Our first Princess Cruise was fantastic. Went with another couple and we had a great time. Weather was fantastic in all ports. Missed Tracy Arm, but Endicott was great. Viewing very close. Only did buffet once, but dining room and Crown Grill, plus a couple of room services were great. Just not enough time in ports with doing a shore excursion. Could have spent 2 days each in Ketchikan and Skagway. The towns were small, but quaint. Juneau was just Ok. Could have left off stop at Vancouver as it was only a few hours and at night. Will go back to Vancouver. Spa services were just too expensive. Pizza and trident grill was very good. Shows were good. Adele singer should be in the big theater. Saw many bears in Ketchikan. Roberts tram in Juneau was great. Fantastic views. White Pass train ride was fun, again fantastic views. Could have spent more time in Ketchikan and Skagway as towns were small, but quaint. Skagway was our favorite port. Could have skipped Vancouver as only a few hours there and mostly at night. Very pretty City, will go back to visit for a few days. Let Princess book air, hotel and transfers and price was good and everything was taken care of for us. Will cruise with Princess again. Thought Carnival was good, but Princess was better. We love children, but there were very few and that made it a more pleasant experience. Not much, if anything for children to do. Read Less

We cruised on Ruby Princess a few months ago to Mexico and were very impressed with the line so we booked our AK trip with Princess too. Entertainment were great. Staff members were amazing. Food was fresh and elegantly prepared and served. Formal meals were not just for eating---but events to be experienced. There were 10 adults + 1child (4 yo) and we would split up to go to trivia challenges or tour backstage and do a Q&A with the dancers/singers or play a table game we found in the library and then all meet up for dinner or watched a comedian or magician together. So--there was plenty of togetherness with enough opportunities for down time to decompress. The people that made this cruise ship stand out are Alex (cruise director), Yessy and Ampolo (asst cruise directors), Juliet (hostess in Horizon and DaVinci restaurants) and Jose Luis (waiter in Curtis Stone's Share restaurant). They're all so freaking adorable that I wanted to take them home with me!! The excursions at the ports of call were fun and interesting but I could have stayed on the ship for the entire week and taken line dancing classes or played Family Feud or Who's The Cuckoo? and don't think I ever would have tired of it. My brother and sister-in-law were both finalists in VOICE of the Ocean and that was fun to cheer them on to the finale. Bring nice clothes to dress up a bit for dinner. It's not mandatory (except on formal nights) but it will make you feel special. It was hard to go home after having an entire fleet of crew members there to pamper and spoil us. This is the life!!! Read Less

The Bad:This ship was run down, dirty and dated. Elevators were problematic, buttons not working long wait times, random functions. 2 of them were shut down for "routine maintenance". Most of the windows were dirty/salt crusted. (Guess they never heard of rain-x?) The buffet food was good but traffic had a terrible flow, obvious accompanying items not close together or on the same side of the isle. Plates so hot you can barely hold them. Most of the wait staff was grumpy and not helpful at all. Getting a drink in the Buffet room was basically self serve. I had a hard time getting a table. When/if you found one it took towards the end of your meal to get something. Sales, sales, sales!!! they were all about selling you something. I've been on 2 other cruise lines and have never had so many people trying to sell me something. Mostly pay dining, wine tasting and special drinks. The Good: The food and entertainment were good. We had anytime dining and were happy with it. The coffee (mostly espresso) was good at the cafe. Beds and pillows were comfortable. Inside cabin had good sized closet and a refrigerator. I never really felt appreciated. I mostly felt like cattle being herded through the ship. Having spent over $3K for the cruise and drinks/dining. We had limited time at most of the ports. I just felt rushed most the time. The excursions were very expensive and options were limited. We just booked ours when we got to port. I would not recommend Princess based on my experience. Read Less

