Grand Princess 10-Day Mexican Riviera Cruise - Photo Review - Jan 9-19th, 2016

[WinksCruises]

 

 

Above is a photo of the Grand Princess docked at San Francisco’s Pier 27, also known as the James R. Herman Cruise Terminal - named after a prominent civic leader and the president of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union from 1977 to 1991.

 

We booked an aft-facing corner-suite that we’ll review in greater detail a little later on in this report. But for now, this picture gives you an idea of the type of weather you might face when embarking from San Francisco. It was cloudy, cold and wet our entire time in the city. FYI: This picture was taken by our friend, Beno, as he was leaving the terminal, and if you pull out the old magnifying glass, you can see me out on the balcony waving farewell.

 

So embarkation morning, we took a final stroll along the Embarcadero, stopping by a Walgreens to pick up some last minute toiletries (read: a bottle of champagne) and then down to Pier 39 for breakfast. (If you must know, I had the peanut butter and banana French toast - since that seemed like a really rationale choice for someone about to face 10-days of non-stop buffet gluttony!)

 

During breakfast, we got a text message from our friend Beno saying he was so excited about the Bon Voyage Experience, he was already on the BART and on his way into the city (residing as he does in suburb Walnut Creek).

 

As I mentioned previously, our adventurous friend was joining us for a few hours, pre-cruise, as part of an unique Princess marketing program called “The Bon Voyage Experience” (or BVE). For 39$, Beno could board the Grand Princess at 11 am (before any other group – including the holier than thou Suite/Elite guests!), get a free boarding photo, free lunch in the main dining room and a free glass of wine. And the 39$ admission fee could be applied to a cruise deposit - should the day’s visit onboard inspire him to book a future Princess cruise. Of course, he’d have to disembark by 3pm, just before muster (‘cause, as Princess most certainly knows, no one would ever book a future cruise if they actually had to sit through a muster session!)

 

Beno’s text triggered our own excitement to get the party started, so we rushed back to the Courtyard, grabbed our bags, and checked out of the hotel using the Marriott mobile app. The doorman hailed us a taxi - that only fit our baggage when we wedged the full-size carry-on bag into the front seat. It then whisked us down to the pier at lightning speed… until we hit a massive wall of congestion - as every vehicle on the Embarcadero seemed to have Pier 27 in its sights that morning.

 

It was a madhouse getting into the pier area. Cops were yelling at taxis as they tried to maintain the traffic flow. “Did I tell you you could move?! Who Told You You Could Move!” was how our right turn into the pier entrance was greeted.

 

We finally arrived at the passenger drop-off area, where there seemed to be an inordinate amount of passengers still getting off the Grand, despite the fact it was nearly 11 am. We were directed down the road to a baggage drop off point where a friendly porter was happy to scoop up our bags. And that’s where we met Beno, who had already been at the terminal for 20 minutes - and had done a good job of making friends with everyone, including the drug sniffing dog!!

 

The check-in process went orderly and, surprisingly, the port personnel seemed to know what they were doing. The terminal itself was spacious, with clearly assigned seating areas for various classifications, including BVE guests.

 

 

Beno actually served as our ticket for getting onboard early, as we were given a “Friends of BVE” sticker which would allow us to accompany him onboard once the embarkation process formerly commenced. And unbeknownst to Princess, Beno also served as our contraband mule! We gave him the bottle of champagne we’d purchased earlier at Walgreens, which he brought on board with him since the security checkers, not knowing he was BVE, just assumed he was a regular passenger carrying his legal one bottle of wine/champagne allotment. I think Beno was sweating bullets the entire time - expecting the Princess SWAT team to swarm in on him at any minute! (In a true case of irony, we never got around to opening that bottle of champagne, so we left it under the bar sink in our cabin, where it waits for the next lucky suite guest - or more probably a Princess maintanance guy or our room steward Rodrigo - to find it!)

 

After about 15 minutes of sitting in the BVE waiting area, a Princess representative came up to the group and explained the ship was late getting previous passengers off, and that ONLY the BVE guests could board. Our Friends of BVE stickers became utterly worthless, and we would have to wait until the general boarding call. So like a child being sent off to school on his first day, Beno turned to us wide eyed and we had to assure him we would text him once we were onboard and that we’d all meet up for lunch. Just go with the nice lady... which he did.

