Princess Cruises Reviews 825

On the downside, we had a disastrous disembarkation with luggage coming off late (while we were waiting in the terminal, not relaxing on the ship) and being put in incorrect numbered areas.

On the upside, when I complained to Princess about this they responded immediately and promised to investigate the problem (hopefully to prevent others having to go through that experience).

This was the issue in this email I sent and still they haven't even had the decency to reply...... They sent my cabin allocation 4 days before embarkation rather than at least a month's notice like all other cruises I've been on before ?
Avoid and go with other cruise companies who care about their customer service !....

Subject: Feedback Regarding Embarkation Experience – Royal Princess, Los Angeles (15/11/25)

Dear Princess Cruises Customer Relations,

I am writing to formally express my concerns regarding the embarkation process for the Royal Princess in Los Angeles on 15 November 2025.

As seasoned cruisers who have sailed with all major cruise lines except Princess we regret to say that this was the most poorly managed embarkation experience we have ever encountered.

We (two couples) arrived shortly before 11:00 a.m. in heavy rain and were directed into a large nearly empty grey building to collect our luggage labels and this was necessary because our cabin details were only provided four days prior to departure and we had already started our holiday so had no access to a printer.

After collecting the labels we were then instructed to rejoin the queue outside still in the heavy rain along with many hundreds of other passengers. 

There was no shelter provided and it took more than two and a half hours of queuing outside before we were able to enter the main building to check in and receive our Medallions.

What made the situation particularly frustrating was the amount of unused indoor space available both in the grey building and the main check-in area where guests could have been sheltered from the rain ?

It is difficult to understand why these spaces were not utilised to prevent passengers from being exposed to such unpleasant conditions ?

Although weather cannot be controlled the impact on guests could have been significantly reduced with better planning and organisation.

The lack of shelter resulted in all our clothing and baggage being soaked through and to then to find your public laundry facilities on board charges for using the tumble dryer to dry our soaked clothing was a very bad first impression to Princess Cruises.

Given the overall experience I believe a reduction in the cruise fare would be an appropriate gesture of goodwill.

This being our first Princess Cruise experience we had hoped it would set a high standard but unfortunately the embarkation process has left a poor impression which will likely influence our decision to book with Princess in the future unless this matter is addressed with a sincere apology and appropriate monetary compensation.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and I look forward to your response.

We had a fantastic time with Princess Cruises in May. Our personal cruise specialist, Ken McConachie, has been absolutely wonderful — not just before the cruise, but even now, as we still contact him from time to time for information on future sailings. He’s always so helpful and attentive.

We don’t consider ourselves frequent cruisers, but we are experienced travellers, and in our experience, Princess offers the best food on board. The crew were incredibly friendly and welcoming throughout our voyage. We also really appreciated the self-service laundry, which was very convenient.

Overall, Princess Cruises provided an excellent experience from start to finish, and we wouldn’t hesitate to sail with them again.

Recently one of our daughters needed a good bit of pampering so my wife and I took her on the beautiful Sky Princess for two weeks from Southampton to the Mediterranean, away from work and family pressures.
Her first cruise. She loved every minute of it from food to entertainment, the pools the cabins the staff the crew especially the Cocktails. As always we found new friends because of the cosmopolitan appeal of Princess.
We have cruised with most of the mainstream cruise lines.

SANDRA I have had the pleasure of cruising with Princess Cruises many times over the years, and I have witnessed numerous changes. Each voyage has been a testament to the company's dedication to providing exceptional experiences and destinations My other daughters have also had the opportunity to travel with us, and it has been a joy to share these moments with them. The improvements and enhancements in the services and facilities have truly made a difference. I am grateful for the continuous efforts to ensure our cruises are both enjoyable and memorable.

What a joke! Customer service is non-existent. Being bounced from a department to a department in order to solve a simple problem. Currently listening to the music waiting on a FIFTH agent.
This is in addition that their app doesn't work properly (can't save your phone number in order to finish check-in) and nobody is fixing it even though people reported on the problem over six month ago.

We are on board the Princess Caribbean. This is my fifth voyage with Princess. I must say that the service has been excellent as usual…BUT the food quality (other than specialty restaurants @$55 USD per person) has declined yet again. Since Covid, the buffet budgets have been slashed and the quality and variety of the food offered is obviously getting worse every year. I recall raving about their food. Even in the walk-in restaurants, which should be better than the buffet, food quality and presentation is completely unacceptable. Perhaps a different Cruise company would be an option. It is obvious that whoever runs the kitchen is not watching or tasting what is being served to their guests. (Again other than specialty restaurants) Shape up Princess.

