I specifically wanted to go thru Tracy Arm Fjord and was not disappointed with this cruise. Crew members were amazing, scenery was indescribable and passengers are now considered friends. We enjoyed exploring Sitka alone while participating in excursions in Haines and Juneau. Disappointed with the minimal time available in Victoria, Canada but I hadn't expected to want more time. What a beautiful area. Whale watching in Juneau is a must and we thoroughly enjoyed the salmon bake. Unfortunately that was the same night the ship served Alaskan crab. The ATV excursion was a great adventure for Haines. All of our side trips were thru the cruise line, my husband would not have been ok with the possibility of missing the ship. Our room was clean and the bed was very comfortable. We even commented on needing the pillows at home. Space was sufficient for the two of us. We packed so many clothes it was embarrassing. The laundry facility was just down the hall. Breakfast room service was lacking with only cold croissants or muffins and fruit as an option. We did order cookies and milk one night but the cookies were also cold and the milk room temperature. I would say the food was average for a cruise but still very good. Loved visiting the Crooners Bar and the Intl Cafe. The one standard daily complaint is EFFY. My stars every time I turned around they were pushing jewelry on you. Entertainment was great and enjoyed talks from Tess about the glaciers, the area and wildlife. This was a big plus. We did not go to Ketchikan so we didn't get to enjoy the lumberjack presentations that are so widely advertised. We would have loved to see that even not going to that port but the totem carver was good too. We loved it. When we go back e will do a land sea tour. The two plus sea days could have been spent somewhere on land enjoying Alaska instead of on the boat eating. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the departure port and itinerary, but I wouldn’t change anything. The ship is older and doesn’t have all the wizz bang features of the new ships, but that’s not why you cruise to Alaska. I didn’t notice any maintenance issues or problems with cleanliness. No funny sewerage smells or problems with air conditioning. Our stateroom was always clean and very comfortable. The size was not massive, but more than enough considering the amount of time we spent outside our cabin. Overall the crew were very friendly and efficient. I agree with some of the comments about the buffet, but if you choose carefully you can still have a good meal every time. If you time your meals correctly there are virtually no queues and we always found a table. Remember there is another seating area towards the back of the ship on both sides. We chose traditional dining for dinner and were able to get a table for two after requesting it on the embarkation day. We had to share for the first night, but had our own table for the rest of the cruise. The menu is adequate and again with careful choices you can have a lovely meal every night. The Crown Grill was excellent. Great food and service. Alaska was amazing! We even saw the Northern Lights (on the departure out of Haines and only for about fifteen minutes). I would happily cruise on the Grand Princess again. We’re already planning to repeat this cruise with our kids in a couple of years. Read Less

We stayed in one of the larger suites C409 (Penthouse), and we're disappointed mainly regarding the balcony, although the cabin was dated. The furniture was old with black mildew on most surfaces and in disrepair. The lounge chairs had stained cushions that were often wet, and the hardware was so corroded that they could not be adjusted. With that said, the crew was overall very nice. The food was good. Alaska was spectacular! Will I cruise on Princess again - NO! As a frequent cruiser on Royal Caribbean, I will return to their ships. I was told that I would be happy with Princess, but plain and simply the Grand Princess is not worth it. To me the balcony is my favorite part of a cruise and I was not able to enjoy it on this ship. Princess should completely refurnish this ship or retire it. Unfortunately, I was told that this ship was refurbished in March of 2019, this is absolutely untrue. Door locks were being changed out in the middle of our cruise. This created problems for our door closing properly and could only lock it by shutting the door extremely hard. Several times I went up to my door and was able to push it open without any use of the key card. At one point there was a problem with a public toilet on the top deck. I reported black coming out of the toilet to the front desk (as in the water was black). When I went to the sink, the water was black/brown there, too. I showed the first crew person that I could find. He agreed it was a problem - they did NOT close the restroom! I checked the next day, and the water in the toilet was clearer, but the bowl was black and off colored water came out of the sink. I immediately went and used lots of hand sanitizer. Our travel agent has contacted Princess with photos - unfortunately they have not responded. Read Less

The cruise was a bucket list item for us. It came highly recommended by many friends and family who had taken the same cruise. It was a great way to celebrate my retirement and our 30th wedding anniversary. It was everything we expected and more! We couldn't have asked for a better experience. The ship was certainly GRAND and beautiful. So many things to do and see on board. Our room was amazing, especially with a balcony. That will be the only way we cruise in the future. The room was always clean and taken care of. Our Steward was great. Our dining experiences were excellent with good food and really great staff! The service was very special and a favorite memory of our trip. Goals? See bald eagles, bears, whales, dolphins and, glaciers. Saw all of them during our excursions! Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C., were as beautiful as ever. Brought back memories of a trip I took with my grandparents in 1973. Fond memories for sure. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we made a deposit for our next future cruise! Not sure yet where it will take us but we're ready to do it again! Read Less

