This cruise was a disappointment. Two ports were cancelled (one third of the total) because of weather and no alternate ports were substituted thiugh it seems like they could have easily been added without a deviation from the revised route. The onboard activities were uninteresting, consisting of things like zumba classes, line dancing, and penny whistle classes. There was only one enrichment speaker, scheduled for early in the mornings, and a few talks by bridge crew. Other “enrichment” activities were sales pitches for jewelry, art, or spa offerings. The lack of activities was a real disappointment, especially given that we had eight consecutive sea days. In addition, though the ship was attractive, inside public areas lacked space where passengers could just sit and enjoy a view of the ocean. The atrium was attractive, but provided totally inadequate seating space for those wanting to watch and listen to the entertainers performing there. On the plus side, the food was quite good, and the cabin (interior) reasonably comfortable, although the shower was cramped and the shower head was too low for anyone taller than about 5’10”. Evening entertainment was adequate, although it was often difficult to find seating. This was my first cruise with Princess, and I’ll probably not be sailing with them again. Read Less

CROWN PRINCESS REVIEW We have recently completed the Crown Princess Transatlantic cruise. Unfortunately the crossing was very rough due to the effects of Hurricane Lorenzo and we missed two ports as a result. The Captain was forced to forego the Azores in order to go further south. He did manage to get us some sunny weather although it remained rocky throughout. I don’t think we will try a late summer crossing again. We have taken two spring crossings which were much smoother. Spring crossings are not subject to Hurricane season effects. The ship is definitely showing some wear but nothing to impact our enjoyment; we did hear from a crew member that the Crown is due for a refurbishment soon. Dining room meals were very good with lots of choice and excellent dining service. I was disappointed in the specialty coffee offered, very weak coffee and not the best quality. Also the pastries were tough and somewhat greasy tasting. Our room steward was excellent, cabin was cleaned promptly and well and she was very friendly; in fact we found all staff provided excellent, friendly service. We had a problem with our AC which was quickly solved. We took the cruise for the itinerary which offered some unusual ports. Favourites were Bruges, Bilbao and Lisbon. Bordeaux was disappointing, mainly because of the very long drive into the city (unless you were interested in the closer wine tours). Entertainment was just average but there were lots of trivia challenges which were very popular. We were disappointed in the production shows which seemed to have been scaled back...most of the shows were single vocalists. All was well until disembarkation. Once off the ship we encountered huge lineups for customs and after clearing customs it was a chaotic free for all. Masses of people trying to find taxis, Princess bus transfers, tour busses and virtually no signage or a Princess employee located at the customs exit to direct passengers to the proper place. There should have been staff organizing a line for each area and maintaining control of the lines to control line cutting. There were plenty of staff available on leaving the ship wishing us a good journey or a good day or warning us to hold the escalator handrails so Princess certainly cant claim staff shortage. In over forty cruises I have to say I have never experienced the like. I dont know if this is a Port Everglades problem, but Princess could have taken some initiative to help their passengers rather than leaving them in the lurch. I would like to thank the lovely porter who made the effort to get the passengers into some sort of organized line and I would also say shame on those who cut into the lines after he did so. Read Less

We wanted to go to Ireland so we went a few days early to do a short tour of Ireland & then were able to see countries as we made our way to do the transatlantic crossing. The ship is old but everything worked. The cruise staff was great. Would have liked to hear more updates from the captain. We had to divert around hurricane so we missed 2 ports but better to be safe. Food was good. They provided a lobster & oyster buffet one day and a prawn buffet on another sea day. All you can East ice cream & pizza. Always food available. Not impressed with the shore excursions. I need more excitement than riding around in a bus. Had an issue where the excursion was on a Sunday & nothing was open. Great ports on this itinerary. This was the easiest embarkation I've experienced. The new medallion is great. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the destinations... many Interesting ports & enjoyed what our excursions allowed us to see. Private tours in Guernsey & Liverpool MUCH better. As 1st time travelers to this area, with no knowledge of public transportation available, we booked the safe, guaranteed way of seeing the things we wanted. Many of the Princess tour buses were crowded, and my husband has very long legs, so it was a problem finding a comfortable seat for him. I'm not a fan of bus trips period. Cruise line shuttles were helpful for self guided days but the coordinating and herding of passengers was ridiculously unorganized. Veranda cabin was small, but efficient & clean. Bed too soft, and only ONE of the electrical plugs worked, so we had to take turns charging things which was annoying and Not resolved by our steward. Ship was extremely crowded, so movement was a problem with slow, crowded elevators, and the buffet a nightmare. Many areas of the ship were too HOT, including the Princess Theater, and our sleeping room. Kept the balcony door open most of the time since the A/C was ineffective. Plenty of staff around to offer assistance everywhere. Entertainment was somewhat lackluster, only a couple of really good show (disco night & Piano Guy) and 2 tasteless comedians. Was surprised there was no on-deck departure party, and the Balloon Drop party was on the 3rd night? Fun Trivia Staff in evenings at Explorers Lounge, but not much to do on sea days. Dining room crowded, hot and slow. Buffet Food not exceptional, kind like a substandard cafeteria, but I will admit to being a food snob. Hamburger, Pizza, ice cream was great on the movie deck! We really enjoyed our excursions to Guernsey, and Dublin. Blarney Castle left 45 mins late, we got stuck in traffic and then only had 1.5 hours to see, VERY disappointing. Itinerary should not have been penalized for traffic. Other tours to Glamis, Dunrobin, Dublin Castle and Book of Kels were great, and we went on our own in Dublin after the tour which was fun to have free time without being rushed. Normandy tour was the WORST, very long drive with inadequate time at stops to see the wonderful historic things available, AND the worst lunch ever!!! Tour guide had a heavy French accent, and/or something was wrong with her microphone, so we could not understand a word she said & the driver was a maniac. This was also the most expensive, and we were very disappointed. It was a beautiful, meaningful area in American history and in instead of remarking on local culture, homes, industry, etc. the entire return trip was in complete silence. Other guides had offered a wealth of information, trivia and local culture. Way too many photographers on the docks, and pictures were overpriced . Embarkation at Southampton was disorganized, and the Disembarkation at the end was much too early, but efficiently handled (8:00 am) and we had a very long wait at the airport. If I went again it would be a different way. Ship board "shopping" kind of a joke too, mostly way overpriced stuff no one really wanted. I don't go on vacation to buy stuff like that, but it seemed well attended. Spa prices were ridiculous, and the internet I paid for was spotty at best. This new "Medallion" thing still has some bugs to work out . Opened the doors and paid for things, but most featured items didn't work as advertised. My biggest complaint was the way security was handled getting on/off at ports. Staff were rude and rushed us thru like cattle. My underwire set off every sensor the whole time, and I got really TIRED of being felt up!! Sorry this is kind of negative, but I have been VERY truthful. Did not "come back new" Read Less