I booked with princess for mine and my husband's first cruise and a little while after booking became pregnant. I called and inquired about the medical package due to being pregnant and no mention of not being able to participate in the cruise at this time. I have known many friends who went on cruises while pregnant. We were told by a friend that they were turned away at the boat due to being pregnant. This was not published anywhere or disclosed in any of the paperwork we have or conversations I had with the service line when I called in. Once I found in thier terms and conditions on pregnant women they stated that the cruise line doesn't allow pregnant women. So I called again to ask about this. I was told the line does allow pregnant women but it depends on how far along you are. I asked what the guidelines are, and I was told its situational. And I was asked instead how many weeks I will be when the cruise is set to leave. I let them know, and was told that, no I can not go on the cruise we booked. I asked why this was not disclosed to me when I asked about medical care for a pregnant woman ans did not get an answer. I let them know I had to cancel and asked what my refund would be since the paperwork I signed stated $100 non-refundable and the rest would be refunded. She checked on this and stated that I would be eligible for a refund but she had to transfer me to someone else to process the refund. Once I was transfered I was told I will get a full refund however I will a $480.00 cancelation charge. I felt this was a bait and switch situation and the proper information was not disclosed in the beginning and I was transfered several times and not given full answers before I was told id have to pay a LARGE cancelation fee. This was especially upsetting because I had questions early on in the booking process about care for pregnancy and if drs notes or anything was needed and the fact that I would not be able to attend was disclosed during ANY of these conversations. It was very disappointing and a large waist of my family's money. Very upsetting and will NOT be booking woth princess in the future. I am out about $700 and not able to enjoy the planned vacation.

when i went to cancel my holiday the cruise with princess cruises because they said it was a non refundable deposit which i was not told at the time i booked my cruise and also they have just a 24 hour grace period to cancel and get all your money back a joke and if you want to move your holiday change date ect there is another charge £50 each another rip off and if you dont by an add on one of the packages princess + package there is hidden charges tips you have to pay when your cruise is finished so take notice if you pay any deposits for your cruise with this rip off cruise company pay by credit card and if things go wrong you can claim all your money back thru your bank it called charge back which i have done so they cant keep my deposit so keep well away from pricess cruises all the want is your money a floating rip off bank

So called Guest Services at Princess Cruises have contacted me to say because I am owed money as my account on board was in credit, they will do this through NatWest 'soon'. This is not what one is told on board. There you are told any credit will go back to your credit card. Also, the woman was not helpful about the terrible experiences I had on the cruise in question and said' we've never had this kind of feedback before' (accident, food, unclean stateroom, etc..) I said that is not what shows on Trust Pilot to which she said and I quote 'that is old. We now have taken control of what is said on Trust Pilot'. Absolute nonsense and I suggest Trust Pilot speak to Princess Cruises about such misleading statements. You are independent as I understand it. My view: I will never sail with them again, for the food reasons I noted in my feedback, for the lies told to me on board by Guest Services, for no care after an accident on one of their shore excursion, and about credits due, and now complete aggression and bad manners from a poorly spoken person who says she represents Princess Cruises Guest Services. Reduced to tears by her aggression.

Back from 14 days on Sky Princess: not good. Some shore excursions poorly checked. One - we were dropped in a known dangerous drug user area in Barcelona, refused access to stay on coach, forced to walk in uneven dirty area where I had a fall, coach driver had no First Aid competence tho I was pouring blood, reported to ship but nobody checked I was OK (as say P&O would have done) Most non- meat food particularly pasta and fish all over cooked, had fish bones in sauce, cold main meals, buffet for non meat meals variable, pastries good, baking good. On board Fish restaurant open to3 tier open central plaza, itinerary changed, other excursions cancelled. A nightmare for me. I've completed the feedback form but I think they are not monitored. Ideally, I would like some compensation for all the food I could not eat - lost weight - unheard of on a cruise!

Had an excellent experience on our first Princess cruise (cruising the Med on Majestic Princess). The suite experience was great with unlimited drink access during cocktail hours, and service was great and personalised in the lounge. Service more generally was also good, particularly in the suite area for main dining, and the seafood speciality restaurant. Food was generally good. Would use again, however, not sure if the lounge benefits are as good now as they were then as it really was unrestricted then.

Don't trust Princess cruises App and avoid noise in cabins on Deck 8 back. Ours E723 balcony was noisy all day. Customer Care dept. don't care and offer $200 on board credit for ruining 34 nights cruise. Princess App confirmed we were staying in same cabin E723 throughout the 35 nights cruise, but whilst on ship, they confirmed that App is wrong and not to be trusted?

