Ports of Call: Tahiti, Polynesia; Moorea, Polynesia; Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands; Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands; Rangiroa, Tuamato Islands; Raiatea, Polynesia; Bora Bora, Polynesia

Embarkation:

We arrived at the ship about 10:45 AM on Monday. The Princess embarkation crew was just setting up the stations under the tented area where you register before boarding the ship. There was some confusion as to whether you should stand in the roped off section or wait at one of the stations. People were told to do both; and since it wasn’t marked, it did cause a problem as more people started arriving to check in. In all fairness to Princess, we were early; but a few directional signs would certainly help. Once they started checking people in at around 11:15 AM, it went very quickly.

Ship:

The Tahitian Princess is the smallest cruise ship we have been on. It was built in 1999, is only 30,000 tons and holds 680 passengers. It was the Renaissance R3 prior to Princess buying it; and is beautifully appointed in dark woods. Many of the public rooms make you feel like you are on someone’s large personal yacht. It is very easy to get around the ship. Since it is only 594 ft. long, it doesn’t take much time to walk from one end to the other. Additionally, since the main public areas are on decks 5 and 9, you can quickly get to them on the stairs or with the always available elevators. An interesting thing we quickly realized was that since both of the elevators open toward the front of the ship, you always turn the same way to get to your hallway, rather than having to stop and think about it. You still need to know if you are in the front or back elevator to know which way to turn once you got in the hallway, but there’s a diagram right there to help you.

Cabin:

Our Mini-Suite, Cabin 8021, was on the starboard side of the ship a few cabins forward of mid-ship. This was our first mini and what a pleasure it was. I couldn’t believe how big this cabin was. The main room was 12.5’ wide and 14.5’ deep. The bathroom had a full bathtub and plenty of room to move around in, really unusual in a ship cabin. Another benefit of the mini is that unlike the standard balcony cabins, it had a refrigerator; and robes were provided without asking. We did ask the steward to bring us a lounge chair for the balcony since there was plenty of room for one. He happily obliged, and I got to spend a lot of quality time looking at the ocean and the beautiful islands of French Polynesia while relaxing in the lounger.

Food:

We ate most of our meals in the main dining room when we could. We had outstanding tablemates at the main dinner seating. We had been very lucky on past cruises in finding good tablemates, but on this cruise we hit the jackpot. They were all such a pleasure, and we just hated having to say goodbye when the cruise ended.
We found the dining room food to be much better than the buffet. It was presented nicely and they had an excellent variety. The meat dishes were very good, and those who ate the fish raved about it. We always enjoy the cold soups; and on the Tahitian Princess they were outstanding with one exception. The Chilled Cream of Zucchini and Pear Soup was horrible! Desserts, especially the soufflés and ice creams were very good. Too good! One just wasn’t enough.

Entertainment:

Surprisingly, the evening entertainment was very good. We only missed one night’s entertainment, but it was the same singer we had seen earlier on the cruise. They had four production shows for the ten night cruise, two of them on consecutive nights. I think this qualifies in some countries as “dancer abuse”. They really worked hard. They were an excellent group and this was their first time together on the ship. This cruise only had two singers in the production cast. The rest of the voices were pre-recorded. This is one of the things I didn’t like about the one Carnival cruise we went on.

The male singer, Cameron Mannix was very good. I think the female singer must have been having some medical problems because she did have difficulty hitting the notes in the first three shows. I think she might have been lip synching in the last show, but I don’t know that for a fact. Due to the small stage on the Tahitian Princess, they were limited in the shows they could do; but for the most part, they were quite enjoyable.

We were very lucky to have an outstanding comedian named Elliot Maxx. He kept the house laughing most of the night. Fortunately he did shows on two different nights. It was such a pleasure to have a comedian with an original style, rather than some of the has-beens that tell the same old jokes. I also liked the fact that he didn’t resort to today’s common practice of negativism and cutting others down. If you see his name in a future Patter, don’t miss him.

Ports:

Everywhere we went on this cruise the people were so friendly and nice to the tourists. They were helpful and courteous. I had read that the French Polynesian people were a pleasure to be with, and I was happy to find that everything I had heard was true. One thing that was nice is that drivers are required to stop when you approach any of the cross walks. In most places around the world, drivers would try to get through the cross walk before you walked into it. In French Polynesia, they stop if they think you are going to cross the street.

If you are planning on taking a Princess excursion, you absolutely have to book it in advance online if you want any of the good ones. The day we boarded the ship we checked out the excursion list and about 80% of the excursions were sold out before anyone had even come on board. Those folks that didn’t use the internet or hadn’t booked any tours in advance were not very happy. If they had been reading the Cruise Critic board, they would have known they had to pre-book. Fortunately on most of the islands, other than the Marquesas, there are reasonably priced tour guides at the pier or tender docks to provide tourists with tours.


Papeete, Tahiti, Polynesia-

The island of Tahiti is quite beautiful with many high lush green mountains. The city of Papeete is a fairly congested small city with very few attractive structures.

The Marche (the large city market) is an interesting place with the best prices around for souvenirs. Many of the items for sale were of lower quality than you could find on some of the other islands, but since they were a lot cheaper it probably balanced out. I visited a few times for different things, but I couldn’t stay there too long because it was just too hot and humid in the non-air conditioned building. One of the best items was the bouquets of lovely tropical flowers that came in $10, $15 and $20 sizes. You could see lots of folks bringing them back to the ship. Unlike the Caribbean, there was very little bargaining in the stores; but there also was no badgering or begging by the vendors. It made shopping and walking around town much more enjoyable.

Moorea, Polynesia-

On Sunday we took the ferry over to Moorea and went on Albert’s Moana Lagoon Tour (http://www.albert-transport.net/p1_gb.asp). The ferry took a half hour and was a very comfortable and fast vessel. If you buy a round trip ticket in Papeete, you can avoid the long lines at the ticket counter in Moorea. It is a great way to visit Moorea for the day, but since the last trip back to Tahiti is normally 4:10, you need to keep an eye on your watch if you are on your own. Since almost everything is closed on Sunday, this six hour motu picnic worked out great.

Our guide, Siki, was quite a character. He kept us entertained all day. Our first stop was to feed the sharks. Since I am a scuba diver, swimming with sharks doesn’t concern me too much; but Carol can’t even watch sharks on TV. To my surprise, she got into the water with the black tip reef sharks swimming all around us to get to the fish. She told me later that she had decided that life is too short to miss out on extraordinary adventures just because you are scared. She also said that once is enough!

We were holding onto a rope, but the water was very rough and the sharks were really in a frenzy for the food. I had not expected there to be so many sharks. It was quite invigorating.

Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands -

Princess only does the Marquesas itinerary eight times a year. With these islands being more primitive and unspoiled, they make for an adventure that very few people will ever experience. Nuku Hiva is the largest island in the Marquesas, and was the site of the fourth season of the reality TV show Survivor. As we sailed into Taiohae Bay, it was obvious that this was an incredibly beautiful untouched island, and that this would be a remarkable day.

Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands -

Other than the possibility of having 10 days of solid rain, my biggest concern during the months prior to this cruise was that we would not be able to tender into Hiva Oa. Unpredictable accessibility had caused the previous five cruises to skip this port, so as we sailed into Traitor’s Bay, I was thrilled that the waters seemed to be fairly smooth. When we got down to the ship’s tender embarkation area, there was a long line. Apparently what appeared to be mild seas, was a bit rougher than I first thought. They needed to get clearance that all was well for tendering. At last we were allowed to get onto the tender, but we were warned to be careful about sudden movement.

Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands -

After spending Sunday at sea, we arrived at the beautiful atoll of Rangiroa. An atoll is the coral reef that is left after an island sinks into the ocean. Rangiroa is the second largest atoll in the world after one in the Marshall Islands.
To our delight it was a beautiful sunny day, which is exactly what you want when you are diving or doing any of the water activities that are so popular here. Rangiroa is one of the best dive sites in the world, particularly the Tiputa Pass dive; which I had booked for this morning.

Princess uses the Six Passengers Dive Shop for the excursion. They use Zodiac boats rather than the traditional dive boats. I was apprehensive about diving from them because I didn’t know if I could pull my large body into the Zodiac after the dive. I had been reassured on other bulletin boards that it wasn’t a big deal and that folks that were fatter and in worse physical shape than me had no problems with it.

Raiatea, Polynesia -

The cruise past Tahaa on the way to Raiatea started at 9:00 AM on Tuesday. Lucky again, it was sunny. We were able to see Tahaa on the port side with Bora Bora in the distance on the starboard. Quite impressive. We got very close to Tahaa, making the cruise by it more like a circle island tour.

Bora Bora, Polynesia -

It was Wednesday morning, the last full day of the cruise. As we approached Bora Bora, the beauty of this relatively small island became quite apparent. The sun lit up the turquoise lagoons all around it displaying the different shades of the water. We had lucked out again with another sunny day. The ship had to navigate the Teavanui narrows to get into the lovely lagoon. We passed by the Radisson Paul Gauguin that was also in port. Fortunately the Tahitian Princess had an anchorage that was much closer to the tender pier, so it was a relatively short tender in.

Disembarkation:

The disembarkation process for the Tahitian Princess is quite different than on other cruises. Since most of the flights out of FAAA airport are late at night, Princess lets the departing passengers stay on the ship till they have to go to the airport. Since you can get on and off the ship; as well as eat all of your meals on board, it made the cruise seem like 11 days instead of just 10.

As with all cruises we have been on, we had to put all of our large baggage out in the hallway to be picked up the night before. We were able to check our carry on bags at the Sterling Steakhouse during the time we were waiting for our flight. This was very convenient, since you weren’t burdened with your luggage while you went shopping, took a tour or just lazed around the pool.

We had decided to take a taxi to the airport rather than use the Princess transfers. I had read that it would be much easier if you weren’t in the crowds from the Princess buses. I now understand what they meant. If you have transfers, your luggage is taken to FAAA in the morning to be picked up when your transfer bus arrives later that night. Reclaiming your bags involved a long line that seemed to be very slow. If you arranged your own transportation, your luggage was kept under the tent next to the ship where you checked in; and you picked it up before you went to the airport. Since most people had either had their luggage taken to a hotel for a post cruise stay or were on Princess transfers, it was very easy to find our luggage and get one of the many cabs that were waiting for fares. One of the pleasant surprises was that most of the cabs were small vans and had plenty of room for luggage. It was also cheaper to take the cab rather than the Princess Transfers, 2000 CFP or about $22 rather than the $25 per person that Princess charges.

Day One – fly out of PVD through EWR to SJU fairly uneventful arriving only 1.5 hours late. No big deal. We got our luggage and grabbed a cab to the cruise terminal. The terminal we were at was different than the previous time and we were only 2-3 blocks from Old San Juan. We dropped the luggage off with the porters at the entrance of the terminal and headed into Old San Juan. I had just been there in June, but my husband, Jim, had never been, so I gave him a quick tour of the sites. Stopped into The Cigar House for (duh) cigars, the Super Mart for a couple of six packs of Diet Coke and some snacks for the room and headed over to the ship. Picked up a bottle of Capt. Morgan and Mount Gay for the room in the Duty Free shop before checking in. The guys in the shop wrapped everything up in newspaper and we put them in the bottom of my tote bag I was carrying and we had no trouble getting them up to the room. There were no lines at check in and it went much smoother than I remembered from the last time. Took about 20 minutes total. We were in room R510 (Riveria Deck, midship). Luggage was waiting for us. Met our steward, Pol. Mixed up the first of many cocktails to be had out on the balcony and started our vacation. We choose Anytime Dining, so we could take our time before heading out to dinner. Sorry I can’t remember what we had the first night, but being up at 3:30 a.m. will have the effect on me.

