Princess Cruises Reviews 825

I'm so surprised to a company like princess has so many issues with customer safety, with insecure rooms, witnessed customers being attacked infront of staff, two other incidents that almost led to attacks in front of staff who in the staff words "didn't want to involve security as the head gets angry" which i can 100% relate to with his dismissive and confrontational attitude when we tried to reported our concerns with not locking rooms, the green unlocked light stays on even when you are out of sight of your cabin, allowing anyone behind you to enter your room without your knowledge, apparently not a problem from the head of ship security (you won't be covered on insurance) repeated entertainment and menu if on for over a week, dirty plates and napkins left on buffet tables, not to mention the movement sensor light in the cabin that comes on if you go to the bathroom at night and lights the whole room without being able to turn it off.

We've cruised with Princess to several destinations without incident, including two repositioning cruises form FL to the UK. I've never had a problem with cleanliness of the rooms, food quality or variety, staff or entertainment.

To be very clear -- Princess onboard staff has never been an issue for us; they have uniformly been great. The food was at worse, very good. The Italian specialty restaurant has always been an excellent experience, and the Steak House as well. The Thermal Suite experience has been great (soaking in the large thermal bath and internally heated lounge chairs does wonders for my chronic back pain). My wife has had uniformly great experiences with the hair care services in the Spa, also.

The RFID medallions used by Princess are an excellent experience -- your room unlocks on you approach, they inform the cabin stewards when you are in your cabin or not, so they do not disturb you when your in your cabin. And, it used to charge costs for extra-cost food and drinks. That portion of Princess' push into passenger convenience through applied technology is working well.

The onboard Princess app, however, needs work -- lots of work. It has some good points -- locating other guests in your group, for example -- and offers a unique service: food and drink delivery where you are anywhere on the ship, or schedule food/drink delivery to your cabin before you get there.

The rest of the app is fairly useless and/or undeveloped. Take the Scheduling portion of the app ... please! It is woefully underdeveloped, showing only the ship's daily schedule ... period. This is better served with the traditional daily PRINTED schedule. Have an appointment in the spa, a restaurant reservation, or scheduled activity? Don';t count on that appearing in the Scheduling tab of the Princess app. Neither you nor the venue can post that appointment to the app's schedule. You have to post it to your phone's built-in Calendar app, not the Princess app. Not well thought out, Princess/Carnival.

What I do have a complaint about is the new Princess+ and Princess Premier package pricing. Simply put, if you buy the Princess+ or Princess Premier package, be prepared to have your trip double (or more) in price.

There's no escaping paying for alcohol in either of these packages. We are not big alcohol drinkers, but we do enjoy an occasional glass of wine, a drink and specialty coffees, along with the onboard internet. Try to find pricing for those individual services before you cruise -- not going to happen! Try to find pricing once you board -- difficult, because you have to get past all the reps pushing Princess+/Princess Premier in the central lobby, then find reps for the individual services -- if those individual services reps are available on boarding. And, don't expect the traditional in-cabin series of offers for these services in your cabin upon boarding.

EXAMPLE: We were told the daily price for internet was almost as high (2/3 the cost) as the daily cost of the Princess+ package. Could we verify that? Nope! The internet rep "wasn't available," internet packages are offered only the first day of cruising (after that, there's a daily charge only), and when I asked on Day 2 of a 2-week cruise what the separate internet package was, I was told they could not reveal the price "because that offer has expired."

I despise Carnival's various cruise lines with their money-extracting methods designed to make cruising costly with minor benefits to passengers. Princess, however, was always different -- owned by Carnival but did not engage in deceptive and exploitative practices.

Post-COVID, it appears Carnival management has decided to extend its standard money extraction practices to Princess.

Pity -- I really like cruising with Princess, but when I cruise again, Princess will not be at the top of my list of preferred cruise lines.

We have been on 25 plus princess cruises.. Yes over time things have changed but we still enjoy our time on there ships .We have 3 more cruises booked and look forward to sailing again.

I can fully understand the I star rating for Princess cruises.
This was my ninth cruise with them and we had multiple issues ranging from:
Restaurants
Bars
Medallion class
Suite
Previously cruises overall very good and I do not why this company standards have dropped maybe “complacency”
If I had read reviews on trustpilot
I would not have booked with Princess.
I am awaiting their response and will update my review accordingly.