Chose this cruise for the itinerary. We were disappointed by the ship, particularly the Horizon Café and the entertainment. The Café custo0mer areas were small and filled wit barriers which made it difficult to find your partner. The food was not up to Princess standards, they couldn't even cook an omelet without burning it and the servers for coffee and clean up were lazy and bored. The entertainment was dismal, with several groups of amateurs brought onboard at ports, poor singers and a, violinist. However, the comedian's were awesome.. Love the big outdoor screen, however the choices were not to our taste. We were bored, for the first time in 149 nights on Princess ships. Selling has increased, to the point where you couldn't enjoy dinner without being interrupted by a waiter selling drinks. The trivia was often specialized (Disney, Harry Potter) neither of us had an interest for that so we only played trivia a few times. Read Less

We chose this cruise because the ports of call included some places we had not been. WE chose Princess because the value and service are always dependable. Our expectations were met with the exception of food at dinner in the 2 regular dining rooms. It was not very good. WE had Club Dinning Class which helped because we had a dedicated MaitreD for our section who made up for the regular menu... If the food had been better the overall rating would easily have been a 4 - 4 1/2.. I guess it is the luck of the draw... Past Princess cruises have been OK.... That being the case Norweigen has changed their food dramatically and it is Great!! Princess should take a cruise from them. On the other hand, Princess had 3 shows during our 11 nite cruise that were the best cruise shows we have ever seen. They had a soprano singing pop songs choreographed like a Broadway spectacular. Ship showed a little age but not too much to seriously detract. Service was very good and embarkation and debarkation were the best we have seen. Read Less

It is a bit concerning to take a small ship across the North Sea and North Atlantic. We have crushed the route on a big ship, but how would it be on a small ship. The answer is it was great. The small ship allowed us to quickly move around the ship. No long lines and no waiting for elevators. The Pacific Princess ha a very friendly and efficient staff. Our embarkment at Dover went flawlessly. Quick and efficient. We got settled in, explores the ship and were ready to sail before the muster drill. This itinerary was almost perfect. A day at sea to begin with. Stavanger and then another sea day to Iceland. 4 ports around Iceland and then 2 days back to Norway. 4 ports in Norway and then a sea day back to Dover.The sea days allowed us to rest after the great ports. The ship was pleasant, but somewhat outdated. The small size presented problems for the Production Shows. They were well presented, but the venue did not provide good views of the shows. Occasionally, I felt that there wasn't much to do, but that may be ok. I was pleased with the quality of the performers. There were only two singers in the shows, but they were both outstanding. Our cabin was smaller than we were used to and had little storage. The bathroom was about the same size as usual, but was not organized as well as the newer ships. The main dining room only had traditional dining, but that is my preference anyway. The staff was well trained and efficient. I enjoyed the dining experience, but some of my companions felt the menu was too limited. The staff was more than willing to accommodate when requested. The disembarkment at Dover was quick and easy. A most pleasant experience. Read Less