Just returned from a cruise on Royal Princess. We had a wonderful time and nothing was too much trouble for any of the staff.
We chose Reserve Dining and with no need to book and no waiting time this worked very well for us. Staff in the dining room were excellent and they were prepared to accommodate our dietary requirements. Food quality was excellent.
Evening entertainment was fabulous with imaginative and big production shows.

Firstly, the ship was clean and when I had issues they were fixed really quick. However, this is an American based cruise and the upsell and charging for everything was very disappointing and way too much. No enrichment programme, no guest speakers, beanbag throwing competitions on sea days, no immersive entertainment, low tech and old fashioned, lacks energy. We are active 50 something out-doors type but this cruise was a retirement home on water and definitely did not have activities that catered for all ages and abilities. Will definitely not be cruising with Princess again - their marketing videos show no resemblance to reality. You need to market correctly so you don’t waste our time…and money! Did not wow!

First time on Princess cruises and will not be our last. We spent 31 days on Sky Princess. Staff were incredibly helpful, cabins and public areas were spotlessly clean and the food was amazing. Only complaint is that their excursions are ridiculously high priced compared with other cruise lines, otherwise it would have been 5 stars.

Just returned from a great holiday on Sky Princess. Everything was marvellous except Princess has become greedy since it lost cash during Covid. Being on the ship is similar to Sherwood Forest in the days of Robin Hood, except they don't just fleece the rich, everyone is a target! Shore excursions are overpriced and they have removed shuttle buses to make it difficult to reach towns from ports. Speciality restaurants are expensive as are the onboard drinks.
But excellent crew, lovely fellow passengers and sunshine made this a memorable voyage. Just a pity the elderly and those with mobility issues - about 60 per cent of passengers - found it difficult, or couldn't afford, to leave the ship on a 31 day trip.

Just back from a 5 day cruise to Hamburg. First time using Princess Cruises. We were on Sky Princess.

Overall I would say it was an excellent experience. The positives -

Room spotlessly clean and quiet

Food - By far the best food ever experienced on a cruise! The choices were endless and the quality was excellent. Well done Princess.

Ship was in excellent condition, and very clean.

Staff very friendly and helpful.

Entertainment - We are not really into rushing to the theatre after dinner etc but we experienced a couple of the quizzes and they were well organised and fun. The other entertained options all seemed very well organised and well received by the guests.

Overall a very good experience and I would certainly use Princess again.

A couple of areas I think they could improve upon however. We couldn't help feeling that the reasonable up front cost of the cruise was just the hook to get you on board. It seems they then get you on board and look for everyway possible to extract money from you. 18% service charge on drinks ( come on! ) Onshore trips ridiculously expensive to the point where we didn't even consider them. I saw however that they were in the main fully booked so maybe people are happy to pay these prices? personally I couldn't justify them.

You are contracted to get me to Hamburg! This really annoyed me. Appreciate you can only dock where you can but to then charge $19 dollars a day for the shuttle bus into the City seemed a little unfair, this should be provided as part of your contract to get me to Hamburg in my opinion. I think most other Cruise Lines provide this shuttle free of charge? Yes I could have walked it but it was 6 miles each way.

We had the full package so we weren't stung for the daily service charge or wifi cost etc, but thank goodness for this as the charge would have seriously built up a large on board additional cost almost doubling the cost of the cruise.

Overall a very good experience but tempered a little by these extortionate additional costs. It takes away from the overall enjoyment of the cruise and sadly becomes the main takeaway that you remember.

I would definitely use them again but you have to watch your back for the extra charges that they are very keen to apply.

Just my tuppence worth really.

We've yet to take our cruise, so will update afterwards. But wanted to rate the ease and efficiency to book the cruise is unbelievably difficult! We booked 2 adults and 2 children... 15 and 13 years old. We had to book separate rooms so each child had an adult with them which is fine, but when we tried to book a drinks package/Princess Plus deal for the adults, this could not be done! This could only be booked for 2 guests in the room, ie the adult and the child (who is underage!). The child is charged the same price for the Princess plus package but obviously no alcohol will be provided. Very unimpressed and difficult! Not a great start to my 50th birthday celebrations. Will go elsewhere in the future.

No win no fee claim
Keep an eye out on bbc news
Anti _special needs
Bit of a naughty doctor on board lies on paperwork and can not be trusted
Forced me to go hosiptal 3ven tho i refused so they could charge me.

I have been on Cunard, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, P&O and Princess is by far the best to date, would recommend it without hesitation.