This is our 8th cruise - and it keeps getting better. Staff service was outstanding. Ship was clean, very well organized. We had a balcony suite on the 14th floor - everything working. I love the fact that there is no more bathtubs - efficient layout. A lot of dining options - we went to Cagney's, Teppanyaki, Local Grill, Garden Buffet, Savor, Taste, and Teppanyaki. Not everything was perfect, but the little hiccups can easily be looked over because of the awesome service. Was a little bummed that Victoria was cancelled, but can't fight the elements of the weather. A lot of activities on the ship as well. In the end, this trip brought our family awesome memories. A family member went on the racetrack. Yes, the charge extra, but it was so worth it. The view of the Golden Gate Bridge from our balcony was priceless... really priceless. The port in Vancouver was clean and beautiful. Granted that we did not depart on the original schedule, they made it up in activities. Read Less

My family and I decided to finally do a cruise since we have always wanted to do one but never had the chance. Until our friends wanted to the same so we booked it. Arriving to the ship it was an easy process getting on and they even take your bags to your room. When you get on the boat you already have the key to your room and your bags will be waiting their for you. The cruise we went on had only been five days. The only downfall was that we weren’t able to stop in Victoria Canada due to the low tide. Which then they had gifted everyone $50 for credit to spend however you wished. My kids really enjoyed the Entourage since they had the opportunity to interact and make friends with other kids on the boat. They also enjoyed the activities that they had planned. As well as there teen counselors Wakanda and WiFi. They said that they were overall fun and funny people to be around and because of them my kids would like to go on another cruise and have them as their teen counselors again. Overall would definitely see myself planning another family cruise. Read Less

We can’t wait to get off this cruise ship. This is the last day of our cruise on the Norwegian Bliss from Vancouver to LA. We stayed in a balcony room in 10246. The room is spacious and modern, but it’s not sound proof enough so we constantly hear the TV from the next room at night when we’re trying to sleep, people “doing it” at night, and just general stomping noises and people slamming their doors. The worst part is the food. It’s terrible. The teppanyaki served really salty food, and the Q Texas had the worst food we’ve had all year. The buffet and main dining rooms also had either really salty or bad food. It’s worse than a mall food court sometimes. The only good meal we had was at Cagneys, but you pay extra for that. Also, the gym was very good with excellent weight machines. The onboard process was long and terrible, and it pissed off a lot of people. We were supposed to board at 7:30pm, and we didn’t board until 10pm because they were disorganized and boarded late. We had 30 minutes to grab something to eat at the extremely crowded buffet (we were not offered food or drinks in the 3-4 hour wait to board the ship) before we were told to go to the muster station. After our Seattle port was cancelled, they offered each stateroom a $100 onboard credit. Nothing we could do about that. However, when we got to SF and had to clear customs, they called floor by floor to try and be efficient, but everyone still had to stand in line for almost an hour. They could have organized it to minimize the wait time. I’ve done customs clearing on another ship and it was done within ten minutes! Just very thoughtless and inconsiderate. The last straw was that we spent $50 to purchase a couple of photos, and the photographer said I could download the digital copy from the Norwegian app. I could not find the photos so I went to the photo station. The guy then told me that if I wanted the digital copies, I’d have to pay another $50 for the two photos. I asked if I could exchange the physical prints for the digital copies, he said no, you have to buy the prints first, then you can buy the digital copies. That would cost $100 for two photos! We will not cruise with Norwegian again. Going to try Celebrity next based on other equally unhappy cruisers’ suggestion! Read Less