1. When we left Scandic hotel in Copenhagen we asked a Princess rep in the hotel how to buy a ticket for a shuttle to the airport. She rudely said we hadn’t pre-booked one so to “find your own way there”. The taxi cost about 250 Danish crowns. 2. We lined up in the priority boarding line up and it was much slower than the regular line because so few non-platinum people were embarking. A waste of time. 3. The check-in woman kept my Canadian passport with no indication when I would get it back other than “sometime later today”. That was not true since the ship keeps my Canadian passport during the cruise in case we enter a non-Canadian country. 4. We tried to walk to our room and found the forward corridor on deck 9 near the front and there was no way to get to the starboard side from the port side. No signs were posted indicating this. 5. When we turned on the TV the sound was ridiculously loud with no way to quickly turn it lower. No channels worked on the TV and there were no instructions. Finally, by pressing “channel up” about 20 times it worked. There are no instructions provided on how to use the TV. 6. The balcony in our balcony suite is so small there is barely any room for the knees when sitting on a chair. 7. The drain in our sink was fairly blocked up and draining very slowly. When I told the room steward he said that is the way it is supposed to work. Nothing was changed for the rest of the cruise. 8. The fridge in our room was warm with no water or ice supplied. We had to have a maintenance person come to the room to fix it. 9. There was no welcome water or fruit supplied. Later we found out that you have to pay for water and none is supplied as an initial gift when you first embark, as it was on every other cruise ship we have been on, including Princess older ships. The benefits for a platinum member are very few. 10. The door to the cabin could not be locked until our medallions are at lease 5 meters away from it. Thus there is no way to tell if it is locked without returning to check it at which time it then unlocks because you are closer than 5 meters away from the door. This is probably the stupidest feature on the whole ship since you can no longer tell if your door is locked when leaving the cabin. When you return to the cabin the door should unlock automatically from about 3 meters away. As of day 4 when leaving the cabin the screen outside the door did not indicate that the door was unlocked so that feature sopped often working. Sometimes when approaching the cabin from the hallway the door did not unlock and the medallion had to be used to open it with numerous attempts. A most unreliable and problem-prone system. Whenever we mentioned this to any staff they began a lecture on how to use the system, as though they assumed we were stupid, so we gave up trying to explain the random failures. 11. Medallions are transmitters on a necklace they want you to wear at all times. They transmit your entire information at all times making you like a dog with a locator tag. The whole idea is anti-privacy and should not be allowed. We are concerned about the harm caused by the radio waves. 12. We sat down in a cafeteria for a light lunch and I ordered a chamomile tea. None ever arrived and we just left. We sat in other some bars and nobody came by to wait on us, we had to go to the bartender to order. The service is often very poor. 13. The elevators are very small and very slow. It can take up to 15 minutes to get one if a lot of people are waiting, which they usually are. Very often an elevator would go from a floor above you to a floor below you (or below to above) without stopping at the floor you are on with the button pressed. When one did arrive you have only about 5 seconds to get to it before the door closes. 14. We went to a presentation about the medallions and discovered that for “only” $9.95 per day you can download apps that let you play games, casino slots, childish tracking fish cartoons and several juvenile activities. Luckily I don’t own a cell phone. All of this was simply a way the cruise line can make more money taking advantage of people who are using their cell phones all day long. We really resented this nonsense and heard other people saying the same thing. 15. We ordered 2 glasses of water from room service. 45 minutes later none had arrived so I taped a note on the door saying “cancel the room service order” and we left the room for dinner. When we arrived back to the room 4 glasses had been delivered. There was an $8.00 charge for this room service delivery although we had tried to cancel it. 16. My laptop would not work with the ship’s WiFi system. It has worked in every other cruise ship or hotel we have been in. It appeared that only cell phones work with this system. None of the support personnel could tell me why this was happening but after I stood in line for 20 minutes holding my laptop open, the Internet manager was eventually able to resolve the problem, explaining that the WiFi on the Regal is different from other hotels and ships in the way it works. Obviously some knowledgeable staff should be added to the Internet café. 17. Our first excursion tour to Loch Lomond was a 4 ½ hour bus trip along a highway lined on both sides with trees. As the guide pointed out buildings and hills/valleys about 80 percent of the time, all we could see were trees. It was possible to spot a feature for about half a second between trees. A very boring waste of time. The tour was called “Light Lochs tour”. Coming back from the tour we were forced to stand in a line for about 20 minutes while the crew tried to figure out how we could enter the ship, as though they had never done this before. 18. The captain in his “welcome aboard” champagne party introduced the senior staff, saying we could speak to any of them to ask about concerns. Since we didn’t subsequently see any of them and weren’t told how to contact them, we couldn’t get them to resolve anything. 19. All the venues are kept at a cold threshold. In each on must sit below some form of air conditioning blowing at us so it is necessary for us to wear sweaters and fleece jackets at all times. Our cabin had a thermostat which made a minor difference but the cabin was always just below the warm threshold. We believe the outbreak of flu and colds among the passengers was due to the constant air conditioning and changing temperatures. 20. As platinum members we were invited to a get-together with the captain in the Vista lounge. We saw a line-up of hundreds of people who stood waiting at least 45 minutes to get into the lounge. We decided to join near the end of the line-up when it started moving. When we finally got into the Vista lounge it was absolutely full and we couldn’t find two seats together. We mentioned this to several staff members who just ignored us, though we had hoped they might help find us two seats. So we just left and went elsewhere. 21. Our room phone has been blinking indicating a message but when I called reception asking how to hear this message I was told the phone system was not working properly and this would soon be fixed. Two days later a light is still blinking on the phone leading us to unplug the phone altogether. There are no instructions provided showing how to use the phone. The phones were finally fixed 2 days before the end of the cruise and we were finally able to play a message recorded several days earlier. 22. We needed to ask the only future cruises person a question. I waited in line standing for over 2 hours as there were only four chairs all filled with people ahead of me. Eventually one person let me sit for 5 minutes and we exchanged sitting times. After 2 ½ hours I finally spoke to the representative for about 4 minutes. There need to be more people in the office. It is as if Princess couldn’t care less about possible future customers. 23. The casino machines seem to have recorded our progress to the point that after winning a bonus on one machine, we never won a bonus on any other machine we used except one that paid out $3.00. For the next 4 days to the last days of the cruise we did not get a single bonus on any machine although many players around us were getting their “first” bonuses. This led us to decide that we would stop trying and just give up. 24. A sales presentation in the theater encouraged us to go to Princess Theater and get a $200 off coupon for the Effy jewelry store. This was to be awarded to the first 200 people coming to the theater. No such coupon was given to anyone and then it was announced in the theater that the first 200 people who went to the store would get the coupon and it was first come first served to get one. Nobody seemed to get one. Also free mimosa drinks were supposed to be served. Although we went directly to the store the drinks had run out. The whole process was the most poorly done that we have ever seen. We left without purchasing anything. 25. We went to the Alfredo’s pizza restaurant on the 6th floor and were seated in the worst possible table with waiters and bus boys constantly walking around us on all sides. One of us had to face the workstation and constantly saw people cleaning plates and stacking dishes. Our pizza arrived 30 minutes after we sat down and the crust was severely burned around the edges. The ingredients were very sparse. 26. The ping pong table in the Teen Center is available for adults from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. However one small group of men hogs the table all day long every day. We tried in the mornings and afternoons numerous times and they are always hogging the table and are completely inconsiderate. I reported this to Lexi the cruise activity director and she replied “that’s too bad and we can’t do anything about it”. We paid for the cruise too and had hoped to use the table. 27. On the last 2 days of the cruise my medallion would no longer open our cabin door. A call to guest services put me on hold for over 10 minutes so I gave up bothering. The next guest on the cruise can deal with it. 28. Cruise ship final tour from cruise ship to Newark Airport. During the excursion we left the bus following the guide to the 911 twin towers memorial and he told us to meet him under a tree near the blue covered kiosks about 12 minutes later. He was not there 10 minutes later and there was no sign of him. We met others in our group who also could not find him. After 20 minutes of waiting we all decided to walk back to the bus where he was standing. When we asked him why he wasn’t where he said he would be he just ignored us. His lack of proper instructions is unacceptable and wasted our time, getting us very stressed thinking we had missed the bus. Read Less

