Overall, a fantastic cruise. I've never done the Mexican Riviera itinerary before and now I can only ask myself, "what on earth took me so long?" Plan to book again as soon as I earn more PTO from work!
Embarkation
4 out of 5
My CVS test results didn't come in time, first time that's happened to me but probably due to the Omicron surge. Had to test at the port. After a bit of a hiccup getting the results, I was on my way. I live in LA and chose a late embarkation time. There was no line and I boarded right away.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
This app won't let me add a review to the venues, so I'll provide a summary of each here:
Cafe Promenade: best place to fill my Yeti's with hot tea or ice, water, and iced tea at ALL hours of the day or night.
Windjammer: good variety of food, even vegan options (no, I'm not vegan but I have friends who are). I especially appreciated that all food was served to guests by the staff, great job!
Main Dining Room: Servers were great, Garfield was personable, the dining room manager (unfortunately his name escapes me), made sure to come by our table every evening to ask how we were and if the food met expectation. Unfortunately, there was one night where everything I ordered was subpar. Not sure what happened but the following night was a complete 180 and everything was fantastic.
Johnny Rockets: Jim went out of his way and made me lemonade when they only offered carbonated drinks. (I don't drink soda) Yay!!!
EL Loco Fresh: Really great food, DELICIOUS 😋
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
With the reduced ship capacity and the Omicron variant surge, not a ton of activities but there was bingo, trivia games, art displays & auction. The pools and hot tubs were in full swing. The comedy shows were good. A good variety of live music, folk, Caribbean, latin.
Considering the state of the pandemic, the activity level met my expectations.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The ice show was fabulous! Enjoyed the choreography of the drones. Oh, and the skaters were great, too!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Can't say enough about the staff. My room steward, Albert, was great with keeping the cabin spotless in spite of the inconsistent times I was in and out of it. Everyone was helpful and there was constant cleaning and reminding guests to wash their hands.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Absolutely no complaints. I appreciated the constant cleaning and reminders to guests to wash their hands. The ship design was very easy to navigate. I even found a small lookout area near the solarium.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
This balcony is facing the very front of the ship. First time I booked this type of balcony, I wanted to get the maximum amount of wave action since I like to feel the motion of the ocean. It turned out this is a deep balcony, a bit recessed and farther from the water than I expected. I didn't expect the height of the glass but since the balcony is facing front it makes sense to minimize the effects of the wind. I wasn't sure I liked this balcony, but after the first day I warmed up to it. By the end of the cruise I decided I could book this room type again
Ship tip
This ship doesn't have much of a general store, so don't forget to bring suntan lotions, aspirin, and other supplies.
I live in LA so I didn't visit San Pedro. I understand that the former Ports o' Call Village is under construction and a new waterfront complex (West Harbor) is projected to open sometime in 2023. Will definitely visit when it opens.
Very quick. Surprisingly they didn't use facial recognition, I had to show my passport at the port. It actually felt a little strange. Amazing how quickly you can adapt to new processes 🤔
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