We booked this cruise only 30 days before sailing. Reading the reviews, many people had booked this 6 day cruise well over a year ago. This was billed as a 6 day cruise, and everyone paid tips for a 6 day cruise. It was really 5 days. The ship arrived at the pier in Vancouver at about 6:30PM and check in was slated to start at 7PM. Guess what happened at boarding? Most people started lining up at 4PM and by 7 there were several thousand people standing in a line that wound around Canada place. This is part of the ugly. We had done 2 other late departure NCL repositioning cruises from Vancouver before. The first was really bad and a woman waiting actually had to be taken away by ambulance due to a panic attack it was so bad. Well this time we did not even show up to check in until 9:40pm! We still waited about 10 minutes in line and we were just about the last 2 passengers to board the ship. We tried to eat as soon as we boarded but we had our drill and everything was shut down. Still the ugly! When we arrived in our room, we found a letter letting us know our itinerary had changed. Since the cruise was announced it had its first day in Seattle. Now it was changed to eliminate Seattle and we had an overnight in Victoria. This was OK for us but many passengers were disappointed. The excuse was not having enough time to notify the US authorities for immigration purposes. Now, all 4,000+ pax had to go through US customs in San Francisco! We did the drill and enjoyed the ship. The next morning we arrived in Victoria. This would be the good for us. Victoria is a beautiful place to visit and we had a beautiful day there. We took a nice walk to Craigdarroch Castle (about 3 miles) as we had never visited there. Well worth the visit. Then we headed back to town and enjoyed happy hour! Swan's was our first stop then we visited Canoe. Both fun places for adult beverages! We had enough energy left and walked back to the ship. The Liverpool Beatles did a show at 7:30 in the showroom and it was standing room only. They did early Beatles in this show and everyone enjoyed it. The next day we were to leave at 2PM so we just walked into town and back. Again it was a beautiful day. Sail away was nice and we just explored the ship. We had dinner at the Q which was good. DW stayed and to watch the CW band (ok but not great). I went to the Cavern club and got there early enough to get one of the last seats there. The 9PM Beatles show was the early years. This was great for me as a Beatles fan to see these guys performing in a small club environment and I could imagine what it was like to see them in Liverpool in 62/63! Now for our first sea day. We received a notice that we would be refunded our port charges for Seattle and they gave each cabin $100 OBC. This was a positive move as NCL knew full well the immigration situation long before our cruise but did not tell the passengers until we were onboard and could do nothing about it! Our Cruise Critic M&G was at noon. This was also the time the ship scheduled the Veterans get together at Maltings. I went to the Veterans and DW went to the M&G at the District Brewhouse. I visited with the one other Vet at the bar for a few minutes and then wet off to join in the M&G. NO SHIPS OFFICERS attended the M&G but they did have champagne for us (nice touch). There were 30-40 cruisers there. Great to meet those we were chatting with on the roll call. The schedule said there would be an Alaskan Beer tasting at 2PM at the District Brewhouse. I was in a group of 10-20 standing outside the closed doors to the District at 2 pm. I just left and came back about 10 minutes later figuring I could join in the tasting a little late. When I got to the District, it was empty. They had kept the doors closed and then the bartender said nobody was there at 2 so he just cancelled the tasting! Poor management! Dinner was at the buffet and it was fine. Then we went to Six. DW liked it, she was listening to each of the "wives" as they sang about their life with King Henry. I was a well done show but not up my alley! Overall, the sea day was good. Now for San Francisco. Since we now needed to clear customs in SF (which was originally going to be handled in Seattle) it meant that EVERYONE would be getting off the ship when we arrived. We had booked a trip to Alcatraz on our own for 10:30AM. I had gone to the front desk on the sea day and managed to get with the correct person to assist us in getting off the ship in the first group to go through customs. This did work fine and we were walking around in SF by 8:30AM. I heard the ship was cleared by around 11AM. We had a good day and BEAUTIFUL weather in SF. On Alcatraz, they were saying how unusually beautiful and clear the day was. Parts of the island were opened to the public that normally are off limits. We spent the remainder of our day walking in the Fisherman's Wharf area. We would have ridden the cable cars but it was way expensive and a long line just to get on. Not for us. Back to the ship and the buffet for dinner. We finished dinner and it was about 7 so we wandered by the theater. There was no line so instead of sail away we went into the Jersey Boys show. Mistake missing sail away! Jersey Boys was an excellent show right up until the point in the show where they dropped the first "F" bomb! There was an audible gasp in the theater. To be fair NCL does have a sentence to warn passengers in the Daily and a piece of paper size sign at the theater when you walk in. We never saw either of these. That just tainted our enjoyment of what otherwise was a great show. It is just sad that NCL feels like this language is necessary in their primary entertainment show for a ship that is marketed to families! The language could be changed without damaging the performance. Another example for us of the BAD! We did eat breakfast and lunch at the local. They did an outstanding job and the food was fresh and hot. Dinner on our last sea day was at La Cuchina and it was good food and the service was good. We just wandered a bit and packed. The ship is new. It is well maintained and the crew were all happy. We did not care for the size of the ship. You have 3 levels of shops, shows and places to eat (6,7 and *8). Then you have 7 levels of hotel and 15 and 16 for food and pools. The only place they used for games, trivia, presentations etc was the atrium. This is typical of NCL in that they really do not pay attention to those types of activities. The atrium in big and impersonal and when we cruise, we typically make friendships at trivia and other small group activities. Not so much on NCL. Disembarkation went great. We walked off with our bags. That started at 7:30 and we left at 8 with NO LINES! this was a good! We have continued to try NCL but sometimes it is just not a good fit. I tried to add photos but the review would not allow it! Read Less

We are a platinum latitude member but normally took a NCL cruise on a small ship. My wife and I wanted to try a larger ship. The embarkation was a disaster. It took us more than 4 hours to check in and embark. Personnel at the pier in Vancouver were so disorganized and they waited until 7pm to start the process. They could have started earlier and gave us our passenger pass. NCL deleted our stop at Seattle without any prior notice. We found out this deletion when we boarded the ship. NCL however compensated us with $50 each. Entertainment were mostly Broadway musicals without any variety. Some of the entertainment has an entrance fee. The inside room was smaller than the smaller ship. When we reached San Francisco, all passengers must check with the immigration at the terminal building. With more than 4000 passengers to process, NCL provided only 1 checkout counter to check IDs. No wonder the cue was really long. Because of this long line, I started to get sick and passed out while on the line. Per my wife, NO NCL PERSONNEL assisted us while I was laying on the floor. Thank God, one of the passenger called 911. I was taken to the emergency room of California Pacific Medical Center. It took the hospital more than 5 hours to complete the medical tests and diagnosis. I missed the ship and NCL provided us a hotel room and a flight home to Los Angeles the following day. I believe the long line gave me the stress and sickness. I will never a large NCL ship cruise again. Read Less

Very disappointed in the food. There are so many choices that it is hard to do them all well. Many nights we did not eat our entrees. Comedy was good and the bands were good but the huge production numbers were embarrassing- so bad and poorly performed. Voices and dancers were off and the shows made no sense. The cruise is good fun if you just know how to have fun. There were no enrichment activities. The daily activities were lacking and seemed to be geared for children. Most troubling- Princess now allows guests in the dining room in jeans, shorts or flip flops and guests can be in the buffet in bathrobes or pajamas. Staff were friendly and helpful for the most part. Crooners Lounge is a lovely spot for evening drinks and music. This itinerary spent too much time in the ports and not enough time at sea. Coffee is bad even in the paid cafe. Read Less

