First the positives:
The itinerary and the beautiful weather we had made this a great cruise. This was our 3rd Alaska cruise, the 2nd with Princess, and we had also traveled via RV three times to Alaska. The staff was very accomodating and friendly with one of the best room stewards we have ever had. This was our first time to book in a forward cabin feeling the motion would be a problem but we found even less motion in A219 than we have felt elsewhere on the same ship with the same sea conditions. The Naturalist was excellant and we attended all of her lectures. We enjoyed the selection of movies shown in the Princess Theater. The meal and service we had in Sabitini's was wonderful. Kevin Hughs, who we have seen before, was great and the best entertainer on this cruise.
The disappointments: The food was bland and unappealing and dispite the usual selections we had four years ago, which we had enjoyed, this cruise the same selections were a big disappointment the majority of the time. An example was Escargots prepared in a greasy butter sauce without a hint of garlic. The selection in the International Cafe has greatly decreased and the gelato was no longer offered. We were so disappointed that we came home and canceled a booked 7 day cruise which we had planned to take just to enjoy the food and celebrate our anniversary.