We chose this cruise because of the convenience of leaving from San Francisco and being able to easily drive from the east bay and park near the port. The embarkation went smooth enough but time consuming with long lines. Some people figured out taking the elevator would let you cut the line to security and get ahead of the long escalator line the staff directs everyone to. There was plenty of staff at the port to direct people. There's also line delays boarding the ship due to Princess being all about making more money your entire cruise. In this case picture lines. I understand some people want pictures embarking on their cruise but do we really need 2 or 3 photo stations with cheesy Alaska backdrops while in line to board? At least have SF backdrops or boarding a ship backdrops? Better yet get these picture stations out of the walkways, let people board then have picture stations set up throughout the ship when people have had a chance to put their luggage down, freshen up from boarding and can spread out for cheesy photos of their choosing. The photo ops disembarking at ports also create lines and delays getting off the ship.

This Grand Princess ship is 19 years old and Princess claims it's been refurbished which is false advertising! They need to update their website to say SOME areas refurbished.

Cabin - We had a mini-suite this cruise. The bedding was clean and bed fairly comfortable, at least that did not appear to be 19 years old. The rest of the room definitely showed its age. The bathroom was super outdated tile and moldy areas of shower with a bad caulking attempt to clean up the edges. The carpeting, lamps, desks and furniture were old and worn. The room did at least have 2 flat screen tvs but neither was good quality and only 1 remote you had to remember to bring to the bedroom from the sitting room and vice versa. The blackout curtains were great for the 4 am sunrises in Alaska. The sliding door leaked water from the top edge when it rained. There was a nice fridge, a safe and plenty of closet space. We had no robes for the first 3 days, then they finally appeared in the closet. Most annoying was absolutely no clock in the room. Seems very odd. I've never stayed in a hotel or cruise ship without at least an alarm clock available? I guess they assume we all use cell phones for alarms or the wake up call? Just a pain to never know what time it was with out having to pull out my cellphone. Read more