This was a great cruise overall. As most know, the PNW weather can be iffy in the Fall and we surprisingly had amazing weather for this trip for late September/early October 2019. I didn't know what to pack (even though I live in the PNW) and even with the weather being good, I still didn't pack enough warm clothes for enjoying the outdoor space at sea. We had a balcony room (L301) and many days we sat on our balcony as we sailed away and I could have used more layers. However, days in port I was perfectly fine with capris, long sleeve, and a vest. But on the ship I needed to dress warmer. Layers would be my advice for future cruisers on this with gloves, scarf, hat, vest, coat, and some lighter clothing layers for warmer weather in port. But the weather was so nice on our first at sea day that we even could lay out in swimsuits, by the pool, heading south on our at sea day! But on our at sea day going north I used the atrium pool area as it was cooler. Go figure! We stayed pre-cruise in downtown at our time share. We flew into Sea-Tac and took the light rail into the city (SO EASY if you've not used this before, and cheap!!!) (YouTube Seattle Light Rail system and it'll show you how easy)Then we walked to our resort and used Lyft to the port. Lyft dropped us right off at the ship where we boarded around 11:30am. Barely any lines, hardly any waiting, probably less than 30 minutes from drop off, to on the ship. Got on the ship and made our way to the Horizon Court for a buffet lunch. Seating was crowded indoors, so we sat on the back outside deck and had lunch. It was cooler, so needed our warm jackets & coffee during lunch. At 1pm it was announced that our rooms were ready and we made our way to our cabins where we were happy to see our luggage was waiting for us. Unpacked, and met up with the rest of our party to explore, do the muster drill, and then set sail. Princess has an app that you can download on the ship that you can leave messages for one another via this app. Instructions are on a card in your stateroom about this. It was a little tricky to find our friends on the app (had to enter their number on their stateroom card directly to make them come up) but you can use this feature with Princess' wifi and not be charged. I had my phone on airplane mode while onboard, but wifi was on and we used this app for free. This is not the internet package through the ship. We could also call each others room number and leave messages on their in room phone as well, to communicate. We also had a cabin nextdoor to our friends, and our room steward opened the door, per our request, so we could sit on the balcony and visit. Food on the ship was good. Buffet had the typical things, but for those who don't purchase a drink package and bring on your own hydro-flask or cup, you could get coffee, ice tea, and water in the buffet. They also had hot water and a huge variety of tea bags to choose from as well. I like flavored creamer, which isn't offered on the ship, so I just packed a small box of flavored creamer pods in my suitcase and took a couple to breakfast each day. I also brought on my own insulated coffee mug to keep my coffee warm and have a larger coffee cup to walk around the ship with my coffee in the mornings. My husband did purchase the soda package which was reasonable (under $10/per day) so he stayed hydrated via soda or other juices/mocktails, etc. We just purchased our own cocktails and drinks as needed as we couldn't justify the alcohol drink package for how little we drink. I did bring on the allowed 2 bottles of wine for my stateroom though (1 per person) & just asked my steward to bring me some wine glasses. There's a specialty coffee package that was $31 for 15 coffees, which is a good deal if you use all 15 coffees, which our friends bought one to share, but on a 7 day trip and quite a few days on shore, they left a few drinks un-punched on the card, so they didn't get all 15 drinks. I asked the person at the coffee stand if you could use the unused coffee punch card on a different Princess ship/sailing and he said no. So that didn't work in their favor. Now we did end up having lobster on our last formal night in the main dining room and Baked Alaska. That was very pleasant to know that Princess still has the lobster night, as many lines are doing away with lobster night. Some people don't care about this feature, we happen to book with the lines that still do this if the itinerary is what we want. Ship was in decent shape. You can tell it's been used quite a bit. For instance we had a bit of carpet coming up along the edges of our stateroom. No big deal, it has mass amounts of people coming and going, so it's going to look used. But over all the ship still was beautiful and clean. We did not have a mini suite, so no couch in our room and the shower seemed extra small compared to the Celebrity ship we were on last year. The Star shower had a shower curtain that you had to make sure was inside the shower so not to soak your bathroom floor, which I did a few times unexpectedly. The shower also had wall mounted shampoo/cond combo, and body wash, also a small body lotion was provided on the bathroom counter. But the room was well appointed & clean, with a large closet and ample shelving and storage for our 7days. The bathroom this cruise had an overall outhouse smell, so I had brought on a small bathroom spray, which I used to mask that odd smell. I would have liked a counter standing bathroom scent to keep it smelling fresh throughout. But didn't know that we'd need it as I've never had that constant smell in our bathroom on a ship before. My parents were in a mini suite on dolphin deck and they had a full size shower/tub combo and couch area and 2 TVs vs our 1. However their balcony had zero cover on that dolphin level, which left them exposed to above cabins and weather. We had a nice over hang cover on our Lido deck balcony which was nice when it did sprinkle a bit, we could still make use of our balcony. Entertainment was fine. Didn't go to all the shows and didn't make use of the lounges and all the entertainment going on around the ship as we visited with our party more on this trip than go to the shows. They had two comedians back to back, which was odd not to break those up a bit, one was much funnier than the other. The ships in house production show was ok, Celebrity did much better with this. But the Star isn't one of Princess top ships, so expected not to have the top entertainers, and that was just fine. It was worth our time to watch and we were entertained nicely. They did a fine job and we enjoyed going each night that we did. Walking around the ship we did hear other lounges having entertainment, which seemed fun. So there was lots to enjoy on the ship. Didn't do any of Princess' excursions. Did our own in port by renting cars and walking food tours, and finding local breweries. ASTORIA we had great weather, which doesn't always work out. Astoria is a lovely town with a fun river walk and lots of breweries. There was a $7 shuttle to go into the heart of town from the port that you could use as much as needed throughout the day. You aren't in town when you port and there's a good mile+ walk to get into town from port. Which is a nice walk on a clear day, but we opted for the shuttle. SAN FRANSISCO, our highlight was to go under the Golden Gate Bridge. We went under both times in the dark and the bridge isn't lit up on the underside, so our pictures don't do it justice. The ship will go under the bridge depending on tides so the ship will fit under the bridge, we set our alarm clocks for 5am, and we actually went under at 6am. But again, we heard this could vary due to tides and nobody could give me exact times we'd be going under when we asked the night prior. We left port at 10pm. Both were the same experience going under the bridge, less crowded on the top deck in the morning, and very windy both times, more so leaving than coming in. But it could have been foggy just the same, so it was just lucky we had such a good experience with this. Luckily we had no fog or rain, so it was fun. We did Alcatraz on our own (bought tickets a few months early) and ported almost next door to the Alcatraz pier. Walking distance to Pier 39 as well. We did a Little Italy walking food tour on our own, which was SO FUN!!! MONTEREY we rented a car to do the 17-mile drive and see Pebble beach, which was beautiful. We rented through Enterprise which had a shuttle van that picked you up in the pier parking lot. Had to call to find it, as it wasn't there and wasn't marked when we arrived, so we just had to wait. Some friends took an Uber to Carmel by the Sea, and am wondering if that would have been more time and cost efficient instead. But if you stay around the port area, you can easily walk and stay entertained close to the ship as well without going out of the area completely. VICTORIA didn't have Uber, so we walked into the harbor area, which was a bit over a mile I'd guess, and very lovely and an easy walk. We've been to Victoria so didn't need to sight see, just popped into pubs and looked around the harbor area. Now, we left Victoria in the evening so we got back on the ship later, which meant all the shops on the ship were closed and stayed closed until we disembarked. We forgot this tidbit and left about $70 unused OBC because we couldn't use our OBC (except for drinks) in the shops, as I was thinking about getting a sweatshirt or something with our OBC. So keep that in mind if you have any OBC, use it up before the things on board close down and if you depart your port later. Just a reminder, which I knew, but forgot about until it was too late. Disembarkation we opted to carry our own luggage off so we could keep our luggage with us the night before. They wanted us out of our rooms by 8am, so we quickly had breakfast in the buffet and then went and got our luggage and walked right off. Now, we opted to use the Lyft system to get back to the airport. They will not let Uber/Lyft drivers to come right up to the ship like they did dropping us off. You have to walk about 1/4 mile+ to get to the Uber/Lyft area. For my husband and I, that was no big deal. However for my parents who have mobility issues, that wasn't so great. They did it, but it was a struggle for them. Lyft will vary on cost, but it was about $30 for two of us to get to the airport, where the shuttles directly at the port were charging $30 per person to go to the airport. So for the short walk, it was worth it to us to use Lyft (which was consistently cheaper than Uber in Seattle this trip) Overall, this was a very nice cruise and being from the PNW, it was very accessible to us and I'd easily do it again for a fast, cheaper week get away. The seas were calm going south and a tad rougher heading north, but bearable. But that could vary from time to time. The ship was lovely, staff was nice, food was decent. Overall would book again! Read Less