Never been to Sitka or Haines. Big ships rarely go there, but to Skagway and Ketchikan instead. Overall good experience but dampened by toxic second-hand smoke throughout the ship's common area from casino. Even gets into the staterooms via casino smokers and non-smokers who then bring the smell and carcinogens back to their rooms. Other than that, the staterooms are excellent, in particular the mini-suite, which doesn't have an equivalent in other cruise lines I am familiar with. There are lots of drawers / cubbys, etc. and we didn't even have to use them all. However, the beds were very soft and unsupportive, and not good for those needing firmness for bad backs. The ship's personnel are all very helpful and friendly. The embarkation / debarkation procedures were efficient and went smoothly. The buffet food was average to occasionally quite good. Would be nice to have a 24/7 drink station for Kool-Aid, lemonade and water like some other cruise lines. Read Less

After reading some of the negative reviews about this ship we had our concerns prior to the cruise. We like to think our standards are extremely high and we expect a good service. This cruise ship and all the staff on board totally surpassed our expectations. We chose this cruise for the wildlife and the experience of going to an area that is inaccessible any other way. Yes, the Grand is an old lady now but there were really hardly any concerns or negative comments we could say about the ship itself. We booked the Owners suite on the back of the ship and the perks of being in a full suite were fantastic. From being personally escorted to our state room on the first morning in San Francisco, minibar set up, welcome bottle of champagne, refreshed water and ice every day, extensive fruit bowl, fresh orchid delivered to our room, speciality suite breakfast in the Crown restaurant every morning, free laundry ..... the list goes on and on. We also had a designated concierge contact Lucy, who called numerous times, just to check all was to our liking. On the first night we had a free speciality dinner in the Crown Grill which was fantastic and every other night we ate in Da Vinci club class restaurant. The staff were so attentive in every restaurant we went into, we never came across anybody who was anything less than professional and friendly. Giovanni and his team always went over and above what was necessary to give us a great experience every evening, even remembering our preferences after the first night. We cannot really comment on the evening activities as we tended to enjoy a pre-dinner drink at the Explorers bar (fantastic frozen Margaritas) then go for dinner and then we would go back to our room and enjoy the facilities in our suite and balcony. This was the same for during the day as well, we wanted to see the wildlife rather than sit indoors, so again we spent most of our days at sea on our balcony. We were extremely lucky with the weather and had glorious sunshine most days. Read Less

We are elite with princess and last cruised on Princess Grand 3-2019 for the Mexico Rivera cruise. This trip was Alaska, 10 days round trip from San Francisco. Its my opinion that service on Princess Grand has improved. Staff constantly ask if everything is ok. horizon court seems to have improved. We are a fan of the club class dinning option and each meal we get an additional item not on the regular menu. Wait staff in club class dining is excellent. Our head waiter was Giovanni and he always fixed an extra dish, usually a delicious pasta. All our excursions were excellent, timely etc. I think this is here Princess excels. What we are not a fan of is the constant promotion of sales and the unnecessary sales flyers that clutter the Princess patter news letter left in our state room. It is an unnecessary waste of paper and printer ink. Passengers should be allowed to opt out of sales promotions and save the environment. The piazza on decks 6 & 7 reminds me of a garage sale with all the tables of sales items. I think & have suggested that the sales items be moved to improve the ambiance of the piazza area. Internet speed has improved since Grand has been wired for medallion, although not on it yet. Entertainment, Grand is still offering the British Invasion and Motor City which we have seen several times over the years. I must say the British Invasion this cruise was the best performed of any of this musical. The Hungarian strings and Piano in the Piazza was superb. This is another area that we like the performances in the Piazza. Read Less

