Royal Princess Review
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We have cruised about 8 times in the past, all with Royal Caribbean. Then we didn't cruise for the past 3 years due to the pandemic. Our first time back to cruising was a weekend cruise to the Bahamas with Royal Caribbean and we were very disappointed by the lack of cleanliness on the pool deck, poor customer service and the quality of the food. I'm not sure if this is a post-pandemic phenomenon, or due to the fact that this was a short weekend cruise, or if Royal is just going downhill. Since our last cruise, my husband has also needed to go Gluten Free. There was literally 1 option on the menu for him at dinner to choose from that was gluten free and there was no effort at trying to make anything else.
Then we cruised Princess for the first time last week to Alaska for 7 nights and it was AMAZING! The customer service from the stateroom attendant to the bartenders and every single person in between was out of this world. Their medallions allow them to know who is standing at the bar and they addressed me by name. The stateroom attendant was amazing and even if we were only out of the room for an hour, he somehow managed to make up the room while we were gone. Again, I think this is due to their medallions that can track when you leave/arrive at the room. Pretty cool!
The dining room was also out of this world. Our wait staff went absolutely above and beyond to accomodate my husband's gluten free needs. The dining room manager came over every night with all of the next day's menus and allowed him to pick anything he wanted for appetizer, soup, salad, main course and dessert and everything was specially prepared gluten free for him. He was not limited in choosing from only 1-2 options. He could pick anything and they made it work! They also had gluten free pasta options and brought gluten free bread to the table every night. The food court was not labeled very well, but if you asked they were also accomodating there as well. I have never encountered such gluten friendliness on land or at sea and it made the whole vacation SO MUCH BETTER!
Cabin Review
Mini-Suite with Balcony
Spacious enough for a family of 4 with two teen boys. Especially liked the bunk-style beds for them so they didn't have to share the pullout couch. The bathroom size is worth the upgrade to the mini-suite.
Port Reviews
Glacier Bay
Breathtaking despite the cold rainy weather. Pack warm coats and a waterproof outer layer so you can enjoy the views from the pool deck.
Victoria
Waste of a stop, we were limited to 9pm-11:30pm for our port times due to changes in the itinerary and we didn't even bother getting off since there was no time to do anything and any restaurant we wanted to try was closing due to the late hour.