My wife & I have cruised 40+ times (mostly Disney, RCCL, NCL) and this was our 3rd time to Alaska and only 2nd time on a Princess cruise ship. Celebrated 39th wedding anniversary and the Emerald Princess was absolutely wonderful. From the overall daily itinerary to the Alaskan excursions at these ports (Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, & Victoria) to the quality of food offerings to the cleanliness of our cabin & finally to the service from all Princess employees. My grade is an A overall!! Just returned today (July 8th) and this review needed to be sent asap for those families planning on taking this cruise before summer is over. Weather??? Perfect....sunny with temps as low as 55 degrees while viewing glaciers to a high of 82 degrees while in Juneau, AK. a) excursions-so many to choose from seeing whales, killer whales, bears, bald eagles, dog sledding, etc. With boats, charter buses, trains, and even bicycles taking you to your desired spots. b) cabins-we began with an inside stateroom & was upgraded for free to an outside stateroom. But just a week prior to our planned trip on July 1st, Princess called us & asked if we wanted to upgrade ($149/per) to a balcony. We said YES! So glad we did because we were given a large spacious room located forward on the Port side next to the stairwell & elevator. Perfect location to get to & from places on the ship. And not a sound was heard from people walking outside our room down the hall or the sound of the "elevator bell". 3) dining-we are not a big fan of buffets, so we ate at the dining room & took advantage of the specials provided at the specialty restaurants (Crown, Salty Dog, & Share restaurants). We ate at the late seating (7:45pm) which was perfect. Plus, all the offerings were simply delicious! In addition, Pizza, burgers, fries, tacos, etc were offered poolside if one wanted to eat between meals. Lots of healthy items were available too. 4) entertainment-excellent; musical show, comedian were top notch. Loved the "movies under the stars" poolside. 5) Embarkation & Disembarkation was "super easy & super fast"! We had to catch an early flight home so we walked off at 7:30am today. No problems whatsoever. 6) I read past reviews about the "rudeness" of the Princess staff....Sorry, but we had absolutely NO PROBLEMS with anyone on our ship. In fact, they were helpful, friendly, and even went out of their way to converse with us when time allowed them to do so. We ended getting hugs from several of the staff members on the Princess. That only happened to us on the Disney ships. 7) Cleanliness-cabin, restrooms, restaurants, pool area, fitness center, etc "SPOTLESS" Want me to criticize? Had to think about this for a bit. Hmmm a) seats in the Princess Theater were tight (but only If you weighed > 275 pounds) b) casino was closed on the last day of cruise since we stopped at Victoria, B.C. and there's a Canadian law that prohibits casinos to be open 6 hours prior to landing in port. That's all we found on the negative side. Sorry to disappoint you, Debbie Downers. Great value for our money. Again, we give an overall Grade of A Read Less

The service on the Emerald Princess was exceptional. Our cabin was clean and well kept. We enjoyed the food and entertainment throughout the entire week. There was plenty of variety of foods and venues of service. We choice anytime dining and made reservations to accommodate our schedule for the day. The quality and service of food was exceptional. The buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner had plenty of variety of food. We had gone to comedy shows, theatre productions and karaoke in the bar during the evenings at sea. We were very satisfied with the entertainment venues. We were lucky to have great weather to enjoy all ports of call. Every port had something to offer. We toured the beautiful Ketchikan port. There was plenty of shopping and things to see. Skagway's train ride is not to be missed. There is a tram in Juneau in which you can hike in Mont Roberts for $30 usd. We enjoyed the sites of Seattle and Victoria. We took a tour of the city in Victoria to accommodate the short time in port. Read Less

The cruise staff were mostly rude. To get anything from drinks to room service was a hassle even though we had the drink package. The staff generally seemed like they didn't care at all about the passengers. We booked all of our excursions through princess but when we asked about prices for the same trips in town it was revealed that we payed two to three times more than what's offered at the booths. The entertainment on the ship was very lacking and most of the time we found ourselves in the casino because there was nothing else to do! The food in both the formal dining and the buffet was either disgusting and bland or smothered in sauces. Regardless of where you got your food on the ship it all tasted cheap. Nearly everything on the boat closes down at 10pm; all of the shops, buffets, grills, and most of the bars which was really strange especially when we would get back on the ship late after a day in town. All in all, Alaska was great and I definitely want to get back maybe on another cruise even however we will be avoiding princess at all costs. Read Less

Food was horrible! Staff was not happy or friendly. Atmosphere was very ugly. No one I spoke to on the cruise was having a good time. Daily entertainment was very limited! Kids program was not fun for my 12 year old who is almost 13. Everything was geared toward little kids in his group so he never went to class because they didn’t make it fun and made my preteen feel like a little kid. He wanted to hang out in the 13+ but they would not let him even though he is 13 next month. It was at least 30 min to get seated for dinner and food took forever. When the food came it was old and gross. Selection was not great either. The buffet had old food And again not a big selection. Overall this is the worst cruise I have ever been on and will not be back in Princess! Read Less