I am not sure why Princess gets bad reviews I have been on 8 Princess cruises and they have been very good, I have never had a problem with them and enjoy myself every time. One con is on the smaller ships the food is not wonderful, but it has been fine and somethings have been great. The other con is the price for the spa treatments, I always do at least one and have always enjoyed them but the prices are High.

After 24 cruises and 208 days cruising with Princess I have been mostly very happy. That is, until my last cruise - a 33 day, Island Princess, World Cruise segment (Cape Town to Rome). There were nothing but problems with: the wi-fi, Princess APP, and their idiotic 'Medallion'. Nothing worked properly! The standard reply was "Sorry sir, we're having IT problems." Unacceptable. No more cruises for me.

Booked a cruise with Zoey for August on Regal Princess at a very reasonable price
This will be my sixteenth cruise and never before have I booked with such a helpful and friendly agent
Everything was very clearly explained and email confirmation was immediate
This morning I was having great difficulty with the on-line booking. enter Victoria who patiently spent an hour helping me with the website
These two wonderful ladies are an absolute joy and a great credit to Princess Cruises

Beautiful ships, delicious food, dedicated crew, and surprisingly affordable prices!!

We booked a cruise on the," Sky Princess". Went on the excursion to Cozumel, Ancient ruins/ Cave swim. We were left behind at the ruins by the tour guide, no apology, no discount...even though some of our belongs were missing, thank GOD we were able to get our backpack from the bus, which had our passports, they tell you to bring those with you when you leave for your excursions( only because they thought it belonged to another couple), that we had to find our way to via taxi. Proceed with great Caution with this company!!

We are highly disappointed with Princess Cruises. My elderly parents booked a cruise just minutes before realising Schengen visas were needed (it was labelled a British Isles trip), and that they would not be able to get a schengen visa in time.

Despite contacting them immediately for a cancellation, early disembarkation in Edinburgh, or a transfer to another cruise, all requests were denied.

This rigid approach, especially for a booking made so recently, feels incredibly unfair. We believe older customers are being significantly disadvantaged by such inflexible policies.

Just got back from our very first and last cruise on Sky Princess. A very beautiful well maintained ship no doubt, but an appalling experience from the minute we arrived at the ultra slow unorganized check in which took exactly an hour, to the minute we dissembarked. This ship has far too many badly trained impolite staff including one patronising man on customer services who was obviously in the wrong job.
Hygene is non existent. I was horrified to find on entering Marketplace to eat , that almost everybody was walking in without sanitizing or washing their hands. I was prezuming that this would be enforced as on Royal Caribbean, but no. Surely there should be a staff member pushing this as you enter. Also I didn't see one person wiping handrails in 14 days, day or night. It's a Norovirus outbreak waiting to happen.

So called entertainment throughout the ship wasn't even second rate , it was actually third.
If you are happy to watch grown adults on a kids golf putting game as your main entertainment throughout the week in the central atrium then all well and good , but it is not the type of thing I would expect,for adults paying a couple of thousand £ each who are tring to relax and chat with a cocktail or beer. More like a kids game that should be in a seperate area. The racket from the compares and music was way too loud and ruined the main atrium and was impossible to escape, as it extended another two levels.

The music was terrible and very poor in variety. This has been mentioned before by other cruisers. Whoever chose these artists I don't know, but they obviously wouldn't know a bum note if it punched them on the nose. The shows were great and Dan is very talented ,he stands out a mile on this ship and is actually too good to work on this ship. A great compare and singer.

The bar staff in general are uninterested, bad mannered and inefficient. Customers waiting for ages at the bar only to have someone just walk up in front of them and then get served immediately. Also on two occasions customers who were waiting to be served were told, by a thumb gesture from the barman to go to the end of the bar. No words just the gesture. Shocking. Often there was only one barperson serving , so as soon as cocktails were ordered it slowed service right down and long queues were formed. Hardly any waiters on the floor in any of the bars . On Royal Caribbean it is almost impossible to put your glass down without a bar person asking if you would like a drink. Not the case on Princess.

