Crown was no crown

I've been on many cruise lines but this was my first on Princess. I'm from SoCal so the locations wasn't set to be the highlight of my trip. My wife and I wanted a quick get away and thought we would take advantage of a local cruise and see what Princess had to offer.

The cabin was good and the steward did a great job. No towel animals so a little disappointing but not a big deal. The shows were OK but I was surprised to see a comedy act as the main show a couple times during the week and especially on formal night. Bar service was horrible for both poolside and lounges. I'm not a big drinker but I rarely saw a pool waiter and had to walk to the bar for all my drinks. It was not crowded but I do think the ultimate drink package they sell may be driving them to stay away from service. I bought the package for $50 a day but to get my moneys worth I had to seek out the bars. 

Food and restaurants was my biggest let down. The dining rooms were horrible and the buffets were worse! We did not get the typical individualized waiter service in the traditional dining that we experienced in other cruises. By day 3 they know what you like, greet you by name, etc... None of that! We thought it was just our waiter but other passengers said the same. We tried the anytime dining to see if it was better....Nope.

I've been on multiple cruises with Royal Caribbean, Disney, Celebrity, Carnival, Norwegian and now Princess. I've always thought of Princess as kind of the elite cruise line until now. They are at or near the bottom.