Great cruise, the only complaint I have is the embarkation. I think Princess should do better that a $25 credit for missing the whole first day. The service, food, and drinks were fantastic. The shows in the lounge and Princess Theater were great. I look forward to another cruise with Princess but I don't think I will do Mexico again.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
According to the notification from Princess, there was severe low tidal levels and silt build up at the berth, so there was a long delay in embarkation. We arrived at Pier 27 around 1:00 pm and checked in for our cruise. We were given a embarkation group number 3 and told that we could explore San Francisco or go to the Hyatt for food and refreshments that had been arranged by Princess, and we were told to come back around 8:00 pm. We boarded a bus to go to the Hyatt thinking that we could have lunch there. Once we got there we found they only had bags of multigrain chips, some fruit, coffee, water, etc. This was very disappointing, so we left and walked down the waterfront to get lunch. We then went back to the terminal at Pier 27 around 4:00 pm to get a seat and wait for embarkation. I am so happy we went back because there were few seats left and apparently, they started making people line up outside because the terminal was not allowed to hold everyone. I heard that people stood outside in the fog and cold for 3 hours before being allowed to come inside. We boarded the ship around 10:30 pm and people were still boarding until about 12:30 am. The whole day was wasted waiting to board and Princess only gave us a credit of $25! We spent about $100 on the waterfront that day for food and refreshments and I think they should have credited everyone for a full day since we did get on board until before midnight.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Excellent food in the dining rooms, International Cafe, and we had 2 speciality dining nights at the Crown Grill. Only ate at the buffet 2 times, but the food was good there as well.
International Café
5 out of 5
Our favorite place to go for snacks, sandwichs and desserts. Excellent food and a good selection
Crown Grill
5 out of 5
Excellent food and service. My favorite dining venue.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Took in every show at the Princess Theater and all were good. We had reserved seating from the Premier Package and really liked this. I did a cycle class in the fitness center which had low attendance (just 3 of us) the the cycle instructor was good. I tried to go to another one, but I was the only one who showed up and they told me that they would teach the class if another person joined. No one else came, so I did my own thing on the spin bike. I did get a good workout both times I went to the fitness center. Spent 2 afternoons in the Sanctuary and found this very relaxing. They served us afternoon tea both times in the Sanctuary and the sandwiches and snacks were good. There were hardly any people in the Sanctuary and we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves.
Internet Cafe
5 out of 5
Our favorite place to go for snacks, sandwichs and desserts. Excellent food and a good selection.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Great shows in the Princess Theater, also there were some good shows and comedians in the Explorers Lounge and Club Fusion.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Excellent service from our room steward Rodel, the bar tenders and servers in Explorers Lounge and dining rooms were very friendly too. One of the servers at the International Cafe was rude, but the place is very busy all the time.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship is beautiful and kept very clean.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Loved the oversized balcony. The room was nice, would be great if the shower stall was a little bigger
Ship tip
Book your dining early and the first day you board the ship. I should have checked the fitness schedule before booking my dining because I had to change a few reservations. The fitness center will give you a print out of the class schedule if you go up there.
Did the hop on hop off excursion and it was ok. The first stop was one cliff diver which we saw from the bus, they then came on the bus looking for tips. I wasn't planning on stopping here, but the bus stopped and stayed until after the dive was done. Spent some time at the Aquarium which was ok, but it cost $26 per person and we only stayed about 30 minutes. The last stop in the Golden Zone brought us directly to a jewelry store and shopping area. We got super annoyed at the vendors harrassing is to buy stuff, so we got back on the bus and went back to the ship. I didn't really like this port.
Did an excursion to the Arch and Medano Beach. The catamaran cruise to the Arch was good and we got some pictures and saw a couple of whales. At Medano Beach we were brought to Casa Dora and here we had loungers and umbrella and the area was roped off to keep beach vendors out. The food they served was excellent. I had chicken fajitas and my husband had a burger and fries. Both meals were high quality and very tasty. We also had a couple of drinks each. The water was very nice for swimming and I spent 1.5 hours swimming in the Sea of Cortez. This excursion was the best. After we were brought back to the marina, we walked around looking for a place to buy some flavored tequila. The only thing I don't like about Mexico is that vendors are very persistent and annoying after awhile.
Did an excursion on a catamaran to Mahajuitas Cove and the small fishing village of Yelpa. The catamaran was great, good food, drink, and entertainment. We saw whales briefly near the boat. Ended up getting sea sick between Mahajuitas Cove and Yelpa and thankfully another cruiser gave us some sea sickness medicine. This kind of ruined our stop at Yelpa because we were too sick to hike to the waterfalls. We stayed on the beach at Marlin restaurant and I did order some coconut shrimp that were the size of my palm and delicious.
Tide tables for the Bay are published well in advance of any given day. Seems someone from Princess should have checked them, adjusted plans, and notified customers well before their arrival at Pier 27. Disappointing to hear of such ineptitude / poor planning on their part. Glad you were able to enjoy the remainder of the cruise.
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