As first-timers, it took us a couple of days to get the lay of the land and figure out how we wanted to spend our days. There are lots of activities, and we were dashing around trying to do them all. After a couple of days we realized that our favorite thing to do was spend days on the Lido Deck enjoying the sun and sea air. We like to read and play cribbage, so that was mostly how we spent our days (plus caught some movies on deck, and we tried to get to the trivia games). Some would find that boring, but we loved it. This cruise was all about relaxing for us! We really enjoyed relaxing by day, going to shows at night. Note to other new cruisers - dinner in the dining rooms lasted for two or more hours, so take that into account when planning your evening.
Overall, we truly enjoyed ourselves, and will cruise again.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was great! We practically walked right on - we were very impressed.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We stuck to the basics-the main dining rooms and Horizon Buffet, International Market, and the pizza/grill/ice cream on the Lido Deck. MDR varies from good to outstanding. Outstanding items included French Onion Soup, Prime Rib, Crown Pork Roast, and a Rhubarb Napoleon.
Burgers were very poor, dry and tasteless, but the hot dogs and fries were very good. Pizza was good. Buffet varied greatly in quality. We preferred the food in the MDR, but the two to two and a half hour dining experience was cumbersome when we wanted to go to a show.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The pools were very cold except for one day mid-cruise. That was a surprise to me - I thought at least one pool would be heated. Still, we enjoyed reading and playing cribbage around the pools. We also enjoyed the trivia games.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The comedians were all very good. We only actually made it to one production show, unfortunately, but that one was enjoyable. We loved having all the entertainment options available at night.
Children's Programs
No kids
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Our cabin steward was great - very friendly and efficient. Cabin always looked great.
We had Anytime dining, and ate at different times and different dining rooms depending on our evening plans. Consequently, we did not build any particular relationship with a server. Our servers were fine, but nothing out of the ordinary, and not overly friendly. I would be curious to see the difference between Traditional dining and Anytime dining.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
I have nothing to compare layout and design to, but it seemed to be laid out well, and it was certainly clean and well kept!
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We were a little worried about an inside cabin, especially for a 10-day cruise, but we were pleasantly surprised. My only complaint is that there were bunk beds attached to the walls that jutted into the room about a foot on each side of the bed. It made getting in and out of bed a little difficult. We could have asked to have the bed separated into twins, giving easier access, but we like having one bed, so left it.
Otherwise, the cabin was great! Big closet and cupboard for clothes and suitcases. Tiny but super efficient bathroom. We thought the shelves in the bathroom were fine for holding our bathroom stuff - but I don’t carry tons of makeup, blow dryers and other hair styling items. The water pressure in the shower was amazing! Every shower was like a hydro-massage. I had been a little concerned about the quality of the toilet paper, but the tp on board was great. One ply, but strong! And very effective! I brought my own shampoo, but the provided body wash was very nice, and skin moisturizing.
I had read that it is a good idea to bring a nightlight for the bathroom, but it was not necessary in our cabin. There was a light built into the desk that lit up with motion. Perhaps that is only in inside cabins?
Cabin was always spotless! We really enjoyed our cabin, and while I am curious to try a balcony, I wouldn’t hesitate to book an inside cabin.
Ship tip
We brought our own canned soda aboard, which we really appreciated. Mostly we drank the ship’s water (which was delicious!), but it was nice to have a can or two of soda a day while on vacation.
Loved the beach, and the beauty of the arch. We did a short, local excursion (basically a taxi boat) to the arch and then to the Médano Beach. We had a lovely afternoon on the beach. And we bought lots of souvenirs from beach vendors! Lol. They were good - if we weren’t interested, we just said No Thanks and they moved on. When we were interested, the vendors were really helpful. Most spoke English quite well, and happily bargained with us.
Our water taxi returned promptly at the designated time.
The next day we did a city tour through Princess. The tour was adequate, not great. Our tour guide was a charming young man. The highlight was San Jose and it’s wonderful shops and galleries. We didn’t have enough time there to actually explore, though, which I would like to do on a return trip.
If I go to La Paz again, I would definitely do an excursion. We wandered the town a bit, but the biggest attraction seemed to be the bars. We did enjoy the young people dancing in the square though!
Loreto looks beautiful from the ship, and I really wanted to go there. Unfortunately, the day we were there the sea was very rough and there was only one tender operating when we were ready to go ashore, so a long wait. Also, we were hearing tales of waves going right over the tender boats, and people getting sick, so we decided to stay on the ship. I kind of regret that - it really does look beautiful!
I loved what I saw of Puerto Vallarta, and would love to go back. We did the inclusive resort excursion there. The beach was outstanding, but the excursion itself (through Princess) was just ok. There weren’t enough lounge chairs for our group, directions were unclear, buffet food provided was mediocre, bar service was slow. However, the pool was warm and the beach was fabulous, so we had a great time regardless. The drive from the port to the resort made me want to stay there a couple of days and explore. It looks like a great beach town! So, the port was great, the excursion was lacking, especially for the price.
Fast and efficient. We were off the ship before our designated departure time! Immigration was quick and easy, and luggage was quickly found. All in all, a great experience! We will definitely cruise again.
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