What a disappointment. After having cruised with Princess Cruise lines this has been the worst yet. The best tip I can give is to avoid their excursions all together. They are outrageous in price and provide poor service. You are better off finding an excursion off the ship after you dock each port. We had a complaint at one of our excursions and instead of trying to take care of the customer the excursion desk just led us on a wild goose chase. To make things worse their excursion manager, lied repeatedly when confronted with her superior.

The overall attitude of the personnel was poor as well. Eighty percent of the crew seemed uninterested in their jobs and the passengers which reflected in their subpar performance. Our cabin steward falling into this category as well. He did the bare minimal to keep our room appear as if it were clean but not once was our balcony tables or chairs cleaned off in our 10 day voyage. If fact it was dirty before we even checked in and Princess charges us $11.99 gratuity each day for his poor service? They were so concerned over a virus that broke out during the cruise but what they fail to realize is that you can get just as sick from bird poop on the balcony chairs and tables.

There is also an automatic 15% gratuity charged on all bar bills.... outrageous for the water-downed drinks which are expensive enough. They are also deceptive in their bar receipts because in addition to a automatic 15% charge there is another line for more gratuity which if you are not careful you may fill out giving them more of a tip. I don't mind tipping and in fact tip 20% or more for good service but I like it to decide how much I tip. When gratuity is already added each day then there is no reason for the crew to go above and beyond exceptional service. The buffet was subpar as well, same thing day after day...boring. Read more