 

Mrs. Winks and I had done the BVE with others friends before - but this was the first time Princess separated us from our guests. Not a big deal - but our dream of doing a goofy group boarding picture was quickly dashed as we watch Beno disappear down the gangway with about 20 other fellow BVE’ers.

 

 

Fortunately, the subsequent wait for general boarding was only about 15 minutes. As suite guests, Mrs. Winks and I were in the first group (well, technically second, counting BVE) and we sauntered up the gangway switchbacks with the usual “we’re finally on vacation!” giddiness.

 

We decided to drop off our carry-on bags and check out our stateroom first - and then text Beno and find out if he had been able to successfully stay out of the ship’s brig. Miraculously, he had. So we gave him directions to the aft cabin and a few minutes later we were finally back together as a group.

 

We did a quick review of the suite and, realizing the BVE clock was ticking, headed down to the Da Vinci dining room for lunch. After we were seated, we asked Beno about his first impressions of the ship. He explained it was totally different than what he’d imagined. He really thought he was going to be given confetti streamers and noisemakers with which to see us off! (too many episodes of The Love Boat). He was really surprised by the ship’s layout and amenities and the first class nature of the dining room.

 

That ambience, however, was short lived, as our funny and friendly waiter, Gustavo, launched into a hard sell for the specialty coffee package when dessert time rolled around. Mrs. Winks looked at me aghast. Of course, we’d been subjected to the first day upsells in the past… but never in the dining room, never by our waiter, and never in front of a BVE guest. It was embarrassing, already. Especially when Gustavo didn’t seem to want to take a polite “no thank you” for an answer. And here was poor Beno, generally impressed by the grandeur and classiness of the ship, now being subjected to a sales pitch that would have left the pro’s at a Marriott Vacation Club Time Share seminar suitably impressed!

 

 

Leaving the dining room, with Gustavo chasing after us from the kitchen with coffee cards until the maître d stopped his forward progress at the entranceway, we spent the next hour or so giving Beno our own special tour of the ship, which quickly became an excuse to stop at every bar to have a drink before moving on to the next amenity. Our friend was surprised to see the up-to-date machines in the fitness center, the size of the theater and the Movie Under the Stars (MUTS) screen that overlooked the top-deck pool - where NFL fans had already gathered, in their winter coats and parkas, to catch the Kansas City playoff game. That is… until a video feed of our lunch waiter Gustavo interrupted the game’s kick-off as he explained, on the big screen, how our cruise would be incomplete without the pleasures of an unlimited specialty coffee package!

 

Escaping the MUTS crowd, we finally settled-in at the aft pool bar to enjoy a last drink and gaze upon the San Francisco skyline from a rather unique perspective - 14 decks up. Beno again explained how the Bon Voyage Experience was totally different than what he expected - and that he hadn’t realized that the ship was really like a floating resort hotel. Exactly!

 

 

3pm rolled around much too quickly and as Mrs. Winks and I headed back to the cabin to grab our life jackets in preparation for muster, we said a farewell to Beno and thanked him again for taking us out to Point Reyes and joining us on the Grand for lunch. Then he was off to the Promenade deck to grab his boarding picture and head down the gang plank against the growing tide of onboarding passengers.

 

 

Wow, two entire posts and we haven’t really even begun to talk about the ship or the cruise! Well, not to worry… there’s plenty more to come, including sail away under the Golden Gate Bridge and a chance to explore the ship, with three days at sea ahead of us before docking in Puerto Vallarta.

 

Coming up next… a review of our room and our first night’s dinner at the Crown Grill.

 

Thanks for your continued readership and comments!

[dchip]

Thanks for the fabulous photo of our cabin, too. We are on deck below you in the balcony cabin. We will be boarding next week at Pier 35, so our chance of getting that shot won't be happening.

 

Loving your review. Laughed loudly picturing the waiter and the coffee card!!