Day Two – this is the at sea day. VERY windy and you can really feel the ship rocking. The Ship’s Log that is distributed at the end of the week indicated that there were Force 7 winds that day. We usually go to the buffet for breakfast – first stop being the coffee station. Even with all the selections, I stuck with my usual scrambled eggs and fruit. My husband loves the smoked salmon and had that every single morning with his eggs. Went back to the room to put on our swimsuits and grab our gear so we could find some lounge chairs before it got too busy. It was beautifully warm, but so windy that the letters kept getting blown off the Scrabble board. That got annoying pretty quickly, so we went back to reading the books we had also brought. Headed up to the gym around 1:00 and worked out and used the treadmills for about two hours. We belong to a gym at home and have a treadmill and we didn’t want to stray too far from our routine. Jogging on the treadmill was a little tricky with the boat rocking so much. Back to the room to sit out on the balcony with a cocktail and a fresh game of Scrabble. First formal night tonight and after we were dressed, decided to walk around the Piazza area and take a look into the shops. All the railings on the staircases were hung with garland and bows and there were decorated and lit Christmas trees on each level. Found the Crooner’s bar and that was instantly our favorite spot and we ended up there every night for the remainder of the week. The bartenders, Bonnie & Christopher, were just the best. By the second visit, they remembered our names, knew how we liked our drinks and were just so entertaining. We had dinner in the DaVinci dining room. Ordered a bottle of LaCrema Pinot Noir as we were both having the filet mignon. Two glasses left in the bottle, so we had it corked and took it back to the room.

Day Three – Barbados. We love Barbados. Last time we were there, we had taken a cab for a half day tour of the island, visited St. James Parish Church, went to Harrison’s Caves and shopped in Bridgetown. Today we wanted a beach. Grabbed a taxi and headed over to Payne’s Bay for the day. Tony, our cab driver, took us to the Blue Monkey Bar & Restaurant and agreed to come back to get us between 2:30 – 3:00. Rented chairs for $10.00 and let the sand gravity take effect. The beach did get a little crowded by noon, but it didn’t bother us. We took a walk down the beach and were rewarded with complete emptiness. Swam and lounged and decided we needed some liquid refreshments, so we headed back to our chairs and got some rum punches from the bar. Jim took out a jet ski for a half-hour or so and then we spent the rest of the time just relaxing in the sun. Tony returned right on time and took us back to the cruise terminal. We’re not big shoppers, but I was very pleased to find that Earthworks now had a shop in the terminal. I love their stuff, but the cost to ship it to the US was crazy. I bought some coffee mugs and a candle holder. I’m happy! Back to the ship and out to the balcony for our afternoon ritual of a cocktail, cigar and Scrabble. Down to Crooner’s and let Bonnie & Christopher mix their potions. Dinner in DaVinci again –Jim had the lamb shank and I had a pasta with red peppers and mussels. Jim is still talking about the lamb shank and how great it was.

Day Four – St. Lucia. We’ve been to St. Lucia on the last cruise and we took an excursion to the Diamond Botanical Garden/Rain Forest, Pitons & the volcano. The Botanical Garden was amazing, but we found nothing else appealing about that island. I had booked a massage for that afternoon with the plan that we would be staying on the ship, but we decided to give it another chance and got off the ship in Castries to walk around and browse the shops. Our opinion hasn’t changed. After about an hour of stepping around and over garbage, the smell becoming too much to stand, I had had enough and we went back to the ship. The day was a bit overcast but still very warm, so we put on our bathing suits and found the Terrace Pool and deck completely empty. Swam in the pool for awhile before it started to sprinkle, so I headed to the spa for the lime & ginger body scrub and full body massage I had an appointment for (heavenly) and Jim went to work out. An hour and half later, I dragged my nearly comatose body out to the Trident Bar to meet Jim, who was waiting for me with a margarita. Just what I needed, like I wasn’t relaxed enough already. Went back to the room for our daily Scrabble game (need to make sure the brain is still functioning with all the alcohol we’re imbibing). Down to see Bonnie & Christopher at Crooners and met another couple, Mike & Carmen from Wisconsin. We sat and chatted with them and decided to go have dinner together. Mike & I had the sea bass and Carmen & Jim had the Alaskan King Crab Legs. Another great meal. Back to Crooners for after dinner drinks before turning in.

Day Five – Antigua. This is another one of our favorite islands. Off the ship and found a cab driver, Louis, and he took us over to Turner’s Beach. Rented chairs & umbrella from the Blue Heron resort for $10.00 and we were good for the day. What a beautiful beach. Swam and napped in the sun. Perfect! Louis picked us up at 3:00 as promised. I wanted to do some shopping. I had bought a beaded bracelet in RastaPastaOneLove on our last trip and it is still one of my favorites. That was my sole destination. I got two more bracelets, a choker and bracelet/earring sets for my two daughters and my son’s girlfriend. We begin our usual evening activities. Ate dinner in the Michelangelo dining room tonight. Jim had a veal chop and I simply cannot remember what I had, so it must not have been that memorable. Back to the room early tonight as we have a big day planned tomorrow.

Day Six – Tortola. The day I’ve been waiting for all week. This is the only island we have not been to and I have been so looking forward to. I have wanted to do a vacation to the BVI, either staying on Tortola or VG, but Jim was hesitant as we had never been there before, what if we didn’t like it, etc. This was going to be the perfect way for me to give him a chance to “test the waters” so to speak. I booked us on a day sail with White Squall II, a TTOL sponsor. I can’t say enough good things about the entire day! Capt. Chris, mate Deb and Jeff (Capt. Chris’ brother) were attentive, friendly and so much fun. We sailed to Norman Island and our first snorkeling stop was Privateer Bay. Simply amazing. I love to snorkel, but Jim can usually take it or leave it. He couldn’t get enough of it. After an hour and half, we headed over to the Bight and Pirates Bight Bar & Restaurant. The men all swam in to shore and the women took the dinghy while Capt. Chris & crew got lunch ready. Browsed in the gift shop and lounged in the sun before heading back for a great lunch. Loved the curried rice salad with the mango chutney so much, I got the recipe and made it for Xmas day dinner buffet. After lunch, we headed over to Soldier’s Bay for some more snorkeling. Back on the boat and we started back. Now that we were done snorkeling, we took Deb up on her offer of rum punch. Got back into the marina by 4:00. Walked around town a little and poked into some of the shops (mostly the ones I recognized the names of from the BVI forum) and headed back to the ship. What a great day! Sat out on the balcony with cocktails while we pulled out of port and my plan had worked – Jim wants to go back and see more of Tortola and the other neighboring islands. Second formal night tonight, so we get cleaned up and decked out again and head down to meet Mike & Carmen at Crooners. Dinner tonight was lobster tail for Jim and beef Wellington for me. We still don’t order dessert – the waiter, Lorenzo, seems genuinely disappointed.

Day Seven – St. Thomas. Been here before and not having any interest in shopping, we decided to sleep in and have breakfast a bit later. After breakfast we were able to find whole decks of empty loungers so we took our pick and settled in for a few hours of reading and the last few hours of sun. A couple of margaritas, some time in the pool and hot tub and we were ready to head back to the room. Need to start packing up some of the dirty clothes and items we don’t need and were able to put out one suitcase before going to dinner. Stop in Crooners for one last round with Bonnie & Christopher. When we get there, Bonnie is working on something that looks like origami with colored paper – it’s a long stem rose which he gives me – what a sweetheart. Even though we know the tips are built in, we gave them each an additional cash tip. They deserved every penny. Dinner tonight in DaVinci again. I had the prime rib and Jim had the beef tournedos – again perfectly done. We appeased Lorenzo tonight and ordered dessert – black cherry sorbet. Back to the room to finish packing up.

Last Day – San Juan. Up and out of the room for 8:00 and down to breakfast. This always the worst part of the trip. Our flight wasn’t until 2:45. Disembarkation wasn’t too painful. We waited in the Explorers Lounge and were off the ship by 9:30. I had the pier to airport transfers so we were to the airport, checked in and through security by 11:00. Still a long wait at the airport, but we had books with us to pass the time. Flight was about 10 minutes late departing. Got into EWR about 6:30 but our flight out of EWR to PVD wasn’t until 8:45. We really weren’t that hungry, but both needed coffee badly. Found the Dunkin’ Donuts and settled down for some more waiting. 8:45 became 9:15, which became 9:30, which became 10:00. We’ve long since finished our books and are trying not to doze off, becoming more aggravated by the minute. We finally board our last leg at 11:00 p.m. only to have to wait on the plane while one of the engines was jumped started!! Pilot came on and apologized for delay and indicated that he had informed the airport about this problem before he landed and they should have been waiting with the part/equipment needed. Finally take off 11:40. Only a 35 minute flight to PVD. Find our luggage, call for our car pick up and we are in our car heading home by 12.50. At that time of night and no traffic, we are able to drive home in 25 minutes.

We've cruised with Princess before. The Crown Princess is a beautiful ship and we were thoroughly pleased with the service and attention we received from all the staff we encountered. We always go with the balcony room (it truly is the only way to go)and Anytime Dining. I think the only complaints we had was one: take St. Lucia off the itinerary and two: there seemed to be more kids than on our previous cruises. Perhaps it was due to Christmas/school vacation. There is a whole area on the ship with two pools and a hot tub for kids and yet we never saw a single child in them.

Let me start by saying that this was my first cruise with Princess and we loved it. It was my fifth cruise overall, 3 with Royal Caribbean and 1 with Regency. My first cruise with Regency was very disappointing and so I decided to give it another try on Royal Caribbean, 8 years later, and now I can’t seem to get enough! It was nice to try Princes and have something else to compare my Royal Caribbean cruises with. Comparing the two I would have to say that Princess was far superior in every way except for the design of their ships but I will go into the comparisons later. This cruise included myself (age 33) and my husband (age 36) on the Dawn Princess doing the 7-Day South Caribbean Explorer route. The cruise left from San Juan and the ports of call were Aruba, Caracas, Grenada, Dominica and St. Thomas, visited in that order.

PRE-CRUISE

We had heard many good things about the El San Juan so we decided to take the red-eye flight out and arrived in San Juan around 11:00 AM. Needless to say, check-in wasn’t until 3:00 PM so we had a lot of time to just sit around. Had we known check in was so late we would have chosen a later flight and saved ourselves the hassle. Red-eye flights are no fun and I don’t plan to ever do one again if I can help it. The hotel itself was absolutely beautiful and the woodwork was amazing, it was everything I had been told it would be. The grounds were well kept, as was the hotel. We didn’t spend much time in the casino so I can’t really comment on it other than it was a typical casino. Our room was tastefully decorated with one king size bed and the other usual amenities including an ironing board, iron and blow dryer. It had a nice balcony (unfortunately ours overlooked the parking lot) with a table and two chairs. Since we had been to San Juan before we didn’t do any site seeing and spent all of our time at the hotel. My husband did some shopping along the beach but that was about it. We ate in one of their casual restaurants for lunch and enjoyed the food. For dinner we ordered room service and were shocked at the prices so we decided on the most reasonably priced items, pizza and milk shakes. We chose to go to bed early and get up early. One thing I found rather annoying was we could hear the person in the next room snoring. We couldn’t decide if it was because the walls were poorly insulated and thin or if it might be because of the door joining the two rooms but either way it was rather irritating. We were up and out of the room by 8:00 AM and decided to take a dip in the pool, which was deserted at that time of the morning. It was perfect and allowed us to get some great pictures of the grounds. The beach was also empty except for a few joggers the perfect way to enjoy a little sun with the background noise of the ocean waves. A great start to a great day.

EMBARKATION

Around 1:00 we were taken to the pier for check in. We gave them our passports, already filled out documentation and credit card in exchange for our room key/ship credit card. Everything was very organized and done within 20 minutes of walking into the building. We boarded the ship on deck 4 and were quickly directed to the elevators to take us to our cabin.