Not what was expected. Very unfriendly staff. Outdated vessel. Very small. Not well kept. Food was worse than hospital food. Balcony very dirty. Not a lot of activities on-board for 4 day duration. Age group 50-85. Disembarkment process very early. Shops with expensive prices. Atrium is a small hole in the vessel. Elevators are old and dirty. Not sailing again with a Princess. The staff seem to agree that Royal Princess have higher standards in food, cleanliness and ship entertainment. The cocktails were very overpriced. Coffee tasted like water, looked muddy. Tea was better option. Same breakfast menu every single day. Buffet posts and glass were extremely dirty. Staff around ship couldn’t answer badic questions, but gave honest responses, “sorry, I can’t answer that, maybe someone else knows”!!! I would spend a few hundred more and get a better experience with an alternate cruiseline. Many seniors with books in hand and ready for relaxation. Read Less

Let's start with the condition of the vessel. It needs some major repairs to it's plumbing systems as we had personal loss of our toilet multiple times this cruise and saw many leaking ceilings and buckets throughout the ship. Heard stories of cabins flooded and carpet replaced, our friends were relocated along with their neighbors due to repairs to their cabins. However I cannot find fault with the crew of this vessel. Captain Tuvo has a very happy crew, we heard crew people tell of how nice it is to work on board the Star and it showed right to the customers as well. Dinner in Sabatini's was fantastic for both service and food. Anytime dining was great, never having any issues getting a table when we wanted. We tried to get Edwardo and Paul each night as they were so good with service and timing of our meals. The barrel chair was in our caribe cabin and we were thrilled to see it. Air conditioning did not work on our warmest day in San Francisco when jellyfish clogged the cooling system we heard, but in our cabin is was fine. Overall the ship does need some care and we heard it will be dry docked in April to upgrade to medallion. Not sure we would sail her again only due to ship condition but not the crew.....they were a joy. Also enjoyed the smoking lounge Shooters for a cigar and whiskey. I also thought the pools were heated somewhat.....on one day the rear pool was too warm for my taste. Oh yea....this cruise also was to pick their entertainer of the year 2019 so they had four on board to do shows and we voted. The singer Phillip Brown won and he was great. Also even with it's plumbing issues I have to say the public restrooms were some of the cleanest and well cared for we have experienced at sea. Read Less