Medallion was a total waste of time and money. Everone was complaining that their orders were not even arriving and some including myself were getting charged on their accounts for drinks they never received. My account had a $40 charge for a bottle of wine I didn't even order. The Crown Grill was a lovely place . Meal was great and amazing staff, and also Sabotinis italian was fantastic with great food and staff. Marketplace was terrible, repetitive badly cooked food except for the occasional curry which was great. I put the ladle into the scrambled eggs and lifted a scoop out and the whole tray came with it.

Our cabin steward Marlo was fantastic and a credit to the company. He was polite, helpful and very friendly. Room service was excellent and fast. So basically my thoughts are, that one of the directors of this company should go on a cruise on this ship and experience first hand the terrible service and how dreadful this company treats it's customers. So basically if we could have come home early we genuinely would have done but we were meeting friends on the second week. Thank goodness too because they were our saviours. All in all a shambolic company from start to finish. A total waste of hard earned money and an experience we just want to forget. Be warned .

Took hours to get on the boat. No one to help once you get on the boat except to try and upsell you on cruise packages. Our “free” room upgrade was next to a stairwell and crew elevator. Even though we paid for a drink package, they still charged us for drinks. Electronic room lock failed and got locked out. Sliding balcony door got stuck. Worst docks at each port. Food was a 5 out of 10. I was lied to by two different customer service people which means I had to fight on the phone with them after their crappy cruise. When you get on the boat, they already have your money. So they don’t give a crap about you unless you are going to spend more money. It was so bad we may never cruise again.

I want to give a 5 star review as my recent cruise to Norway was excellent, sparkling friendly service, good food and very good quality entertainment. However trying to talk to them post-cruise about my bill with an erroneous entry is not easy, they say they reply in 14 days to email, when it’s a financial issue this isn’t good enough. Their customer service isn’t sparkling at all . What a shame as the joy of the cruise soon fades when having to battle for justice. 😫😫

My family and I have cruised on several ships over the years, and we were excited to take a multigenerational trip—15 of us across six cabins—aboard the Royal Princess to Alaska. Unfortunately, this turned out to be the most disappointing cruise we’ve ever experienced, with issues arising from the very beginning and persisting throughout the trip.

Key Issues That Impacted Our Experience:

1. Poor Communication Around Pre-Arrival Requirements

The requirement for a passport—even for a closed-loop cruise (departing and returning to the U.S.)—was not clearly emphasized. This critical information was buried in small text in a PDF after payment was collected. The lack of clear, prominent communication resulted in a last-minute scramble and a costly same-day passport trip for some of our group.

2. Unclean and Poorly Maintained Rooms

Upon arrival, our sheets were stained, the room was visibly dirty, and the bathroom smelled of urine. It took three requests before the room attendant, John, addressed the issue, stating he was “too busy”—suggesting a possible staffing shortage.

3. Repetitive and Limited Buffet Options

The buffet offered limited variety with the same repetitive dishes each night across Asian, Mexican, Italian, and Middle Eastern cuisines. The overall dining experience lacked excitement and freshness.

4. Lack of Allergy-Friendly Dining

My son, who has a tree nut allergy, experienced a reaction after unknowingly consuming a pastry that contained nuts—there were no allergen labels. I also have an egg allergy and found it extremely difficult to navigate the buffet without clear food labeling, which negatively affected my experience.

5. Inadequate Indoor Dining & Cold Weather Provisions

The ship lacked sufficient indoor seating at the buffet, and with outdoor areas being too cold to use, dining became a challenge. There were no cold-weather amenities like blankets—only pool towels—which felt like poor planning for an Alaskan cruise.

6. Poor Service and Slow Delivery

The OceanNow food and drink service was slow (averaging an hour) and frequently inaccurate. Bartenders had to reference recipe books to make standard drinks, and the cocktails were consistently weak. The drink package was not worth the cost due to slow service, bar closures, and minimal alcohol in drinks.

7. Limited Entertainment and Activities

There were very few activities geared toward a range of age groups, leaving much of the cruise feeling dull. The DJ offered a poor musical selection, ended parties early, and didn’t cater to a diverse crowd.

8. Subpar Customer Service and Potential Bias

Some dining staff were visibly rude—eye-rolling, delayed clearing of tables, and reluctance to serve our group. It felt as though certain ethnicities were treated with more courtesy and priority, leaving members of our group uncomfortable and unwelcome.