This was our first cruise. We booked our cruise through a travel agency and the Emerald Princess was the cruise line suggested. Then entertainment was great! The food and food options were great! Our stateroom was inside. It was quite small. We didn’t know what to expect for a first time cruise and decided to keep the costs lower with an inside stateroom. Next time, we would upgrade to a balcony, etc. The room was cleaned and refreshened a couple times a day which was awesome! We loved going to all the ports! The caption always kept us informed on what was going on each day. There is always something to do and always something to eat! The Princess dancers and singers were one of our favorite entertainers. We also liked the Voice of the Ocean and the comedian. It was our 25th Anniversary while on the ship. We had dinner at the Crown Grille which was amazing and they brought us out a piece of chocolate cake and sang Happy Anniversary to us. We highly recommend the Emerald Princess!! Read Less

Chose this cruise to fulfill my Mom’s bucket list. At 90 years young we wanted to keep the trip as easy as possible. We stayed with Princess excursions because of their Best Price Guarantee! My experience has been you get what you pay for and we weren’t disappointed! This was our 13th Princess cruise and 26th with 5 different lines! I would like to see some slight changes however, such as bring back a happy hour for everyone at 3pm. More seating in the Piazza. Find chairs that take up less space for the smaller Piazzas on older ships. I gave an average rating on embarkation, not because of Princess but because of how Vancouver’s port process of all cruise lines share the same long lines through customs. Otherwise I’m happy with Princess! Booked for a transatlantic 14 night return to Fort Lauderdale on the Crown Princess in November with 4 nights in Rome prior to cruising! One more cruise after that and we will be Elite members when we will enjoy free laundry service and free mini bar set up as well as onboard discounts in shops. Already enjoy free WiFi and Platinum happy hour, as well as Platinum embarkation and disembarkation. What else can I say but we love All the Love Boats! You can too! Read Less

This is a beautiful ship with great restaurants and the outside grill served onion rings. Our cabin was on the 5th floor which has access to the Piazza and the International Cafe for 24 hour food available. The peanut butter cookies were fantastic. The pool was heated and we could find peace and quiet in many areas of the ship. The production shows were really great especially the "Magic to Do show". We even had the same magician that was on the Crown Princess back in 2013. The ship is older and the windows are hard to see out of in the dining rooms and outside windows. Half of the casino was very hot and with smoke being involved it was hard to stay in there for a long time. We wanted to have traditional dining but with handicapped people it was hard to get to the Botticelli dining room with a wheelchair and scooter. Also on disembarcation day it was almost impossible to get an elevator from the 10th floor down to the 7th to get off the ship. It would be great to have an easier way to get off the ship with handicapped people. Read Less

Highly recommend this cruise. Fun ship with lots to do on sea days, amazing excursions (alpine ziplining is a MUST!), family friendly, and absolutely breathtaking views and locations. The staff was exceptionally friendly and always their when needed. They all tried to get to know our group and even remembered us and our certain food or drink requests. The scenery was so relaxing and absolutely breathtaking. Their were so many options for things to do once at port that we really felt like we got to experience each city/port and while at sea we were hardly bored as we had so many options like trivia (my favorite), movies, sports, and shows (magician, theater, and comedy) Everything went very smooth on the ship from entering to exiting and only took a about 10 minutes from walking in to on the boat and even faster getting off. They really have that down to a science! Read Less

Honestly one of the coolest experience me and my GF have had. You have to be a real stick in the mud to NOT have fun. Seriously. I saw one person complaining about rust on the side of the ship. ITS A SHIP.....ON SALTWATER LOL. Lol now that THATS out of the way let me tell you.... Ship was IMMACULATE. Super clean. Staff were very attentive, friendly, and FUN! Our room steward was super sweet and did a GREAT job! Wish i could remember her name but its been since sept 17. Food buffet was pretty good. Nothing TO fancy but tasty enough to eat lol. (If you're not a super picky eater) They did a great job keeping all age groups entertained. They showed recent movies (Guardians of the Galaxy) out on the deck WHILE they had one the "formal" nights going on. Casino was a tad bit dissapointing but still was fun (who doesn't like any form of gambling lol) Drinks were overpriced but was kind of expecting that. Getting on and off the ship was a BREEZE. Super quick and efficient. Security was also very good (for those who notice that stuff) Room was clean, and just enough space for what its meant for. Bathroom was decently sized. Tub kind of overflowed a bit but wasn't a big problem. All and all we had a great time. Remember, if you treat staff with respect and kindness, they will do the same to you. These people work almost 24/7 during their "contract." They do their best to be friendly to everyone but i can imagine it being super hard to keep calm at some people. (I've worked in the service industry long enough to know this.) Read Less

