Just took Crown Princess to Mexico from SF for 10 days. Took a Princess cruise to Alaska in 2014. I felt standards had really slipped over the decade and was reminded of the 3 (sloppy) Carnival cruises I took in 1979-1981. Surly service at the main guest desk, some strange crew member regularly blowing a train whistle in the buffet, obviously untrained and insufficient busser & server support staff in MDR. Two alternative, quasi popup, dining venues seemed haphazard & slow. I'm guessing parent Carnival is focusing on the cheap side and milking what's left of the Princess brand. (Time to just rename the ships, tack on flammable funnels and a theme park ride, and be done with it?)
I'm off to other lines — and probably smaller ships. Not quite to Holland America yet, but the "Fun Ship" mentality may ruin HA before I get there.