 

Cheers, Denise

[senior lady]

can hardly wait

:)

[Canadian Tyler]

I assume your shorts for the dining room were also packed in that suitcase, right?

 

So...was Beno impressed enough to book a cruise and experience a whole week of sales pitches?

 

Enjoying the review so far.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Canadian Tyler

[Silent Penguin]

We've never been to SF or on a Princess cruise or to Hawaii. I'm taking notes. Great pictures. Reviews with pictures are the best.

[west coast cruiser]

This is a great review. Can't wait for the next chapter.

[Tedferg]

Some other CC posters said the BVE guest is allowed a bottle of wine if over 21.

 

Great review - thanks.

[Mrs. Winks]

It would be wonderful if they gave the BVE guests a full bottle but the two times we had BVE guests on it was a small glass of wine per guest. We, as passengers, on the other hand had to pay for our drinks! I guess it's harder to share a glass of wine as opposed to a bottle. And heaven forbid they give the passengers anything for free!!

[partybarbie]

Some other CC posters said the BVE guest is allowed a bottle of wine if over 21.

 

 

I think the other posters meant that the BVE passenger can carry on a bottle of wine as part of their wine allowance. That bottle could be opened at the table and shared at lunch, for a $15.00 corkage fee, or can be shared in the cabin with friends that are staying on the ship.

[WinksCruises]

 

In a scene straight out of an episode of The Walking Dead, I gazed down from my lofty suite balcony, anxious for the engines to start humming, as the terminal gates at Pier 27 were closed shut and a motley crowd of commoners and curiosity seekers, looking freakishly like zombies, gathered at the fence below, groaning and muttering, desperately looking for a way in. No confetti or streamers to send us off. Just the living dead!

 

I shook the vision off, and stepped back into the sanctity of the stateroom, where Mrs. Winks was busy strategically positioning her vast array of power strips around her vanity space.

 

Our ship accommodation for the next 10-days was going to be Dolphin Deck – Cabin 736, an aft facing stateroom known as the Martin Frobisher Suite. I only learned later, that Martin Frobisher was actually a notorious British privateer - who terrorized the Irish coastline during his early career as a seaman. And while later in life he reformed his wicked ways and successfully captained several expeditions to the New World for the British, I did find it odd that our suite was named after a pirate, while other suites were named after sailors with much more presentable curriculum vitaes!

 

The suite itself was spacious, with generous storage. It came with a separate bathtub and shower and even a separate lavatory room, accessible from both sides of the cabin. There was a small bar set up (which I exchanged for a bottle of red wine – Mondavi Private Reserve) with a sink, small fridge and two TVs - each with DVD players.

 

On the down side, the room safe was rather small, not big enough to hold a tablet, and the pull-out couch was very well worn and its cushions lacked any bounce. The two sides of the room were separable by a draw curtain and there was a ceiling bed that could be pulled down to hang over the couch.

 

 

On the plus side, both Mrs. Winks and I agreed, the bed was superlative. Best we'd ever had on a cruise. Comfy mattress and linens.

 

But the real appeal of the cabin, more so for Mrs. Winks than myself, was the spacious balcony which afforded enough room for two teak wood loungers and a table for four. Technically, the balcony is classified as obstructed when you review Princess deck plans, because a support beam juts up at one end. But we didn’t find it a hindrance at all and ended up enjoying our seas days spending time out on it viewing the ship’s wake.

 

Before we knew it, the 7-horns blasts filled the air and our cabin steward was knocking at our door ushering us down a side exit that deposited us just outside the Vista Lounge on Deck 7, our safety drill assembly point.

 

Muster was the usual tired affair - punctuated by the muster leader’s sincere attempts to maintain quiet and maritime law against a disgruntled assemblage of snarky passengers, uncomfortably shuffling their cumbersome life vests about, getting restless and loud. While I like a theater or lounge muster setting better than a promenade deck one, I think the meetings held out on the deck are more orderly in the end. Plop people down in a lounge without a drink and start lecturing to them is just asking for trouble. Muster is an important safety measure that certainly needs to continue… the process just needs to be updated. Nothing else in the cruise industry is firmly stuck in 1920’s tradition… why should muster be?

