flhokie

We were just there on Enchanted Princess. Daughter and I took a cab to town and walked along the main street, visiting shops. We walked around the old town square and then walked along the water down to a waterside restaurant. We did not flash jewelry or money and we never felt unsafe. Honestly, I felt safer than I do at home in the US.

On 6/11/2024 at 7:38 PM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

We stood in a very long line to get through the x-ray scanners first. Not sure why. We are Platinum and supposedly have priority at embarkation. Other people were let in without standing in line.

This was probably guests traveling in the sky suites. They are escorted through the embarkation process, bypassing lines.

We were on this sailing. Daughter loves teen club on Princess, but was disappointed by the small number of teens participating especially at the beginning of the cruise (200+ teens onboard, but they couldn't do some activities because there weren't enough teens participating). The space they have is awesome and it did get better after a day or 2 (she still loves it and prefers over Royal Caribbean's teen program).

A couple other things premier also includes that I didn't see mentioned...3 printed photos & digital download of all photos (to purchase additional printed is really inexpensive as well with premier) and unlimited specialty desserts

7 hours ago, Scottdalfonso said:

This was great info. We are doing our first Princess after 6 RC cruises, we have a 12 yr old and actually decided to make this our first adult only cruise because we were worried he'd be super bored. We are hoping we really like the cruise (and everything we have seen about this ship has been great) and then maybe we will book it again for next year when he's 13 and would probably enjoy the teen area a little more. 

Last year our daughter aged up to teens at 12. She's very tall and mature for her age and she had done the teen program on Royal Caribbean previously. Had she not aged up, I don't think she would have gone to the kids club much (big difference from a 7/8 year old). She immediately fell in love--they had fun activities each night (and sea day), not to mention the room is great with skee ball, foosball, music they can select, comfy chairs/couches, video games, etc. We were surprised on this sailing that more weren't taking advantage of it, especially with so many teens onboard, but more did start joining in. Enjoy your cruise!

9 hours ago, wallyj said:

Hi @flhokie, I did not see you mention visiting the concierge lounge that suite passengers get access and I have heard they usually have an evening gathering with alcoholic drinks and sometimes different ‘themes’. Did the suites experience manager not organize these evening events on your sailing or you were not interested in attending?

 

You review mentions having dinner in the Capri dining room, but I assume you were seated in the ‘reserve class’ section which should have had more personalized service and an extra entree/special?

 

I was on Enchanted last month and also had the Premier package. At Ocean Terrace they had no problem substituting the spicy tuna roll for California roll, which is just imitation crab, avocado and cucumber. If you are on another ship, with Ocean Terrace, ask if they will do this. Unfortunately on Sapphire, they do not do substitutions because the sushi is not made to order in front of you like on most Royal class ships. 

 

I enjoy Princess, but can only dream of booking the Sky suite.

 

Thank you for your review.

There were gatherings planned by the suite experience manager in the concierge lounge. We attended 1. The location of the lounge in relation to our suite was challenging for my mom to get to with her scooter so we didn't go often.

We were on the reserve side in Capri. One night my mom ordered the special entree and said it was very good (a fish dish). The service the first formal night was good, but it was excellent the 2nd formal night. 

Thank you for the information on Ocean Terrace. When she gave us the menu she told us it was a set menu with no substitutions. They were extremely busy so maybe that's why, but I will definitely keep your information in mind for next time.

Thank you everyone for your help before our cruise! We had an amazing experience on Enchanted Princess last week. Needless to say, the suite itself was even better than we imagined. Vladimir, our SEM, was wonderful! From the moment he met us at the curb to the moment we said goodbye leaving the terminal on the last day, he took great care of us. 

Side note - we did a Star Class Suite on Royal Caribbean a few years ago. We were happier with the SEM experience on Princess than their Genie experience. 

Since it's back to work tomorrow for me, I'm going to push through to finish out the week...

Day 3: We were in Cozumel. We went to the suite breakfast in Crown Grill which was great. Then daughter and I headed into Cozumel. We took a taxi to the downtown area where we wandered through the stores and visited the old town square. At the recommendation of a shop employee, we walked down to LaMonina for some snacks. It was a very cute restaurant--we chose to sit downstairs where the tables are on the sand or a seawall. The food was good and the views were wonderful. We then took a taxi back to the port and shopped a little before getting back on the ship early afternoon. 