Our trans Atlantic cruise was great when we visited our destinations but cold & rainy during the 5 days we crossed the Atlantic. This meant we were confined to the inside of the ship for the 5 day crossing. There were plenty of diversions & activities inside the ship which made the crossing fun although it would have been nice to be able to use the pool & hot-tubs. The food was no better or worse than any of the other cruises we have taken on other cruise lines. The crew was exceptional including the captain who always kept us informed about our route and weather conditions. Our cruise was forced to take a more northern route across the Atlantic because of storms which severely lowered the speed of our internet service. We were dismayed that Princess allowed one passenger to bring their dog on the cruise. There was no indication that this was any type of service dog! I am a dog owner & would never consider taking our dog on a cruise. I wonder about the public health issues when a dog is brought into the dining rooms! Overall we had a good time but would think twice about ever taking another Trans Atlantic cruise, particularly one that takes a northern route like ours did. Read Less

I chosen princess cuz of being a captain club member it was cruising to places my wife an I always wanted to go. The food at the buffet was not up to par. It was mediocre at best. Not a very good variety either. They had only 1 carving station. The dinning room food. Was a bit better the menu had only a few items to choose from fir each category. As far as the activities on board they were not very good. They had a lot of repeat activities which to me was very Boring. So I spent most of my time in the casino. The service was great. The staff onboard were all great. The captain was extremely therogh on his announcements an also re-routed the ship on our last sea day so we don’t hit the rough seas due to the hurricane. Over all I give the cruise a 6 on a scale of 1-10. Read Less

Itinerary was awesome other then that, food was ok, shows were mediocre and staff were a little rude. Main dining waiter was rushed no interaction just took order, drop food and took off. Francesco head waiter was great. Always gave me menu for next night to make me comfortable with my food allergy. Room was clean, however, steward was not friendly. First thing out of his mouth was the hours he worked. No sure if he liked his job.. Received letter in cabin about respiratory illness on board. Was in cabin sick for 2 days, only left for steward to clean rooms. Captains messages at noontime you could hardly heard unless you opened the cabin door. Cruise staff did alittle too late Few times equipment for shows in theater didnt work. One major production show was cancelled after 15 minutes because of equipment failure. 3 computers went down. Not sure if I would cruise princess line again. We shall see. No pun intended. Read Less