San Francisco to San Francisco by way of the inner passage to Alaska. Eleven days of comfortable cruising, great service, no lines, exciting excursions and great food. The worst part of this cruise was San Francisco, not a great city anymore but the rest of the cruise was outstanding. Balcony room was smaller than my Oceanview on the Emerald but it had a nice balcony that is essential on an Alaska cruise. Anytime dining was great due to food. The wait staff was not up to par and for the first time I could tell anytime has less care than having defined dining and servers. Not bad, they just didn't seem to care. Horizon Court Buffet was excellent. Wait Staff, food quality, temperature and appearance were all top notch. I never had to wait for a table at breakfast or lunch, a first for me. Pizza on Deck 14 and Alfredo's on Deck 5 were very good. Salty Dog grill was also good. Fast service, food was hot and the new pager notification system sped everything up. Explorer Bar was outstanding, the bar staff and wait staff were excellent at night. Entertainment was nice, several new games and things to do made it interesting. Cruise Staff was not the best we've seen but overall pretty good. The only negative was the Asst Cruise Director ruined the Marriage Match Game, usually one of the funniest things all cruise but this time a yawn fest. Casino was good, too much smoke. I wonder how long it will be before they stop all smoking inside the ship? Perfect weather led to more outside activities and they were all good, some very interesting. Highlight of the trip was easily the Chef's Table Dinner. We've done this several times on Princess and other cruise lines and the Grand's was the best due to the Executive Chef and Head Maitra Di. Perfect meal, superb service and entertaining, mutual respect between the Chefs and the Wait Staff led to an amazing meal. Read Less

This was my third cruise to Alaska aboard the Grand Princess and it was as amazing as ever! The amount of food available was as plentiful as ever. The level of entertainment was good and we really loved the comedians! Can't wait until next year when the /rand will have implemented the Medallion Class! We went from a balcony to a suite this time and it was worth it! We choose Anytime Dining, which the food is always on the Horizon Deck, however, you also have the option of going into the Dining Room. We had dinner at the Crown Grill, which is an additional cost, but it's also a different experience. It's a steakhouse which is separate from the Dining Rooms on the ship. They cook amazing steaks. I always go for the filet mignon and it's cooked to perfection! We also spend some time in the Sanctuary, which is a very serene quiet area with super big and comfy lounge chairs. Massage is optional. You get served and waited on and it's a beautiful, quiet area on the upper, upper deck of the ship. The cost is $20 for 1/2 day or 4 hours and $40 for 8 hours. Well worth it to escape the noise and crowd temporarily. I'm a serial cruiser and Princess is my preferred method of traveling. I have cruised over 30 times on various cruise lines but love the classiness and sophistication if Princess and plan to continue traveling on Princess! Oh if you work out the Grand Princess has a gym that is very conducive to the athlete then go next door for a complete body treatment at the Spa, we ended some days relaxing in the ever beautiful Sanctuary onboard the Grand Princess Read Less

The Grand , not so grand and it shows. Appalled by maintenance crews entering our cabin even against our explicit direction not to; both when no one was there and when only minors where in the room ( old enough to watch a movie while we dined). Princess felt it appropriate to use our time paid for in the cabin to replace tile/closet doors etc. Rooms are very dated and wear worn. Smoking directly below us ( Emerald 722). We were eventually moved and updated to E732 but then that sprung a serious leak. Wetting our clothes , rugs, etc. The staff is wonderful. Friendly, helpful, gracious. The food is a C+, but I am from SF so standards pretty high. The average age of the cruise was 75+ so it was hard for the kids and sometimes us to blend in. Day time activities sorely lacking mostly geared to loosen your wallet. Major shows very good. Alaska is wonderful. BOOK WHEN OFF THE SHIP FOR EXCURSIONS. I wish i knew that you can save money and get a better idea what you are going to do. All in all I give this cruise a sold C. I would never however sail the Grand Princess again. Did I mention the permeating smell of smoke throught the ship? The casino reeks which is located adjacent to the main theater. I would say if you get a really good deal to go with the knowledge that some areas are lacking. But , if like us you are paying the full amount I would find a better ship. Read Less

A cruise to Alaska was my dream trip! Even though the cruise ship was not over the top and you can tell it has some wear and tear, the destination was SPECTACULAR! DINING -- Roger Mora in anytime dining is the BEST waiter ever! You can take 2 bottles of wine per person and some water on board -- do it! It will save you lots of $$$$! Just uncork the wine before you go to dinner and you won't have to pay the corkage fee. :) The martini bar staff are hysterical! SHOPPING -- Don't get roped into the jewelry sales, these "used care salesman" are too much! Save your money! Make sure you load the app right away. There are specials that you can use the first day that no one tells you about, but they are on the app. Go to the shopping meeting in the theater to get special coupons and city maps. Don't forget to take your coupons with you to town! ONBOARD APP/INTERNET -- You can also use it to text each other on the ship for free. This was very helpful in keeping track of our group. The internet package is expensive and not really worth it. Unless you are a social media hound, don't bother paying the extra. I was so buy having fun, I didn't really use it. Plus, you can only use it on the ship. When you are in town, it doesn't work. I could have bought a roaming plan from AT&T for $80 less. ENTERTAINMENT -- Make sure you go see the comedians and shows, we were not disappointed! a nice surprise was the Escape Room -- it was a lot of fun -- even solving it with strangers! Be sure to watch the Wake Show - it has important info! PICTURES -- The easy disembark ramp usually has the picture opportunity, go early for the formal night (the photographers take breaks right at the busy time), do lots of poses and have fun! We took stick on mustaches for our formal night and that was the best one of them all! Beware of the picture package prices -- they are EXPENSIVE! Read Less

