We chose Princess due to the Glacier Bay itinerary, for its amenities - 24 hour free room service, numerous choices for food inclusive in price, and for the long history Princess has with Alaskan cruises. We were in a group of 8 couples ages 40’s - 50’s and Holland America seemed to be more geared to an older crowd. We had an amazing time! The best we’ve ever had on a cruise I think! The weather was amazing. It never rained and we has sunny skies most every day. We were able to leave our balcony doors open most of the cruise. We wore shorts on the ship one day and people were swimming in the pool. Embarkation was the easiest ever. We were scheduled to board at 1:30 but headed to the pier at 1130, had no lines, and were on board eating lunch at 1pm! All the food was amazing! Breakfast in dining room was not as good as Carnival and we missed the chocolate melting cake at dinner, but the dining room dinners were excellent. We had king crab one night, lobster one night, shrimp and scallops one night. All the food was very good. All the bar areas and service was great and drink selections were excellent. Different bars have different things. Our favorites were Crooners, the Wine Bar (they serve sushi when you order wine) Wheelhouse, and Outrigger! We didn’t do the specialty restaurants except Salty Dog- it was good for the small fee. The pizza was amazing and burgers, fries, tacos excellent out on the decks! We are having cookie withdrawals - different cookies every day at international cafe (or room service or buffet) along with lots of choices for foods 24 hrs international cafe. Coffees and teas are amazing here as well. Room service is very quick and efficient. We did the drink package and had a hard time some days making sure we got at least 7 drinks in to feel like we utilized it! Ports were amazing - Juneau we did the whale watching and Mendenhall - saw tons of whales, sea lions, hiked to the Falls. Skagway - train was awesome. Glacier Bay - breathtaking. It does not matter which side of boat you are on. Captain turns it to see all sides. We went up top to observation decks at 6am as we came in to Glacier Bay and saw lots of whales, etc then spent the rest of our cruise on the balcony - amazing day! Ketchikan - our excursion (wilderness cruise) took us to a lodge for all you can eat crab - it was amazing and we will do this again!. Spa was excellent as well - best massage I have ever had hands down. Debarkation was super easy and Princess will take your bags to the airport without weight requirements and check you in to your flight. Nice!

The negatives (which can be overlooked in the whole scheme of the trip but would be nice to have improved) are:

Bar/drink service in the dining room no matter when you go is terribly slow. Do yourself a favor and take your drinks with you! We figured out it was much faster to go to the bar or wine bar outside Of the restaurant and get our own either before dinner or during; otherwise, it would be an extended period before you got what your ordered. Moscato or Riesling wines were not available in dining room even though they were on the menu. Pool bar has moscato as does the wine bar. Wine bar has Riesling. It took us 2 dinners to finally realize we had to bring our own. Breakfast bloody Mary’s - same thing - very slow. Bring yours to the table or wait a long time. Read more