Alaska was fine just had issue with the cruise line. Won't sale Princess again and I will go back to booking myself vs this time I went through a travel agent
Embarkation
1 out of 5
I had heard Vancouver was a gong show to depart from and they weren't wrong. We parked at YVR because it was half the cost of parking at the cruise port. If you stay at the long term value parking the Templeton station SkyTrain station is right there. Out of the 4 adults in our party only my husband got a notice that the ship was delayed. The embarkation staff in the cruise port didn't have a clue what they were doing just trying to push everyone through. First cruise I have been on after COVID and surprised they didn't ask any questions if you were feeling okay just basically here is your medallions get on the ship. Probably why most people on the ship were coughing by day 2
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
The food was just blah. Not much selection. The cruise before had a GI outbreak so the staff had to serve us the first few days and you can tell they aren't trained. Most were off in la la land and would only serve one person at a time vs asking the next few people if they wanted the same thing to make it faster. Only one person on salad bar and one person on the fruit and dessert station. A few of the staff actually paid attention and would hop away from their station to help another station. I hate the location of the dining room they use for breakfast, lunch and dinner because you have to use a specific set of stairs and slow elevator to get to it.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
There really wasn't much for activities if you don't enjoy trivia or casino. They did some interesting things in the Pizazz but we didn't go because it's too crowded and you have to stand on the stairs. Why they don't do it in the theater I don't know. It was also a cruise to Alaska so couldn't take advantage of outside unless you wanted to be cold as they don't have a cover over the pool decks. Felt sorry for the workers that had stations outside
Entertainment
1 out of 5
The last princess cruise we were on if you missed one of their game shows it would come on the stateroom tv but this one did not do that so I was disappointed with that
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
Some staff greeted you and some just ignored you. Most were great with our 2 year old and fist bumped him and interacted with him
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
I thought it was clean. Dislike the ship design. Princess is not my first choice for cruises but I used a travel agent and she said it was the better deal for Alaska than other ships.
Cabin / Stateroom
2 out of 5
Smallest inside cabin we have stayed in especially the bathroom. I am used to bathrooms that have more area to put your stuff in the shower vs the one little cubby hole on this one. Also used to two sides of shelves on the mirror in the bathroom this one only had one side. They did provide liquid hand soap which was nice. Only one outlet by the phone on the desk and the one in the bathroom.
Ship tip
Don't do Alaska on it. They don't have much seating inside the ship so be better for a warm weather cruise.
Nothing excited about Ketchikan. There is a free shuttle which we would have been nice to know about before we walked to find the playground in city park. Found out from a local that there was another playground closer to the ships but nothing comes up when googling.
A little bit disorganized on the ship. They don't seem to like to do announcements in the staterooms so we just joined the line which was apparently A&B while we were C. Once off the ship it was smooth sailing. Handed out paper to the border guy who basically took it had a 2 second review of it and sent us on our way.
If you want to go to Alaska again all Holland America ships have a retractable roof in their pool area so you can get out of the elements when the weather is bad. Also all cruise lines do not broadcast their announcements in your room. On Holland you can get them in your room if you put the tv on the bow or stern camera, it depends on the ship. However Holland ships may be a bit quiet for you as they have an older clientele and Alaska has an older crowd on most cruises.
We use a travel agent always, but do our own research. Certain Princess ships have much better viewing areas for Alaska. Especially the Majestic Princess. Price is not our only consideration.
*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.
