My girlfriend and I took the Sea Princess out of San Francisco (May 30) for a 10 day cruise to Alaska, and walked away pretty disappointed. We're both pretty new to cruising, was her first and my second, so I might just have unrealistic expectations for cruising.

1) The Ship: The ship seemed to be pretty run down and out-dated. The stained carpets, rusty pipes, dirty windows, and broken furniture created a pretty dilapidated atmosphere. The layout was inconvenient at times, the pizzeria was situated directly between the main elevators and the casino, and so while you were trying to enjoy your meal, people were constantly walking through the restaurant. And for those partaking in libations in the "secluded" wheelhouse bar were terrorized by massive crowds leaving the princess theater. The every window that had a view outside was dirty, which I thought they'd be at least trying to keep clean seeing as Alaska was known for breathtaking views.

2) Service: I can't quite say the service was bad, every reasonable request was honored but with a smirk instead of a smile. The staff with the exception a select few seemed too busy to deal with customers. One little thing I was really looking forward to were the towel animals that were always in my room after dinner, some passengers had great stewards that did them, but the vast majority that I spoke with never got a single animal. I know this is trivial, but these little things really make a difference. Read more