That evening we had the 360 dining experience. WOW! What a great experience. All 5 senses were involved in an interactive dining experience with 6 courses paired with drinks/wines. They had special non-alcoholic drinks for those who can't or don't drink that were paired as well. We were all blown away. Since she was 13, daughter was able to participate and thoroughly enjoyed it (and ate every bite). After dinner, she headed to the teen club and I went to the Enclave to relax a bit (included with Sky Suite) and then watch Movies Under the Stars from the balcony.

Day 4: We were in Belize. We had breakfast delivered to the room and picked up cinnamon rolls from International Cafe (daughter does not like cinnamon rolls generally, but she's obsessed with the ones on Princess). We then joined our Princess excursion for Altun Ha ruins and city drive. We got on a tender quickly which took about 25 minutes to shore. Once in the port, we were directed to meet our tour. We boarded a charter bus for the hour drive to Altun Ha. Our guide was wonderful. She pointed out a lot of sights and provided information about Belize on the ride to the ruins. We spent about an hour and a half at the ruins. It was VERY hot, but they did their best to get us in the shade whenever possible. After the ruins, we stopped for a Belizian lunch beans & rice, chicken and coleslaw on the way back (it was very tasty). We chose this excursion because we wanted to see ruins, but didn't want to spend all day or many hours in the sun/heat. It worked out very well. Back in port, we did some shopping before catching a tender back to the ship. 

Back onboard, we relaxed for a while and then had dinner at Catch by Rudi. It was fantastic, especially if you like seafood. We all had different starters (shrimp ole, crab and avocado tower and cioppino). Two had the chilled seafood extravaganza---fantastic, fresh seafood. After dinner, mom and I went to a production show which was great. Daughter went to teen club---was getting better and better (I think this night was the mocktail making competition). 

Day 5: We were in Roatan. I had been to Roatan once before, 25 years ago---boy has it changed. We wanted to do the sloths and monkeys so we booked privately with Daniel Johnson's Sloth and Monkey Sanctuary. We had to walk up stairs to the port gate and down a hill. The guides were waiting from all private tours (they can't pick up in the port if they are not contracted with the cruiselines, but they can drop you off back in the port). We were paired with 2 other women from our ship and given a driver. The driver took us to the iguana encounter 1st. We hadn't planned on doing this, but added it when getting checked in. It was fun and work the extra $10 per person. We held a baby iguana and fed/petted large iguanas and saw tarpon down on the dock. They then took us to the sloth and monkey sanctuary. We checked in and paid for our tour. Once our number was called, we went into the sanctuary and everyone got to hold a sloth and take pictures (you took your own photos--no photographers/expensive packages which was nice). We then went into the monkey enclosure where they jumped all around and all over us---was actually a lot of fun. They then took us into a macaw enclosure where we were able to have a macaw on our arm for pictures. Our tour included a reef snorkel so we then went to the snorkel boat. The boat took us out about 5 minutes to a shallow part of the reef. We had a guide who led us along the route to where the boat picked us up. He was great--helped a little girl who was afraid to snorkel and took my daughter's camera down to the lobster den for up close video. After the snorkel, we were driven back to the port. After a little souvenir shopping we headed back to the ship. I went to the spa for a massage which was very nice and daughter watched Barbi on the deck tv for our room.

Our dinner that night was ultimate balcony dinner (included with sky suite). We had our wonderful server from breakfast again. They set up the table with a beautiful flower arrangement. Before dinner started, a photographer came to take pictures. Then, we had a wonderful (and perfectly timed) dinner. We scheduled it for 5 pm to go along with our sailaway from Roatan. Throughout the dinner, the sunset got more and more beautiful. It was a wonderful evening! After dinner, daughter went to teen club for a bit before going to the 80's party on deck. I went to the party for a while and then watched more from the balcony. 