OUR CABIN

Our cabin was a category AA, suite with private balcony (B755) on the Baja Deck at the rear of the ship. One of the things I disliked about Princess was the location of their suites. The suite itself was laid out nicely except for the bathroom (I will go into that later). First you have a basic living room area with a couch, two armchairs, coffee table, side table, desk w/ chair, a table with two chairs, TV, refrigerator, and complimentary alcohol. Off to the side is the bedroom area with the standard bed, a walk in closet (very nice), another TV, two bed tables with drawers, dressing table with chair and the bathroom. One thing noticeably missing was a full-length mirror. Now, about the bathroom, maybe it’s just me but the bathroom set up seemed a little odd and inconvenient. The bathroom was split up into two separate rooms but in my opinion it should have been combined to make one very large bathroom. Both sides were small and wouldn’t fit more than one person at a time. On the one side they had the shower, toilet and a small sink with a mirror. On the other side was the tub and another larger sink with a mirror and cabinets. Here is why is why I felt it was awkward. First, the side with the shower had no hooks to hang the Princes bathrobes so you had to cross over to the other side or remember to bring the bath robe in with you when you showered and set it on the toilet which seemed a little unsanitary. There were also no towel racks on the side with the shower, other than a small hand towel rack, so again you had to cross over to the other side while dripping water on the carpet to get a towel or remember to bring one in with you and put it on the toilet before you got into the shower. It seemed like I was always having to cross over to the other side dripping wet and cold to get a towel or bathrobe. Now on to my favorite part of this suite, which was a very spacious balcony. The balcony had two lounge chairs and a small side table on one side and on the other side of the balcony was an eating table with four chairs. We spent a lot of time on the balcony just lounging or eating a meal. Since the sealing of the balcony was slightly slanted it allowed enough sunlight to actually layout on the balcony and get some sun rather than fight for a chair by the pool and I took full advantage of this opportunity.

So far we have been lucky and never had a bad cabin steward. Our cabin steward, Victor, was from Mexico and was very good at his job. We always came back from breakfast to a straightened and cleaned room and in the evening we always came back from dinner to a cleaned cabin with dimmed lights, a turned down bed and chocolates on the pillow.

THE SHIP

Compared to the Royal Caribbean ships I have been on I found the Dawn Princess difficult to navigate at times. I will try not to do too much of a comparison at this point and only provide a description of the ship. You first arrive on the ship on the fourth deck in the Atrium, which covers deck four to deck six. It was beautifully decorated and nicely laid out. If relaxing is what you desire, in the evening there are a lot of quiet and non-crowded areas here to do just that. I found that the piano playing accompanied with a drink was extremely relaxing and quieting after a busy day of touring an island.

One place my husband spent a lot of time was the Casino. I found the casino to be less glitzy than Las Vegas but a casino just the same. He did all right the first few days but the last couple of days of our cruise he made up for all of his winnings. He stuck with the tables most of the time but also ventured over to the roulette wheel and did pretty good there. I don’t particularly care for gambling so after winning about $40 on the slot machines I decided to take my winnings and call it quits.

The pools were very nice and not busy at all except for the one day at sea which was to be expected. We didn’t spend much time at the pools but did use the hot tubs on a couple of occasions after dinner. It was quite nice since there were very few people around and absolutely no one in the tubs. We used the hot tubs in the Oasis Spa area and enjoyed it immensely. It’s a very small area off the back of the ship and because of this it is quite secluded. This is also where the exercise room is but as always we never even stepped foot in here. We always say we are going to get some exercise but we always find ourselves much too busy to do anything that might be healthy for us.

DINING OPTIONS

I’ll start with the service we used the least and that was room service. We used room service on 4 occasions, three times for breakfast and once for a late night snack. I preferred the Horizon Court for breakfast but the three times we used room service it came hot and tasted fine. It was especially nice to be able to have breakfast out on the balcony and watch as the ship pulled into port.

The Horizon Court was a very nice surprise. I wasn’t expecting as much of a variety of choices and quality of food as what we received. We had breakfast here whenever possible and enjoyed it immensely. They had all of the usual breakfast stuff plus something that I’ve never heard of before called English bacon. Along with the scrambled eggs they also had cooked eggs (hard or soft/over medium), something that was only available from the dinning room on previous cruises. They always had a great selection of breads, muffins, Danishes, and fruits. I never eat more than a bowl of cereal for breakfast at home but I over indulge when I’m on a cruise and have a high fat breakfast every morning. We ate lunch in the Horizon Court everyday and never disliked anything we tried. Again, they had a huge selection of food and we always left very satisfied and full. The other surprise was the afternoon snacks they offered here. It wasn’t just small sandwiches and a few deserts but more like another full lunch. They always had a few hot dishes available along with the usual finger sandwiches, full salad and fruit bar and best of all, sandwiches made to order. They had several sandwich meats, cheeses and toppings to choose from. All you had to do was tell the gentleman what you wanted and he would make up a full size sandwich for you. It was great when we missed lunch a couple of times because of returning to the ship too late and were still able to have a very satisfying late lunch (or snack according to the schedule). On two occasions we ate here late in the evening (about 2:00 AM) and we were surprised to see a complete buffet. There was only one other couple in here so it was very quiet and a nice touch after a little gambling and a few drinks. I realize this is the worse possible time you can eat, but it was great. Maybe it was just because of the alcohol but we felt it was some of the best food we had on the whole trip. Over all, we enjoyed eating in the Horizon Court and found the food to be above average when compared to buffet style food. When they say they are open 24 hours a day, they mean they are open with a full selection of food.

Now on to the dining room. We were assigned to a table for two in the Florentine dining room. I really liked having the two separate dining rooms rather than one very large dining room. It provided a much more intimate feeling. Our waiter, Petre, and assistant waiter, Lee, were both from Romania and were fantastic. There weren’t real talkative but they did their jobs with efficiency and professionalism. There was never a time when our water glasses weren’t full and he was always there if we needed anything. The headwaiter was nice enough but seemed to be more of an annoyance than anything. We found the food selection to be quite varied and everything we order we enjoyed very much. For the first time I tried the lobster and really enjoyed it, which I didn’t really think I would since I don’t like fish. Of course the Baked Alaska, Cherries Jubilee, Tiramisu, and Bananas Flambé were some of the highlights of the dining room selections (at least that’s according to a dessert lover like me). My husband found the sauces served with the different steaks to be out of this world but then he’s use to my burnt food so he was in heaven. I can’t say enough good things about the quality of service and food in the dining room and would have to vote it best over all.

ARUBA

Aruba was the first island we visited on this cruise and I can’t say that I was very impressed. My viewpoint may be somewhat inaccurate because I didn’t see anything except for the shopping area. My husband tried the Discover Scuba tour offered by Princess and felt that for the amount of time spent learning the basics compared to the amount of time actually exploring underwater didn’t really make it worth while. He didn’t feel he saw much in the way of sea life and had too little time in the water. As for the shopping, there seemed to be a lot of name brand stores and a few street vendors with small trinkets and T-shirts.

CARACAS

Before the trip I didn’t really understand that the ship actually docks in La Guaria and it’s another 45 minute drive to get to Caracas. We hadn’t originally booked any shore excursions through the ship because we thought we would just get off the ship and take our own taxi into Caracas but after reading the warning letter from the cruise line and hearing the warnings on the TV we decided to go ahead and book an excursion. The warning was quite blunt and simply said that La Guaria was an extremely dangerous place to venture into and should not be done. We decided on the all day tour, “Caracas City Tour and Murano Glass Factory”. We were probably the youngest couple on the bus by at least 20 years. Our first stop was the Murano Glass factory where we made a 30 minutes stop. I hadn’t planned on buying anything here but ended up buying a glass bowl. The viewing area where we were able to see some of the items being made was fairly small and designed specifically for viewers. Next we were off to the Heroes’ Boulevard for a short 10-minute visit, then a 20-minute visit to the Pantheon. The paintings inside the building were very beautiful but not a lot to see other than the paintings. Next in line was the Colonial Museum, which I found to be the most interesting part of this tour. I really enjoy touring old century homes like this and try imagine what it must have been like to live the way they did. What probably seemed like luxury conditions to them seem almost unbearable to me. This was our last stop of the day and we headed back to La Guaria to board the ship. This wasn’t one of my favorite ports and maybe that was because we spent too much time on the bus and with all of the stops it seemed like we were constantly boarding and unboarding. Caracas seemed very dirty to me and La Guaria was even worse. Looking at what they called a home I realized how lucky I really am to live in the US.

GRENADA

I really enjoyed Grenada and think it was because the people were so nice. It was completely opposite of what I experienced in Jamaica. In Grenada when a street vendor would ask if you wanted to buy something and you declined they would politely say, “OK if you change your mind I will be around”. In Jamaica I was confronted with aggressiveness and then rudeness when I didn’t want to purchase something they were offering. The approach by the people in Grenada was much more polite and therefore made me want to buy more of their items, which I did. I’m not saying they aren’t at all aggressive in Grenada but it’s a totally different attitude than in Jamaica. The island itself was absolutely beautiful. I chose the “Scenic Mountain Drive, Annandale Falls and Fort Frederick” tour. There was still a lot of driving on this tour but the scenery was so beautiful that I didn’t mind. Our first stop was Fort Frederick where we were able to have a beautiful view of the harbor with the Dawn Princess off in the distance. Next we stopped at a nutmeg factory where we toured the working plant to see how they processed nutmeg. I don’t know if the people working here were actual workers or if it was all staged just for the tourist. I suspect it was staged just for us because as were walked up to the working areas the people would stop visiting and start working and then as soon as all the people would leave the area the workers would stop and continue with their conversations. If it wasn’t staged then I would have to say that the conditions they work under are very primitive and must be back breaking work. Our next stop was Grand Etang Lake. It was nice to get out of the car and walk around for a short time with such lovely surroundings. I only wish we had more time to sit and take in all the beauty but that’s the way it is when you are trying to pack so much into such a short amount of time. Our final stop was Annandale Falls and it was a bit disappointing to me but still a nice site. Something I found amusing was that everyone on this stop wanted a buck for two for their service. For instance, there were ladies dressed in tropical island attire with very large fruit baskets displayed on top of their heads but if you wanted to take a picture of them you had to give them a dollar. Then there was a guy walking around with a monkey and he would put the monkey on your shoulder for a picture if you would give him two bucks. Then when we got to the falls there were locals jumping of the falls and they were asking for money to take the jump while you took a picture. One guy even suggested that I give him $20 to try and make up for the people who don’t pay for taking pictures but I didn’t buy into that one. I didn’t mind giving them a couple of bucks (what’s a couple of bucks to me but to them it means a lot) but I there was no way I was going to give them $20. After this we reboarded the van and returned to the ship. This tour was another tour with a lot of driving but I felt it was worth it.

DOMINICA

Here we hired a taxi to take us to Trafalgar Falls. Dominica is another very beautiful island with a lot of lush green foliage. The drive up was on a very narrow and windy road but another pretty scenic drive. Once there we hiked the short distance to get to the falls, snapped a few pictures and then returned. Although the brochure mentioned the paths to the falls were rustic I was able to do it just fine in my flimsy sandals with no problems at all. If your walking is a little unstable to begin with then you may want to choose more stable shoes but as if for me I wear as little as possible on my feet. I was disappointed that the only way to view the falls is from a very small platform and quite a distance from the falls themselves. I would have liked to get close but that wasn’t possible. I should also mention that this was another place where local people were asking for money to perform an unnecessary service. They would ask people for two bucks to take their picture with their own cameras but rather than do that the couple in front of us asked if we would take their picture and they in turn would take ours for us. I would love to have the opportunity spend more time in Dominica and would visit this island again if ever given the opportunity.