We chose this cruise because the itinerary started and ended in a port that was relatively easy access for us. This was our first cruise; and we loved it so much, we're thinking of taking a longer cruise next time. Alaska is beautiful, and we enjoyed all of the port stops; but, it was rather exhausting having them three days in a row. On our next cruise, wherever we go, we'll choose every other port to explore. As a means of transportation, it was the best way to travel. Every need catered, we can relax, watch a movie, walk around, even play sports--no sitting confined in your seat as on a plane or in a car. The food was wonderful--of course. We loved the entertainment, especially the shows by the Princess dancers and singers. The smaller acts in the piazza were wonderful. I could have sat there all day listening to the music. It was lovely having a 24-hour cafe in the piazza where one could relax and listen to the music while sipping and snacking before turning in for the night. This was a great first time experience, and we can't wait to do it again. Read Less

From our departure at the San Francisco Cruise Terminal, our embarkation was very smooth. Even though there was a line, the wait was very short. We live in the Bay Area so leaving from San Francisco was a plus for us. Overall, our entire 10 days were filled with a lot of beautiful memories. From our first meal which is having lunch on Deck 14 (Lido Deck) to disembarkation, our experience on this cruise is very memorable. We also chose to buy the unlimited photo package which gets you a USB filled with all of the digital photos taken every day from embarkation, shore excursion gangway photos, and other activities that we participated in. The Cruise Director, Steve did a wonderful job is keeping us busy. There was never a dull moment. I tell people that if they tell me they are bored in a Cruise, it is their fault. There is no excuse to say that one gets bored in a Princess Cruise. We chose Anytime Dining and we were able to meet a lot of other passengers. We will chose Anytime Dining again on our next cruise. The Chef (Joel Directo) of Grand Princess during our cruise is an award winning chef and he was also very funny during the Culinary Demonstration. All of the lunches and dinners that we ate were amazingly delicious. The entertainment and music is awesome. We bought the Rhapsody Trio CD and we played it immediately once we were home unpacking our suitcase. We can still visualize them playing as we were putting away our clothes and doing the laundry while listening to the CD. The broadway shows were 5 stars. We had Born to Dance which was a wonderful performance by 10 dancers and 4 singers. The magician/comedian that performed during our cruise were both awesome. In addition, we also had a singer/comedian, Steve Moris who is a regular at a lot of Princess Cruises. The waiters and bartenders were all very attentive and was always asking us what they can get us. I say that they served us above and beyond the usual. As for the shore excursions which we purchased through Princess Cruises, we went to all of them without any problems. Every excursion started on time and we are very happy and satisfied with the excursions that we signed up for. All of the tour guides were very friendly and very knowledgeable. We actually signed up for our next cruise already taking advantage of the onboard Princess Cruise offer. I can't forget to call special attention to all of the photographers who patiently took our photos every time we asked them. The results of our photos were professional quality. We went away with a ton of pictures and a lot of memories to remember this particular cruise over the years. Thanks Princess Cruises! Until our next cruise. Read Less

It sailed out of San Francisco , I live in the Bay Area. So it was convenient and I wanted to see Alaska again. This princess ship is old and tired looking It served it’s purpose it got me to Alaska and back. If your looking for fun and excitement on this ship, It’s NOT going to happen !!! I’m use to traveling on Royal Caribbean ships. nothing to do on the grand princess BORING !! I’m 84 years old and I’m sorry I don’t play trivia ! The cabin was extremely small but then again I’m comparing it to Royal Caribbean cabins which are bigger I don’t regret going but be prepared to bring your dominoes or cards with you !! Also dining service very very slow I will wind up going back on this ship in November because it again will sail out of San Francisco and it will be going to Hawaii Read Less