Day 6 - We were in Costa Maya and did a ship's excursion, All Inclusive Beach Break. We met the tour in the port and boarded a coach bus that took us to the beach club. The seaweed was all over the beach and very smelly. They had someone raking it in the area we were in, but there was only so much they could do. The beach was rocky with lots of tripping hazards. People came by continuously trying to sell stuff. After about 3 hours, we got a taxi (included with the tour) back to the port. The taxi ride was scary (speeding down dirt roads, weaving around cars & almost hitting a motorcycle). The port area was so crowded you could barely walk. The shops were much more expensive than other ports so we grabbed a couple souvenirs and headed back to the ship. We agreed that we'd probably stay onboard if we ever return to Costa Maya. 

This was the 2nd formal night. Before dinner, we had pictures taken. We ate in the Capri Dining Room. Service and food were excellent. After dinner, we saw Rock Opera which was fantastic. After the show, daughter went to teen club for a party and we went to the gelateria for a specialty dessert (included with premier).

Day 7: Final day/sea day. We did the suite breakfast in Crown Grill. After a special event for sky suite guests, we went to the shops to make final purchases (they had a big sale going on), to the photo gallery to select the pictures we wanted printed (we each got 3 prints with the premier package) and then to Ocean Terrace for a sushi lunch (included with premier). We weren't thrilled that it was a set menu with only a spicy roll--my mom can't do spicy, but the food was good. Daughter then went to meet up with friends and go to the pool while I did some packing. 

We had dinner at Crown Grill which was great. Our server was so much fun and the food was delicious. After dinner, daughter went to teen club and then swimming with friends. Mom and I finished packing and I wandered the ship, getting a final dirty banana. 

Day 8: We ordered breakfast to our room and I ran down to get daughter final cinnamon rolls from International Cafe. At 8:15, our suite experience manager picked us up and walked us through disembarkation. Even with waiting for elevators, wheelchair transfer (ship personnel take you 1/2 way and then port staff take over) and backups at customs, we were in our car by 9 am. 

Final Thoughts- We had an amazing cruise with many special memories. The ship is beautiful and we found that we really like the layout of this class of ships. 

Despite the slow start, the teen club ended up being a lot of fun, with new friendships made. I know many say Princess isn't for kids/teens, but daughter really prefers Princess to Royal Caribbean/other lines (more activities and more involved staff). 

The service was top notch! We did not have any bad service experiences the entire week which says a lot for Princess. 

The food was excellent! The quality and presentation were always spot on. Definitely do 360 if you can.

The sky suite was amazing (wish we could do it all the time, but it was a 1 time time very special occasion thing)! It was so easy with the scooter too--really accessible. The suite experience manager is a wonderful perk of the suite too.

We're already looking for another Princess cruise. 

Feel free to ask any questions!

While I enjoy the day by day live posts, I wasn't able to do that during our sailing, but I wanted to share a review of our recent cruise on Enchanted Princess. This will probably be in multiple parts due to length.

Who we are: There were 3 of us cruising. I'm 49 and was sailing with my 79 year-old mother and 13 year-old daughter. We were cruising to celebrate mom's upcoming 80th, my upcoming 50th and daughter's recent 13th birthdays. We've all cruised on Princess and on other lines quite a bit. We primarily stuck with Royal Caribbean when daughter was younger due to the "bells and whistles," but returned to Princess last year. We all actually prefer Princess (including the teenager). My mother has difficulty walking anything more than a short distance so we rented a scooter from Special Needs at Sea. We've used them before and always had a good experience. My mom stayed onboard in ports (enjoyed trivia, etc. on those days). We all had the premier package.

Pre-Cruise: We live in Central Florida and drove to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday. We stayed at Home2Suites Ft. Lauderdale Airport/Cruise Port. We had a nice dinner at a New England seafood restaurant on 17th street and drove over to the beach for a short time. The hotel was clean and newer, but we did not like the location. In the future, we'd pick a hotel closer to the port, like Embassy Suites. 

Embarkation: We were staying in one of the sky suites so we had a set time to meet the suite experience manager at 10:30. He had a porter unload our luggage and he waited with my mom and daughter while I parked the car. He got us through embarkation quickly and to our suite. Our luggage arrived a short time later. We unpacked and headed to lunch in the dining room. Lunch in the dining room is such a nice and calm lunch option for embarkation day. The food was delicious and we all had the orange soufflé. 

