What shape are the Princess cabins? If they are squarish, rather than long and thin I would go for those. The long thin PG cabins, apart from anything else, have smallish balconies, and I imagine a larger one is more agreeable in Alaska.
Undoubtedly, though her progress through the channel is often stately enough for her to be overtaken. On my first Med. cruise, we did eight ports in a fortnight, because the ship sped to the Med. Now she does five or six. Saves a lot of money of course…
Indeed, she does, which tends to make her develop rust more quickly. But it is how she was designed to be used.
There is a review, possibly of another Cunard ship, I can’t remember, where the writer complains about the ubiquitous smell of paint. This just shows that Cunard can’t win.
Whatever Cunard are doing, they are not overworking her. She was designed to cross the Atlantic at 28kts. Now she rarely gets above 23, and not even that on cruises.
As far as I remember, we have always had rugs provided in the cabin. I hesitated to mention it, in case it was because we were in the Grills, as I didn’t want to seem insular. In fact, it looks as if it may have been. They weren’t always easy to find though.