We boarded in St. Petersburg after a 4 day stay in town. Wonderful visit and nice, safe place, with friendly people. Lots to see and do, and cabs are cheap. The terminal experience was very unusual however. We expected the regular crush of hundreds of other passengers, but there were fewer than a dozen that we saw during our processing. The Medallion system isn't really much of a benefit under these type situations. The ship is in good condition, I didn't see any wear and tear anywhere, and the crew keeps it quite clean. The décor is a little boring except in a few spots like the central atrium. That said, the layout is peculiar in that there are parts of the ship that are difficult to reach, and not in the typical locations. For instance, the rear set of elevators ends at deck 6, but you need to go up a level to actually get anywhere except cabins on that deck. The buffet has somewhat narrow passages on each side and this causes a lot of bumping and confusion, particularly at peak meal times. Smoke from the open ceiling casino vents into the shops above and became an issue for passengers. My biggest disappointment with the entire cruise is the food in the buffet. The selection and availability is good, HOWEVER it is never hot! I mean it's barely warm. All the toasted items like bagels English muffins, French toast, etc. will not even begin to melt butter. Eggs are fried in batches and put out 20 or so at a time and also lukewarm. By the time you get to your table with your meal, everything is usually at room temp. The scrambled eggs taste like they began as powdered, and the omelets seem to be made from the same mix. The pastry selection is usually good for every meal in the buffet I must say. The highly touted "Highest Speed WiFi At Sea" was practically unusable for a full 5 days while crossing the Atlantic. Speeds typically were between 50-150kbps, similar to dialup or DSL speeds over 10 years ago. The Captain apologized, announcing it was the lack of satellite coverage, but it should have been no secret that over 25% of our 19 day cruise would encounter such poor service. The gym is sparsely equipped with basic machines like curls for instance. It's also small, and at the rear of the ship, unlike most I've seen. The main theatre does not have enough seating for anywhere near 1/2 the passengers, so you'll need to arrive 30-45 minutes before a show to get a few decent seats. Entertainment was average with the usual mix of entertainment. The dining room anytime dining is good, and we ate there about half the time. Alfredo's pizza on deck 6 is great and I highly recommend it for a quick, good individual pizza. The Calzones also looked good, but I didn't try one. I doubt I'd book this cruise again mostly because of the buffet food temps and the poor WiFi at sea, but overall, it wasn't a bad experience, just not great either. The standard balcony cabins are small compared to Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, with no couch and tiny bathrooms. The balcony was only about 4 feet deep it seemed, barely enough room to have a chair face out to sea. The Medallion feature turned into a major yawn for us. It only was used to unlock our door and check in and out in port. NO ONE used the public panels to navigate the ship or anything else that I noticed. There are at least 5 different Princess apps to download if you want to bother, but they are confusing and do very little easily. I've been on over 50 cruises, and I walked away slightly disappointed in this one. Read Less

We had the most relaxing and enjoyable time. The best part for us was the bed!! the most comfortable sleep like being on a cloud. Our accommodations were wonderful. We had a suite and big balcony. One morning we had room service and it was perfect but we preferred to go to Sbabinit's for club class private breakfast. Food was special, service with attentive wait staff and always with joy. Also the club class dinning for dinner was above expectations. Food was varied delicious with so many choices. Again staff and seating was so accommodating. Relaxation time in the afternoon at the Vines bar was such a treat and late lunch at Alfredos pizza and Italian was out of this world. Our excursions were one of a kind. Visiting Russian and Berlin were the high lights for us but we were so pleased with all our choices. Even some of the ports where you could go on your own and walk into towns were so enjoyable. We also enjoyed the comic shows and the music in the atrium especially the classical group which played every afternoon and also the afternoon teas. We are ready to travel with Princess again and cannot wait until we will be able to book again. Additionally, my husband had some difficulty walking and he was treated with such care and consideration as were others on this cruise who needed chairs or walkers. It was truly heart warming to see how well everyone was treated. Read Less

We chose the cruise because of ports we wanted to visit. We have elite status on Princess and had been on the Regal twice before and this third time was a big disappointment. The quality/selection of the food was limited and awful and either over cooked and/or frequently cold. Many evenings the diningrm menu offerings were mediocre enough to warrant our going to the buffet, where service was spotty and even under warmers, was neither replaced, nor kept hot. Don’t even get me started on the charge added on top of the $30pp for ordering surf and turf at the Crown Grill AND, the person handling reservations was ill trained and screwed up the time and date. I actually filed a written blistering formal complaint about the food on day 11 of our 28 day cruise. No one had the courtesy to get back to us. No one cares. Another couple we met also went to the concierge desk to speak with someone about the food; going so far as to say they might not choose to rebook Princess moving forward. They were told “ that is your prerogative”. How’s that for caring about your loyal customer base? The daytime entertainment offerings onboard- particularly during the transatlantic crossing, showed zero creativity. For example: we don’t feel having a crew member have you guess which elevator would open first, or ring toss, are activities worthy of a Princess cruise. Card games were unhosted, subject to random scheduling, held in spaces concurrently occupied by shop sales being hawked on megaphones.... The bed in our cabin was lumpy on one side and sagged down, so that one slid to the edge.... Evening shows, while of generally good quality, were- with little exception, repeated during the second leg of our cruise, leaving us few alternative choices to chamber music ad nauseam. Disembarkation was a total disaster! The waiting areas were overcrowded and too warm. They ran more than an hour late getting us offloaded and then misplaced our luggage under the wrong number/color! Everyone we spoke wuth, directed us to someone else, with no explanation or apology. Totally clueless! I could go on and on about various incidents ( ie- the woman who fell and cut herself outside the jewelry store and despite call after call by shop mgt. as she lay bleeding on the floor , it took an inordinate length of time elapsing before anyone from medical materialized!) We are now questioning the sense in having had already booked a 14 day Xmas/New Years cruise on the Pacific Princess this winter, with friends... If our experience does not significantly improve, There are a glut of other cruise lines out there we can turn to for better entertainment value with our expendable cash! * We filed the routine online review one gets automatically from the cruise line. As we suspected, no one responded to what should have raised red flags IF they bother to even read them. We’ve heard nothing in response; hence, I am posting on social media- where their bottom line does garner the most attention.... Needless to say, we were not feeling the love on ‘the loveboat’! Read Less