Cabin: Our sky suite was on deck 18 and it was amazing! The inside was beautiful and immaculate with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a living room with sofa, dining table and skylight. While the inside was wonderful, the balcony was the best at sea. It was wrap around with a living type area with 2 loungers and a large round lounger with tv. On the other end was a dining table and 2 lounge chairs facing the Movies Under the Stars screen. We've never cruised in a cabin like this before and probably won't again due to cost, but it was well worth it for this special cruise.

Rest of Day 1: We got daughter all set for teen club (had pre-registered online so it was quick) and toured the club. We wandered the ship to try to get our bearings. After that, we enjoyed sail away from our balcony. We all loved the playing of the Love Boat horn and being able to enjoy the sailaway party from our balcony without the crowds. It was a great sailaway. That night, we had dinner in Sabitinis (specialty dining on night 1 is included with suites). It was excellent. Last year, we had a not great experience at Sabitinis on Emerald (over 2 hours and no entrees) so we weren't sure we were going to do it this time, but were glad we did. The risotto balls that start the evening are delicious. After dinner, my mom & I went to the show in Princess Theatre. It was a juggler and it was not our favorite show. After that, we played a little in the casino, but it was too smoky to stay longer. Daughter went to teen club, but came back disappointed later in the evening. While there were over 200 teens onboard, very few went to teen club so there were no real activities (didn't have enough kids).

Day 2: This was our 1st sea day. We started with the ultimate balcony breakfast (1 is included with Sky Suite) which was wonderful! Our server, Anna, was so lovely. After breakfast, we checked out the shops and then daughter gave teen club another try (still not many teens). Daughter and I went to the pool. We were able to get good chairs thankfully as the deck was so hot you could not walk without shoes or you'd burn your feet. The pools were wall to wall people so they were good for a quick dip to cool off only. We enjoyed watching the different ports on the MUTS screen and had some drinks--she loved her mocktails and I got my dirty bananas. After a while, after a stop to pick up some snacks at International Cafe, it was back to the room to prepare for formal night. We ate in Capri dining room this night and enjoyed it. We had some photos taken and took part in the welcome champagne tower pour and cocktail party. After dinner, mom and I enjoyed beverages at a lounge in the piazza while daughter tried teen club again. She said it was a little better that night--a few more kids. 

Next part coming soon....

We sail on Saturday in Sky Suite on Enchanted, but have no information on how to reach the onboard suite experience manager. We spoke with shoreside a few weeks ago and gave him our requests for dining, etc. but have not heard anything since. He told us the onboard experience manager would reach out with contact information and confirmation about meeting on embarkation day, but we haven't heard anything. I tried reaching out to shoreside, but no response from there either. Does this sound normal?

Quick question to those who have sailed in sky suite before. We spoke with Thor several days ago. We gave him our dining requests (specialty, balcony, 360). Just checked my app and it doesn't reflect any of our requests. Did you see dining you had requested with the shoreside concierge?  

We're sailing in June and someone in our online group reported that they went to add on Plus the other day and were not able to. They were told that it was sold out (the website does say that the packages are limited and subject to availability). 

Technically, the 3rd person in a cabin (assuming she's the 3rd in the cabin on the reservation) does not have to have the package. However, it may be more cost effective for her to have it....it covers the non-alcohol drink package, wi-fi and gratuities (plus the casual dining 2 times, etc.). If she doesn't do that, she'd have to pay for the drink package, wifi and gratuities separately. 

If you have 2 people in each cabin, then yes, she would have to have it as passengers 1 and 2 in a cabin must have the same package.

We've sailed with parents renting scooters from Special Needs at Sea over the years. Many times it was a balcony cabin (not accessible) and the scooter fit through the door. Yes, it was tight, but an accessible cabin was not necessary. We have steered clear of mini-suites because of the tub/shower combo--so nice they've stopped that with Sun Princess.

