Crown Princess Review

4.5 / 5.0
2,240 reviews

Never Again

Review for Alaska Cruise on Crown Princess
User Avatar
SWilkins23
2-5 Cruises • Age 40s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: May 2016
Cabin: Premium Suite with Balcony

I have travelled on multiple cruises with several other cruise lines, but never with Princess. I had heard great things and my friend who was travelling with me had a great experience on the Coral Princess, so I was excited to experience Princess with my first trip to Alaska. Staying in a suite, Our accommodations were very nice--just what we expected. Multiple perks to being in a suite, but any time we asked about them, there was little information ever provided--such as the added room service menu for Suite members only. While our room was freshened each day, toiletries and clean towels were consistently omitted. Upon calling the steward, our calls went unanswered, and when we asked about the phone calls never being answered, we were told we were doing something wrong with the phone.

This was typical of the service provided by many of the staff. Any lack of customer service on their part was the customer's own fault. Somehow having to bathe without soap was MY FAULT. Dining experiences--food itself was subpar compared to other cruise lines. Best meal was Sabatini's breakfast which was excellent. Salty Dog's was great too. Most of the regular dining staff rushed us through ordering, were extremely condescending when we asked questions about any items on the menu, never went out of their way. They did the bare basics to get by. Some were friendly, some were downright rude and bossy.

Most especially, we missed out on 2 of our 4 excursions planned. Although the other cruiseline ships that were sailing along with us throughout the week made it safely into port in Victoria, our captain was unable to dock the Crown Princess. The reason provided to us was first--that permission had not been granted from the local authorities, and then the 2nd reason--weather--specifically wind. Upon looking out the balcony and even climbing to roof top decks, the water was the calmest it had been our entire trip. No wind to speak of. Our last excursion of the trip was cancelled, and upon trying to find additional meals on the ship, none of the vendors were prepared for everyone to stay on board and didn't have enough ready or any willingness to try to meet the added demand. The issue that took the cake----the cancellation of our 2nd excursion in Skagway. We docked early morning, but our excursion was not until 1:30 so we remained on the ship until then. It wasn't until we met with our guide right at 1:30 that we were informed our Helicopter ride & Dog sledding excursion were cancelled. Weather--issues--and it was definitely smoggy. There was another group going dog sledding at the same time and since that was the main event of our excursion we asked why we couldn't be included in that group or why our entire group couldn't be bussed to the dog sledding excursion. The answer was just no. Most discouraging since these excursions were booked in December 2015 and some of those who still got to go dog sledding booked it this week from the trip. Weather can't be helped, but there was no back up plan.

Cabin Review

Premium Suite with Balcony

Cabin S5

Cabin was very nice---wish we could get our towels and toiletries daily and it would have been A-ok.

11 Helpful Votes
previous reviewnext review

Find a Crown Princess Cruise from $128

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.