We chose this cruise on the advise of relatives, whom we went on the cruise with. Mistake! So many negatives; bad food, leaking EVERYWHERE, boring shows, mildew smells, just worn out and gross! The carpet was stained and ripped in many areas. The waitstaff seemed kind of uninterested in getting to know us, except for one. Our headwaiter in the Capri dining room, Danje was very nice and knowledgeable. But, most everyone else was kind of rude, actually. I felt like everyone working on board was just going through the motions and trying to just get it over with. We didn't feel welcomed or special. It was more like cattle heading. After the cruise ended, we just wished we had never even gone, that's how bad it was. We couldn't wait to just go home. Next cruise we take, we will do more research. This ship was way past it's prime. Read Less

im from vancouver and i read from newspaper the cost of this trip it is a good deal , we stuck late for 4 to 5 hours at vancouver port because of oil spill but not the royal princess cruise fault so we are very late on disebarkation please plan ahead your pick up shuttle bus ( only the pre pay passenger they accept) at the end of cruise spc. with no wifi i finally get one and buy it expensively on the spot because no way we will get out of that place how i feel sorry to those peoples mostly seniours walking in a circles and 3,000 peoples waiting to taxi cannot get in touch with uber or lift . i wished the entertainment will be a little more extravagant . we are in main small piazza every night with thousand peoples on it . any how it is a good cruise but nextime we will be more prepared. Read Less

I personally enjoyed my cruise with my family very much! We spend 10 nights on the Pacific Aria and it was awesome! Cons: -We had to skip one of the islands (Kitava) as the weather of the sea was too strong for the wee boats to take us to the island. -If there are announcements about the activities throughout the day you can't really hear them from your cabin without opening your door (we were on deck 4). Pros: -The food was delicious and we dined in the pantry most days. We tried Dragon Lady (Asian Restaurant) and Angelo's (Italian Restaurant) once but the portions were really small. The waterfront was perfect for Breakfast and Lunch. - There were many activities to participate in on sea days such as parties, fitness/dance classes, anti-aging courses, coloring, board games, and many competitions. - The Edge was an amazing fun thing for us to do. It is a group you can sign up for and do many outdoor extreme activities like rock climbing, walk the plank, the flying fox and laser tag. -The decoration throughout the ship was really beautiful with an added touch of each elevator having a different design. - The staff was extremely kind and our Steward Dodi was amazing. Every day we were welcomed with a towel made creature and he would often incorporate my brothers' toys into the towel creature. Read Less