We spent 10 luxurious days on this beautiful ship and we've already booked another Alaskan cruise for next August. We chose this ship because we live about 20 minutes away, and it was easy for my whole family to get to the dock. Embarkation was fast and easy. The moment we stepped on board we were greeted by hospitable crew members everywhere. I had no idea what to expect and the customer service was by far the best I've experienced anywhere. The ship is large, and even with 10 days we still didn't have enough time to explore the whole thing. We went with our two kids so most of our time onboard was spent in the swimming pools! Our mini-suite was fabulous and very cozy. My husband and I had a queen bed and the girls had a bunk bed. We also had a balcony which made our experience even more lovely. We were able to really appreciate the beauty of the Alaskan coast this way, and always having fresh air in the room was lovely. Dining in the buffet was easy and quick. They have plenty of options for everyone. Basic but tasty. We had traditional seating dinners at the Botticelli dining room and I looked forward to it every night. Our waiter, Carlos, was incredible and knew all of our names by the 2nd night. He knew that I liked a cup of coffee after dinner and I didn't even need to ask for it, it just appeared. The head waiter Lofti was very charming, friendly and helpful. He was happy to help us with our food preferences (low salt for my Dad and gluten-free for me) and always made us feel cared for. I hope to see both of them again on our next cruise. The food was delicious and gorgeous to look at (especially the deserts). There was plenty of seafood and lovely appetizers as well. My favorite dish was the quail and venison terrine. Our room service steward was Jimmy. He really made us feel at home and was available to help with anything we wanted. He was able to make up the room in 10 minutes flat, and that included towel animals! My girls, unfortunately, got a virus during the last 4 days, and he brought us anything we wanted, which was nice since we were pretty much stuck in the room. The only thing I would change is the location of our room. We were in D725, which is right above the engine, so there was a lot of shaking and rattling going on through the night, especially when we went into a port. I kept waking up thinking we were having an earthquake. Besides that, it was an awesome trip. Thank you, Grand Princess! Until we meet again next year! Read Less

So being a cruise virgin, my wife elected to take me on the Alaska cruise from San Francisco. It was a 10 day journey, ten very interesting days. Before anything, I need to mention how poor the security was. When we got on board in San Francisco, you could have walked on with whatever you liked. Nobody was actually paying attention. The girls on the metal detectors were talking about boy problems, and boy did they have problems, and casually waved us through. I walked through with my phone and inhaler in my pocket, didn't set off the detector. Later on the journey I came to find out our neighbor had metal rods throughout his body and those didn't set them off either. In today's world, this is unacceptable. I am not saying there needs to be a crazy amount of security like an airport, but the gaps in what was provided were astounding. Not to mention an update in cannabis policy needs to be made. Threatening to throw you off the ship for something that is legal in literally every port you're visiting is a joke. So lets start with the bad, I am one of those who prefers the bad news first. My first and biggest issue with this cruise was the food. The quality of the food was atrocious. Mainly in the main dining room, we were in the Botticelli, which was the biggest surprise to myself considering I was told it was going to be great quality from every person I have asked about cruising. So maybe I went in with high expectations, but what we were given was not acceptable. I honestly felt as though we were given canned vegetables every night, meats were often overcooked and tough. Not to mention the over complication of certain dishes, which ruined the overall meal. For example there was a spinach flan accompanying steak one night, which tasted like boxed flan that had just been mixed with rotting spinach juices. Not pleasant to taste, or listen to my mother in law complain about it. You can really tell they're pushing for you to dine in the boutique restaurants, Crown Grill and Sabatini's for this journey. The gap in quality is astounding and honestly I wish I would have known or I would have planned to dine in those areas every night. Secondly, I would have to chime in on the service. 99% of the trip we received amazing service. From Albert and Carlos in the dining room to Marlon who serviced our stateroom daily. But there were a few bad apples that really left a sour taste in my mouth. Forgive the cliche, but as someone who comes from a hospitality background, that one bad apple can ruin all the hard work you put in. Mainly it was a gentleman who worked the Coffee & Cones stand. More than once, I got rolling eyes when I asked for two latte's for me and my wife. And one night I was walking up to get an after dinner coffee, because the coffee provided everywhere else was not even passable for coffee it was so weak, they just shut off the lights and stared at me as if to say "cant you see we are closed." Forgive me for not realizing the time while I was on vacation, a simple "Sorry sir we just closed, come back tomorrow" would have been fine but this experience really left a bad taste in my mouth. I wish I remembered his name, because I would call him out on here, every other staff member I encountered at this stand was pleasant and very helpful. My third and final complaint is related to the fitness area. I used this 9 out of the 10 days we were on board and don't get me wrong the facilities are nice. But, there were two things I observed. One the cleaning is very minimal if not at all, I broke my Fitbit and the clasp fell off while I was using the Lat Pull Down machine on the 2nd day of the cruise. Well on the last day of the journey, I found it on the floor of the gym next to the machine. Which tells me they do not clean the floors at all during the voyage and if they are, they're doing a skimpy careless job. Some people may think this is a baseless complaint, but in the area of the ship where tons of people go, get sweaty and 90% of the people don't know what to do (i.e. clean the machines after they use them) well then it becomes an issue, or a petri dish. Also the amount of kids going through here unsupervised, even though there are signs everywhere saying "Under 16 needs to be supervised" , was ridiculous. I had one kid climb on the leg extension while I was using it, I had to yell at him and he ran off without his parents anywhere to be seen. So maybe the Spa desk staff can do a little better at observing who is walking in and enforce their own policies before someone actually gets hurt. Last gripe about the gym is that the Leg Press was broken when we boarded, I checked out the gym before we even left San Francisco, and it was not fixed the entire time, although a sign saying it was broken kept appearing and disappearing. Your card dealers in the casino need to be more consistent too. I know rules are different on a ship, but consistency doesn't have to be. I had one guy who moved so fast, he would mess up deals or make it seem shady, anyone with fast hands in a casino is a major red flag in my experience. Not to mention I jokingly said to him "I've gotta win back my money you took last night at roulette" and he proceeded to scold me (or at least it came off that way) saying "Its not me who took your money, we are just the dealers, don't blame me sir." I was obviously kidding and everyone sitting at the blackjack with me immediately got uncomfortable. If you're going to take my money in the casino, at least do it with a smile, it comes off much better. All that complaining out of the way, I did really enjoy the rest of the journey. The shows were decently fun, we saw Rollin Jay Moore, the comedy magician (forgot his name sorry) and Vern Cotter. So for the comedy side of things, it was a good job. Although I felt bad for Mr. Cotter, as we were there for the last show of the last night, which was about 30 people in the crowd. But that just lead to a really cool intimate experience that you normally wouldn't get anywhere else. But please, please, please add some actual soul singers to the Motown show. That was the only show that was painful to watch. We also joined in with the trivia's and other game shows. All of which were a great time, from Harry Potter trivia which was good for family fun. All the way to the 18+ adult game show, which my ribs still hurt from laughing so much. Our shore excursion we chose to do was fun as well. We elected to do the nature walk and crab feed in Ketchikan. Everything about that was awesome, from Sharon the bus driver who was hilarious, all the way down to the servers at the crab feed. So overall this experience was a great first cruise, yes there were negatives, but the positives out weigh those greatly. I only wrote so much on the negatives, because realistically those are areas for improvement and the more knowledge they have the better they can get. I will be back. Read Less