Called on 5/27/2025 at 12:29 EST to get information on the land portion of my upcoming cruise to Alaska, as well as my initial stay at the Fairbanks hotel we we will be staying at once we arrive. The customer service representative was very rude when I asked her questions regarding food and beverage packages and ended up hanging up on me.

We also never received our Medallions before we left, even though when I called on two different occasions within 45 days of embarkment ensuring its delivery. My last communication one week prior they stated it was a system issue and I can pick it up on the cruise. 5 days prior to our cruise, I received an email stating medallion was being sent via FedEx, and the arrival date would be after I leave for the cruise.
Absolutely terrible customer service, lacking any compassion. Our 1st and last cruise with Princess.

Very shady company. We booked a cruise and excursions and they ended up needing to change the booking which meant cancelling the excursions and rebooking them. It seems they were unable to transfer Princess excursions. We didn’t think much of it since the prices were the same. When reviewing our credit card summary a few weeks later, however, we noticed they only refunded a part of the original excursions. When we called them, they said all the money had been reimbursed and we politely told them that our bank confirmed that only part had been reimbursed. The customer service agent was impatient with me and treated me like I was scamming them for money when it turns out quite the reverse was true. I filed a dispute with my credit card and only then did Princess send me a check for the remaining amount they owed me. No apologies. Just forced to not steal from their clients and give the money back. I recommend you check the fine print on your Princess receipts and pay only with credit card, since Princess has proven themselves to me to be shady and self-profiting with their accounting practices.

2/5 – Good Experience Marred by Hidden Fees

Cruise Line: Princess Cruise Line
Ship/Route: Vancouver-Alaska-Seattle

Our family cruise had enjoyable moments, but the lack of transparency around mandatory daily fees significantly impacted our experience.

The Issue:

When booking directly on [Cruise Line]’s website, there was no clear disclosure of a
17
−
17−18/day per person "crew appreciation" fee.

The only mention of credit card charges was for onboard purchases—nothing about this automatic daily gratuity.

Since my sisters (experienced cruisers) advised tipping staff directly, we did so every day (room stewards, dining staff, etc.). Only later did I discover we were charged twice—once via this hidden fee and again via our personal tips.

Why This Is Unfair:

Transparency Matters: If this fee is compulsory, it should be prominently displayed during checkout, not buried in fine print.

Double Tipping: Guests who prefer to tip in cash (or adjust amounts based on service) deserve that option.

Budget Impact: For a family of 5 , a couples of hundreds dollars unexpected charges are big burden—a significant oversight.

Suggested Fixes:

Clearly list all mandatory fees before payment.

Allow guests to opt-out or adjust the fee if they tip directly.

Train staff to explain charges upfront (e.g., at check-in).

Final Thoughts:
The crew worked hard and deserved appreciation, but the company’s approach feels misleading. Until this is addressed, I’d hesitate to book again or recommend Princess Cruise to others.

Poor customer service. I've spent most of the day waiting for a call back from Ross Ware. His colleagues Zara, Sam and Dan were unable to deal with the booking problem, which sounds bizarre! Our party of 4 contacted Princess Cruises when we realised our booking had dropped over £200/person within days of booking. Offered an on board credit, but declined. Doesn't customer service mean anything to Princess Cruises? My next phone call will be cancelling the cruise! 7 May 25 updated. I called Princess Customer Services (April Morrell) to cancel the cruise. Over 30 minutes of unbelievably poor service, I was offered 13p refund on one of the £155 deposits. Apparently, my wife needs to cancel the other booking for an additional 13p. I've explained my reasons for cancelling within 14 days of our online booking and it would appear that Princess Cruises are above Consumer Rights and British law. Please read other reviews before booking with this company. I'm absolutely livid!

Everything was perfect on sky princess. Isobel booked everything so that it was seamless getting all the way from Edinburgh to Miami with a fab hotel to start our holiday. The food was incredible especially the buffet. Staff so caring and committed to ensuring we could relax. Entertainment was excellent. The entire cruise could not be faulted. I am always very admiring of the culture and values at Princess cruises which goes from the captain all through the ship.

Old fashion , poor standard , high princes