 

After trying on our life vests and resisting the temptation to blow the whistle or dip the light in water to see if it would indeed light up, we rushed back to our cabin, straps flailing dangerously behind us. We popped a bottle of champagne our TA provided and hopped out onto the balcony to get ready for sail away.

 

It didn’t take long for the ship to push- off from the pier and within minutes, we were passing by Alcatraz Island and approaching the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. It was a thrill to pass under… but I still have to give the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay the award for most dramatic bridge cruise passage. There, we were within 18 feet of the road bed. You felt so close you could jump up and touch it. The clearance is nowhere near as tight when passing under the Golden Gate… and with the weather being crappy, it wasn’t as awe inspiring as I’m sure it is on other voyages. Still, it was a really unique experience sailing out of San Francisco as a port and I’m glad we had the opportunity to do so.

 

 

Once the Golden Gate Bridge faded away into the overcast skies, we took a few minutes to unpack our bags and stake out our respective storage spaces. Already, here on Day 1, we decided we’d accumulated enough used items to justify a laundry bag, and since laundry is complimentary for suite guests on Princess, we decided to take advantage of it to freshen up the garments we had worn in San Francisco.

 

Then, from the outer pocket of her suitcase, Mrs. Winks pulled out a piece of door-art she had spent a few hours creating back in NY. Thanks to cardboard padding, it had survived the flight, taxis and multiple bag handlers, so with some circle magnets we’d picked up at the Dollar Store, we tacked the object d’art to our cabin’s door and let the Fiesta begin!

 

 

That first evening we arranged to have dinner at the Crown Grill specialty restaurant since the 25$ cover charged is waved embarkation night for suite guests and, despite our hefty 700$ onboard credit, we’re still notoriously cheap. (I'll explain about that OBC a bit later on and how we managed to spend it all!)

 

Prior to dinner, I popped several ginger pills in anticipation of the rough seas we’d been warned about by cruise critic members on the voyage before ours who’d come back with tales of 14-foot seas. The waters outside the Golden Gate are typically violent, especially in a vigorous El Nino year like this one. But that night, as well as the three successive At Sea days, the Princess Patter would prove accurate when it forecast “slight” seas with only 4-5 foot waves.

 

We headed down the hall just past the atrium where we were welcomed to the Crown Grill and seated at our table. Then in a manner of all surprises, a familiar face stepped up to greet us. It was Gustavo, our waiter from the BVE lunch! But instead of taking our cocktail order, he launched right into this Specialty Coffee Package spiel. Again. Did he honestly think we had changed our minds since enduring his sales pitch in the main dining room? We laughed it off, and let him know we still weren’t interested, despite his impassioned pitch. But after he left, Mrs. Winks and I both rolled our eyes and remarked how sad it was that Princess “Escape Completely” philosophy didn’t include freedom from sales pressure…

 

 

Other than Gustavo’s intrusion, our meal at the Crown Grill was fine. Service and food quality were commendable and the ambience was top notch – dining in a romantic alcove surrounded by rich, dark grained woods and beautiful black-and-white street scenes on the walls. And while we had 8:15pm reservations, which is on the later edge of the dining spectrum I’ll admit, we were still surprised to find the dining venue less than half occupied. Later in the cruise, we would get a note from the Grill expressing sincere hopes that we had enjoyed the Grill’s hospitality and asking us to return at some point in the future… with our cover charge funds in hand, of course.

 

Upon getting back to the cabin, we found the usual mail of Princess Patter, ads from the spa, and then this horrible little card!

 

 

Apparently, we would be sailing east through TWO time zones on our way to Puerto Vallarta, and Princess wanted us to move the clock ahead an hour TWICE over the next three days. Let me tell you, there is NOTHING worse than getting an hour’s less sleep on a cruise!! The first time adjustment really threw us for a loop… the second one was just criminal!

 

Coming up next: Life at Sea

Edited January 29, 2016 by WinksCruises

[Mary loves to travel]

I am just loving your review!

 

 

Mary

[ar1950]

.........................................................

Upon getting back to the cabin, we found the usual mail of Princess Patter, ads from the spa, and then this horrible little card!