So glad I found this thread! We just booked the Sky Suite on Enchanted for this June to celebrate my mom's 80th, my 50th and my daughter's 13th birthdays (all this year). A few questions....

1. How far in advance should we expect to hear from the shorside coordinator?

2. Do you still get to select a movie for Movies Under the Stars? If so, is there a list you pick from or is it literally any option (as long as it's appropriate to show)?

3. Will shoreside coordinator take care of booking 360 and specialty dining? 

4. For the full sized alcohol bottles has anything changed as far as options go (the list I saw in this thread was from a couple years ago)?

Thanks in advance!

There were 3 of us, all with premier package. We each got 3 prints---selected from the ones that were displayed in the gallery. We all had access to them on our app and could download to our phones. Typically they don't provide flash drives, but there was an issue with downloading photos on my phone so they did give me a flash drive with the photos. 

Not sure if they could use one you bring because of security (putting a flash drive in one of their computers from the outside could be security risk since a flash drive could contain malware, virus, etc.). They're so tiny to pack that you could take one and ask. 

We sailed on Emerald over the summer and 12 year old daughter aged up to teens (she had done teens on Royal Caribbean the year before). It was her favorite cruise. She absolutely loved the teen program and is begging to do another Princess cruise. The lodge was always busy when we were up that way--seemed to be a mix of planned activities and hanging out.

6 hours ago, wcflats said:

We had a terrible time at Sabitinis on our Las cruise in May this year.  Pre paid pre reserved..four of us.  Server worked his butt off but absolutely no help.  Took us four hours to finally get to our main meal and by then just was not hungry besides the steak was grossly overcooked.  Matre,d brought out the head chef even tho we told him not to.  He looked at my steak and said yup overcooked and walked away.

went to PS next day and complained and wanted refund.  Nope.  Done eating at Sabatilis.

Similar on Emerald recently. Took over 45 minutes to get anything but bread. At 2 hours, we still didn't have entrees. By the time they finally arrived, we had lost our appetite. The MaitreD finally came by the table after we got our entrees. When we told him about the experience, he kept pushing for us to come back, but we didn't. The restaurant was maybe 1/3 full too. 

2 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I loved the Diamond this past January/February.  
 

Embarkation at pier 92 was a bit different than the usual pier 93 but it was effortless.  At 10:13 we gave our bags to the porter and in 45 minutes we were enjoying our first glass of wine at Vines. The elite lounge was well stocked with juices, coffee and pastries. They were making sure you had an elite boarding pass to stay there. The elite boarding passes were given out one per cabin so all in the same cabin could wait in the lounge together. 
 

There was a big notice that ONLY CARRY ON SIZE LUGGAGE WAS ALLOWED THRU SECURITY.  I wanted to take a photo of the sign but the line moved too fast. Also a sign that no liquids or food allowed. 
 

The selection of whites and reds at Vines is actually great. First time I’ve said that since forever!  Aldrin, the vines bartender and his assistant Jaymes are an incredible asset to Princess. 

I had an empty refillable cup from Knott's in the outside pocket of my backpack. The woman staffing by that sign ran after me screaming "does that have anything in it?" I was focused on my disabled mother and my 12 year old daughter so didn't hear her at first. When I realized she was screaming at me I told her it was empty. Overall, she was quite nasty about it. Had never seen that before in many cruises. That terminal needs an overhaul, especially on staff (I know they're Port of LA Staff, but still). 

16 hours ago, luvcdays said:

Can anyone tell me what movies are playing on MUTS?  Thx

On our sailing some of the movies were “Top Gun Maverick,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “80 for Brady,” and “Death on the Nile.” 

Before our cruise we weren't able to find a lot of information on the Princess Teen Program so I wanted to share our experience...

Daughter is 12 1/2 and in her 2nd year of middle school (and very tall). Last year she was aged up to the teen program on Royal Caribbean at 11 years old (their teen program starts at 12). When we booked the cruise, the Princess website said that their teen program started at 12, but it was later changed to 13 so we weren't sure what to expect. 

