This was our 6th cruise with Princess and while everything was okay nothing was really great except the food in the specialty restaurants. The best way to describe this cruise was flat. The service and food was fine but the crew seemed to just be going through the motions. There weren't a lot of smiles, conversation or friendliness from the crew. This was the first time that we didn't write a recommendation for a crew member because no one went above and beyond and gave exceptional service. In the past we've written 5-6 recommendations.

The food is getting tired. In the last 5 cruises we've done it's basically the same menu and the food tastes the same. There is nothing new (other than the new chocolate desserts) and we didn't think there was anything amazing there. The service and food in the specialty restaurants was very good and we especially liked the new Crab Shack that they are doing. We also did the Chef's table which as always was amazing. We noticed that the outdoor decks seemed worn and dirty and several areas were in need of paint and varnish. This was the California Coastal Cruise and it was a nice, relaxing cruise with enjoyable ports and easy to see on your own. This cruise felt like a gap cruise between the Alaska cruises they had done and the Hawaiian/Polynesian that they were going to do. The entertainment was very unexciting both in the Princess Theatre and the bars/lounges. We still managed to have a great time but will not sail on Princess for a while. Maybe this was just a dull ship and cruise but we'd been on the Crown before and it wasn't this bad. This was our first time with Platinum benefits and we did enjoy the little perks that that entailed but not enough to cruise on Princess for a while.