Having downsized our large property after our children left home we’re now in a situation where we can spend money on traveling to the places that we have been dreaming about for years, the question was where to start first? Having done a reasonable amount of Australia when our children were growing up, we decided that a trip to our local House of Travel in Motueka to investigate cruising was the best place to start. Friends and family had already been on Princess Line cruises with great feedback on how much they had enjoyed themselves. After seeing what was available to suit our schedule and what we considered to be the best value we decided on the Fiji Encounter with P&O and promptly booked and paid for our tickets. Excitedly we returned home and started further researching our dream breakaway only to be horrified by the online reviews of what seemed to be the holiday from hell so if you’ve just found yourself in this situation I want you to take a breath and relax, Pacific Aria is not five stars but be realistic you haven’t paid for five stars so if you board Aria with a determination to have a great holiday you won’t be disappointed. The ship; Pacific Aria is the smallest ship in the P&O fleet but still packs in all the features that you would expect on the larger ships just on a smaller scale. I would have to say that the Aria is not the greatest ship that I’ve traveled on after we encountered a few days of rough weather, neither of us suffers from motion sickness but there were onboard reports of our fellow travelers struggling with the conditions. Our advice would be to take a sea legs tablet the day before you depart and keep taking them for the remainder of your cruise if you’re concerned about seasickness. We had a balcony room on deck 10 and the condition of the room had lost a bit of its gloss from new and could do with a refresh up. Still, it was very clean, and our room Stewart’s were amazing at keeping it spotless. Again, the Aria is not five stars and we spent very little time in our cabin anyway. The restaurants and bars have faired better and still retain a lot of the original shine. Dining; This is where we feel that the Aria has been unfairly slammed the most in online reviews, so we took special note of what was on offer. The Pantry, is where you can eat as much as you like pretty much when you like and has a good selection on café type food it looked well stocked and clean we only had one quick lunch here and it seemed to be on par with other cafes that we’ve grabbed a quick bite at when in a hurry. In short nothing spectacular but by no means bad. The Waterfront restaurant is where you can dine for all three meals on sea days and has a varied menu with great service. We tried a bit of everything, and it was nicely prepared if slightly lacking in imagination. Again, they’re preparing a lot of meals and dealing with a lot of dietary needs, so we gave them a solid 7 for food and a 10 for service. Angelo’s is one of the two specialty restaurants onboard the Aria that is included in your fare and is well worth a visit. We dined there twice and sampled both menus A and menu B. Angelo’s has beautiful décor and good service. We gave Angelo’s an 8 for food and an 8 for the overall dining experience. The Dragon Lady; “Wow” This is not what we expected when we paid our fare, we would have to rate Dragon Lady as one of the best restaurants that we’ve dined at. This is qualified by over forty years of combined experience in the hospitality and service sectors. We gave menu A, a well-deserved 10 and Menu B a solid 8. Service was exceptional. We dined there on four occasions and would’ve gladly eaten there every night. This is the best GF menu that we’ve ever seen, anywhere! Just needs another GF dessert option on menu B. Salt Grill by Luke Mangan; This is billed as the best dining experience onboard P&O and is the only place where you have to pay an additional surcharge so we were looking forward to something special and at the risk of upsetting our Aussie brothers and sisters we were underwhelmed with both the menu and the service. The food is good, it’s just not as good as it’s hyped up to be and we found the service to be slightly arrogant. In fairness, I do have a GF diet so maybe some of the ingredients had to be removed from the dishes, but this wasn’t an issue elsewhere on Aria. We gave Salt Grill a 7 for the food and a 7 for service. Entertainment; this is where the Pacific Aria shines as the production shows held in the Marquee are world-class with slick choreography and singing which is supported by great lighting and sound. Our favorite was Johnny Balance the Comedian Magician who had us laughing so much that it hurt. Name that tune with Georgie, Cruise Director Cole’s morning Trivia, Bingo with Cameron, Pacific Popstar and the riotous Rock the Room were some of the other standouts for us. Unfortunately, the Ocean Bar is just not big enough for all of those wanting to participate in the fun. This is also where the Aria fell short with the themed parties that were a bit of a let down as we had visions of us dancing the night away in a grand setting, but full marks must go to Cole and his wonderful team. If you can’t find something fun to do on the Aria, we would suggest that you check your pulse. Music and Bars; There is a range of theme bars with matched live music that is of a high standard our favorites were Kawai and Ian Berry, but they were all great. As far as the bars go the Blue Room was the standout for us due to the excellent service and late-night coffees. It’s a great place to chill out reading with a premium coffee during the day or to enjoy live music and a cocktail in the evening. We would also like to rebuff the online nonsense regarding short poured drinks as the drinks that we watched being made were always prepared using the correct standard measures. Bar hygiene was also of a very high standard. We weren’t cruising with any children of our own and there was plenty on board, but we hardly ever saw them we can only assume that they were locked away in the engine room or having the time of their lives in the kid’s clubs and pools. Shore excursions; These were of an acceptable standard for us but we would suggest that P&O send some undercover team along from time to time to make sure that standards are being maintained our tour guides were great on the bus but left us to our devices once we arrived at our destinations. We found a lot more was on offer once we moved away from the group and went exploring on our own. The standout was the amazing cultural shows and singing. The only bad point was the tender trip into Port Denarau which took an hour in very hot and humid conditions. Overall, we had a great time cruising with P&O and would do it again on one of their bigger ships but in saying that the letdowns due to the size and age of Pacific Aria were expertly papered over by the outstanding crew. Pacific Aria is still a fun place to spend a value-packed holiday and a great introduction into the world of cruising. David and Gaylene, Motueka NZ. Read Less

I chose this cruise because I heard it had high ratings and was a short 3 day cruise. I really enjoyed everything and the fact that it had a structured schedule of entertainment and activities. We had a great experience at Lotus spa and got a couple's massage and hair style.Every personnel was so kind, knowledgable and helped us in every way. We were very satisfied with them. I was really happy that there was 24 hour cafes and room service along with daily live music that one could dance to. All the entertainers were so talented, I was impressed! We had so much fun and danced, ate and drank a lot. We had a chance to relax while at sea. It was absolutely wonderful and my boyfriend proposed to me on the last night we were there. It was truly a special adventure as it was a special occasion and our first cruise together with the exceptional service of the Star Princess Cruise. Read Less

We decided we needed a break and chose to go on a three-day cruise to simply relax. The price was quite reasonable and affordable for almost any budget. We chose the three-day cruise on the Coral Princess departing Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon and docking in Vancouver BC on Wednesday morning. Both ports provided incredibly easy arrival and departure options. The Coral Princess is one of the best ships in the Princess fleet. And it is now our favorite of all the ships we've sailed. It was comfortable, welcoming and warm. The wait and cabin staff were among the best we have ever encountered. The decor was rich and inviting. The Balcony Cabin on the Caribe was comfy. Those Princess beds are the best. You can just snuggle right in. We chose Anytime Dining in the Bordeaux where the menu selections were many. One of the best appetizers on the menu is any of the chilled soups. The Horizon Court food was always fresh with lots of choices. And finally the entertainment in the Princess Theater was high quality, with some of the best singers, dancers and musicians we've ever encountered on any cruise. Read Less

As a travel advisor I wanted to experience life onboard a Princess Cruise. The embarkation and Disembarkation process was very efficient. There were many venues onboard with different nightly entertainment. The public areas never felt crowded. The SPA experience was great and the thermal suite can be enjoyed daily at an extra cost. My cabin had a veranda, mid ship. My companion suffers from motion sickness but staying mid ship was very helpful and she did great onboard. I recommended to anyone looking to experience cruising for the first time. It is a great value for the money. The food in the main dining room is good. The menu changes every evening with a decent selection of choices. The food at the buffet as well as the coffee can be improve. The staff is very friendly. The pools were heated and there were 4 spas to relax and watch outdoor movies on the big screen. Read Less