The ship is old and dated and cabins are far from promised on website. Nonetheless, service was good and the staff was friendly. The food was decent and common areas were clean and open. Accommodations, however, were far below par and not worth the price. The balcony room was cramped and the furniture was cheap. Our shower had only scalding hot water for the first 3 days despite repeated requests to have it fixed. The internet did not work. I paid for the premium package and it did not workout all. The only time I was able to use the internet was using a hot spot with my own LTE in ports. The cruise itself was fun because of the people I was with, but the ship itself was underwhelming. I would say if you are going on the cheap with a group of friends then fine. If you are expecting luxury, then this is not the cruise for you. Read Less

The cruise itself was very nice. The food in comparison to several other cruises was below average, the buffet was terrible, along with the dessert. The main dining rooms were maybe average. The only good meals on the ship were the ones you paid for. The stewards bar mannager, waiters, room attendant, were all above avg. The ship itself was a little dated but other than that Alaska was very pretty Coffee wasn’t that good, mostly weak. Entertainment wasn’t bad, but could have been better, after comparing with past cruises. Paid $100 for internet service and it seldom worked. Very frustrating. As stated above, all service people were super nice. We never went to the buffet for breakfast, but went there at other times and each time the food was bad. The desserts were not very tasty either, especially in the Piazza, pretty to look at, but not tasty. Cheap ingredients????? Read Less

I wanted to introduce the family to Alaska. Princess cruises from San Francisco so we did not have to fly. They have lots of on board activities and entertainment for a wide variety of tastes so we rather enjoyed the sea days. The ports were all interesting. And I always promised my wife I would take her to Butchardt Gardens in Victoria. I knew Princess would be a good choice and I could afford the costs for the nine of us. The ship was older but had recently been refurbished and was very elegant and spacious. The cabins were great. They had ample room and nice amenities. The dining was good. The staff was very friendly and made us feel at home. We took shore excursions at three ports and they were all good. There was a wide selections of excursions. Next trip I'll choose new ones. I would go again. Read Less