When we boarded, there was a schedule for the 8-12 year old group in our room. We reviewed it and daughter said she'd just stay with me rather than going since the activities were young for her. Also, because of her size, she wouldn't feel comfortable playing some of the games, like dodgeball, with the younger kids. We went up to the 8-12 room to ask about her possibly aging up to teens. We were told she could do it it she had an older sibling in the group, but if not she'd have to stay with 8-12. I explained that she did teens on Royal last year and that the website said 12-17 when we booked. A different crew member who came in when I said that said we could talk to the teen program to see if they would let her. As soon as she saw her and I explained she'd done teens on Royal Caribbean, she said that daughter could age up (just had to fill out a form). 

The room for the teen program (Beach House) was great! They had sofas to hang out on, skeeball, foosball, air hockey, video games and a way for the teens to select music that played in the room. 

They had all kind of activities planned like crafts, games, video games, scavenger hunt, etc. They also planned some big events like a mocktail making competition, hot tub party, rock the boat party and farewell party. 

Daughter loved the teen program on Princess and said it was actually better than on Royal Caribbean. She said the staff was engaged with the teens and knew who they were (she said that didn't happen on Royal). She loved it so much that she's ready to sail on Princess again. 

29 minutes ago, jimdee3636 said:

@flhokie

You say that the "speed of service" in Sabatini's was a problem. But do you mean it was too fast or too slow?

Jim

Extremely slow. 2 hours after being seated we did not have our entrees (took 45 minutes before we had anything other than bread). Also took forever to order & receive beverages.

2 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

I'm getting on this Saturday. Did you have the drink package? If so, were most drinks included? Don't know if they raised the prices recently,

We had the premier package and most drinks were included. I'd think that most would be included in plus as well (except for some high end spirits and wines). I don't know about recent price increases for drinks, but their drink prices were much more reasonable than Royal Caribbean....most seemed in the $8-12 range (Royal was more like $14/drink).

We recently completed a 7 day Coastal California cruise on Emerald Princess (disembarked 6/24). I'll share my thoughts and feel free to ask questions....

Traveling Party - me (40's), mom (70's) and daughter (12 1/2). Mom has mobility issues (can't walk more than 5 minutes, at most) and traveled with a rollator walker that converts to a wheelchair. 

Pre-Cruise - We flew to LA from FL a few days early for sightseeing and to visit family. The morning of the cruise we returned our rental car to Long Beach Airport and took a taxi to the port ($51 flat fee).

Embarkation - The only negative part of the entire cruise and it was awful. There were no announcements/information and the terminal was hot. We needed assistance for my mother to board. She had a rollator walker that converts to a wheelchair. With the gangway, we really needed her to be pushed on in a regular wheelchair (had a scooter arranged once onboard). There was no assistance until after security and check in (different than other cruises). At check in we asked about the priority embarkation that came with suites (and Elite, which my mom also was) and were told that it doesn't apply if anyone in the party needs assistance with boarding--"but you'll get all your other benefits once onboard." We went to the waiting area and got in a line with my mom sitting on the walker/chair. The regular seats were full with people who needed assistance, but didn't have a chair or walker to sit on. After about 20 - 30 minutes, the line started to move. There were no announcements/communication, but passengers started sharing what information they could find out with each other. That's when we found out that they were allowing those who could make it on without port staff helping (had their own chairs, etc.) to board. All others would need to sit and wait until they were eventually called. Since it was so hot in the terminal, I decided I'd just try to push my mom. The chair is not as sturdy as theirs, but I would give it my best shot so we could get out of the hot terminal. After another 20 minutes or so, we made it on the elevator up to where the gangway was. After a wait there, we were able to board. Luckily the gangway wasn't very steep so I was able to get her onboard. There were no embarkation photos since we needed assistance which was disappointing. We had the photo package and really would have liked to have one. Once onboard, passengers would push people with disabilities out of the way to get an elevator and close elevators with space available in their faces. Princess really should have a crew member assigned to an elevator during embarkation for those with disabilities that must use the elevator--it could still be a wait, but at least they'd eventually be able to get on one. 

Luckily, things turned around after that....

