sfdragonboy

Being reported in news that Carnival will be offering similar cruises that Princess has been offering out of SF (Alaska, Mexico, Hawaii, West Coast) starting in 2020

https://www.sfgate.com/chris-mcginnis/article/Carnival-cruises-into-San-Francisco-13475616.php

Hi TriumphGuy!  We literally were right there about to anchor and go to tenders but the waves were just too strong.  Considering it is "only" Princess Cay, I wouldn't expect Princess to come up with another port even if foreseen ahead of time.  Like Cheeseclan said, it would just be probably another sea day.  I feel the sea days on this itinerary were really needed since you get on, the sea days relax you, you are then hit with the ports right after each other, then the return sea days allow you to relax again.

You should have a great time in a couple of months.  Man, it was already pretty warm in several ports.  We in San Francisco are not used to such nice weather in December.  Needless to say, keep the bottled water nearby...

Ok, relaxing a day before heading back to the rat race tomorrow....

My wife and I are fairly newbie cruisers (this was our 3rd one) but here are my impressions (not a tough grader) of this 10 day cruise on the Crown to the Eastern Caribbean:

Overall Cruise Experience:  Very good to Excellent!!!    This cruise was way better than our cruise to Mexico from SF two years ago on the Grand.  Sure, this one was longer by several days but I feel the ports that we went to in the Caribbean were more fun and had more to offer in terms of activities and sights.

Ship:  Excellent!!!    Yes, only our 3rd ship (Sea and Grand before) but we felt this ship was great.  I thought the casino was HUGE compared to the Grand.  We thought the ship's layout was pretty good and had everything we could have wanted.  The gym I thought was more than decently appointed with enough exercise machines and there were plenty of treadmills for one to use.  We liked how the buffet had two separate areas and the rear was always pretty empty to find a table.

Cabin:  Good!!!   We were on deck Baja and had a balcony.  The bed could have been more firmer and newer.  AC was working well.  Shower was excellent, strong and hot.  The balcony was not large, but good enough for us to enjoy.  What I liked about this deck was that it was close enough but not too far from the food and gym floors.  

Ports:  Very Good!!!  Bummer we couldn't go to Princess Cay due to the wave conditions.  We loved all of the ports especially St. Lucia.  I was expecting more from St. Thomas, but that could have been due to what our activities were, which was limited to a tour of the island.  Would have loved to stay in Barbados longer.  Rum at Mt Gay distillery was yummy!!!

Excursions:  Good!!!  We did stick to official Princess excursions though.  We really enjoyed the all day Sulfur Springs tour in St Lucia which included a visit to the actual volcano, a decent buffet lunch and then a ride on a catamaran to see the Pitons and Marigold Bay.  Well worth the price.  What was not worth the same price was the Scenic Railway train ride in St Kitts.  Fun, but $120 per person???  Next time, I will try some of the suggestions to go with an independent operator for excursions. 

Ship Activities/Events:  Well, hard to grade here since we didn't attend any of the shows really.  We did really enjoy the band, Project 5(?), whenever it played on deck or during the balloon release night.  I personally enjoyed the poker gaming time in the casino at nights.  I never played Texas Hold'em in a casino setting and the regulars there made me feel at home (while taking my money).  Too bad, the electronic table broke down with several days to go on our trip.  

Food:  Good to Very Good!!!!    Yes, I know I spoke to a few fellow cruisers who did not think the food was that great but my wife is an accomplished cook and fairly picky and she thought our traditional, sit down meals were all pretty good.    

Crew:  Excellent!!!!   The folks who waited our dinner table and kept our cabin cleaned were great.  I knew our gratuities were prepaid for, but made a point of tipping them all extra upon leaving.  They work hard!!!!

Negatives For Us:

1) Would have loved to check out Princess Cay island.  Shouldn't Princess credit us something (anything) for that miss?

2) Internet - slow and fairly expensive.  Oh well, we will just have to get to Platinum or Elite to get the good stuff for free....

3) Unlimited Soda Package - was charged for bottled water.  Should have checked I guess but still....

4) Poker Pro table broke down in casino with several days to go on trip.  Big bummer!!!!  Give us a real dealer!!!!

We definitely would go to the Caribbean again and maybe check out the other islands, say in the West and South. 

Ok, back to work.... 

No, the "regular" unlimited soda package DOES NOT include bottled water!!!!  I should know, I just got off the Crown Princess yesterday.  I was reviewing my account bill on the last day before arriving back and noticed drink charges that were in the 2 dollar to 4 dollar range.  That wasn't anything my wife ordered so I asked about it at the Guest Services.  They of course researched it and told me it was for bottled water (single bottle or two bottles ordered) that was not included.  They said only the premium package includes bottled water.  Oh, well.  Had a great time anyway, but I guess it was my fault to not check that.  We even ordered the 12 pack of water to be delivered to our cabin prepaid but ran through that since it was pretty warm on our trip.

Hi All. Semi cruise newbie here. For my first cruise, we did the SF to Alaska cruise a few years back on our anniversary. It was fun, so we decided to go South this time, to Mexico from SF.

So, with the development of the shortened itinerary, is anyone else considering cancelling out? Yes, it is late in the day to cancel out on a vacation but I am not too happy with the choice of ports eliminated. Puerta Vallarta I kind of really wanted. And as I understand it, Ensenada is nothing, so essentially we are giving up something like 1.5 ports then. Since I booked through Costco, I called them and Princess and their respective suggestion was to not cancel based on the things they are giving back but what do you guys think (esp those who are actually going too)?

I am leaning on going and just making the best of it but if I can find a last minute week in Hawaii I might do that instead and cruise next time to Mexico.

I would love to hear what the seasoned cruisers think of the credits offered.

Thank you!