 

 

Apparently, we would be sailing east through TWO time zones on our way to Puerto Vallarta, and Princess wanted us to move the clock ahead an hour TWICE over the next three days. Let me tell you, there is NOTHING worse than getting an hour’s less sleep on a cruise!! The first time adjustment really threw us for a loop… the second one was just criminal!

............................................................

 

At least you get those hours back on the return trip. :cool:

[cr8tiv1]

Your format has drawn me in to following your trip. Thanks for providing an interesting and visually appealing annotated chronology of your cruise. Look forward to reading more.

[seattleslew]

I just have to tell you, Mr. Winks. It's late here and I'm giggling so loudly my husband has waked wakened awoken! You are hilarious and you're the kind of people who I just wish I could meet on every cruise ... we'd tear them apart at Trivia! You have a twinkle in your eye and I bet you have fun wherever you go ... I especially love this thread because we did this cruise for Xmas and the pics bring it all back! You know the feeling when you get home from a cruise and it feels like forever ago ... and it's only been 3 weeks? Love it!

[hightownCO]

Loving your tie in to Walking Dead!

 

Can't wait for more!

[Mrs. Winks]

I think the other posters meant that the BVE passenger can carry on a bottle of wine as part of their wine allowance. That bottle could be opened at the table and shared at lunch, for a $15.00 corkage fee, or can be shared in the cabin with friends that are staying on the ship.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I totally misread the post I was indulging in my own bottle of wine at the time! D'oh!! I'm not sure if there is an "official" policy on if BVE's can bring a bottle on. Both times we had our guests there was a table for alcohol check-in but since check-in is so early for BVE's there was no one manning the table at that time (11 am). Our bags weren't even checked. :)

[jchris1230]

Loving your tie in to Walking Dead!

 

Can't wait for more!

 

I feel the same! We watch the walking dead ( never thought in my life I would be interested in a show like that), hilarious and good review

[partybarbie]

Thanks for the clarification. I totally misread the post I was indulging in my own bottle of wine at the time! D'oh!! I'm not sure if there is an "official" policy on if BVE's can bring a bottle on. Both times we had our guests there was a table for alcohol check-in but since check-in is so early for BVE's there was no one manning the table at that time (11 am). Our bags weren't even checked. :)

 

Yes, we arrived around 11:30 am, the same day as you, and we weren't required to stop at the wine table either.

[BMP57]

 

In a scene straight out of an episode of The Walking Dead, I gazed down from my lofty suite balcony, anxious for the engines to start humming, as the terminal gates at Pier 27 were closed shut and a motley crowd of commoners and curiosity seekers, looking freakishly like zombies, gathered at the fence below, groaning and muttering, desperately looking for a way in. No confetti or streamers to send us off. Just the living dead!

 

I shook the vision off, and stepped back into the sanctity of the stateroom, where Mrs. Winks was busy strategically positioning her vast array of power strips around her vanity space.

 

Our ship accommodation for the next 10-days was going to be Dolphin Deck – Cabin 736, an aft facing stateroom known as the Martin Frobisher Suite. I only learned later, that Martin Frobisher was actually a notorious British privateer - who terrorized the Irish coastline during his early career as a seaman. And while later in life he reformed his wicked ways and successfully captained several expeditions to the New World for the British, I did find it odd that our suite was named after a pirate, while other suites were named after sailors with much more presentable curriculum vitaes!

 

The suite itself was spacious, with generous storage. It came with a separate bathtub and shower and even a separate lavatory room, accessible from both sides of the cabin. There was a small bar set up (which I exchanged for a bottle of red wine – Mondavi Private Reserve) with a sink, small fridge and two TVs - each with DVD players.

 

On the down side, the room safe was rather small, not big enough to hold a tablet, and the pull-out couch was very well worn and its cushions lacked any bounce. The two sides of the room were separable by a draw curtain and there was a ceiling bed that could be pulled down to hang over the couch.

 

 

On the plus side, both Mrs. Winks and I agreed, the bed was superlative. Best we'd ever had on a cruise. Comfy mattress and linens.

