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Great cruise by
Paul D from San Diego, CA Sailing date: Oct 2009Pros: food, weather, options Cons: constant selling by Princess staff We loved the ship and the cruise. You can find whatever you want somewhere on the ship, whether it's a quiet place to read or poolside with music and activities. Try the Skyview lounge at Sunset....great view and there's no one up there.
Internet cafe is expensive (.75/min). If you buy a plan the first day you get some extra minutes. Also, they will have mini-plans (15/30 mins) on the last day of the cruise. We found Internet cafes right by the ship in all 3 ports and they charge $3.00 for 30 minutes so we used those. Ship QualityThe ship was kept very clean and shiny by the staff. The layout is a little confusing but once you figure it out it's no big deal. Dining/FoodIt's not gourmet but when you're cooking for 2600 it can't be. All in all, I thought almost everything I had was very good. The staff is always willing to bring you whatever you want in case you want to try multiple appetizers or entrees. If you do Anytime dining, it helps if you find a favorite restaurant (of the 4) and go there each night since the Maitre De will get to know you and make sure you get a good table. Stateroom QualityHad an oceanview cabin and it was fine. Plenty of storage space. The beds a little hard but still slept great. I think I'll get a balcony next time as it gives you more options if you want peace and quiet. Ship Staff QualityEveryone was friendly and helpful. Entertainment & ActivitiesThe generic Broadway style shows were just OK, but the magician and comedians were good. The guys playing in the bars and lounges target people in their 60s and 70s.  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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  Our least enjoyable cruise by
David S. from Spottsville, KY Sailing date: Sep 2009Pros: The embarkation and debarkation were good andf the ports and land portion were fine Cons: The food and entertainment were not good Overall the cruise and land portion of the trip was good. However, the buffet food was good for about one day and after that it did not change much and was all the same. The scheduled dining had a good assotment of food and the waiter was terrific. There was very little theater entertainment and the other entertainment was cut rate. For being at sea for three days, one would think the entertainment would have been much better. This was my fourth cruise, this time with four other couples and we all agreed, this was the worst cruise any of us had taken. I would not recommend Princess Cruise. The best part was the ease of boarding and debarkation. Ship QualityThis ship is difficult to get around on. It was clean and of sufficient size, just difficult to access different areas. Dining/FoodThe dining times were fine and the scheduled dining room food was good. The buffet was just okay. The pizza was terrible. Stateroom QualityThe stateroom was fine. It was comfortable, clean and overall good. Ship Staff QualityThe staff in the dining room were very friendly. The stateroom person kept the room clean and in good condition but was not overly friendly. The person in charge of entertainment seemed lek he was new and did not know much. the rest of the staff just did their job. Not overly friendly. Entertainment & ActivitiesVery poor entertainment 3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Alaskan cruise by
Al W. from Anchorage, Alaska Sailing date: Sep 2009Pros: relaxing Cons: rough seas Cruise was great, ship looked a lot older than it is, rough woodwork everywhere, I guess they don't build them like they used to. The bonus coupon book from Cruises Only was great as well as their service. Ship QualityClean throughtout all areas, layout kind of hard to get used to. Dining/FoodDining room excellent, as well as service. Buffet food didn't change much daily, just OK Stateroom QualitySmall outside cabin, but we weren't in it much. Ship Staff QualityMost were very friendly and helpful Entertainment & ActivitiesCould use more, varied 0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
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Great cruise by
christy g from Ohio Sailing date: Aug 2009Pros: ports of call Cons: ship layout was confusing The ship is layed out very badly. For instance, if you want to go to the lounge on deck 16 you have to go to deck 14 and find the steps to go to 15 and then the escalator that goes to the 16th deck. Lots of "We can't get there from here" moments because of the elevator shafts and stairs in the way. I have been on several cruises and I have never been as confused as we were on this ship. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodThe buffet was good for about a day, then everything was repeated the entire week. The extra charge dining rooms had good food. Sometimes service was not the greatest, we are not sure if that is because we are young, or the person serving us was bad. Stateroom QualityThe room was the largest I have ever had on a cruise and we had an inside cabin. I was very nice and layed out well Ship Staff QualityAs I said above sometimes we did not get the best service, but other times everything was great! Entertainment & ActivitiesThere could have been more to do while we were at sea. Since it was Alaska, the outside activities did not exist, so I guess the activities were ok considering that 
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Juneau, AlaskaWe went whale watching! Spend the $ and do it here it was great!
Ketchikan, AlaskaTake a seaplane ride.. The Misty Fjords is a beautiful place!
Skagway, AlaskaGo to the Red Onion and take the brothel tour! It was actually really interesting!
