Nice itinerary, great crew, mediocre ship
Royal Princess Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 31
10 Night Mexican Riviera (San Francisco Roundtrip)
Sail date: March 02, 2023
Ship: Royal Princess
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: M612
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
Great port to sail from. The ship is great for an older crowd with not much deck activities for the younger folks. Not the cleanest ship I've been on, but the awesome crew made this an enjoyable experienceEmbarkation
Seemed pretty orderly. Our weather was dry but a rainy morning would have been miserable as not much shelter is available. Best to check in later in the day in my opinion
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We're not drinkers, so can't say much there. We were a bit disappointed with the quality of the buffet food. We did visit the Symphony dining room three nights, the food was consistently good, service was slow but staff/crew were attentive/friendly
In my opinion, too many staff attending to the needs of people in the buffet area. Allow the people to get their own coffee/tea/water etc and put more staff ensuring dinners are washing their hands! We saw people grabbing food with their bare hands, ladies walking into the buffet in bare feet, no towels. Is this acceptable? Not in my books.
Tables in the buffet were wiped down with one non-rinsed cloth and food scraps swept into the floor. The floor and window sills were always dirty.
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
We saw the comedian, heard a few of the bands, not impressed so we didn't take in any other activities. DJ Ata did a good job.
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
This was our 6th cruise and by far, the BEST crew! Everyone, not just a few individuals. Arman was our room steward on our "M" deck. Great guy, we felt like he was part of our family by the end of our 10 day cruise. Too bad you can't pick your next? cruise/cabin based on who your room steward will be.
Ship Quality
It's a nice ship, geared towards an older group. Tons of deck space for sun and shade seekers.
I didn't care for the buffet area but I only have NCL to compare to. A simple straight line display seems so simple yet Princess has incorporated nooks and little hallways that break up the hot/cold foods. Ethnic food selection was okay but not always found together. If I wanted Indian food (for example) I'd need to walk the entire buffet area to find all the different dishes. Keep these offerings together for one stop shopping.
Cleaning tables with disinfectant spray does not happen often enough on this ship and most of the time we needed to ask for tables to be wiped down again after they had just been cleared. This was evident everywhere on the ship
Cabin / Stateroom
Very well laid out, more hanger space than drawer space. Large TV which is also capable of streaming music which we used often. There is an issue with the light switches in this cabin, they all work but only in a certain sequence (as an electrician, I'd say the fourway switches are wired incorrectly with the left side of the bed switches being the culprit). I'd assume all the rooms have this issue but can't confirm
Our room seemed to get a lot of outside noise from our deck: checked the latch, problem solved.
Large shower but with a shower curtain instead of a door makes couples showering (yeah, we still do that).
Ports of call
This was an industrial port with shuttles to the main gate. We did the light house hike which was so informative with a dude named Christobal who was absolutely worth every penny we paid for the excursion. We visited old town Mazatlan afterwards and had a great meal.
Christobal kept mentioning "it's very safe, stay on the blue line, you'll be safe". There's a blue line painted on the sidewalk/road from old town Mazatlan to the port. At every intersection along that road, police officers were present.
We felt very safe while walking this route, and had absolutely no hassle from local vendors while off the ship
Thumbs Up
0
Nice port with shopping nearby (mall across the street). Smaller local shops can be found a long the beach but it's a bit of a walk.
If you venture too far from the ship and need a cab, tell them you're going to Walmart NOT the cruise terminal. This will save you some cash!
We loved this port. We did a snorkeling excursion, met some great local guides who kept everyone entertained (and well hydrated)
Cabo absolutely looks like a place to kick and chill for a week or two
Nice port with great potential. We walked the shops and through the local community.
Friends had done the salt flats/brick excursion and highly recommend it.
Our ship neighbors took a taxi ride through the town/resorts/, countryside and said this is by far the cleanest port town in Mexico that they have visited.
Disembarkation
Getting off the ship was very smooth HOWEVER, when it's raining, there's not enough shelter to accommodate the people as they come out looking for their bus/taxi/Uber etc. Ground staff were very rude and didn't care about your situation. We also understand the ground staff was dealing with thousands of individuals and honestly, it's a job I wouldn't want so keep that in mind if you experience the same thing at your next port disembarkation
Traveler Photos
