We booked a Mini-Suite on this cruise when my work schedule conflicted with our Royal Caribbean itinerary in May aboard Jewel of The Seas. Our hopes were high about sailing on Princess to Alaska based on friends' and online reviews. Overall, The Golden Princess is an old ship (2001 I believe), and its age is showing. In general the public spaces felt cramped with limited seating, the decor was dated, and the layout of the decks and elevator locations made for a difficult to navigate ship. We were constantly confused about which direction was aft or forward. Directional signage would go a long way. We are in our early 40's, and can't imagine what that's like for older cruisers.

The mini-suite is smaller than the Junior suite on RCCL, and this being an older ship, the stateroom also showed quite a bit of wear. There were only two functional outlets in the room. With cameras and other electronics to keep charged, this was inadequate. Also, the fold-out sofa bed was unable to be folded back up into a sofa for sitting. A Pullman bed is probably a better option. They could only provide two deck chairs for our family of three. On the plus side, the closet was huge, and the King bed was very comfortable.

Food in the main dining hall and buffet was barely average, which ran counter to everything we heard prior to sailing on Princess. The real head-scratcher was the absence of hot chocolate onboard for an Alaska cruise. Dining staff were not very personable, this may be because we did anytime dining. Read more