ST THOMAS

I think St. Thomas has to be my favorite island but to others I’m sure it is their least favorite. I guess it just depends on what you like. I like St. Thomas because it is clean, prices are pretty much set and it’s very Americanized although my reasons for liking this island are exactly the reasons others would hate this island. That said, our first adventure was on a helicopter. I had never been on a helicopter so I was a little reluctant but my husband had been before and couldn’t wait to do it again. It was a perfect way to see the entire island along with surrounding areas including St. John. The helicopter accommodated four people, one on the front and three in the back. My husband sat in the front while I was in the back (a much preferred seat for me). I was amazed at how low the helicopter got at times but it made for a lot of very nice pictures and a great shot of the ships docked in the harbor. If you are at all afraid of heights you definitely don’t want to do this tour. After that I chose to be dropped off down town for some shopping while my husband returned to the ship for Captain Nautica’s Snorkel tour or according to the brochure the “New Waves Expedition Snorkeling”. My husband raved about this tour, which means it must have been very good since he never raves about anything. He said it was the best snorkeling tour he had ever taken and he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. According to my husband the snorkeling was more advanced than any of the other tours and it was a much smaller group of people allowing for more time in the water and more personalized service. Well worth the money in his opinion.

LIKES AND DISLIKES

First I will list my dislikes about this cruise. This isn’t necessarily a dislike but and advantage that I really enjoy with Royal Caribbean and that’s being able to check in for your cruise at the hotel rather than having to do it at the pier. It saves some time and seems less of a hassle.

I already mentioned how much I hated the bathroom set up in our suite so I will move on. Something very minor but a little annoying was the absence of any Kleenex in our cabin.

I feel the suites on the Dawn Princess are in a terrible location. They are located on the very end of the ship rather than in a more localized area as they are on Royal Caribbean Ships. I really didn’t like the way this ship was designed in general. I’ve been told it was designed this way in order to break up the ship more so that passengers didn’t feel like they were on a ship but I found it to be inefficient. The elevator locations were very badly placed and didn’t make much sense. There were also areas of the ship which you couldn’t get to without going up one level and then back down another level rather than just having a straight line there. The area I am talking about is the lookout area at the front of the ship right in front of the Horizon Court. In order to get out there you had to go up one deck to the Sun Deck and then walk down the forward stairs to the deck area. On the Royal Caribbean ships it seemed to me that you could always walk from one end of the ship to the other on every deck.

Another thing I didn’t like was having to have our luggage out by 10:00 PM. This is way too early for us and if you have the late dinner seating you have to be completely packed before you go to dinner and then rush back from dinner in order to pack the clothes you had just worn so you could get your luggage out in time. I also didn’t like this because it didn’t leave you any time to walk around the ship one last time unless you wanted to wear the same clothes you would be wearing the next day.

Now for the things I liked better about Princess. For starters I like the fact that your room key is also your charge card rather than on Royal Caribbean where they give you both a room key and a separate charge card. It just makes it more convenient to have one card rather than two.

I really enjoyed the Horizon court and preferred their food over the Windjammer food on Royal Caribbean. The food in the Horizon court was excellent and sometimes better than what was offered in the dinning room, not to say I didn’t like the food in the dinning room either because we did. The food in the dining room was also excellent and the service was far superior to the service on Royal Caribbean. I had been told the service on Princess was better than Royal Caribbean and now I can say I agree. I also like the fact that Princess served breakfast in the Horizon Court until 11:30. We are late risers and it always seemed like we were getting up earlier than we really wanted to in order to get breakfast but on Princess we always seemed to have plenty of time and were able to relax and enjoy our late breakfast. It was also nice to always have the Horizon Court open rather than on Royal Caribbean ships where the Windjammer is only open during certain times of the day. You could always go to the Horizon Court and get a meal regardless of what time of day it was but on Royal Caribbean if you didn’t make it during the specified dining times you were limited to room service or Pizza, Hot Dogs or Hamburgers in the Solarium not giving you much selection.

I really enjoyed the set up of the dining rooms. Rather than having one very large dining room you had two completely separate dining rooms on two different floors. I don’t particularly like sitting in a large dining room where people can look down from an upper floor while you are eating. The dining rooms on the Dawn Princess seem more intimate. La Scala Pizzeria was wonderful and another great option for a meal. Royal Caribbean has nothing like this and it’s too bad.

Another plus for Princess was the absence of the dining room antics performed by the waiters. I really liked not having my meal interrupted by dancing or singing waiters but then I’m a very private kind of person when it comes to meal time. Princess also has real Baked Alaska and Cherries Jubilee in the dining room. On Royal Caribbean they have discontinued this ritual because of fire hazards. They still offer the desserts but they are not prepared in the traditional way.

FAVORITE ISLANDS

My favorite islands on this cruise were St. Thomas, Dominica and Grenada in that order and my least favorite would have to be Caracas and Aruba. I would most definitely visit St. Thomas, Dominica and Grenada again but I have absolutely no desire to ever see Caracas or Aruba again.

OVERALL OPINION

It’s really hard for me to say which cruise line I now prefer, Royal Caribbean or Princess, because there were pros and cons to both. I like Royal Caribbean’s ships and the cabins on their ships much better than Princess but I found the service and food on Princess far superior to Royal Caribbean. If asked which cruise line I would prefer to go with I would have to say I don’t prefer one over the other at this point.

I am not sure if there is enough space to tell about our awful experience on this cruise. We were told by a couple of people that this was a great ship and we would have fun. Obviously these people took this cruise before they changed their policy to be as unaccomodating as humanly possible.

The only great staff were the room stewards. I would say 90% of the crew were rude and so not interested in making this an enjoyable trip. The front desk people(or whatever they are called), were so bothered by all questions, it was amazing. Their answers were short and abrupt. Don't expect that they will go the extra step to give detail. The casino people were the most unfriendly we have encountered to date. They were snappy to the people at the table. There is a way to tell someone something without it coming out mean. And worst of all were the dining staff. At the buffet, nobody stopped to clear plates and forget about getting a drink. When we were fortunate enough to catch someones attention, they would roll their eyes, say it wasn't their job but they would get someone, or just mumble a reply. Half the time we would get the wrong drink. When we went to a dining room, the wait staff got frustrated with any questions. They wanted to take the order, serve the food and get you out as fast as possible. There was no enjoyment to be had. Forget it if you had special requests or needed refills of something. I couldn't get chicken fingers for my young son unless we were in the main dining room. Even if they didn't serve them in room service, get them to make us happy. We heard "no" way too many times. In customer service you do what you have to to make people happy, so I thought.

Room service was another treat. We called at night for dessert and after an hour of waiting I called to cancel. At which point they abruptly told me that it was on its way... It never came. When cruising, you leave a gratuity based on what the ship has figured is fair compensation for services rendered. We tipped less than was suggested and specifically wrote how we wanted it devided, with the majority going to the stewards. It was not done as we wrote. They still put it into a pool, to be divided as Princess saw fit.

I wrote a lengthy letter to the cruise line to tell them that I wanted our gratuities refunded (other than those of the stewards), as tipping is based on service provided. Since we got really bad service, why reward bad behavior. We got a letter back saying our request is denied, sorry you had a bad time and we look forward to your next cruise with Princess. At the very least they should have honored our wishes and given us back the gratuities for the really bad servers, not to mention an incentive to entice us back. We got nothing!

The shows were fair and Princess Cay was Awful-don't bother getting off the ship. The water was rocky, the beach was filthy with trash, and the chairs were lousy.
Needless to say, We do not recommend Princess and will spread the word as much as we can. We were not alone with our opinion of this cruise. Every day we heard the same comments from several people. This was not our first cruise, but it will be our last with Princess.

Positives- there were a couple. I got to spend a week with my family, some of the staff was nice. The other two islands were very nice. When you go to St Thomas, there are tour buses lined up. Look for the one that is painted like SpiderMan. The driver was great and we went to Saphire beach and it was beautiful. It was $25 each and our son was free.

Heed our warning, Princess does not care about your satisfaction. Just your money. By the way, everything is extra on this ship, even ice cream. The horrific service is what gives the ship the 1 rating. If you want more info feel free to contact me via email -tissner@yahoo.com

My son took us on a cruise for his wedding. He was married by the captain at sea. The wedding was beautiful, but quick. Dining was awesome. Everything about the cruise was wonderful, except maybe the small rooms. We had the most wonderful time at all of the excursions. I would definitely go again.

Background Information
This was my second cruise, also my second with Princess. The first was on the Sapphire Princess (the Diamond’s sister ship) to Alaska in June 2004. Our cabin was occupied by three – myself (23), my mother (52), and my best girlfriend (24). This was the first cruise for both my mom and my friend. This was also our first time visiting any of the Mexican ports, as well as Los Angeles. So, it would be a trip of adventures – a girls’ week away from school, work, and everyday obligations!

Pre-Cruise/Embarkation/Day 1
Living in Oklahoma doesn’t afford many opportunities for reasonably-priced airfare, so we usually fly out of the Dallas/Fort Worth airport. This time proved to be the same, and we made reservations on America West from Dallas to Long Beach, with a connection in Phoenix. I bought our plane tickets over six months in advance – and at the time, this particular America West itinerary was the cheapest for our trip. However, three months later, when Audra (my friend) decided to join us for the cruise, she was able to get a direct flight from DFW-Long Beach on American Airlines for almost half of what we paid. Oh well, perhaps I will wait until closer to the date next time!

So, our adventure begins. On the night of March 11, we had a hotel reservation at the Best Western Irving Inn & Suites near the airport. My husband and I had actually stayed at the same hotel prior to flying away for our Alaska honeymoon cruise several months prior. They offer free round-trip airport shuttle, continental breakfast, and free parking for up to 14 days. It’s not the most luxurious, but it is clean and certainly adequate for our needs. Our original plan was to be in Dallas by 5:00 p.m., then spend the rest of the evening getting pampered at a nearby spa. Unfortunately, the best-laid plans never seem to work out – due to interstate construction, we were delayed over three hours getting to Dallas, so we ended up going to a CVS drugstore for a “do-it-yourself” pedicure kit then on to the hotel. Audra actually lives in the Irving area, so she met us at the hotel later that night. We had an enjoyable evening chatting and painting nails, but we were so excited about the next day’s trip it was almost impossible to sleep!

We awoke very early the next morning, and caught the first airport shuttle. They dropped Audra off at the American terminal, and off we were to the America West terminal. I had checked us in for our flight online the day before, but apparently that was a bad idea. We had a deplorable amount of heavy luggage, and I was looking forward to dropping them off curbside and being rid of them. Well, either the curbside guys don’t know how to handle an online check-in, or the online thing somehow messes up their system. In other words, we had to haul all of our bags upstairs to the regular check-in. Since most of the airlines have gone to computer kiosks to print boarding passes, there was only one actual human agent working the counter, and it took forever for our turn to be helped. Even the agent seemed a little confused by the online check-in process, so next time I think I’ll just go the traditional route. We finally got our bags checked and made our way through security. We found our gate, grabbed some Starbucks to keep us awake, and sat down for the wait. I talked to Audra on my cell phone and confirmed her flight was indeed leaving on time. Since she was flying direct, she would have almost two hours to wait for us once she arrived in Long Beach. Little did she know how boring that would be! Our flight took off without incident, but when we arrived in Phoenix, there was apparently a “traffic jam” of sorts, and we had to wait on the tarmac for nearly an hour before we were allowed to pull up at the gate. I was starting to get nervous about making our connection, but we found our connecting gate just as they were calling the first group to board. Whew! Our flight to Long Beach was short and sweet, but one thing to note about America West is that all of our flights were oversold by 5-10 seats, and they had to end up bumping several passengers off each flight involuntarily. Also, it seemed the compensation for volunteering your seat was rather meager compared to what other airlines tend to offer. (This was probably the reason no one volunteered!)

