If we had to do it all over again, we would not. The days at Sea were very cool in the 60s very little deck time to enjoy the sun. The staff was not very customer centered. Everything was pretty much self service or you had to buy into activities. Not much to do on the ship, the islands were fabulous but next time we will just take a land trip and not cruise very disappointed in princess, they did not live up to our previous expectations
Embarkation
2 out of 5
Took us 2.5 hours from time we landed in LAX to having Princess transfer shuttle to ship. Check in was disorganized.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Dining was fine but Marketplace food was below average. We heard several passengers got food poisoning. Hard to find open tables, buffet items disorganized and same old slop every day. Servers rarely served us beverages. Not what we expect from Princess.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Few activities were free, but for most worthwhile activities there was a fee, such as lei making and wine tasting. Not much to do. Several events we went to never occurred, such as free liquor tasting and gift shop sales.
Entertainment
1 out of 5
There were no big show productions. A few mediocre, comedians, a starter kit magic show, and singers. Very disappointed in quality of shows. Bad was ok, but we’d prefer a reggae band in deck.
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
Our cabin Stewart was great and we tipped him extra, but rest of staff was not service oriented. Officers were disengaged and not very friendly.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Ship needed a lot of upgrades and repairs. Crew was sanding off varnish from wood railing while the particles dropped onto us enjoying the deck! Layout was fine for an old ship, but lacked the glamour of newer ships. No rock wall, shaking rink, putt putt golf or other attractions of newer ships.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
We upgraded to an ocean view. It was fine, except carpet was worn and dirty. Salt was never cleaned off ship windows.
Ship tip
Consider a different cruise itinerary. Lengthy sailing days on Pacific were very cold and many us had only brought warm weather clothes so we’re forced to buy fleece jackets and cooler weather wear in the overpriced gift shop onboard.
We bought tickets to the Pearl Harbor memorial online at recreation.gov and were able to take the city bus for a fraction of the cost of booking a tour. Well worth the time.
Princess, let those who had booked a tour through them off the ship first, and so we were not able to disembark until 1:30 PM. We had to be back on board by 4 PM so we totally missed. We had bought tickets to the oceanic center and were unable to go. $100 wasted we would not have been able to get back to the ship in time.
We spent the day at the beach Cove swimming in the water, watching the surfers been doing a bit of shopping. It’s one of our favorite memories there’s really no need to take a tour when you can just experience the beauty of the island at the Cove.
A super fun day. You buy a round-trip ticket to the shuttle for three dollars per person. It takes you into town because it’s a long walk. We shopped the stores negotiated and found some smoking great deals on turquoise and silver, pure, vanilla extract, and leather goods, the shops are willing to deal and are very friendly. Fish tacos. There are amazing.
One of the most disorganized disembarkation‘s we’ve ever had. There was total chaos in the baggage claim. Surprisingly, there was no security to check our bags through customs face. Recognition is used and you just walk into LA. I can’t believe security was so lax.
Very interesting review. We recently spent 18 days on the Emerald and had the exact opposite experience in all areas. I believe it's likely perspective, for example, my wife and I enjoy walking to Ensenada- a 15 minute, very pleasant, walk from ship to town. I hope your next cruise will meet your expectations...
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