Our experiences with grand Princess are mixed, good and bad. Good is their horizon buffet all crew members outstanding services. Specially thank you horizon buffet supervisor Mr. Arvin for his outstanding services and hard work. They replaced new flat TV instead of old box small TV, which is nice. We like it. But room bathrooms is still not updated. Bad is foods at horizon are terrible. They really need re-training these chef to be cook better. Pork chop and meatloaf were worst cook we have ever had. All the meats are over cook and NO flavor. Sushi are terrible, they need send those chef to learn how to make good sushi rolls. Buffet Very limited varieties foods every day, lot of time same foods. Grand princess gym No indoor shower for woman and men which is very inconvenient and we got really sick two years ago in our Hawaii trip at grand princess, we are disappointed shower are still outdoor after they just refurbished few months ago. Public restroom need refurbished despite grand princess just refurbished few months ago. I guess they are selected refurbished, Not refurbished public restroom is not acceptable. The reason we still go grand princess because we are leaving San Francisco, grand princess is only one leaving San Francisco. And their outstanding services! Read Less

The food was unbelievably bad. Even the Italian specialty restaurant was the worst Italian food I have ever had. The buffet was seriously worse than and American chain buffet venue. If you like selections such as sliced carrots with peas, this might just be the place for you. If you want something more inspiring, you are in the wrong place. The pizza restaurant on Deck 5 is excellent and the hamburgers on the pool deck are good, but those were the only bright spots where food is concerned. Stateroom was large and in very nice condition, but the balcony was in old, poor condition and the balcony furniture should have been replaced a long time ago. One day the bath water was DARK BROWN. Not a little, but A LOT. The front desk staff told me not to worry about it but that I should run the bathroom water form a couple of minutes before drinking. Yuk. Service was hit and miss, mostly miss. some staff members are friendly and helpful, but most seemed to have poor, or disinterested attitudes. We found ourselves being practically being pushed around by staff members in the buffet area. They always wanted us to get out of their way and almost never said "excuse me" or "thank you". One disappointment with the ship is that it does not have any indoor venue with a panoramic view. Every other ship I have been on has a lounge in the front of the ship, on a higher floor which is wonderful for taking in the scenery while cruising. This ship had nothing of the sort, no place indoors where you can see both sides of the ship from one location. This is especially important on inside passage cruises. Read Less

A TRAVEL OF REST AND RELAXATION FORGETTING ABOUT DAY TO DAY ISSUES Meeting great people and exploring alaska. Seeing the ocean and being her guest. All successes brought by this glorious ship. Not focusing in on negatives or gotchas that can happen anywhere to anyone. Buckets of beer: groups of beer drinkers can save by ordering buckets of beer. You get four or five beers in a souvenir bucket at a per-beer cost slightly cheaper than ordering individual bottles. Despite the staterooms' slightly aged appearance, princess has kept up with necessary improvements, including the addition of flat-screen tvs and the line's signature luxury beds, which are (not) insanely comfortable and will have you sleeping like a baby gorrilla. Best Tour: https://www.myalaskatours.com Tour itinerary varies depending on the location of your ship! Each tour will include at least 3 stops in some of these famous establishments: The world famous arctic bar, home of the happy bears! The creek street cabaret, home of ketchikans amazing music scene. Bawden street brewing, utilizing local flavors to bring you amazing beers. Sourdough bar, featuring dozens of historic ketchikan photos on display. Fat stans lounge, built on the site of the old spruce mill. Thank you! Read Less