Arriving at the Long Beach airport was such a pleasant surprise. It’s so small and quaint - such a change from the hustle and bustle of DFW or LAX. Unfortunately for Audra, there was nothing for her to do but sit and read a magazine while she waited. She was ready for lunch by the time she arrived, but sadly, the airport diner was not operating on Texas time, and it was still breakfast in California. Luckily, though, we were able to find each other immediately after we landed and we were ready to get moving. I had pre-arranged a shuttle service with Xpress Shuttle (www.xpressshuttle.com) to take us to the pier in San Pedro. I was quoted $42 total for the 3 of us in “Business Class” transportation, which according to their website, meant we’d be driven in a Honda Element or a Hummer H2. I was instructed to call their dispatcher upon our arrival in Long Beach, which I did. She instructed us to go across the street and look for a yellow van. We easily found our driver, but I was sad to see that we would be driven in a regular old passenger van. Luckily, the van service cost more than the business class, so I had no room to complain. A note of caution about this service: On the website, they are known as Xpress Shuttle, but their vans are labeled as LA Express Shuttle. That was a bit confusing, but since they were the only yellow van in the waiting area, it wasn’t too difficult to figure out. It took about 25 minutes to get to San Pedro, and if you’re not used to Southern California traffic, it’s quite a trip! I had reserved the shuttle service with my credit card online, and though the website states you can pay the driver with cash, our driver had my credit card receipt already charged and ready to sign. Oh well, that just made it less of a hassle for us to try and make change…more cash for shopping in Mexico, right?

When we arrived at the cruise terminal in San Pedro, I was very surprised to see the Diamond was the only ship in port. There were a few of the previous week’s passengers still disembarking, but overall, it wasn’t very crowded. A porter took our bags for us, and then we were instructed to fill out the “Have you been sick?” form before we were allowed to enter the building. We handed in those forms, showed our cruise docs, and went inside. Another set of Princess reps was waiting for us at the bottom of the escalator to hand out boarding passes. We then went upstairs and were directed to the Caribe deck check-in line. It moved very quickly – we were handed our cruise cards and scouted out some floor space to park in while we waited to be called for embarkation. We were the 10th group called, and it probably took about 30-45 minutes after the first group was called. The actual embarkation process was very easy – one security scan, show the cruise card a few times, and get your picture made – that was it.

Once on the ship, everything felt so familiar (okay, identical) since I had been on the Sapphire last June. The one thing I did miss was having Princess employees operating the elevators and escorting passengers to their hallways. In Alaska, this really prevented a lot of confused people and traffic jams. Unfortunately for us, people were pushing and shoving for elevators and generally quite confused. We found our cabin, C747, a category BB balcony, to be quite perfect for the week. I chose this specific cabin for two reasons – 1) it was on Caribe deck, so the balcony was larger than those on Baja and Aloha, and 2) C747 is the last starboard-side cabin – so there’s a little “extra” balcony portion that extends towards the aft. All in all, we had a HUGE balcony – we never felt crowded at all.

As soon as we entered our room, we discovered that our luggage had already been delivered – talk about prompt service! We also discovered that my favorite aunt (my mom’s sister) had sent us a beautiful flower arrangement and a voucher for a bottle of wine. Our lovely room steward, Ara, came to introduce herself and to tell us a little about the ship. She was so kind and efficient – we were definitely spoiled by her services! I was sort of afraid that we’d be crowded in a regular balcony cabin with three people. I ended up being pleasantly surprised – this wasn’t the case at all, especially after we got our suitcases put away. Another note – since I was a gold Captain’s Club member, we were left a nice “welcome back” note and some cookies in the cabin. (I don’t know if all cabins got the cookies or not, but they were a nice touch!) After getting settled, we decided the first order of business was to take the handy pocket guide of the ship and set off on a tour. I, of course, played “tour guide” since I was familiar with the deck plans. Naturally, one of the first stops was the Horizon Court for a delicious buffet lunch. Princess has definitely stepped up their buffet offerings since my last cruise – everything was very tasty and all was served at the correct temperature. After a late lunch, it was time for the muster drill. Our assigned station was Club Fusion – and after the requisite-yet-cheesy 20-minute recording accompanied by a member of the cruise staff’s antics, we were released. We went up on deck for a very chilly sailaway party – we were even sent off in style by a Goodyear blimp. By the time we reached the edge of the harbor, it had grown too cold to be comfortable, so we said goodbye to Los Angeles and went back inside. We finished up our unpacking, then just relaxed for awhile. Audra and I went to one of the hot tubs for a pre-dinner swim, which we ended up making a nightly routine. We came back to dress for dinner, then we were off for our traditional second seating in the International Dining Room.

I admit I was a bit leery about traditional dining – what if our tablemates or our waiter were awful? Turns out we had nothing to worry about – our tablemates were lovely and our wait team, Dol and Rose, were superb. Our tablemates – a 30-something threesome of friends from LA, plus a retired couple from Denver, really made our cruise special. They were all so kind and we had such wonderful conversations each night. The food was on par with other cruise line fare – good, no complaints, but not outstanding. Of course, there were a few dishes better than the others – but all in all, I didn’t have anything that I’m craving now that I’m back home, except for the blueberry frozen yogurt – it’s to die for! After dinner, we had plans to attend the Welcome Aboard show, but we were so exhausted, we ended up going straight to bed and missed all the evening entertainment. Oh well, a girl needs her beauty sleep, right?

Day 2- At Sea
We actually woke at a decent hour (7:30 a.m.), and Audra and I headed down to the International Dining Room to try out the breakfast fare they offer. It was delicious, as usual, but our randomly assigned tablemates were crabby…yuck, just enjoy your cruise already! We stopped by the buffet on the way back to the cabin to bring my mom a fresh fruit plate and some coffee. (Mom takes a very long time to get ready in the mornings (primping and such), so – you snooze, you lose.) Turns out the buffet had a huge offering of fresh fruits – some of the best fruit I had ever tasted.

After perusing the daily Patter and trying to plan our day, I think that we finally settled on ceramics (Scholarship@Sea) and the movie being shown in the theater that afternoon. We did end up painting ceramics – I chose a tile for $18, and Audra and Mom painted coasters for $6 each. It was fun, and it’s a nice way to make a memorable keepsake of your vacation. You can come back to the ceramics area each time it is available to keep working on your project, or you can finish it all the first day and pick up your project at the end of the cruise (which we did). After painting, we decided to forego the movie for an afternoon of relaxation, which began with lunch in the dining room and then a visit to the Lotus Spa. Note that I said “visit” – we didn’t have any services performed (the Steiner prices scared me away), but my mother did talk herself into booking a hot stone massage for the following evening. After wandering around the ship some more, Audra and I went back to the hot tub and ended up meeting a lovely family from Rhode Island. They were all so great, and we ended up meeting several other times throughout the week – we played trivia together and went on the same shore excursion in Cabo.

Soon, it was time to get all spruced up for formal night. We got ready just in time to make it to the Captain’s cocktail party and have a few formal portraits made. The drinks were plentiful (although watered down), and the line for pictures was very long at all of the stations. The ones we took turned out great, and we ended up spending way too much money on shipboard photography! We enjoyed another delightful dinner then went to the Piano Man show in the Princess Theater. I was very impressed – I must admit I was expecting a lower performance quality. After the show, it was definitely time for bed – another wonderful day at sea ahead…

Day 3 – At Sea
Before the cruise, I wondered if two sea days in a row would get boring – wonder no more, for I was never bored. Princess offers so many activities (and opportunities to just relax), that if you’re bored, it’s definitely your own fault. To be quite honest, I don’t remember exactly everything that we did on this day, but I’m sure it involved the two daily trivia games (we never won), hot tubbing, the drink of the day, pizza, and a nap. Ahhh, such is the wonderful life on a cruise ship. My mother reported back that her massage was amazing, and she also returned with several hundred dollars’ worth of Elemis Spa products. (clears throat and rolls eyes) She said it wasn’t a hard sell – she’s just a sucker for skin care products, haha. Anyhow, after another day of relaxation and enjoyment, we spent the evening in Club Fusion for Princess Idol. I have to say that I screwed up big-time here – our lovely CruiseCritic friends and I had been planning a get-together in Skywalkers for months. Somehow I got the day confused and ended up missing it completely. I felt so bad about missing it! Luckily, though, we had all exchanged pictures online prior to the cruise, and we all recognized each other whenever we saw everyone throughout the week. After a fun-filled night of Princess Idol and meeting some of our fellow CruiseCritic members, we decided to call it a night and head back to bed.

Day 4 – Puerto Vallarta
We used room service breakfast as a wake-up call, and woke up to find that it was raining. I was a bit disappointed, because our planned excursion for the day was the Puerto Vallarta Beach Break, booked through the ship. We had our breakfast on the balcony in the drizzle, and decided to make the most of it, regardless of the weather. Puerto Vallarta is funny – the first thing a cruise ship passengers sees at the port is a Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club…how authentically Mexican. Anyway, we disembarked the ship and had some time to kill before our tour was to meet. The ship’s photographers, as well as some local vendors, made sure we stopped for the obligatory souvenir photograph. We walked around the marketplace right by the pier, but didn’t see any deals too good to pass up. What surprised me more than anything was the Mexican policia carrying machine guns! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but I sure did a double-take at the first one I saw. After shopping for a bit, we found our tour bus and went on the 30-minute ride to the beach resort. At this point in time, we still weren’t sure exactly where we were going, as the Princess shore excursion brochure wasn’t very specific. We had a delightful guide, Dario, a handsome young man from PV. Audra took an immediate liking to him, and I do believe the feeling was mutual.  Turns out we were headed to the Paradise Village resort complex. It’s on the outskirts of PV, actually in Nueva Vallarta, to be specific. It’s a huge resort complex, made up of a golf club, a traditional resort, and several time-share “vacation club” type high rises. The grounds are absolutely beautiful – the trees and plants were just gorgeous. After we entered the resort lobby, we were ushered out to the pool area, where we were given our “welcome drink” (choice of rum or tequila punch), as well as our lunch and drink tickets for later. We staked our claim on a palapa on the beach and a beach attendant promptly brought us 3 lounge chairs. The weather was still a bit dreary, but we decided to brave the cool water anyway. After the initial cold, it wasn’t bad at all, and we spent most of the afternoon frolicking in the waves. Lunch was served at noon, and it was a delicious Mexican buffet. We also had our choice of just about any alcoholic (or non-alcoholic) beverage on the menu, all included in the excursion price. After lunch, we decided to explore the resort a bit and discovered several beautiful pool areas, including a grotto-like cave with a stone hot tub. There was also a spa right on the beach offering very reasonably-priced massages, facials, and such. I thought for a moment about booking a massage, but changed my mind when I reminded myself I can go to the spa at home for much less dinero. We left the resort on the bus at 2:00 p.m. and returned to the pier area. I was feeling exhausted, so I returned to the cabin to rest, while Audra and my mom hunted down Diamonds International for the free charm bracelet. (Note: It was cute, but it was tacky, painted-on gold with a speck of diamond dust, but what did you expect for free??)
We sailed away from Puerto Vallarta at sunset, which made for some absolutely stunning pictures. I must admit that prior to the cruise, I wasn’t that excited about visiting these particular three ports, but each one turned out to be a great surprise – I would love to go back to visit all three places on a land vacation sometime. After dinner, we went to the 50’s Sock Hop in Club Fusion…it was a hoot watching the baby boomer crowd relive their youth. Princess Idol followed the sock hop, and it was entertaining, as usual. After a few rum & cokes, we called it a night and looked forward to the next day in Mazatlan.

Day 5 – Mazatlan
We arrived in Mazatlan to find much warmer and sunnier weather than what we had left in Puerto Vallarta. We were also joined this morning in port by the RCCL Vision of the Seas – the only ship we shared a port with all week! This is where our adventure gets interesting. After reading reviews from several CruiseCritic members who had visited these ports, I had decided that we would take a taxi to the El Cid resort, pay for a day pass, and spend the day there. I had also read several reviews mentioning the time share hawkers for the various resorts – several CC members confirmed that if you just go to listen to their short presentation, they will “hook you up” so to speak, at their resort for the day (free food & drink, facility use, etc.). Well, our plan was to go ashore and shop for awhile, then return to the ship, change into our beach clothes, then take a taxi to El Cid. When we got off the ship the first time, I went to the El Cid timeshare booth to ask about the day pass for those not interested in timeshares. Well, of course, the saleslady wouldn’t take my hint, and convinced all of us that it would be a good idea to listen to their presentation and they would give us a ton of free stuff. We agreed, but then she asked us if we were married. Since two of us (my mom and I) were, and our spouses were not present, they could not present the timeshares to us because both parties must be present to buy a timeshare in Mexico. Okay, so we got off the timeshare hook – but we couldn’t get the free stuff. She did give us a bracelet that would be good for entry to the resort if we decided to go there on our own.

