LUPARD

This was my second cruise with Princess and I would say it is on par with my first cruise with them. I had a pretty good time 2/3 ports.

Embarkation was pretty easy since my wife has priority but the non-priority section seemed to be all in order.

The first two nights we ate at the specialty dining venues The Crown Grill and Share. There was a small hiccup at The Crown Grill the first night with our pre-paid reservation not coming through and many people were confused. By the time, we were finished everything was sorted out. The food here was great, I like a good steak and the steak was pretty good and came out how I ordered it.  I cannot remember the last time I was served a proper medium rare steak before this. The next night Share was fantastic as well. Each of the six courses were just the right portion size for me to be able to enjoy everything. For the main dish, I got the steak :) and my wife got the duck. The duck was better...but don't regret getting the steak. The waitstaff at both venues were amazing as well. Very attentive and pleasant to talk to.   Each place had a cover of $29 per person, I would say it was more than a fair value. 

The last night of the ship we ate at the Salty Dog specialty dining venue in the Wheelhouse lounge, and this probably the best bang for your buck out of all the specialty dining restaurants. $12 cover per person you get an app, main, and dessert. I got the spicy beef short ribs apps, the burger, and some kind of cold dessert. I was stuffed! It was all so good and full of flavor. That burger...I really wish we just ate at the Salty Dog the entire time. 

Sadly, the two nights we did Anytime Dinner were not as great. While the waitstaff was still good it just takes too long, and the food is not worth the wait at all. I got the veal the first night we went, it was like eating rubber covered in salty brown sauce. It was a very sad gravy. The second night I got the lobster and prawns, the prawns were great the lobster was meh. 

Of course, I frequented the grill and pizza place up on deck 15 and well I like my greasy food so no complaints here. I did like to see the Trident Grill become like a pseudo BBQ grill in the evenings.

Did the whole thermal suite thing at the lotus spa that was nice, not 100% sure if I'll do it again but it's not off the table either. The staff there was great as well. Really the staff on the entire ship was pleasant. 

Had a pretty good time in Cabo and Puerto Vallarta, we did snorkeling on both excursions. Sorry I cannot remember the names of them, and the internet is pretty slow in the dorms at work I stay at. 

The only thing I cannot recommend to anyone that I did was the Resort/Beach excursion in Mazatlan. I spent too much time telling vendors "No thank you", they were everywhere and did not like the answer no. It's marketed as a resort not a mall. 

Couple other quick highlights

-The comedian on board was pretty good. I would have like to see more from him

-The drink is worth it in my opinion. I enjoy beer and bourbon, and with Bulleit bourbon being $8 a shot you make your money back quickly. Also unlike NCL who we cruised with back in Oct, the drink package includes bottled water and coffee.

-Our stateroom steward was super friendly and amazing as well

TL:DR - Crown Grill, Share, and Salty Dog is worth the cover but Salty Dog is the best value, enjoy a slice of pizza, skip Resort/Beach excursion in Mazatlan, and get the drink package. Don't forget to have fun and relax. I would do this same cruise again.