We wanted to see the West Coast on a cruise, and we have sailed many times with Princess so decided to go with the Royal Princess. We have had 20 cruises sailing on Norwegian, Carnival, MSC, Celebrity, Holland and Princess. This was our third time on the Royal Princess and we were disappointed in the quality and food choices in the dining room and the buffet. We only went to the dining room twice and found the food choices limiting and not up to the usual standards. They were offering a hamburger now instead of steak in the dining room. The buffet also lacked quality food. It seemed like they were serving up left over food and putting them into strange and unappealing dishes. The food did not look fresh. Also Princess is saying that using the hand sanitizers does not kill germs like washing with soap and water, and I agree, but the sinks they have before entering the buffet do not work well. There was often no soap and the water is not a strong flow. When you enter the buffet they had the hand sanitizers, but they were often empty. Therefore, many people not using either. There were good food options like the pay restaurants. We did eat at the Crown Grill and it was very good. We also liked Alfredos and the International Cafe. All excellent choices for food. All the staff, as usual, were excellent. The ports of our west coast cruise were excellent. The entertainment was very good on this cruise. The only problem, and that is a big one for us was the food. We have two more cruises booked: one with MSC and the other Holland America. We have had good experiences on both these cruise lines in the last few years. Read Less

This was a repositioning cruise from LA to Vancouver with our 2 grandkids 3 & 7. First off, under three year olds have a room to play in with some toys but no supervision until they hit 3 years old. Kids did like the program for the few times they went, it was closed at lunch and dinner and cost money after 10:30pm. Arcade pass was $175 for a week, we found that expensive and they do not honor the day pass as advertised on their website. Go karts we thought were going to be the highlight, it was unsafe for my seven year old after doing a double ride to test. We cancelled future single rides, however they did end up on our final bill which resulted in a trip to guest services on debarkation day (it did show refunded on our account in our cabin on tv). The family pool was deep but warm and in cooler weather not crowded. The big blue slide was so much fun! We didnt find any entertainment that would capture childrens attention but did enjoy Jersey Boys for ourselves. We have never minded ship buffets but this was very challenging with small children as tables were scarce or non existant and we were offered a suggestion of carrying our food down one floor...well not a possibility with small kids. Food was fine, we really loved the Q for specialty dining. Some weirdness were noted with the drinks, I had the drink package included so just paid the grats on it. However when ship is in port ( in our Pacific Coastal this was 75% of our cruise) we are charged an additional port tax ranging from $1.06 to $3.97 ...I couldn't figure out the varying amounts on the same priced drink?! I asked about this when booking when reading a review and the NCL rep told me there was no such charge!! ( insert confused emojii). Hubby is a smoker and has now after several wonderful years of cruising...he vowed he would never return. There is 1 area at the back of the ship dedicated for smoking (casino when opened and your if your gambling) and it closed for: refueling ( hours), special events and random closures. There was some grumpy passengers right from getting on the ship and I don't usually have sympathy...but they are people too! Every drink was yummy but the best was found in the mojito bar. Enjoy your cruise friends. Read Less

We enjoyed taking our 10 year old granddaughter on this cruise. It was a no-brainer as she lives in San Pedro and we live in Seattle. Fun to cruise the coast and end in Vancouver followed by a train ride home to Seattle. My wife and I enjoyed sharing with her the cruise vacation lifestyle we love. She enjoyed the freedom of the Splash Academy but also hanging out with Grammy and Papi. She made friends, learned new things, loved the buffet, doing activities like watching the towel folding demonstration and more. We are already planning our next cruise with her for her 13th birthday in 2021. This way she can got to Entourage. My wife thought Jersey Boys was the best show we have ever seen on a cruise. We also made note that this also may be the best food we have ever had on a cruise. The only downside is due to Canadian and Washington State laws, the stores were closed the last three days and many of the bars as the ship was only allowed 8 bars open at any time. Finally, we had a great time doing laser tag as a family. We were on a team with another family and it was super fun. Note...be prepared to walk the stairs or wait for elevators. Read Less

This is a nice ship with lots of things to do if you want to pay extra for them. NCLs free at sea program is anything but. It cost more to book with free at sea than with a sail away rate, you are charged tips on the drinks you could have not the drinks you do have. Most of the fun extras on the ship like the race track and laser tag cost extra. There were 1/2 empty drink glasses and beer bottles sitting aroun all the time, probably because drink were free if you choose that package. Bartenders were kept very busy. They repeated the main stage shows for 2 nights which left limited options on the other nights for something to do. Waste baskets are built in to the walls by the elevators but are not labeled and basicly hidden. I loved that the smoking area in the casino was glassed off. Lunch menu was the same every day. Because of the free at sea program we never ate dinner in the main dining rooms. Specialty dining was ok, but not excellant. Read Less

We are experienced cruisers (12 +), second time with Celebrity. We selected this itinerary for the Pacific San Diego to Vancouver route. My brother & his wife traveling with us, first time on Celebrity. Concierge cabins 2138 & 2140 on deck 12. We picked these so that we could have a combined balcony which worked great the first day. Until the trouble started with the excessive noise above us from the oceanview café - intolerable. Requested a move for both cabins. We are elite members (celebrity), diamond (RCCL). We were moved to a down graded cabin, we should have been upgraded. Moved to a far forward lower cabin away from our family & we had to ask for everything promised to concierge class. Concierge totally dropped the ball & when we complained to him personally, he was very defensive. Finally offered us $200 toward future cruise - big deal - not. Concierge class is a joke, a few amenities thrown on a standard balcony cabin, not worth the money. Canopes every day were no better than seagull food, which we did throw to them. We were embarrassed because we convinced our family to try celebrity for the first time. They usually sail Princess. Food is very average. Again these cruise lines are pushing you to use specialty dining. Big mistake. The shows were very boring and disappointing. Cruise director Alexandro was the only highlight. The ship is beautiful, the crew very pleasant, the captain very accessible. The embarkation process in San Diego was very disorganized. Shore excursion staff very good. The eclipse was the most rocky ship that we had every been on (12 cruises on other ships). The pacific was very rough so that could account for it, or maybe an unstable ship, not sure which or both. Celebrity makes big distinction in price & amenities for suites vs. all others. We did book a future cruise to take advantage of the offers but may cancel it. Biggest highlight - beautiful ship. Biggest disappointments - Cabin 2138 & 2140. C2 Concierge. Lack of respect for Elite class member & moved us to a down graded cabin. Read Less