Cabin - We were in a full suite, midship deck 14 (R409). We were a bit concerned before the cruise about noise since we were right below the pool deck, but that was not an issue at all. We were initially going to do a mini-suite, but changed to a full suite because of only the tub/shower combination in mini-suites which would have been an issue for my mom.  The room as very nice. It was a little dated, but in good condition. The split bathroom was nice. 

Teen Program (Beach House) - Daughter did the teen program on Royal Caribbean last year and was a bit disappointed that, at age 12 1/2 and in her second year of middle school (also nearly 5'8" tall), she'd be with 8 year-olds on our cruise. We went the first day and the crew in the 8-12 room were adamant that she be in that group unless she had an older sibling in teens. I mentioned that the website said teens was 12-17 when we booked (had a screenshot on my phone), but we'd respect their call on it--she just would do things with me instead of any kids program (she looked at the activities before we went and told me that was what she'd want to do). One of the ladies took us to talk to the teen group leader who immediately said that she could age up (just had to fill out a form). Daughter had an amazing time in the teen program. They had great activities planned, a great space for hanging out and the crew was involved with them. She said it was a much better experience than Royal Caribbean (which she really liked). 

Food - The food was excellent throughout! It was much better than Royal Caribbean (who we've cruised most often recently) and a highlight of the cruise. We ate at Crown Grille twice, Reserve Class dining room twice for dinner (and some breakfast), Sabitini's once (and a few times for suite breakfast) and the buffet. The only issue at all with food was the speed of service in Sabitini's for dinner (we also didn't love their new menu). We did tea one sea day afternoon. I wish they offered some of the food (sandwiches and scones) at the buffet as the line got really long for tea in the dining room (but it was really good).

Service - Service was excellent! The crew always had smiles and a warm greeting. Stateroom service was excellent and so was dining. I think they had some new crew in bar service as they sometimes weren't sure on how to make some drinks, but they tried really hard. When my mom got off/back on the ship, she needed assistance and the crew was always willing to help. They had staff (with blue vests) available to assist quickly and always with a smile. 

Ship - It's older and the layout is a bit chopped up, but it was great. They were doing painting, etc. and it seemed to be in good condition overall. Some areas, like mini golf could use some updating. Loved the pool decks with the artificial grass and non-slip surfaces!

Ports - Dock locations in San Francisco and San Diego were so convenient!

San Francisco was a lot of fun. We did it on our own--Alcatraz, Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, Union Square, Ghiradelli, cable car, etc. We never felt unsafe and had a great time (thank goodness for Uber later in the day--walking isn't for the faint of heart there). 

San Diego - Family took us around and we saw so much (Barrio, Coronado, Old Town, Balboa Park, La Jolla, Mt. Soledad, Point Loma, Belmont Park).

Ensenada - Daughter and I took a Princess tour to La Bufadora (blow hole) which was great (except for the major traffic jam coming back, but they can't control that). We had plenty of time to see the blow hole and shop in the market. We even had great seafood tacos. Once back in town we went to their cultural center for a tour and a margarita (coca cola for the kids).

Disembarkation - This was probably the easiest disembarkation we've experienced (in our many cruises). After breakfast at Sabitini's, we went to the lounge for those needing assistance off the ship. They had someone immediately take my mom, transferred her to a port worker in the terminal who pushed her the rest of the way. Got our bags (and porter) and then did facial recognition for customs/immigration. We were getting in a taxi within 15 minutes of arriving in the disembarkation lounge. 

We do the following:

- Bring lysol wipes and spray. Wipe down & spray the cabin on boarding and multiple times throughout the cruise.

- Mask indoors except when actively eating/drinking and try to avoid crowds. 

- Wash hands and use sanitizer regularly. Have gloves if we feel they're needed for the buffet.

- Make sure all vaccines are up to date (ex. senior mother made sure to get the newly authorized 2nd biavalent booster).

- Make sure to have any OTC meds we might need if we were to contract it. 

Definitely contact your Congressional Representative or Senator's office first thing Monday. A friend recently was getting close to departure and had not received the passport after 12+ weeks. She called Senator Rubio's office and had it very shortly after.

Also, look into going to a passport office. There looks to be a place in Orlando and an official passport office in Miami (by appointment 7 am - 2 pm).