Started off with great embarkation and very good cabin (C425 interior). But we were shocked at how many things were not included in our cruise. A good cup of black coffee was only available at the International Cafe and they charged over a dollar for just a cup of black coffee! You could get free coffee at the buffet and through room service, but that coffee was so weak we couldn't stomach it! And so many other things were being sold or pushed constantly. Plus an automatic 18% gratuity on everything. Maybe that's how cruising is nowadays, but we were disappointed. Also, we did not buy the expensive internet package and regretted it daily. If you are used to checking weather, port info, etc., make sure you get the expensive internet because there are NO OTHER options until you get off the ship and find a decent wifi area. There is the internet cafe, but I believe they charge $20 for one hour of internet use! And the Ocean Concierge program for messaging your travel friends was spotty at best. We will definitely buy internet on all future cruises! All that being said, the cruise itinerary was great and we enjoyed all the ports and the adventure. Food was for the most part delicious, and overall staff was friendly with some outstanding staff that made our cruise so much more enjoyable. Customer service is so important to making us feel welcome and appreciated! We would recommend the itinerary, but maybe look into a different cruise line. We would have appreciated a few more "active" things to do besides the gym. Most activities and excursions seemed to be directed at older passengers with limited mobility. We are in our 60's, but still very active so would have preferred some alternative activities for active passengers. Beatlemaniacs were amazing! But we missed a couple of shows because you had to get there very early to grab a seat. Visit the Baltics, but choose your cruise line wisely! Read Less

This is a 8th cruise with Princess and our second time on the Regal Princess. We fully enjoyed all the cities in the Baltic region we went to and concentrated mainly of the visiting and not time on the ship. The staff on the ship made you feel comfortable and were always polite and made sure all your needs were met. We only went to a few shows on the ship and found them OK but not of high caliber. We found that the cities always had something for us to see and explore. We did not really use the cruise ship excursion as they were very expensive and using Rick Steves guide for the ports allowed us to go into town and see most of the sites as most ports were walkable, We did use the cruise excursion to get to town for Sweden as the ship docks about an hour away for Stockholm and the hop on/ hop off bus did not seem very convenient and we had on board credits to use. Princess also tries to scare you into using them for St. Petersburg as you need to be on an escorted excursion or you will need to have a visa for there. There are numerous other local companies that can arrange the same thing. After some research on Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor we decided used TJ Travel for a 2 day excursion at half the price and I would rate them 10 our to 10. They also will give you a discount if you mention you are a Cruise Critic member ( which they honored no questions asked). Read Less

Princess Cruises with the Regal was outstanding. We are elite so we have a few cruises with Princess but this time the entire staff: dinning room waiter (Herbert), assistance waiter (Veljko), dinning room manager (Norbert), dinning room hostess(Yaniris), and room steward (Carlos) were exceptional with friendly attitude, willingness to provide service, interest in our activities on ship and in ports with recommendations of what to try. Captain Stringer was amazing with his detailed explanation of our course across the Atlantic Ocean and changes due to the weather patterns. His daily updates could be quite humorous. I loved the description of a massive ship like the Regal sneaking out of port late at night. It reminded me of an elephant in a china shop trying to be delicate. The itinerary was great the best ports were Copenhagen. I could have stayed longer. St. Petersburg was fantastic with the two day small group tour and our guide was the best with so much knowledge about the people and history. Again I could have stayed longer. What a fantastic voyage. Thank you Princess Cruises and the Regal Princess Staff. Read Less

We had always wanted to try a Trans-Atlantic. Even the 5 Sea Days in a row weren't bad, as there was a lot of choices to keep you busy. We loved the intimacy all-around on the Pacific Princess. The "Old World" theme of decorating made the entire ship very elegant. Our cruise director Lynn, was the most personable and energetic we have ever been around! The captain came by dinner several times just to stop an visit. The excursions were all Princess - and they were just what they promised! We could not have asked for better food! I have special dietary restrictions and they took excellent care of me - in the dining room, up top on the grill, or in the buffet. All Ii had to do was mention my problems, and they catered to every need. The waiters were so friendly. One, Alfred, gave you a hug and smile - no matter where you ran into him - even on shore! We loved every minute of this cruise and the scenery was just breathtaking as well! Read Less

This cruise met my husband's desire for an eastbound trans-atlantic cruise and my desire to visit Iceland and Shetland. It was lovely! The seas were surprisingly (to me) calm. The Pacific Princess is a lovely "small" ship, very different from the bigger Princess ships like the Regal, but it was great. The ports were all interesting and could easily be explored on one's own if one chose not to take a tour. There was plenty of entertainment and often the entertainers visited the Casino (Crooners) bar for some impromptu singing---not something I've seen on the bigger ships where it's a lot more impersonal. We enjoyed the Pacific Lounge on the top deck for amazing views while sailing and while in port. The food and the service in the dining room and the bars was all quite fine. The Casino is small but seems to do the trick. I highly recommend this ship and this itinerary. Read Less

We chose this cruise as it ended up in Barcelona, after visiting the Azores, Madeira, Morocco, Seville, and Malaga. We had cruised on the Emerald a year earlier and were happy to see improvements (it had recently come from drydock). The upgrades in carpet, wall, flat screen TVs, and the buffet and bars on top were good. We were disappointed they had not yet fully implemented the new internet or on-demand TV. The internet was still terrible. I understand they expect to have those upgrades done by August. We had a mini-suite, as we had before. It was the same as before except for the TV upgrade. It was fine. However, the sofa was old, worn, stained and uncomfortable. Time for a replacement! I have loved Princess beds but this one felt too soft. (and I like soft beds)--time for a mattress replacement, I think. We felt food was a bit better than a year earlier. The pizza, source of endless debate was quite a bit better than the year before. Husband's theory is new, hotter pizza oven. It's still not top gourmet quality but was much better than last voyage. We still love the International Cafe. As always, nice tasty snacks and treats. They were even keeping the almond croissants warm in the oven (so much better that way). There is still too much blatant up selling for my taste, although it is reduced from in the past. The cruise tours were excellent. We often stick with Princess because they seem to have great itineraries and this was no exception. I forget her name but there were excellent destination lectures from a British woman, which were broadcast on TV. They were very well-done. Our cabin steward was one of the best we have ever had and the dining room staff were great. Read Less