After shopping at the marketplace by the pier, we returned to change into our swimwear, then disembarked the ship again. We decided that we would try a different resort for the timeshare deal in hopes they wouldn’t ask us the marriage question. We lucked out – The Inn at Mazatlan reps were so gracious and nice, we couldn’t turn them down. They did ask the question, but didn’t give us a chance to answer, so we were free and clear. We got cold bottled water and a free taxi ride to the resort. The Inn at Mazatlan truly is a beautiful, luxurious facility – I was very excited about spending the afternoon there. We were greeted by a hostess who took our names and instructed us to wait in the lobby for our tour guide. While we were waiting, we saw a couple we had eaten lunch with earlier in the week, and they stopped to talk to us. They told us they had just finished the tour, and we should get out while we still could. Their tour was over an hour, and they still hadn’t received their all-inclusive armbands…they said their guide was very rude and demeaning, and wouldn’t take no for an answer when they declined to buy a $30,000 timeshare. With those words of wisdom, Audra and I decided it would be a good idea to hightail it out of there and find somewhere else to go. Unfortunately, my mother’s guilty conscience thought differently, and she felt obligated to stay since they had paid for our cab ride to the resort. After a few choice words between us, I convinced my mother and her honesty that it would be “okay” to leave if I reimbursed the hotel for our cab ride. So, I marched up to the hostess desk and told her we were not going to stay, and inquired about paying them for our cab fare. The funny thing was, as hard as they tried to get us to come there, they didn’t seem to mind one bit that we were leaving, and on top of that, they wouldn’t accept our offer to reimburse them.

Finally, we left the Inn at Mazatlan in search of another place to spend the afternoon. Fortunately for us, El Cid happened to be just about a block away. I walked up to the outdoor information desk and asked about purchasing a day pass. The lady said there was no need to purchase, and since we had the armband given to us by the timeshare rep earlier, we would be welcomed there as guests. Thank goodness! We went inside the lobby, and a friendly receptionist asked if we’d like the timeshare tour in exchange for the all-inclusive armbands. We politely declined, and there was no pressure put on us to change our minds. I liked El Cid better already. We made our way out by the pool area and to the beach. The water was so much bluer in Mazatlan than it was in PV, and the beach was packed! We did manage to find a palapa and some chairs to enjoy the beautiful day. Unfortunately, the beach vendors were so much more pushy and rude here than they were at Paradise Village, but oh well – the water and the waves were so much better!

After awhile, we decided we were hungry, so we set out in search for a beachside lunch. El Cid has various food offerings, but you have to know where to look. Right by the main pool area, they had a buffet made up of a few Mexican items, plus a lot of American-style junk food (hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.). It was about $10US for the buffet. That didn’t really suit our appetite, so we went to the other side of the pool to the sit-down restaurant, but they were not yet open (plus I don’t think beach attire was appropriate for that venue). Finally, we found La Cascada, the open-air, order-from-a-menu restaurant. Yay, just what we were looking for! The menu was pretty typical Mexican fare, but the prices and the food were amazing. We spent $33US total (including tip) for 2 dinners (I had tacos, Audra had fajitas), 2 pina coladas, 2 bottles of water, and chips with pico de gallo. My mom decided to save her appetite for the Princess buffet back onboard, plus she was saving our palapa. I cannot stress how amazing this food was – it was probably the best meal we had on the entire trip – I hate that my mom missed it! The service and the views (right by the parasailing launch area) were great…this was the quintessential Mexican beach vacation, right here at El Cid in Mazatlan.

After swimming a bit more after lunch, it was time to head back to the ship. We walked to the front of the resort, expecting to have to call a cab or walk a bit to find one, but to our surprise, the concierge gladly hailed a cab for us and pre-arranged the price of $10 back to the pier. I was so pleased with the way we were treated at El Cid, and I will definitely return to Mazatlan someday and stay at the resort. After the 30-minute or so pulmonia (open-air cab) ride back to the ship, we had a bit of extra time, so we did some more shopping at the mercado next to the ships. We made it back just in time, and enjoyed a picturesque sailaway from Mazatlan.

After cleaning up from our beach day and grabbing some snacks at the buffet, we made it to the hot tub once again. Eventually, it was time for dinner, which was enjoyable as usual. We caught the show in the Princess Theater on this evening – the headliner was a variety comedian/juggler named Dan Bennett. I didn’t have high expectations about this particular show, but he was awesome! He was hilarious, not to mention an extremely amazing juggler. My only complaint about this show was that the cruise director, Billy Hygate, provided an extremely cheesy, Tom Jones-like song-and-dance routine before the show began. It was just painful to watch. Oh well, at the very least, he provided some more laughs for the evening! We called it a night after the show, looking forward to the next day in Cabo San Lucas.

Day 6 – Cabo San Lucas
We woke early this morning and had buffet breakfast in the Horizon Court. It was delicious, as usual, with the corn flake-crusted French toast being the highlight of the morning. We then met for our shore excursion, the Chileno Bay Snorkeling, in the Princess Theater. Turns out Jeff, Karen, and their family (the Rhode Island crew) would be on our same excursion! Anyway, we were promptly ushered to a waiting tender, and we soon arrived on the shores of Cabo to the scene of several pelicans spending their morning inhabiting a fleet of local fishing boats. Anyhow, we were ushered directly into the line to board the Tropicat, our catamaran for the day. After about a 5-minute wait and a signed liability release, we were onboard this beautiful sailing vessel. They hoisted the sails, and away we went. The Tropicat crew was awesome – they kept things lively with some great music and a few snacks. They also had a very organized method of distributing the snorkeling gear. After about a 30-45 minute boat ride, we arrived at the Chileno Bay snorkel site. I was a little apprehensive about the whole snorkeling thing, since this was my first time, but turns out I had nothing to fear – it was marvelous! Audra and I put on our gear (Mom chickened out) and slid down the boat’s waterslide into the icy cold water! Brrrr!! We swam about a hundred yards over to the best snorkeling, and I was just in awe of the amount and variety of fish we saw. We even saw a large starfish. People say that the snorkeling in the Mexican Riviera is not anywhere near as good as the Caribbean – if that’s the case, I can’t wait to snorkel in the Caribbean next year. I had a disposable underwater camera with me, and we ended up getting some nice shots of each other and of some of the fish. After about 45 minutes-1 hour of snorkeling, we made our way back to the boat. Luckily for us, they had started serving from the open bar – wahoo!

The bar was unlimited, and they also had cookies and sandwiches for those who were hungry. We partied on the trip back with the Rhode Island bunch, and had a blast. A few whales were spotted, but they never appeared long enough for us to take pictures. Also, the Tropicat cruised us right on by the Los Arcos rock formations, where we got up close and personal with a ton of sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks. Prior to deciding on this excursion, I had toyed with the idea of just taking a water taxi to Lover’s Beach, which is the beach surrounded by Los Arcos. Now that I saw it up close, I’m glad we didn’t. It is absolutely beautiful, no doubt about that, but it’s not very large, and with the water being so cold, I wouldn’t have wanted to spend the day just in that one spot. So, I would definitely recommend the Chileno Bay Snorkeling through the ship – an A+ excursion!

After we were returned to the dock, with Audra and I quite a bit tipsy (okay, flat out drunk), we had about an hour to kill before we had to board a tender. We decided to do a tiny bit of shopping, but how much can you do when you’re giggling like hyenas and trying to pretend you’re sober?  Somehow, Audra did manage to find some necklaces she liked and negotiated a pretty good deal on them. My poor mother – she had to endure our antics on the trip back. Anyway, we boarded a tender and returned to the ship without incident – but with the major munchies! Unfortunately, the thought of the buffet smells made my stomach churn, so I stayed in the cabin and ordered room service while Mom and Audra went to Horizon Court to fill up their plates. They returned with the motherload of goodies, and we pigged out on their findings and on my room service cheeseburger and chef salad when it arrived. After that, it was, of course, time for a nap. We did miss the sailaway from Cabo, but the nap was much deserved.

The Cabo San Lucas night was also the second (and final) formal night. Since I was a Captain’s Club member, I was invited to the members-only cocktail party prior to dinner, but I decided to pass since my cabin mates were not also invited. After dinner, Audra and I went to take some “fun” portraits with one of the photographers, and then we went to the last preliminary round of Princess Idol. We were indeed ready to call it a night after Idol, so off we went. We could tell the mood around the ship was changing – everyone was getting in the “my cruise is almost over” funk. I definitely was NOT looking forward to it ending.

Day 7 – The Final Day At Sea
We slept in on Friday and took it easy – mostly took care of packing, buying the ship’s way-too-expensive (but nice) photographs, and picking up our finished ceramics. We lounged around and watched Connie and Carla (loved it!) and part of Sideways on the in-cabin movie channel. We hit the hot tub one last time, left comment cards and extra tips for Ara, put our luggage out in the hallway, then headed downstairs for our farewell dinner. We took lots of pictures, and were amazed by the Baked Alaska parade. Okay, so I can see how people think it’s cheesy, but for a first-timer, it was fun! We said goodbye to our new friends, plus Rose and Dol, then we went to the Princes Idol finals. The place was packed, and the lady who won deserved to be on the real American Idol – she was fantastic! While at the finals, we met a nice lady from Texas who goes on a cruise just about every month – and informed us that AARP suggested she retire on a cruise ship instead of a nursing home! That’s my kind of lady – I hope I turn out like her someday (in many years…). After the show, Audra and I headed up to Skywalkers, hoping to enjoy a pleasant evening to end the cruise. Unfortunately, for the first time all week, we were hassled about looking young. Some of the waiters refused to serve us, even with valid cruise key cards and drivers’ licenses. Now, I know we were only 23 and 24, but we were certainly legal, and I don’t know why they chose to hassle us on the last night only. So, after the inconvenience of having to argue over our legal age every time we tried to order, we gave up and called it a night.

Day 8 – Back in Los Angeles
We woke up early, around 6:30 a.m., and went to breakfast in the dining room one last time. We had two handsome and charming waiters from Romania – oh, how I wish we’d had their table all week! They treated us like queens when it was obvious some of the other waiters were trying to hurry their guests on out so they can get ready for the next week. Anyway, after a delicious but depressing breakfast (since it was the last one onboard), we went back to our cabin to collect our things and to say one last goodbye to Ara. We had Cream 3 luggage tags, and though it was about 2/3 of the way down the list for disembarkation, judging by my experience in Alaska, I figured we’d be off the ship by 10:00 a.m. at the very latest. I was in for a rude awakening…

We made our way down to the Explorer’s Lounge and grabbed a table. They had complimentary, self-service water and coffee set up at the bar, but once the supplies ran out, they were not replenished. Rumor had it that the Horizon Court had an “endless” supply, but we never ventured up there to check it out. After we realized how slow the disembarkation process was going, we broke out the deck of cards and started some Texas Hold ‘Em and Slap Jack. After awhile, even that got old, and we just knew our color would be called any minute. Well, around 11 a.m., we started to get worried – we had a car rental reservation with Enterprise at the San Pedro pier location, and they closed at noon. We were FINALLY called off the ship around 11:45 a.m. I expected once we got off the ship, we’d be home free as far as waiting went. Wrong again. There was a humongous line of people waiting to go through immigration. While waiting in that line, we ran into Jerry and Sue, two of our tablemates. Turns out they also had reservations with Enterprise, and Jerry was talking to them on his cell phone at that minute. He informed them of our situation, and a potential longer wait, and they assured us that they would wait until 12:30 before they closed for good. We were again instructed to use the red courtesy phone in the terminal for the shuttle, and they would definitely come to pick us up.

