My parents have enjoyed several cruises in their retirement, but they have not enjoyed any cruise more than a 2013 Princess cruise to Alaska. So, they decided to take our entire family--13 people all together--on a once-in-a-lifetime vacation to Alaska aboard Princess earlier this year.

To say that it was the cruise from hell would be an understatement.

The trouble started before we even got on the boat. There was a problem with my "cruise card" room key and the security staff refused to allow me to enter the ship. They made me wait for over an hour on the deck as they let other passengers aboard. When my mother and father made their way up the gangway, they too were stopped and made to wait. The incompetent security team just kept trying to make new cards for us, but nothing seemed to work. They never told us what the problem was, they never offered us a chair to sit in, and they made no effort to make up for this terrible introduction. Finally, a set of keys worked, and we were allowed to board... Read more