from medial center "We are experiencing higher than normal infection rates on the ship" to stay 5 feet away from other guests, avoid contact, wash hands, etc. And then you go to the dining room where you're seated 2 feet from a sick person - and as an added bonus you get handed the same menu the other person just sneezed on... Thanks Princess!! You did a GREAT job getting what seemed like the WHOLE SHIP sick!! At least every passenger in the cabins around ours was sick by the end of the trip.
Cabin / Stateroom
Absolute mess when we got on board, even though the cabin was "ready". The room was cleaned so well there were previous guest's clothes in only one drawer, the pillows were probably clean a couple years ago, and the bed was worn out only 5 years ago. It was like sleeping on a sack of hay.
Ask me how you get your feet cut if you walk out onto the balcony without shoes - the decking was broken in several places with sharp holes. The balcony roof leaked in the rain and dribbled risty water down the door into the room. The shower drain was plugged (had to use spa shower), the hair dryer only worked halfway, the only power sockets in the bedroom aren't anywhere near the bed and need replacing, the phone sort of halfway worked as did the TV's. Gotta hit one TV just right to get it to come on.
And on and on and on.
It wasn't so much that the little things were the end of everything, it was the fact noboday at the front desk cared enough to fix anything.
Just got off the phone with Princess Customer Relations and they informed me they'd get to me with a response in about 10 weeks.
Ship tip
Based on our experience in suite C703, don't sail on this ship until she's had a refurb. I know other people's rooms were OK, and some people were having the same problems as us. We did see maintencne crews in the halways, but they never got to our room.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Took the train from Anchorage to Whittier - and it was FANTASTIC. Highly recommended and you'll typically get to the ship hours before the airport buses get there.
The excursion boat felt very overcrowded and it was a challenge to get a photo with 3 rows of people crowding the railing. After we got back to the ship we felt that the view from the ship was just as good as what the smaller boat saw (for photos) BUT my wife liked being closer to the glacier to feel the cold air. Our tour was cut short when a passenger had a medical emergency / injury on the excursion, and our hearts go out to the family with hopes everyone is OK.
The excursion boat and ship raced to each other quickly and an EMT team jumped on the excursion boat and had the patient stabilized and back to the ship's medical bay pretty quickly - that was good to see. It seemed like everyone did the right thing when that emergency happened. Princess did offer a partial refund on the excursion cost.
Again, we hope that everyone is OK.
Very rainy and foggy - the glaciers are amazing even in the rain. On sunnioer days you can see the majesty of the mountains behind the glaciers but on this trip we had the beauty of the clouds. It's all good.
Luxury train car on the White Pass summit train was THE BEST and worth EVERY PENNY because as a photographer: having that platform at the back of the train offers some great opportunities to see the wildlife. If you don't want to do the luxury car any car on the train will offer up a great trip.
I wasn;t a fan of the cruise line jewellery stores in Skagway selling low quality, imported stuff - but people were having fun. Those types of stores are completely out of character for the town.
Rode the Mt Roberts Tram and had a great time! Would suggest that you WAIT to get this at the tram ticket booth (tix are same price as ship) and I wouldn't go if you can't see the top of tram from the ship. The day we were there it was bright and sunny - and it made for a great day hiking at the top!!
Clicked on "Did not visit this port" but cruiseline.com keeps insisting I gave it one star. Disregard this rating for this port - we did not visit here...We stayed on board, and it was pretty rainy that day - turned out to be a great day for us to relax in the spa. A lot of other people had loads of fun in town though.
Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia
Again, I clicked on "Did not visit this port" but cruiseline.com keeps insisting I gave it one star. Disregard this rating for this port. This is where we spent hours getting off the ship...then flew home. Been to Vancouver before on some other trips and it's fine.
Disembarkation
Disemabrkation was a disaster - were were told as suite guests to expect a smooth expereince and priority disembarkation - but it was not different for anyone. The herd takes several hours to get off the ship, and it's generally a disorganized mess. For instance the group starts at deck 6, then you have to go down to deck 5 - but some people can't take the stairs, and at that moment the elevators have a problem - meaning the group gets split up...and on and on and on.
6 Comments
MisterDiodes 4 years ago
UPDATE NOV 27 2019: Got a call back from Princess Customer Relations about 9.5 weeks after doing their "investigation" - whatever that means. In any case they agreed that the condition of the suite was poor, they agreed that they didn't respond to the high infection rate very well, and they said they are having overall staffing problems. Overall she said Coral is having problems overall, and she wasn't sure why they aren't getting fixed. She said our experience wasn't the experience they should have provided. Then it was "Here's $500 cruise credit towards a future cruise in 2020, I recommend you book on a newer ship. Thanks and have a nice day." Click.
That was it. They did call back at least...
MisterDiodes 5 years ago
Yep - I know and I understand. I'm still sick too. I need to edit the review to be more clear that the problems we had were ON THE SHIP - and it would have been probably fine if Princess made any effort to address the issues in our room. Alaska itself is REALLY GREAT and absolutely NO complaints about the natural beauty. This cruddy review of OUR ship experience should in NO WAY deter anyone from going to Alaska...It's GREAT. I can't say that enough!!
MisterDiodes 5 years ago
I think you didn't read my review completely - as I stated the NATURAL BEAUTY of Alaska is Great! I would agree with you there!! Please don't get me wrong on that point.
As far as ports go, for instance - Train ride at Skagway was 100% GREAT, but the town cluttered up with cruise line gift shops selling overpriced, low quality import jewellery was completely out of character for the town.
The ports are not 5 star, but maybe some of the excursions are.
I know other people were lucky enough to get a good shower, and their bed wasn't worn out...all that makes a big difference. I'm glad they had a better experience!!
Yep, I guess it is complaining a lot to pay more money for suite and then have to trudge three flights up to get a shower. I guess it must be my fault that I should have known the balcony decking in a suite would be so busted up, and it's my own fault I injured my feet. Stupid me.
You're assuming that we haven't cruised before or traveled to Alaska - You're mistaken. We love Denali park too - but that had nothing to do with Princess.
As I noted several times - the low reviews are there because of the response of Princess to a suite (or any other cabin) customer. The main problem was is that they didn't respond to anything after repeated requests - like could we get our shower fixed? Can we get our trash cans emptied out, please? Maybe could they get the room bill sorted out correctly...just once??
And now: Their customer relations "will get back to me 10 weeks"?
I'm sorry, they need to do a lot better.
CruzeFan 5 years ago