After another half hour of lines, customs, and baggage claim, we were finally ready. It was 12:20, and I picked up the red phone to call the Enterprise shuttle. The “closed” recording immediately came on, and the shuttle was nowhere to be seen outside. We saw Jerry and Sue again, and they were in the same boat, so to speak. Turns out Enterprise left about 10-15 parties standing on the curb with no rental car after promising to wait. Now I realize it was after normal operating hours, but they should not have told us that they would remain open later. My suggestion to Enterprise – extend your operating hours on Saturdays and Sundays because more times than not, I’ll bet, delays in disembarkation result in a good number of unhappy cruisers with no car.

Our next plan was to catch a shuttle to the Long Beach airport and grab a rental car from there. (We were planning to pay Enterprise a $25 drop-off fee to be able to return the car to Long Beach in the first place, so it would hopefully work out anyway.) I called the Long Beach airport Enterprise location from my cell phone, and the extremely rude reservations agent informed me they were out of cars, and that none of the other agencies at the airport had cars, either. Something told me to check other agencies anyway, so I called Hertz. They were so friendly and got us the exact car we needed, plus the AAA discount. We ended up taking a shared ride van to the Long Beach airport, for $35 total for 3 passengers, which we found reasonable. We picked up the car, and were on the way to the hotel, finally! All this mess with Enterprise ended up costing us $10 extra plus about another hour of our time. Oh well, I just won’t be using them again.

We had a reservation at the Coast Long Beach Hotel that I got on Priceline for a steal of a deal. The hotel is just down Queensway Drive from the Queen Mary and the Carnival terminal. It also has gorgeous Long Beach waterfront views, and beautifully landscaped grounds. They originally had us in an oceanview king, and they were glad to accommodate us in a room with two queens instead, but we had to have a courtyard view. Oh well. The rooms were surprisingly luxurious – I would definitely stay here again if I cruise from the west coast again.

After getting settled in our room, we decided to head down to Anaheim to spend the evening at the one and only Disneyland. I’m a huge Disney fan, so I was very excited! After using the precise directions I had printed from Mapquest prior to our trip, we arrived in the Disney area with no problem. We were starving, so we made a quick stop at a nearby Subway restaurant first, then made our way to the Mickey and Friends parking facility. Disney has parking down to a tee – they give you tickets with the exact building, level, and row that you parked on – making finding your car after your stay very easy. We boarded the tram and made our way over to the park. We sort of had a hard time deciding whether we wanted to go to the original Disneyland park or to the new California Adventure right next door, but decided on the original since Audra and I had never been, and Mom was there nearly forty years ago.

I have to admit – after being to Walt Disney World in Florida twice, the entrance to the Disneyland park and the “magical” feeling you get while there sort of paled in comparison to WDW. Oh well, it was still Disney and we were still having fun! We took several pictures, rode several rides, and ate our way through the park. No kidding. We started with mint juleps and fritters, moved on to chocolate chip cookies and churros, ate dinner at Club Buzz Lightyear (burgers and fries), and finished off the night at the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor with way-too-large helpings of gourmet ice cream. Yeah, we definitely gained a few pounds that night. Oh well, you only live once. We finally made it back out to the car and sleepily drove back to the hotel in Long Beach.

Day 9 – Back Home
Thanks to my friends on CruiseCritic, I had been tipped off about a great Sunday Champagne brunch served at The Reef, a restaurant along the Long Beach waterfront. What I didn’t realize in advance was that it was literally right down the street from our hotel – walking distance. So, we got up that morning and called the restaurant for a 10:30 a.m. brunch reservation. We checked out of the hotel and walked over to The Reef. The spread was amazing! I’d never seen so much food at one time! It was so delicious, and quite possibly, the best restaurant meal I’d ever had. Here’s the kicker, though – it was $30 a person! Perhaps by Southern California standards, that’s not much…but I had been to a similar (but not as tasty) brunch in a Chicago suburb that was around $15 a person. We were shocked when the bill came…but you know what, it was completely worth it. It was a perfect way to end a great trip.

After brunch, we walked back to the hotel to get our rental car then headed on out to the Long Beach airport. We checked in and found a spot to sit and read magazines while we waited for our flights to be called. After two uneventful flights, we landed back in Dallas around 10:00 p.m. I was hoping to be out of there by 10:30 p.m., which meant we’d be home around midnight. Ha! It took over an hour for the luggage to even start coming out, which completely baffles me since the airport was practically dead that time of night. While waiting for the luggage, I got a phone call from Audra, whose American Airlines flight had landed about two hours earlier. She said she had tried to call the Best Western hotel shuttle to take her back to get her car, and they wouldn’t come get her since she didn’t have a reservation for that night (even though the deal was for round-trip airport transportation). After her fiasco, and by the time our bags finally came out, we decided not to waste our time arguing with the hotel, so we just stepped outside to catch a cab back to the Best Western to get our car. I think we got ripped off by the cabbie – the trip back to the hotel is about 3 miles tops, and he charged us $21…and didn’t have the meter running. Oh well – by that point, we were so tired and cranky, we didn’t care. Sure enough though, what do we see when we pull up to the hotel in a cab? Yep, that’s right – the hotel shuttle just returning from the airport with someone else from our very same flight – who headed back to their car instead of the hotel check-in desk! Ahhh, would’ve been our luck. Finally, we got on the road back to Oklahoma. I dropped Mom off in Ardmore just after 1:30 a.m., and made it back to Norman around 2:30-2:45. This is definitely the last time I’ll try to make that trip so late – I was singing out loud to myself just to be sure I stayed awake!

Final Thoughts
This was an absolutely fabulous cruise/trip, and if I sounded negative at any point in time throughout the review, it really was nothing major…just minor annoyances that are easily forgotten. We’ve got a cruise booked for next March aboard the MSC Opera, and although I know that the MSC product is very different from other mass-market lines, it will still be interesting to see how it compares to my Princess experience.

Lets begin with a review of the ship, then the ports. First of all we chose to cab it from the airport in Copenhagen to pier one, where the Star was. Princess charges 40.00 pp or $120.00 for the three of us. The cab was about $55.00 so do the math. Easy choice. The embarkation process was pretty easy really. We got to the ship by around 1300 and were in our cabin by 1325 at the latest. Our luggage arrived in a timely manner as well.
I must say my previous experience with Princess was on the gorgeous sapphire Princess and the Tahatian. Both, especially the latter usually get higher marks. The Star is a very nice ship but it is a notch below the Sapphire and Tahatian to be sure, both in terms of service and food. Not to say its bad. Its not! but the other two are better.
The ship overall is very clean and well appointed. I give high marks for hygiene. Hand sanitizers are everywhere along with employees to dispense B4 you go into any restaurant. In many cases there are employees in the buffet area to actually dispense the food for you. Bravo! The lounges and public areas are neat and clean. We in particular liked the Skywalker lounge on the 17th deck aft. There was a great view of the wake and at night, being in the land of the midnight sun you could almost see day ending and night beginning. Also it was never crowded when we were there so you had that view pratically all to yourself.
The service was very good though I must say the Tahitian was better. I had one encounter with an unbelievably rude person from the casino staff and reported her. Princess assured me the matter would be addressed and I believe them They take this sort of issue very seriously. Our cabin attendant Jirasak from Thailand was a sheer delight. He always smiled and our cabin was spotless. Overall the service was very good, not great.
The food was very good too. I must say yet again I was spoiled by the Tahatian last yr. but that does not demean the Star in any way. Also I must give top praise to the Star for meeting our groups special requests. There were 5 in our group and three of them requested Indian food every night. The chef far exceeded our expectations. The food was expertly prepared and plentiful. In addition the Maitre de Franco made sure to facilitate this request. However unlike the Sapphire there were no anytime dining restaurants. You could go to the Horizon for buffet. We did use Sabatinis once and for those of you who are familiar with it its a treat to be sure, easily worth the $20.00 pp surcharge.
The shows overall were very good as well. There was some fellow, Mac Frampton who played piano so well I could not believe it. Also they timed the shows very well. That is after the show finished other shows were scheduled to begin in the lounges so it was pretty easy to go from one to another.
We were invited to the Capt. Circle party and found out Princess is building a new ship, the Ruby and its a sister ship of the new Emerald. In addition they purchased another ship form the defunct Renaissance line ala the Tahatian and are in process of refitting her for service.
Disembarkation was breeze but for a good reason. we were the second group off the boat at 0530 (right on time as promised). We had an 0825 flight and I was a bit concerened about getting a cab that early but there was one right there at the pier and we got to the airport with plenty of time to spare.
Our first stop was Stockholm. except for St. Petersburg we did the town on our own so to speak. Prior to leaving we determined what we wanted to see in each port. In Stockholm it was the Vasa museum, Gamla Stan and the famous ice bar. well two out of three ain't bad, at least according to Meat Loaf. :D That is the ice bar, which is a bar set at around 30F and has glasses made of what else, ice did not open till 1550. Too late for us. we did go see the Vasa which is a ship bulit to be the pride of the Swedish navy that sunk minutes into maiden voyage in the harbor and stayed there until it was lifted up in the 1960's. Overall in was under water for 333 yrs! It capsized due to a poor design. It was top heavy with too little ballast in the keel, sort of like Dolly Parton. LOL! It took about 2 yrs. to actually raise her and though she is now on display it is not yet finished. They paln to repaint her to the original colors once research is completed to discover the paint scheme. The Vasa is truely a wonder to see not for its sea worthiness but for its splendour and for the amazing engineering it took to lift her off the sea bottom and the still in process restoration.
From the Vasa we strolled to a water ferry nearby and went to Gamla Stan, the old town. This is what I luv about Europe, i.e. old towns with winding cobblestone roads full of shops, side walk cafes and people. We meandered about and found an Indian fabric store. The sales lady was Indian and my wife and our Indian friends had a delightful time chatting with her. we also bought some souvenirs, had the best apple strudel in my life with good, rich European style coffee to accompany it then decided it was time to return to the ship. Cabs were easy to get, they all take CC's and in Stockholm English is readily spoken.
The next day we were in Helsinki. Unfortunately out time was limited due to the weather. It was quite chilly and rained all day. We did manage to see the church carved from granite, did some shopping at Stockmanns, the largest dept. store in Europe (prices are very high but its just that way everywhere in Europe) and did some limited shopping at the market in Town Square. We did get some fruit but the weather got the best of us so we headed back. Dollars are not accepted in the market so if you want to shop there you will have to exchange for Euros.
The next day was the highlight stop, St Petersburg, Russia. Oh my God! What a place. we decided to book the grand tour. two full days, with Princess. Day one began early, at 0715. Well there was a Russian band on the pier and they began playing, of all things New York, New York. Kinda weird but thats what makes traveling so interesting. Later that day we were in a park. There was a band there too and when they saw us getting off the bus you won't believe what they played. It was "Anchors away" the US navy song. Go figure.
St. Petersburg is simply amazing. we saw in those two days spledour beyond belief. Our stops included Peterhoff palace, the Yusupov Palace, St. Isaacs Cathedral, the Church of the spilled blood which was built around the spot where Czar Alexander was murdered, the unbelievable hermitage art museum, a canal ride and the Peter and Paul cathedral when Russian royality including the murdered last czar Nicholas II and his family, also murdered are interred. Its a very moving place to say the least. One thing you see it Russia and throughout the Baltic are nesting dolls. You know, those wooden carved dolls, usually of a girl in her native costume that has several others, about 6 in all just like it inside but smaller of course. Well in St. Petes there were nesting dolls of Derek Jeter, Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman just to name a few. Need I say more. For the two days we had a superb tour guide, Anna who was a virtual encyclopedia of Russian and St. Petes history. Amazing amt. of knowledge to be sure. Lunch was included each day. Day one was at the Academy. a Russian place and day two was at the Radisson. The food was good but in both cases we felt the service was rushed. Also people there seem sort of serious, if not grim. Not too many smiles but the sights are to be seen to be believed.
The next day we went to Tallinn. Its was a Sunday and we were in port from 0700 to 1300 so we had to be back by 1230. My criticism here is that this arrival is too early, esp. for a Sunday. It was a bit rainy too but not cold. If you get off here be aware that just beyond the gated area are cabs. They are not allowed in any further so you are set up to take the shittle into town. The shuttle is $5.00 one way. That $25.00 for 5. Cabbing it back was $10.00 for 5. again, do the math. We found some local shops selling sweaters and linen goods and found them to be reasonalbly priced. Tallinn is a neat old town with lots of shops and restaurants. its just a shame the time in port was inappropriate to seeing it all. 0900-1500 would be much better
The next day we visited Gdansk. What a city! Amzingly beautiful, clean and green. we met a great cab driver, Stanley who greeted us as soon as we got off the ship. For $200.00 we had him for the whole day. he not only took us places but also got out with us for and escorted tour. We saw the resort town of Sopot, which is gorgeous and has the longest pier in Europe which seem to extend way out into the sea. Along the way are vendors, food stands and street performers. We stopped at a rather famous church. the Oliva and saw the show. That is at 1100 every day the huge organ comes to life and the ornately carved angels all around it become animated to the music. Amazing show. We had lunch and strolled in the old town, saw Lech Walesas home and offices and saw the Solidarity monuments which are truely moving. Gdansk was a surprise and a delight. It is very beautiful and by contrast to Russia the people seem to enjoy life more.
Our last stop was Oslo. This too is a beautuful city bit the ship gets in at 0700 and we have to be onboard by 1330. I don't think there is enough time to see this great city. There is a hop-on, hop-off bus right at the pier as well as a souvenir shop so its conviently laid out and you can exchange money there. We did see the famous Viking museum with three ships discovered and dated to circa 800AD. We did want to see the famous Vigeland sclupture park but found out too late that its about a mile walk form the bust stop in the park to the actual sculptures so we ran out of time for this. All in all Oslo is really neat but I think you need timings of say 0900-1800 to better see.
Any questions please ask. Thank for reading. Larry

