Didn't love this cruise. Princess has gone down hill, sadly. Too many people, lines for everything, little access to specialty restaurants, mediocre at best.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Security confiscated my clothes steamer, see below details. Otherwise, it was efficient.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
There aren't enough specialty restaurants. And, there certainly was not enough availability for all who wanted to enjoy them. Getting reservations was like fighting tooth and nail. The Princess app was worthless for making reservations (and the App was really archaic and glitchy altogether). We went to Gigi's and Sabatini's. Good food. Service was not great and the servers weren't pleasant. It seems like there's a morale issue on board. Many of the crew are grouchy and seem unhappy. The buffet was actually good. The main dining room was also not easy to get right into unless you had a reservation. There was a line every night to get in if you didn't have a reservation. The menus were really bizarre in some cases. Like chilled Pina colada soup, and other strange dishes. They need some help with their menus.
Raynaldo and Chantel in the Juneau dining room were lovely.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Went to spa several times for services and the thermal spa. The thermal spa is poorly kept. An inch of water on the floor, towels strewn about, water not clean and didn't smell fresh. They need a full time attendant in there.
I TRIED to go to the Sanctuary - biggest racket ever. I got on the ship at 10:30 and was in line at the Sanctuary by 10:50 and they were sold out. There were so many empty chairs each time I peered in. The crew at the desk were jerks too. One day, we were sitting outside in the Retreat and saw a dolphin pod jumping in the front of the ship. We asked the guys if we could quietly pop in and take a photo - they said no and stated that it was private. So rude! People just book the whole week and go whenever they want, leaving chairs empty regularly and many people having no opportunity to enjoy it. They need to limit the reservations to two days or something to allow others the opportunity.
Outdoor deck lounging areas - oy! It was nearly impossible to find a quiet spot for my teen daughter and I to relax and sunbathe. On the sun deck - 17- there's two ping pong tables on each side that make it annoying and not peaceful or relaxing. The noise of the ping pong balls, the yelling of the players, and the players diving under and over your chair for their balls ruined any chance of relaxation. The Lido deck has no quiet areas either. So, I took my teen to the adult only "Retreat" the last couple days as she's quieter and better behaved than many of the adults at the Retreat.
Princess needs to MOVE those two lousy pong tables up to the basketball deck or somewhere else where two players can't ruin the peace of 100 sun bathers. It's thoughtless on their part. There were very few food/deck attendants, so you had to go fetch your own drinks. That was a bummer too.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Musicians in Crown bar and Atrium were good.
Children's Programs
My 17 yo son tried to attend an event, but was turned away because we didn't sign him up. We tried to go in the next day, but they were closed. They keep odd hours.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Crew was generally unfriendly EXCEPT Reynaldo and Chantal in Juneau DR and our awesome stateroom attendant Jay on the Lido deck. Jay was excellent,so attentive and helpful.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Great ship! Unfortunately, Princess isn't worthy of her. Thermal Suite/Enclave is a disappointment compared to other ships thermal suites. My son loved the basketball court, whixh seen to be left out of many new ship designs. The spa needs more views. There needs to be more quiet lounging areas. One of the most frustrating situations that came up was that my clothes steamer got confiscated at embarkation. Security wouldn't give it back when I boarded. I showed them a "chat" I'd had with Princess customer service (see attached photo) and they told me that steamers were allowed as long as they have an auto shut off. They said their rules recently changed. I was really ticked off about that as I jumped through all the hoops to follow their rules by buying a compliant steamer, yet it wasn't allowed. The part that angered me to no end is that passengers can board with their cigarettes and lighters and light up in the casino or ruin the back upper deck with three smoking lounge. Yuck! Another design flaw - the smoke would waft out of the casino and through the Atrium. Never experienced this on any other cruise ship. Princess needs to get their heads screwed on tightly and prohibit smoking indoors.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Small stateroom, smallest balcony room we've ever had (we had two rooms, 117 and 115 since traveling with our teens). That was unfortunate. Super clean, thanks to Jay and very comfortable.
Ship tip
Don't go during peak times - too many people on the ship.
Tender situation was slow and very time consuming. Princess did a poor job of this. It took. It took nearly 2 hours to get off in a port where the stay was short and there's so much to do.
Taking your teen daughter to the adult only retreat would be an issue with me. Seems like following the rules might be the issue altogether.
Once they confiscated your steamer it doesn't appear you were able to move past that and enjoy the cruise.
Interesting review. Personally…we love the Pina colada soup and have even made it at home. We have found lots of quiet areas to relax on every Princess ship. Some of the best are at the sides of the ships on various decks. Very peaceful. Love the aft too! Agree that allowing lighters and matches are ok, but a steamer with a shut off somehow is not, especially considering there are irons in each of the launderettes with shut offs as well. We book our dining reservations for the MDR in advance with consideration of our daily port schedule, and have not had any issues. Have also booked specialty restaurants as soon as we board with success.
Princess isn’t the same as it was a few years ago. Caribbean Princess needs to be retired
New slogan should be “we’re on it” same sign for months on restrooms.Food not tasty , sometimes not cooked thoroughly.
Sorry you couldn’t find much enjoyment on your cruise. Some of your suggestions sound good to me and please voice them to Princess. I don’t get some of your complaints though. Of course you can’t just go into the private Sanctuary to take pictures. Think of how upset you would have been if you were a Sanctuary guest and they let non- guests in to take pictures. Yes you have to sign your kids up for youth activities beforehand. Yes you need to make reservations for the MDR if you don’t want to stand in the no-reservation line. The app worked great for me once I learned how to use it. You can go to the Tech desk if you are having trouble with the app and they can help you. It is a challenge sailing with full ships but if we figure out and follow the rules, it can be smooth and fun.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