As you can see with the grades I gave in most categories, performance by crew and ship were above average. Allowing for some gaffes in food preparation, and "tendering", I still stand by my ratings---but--and of course their are some "buts"-- TENDERING: What was baffling to me was how terrifically competent the embarcation and disembarcation process was, yet when it came to the tendering process, the resulting confusion exhibited by large numbers of staff gave me the impression of a crew that was going through the process for the VERY FIRST TIME! It is not that the process took a long time,and yes it did, but that in the process, staff appeared confused, causing frustration to passengers.On this trip, our ship docked on time at 2:00PM-our group's tender landed on the dock at 4:45PM. It was a lesson on the danger of booking a tour with anyone other than Princess. Fortunately, our tour vendor in Juneau(MARV & HARVE) gave us a full refund which of course did not reverse the fact that we lost out on a port experience. I will continue to use shore based vendors but never where tenders are involved. DINING LOCATIONS: We dined almost 90% of the time in the dining rooms, including breakfast & lunch: as for the few times we ate in the buffet, we found the quality and preparation very good using buffet standards. As pointed out by others, there just aren't enough seating in the buffet. I appreciated making gluten free toast available in the buffet as well as the dining rooms. Main dining rooms are DA VINCI AND MICHAELANGELO, STACKED ON TOP OF ONE ANOTHER ON DECKS 5&6. We had evening meals on the "anytime" basis: a word of caution--there were 2-3 nights where there long lines to get into the"anytime" dining room. QUALITY AND PREPARATION OF FOOD: I give high marks for the most part in this category: beef in the form of prime rib and beef filets, as well as roasts were available and nicely done, with lobster and their version of baked alaska served. Same for seafood. I felt the quality of the lunches was extraordinary-two of the best meals we had were at lunch-a wonderful, tasty, thinly sliced london broil, and a few days later, beef bourguignone, tender and reeking of the red wine used in its preparation. Also lots of interesting,difficult to prepare appetizers at both lunch and dinner. Not to be missed are deserts in the evening designated "CHOCOLATE JOURNEYS"-the best I have ever tasted. This is my only criticism---why jeopardize your rep by offering dishes so far from what it should be, as to be laughable-do what you can do and do that well. Two dishes fit this category and were flops, both involve stews or soups. The first flop was CIOPPINO: a dish invented by Sicilian fishermen in San Francisco, it is a fish stew rich in tomato flavors, Italian seasonings, and with whatever seafood you have in your refrig, like white fish, shrimp, crab legs, clams, muscles. Princess' version of Cioppino was a few pieces of dried seafood, sitting in the middle of a few ounces of thin, watery broth. A few nights later came another soupy disaster-Alaska Fish Stew-same criticism-a few ounces of thin broth that hardly covered the bottom of the bowl and a scattering of wilted seafood. INCREDIBLE! One final observation: Princess has done an outstanding job of providng prompt, friendly service at the information desk-I never saw the long lines as I have seen on other ships-this shows a real commitment to passenger convenience. We chose a $ 229 wine package for the 10 night cruise that gave us each night a bottle of wine with menu price of up to $ 45-we thought that was a bargain and highly recommend that if you like wine or sparking wine with dinner. A final comment about dining room service, which overall was good: waiters will happily serve you tea or coffee after dinner, but you may have to flag them down to get a 2nd cup, which I really enjoy at the end of a good meal. RICHARD HURLEY WALNUT CREEK, CA Read Less

The ship is veru old and dated. The bathroom in the cabin was not cleaned well and smell of urine after a few days. The disembarkment was very disorganized. Staff were not available to give instructions or answer questions. The entertainment was lacking and the variety of entertainment was disappointing. The sheets and pillow cases were not changed the entired ten days of the cruise. The onboarding was easy and quick. Other than not having enough instructions the disembarkemnt was easy as well. The alcoholic drinks were good. Our waiter was friendly and accommendating. I've been a lot of cruise and by far this was the worst experience I ever had. The only reason I choose this cruise was becauase Costco Travel included excussion package for the cruise. Honestly, I not recommend anyone to take this cruise. Others that tried other cruiseline have a far better experience than I had. Read Less

Have sailed on Princess many times. This will for sure be the last one. From the embarkation, to debarkation, the entire experience was miserable, rude, and a complete joke. By second day you could only shake your head and laugh at Princess and how bad they are operating today versus where they were 23 years ago when we first sailed their line. The ship was dirty. The hallways were filthy. The carpeting was filthy. There was debris and dirt, with plenty of dust in our room. The ship was understaffed. Lines everywhere for everything. Several times not able to accommodate any time diners. Waited up to an hour for seating. Children attending the wine tasting events and screaming babies during the wine tasting events...Children running up and down the hallways all hours of the night banging on doors and screaming. The spa not honoring reservation times confirmed in writing by Princess 90 days in advance. Double booking of event locations for different events at the same time. Captains party and Trivia booked at the same location for the same time...Do they not have a calendar they use for scheduling events? Waited in line for 2 plus hours to get disembarkation tickets in Juneau. Princess had one person work the disembarkation table. Never saw many pissed off people and never experienced so much open sarcasm and criticism of Princess staff by customers like we did on this cruise. And the casino is a complete rip off too...never saw a single jackpot paid to anyone in the casino for 10 days. Many people complaining about that too. Complete waste of money, time and a completely miserable experience. Will never sail another Princess Cruise again... Read Less