Irene & I have never taken a cruise that we did not enjoy and this was no exception. We have enjoyed some cruises more than others but have always had a good time. Although we have been on multiple cruises this was only our second time on a Princess ship. The other time was the Golden Princess with the GGC2003.

I have always like assigned seating over non-assigned seating but I am slowly enjoying the non-assigned seating the more I use that choice. We opted for the Personal Choice and ate in the Coral Dining room 5 times and in the Cafe Caribe buffet on two nights. I agree with the opinion that when non-assigned seating is chosen by most, if not all of the people in a group, it is more difficult to get to meet new friends. When there is a group cruise with assigned seating usually there is a "meet and greet" time slot at a given lounge and people from the group will meet there and it is easier to meet new friends. The time slot is such that it is before late seating and after early seating. Usually there are at least a few minutes when both groups are there.

I found the service in the dining room was good even though we did not have the same wait staff every night. The Cafe Caribe buffet was all set up for the evening meals with table cloths and silverware and the food was very good.

Irene was in a cast for the last cruise that we took. This time she was out of the cast and she was able to test her foot snorkeling and had no problems. We did a lot of walking and everything went well. We have been to these islands before so we didn't do much for touring but did a lot of relaxing and enjoying the ship when most of the people had gone ashore. We went to Princess Cays and did a little snorkeling. As far as the other ports we simply went ashore and did a little shopping and then headed back to the ship. So I can't comment on any tours.

My only complaint I have is that in the buffets they have platters but no trays. It is not possible to get all your drinks and food in one trip. It is not a big enough of a problem to stop me from going on Princess again. I know other cruise lines do this also and I write it as one of my complaints every time.

We had planned on enjoying a big screen movie during the evening but we never made it. The movie was either one that we had seen or one that we did not want to see. Most nights there was more than enough entertainment to keep us happy. There was the show in the theater every night. There usually was a comedian either in the theater or one of the lounges. I must commend the comedians in that they all made me laugh but not one of them had to resort to four letter words to accomplish this. The show could be enjoyed by all ages. Of course Bert Stratton was one of the entertainers in the lounge. He was in one of the smaller lounges for 5 of the evenings and had a longer show in the larger Explorer lounge one evening. The first night he did not perform in any lounge. We had seen him on the Golden Princess in 2003 and enjoyed him then as well.

We have arrived home from our wonderful cruise. Yes? the Sapphire Princess cruise ship is a magnificent venue for the holiday or a lifetime.

First of all price?We paid for an inside cabin. When we got on board we found out we had been upgraded to a window cabin?.can you imagine how delighted we were! After checking our prices against the Princess smaller ship in the Pacific?our cruise was the ?special? of all specials.

Embarkation: I don?t want to remember this as it was not what I expected?.long lines of people standing in the rain ?just waiting for some movement. No cover! Auckland Port is not geared for a large ship like Sapphire. However?I think by the time the Sapphire has to do this again, things will have improved because of all the complaints that would have been received.

The Princess Sapphire: A beautiful and wonderful staffed cruise ship. Cleaning goes on around the clock so everything is spotless and polished.

Our Cabin: We paid for an inside cabin and enjoyed a window cabin. We didn?t know about the upgrade until we went looking for our cabin. Wow!?I felt like a Queen. Our cabin steward Victor was great. We tipped him $20.00 as soon as we meet him and during the cruise. My hubby and I were amused as to how he arranged my ?nighty? each night. It was so pretty I didn?t want to spoil his artistic efforts. As the weather wasn?t the best in New Zealand a cabin with a balcony wasn?t necessary. The chocolates on the pillow at night were appreciated.

Dining: We choose early sitting in the Traditional Dining Room. We had a table of eight fun loving cruisers. Our waiter Alex and assistant waiter Ceceileo were the best. They joined in the fun and were always eager to please. Our table did get a name for having the most fun. We ate our breakfast and lunch in the Santa Fee, Pacific Moon or Horizon?s Buffet. All the food was excellent. The steaks were the best I have ever eaten. Don?t forget to go to the Horizon?s Buffet between 3.30pm and 4.30pm for free ice cream. This is not advertised and a lot of people only find out about this when it is too late. Early dinner sitting fitted in with our early show times. Everything was timed to perfection.

Entertainment: This is as good on the Sapphire as what you can find anywhere in the world. The four dance productions were amazing. My grand-daughter just finished a university course in dance so I have viewed some of the best along the way. The magicians and comedy entertainers were outstanding. One comedian DON WARE was the writer for the Cosby Show. Music by Julie Wallace in the Crooners Lounge was delightful.. Alistair Greener was our fabulous cruise director with Frankie his very funny fall guy. I could go on and on?..

Ports of Call:

Wellington: I could recommend Rover Tours $35.00 for two hours or all day (Hop on hop off) We got the shuttle to town ...then walked to Information Centre. We boarded the cable car back to the city. Shuttle to ship. However ...if you can get someone to share a taxi...it will be less expensive and you will not have to wait around for transport.

Christchurch: The Antarctic Centre is a must. We got the shuttle to town? then a local bus to the Antarctic Centre. An all day bus pass is the way to go. I pre-booked the Hagglund Ride and it was lots of fun. You must go into the Snow Storm Room. This is for real. Warm clothes are supplied. Fred could barely last the distance as it was SO COLD!

Dunedin: The Cadbury Chocolate Factory is in the town centre. You must have a booking if you want to do a tour. I did this by email.

Fiordland National Park: Up until now the weather hadn't been very nice....then we cruised into Fiordlands. A perfect day greeted us as we entered the Park. The cameras were clicking away and some beautiful scenery was captured in the many photographs taken. One could see a little snow still on the high peaks.

Hobart: As we walked to the city centre we stopped at Constitution Dock to take some photographs. Then a visit to the gardens and Salamanca Place. A local bus will take you around the area for a small cost.

Melbourne: We had family pick us up and take us to Geelong for the day. There is a free tram for the city tour.

Disembarkation: The port at Darling Harbour was well organized. We waited in the lounge until our colour was called and then walked straight off the ship. Collecting luggage was a breeze...it is lined up in colour code and a Porter is there to help put it onto a trolley. Taxi service is arranged if needed. Our Taxi to the domestic airport cost $30.00 for the two of us.

Anyone going on this cruise ship is assured of a wonderful time. Things like seasickness ?. I had this for one night when the sea was very rough?. can be fixed by going to the desk and buying some Dramamine. I felt better in two hours.

There is much to do onboard...the swimming pools and hot tubs were popular. There were so many people onboard and yet it never did seem crowded.

Target Passenger: The ship appeals to a wide variety of travelers. Passengers included families with newborn babies, older families with teens, honeymooners, baby boomer couples and retired groups. While many passengers explored the Caribbean during days in port, others stayed onboard to participate in shipboard activities, or soak up sun from the pool decks and private balconies.

Accommodations: The ship's 975 cabins include six suites, 32 mini-suites, 565 outside cabins and 372 inside cabins. Nearly 70 percent of outside staterooms offer private balconies, and 19 cabins are wheelchair accessible.

Standard cabins range from 135 to 173 square feet and each include twin beds that can convert into a queen-size bed; a color TV with satellite reception, movies and four music channels; card-key cabin access; safe; minibar; robes; and phone with voice mail.

Suites and mini-suites offer additional features, including sitting areas, larger private balconies, whirlpool bathtubs, walk-in closets and two televisions, plus sofabeds, double sinks and wet bars.

Public Areas: Whether passengers are looking for a large-ship entertainment venue or a smaller place to mingle, Sea Princess provides plenty of options.

The largest public room is the Princess Theater, which accommodates 550 people. The theater's rich red decor, opera-themed murals and unobstructed views (no pillars) make it suitable for Broadway-style revues and movie screenings. Auditorium-style seating and folding tabletops at each chair are useful for group meetings. The Vista Lounge, which holds 480, hosts cabaret acts and dancing. The room is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows and features tiered seating at cocktail tables, plus a longer bar. Other gathering spots include a central atrium, with two glass elevators; the Riviera Deck's two large pools and whirlpools; the Grand Casino, with more than 150 slot machines and game tables; Rocky's Disco; and the Seaview Spa, which features a window-surrounded gym, fitness studio, treatment rooms and beauty salon.

Facilities for kids are abundant. The Fun Zone entertains young children with a covered pool, indoor playroom and plastic-ball room. Teens find their own refreshment bar, video games and disco, called Wired. Children of all ages can tee off in a golf simulator ($20 per half hour).

Dining: The Sicilian and Neapolitan dining rooms seat 552 passengers each for formal breakfasts, lunches and dinners in two seatings. The rooms are nearly identical, with murals reflecting their different namesake regions. Elegant touches include Frette linens, wood paneling, tiered seating and round tables. The mainly Italian waitstaff is fast and friendly, but there are no wine stewards. Dinners include healthy, vegetarian and "Always Available" options; favorites such as lobster, prime rib and sea bass; plus such innovative fare as crayfish and game hens.

Alternative Dining options include the 24- hour buffet in the Horizon Court, burgers at the poolside Riviera Grill, and made-to-order pizzas in Lago's Pizzeria. The 24-hour room service is another quick and easy option. The only prepared food item passengers pay extra for is ice cream from Sundae's by the pools, where servings range from $1.90 to $3.75.

Service: Bar service is efficient and friendly. Cabins are cleaned twice a day, with turndown service at night. Although the Sea Princess is one of Princess' "Grand Class" ships, Grand Class butler service was I not yet available in the suites and mini-suites. Thanks to card keys, preboarding credit card registration and automatic check-out, the purser's desk was rarely overrun with passengers.

Strongest Selling Point: Sea Princess offers a layout that won't overwhelm its nearly 2,000 passengers. Cruisers who enjoyed the Sun and Dawn Princess ships can expect a similar experience on the newest addition.

Shore Excursions: The ship's western Caribbean itinerary future watersports, including scuba training. Other tours include mountain biking near Ocho Rios, Jamaica; visiting Maya ruins on Cozumel Mexico; and sportfishing from Grand Cayman.