Vancouver to Alaska mixed review

We had a good cruise overall, however, our first impression of Princess was tainted by the fact that we couldn’t access our cabin. Cabins were ready from 1pm but our medallion wouldn’t open our door. We joined a long queue at Guest Services and were given a key card to use whilst they sorted out our medallions . The key card didn’t work either and after a further key card and six trips in total to Guest Services (queuing each time) we eventually got into our cabin when they changed the electronic door panel. It was after 6pm and we had missed sail away. We asked if there was anything they could do for us by way of a goodwill gesture for the inconvenience and were offered a meal at the Crown Grill which we had already booked for that night as part of the princess Premier package . They then offered us a day pass to the Thermal suite which we agreed to but were told we’d have to pay for it initially and they would then refund it as a goodwill gesture. We are still waiting for the refund along with the refund of credit we were given for a cancelled excursion. We found the food to be of quite good standard and the Crown Grill stood out for food quality and service. Our first visit to Sabatinis was a positive experience but our subsequent visit was marred by bad attitude from the person who met us at the door. The buffet restaurant had a good food choice but it was difficult to find seating at peak times and drink orders were very slow. The bars varied a lot in levels of service and bars often closed with no notice of last orders. Most bar waiters were friendly but there were a few issues. Vines bar had a heading on their menu “Sparkling wines and Champagne” but nothing listed under the heading was actual champagne and the waiter tried to fob us off with Cremont, which is made in a similar way to champagne but is not actual champagne which we were meant to have under the Premier package. When we politely pointed this out we were made to feel as if we were being fussy and entitled. Despite this there were positives too and our balcony cabin, despite being quite small, was the cleanest cabin we’ve ever had on a cruise ship and was serviced twice daily by a very attentive cabin steward who never bothered us but was always available if we needed him. The storage area was more than adequate with plenty of clothes hangers and the bathroom was well appointed. We didn’t find the medallion app user friendly and couldn’t order drinks we wanted to our location as we couldn’t find them on the app, but ordering breakfast to our cabin by hanging the order on our door worked well . We did three excursions with Princess and despite one excursion being cancelled and alternative being taken, all were of a good standard and made good use of time. We contacted the company which was doing the Princess excursion which was cancelled and they came back to us to offer the same excursion which they’d decided to run and said they’d sort it with Princess if we wanted to go. We went to the Excursion desk to see if we could do this as they had already booked us on an alternative excursion , but the desk was closed until later in the day so we missed out. The ship generally was very clean and well maintained. We didn’t really experience much of the entertainment , preferring to just sit in one of the bars and watch the world go by, but there seemed to be plenty going on to suit all tastes. This was our first experience of Princess, having cruised previously with Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and P&O. If I’m honest we were slightly disappointed , probably due to our experience with Guest Services who fell way short of what we’d expect of a reputable cruise line. We appreciate they were very busy but they did not own the problem. We may try Princess again as several people have sung their praises so it may be interesting to see if a different ship would restore our faith. Our son had recently sailed on Emerald Princess and had nothing but praise for them and was shocked to hear of our experience.