Don't Miss: White Pass train ride 0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
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Not our best cruise by
Amanda E. from St. Louis, MO Sailing date: Jun 2009Pros: The ports were great! Cons: The food and service. The ship was nice but the food and service were poor. It seemed like there was a bad climate for the employees b/c we only ran across one upbeat employee that seemed like he wanted to be there and wanted us there. The entertainment was also limited--especially for having 3 days at sea. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodWe did anytime dining and wouldn't do it again. It seemed like our servers weren't motivated. Tips were automatically charged so maybe they weren't motivated b/c even the worst waiter made as much as the one that went the extra mile. Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff QualityThe employees weren't very friendly at all. Maybe they were overworked and tired but there was only one that we had a decent conversation with and believe me, I tried. They were also trying to sell a lot of extras and if we kindly declined we were often asked, "why not?" That got annoying very quickly. Our best service at dinner was ironically when we ordered a bottle of wine. Entertainment & ActivitiesEntertainment was limited. The production shows were good but were repeated several nights.
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Juneau, AlaskaWe took a helicopter ride with Coastal to a glacier--WOW! IT was beautiful! Also, Tracy's Crab Shack by the large boat docks is a must! She was rightfully featured in Food and Wine magazine b/c it was the best and freshest crab legs we've had! A cheap but rewarding trip is taking the Glacier Express ($7/pp/way) to Mendenhall Glacier and hiking some of the easy trails around the visitor's center.
Don't Miss: Tracy's Crab Shack for fresh king crab and take a helicopter ride to a glacier. Ketchikan, AlaskaWe went on what was supposed to be a scenic hike along the waterfront to see totoems at Saxman Village. The walk was long and didn't follow the water for long--not to mention there was a chain linked fence between the sidewalk and water. The totems were interesting but there's several totems on display in Ketchikan. We also went sea kayaking last year but it was right there in the busy part of the passageway so half of the trip was spent crossing the seaport as quickly as you could to avoid large boats and float planes. I would recommend kayaking further out at Orca's point.
Don't Miss: Walk back to Creek Street when the salmon are running. Skagway, AlaskaWe rented bikes and went hiking--very cheap but quite enjoyable. Last year, we took a bus to Carcross and it was a total tourist trap.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Majestic Alaska by
Camille P. from Lake Forest CA Sailing date: May 2009Pros: Glacier Bay Cons: Disembarking in Vancouver This was our second cruise ta Alaska. The first one starting and ending out of Seattle, and visiting Tracy Arm Fjord in lieu of Galcier Bay and leaving from Anchorage and ending in Vancouver. Everything was wonderful as before, but it is just so much easier to take the Seattle Cruise. Vancouver immigration and customs took 4 hours...a terrible way to end what had been a delightful trip. Ship QualityPrincess ships are immaculate. Dining/FoodLots of choices and they are all very good. Stateroom QualityWouldn't know about the inside cabins; we have always had a balcony, which I highly recommend. Ship Staff QualityPrincess employees are there to please you. Entertainment & ActivitiesWionderful options available to please everyone.
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Juneau, AlaskaMt. Roberts Tramway is incredible on a clear day
Don't Miss: Walk up through town and see the Governor's Mansion. Ketchikan, AlaskaLumberjack how is a lot of fun if you haven't seen it before.
Skagway, AlaskaTrain ride up into the surrounding mountains is a must. The grandeur is unbelieveable.
Don't Miss: Train ride. 1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Good, but not Great..... by
Allen S from Oakville, Ca Sailing date: Apr 2009Pros: Mini-Suite, Rock Band. Cons: Food, ship layout The organization to board and debark was the best I have seen. We got on and off with no issues. The rock band that performed in the lounge was the best I have heard on any ship, and we have been on a few. However you can see the Carnival influence in the food. Fish was dry, and the overall quality was average at best. Steaks were pretty good, sushi was the worst I have ever tasted. The waiters were very good and personable. Like I said, lots of good, lots of not so good. Ship QualityEverything was clean, however the layout kind of sucked. Dining/FoodThe restaurants themselves were nice, service was great, but the food was very dissapointing. Room service got our order wrong at least half the time. Stateroom QualityLoved the mini-suite, great balcony. Bed was just ok. Ship Staff QualityGreat bartenders, overall very good. Entertainment & ActivitiesThe rock band was fantastic, some of the games were good, wine tasting was fun. 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Difficult Cruise to Review by
Cathy from Oklahoma Sailing date: Apr 2009Pros: Awesome friendly staff, choice of dining, great entertainment, lots of non-smoking areas Cons: A stinky odor sometimes in the air Embarktion to the ship was the fastest we have ever encountered. The staff were all very friendly from the Captain all the way down. Loved the choices for dining and the foods were good. Lots of choices in entertainment on the ship. Rooms were clean, bed was very hard and you don't have much selection on the tvs. Sometimes their was an odor walking around inside and outside of the ship that was not pleasant at all. We had a different cruise due to the fact of the swine flu in Mexico, so our ports were all changed, the captain was wonderal at keeping us updated on what was going on and the staff went above and beyond to make our cruise great finding new ways to entertain us on the ship. Ship QualityExcept for the odor that we sometimes smelled, the ship was very nice! It was limited in stalls in the bathrooms in areas around the dining room and theaters, so there was