Have just disembarked the Celebrity Eclipse following a 9 night Pacific Coastal Cruise from San Diego to Vancouver. We chose this cruise because we had sailed on the Eclipse 3 time previously and liked the itinerary. On embarking the ship we were greeted with the customary glass of champagne (make the most of it as it’s the last freebie you will get). The first thing I would say is that the Eclipse is not the ship it once was. The ship is looking a bit tired and does not seem to be as well maintained as it once was. Previously every time the ship was in port it was being painted, not so anymore! The soft furnishings have scuffs, rips and tears. That said, our cabin steward Salvadore was exceptional and kept our cabin tip-top. Be aware that every drink you order, be it tea, coffee or alcohol will be subject to the addition of a 20% Service Charge which is added automatically so the staff have no incentive to offer a good service. You have to wonder how much of this 20% is passed on to the staff! Maybe the American market is different to the European market and is geared around giving a low entry price and then charge for everything you can as an “extra”. The onboard shopping experience is poor with most shops selling over-priced tat. The Qsine restaurant concept has been changed, and whilst it is different, the menu is very limited, the old concept was much better and offered more choice. Murano continues to be the jewel in the crown when it comes to the speciality restaurants. The food and service here is exceptional. Tuscan grill is a good second choice. The Oceanview buffet restaurant offers a good choice but the food is only ever luke warm at best. Moonlight Sonata, the main dining room is OK but the quality and choice of food has declined. The staff here aren’t particularly attentive and seem to be lacking experience, there seemed to be a changeover of staff occurring during our trip. The entertainment is more East End than West End, maybe the Americans are easily pleased. We missed our stop at Monterey due to bad weather. Astoria has nothing of interest to offer and seems to be a stop for the sake of a stop. San Francisco was well worth it and the additional overnight in port due to us not stopping at Monterey was a welcome surprise. Victoria and Vancouver were both nice places to visit. Having travelled on Eclipse three times previously it was my favourite ship and I would have recommended it without reservation, unfortunately I can’t do this anymore. The Staff only seem interested in up-selling everything they can at every opportunity, even the bottled water in your Stateroom is now charged for. Eclipse is no longer a 5* experience it’s now 4* and declining experience. Hopefully the re-fit next year will restore Eclipses former glory. Read Less

This was our first cruise experience. We chose this cruise for the itinerary and timing. Embarkation and debarkation is close to where we live. Additionally, the timing coincided with spring break. It's a big ship and fun to find my way around. There is plenty to do at all hours. However, my stateroom was not ready at the designated time. One of the highlights for us was dining. From formal to casual dining, there were a lot of well prepared and delicious meals everywhere we chose. My preference was the buffet, because I got to meet people while sharing a table. Movies under the stars was fun as were the other activities. Funny thing, the comedians were fun to watch. Three movies playing at the same time, made it easy to watch what you wanted. The service was wonderful. I appreciate the crew's ability to maintain a professional demeanor while handling all situations. Read Less

great service but the Grand Princess is worn and tired from 20 years at sea. Features & Details: Although it was a decent value for the money, the cabins and amenities were basic accommodations. Food: The Cruise Director kept announcing to the audience about the wonderful food but it was very average and the choices were predictable for an average cruise experience. Desserts tasted like it was from a grocery store. Mostly tasted bland taste and with soggy crust. Service & staff were mostly very good. Its a difficult job to be working 10-12 hours a day for 9-months but these are real hard workers with an amazing attitude - friendly and helpful. Dance Production entertainment was very good and, had some very talented performers. Although the costumes could use some critical reviews the choreography and execution by the performers were excellent. Plus, the small theater gave everyone a fabulous seat experience. Read Less

Having booked in club class, embarkation was a breeze. We got white glove service and soon where in our suite and met our steward. The ship is large and at first seemed overwhelming, however after a few times walking around, we got our headings and it was quick and easy to get around. The elevators seemed to take a long time, and since we usually walked the stairs it didn't really matter to us. Our suite was very large with a roomy balcony. The layout was convenient and made it easy to work and lounge. The bathroom was well appointed. At first the lights were a bit confusing and yet we figured that out too. We enjoyed most of the restaurants on board and were very happy with them. Service at Alfredo's Pizzeria was a bit slow. The staff in club class dining was very attentive and made it easy for me to follow my plant-based diet. Breakfast in the crown grill was great. The made me a special breakfast of spinach, salas and potatoes each morning. Our 3 year old really enjoyed the activities in the Discovery Camp Treehouse and it was nice break for me to have him go there. After a couple of nights, we realized that we can have him eat early and then enjoy an adult only dinner while he played with his pals. I enjoyed a massage at the spa. The massage was relaxing however I had to wait rather long for it to being. I understand the reasons for it, but it wasn't really respectful of my time. The staff was great with our son and he really enjoyed himself. He didn't want to leave and wants to go back as soon as possible and so do we Read Less