The Alaskan Inside Passage cruise aboard the Emerald Princess was chosen as the cruise du jour for the month of August 2017. The weather forecast for August 20 - 27 was for temperatures ranging from 52o to 64o F. for our 20 August departure from the Port of Seattle. On board the Emerald Princess, the atmosphere was bright, cheery and festive in an environment of luxury and cruise ship pampering to die for. It was a good day for cruising. We were welcomed aboard the Emerald Princess promptly upon our arrival and proceeded to our elegant stateroom on the Aloha, deck 12, that was ready in anticipation of our welcome-back arrival. As is the Princess ‘Captain’s Circle Elite’ travelers perk and tradition, there was a full complimentary bar setup, an upgraded balcony stateroom with an incredible view for those romantic, moonlit evenings when a nice cocktail and a quiet serenity make for special moments. We are always greeted soon after our arrival in our stateroom by our stateroom steward and this cruise was no exception. ‘Edward’ (from the Philippines) greeted us with a cheery “welcome back” in recognition of our Elite status and our 27th cruise with Princess. Edward assured us that he would serve our every need and then some, during our week-long cruise and we assured him we would graciously accept and enjoy his services. Having enjoyed the spectacular Emerald Princess on previous cruises (Southern Caribbean (2011) and Western Caribbean (2014)), we were excited to be re-joining the beautiful Emerald Princess for an Alaskan Inside Passage cruise, our 7th cruise to Alaska. It was clear to us that we had a perfect recipe for a fun cruise to ‘sea’ remote Alaskan port stop-overs as we plied the inside passage. Our cruise included stops in Ketchikan, cruising the scenic Tracey Arms Fjord and glacier, Juneau, Skagway and Victoria British Columbia, Canada then back to Seattle, Washington 7 days later. It was no secret to us that Captain Vicenzo Lubrano and the Emerald Princess staff would provide an incredible variety of entertainment and activities from line dancing and ballroom dancing, the quiet serenity and relaxation of the adults only ‘Sanctuary’ and the old world environment and charm of the breathtakingly elegant piazza with all of the splendor we’ve come to expect from a Princess cruise. Evenings on a luxury Princess Cruise are always spectacular, and this cruise was no exception. There is an ample population of youthful ‘eye candy’ for the young. The ‘Welcome aboard’ show hosted by the cruise director was punctuated by a ‘Princess Singers and Dancers’ superb production show and summary of all of the activities and adventures we had to look forward to in the next 7-days. In addition to solo entertainers, Las Vegas style productions are common on Princess Cruises and the Emerald Princess was no exception. Not only have we noticed continued high-quality stage productions, but there is always a refreshing rotation of a variety of entertainers to make every evening, an evening to remember. The Emerald Princess hosted many exciting entertainment venues on this Alaskan Inside Passage cruise. Aside from the always spectacular Princess Singers and Dancers there were cabaret musical duos, magic shows and game shows like ‘Voice of the Sea’ based loosely on the popular TV show ‘The Voice’, to please any entertainment palate. The entertainment was only beginning! A.J Jamal, comedian, amused us with his special brand of comedy that kept the entire audience in stitches for more than an hour. Then came an array of production shows to rock our ship-world: ‘Magic to Do’, a Disco Tribute – ‘Blame it on the Boogie’ and ‘Motor City’ – a Motown tribute that made you want to stand up and ‘shake that groove thing’. We found it impossible, after a production show, to leave the Princess Theater without a bounce in our step and a heart full of memories from bygone eras of great music. After the myriad of cruises that we’ve taken, we’ve learned a few tricks of the trade for cruising like this one: 1. Identify a good travel agent and use him or her religiously; loyalty gleans generous rewards and terrific tips for great vacations. 2. Whether resort vacationing or cruising is your forte, a repeat performance at the same resort or with the same cruise line is generously rewarded with perks - loyalty counts. 3. Luxury resort vacations compete well with luxury cruise ships and may offer all-inclusive pricing that could include round-trip air fare. Our experience is with Barceló Hotels & Resorts and the Grand Mayan, luxury 5-star resorts in prestigious locations. They are all sure to please! 4. You can’t eat all the food made available on a cruise ship; don’t even try. 5. Remaining loyal to Princess Cruises will start paying dividends early but have significant impact beginning at the platinum level – the 5th Princess cruise. It’s well worth it. 6. Make your vacation and air travel commitment early e.g. 6-months before the vacation is to begin, longer if possible. It helps keep budget planning under control and facilitates uncompressed, last minute payment. 7. Check back with the airlines and cruise lines or travel agent frequently in advance of travel; prices change and you could benefit from a substantial refund if they do. Southwest Airlines is good at crediting refunds toward future flights. 8. Many cruise ships accommodate casinos. When possible, consent to player-club tracking. There are many rewards driven by the player-club tracking mechanisms in the form of cash rewards, free canapes, fruit, wine, iced bottles of champagne delivered to your room, stateroom upgrades and complimentary dinners at shipboard upscale specialty restaurants. 9. Don’t over pack. I never think I do but Peggy says that I always do. (I did this cruise, as usual!) 10. Take advantage of the activities and the shore adventures provided. If you leverage the purchase power of Princess Cruises for your reservation, if something goes wrong Princess Cruises will know about it and could delay a departure to accommodate an unexpected Princess Cruises sponsored adventure delay. 11. We always purchase the cruise travel insurance. It’s inexpensive peace of mind for unexpected events. 12. Finally, throughout your travel, the travel services people providing travel comfort along the way and that help make an ordinary vacation an exceptional vacation deserve your tipping generosity commensurate with the service provided. Tip them generously, because they made a difference, from the cab or shuttle driver to the airport, the baggage handler, stateroom steward, the casino ‘umgestalten’ – pit bosses and dealers. It’s important to mention here that in most cases, casino service providers make only $10.00/day. They make their monies on the tips given by the players so tip generously. A special thanks to Princess Cruises, Explore Cruise & Travel & to my wife, Peggy for another spectacular Princess Cruise – what an outstanding vacation cruise team - you’re the best. Epilogue: There are few things that I do that give me more enjoyment than reflecting on the life and times of Peggy & I. We do it every day when Peggy calls a ‘Happy Hour’ at 4:30 PM to get me away from whatever I’ve involved myself with throughout the day. At some point in our 37-years+ together, Peggy had an epiphany – if she could identify some event that we could both enjoy together, she would be able to pull me away from whatever I had been focused on and make me focus on just her - the epiphany came when she decided to have a daily cocktail hour and serve one of the 63+ martinis we have collected throughout our many cruises on Princess cruise ships. With 63+ libations at her disposal and at a burn rate of one martini selection per day, by the time day 63 rolls around we wouldn’t be able to remember what martini we enjoyed together on the first day and she could start all over again. It worked! Happy hour is our time together, focused on just us, reminiscing about our 37+ years, 4 children, 10 grandchildren and 27 Princess cruises together. Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry and sometimes we just stare into each other’s eyes and remember our special life’s ride together, that we hope will never end. Just like we do for every Princess cruise. Read Less

