Great cruise! The ship is extremely clean and very relaxing. The Princess Medalllion system and app is great!! You can find areas, friends and family on the ship, order food and drinks, purchase shore excursions, etc. I have been on at least 20
cruises on other cruise lines and this system is the best that I have ever seen. The ports, the food, excellent staff, movies, and activities were enjoyable. This was the first time that I have ever been on Princess Cruise and although initially, I was concerned that I would not enjoy it, I am looking forward to going back very soon.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
I was very happy with the food choices and I stuck to the buffet which is where I always eat. I am a picky eater and like pretty basic food choices. I don’t eat meat and I found something different to eat everyday where on other cruises for lunch and dinner I had to stick with pizza most of the time. At breakfast they always had different types of smoothies available(every day). I travel on other cruises very often and have never found this. The quality of the food was great as well. The food quality is above and beyond other cruise lines that I have sailed on. There was always ample seating
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Not a great deal of activities that I was interested in but I spent a lot of time at the gym which was good. I also participated in the Zumba classes and Tai Chi classes that were available on port days. The dancing on the lido deck on the rare occasion that they had it and the live band, Symphonee was great! The casino is adequate. Half of the slot machines were very old. Many games that I have not seen for years. The payouts were also not great based on the money spent . I did enjoy spending a great deal of time watching movies at the outside theatre and in the cabin which was great! Extensive list of movies available to watch at all times.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
I enjoyed the band, Symphonee(great) and the vocalist, Dana was awesome. The comedian was good.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Room the cabin steward, to room service and everything in between was excellent. They are without a doubt the best staff that I have ever seen on a cruise. Room service was also great and they had a good amount of food available for room service. I used it a lot and they were always quick! Very professional staff.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
As far as cleanliness, the ship was excellent. The common areas were nice, clean and comfortable. It was an older ship but well maintained and there were several lounges that had very comfortable seating, etc.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
I did back to back cruises so the cabins were identical although the view was not. The view on the first room was more obstructed but I was still able to have a decent view. Regarding the 2nd room, although still obstructed, I had a better view. It was nice to be able to see outside, the ports, the weather, etc.
Ship tip
The majority of people on the cruise, appeared to be in their 60’s or higher. Although some passengers were younger, if you are looking for a party type atmosphere, this is not it. Yes, there are fun activities but most are geared to an older crowd with a few exceptions. The cruise is a lot more laid back which is expected as it is a luxury cruise line. My best advice is to pack more modest clothing, leave short shorts and thongs at home.
I did a beach escape to a Mahahual beach. The beach was clean and the weather felt great. Free drinks were watered down. There were some vendors and kids who came around on the beach trying to sell items but once you told them no, there was no pressure. The kids are so cute that make flowers from palm, so do
give them something if you can. Covid hit this area very hard, financially so they are very appreciative that tourists are back. There was a massage hut on the beach, with very decent prices but if you expect a therapeutic type massage, you will probably want to go to a spa. The Mayan Spa in the cruise port is excellent!! Very reasonable prices.
Princess ships dock directly at Mahogany Beach which was free and extremely clean. You can walk to the beach but there is a sky ride that you can purchase that will take you to the beach and back. You do not need to purchase a shore excursion unless there was something specifically that you wanted to do. The water is excellent and Mahogany Beach is one of the best, if not the best, beach that I have gone to. The water is glorious!! It is very clean and calming with no vendors coming around trying to sell you things. You can truly relax and enjoy the beach. They have a good amount of life guards that are constantly watching for anyone that may need help whether it’s needing help getting out of the water or if anyone gets into trouble swimming and need assistance. There are small drop offs in the water so be careful if you are not a good swimmer but once you pass them, the water is shallow again on the other side. Small children should have floats if you want them to venture further out in the water. The water is so clear and relatively calm that it is breathtaking. There are also have life vests that are avail for adults that would like to swim with them. They do have some activities there as well, aqua bikes, some areas for snorkeling, etc. that you can do for a good price. Im addition, there are restaurants, a nature trail and a good amount of stores where you can purchase souvenirs, etc. sometimes there is also live music.
On a previous visit to another beach(Isla Passion) via a boat ride(shore excursion) although it is also a beautiful beach, it was hard to enjoy just reading, drinking, talking, etc. on the beach due to constant vendors that largely, went unchecked and would constantly bombard you if you are not actually in the water. It was so bad, that many of us went into the water to escape them and believe it or not, one kept trying to call out to me while I was in the water to come back so he could sell me something.
I did not purchase a shore excursion but walked by myself out of the port to a small beach that was about a mile to a mile and a half along the the street with a great view of the water that is beautiful.. Although there are numerous vendors, I was able to walk peacefully without being bombarded by vendors. The beach type area that I walked to was to not a typical beach area with a lot of sand, etc. but if you know how to swim, that area was extremely nice and there were several people enjoying the water. I believe that you could walk to another a beach like this that is approximately 3 miles away from the port depending on which port you sail into as Cozumel has 3. 2 of them are very close enough to walk to each one. There are several restaurants, a diving area and massage areas, etc. that you will pass during the walk.
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