Princess Cruises is a leading cruise line that offers a variety of travel experiences across multiple destinations, including Alaska, the Caribbean, and Europe. The company provides passengers with an array of cruise packages that feature luxury accommodations, onboard dining, and entertainment options tailored to enhance the travel experience. Customers can choose from various promotions, including instant savings on cruise fares and special offers for families traveling with children.
Targeting vacationers seeking unique maritime adventures, Princess Cruises aims to cater to a diverse clientele, from couples looking for a romantic getaway to families seeking fun-filled holidays at sea. The company also promotes value-added packages, such as Princess Plus® and Princess Premier®, which include benefits like dining, drinks, and Wi-Fi, to enhance the overall cruise experience. Through its user-friendly website, www.princess.com, customers can easily explore available itineraries and current deals, making it convenient for them to plan their next voyage.
Princess Cruises receives a significant amount of negative feedback, with many reviewers expressing disappointment in their experiences. While some customers appreciate the beauty of the ships and the quality of the food, they often criticize the service and reliability.
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Common complaints include canceled excursions without proper explanations, poor customer service, and issues with the Medallion class system, which has led to frustration among guests. Safety concerns have also been raised, with reports of inadequate security and incidents occurring in front of staff. Despite a few loyal customers who have enjoyed multiple cruises, the overall sentiment leans heavily towards dissatisfaction, highlighting that Princess Cruises struggles to meet expectations.
Each source counts by its number of reviews. Only reviews written by people are scored.
Rating, volume, share of the score, six-month trend and fake-review risk for each source
Source
Rating
Reviews
Weight
6-mo
Fake risk
★
Trustpilot
Imported Trustpilot reviews
1.7
647
100%
+0.6
● Low
1.7 / 5 overall
=
647 reviews across 1 scored source
How fake risk works ⓘ
Reputation trend
Monthly average rating from reviews written by people · latest review Jul 2025.
Last 3 months
2.1▲ 0.6
12-month avg
1.9
All-time
1.7
Category avg
4.0
Monthly averageCategory average
Monthly average rating and review count
Month
Average
Reviews
Aug 24
2.1
21
Sep 24
2.0
9
Oct 24
1.1
9
Nov 24
1.8
11
Dec 24
1.8
14
Jan 25
2.5
8
Feb 25
1.6
7
Mar 25
1.3
6
Apr 25
1.6
7
May 25
1.0
4
Jun 25
2.3
13
Jul 25
2.4
7
What people praise & complain about
Share of positive (4–5★) and negative (1–2★) reviews mentioning each topic · based on the 500 most recent reviews.
Top praiseof 67 positive reviews
Customer service45%
30 mentions
Friendly staff22%
15 mentions
Helpful support16%
11 mentions
Website & app13%
9 mentions
“I just wanted to express my appreciation for the excellent customer service provided by Luyanda Chiya who assisted me...”
On “Customer service” · Jan 16, 2025
Top complaintsof 394 negative reviews
Customer service53%
207 mentions
Shipping38%
148 mentions
Payment issues30%
120 mentions
Cancellation21%
83 mentions
“I'm so surprised to a company like princess has so many issues with customer safety, with insecure rooms, witnessed c...”
On “Customer service” · Jul 4, 2025
How it compares
Same method for every company: overall rating, legitimacy checks, the average rating of reviews mentioning each area and the 6-month trend · Cruise Lines.
Overall rating and review count for this company and similar companies
Firstly, Princess Cruises turned out to be quite unreliable. We had six shore excursions planned, but the most important one — viewing the glaciers and icebergs — was canceled without adequate explana... See more
Very disappointing.
This is the 8th cruise we’ve been on (including others from the same group - Royal Caribbean & Celebrity).
The ship (Sun Princess) is nice, but unless you are a meat eating Americ... See more
Realice 3 cruceros con Princess, el primero en 2023, a Islas Britanicas en el Regal, 15 dias. el segundo en 2024, trasatlantico en el Sun Princess 17 dias, el ultimo en junio 2025, fiordos, en el Em... See more
We booked the Princess Premier Package and for 2 days now they've blocked my stepsons medallion insisting he can only buy non alcoholic drinks. He's 28 years old!! The ship is tired and a lot smaller... See more
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Firstly, Princess Cruises turned out to be quite unreliable. We had six shore excursions planned, but the most important one — viewing the glaciers and icebergs — was canceled without adequate explanation. Another excursion, originally meant to take us to the city of Victoria, was substituted with a visit to a much smaller, unremarkable location, the name of which we don’t even remember. For these cancellations and itinerary changes, we were given just $200 USD per person as compensation — and even that had to be spent onboard. This felt insufficient and disappointing.
