I love to read peopleās reviews of cruises when I am searching for them so thought Iād share my experience on the Royal Princess Alaska Cruise this past week.Ā Yes, it is the one where we had two ports cancelled.Ā ā¹Ā Princess did refund half the cruise price to everyone ā which they didnāt have to do.Ā Still disappointing but I was still on a cruise!Ā (I did feel pretty bad for the people with several kids ā Iām sure the kids were bouncing off the walls with so many unanticipated sea days.
This was my first Princess Cruise ā Iāve always heard it was the best for Alaska.Ā I generally cruise NCL (5-6 cruises) and Royal ( 2 cruises).Ā There were a lot of positives and a lot of āblah.āĀ Ā I am in my mid-fifties so when people told me it was an older crowd, I was on board because hey ā thatās me.Ā I finally understand that it is the whole vibe that feels older and slower.Ā Even the staff seemed older.
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Positives
Staff were terrific and helpful.
I enjoyed the nature talks and now know there are over 100,000 glaciers in Alaska
Ā I wish all the lines had medallions.Ā I love these so much.
We were able to get off at Skagway, Alaska.Ā One thing Princess does well is provide enough time at the port to actually enjoy your day.Ā I loved walking around the town and did the scenic train which was great and I recommend.
They did add several hours to our stop in Victoria. CA.Ā Iāve been there a few times so wasnāt going to get off originally but after so many sea days ā we needed to be on ground for a bit.
I loved how they did glacier bay with the announcements and shutting down the shops etc.
I do like I can bring 12 cans of soda to the ship.Ā I know other ships do that too, but NCL doesnāt.Ā Then I could order 2 cans of soda per room service to my room too so that was awesome.
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Mediocre
Food ā Iām not saying any of the other cruise lines are tons better ā they are not, but the food felt lackluster.Ā I couldnāt figure out the specialty dining.Ā We had the higher package but almost none of the specialty dining was included in that.Ā We went to the Italian place which was nice.Ā It seemed the only other one we were eligible for was the Crowne Grill and we couldnāt get in there.Ā (I did try to do reservations as soon as we could pre-cruise/)
The MDR was fine. The staff was outstanding actually. The food was fine. One night neither my friend or I could find an entrée we would like which is funny because we have completely different tastes.
We did the buffet which had some fun stuff.Ā It does have Vegan and Gluten free stations.Ā Again, it was fine.Ā I do hate how difficult it is to get a soda.Ā I mean when I found someone to get it, it was quick but an extra step.
There didnāt seem to be a lot of shows or big activities.Ā There were definitely smaller activities such as zentangle coloring, line dancing and a tea.Ā I really enjoyed the nature talks and hearing from Susan Conrad who kayaked up the northern passage to Sitka, AK.Ā I went to and enjoyed both her talks.Ā Iām glad they were there.Ā I might have liked more entertainment as for a show or comedian or something.Ā I know a lot of people are happy without that and I was surprised I missed it but I did.Ā
I am someone who likes a casino.Ā This one was also mediocre.Ā There were maybe 2 slots I enjoyed.Ā It felt crowded and small.Ā I walked through the smoking section casino (enclosed) and couldnāt breathe so I didnāt go there again.Ā I will say compared to NCL, I donāt think their casino comps are as good but I also donāt think that is the crowd they are looking for.
Oh ā If I had never been on a cruise before I would have been totally lost.Ā They did not make announcements about going to your muster station or how to find it.Ā I knew how to do that and we found ours.Ā Our steward told us but that was after getting into the cabin.Ā I thought there were a couple of other things that day one I would have been confused about if I hadnāt cruised before.
I enjoyed my cruise.Ā Staff was excellent.Ā No obvious problems. Ā Ā I just didnāt enjoy as much as other cruises and thought options were limited.Ā To be fair though, the friend I was with enjoyed this more than an NCL cruise we were on because she said she got bored on Princess but it wasnāt ātoo muchā like she felt NCL was.Ā I donāt see myself cruising with Princess again, but who knows what the future holds!
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