always long lines there. The ship was clean and well maintained. Dining/FoodLoved the dining choices, food was delicious even in the buffets in the eveing! The buffets were very crowded, it would have been nice to have a separate area in the back of the horizon court for omeletes for breakfast and pasta or deli for lunch. I wish the 3 dining rooms for anytime dining had different menus instead of the same. The service was exceptional any all the dining areas!! Stateroom QualityWe had a balcony room and it was very nice. Beds are very hard though. Our stateroom attendant was wonderful and our room was always kept clean and stocked. Ship Staff QualityThe staff was some of the best we have ever had!! The Capain was all around the ship and very personable. We did not come into contact with anyone who was not friendly!! Entertainment & ActivitiesWith our ports cancelled, the cruise staff had to come up with new things for us to do onboard and they did a great job!! We had 2 Liar's Clubs and they were so funny!! Also, Kevin, the comedian, was one of the best comedians that we have seen!!! We really enjoyed the behind the scenes tours and the BS show in the morning was great!! 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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A Nice Mexican Cruise by
KAREN M from Chelan, Wash Sailing date: Mar 2009Pros: Full Itinerary of things to do for everyone Cons: The choices on the menus The ship was very pretty and liked the layout. Very easy to get to shows from the dinning rooms. Love the beautiful night club on the 18th floor,. Liked the two pools close together. Ship QualityThe ship was always spotless. We liked the layout of the ship Dining/FoodThe food served was very good., but did not like the choices. Usually I have had a hard time choosing the different courses as there are so many that I like, but this time I have a hard time finding a choice that I did like. I missed not being able to have a steak or salmon if I found nothing on the menu I liked. I Have always liked the princess ships best for the food selections and quality but a little disappointed this time. Missed the added menu from the theme restaurants. Only one item per night and that did not ever change. At least they could have had a different item each night for the Santa Fe, Pacific Moon etc. Also don't like the new menus. Don't like the heading small plate and large plate, what happened to appetizers and entrees? Stateroom QualityThe rooms were kept very clean and had everything we needed, except would like to have an iron in the room Ship Staff QualityMost of the staff were very helpful and always asking if we need anything or the could help us. The staff in the Pacific Moon were excellent , friendly and so much fun especially Johnny and Jeffery they went above and beyond. The Santa Fe a different story. The Staff did not seem as friendly and we had a bad experience with one waiter who called an 84 yr old man in our party a crab. Said he had been crabby all night when in fact this is a very nice man who has a little dementia going on and was a little slow on making up his mind on what to order. It took 1/2 hour from our appetizer until they went and got salads,. It took 2 hours for dinner for a table of 4 and we were 20 min late for the show. The waiters were arguing among them selves for quite some time and just ignoring us. Did not ever offer pepper and just were not nice. Entertainment & ActivitiesThought the entertainment was excellent. The Dancers did an excellent job with the dances of the different countries. The stage setting was beautiful and the best I have seen on any cruise ship. The 3 different products with the dancers and singers were just excellent. The comedian Steve Morris was great and one of the best one we have heard on the ships.
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Mazatlan, MexicoAlso spent day a beach at La Playa and loved every minute of it.
Puerto Vallarta, MexicoHad a good time ,went to place we were had already been and spent the day at the beach.
Cabo San Lucas, MexicoTo short of time in this port especially when nothing is open for a few hours after you get off the ship. I would like to see this port be dropped and a different one added, Heard a lot of complaints from people when they got back on the ship about the shops being closed and why there did not open when the cruise ships are in especially the ones that are in for a short time.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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wonderful cruise by
A Traveler from Phoenix, AZ Sailing date: Mar 2009Pros: Food, great service, lots to do, excellent dining experience Cons: ended too soon We really loved our experience. This is a great ship with lots to do. We have no complaints. Ship QualityThis is a very nice ship. The furniture in the lounges is awesome. This is a fairly new ship and is very clean. Great ship. Dining/FoodWe thought the evening dining was the best part about the cruise. The food was great. The waiters were wonderful. We had the traditional dining and enjoyed it. The formal dining room was quite nice. We enjoyed the buffet for breakfast and lunch. The food was great and there was always a wide variety of food. Stateroom QualityWe had an interior stateroom. It was bigger than the stateroom we had on our last cruise. Our stateroom was quite comfortable and clean. There is plenty of closet space to hang up your clothes. Ship Staff QualityThe staff was very friendly and helpful. Our waiters were outstanding. Our statesroom attendant was great. Entertainment & ActivitiesWe enjoyed the entertainment. There was always something going on in the evening. They had a number of different lounges. They had a number of different bands and singers in the lounges. The musicians were very talented. The ship had a number of different activities during the day and night. There were plenty of game shows. There were a number of classes during the day such as craft classes, etc. They even had a golf class to teach you how to improve your game. The comedians were funny. Children's ProgramsMy children enjoyed the activities for the kids. They had plenty to do. 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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