Photographs are a farce and Princess uses "blue screen" to take shots of you in "Alaska"; Princess also takes pictures of folks with their "bear" or holding a tube with the port name on it. Very disappointing as I thought if you order premier package you would be able to set-up an appointment to have a professional photographer take pictures of you in one of the ports.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
San Francisco port is chaotic and confusing. Folks standing at the "baggage check-in" sign weren't waiting to check-in luggage (I asked multiple people) then when I found the baggage area, they only checked-in select people and told me to go back to the crowd. There were refreshments in the waiting room, but I didn't know it was for cruisers.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Food was overcooked or undercooked. Salmon was raw in the middle (not sure if I was food poisoned). Ribs were tough and barely edible. Cakes were dry with no taste. The only foods that tasted good were the specialty restaurants and some of the "themed" buffet nights like the Indian food. Desserts in glasses tasted better than the ones on plates, but if you need something sweet get the ice cream. Explorers Lounge made really good Blue Hawaiians. International Cafe had tasty, moist palm cakes and okay salmon toast.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The quill da bear arts & crafts class was fun (if you know how to quill), but I was disappointed that we did not learn about indigenous crafts. I learned lots from the enrichment classes too, but I would've liked to learn more about the culture (e.g. crafts, food/cuisine, lifestyle, etc.). Watch out for the health/nutrition/fitness classes as it's a "sales pitch" to get you to buy Elemis products. I researched and found out it's cheaper online even though Princess staff will tell you they have the better deal. Movies Under the Stars movies weren't the greatest - wish they showed movies that were really popular (e.g. not everyone wants to watch "Whitney Houston" Netflix movie on the big screen) and they showed the same movie multiple times during the day and it was hard to view the movies during the daylight. Also, they did not serve popcorn nor blankets for the movies.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The musician was funny, but most of the entertainment were geared towards an older crowd with old music from the 80s and 90s.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Stateroom steward was awesome and cleaned our room literally from floor to ceiling twice daily. Other personnel (like Spa Attendants, waiters, etc.) picked and chose who they were friendlier too. Ladies, just wear a tight tube top and hot pants and you will get a lot of attention.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Stateroom was squeaky clean, but public areas were filthy. I always had to clean the table and chairs in the Horizon Court. The woman's bathroom next to the Princess Theater was caked with dried poop and I don't even want to know why the seat cover was up.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Stateroom was squeaky clean. My only issue was the shower was super small and even though I turned the shower on so that little water poured out, I would still waterlog the floor. Princess is re-furbishing the Ruby Princess ship so I hope they re-do the bathroom so that the shower doesn't easily wet the floor.
Ship tip
Don't pay for any overpriced tours. There's a lot to do in the towns we stopped by and I wish I didn't do any tours as I didn't have time to try the local cuisine nor shop for local goodies.
Overcrowded port. Chaotic. Somehow, my Uber driver found me right away. It is very difficult to get Uber from San Francisco to the East Bay as many people were calling Ubers. The port also has taxi cab drivers available.
Not much to do here. Popcorn was lack-luster and Chicago has better popcorn. The fried cinnamon bread was okay, but I'd rather have churros. Overcrowded town. I wish I hadn't booked an all-day tour as I didn't have time to try their seafood restaurant. Very difficult to cross the street too - felt like drivers sped and tried to run over pedestrians.
Rangers don't know what they're talking about and encourage everyone to go up to the 18th floor where you can't spot any wildlife. I spotted a few sea otters and seals from my stateroom balcony. Everything was far away, though, so you need binoculars. Also, Rangers said it was a great day, but it wasn't. I talked to another passenger and he said 20 years ago, glacier bay was teeming with wildlife and now there was little wildlife - some folks didn't see any wildlife as they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Very difficult to walk around this town - roads are really rickety and I almost twisted my ankle numerous times. Also very crowded and cars speed. I was really disappointed that Starbucks didn't have any collector mugs.
Nothing to do in this port - I went on a hiking tour, checked Starbucks for their collector mug (didn't have any), and went back to the ship. Also, we were delayed about two hours because one of the workers ran away.
Must be a first cruise. Also sounds like he did not do any prior research and planning. For example, Skagway has a number of interesting spots, some free, some pay, but if you only want certain things like the NY NY scene, then you might be a bit disappointed.
You must be really young. If you really got food poisoning, trust me - you would know. Also, the popcorn is 10x better than the disgusting Chicago stuff that passes for popcorn at Garrett's! Sounds like you would've had a miserable time, regardless of the ship or destination.
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