Princess Cruises has entered the race to the bottom with so many changes, to what once was the popular "Love Boat" experience. The focus during the entire cruise was to generate onboard revenue with additional charges and fees. No longer is everyting included with the cruise. There are 4 alternate restaruants with very high additional fees charged ($29.00) per person. The food quality is inferior due to low quality provisions, inproper preparation and lack of training of kitchen staff. Princess should consider changing the name of buffet dining to Golden Corral at Sea, however Golden Corral has wider selection. Alternate dining restaurants were substandard and improper preparating of foods, all foods overcooked. The kitchen cannot make a good soup and does not know the meaning of bisque or chowder. What a truely disappointing experience with Princess. As a Platinum member with Princess, I will not sail with them again. Princess has transferred the labor costs entirely to the guest with the automatic gratuties added to every shipboard account. Staff onboard was great but they can only do with what the company provides, which is poor provisions and inferior training. Read Less

I enjoyed this cruise - it was my first cruise ever and while I did get seasick sometimes - it wasn't terrible the entire time. The gym on the ship is large and gorgeous and I ran quite a few times while we were sailing on the treadmills and did a workout. Food was pretty good but only if you went to the more fancy dining room at your specific dinner time - otherwise the cheaper and faster food was not my favorite. We had a suite so we had the option for a private breakfast in the steakhouse which consisted of a lot of the same food but much less crowded and more quiet so that was nice. The ship itself is gigantic and it takes a full 10-15 minutes to walk from one end to the next. Elevators are REALLY slow and take forever to get to the floors because they stop on each one and pick people so your best bet is stairs if you are fit enough. Onboard entertainment was awesome - we loved Bingo and I loved Voice of the Ocean which was based on the hit TV series "The Voice" where they had folks volunteer onboard the ship to compete and had 3-4 different sessions narrowing it down to a final group and picking a final winner with judges from the crew. So much fun. The shore excursions were awesome and we did a number of things - we were busy and tired most days - but it was worth it! We road a float plane over the Misty Fjords, we rode with sled dogs, we crossed a suspension bridge over the Yukon valley, we road the White Pass Train... you name it - we tried it! Service was excellent and everything went fairly smooth. I have no complaints other than crowds and crowds and more crowds. Read Less