Just got off the Grand Princess in Alaska and overall had a great trip. Service was great and as always the wonderful onboard experience makes up for the huge frustrations of pre cruise problems that princess presents its guests with.

We booked a four person stateroom which was tight but allowed us to save money as a group.

Here are some highlights

  • We were traveling with a person that can't have Gluten. The Princess dining staff both in the main dining room and buffet were AMAZING. They put our party at ease that the vacation wouldn't be ruined by gluten exposure and it wasn't. This is exceedingly rare to go on a 7 day trip and not get sick. The restaurant manager regularly met with our party member and gave them options on what they could do gluten free and what they could not. She loved the food all week long.
  • The princess app and its ability to locate each other is wonderful. I honestly don't get why Carnival has not put this tech in across all their lines. Our party had people if 4 staterooms in various parts of the ship and we were always able to find each other.
  • The food was very good and always available.
  • The onboard service was amazing. Princess treats its guests like gold and if we ever needed anything within reason it was quickly granted.
  • The commentary in Glacier by was wonderful. I've been through before and for whatever reason the ranger who was onboard was very lackluster. I get that this is entirely out of control of the cruise line but it was nice to have a ranger do a great presentation in a special place like Glacier Bay.

On the other hand:

  • Main Dining Room breakfast was spotty. We went 3 times and some days we couldn't get a server, our orders weren't right or never came. The buffet was simply easier and the food wasn't much different. This was only true at breakfast.
  • Our ship had AMAZING weather in college Fjord for the first time in the trip. For some reason we seemed to rush out of the fjord very quickly only to get to Whittier and dock at 11 PM. We were only in College fjord for a couple of hours. Given the iffy weather the rest of the trip it would have been wonderful to spend more time there to soak in the scenery.
  • My spouse purchased the soda package and I did not. I was charged many times for the soda. I finally started standing 20 feet away when a drink was ordered at a bar so they would not pick up my medallion.
  • In some areas the ship is showing its age with rust showing through in spots. Overall it was in good condition but it will never be mistaken for a new ship.
  • Our Captain and the bridge crew were hardly present on the intercom. They never called out wildlife sightings such a a pod of orcas, welcomed us back to the ship on port days. I think the captain only came on the intercom 2 times over the 7 days. My other trips with Princess the captain did a better job with communicating to guests.