As I said, Princess cruises did not provide a good first impression, from cancelling our stop is Victoria BC to delaying embarcation by 5 hours. A $25 shipboard credit was laughable. The best part about Princess is their employees!
Embarkation
2 out of 5
We are normally allowed on the ship at 1 o'clock but the Royal Princess didn't even arrive until about 1. Our time kept getting pushed back and we were finally able to board at 5 pm.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The food was good. There was a large variety available at both the main dining room and buffet. We ate at the Crown Grill specialty restaurant and the food there was also good but the ambiance is lacking. It is not cozy or intimate. Celebrity and Viking are at the top of that list.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
There was always something to do and the cruise director, Matt O and his crew kept everything moving and a lot of fun from watercolors, line dancing, trivia... to the egg drop.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The first performer, an opera singer told everyone to let Princess know how great she was. I don't think that's very professional. She was good. The best guest vocalist was Jennifer Singer. The first comedian was the best of the two. He was hilarious and there was never an open seat at his performances.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Best part about Princess is the staff. They are all pretty amazing.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
The design is crazy. You had to approach the restaurant from a level up because the hall didn't go thru. We were told it's because the kitchen is in the middle! Really? Many cruisers were lost trying to get to this dining room AND it's the ONE open for breakfast and lunch too. Terrible design.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Our cabin was very clean and our room steward, Marlon, was fantastic! The location on the ship was fine, no probles there. The cabins themselves are pretty cramped in comparison to Celebrity and Viking. What's crazy is it's the same ship builder as Viking Ocean ships and those bathrooms have a wonderful layout. These are tiny.
Ship tip
Princess ruises does not deliver on the itinerary they publish. We were on a 12 day Alaska cruise from LA with 4 stops an the week before the cruise they eliminated a port stop (they actually kept the stop but no one could get off the ship). VERY disappointing in this company, plus we couldn't board until 5pm. They gave everyone a $25 shipboard credit to compensate - that's laughable.
Great port. Did a zodiac excursion (Tripadvisor). Much cheaper than Princess and the same company the ship uses. The day prior the captain announced we were getting into port late and I worried about missing our excursion. I was told that Princess informed them 2 days prior and not to worry.
Booked the bus up, and train down thru Vacations to go. Great excursion. We also independently book a glass blowing experience. So much fun! Our ornaments arrived a few days ago - beautiful!
We went to Antarctica 8 months ago and, unfortunately, Alaska doesn't measure up. Maybe if we cruised Alaska first I would have been more impressed. It was beautiful but not amazing.
The "ship" part was fine. The line to get to your luggage was not managed well at all. When you finally did get the luggage and walked out the back-up of cars was ridiculous. The "police" (not really) need to get over themselves and someone should invest in a person with traffic control experience. There is plenty of room for multiple lanes - use the center divider area!
It was suppose to be done when we were there the end if September but parts went overboard when being shipped. Not sure when it will be done now since they had to ship parts again. Hopefully not to much longer. The smaller ships can get into the smaller berths but the Royal can only get into that one deep water berth.
The complainers always complaining. Many ports are often missed for one reason or another. They are not obligated to refund anything except port fees so you were lucky. Stop complaining. Cruising is the best vacation ever.
We were on the same cruise. And were also disappointed that we were unable to get off in Victoria. However that was not Princess fault, the deep water port was undergoing renovations and was not finished at the time. But it looks like we all made the best of it and had a very relaxing vacation.
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