We have friends who've said that Princess is their favorite cruise line. We sailed several times on other lines and decided to take the Golden Princess from LA to Hawaii this year. Nothing was awful, but everything was average at best. Staff was very friendly although our room steward never called us by name (even though our names were listed on door nameplate, and we saw him often).

Our balcony size was good, but our room was much smaller than on previous lines at same category. Some balconies are not covered at all, but ours had a half roof. You can be seen by people on decks above you!

Tiny bathroom and tiny shower, room frig not stocked, dirty balcony (paint chips all over furniture and deck and never cleaned), and dim cabin lighting made for less than good experience. The worst thing was that the bed had NO TOP SHEET, just the duvet! Yuk! I finally asked for a top sheet and got one on the third day. (We also had to request a robe if we wanted one.) Read more