We have just returned from a 2 week cruise from LA to Hawaii and our overall impression is probably average.

There's a vast array of nationalities on the staff. Previously I have found Eastern European staff surly and miserable and Philippino staff happy and helpful, the latter applied to most staff of all nationalities on board the GP. Our steward was particularly polite and efficient.

As on all cruises, researching the ports and arranging your own excursions is recommended, the Princess arranged tours are not much short of a rip off.However they do not help with poorly printed maps and rarely the location of where you have docked. Also the gangways are sometimes congested at peak disembarkation times.After queuing for 15 minutes to get off at one port, we found the delay was the ship's photographers at the bottom of the gangway insisted on taking everyone's photos. Moral of this paragraph: if Princess are out to get your money at every opportunity, whether these efforts delay or upset you is immaterial to them. The best you can make of this situation, is not subscribe to these "extras" and console yourself in the knowledge that the mugs, the elderly or the infirm who do subscribe, are keeping the overall price of the holiday down for the rest of us. Read more