Secondly, getting access to drinking water onboard was surprisingly inconvenient. Guest cabins were located between decks 6 and 14 (we stayed on deck 8), but the only place with self-serve drinking water was on deck 15. Each time we needed water, we had to carry our own thermos all the way up, and elevator wait times could be long. Alternatively, bottled water (800ml) was available at the bar for over $3 USD each, but the bar staff were not always honest. On three occasions when two bottles were purchased, the family was twice charged for three. Refunds were only issued after complaints were made at the front desk.
Very disappointing.
This is the 8th cruise we’ve been on (including others from the same group - Royal Caribbean & Celebrity).
The ship (Sun Princess) is nice, but unless you are a meat eating American who likes X-factor style singers it isn’t for you.
The breakfast consists of around 20 stations, 17 of which seem to serve variations of exactly the same thing (bacon, sausage, beans, egg - and pretty much in the same format - e.g. there are no poached eggs or eggs Florentine.).
The buffet for dinner and tea is also poor. Same every day, and not great quality. It's also very bland. There are a couple of token Indian dishes, and even those are bland too.
The entertainment is naff singers for the main part. We had 2 dreadful comedians. The only bright spot was the magician (Mike Bones) who was great.
You have to pay for shuttles, the sunbeds get nabbed and left reserved all day without Princess doing anything about it, and even the kids sports area has basketballs but no football! It’s like non-Americans and non-meat eaters are second class citizens. Even the sandwich bar often only has a choice of meat sandwiches half of the time.
On top of that they force you to carry a tracker, and they state on their app that they are capturing your facial recognition data (no idea why, but it surely is unnecessary and seems a breach of privacy). I asked for a normal card rather than the tracker pendant (which is magnetic and emits EMF) but they said I couldn’t have a card.
I was looking forward to better entertainment and much better food, but left disappointed. This is the worse cruise we’ve been on for food, sport, entertainment and privacy.
I’m posting the review here, rather than at the end of the cruise, as if my experience with Celebrity is anything to go by, they tend not to bother listening to genuine feedback.
Realice 3 cruceros con Princess, el primero en 2023, a Islas Britanicas en el Regal, 15 dias. el segundo en 2024, trasatlantico en el Sun Princess 17 dias, el ultimo en junio 2025, fiordos, en el Emerald, 17 dias.
En el ultimo note una baja muy importante en calidad de espectaculos y comida.
Estos 2 itens para los cruceristas son importantes.
Los espectaculos con excepcion de una cantante, creo que se llamaba Lynda Evans, mediocres. Un hipnotizador que se veia claramente el engaño y encima lo repitieron. Un coro y musical de los propios tripulantes, imaginense.
Y otros por el estilo.
La comida. Mucha comida de olla y aspecto regular para abajo, los primeros dias habia salmon, despues lo remplazaron por otros pescados de regular preparacion. Carne poco. Fruta siempre verde. Postres repetitivos.
Un dia nos ofrecian croisants del dia anterior. Y varios dias faltaron.
Entre los puertos, habia 3, de pequeños pueblitos con muy poco interes.
Hubiera sido ideal, sacar por lo menos 2 e incluir 2 dias en Oslo.
He viajado en MSC, Norwegian, Celebrity y pense que en Princess habia encontrado mi naviera Premium.
No es mas una compañia premium.
We booked the Princess Premier Package and for 2 days now they've blocked my stepsons medallion insisting he can only buy non alcoholic drinks. He's 28 years old!! The ship is tired and a lot smaller cabins than other cruiselines we've used. Spent more time at guest services than enjoying the actual cruise
The cruise experience itself was actually pretty good. The problem I have with them is a policy issue. My fiancee works for an airline and is able to get travel discounts, which she used to book the cruise. After booking I was looking at the Princess website and realized they offer a military/veterans onboard credit. As a vet I thought this was great. I went through the verification process and waited for my credit to be applied. And waited, and waited. I decided to call customer service to see why the credit hadn't been applied. I was told because my fiancee booked with her discount that I wasn't entitled to the veteran's credit. I'm not sure what one has to do with the other, but I hope Princess addresses this in the future.
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
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.
Princess Cruises is a leading cruise line that offers a variety of travel experiences across multiple destinations, including Alaska, the Caribbean, and Europe. The company provides passengers with an array of cruise packages that feature luxury accommodations, onboard dining, and entertainment options tailored to enhance the travel experience. Customers can choose from various promotions, including instant savings on cruise fares and special offers for families traveling with children.
Targeting vacationers seeking unique maritime adventures, Princess Cruises aims to cater to a diverse clientele, from couples looking for a romantic getaway to families seeking fun-filled holidays at sea. The company also promotes value-added packages, such as Princess Plus® and Princess Premier®, which include benefits like dining, drinks, and Wi-Fi, to enhance the overall cruise experience. Through its user-friendly website, www.princess.com, customers can easily explore available itineraries and current deals, making it convenient for them to plan their next voyage.