We chose because, although this would be my first cruise. the other three people had previous good experiences with Princess. However, all four of us will NEVER sail with Princess again. From booking on there were problems. We were misled on the use of on board credits; our free premium drink package was not honored until we proved it was legit; food was lukewarm on the buffets while the plates were scalding hot. One real danger to passengers: Princess is very misinformed about passport use. They claimed passports did not need to be carried with you off the ship, and were totally ignorant of when a passport needs to be stamped at entry. Almost got us arrested following their advice. Luckily, quite by accident, we met a Spanish immigration official in Barcelona who gave us the real information. But the real problem was with shore excursions. Be forewarned, Princess will not come to your aid if something goes wrong. Our tour guide went rogue. During the "kidnapping", I tried to call Princess. No phone numbers worked. Their offices were not open. When I finally got someone and gave all the info, including the location,tour number, my name, and all contact info, they hung up and failed to call back. Then for the next five days, they attempted to bury the incident. They never investigated. I forced their hand, and had meetings with all levels of management, including the captain, who took no responsibility and claimed that Princess would never cover up any incident. BTW, after this horrendous experience, I could not leave the ship due to panic attacks until we got to the end of the cruise. I was a prisoner in a billion dollar jail. All Princess staff claimed that no cover up was going on. They never investigated, even 30+ days later and never tried ANYTHING to help. They endangered my life and the lives of 40 other passengers, and showed nothing but neglect and indifference. Keep in mind that Princess Cruises was just fined $20 million dollars for covering up dumping waste in the Caribbean over a five year probationary period by falsifying records and lying during inspections. So the bottom line is: Princess just wants to cash in, and anything else can be bought off, even the health and safety of its passengers. Read Less

Had been on Royal Princess five years ago and it was wonderful. Also, Princess Cruises seems to be the only cruise line with self-service laundry on each deck. -Check-in at Port Everglades was chaotic. Different agents told us to go to different places. -Luggage took almost 6 hours to come to our cabin. -Before we left home, Princess agent told us unlimited email was $139.99 and we had to buy this service on board. When on board, we were charged $169.99 - $30 extra. Ship’s internet manager “Dan” refunded this overcharge after we complained. -Took three visits to Customer Service desk to get our computers set up with ship's WiFi. Repeated efforts and no phone answer (on hold 10 minutes then gave up) at Customer Service desk. -Internet down all day (5 May). We requested and received one day refund. -Machine in laundry that sells tokens was broken—reported 5 and 6 May. Finally fixed 7 May. -One of the main reasons we chose Princess over other cruise lines was availability of self-service laundry. With thousands of passengers and only perhaps a dozen machines, demand was high and machines were often unavailable. To further complicate problem, management decided to open laundry only from 8 am-8 pm, with limited hours. Solution – keep laundry open 24 hours/day to meet high demand. -Shore excursions offered us a tour of the Royal Palace in Rabat during Casablanca port call but we left the ship so late (tardy) that the palace was closed by the time we reached it in Rabat. At my request, shore excursion director sent me a letter of apology and a 50 % refund. -Ship's entertainment was painfully loud, causing me and many others to walk out at what could have been enjoyable. Read Less

Pre Cruise: Our vacation began in Ft. Lauderdale where we stayed in a small, newly-built, Quality Suites hotel near the airport. If you're staying overnight prior to the cruise, you won't need a rental car. The hotel will pick you up at the airport and transport you to the cruise pier for free. You won't need a car rental, as you can walk to a few nearby restaurants. But if you plan to do shopping or site seeing, rent a car and enjoy everything that this city has to offer. Embarkation: We boarded the Emerald Princess on Saturday around Noon time and the call for general boarding had commenced. Although we have Elite status, we were ushered into a long line which took about an hour for us to get on board. So we missed having lunch in the MDR which closes at 1pm. We didn't mind this so much because we had five days at sea before reaching our first port. We were not in a hurry. We chose this voyage because we wanted to experience ports that we had not previously visited. In Barcelona, all passengers were required to exit the ship for customs clearance. No luggage checks, just passport clearance. Passengers on a tour/excursion were required to take their passports with them for re-entry at the terminal. Those individuals who remained on board took their passport to the control officer. Quick & easy. Of course, some passengers didn't understand that the term "all passengers" applied to them, so the crew had to locate those individuals and usher them off the ship before the rest of us could return. We waited about 2 hours in the terminal before we noticed that everyone was already returning to the ship. I recommend that you take a tour of the city to avoid the wait time and enjoy a walking tour of Barcelona. The bus & metro service are super easy, the taxi service is reasonable, and the city is very pedestrian friendly. Las Ramblas is an area that should not be missed. The Ship: The Emerald Princess emerged from dry dock just prior to our cruise. So much of the public areas were updated and polished. The most noticeable upgrade is the Market Fresh dining area. Other areas of the ship received fresh carpet and some areas were got a fresh coat of paint. We were pleased that the zumba classes were moved from the piazza area. Sports events, competitions, and musical celebrations can get pretty loud. We could clearly hear the dance music in the elevator on the Lido Deck (deck 15). We found several empty bar areas to use as a hideaway for reading, puzzles and light conversation. The destination lectures were fabulous. The expert advice offered during these sessions were invaluable. She had a wealth of knowledge, a great personality, and a direct focus on the important issues. Entertainment: I don't enjoy the musicals and stand up entertainment shows provided on cruise ships. I live in a city where entertainment is the main industry.So I don't attend these shows while cruising. Some people in the audience clearly love them. So I consider myself an anomoly. The ring toss, bag toss, and poolside events appear to be very popular with the majority of cruisers. Since I don't enjoy watching or participating in those activities, I don't criticize them. The ratings scale does not provide N/A options. Dining: The Horizon Court is now called World Market Fresh which features a clean and spacious design with new tables and chairs. The food is appealing, artfully displayed, and makes self service much easier. The section at the rear of the ship featured made-to-order omelets at breakfast and ramen noodle stir fry at noon. The serving lines could be long on those days. At dinner time, those areas at the rear were converted to casually elegant restaurants called Planks and Steamers Seafood which alternated from one night to the next. I don't know the schedule because we dined only once in each venue. They weren't busy so the hostess would seat you without reservations. There was a lot of food included for the $12 upcharge and the food was plentiful and flavorful. It was also nice and quiet. Other dining options that are free, besides World Market Fresh, include International Cafe, and the open deck spots featuring pizza and a hot dog/hamburger grill. The Crown Grill and Share are specialty restaurants, in elegant surroundings, which charge $39 and $29 respectively. There are three main dining rooms (MDR) on this ship. Two feature traditional dining and one features anytime dining. The Anytime Dining option has improved significantly. If you arrive anytime after 7:30pm, you'll be seated expeditiously. If you prefer to eat earlier, I recommend the traditional dining. It might have been a fluke, but it seemed to me that the MDR is as noisy as Market Fresh with clattering of dishes, loud conversations and very little sound absorption. Excursions: In Funchal, Portugal we thoroughly enjoyed the TukTuk Taxi tour. We made reservations prior to departure at http://www.tukxi.pt/, and the driver, Caroline, picked us up right outside the terminal at the pier, right on time. She took us on a 2.5 hour ride through the winding streets of the city where there were very few cars, lots of locals, and some terrific photo ops. We visited the major tourist attractions and she even stopped to pick some fruit and fragrant plants along the way. The cost for 2.5 hours was 52.00 USD (47.00 Euro) and we were extremely satisfied. In Morocco, we selected a Princess excursion that included a visit to the capital city of Rabat because our research indicated that there was not very much to see and do in Casablanca. In both cities, the traffic jams, road construction, and pedestrians made it extremely difficult to move around. Our guide had a very strong accent and the radio communicators were fuzzy and annoying. In Casablanca, we stopped at a mosque and a government building to view non-descript mosaic tiles. There was really nothing else to see. On our way to Rabat,the guide told us that we would enjoy a bathroom break "very soon" which turned out to be after noon. He told us that the acceptable bathrooms along the road were closed for construction. In Rabat, we visited a major mosque with acceptable toilets and we were able to see only the outside of the Royal Palace because, unfortunately, the royal family was in residence. We had lunch, with lots of food, in an upscale restaurant without air conditioning before returning to ship. The rush hour traffic of Casablanca was the most memorable portion of the tour. I don't mean to sound snobby in my assessment of Morocco and I hope to visit again in a couple of years as it will likely be more prepared for western tourism. Read Less

Great ship we ate any time dinning and we were lucky to have a great head waiter and waiter and his assistan. were the best. The food was extremly good and we really enjoyed our time on board The shows were really good and the entertaiment in the lounges were excellent. We had fun in the CaSSINO . wE THOUGHT THAT WE MIGHT HAVE FOUND THE 6 DAYS AT SEA TOO MUCH BUT WE ACTUALLY ENJOYED IT. Once we reached our first stop we were ready to get off the ship. We took a tour and explored the Azores. The next day was a sera day and a day to rest. Then we reached Funchal and enjoyed exploring. The next stop was casablanca. we had been ther befor and did not like it so we stayed on thbe ship. It was a very relaxing day.Then we wer on to CADIZ and we took a tour to Seville. It was a very interrsting but tiring day. Then was Malaga. Really beautiful we took the Hop on Hop Off Bus and really enjoyed the day. Last stop Barcellona and what a sto. We spent three days there and really explored the city. We really loved the trip Read Less

Chose this cruise because it was later in the spring, have cruised to the Baltic five times already, and cruised the TA on the Emerald Princess its inaugeral year. Our first surprise was a five category upgrade. Embarkation was a breeze with our luggage delivered before dinner. Pizza for lunch did not disapoint. DaVinci main dining room was great our waiter and assistant waiter were professional and and lots of fun. The entertainment was high class as always with a very funny Cruise Director. Activities were so numerous, one could not attend them all. The complimentary Sauna was great. The new Salty Dog grill Lido deck has an improved menu. The Fresh Market buffet is remodeled with a larger selection. The BBQ and Seafood restaurants are an improvement along with Share, Crown Grill, and Salty Dog pub. I did not use the Excursion desk. Disembarkation was very smooth. Thank you Emerald Princess for a very enjoyable TA. Read Less