 

But the real appeal of the cabin, more so for Mrs. Winks than myself, was the spacious balcony which afforded enough room for two teak wood loungers and a table for four. Technically, the balcony is classified as obstructed when you review Princess deck plans, because a support beam juts up at one end. But we didn’t find it a hindrance at all and ended up enjoying our seas days spending time out on it viewing the ship’s wake.

 

Before we knew it, the 7-horns blasts filled the air and our cabin steward was knocking at our door ushering us down a side exit that deposited us just outside the Vista Lounge on Deck 7, our safety drill assembly point.

 

Muster was the usual tired affair - punctuated by the muster leader’s sincere attempts to maintain quiet and maritime law against a disgruntled assemblage of snarky passengers, uncomfortably shuffling their cumbersome life vests about, getting restless and loud. While I like a theater or lounge muster setting better than a promenade deck one, I think the meetings held out on the deck are more orderly in the end. Plop people down in a lounge without a drink and start lecturing to them is just asking for trouble. Muster is an important safety measure that certainly needs to continue… the process just needs to be updated. Nothing else in the cruise industry is firmly stuck in 1920’s tradition… why should muster be?

 

After trying on our life vests and resisting the temptation to blow the whistle or dip the light in water to see if it would indeed light up, we rushed back to our cabin, straps flailing dangerously behind us. We popped a bottle of champagne our TA provided and hopped out onto the balcony to get ready for sail away.

 

It didn’t take long for the ship to push- off from the pier and within minutes, we were passing by Alcatraz Island and approaching the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. It was a thrill to pass under… but I still have to give the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay the award for most dramatic bridge cruise passage. There, we were within 18 feet of the road bed. You felt so close you could jump up and touch it. The clearance is nowhere near as tight when passing under the Golden Gate… and with the weather being crappy, it wasn’t as awe inspiring as I’m sure it is on other voyages. Still, it was a really unique experience sailing out of San Francisco as a port and I’m glad we had the opportunity to do so.

 

 

Once the Golden Gate Bridge faded away into the overcast skies, we took a few minutes to unpack our bags and stake out our respective storage spaces. Already, here on Day 1, we decided we’d accumulated enough used items to justify a laundry bag, and since laundry is complimentary for suite guests on Princess, we decided to take advantage of it to freshen up the garments we had worn in San Francisco.

 

Then, from the outer pocket of her suitcase, Mrs. Winks pulled out a piece of door-art she had spent a few hours creating back in NY. Thanks to cardboard padding, it had survived the flight, taxis and multiple bag handlers, so with some circle magnets we’d picked up at the Dollar Store, we tacked the object d’art to our cabin’s door and let the Fiesta begin!

 

 

That first evening we arranged to have dinner at the Crown Grill specialty restaurant since the 25$ cover charged is waved embarkation night for suite guests and, despite our hefty 700$ onboard credit, we’re still notoriously cheap. (I'll explain about that OBC a bit later on and how we managed to spend it all!)

 

Prior to dinner, I popped several ginger pills in anticipation of the rough seas we’d been warned about by cruise critic members on the voyage before ours who’d come back with tales of 14-foot seas. The waters outside the Golden Gate are typically violent, especially in a vigorous El Nino year like this one. But that night, as well as the three successive At Sea days, the Princess Patter would prove accurate when it forecast “slight” seas with only 4-5 foot waves.

 

We headed down the hall just past the atrium where we were welcomed to the Crown Grill and seated at our table. Then in a manner of all surprises, a familiar face stepped up to greet us. It was Gustavo, our waiter from the BVE lunch! But instead of taking our cocktail order, he launched right into this Specialty Coffee Package spiel. Again. Did he honestly think we had changed our minds since enduring his sales pitch in the main dining room? We laughed it off, and let him know we still weren’t interested, despite his impassioned pitch. But after he left, Mrs. Winks and I both rolled our eyes and remarked how sad it was that Princess “Escape Completely” philosophy didn’t include freedom from sales pressure…

 

 

Other than Gustavo’s intrusion, our meal at the Crown Grill was fine. Service and food quality were commendable and the ambience was top notch – dining in a romantic alcove surrounded by rich, dark grained woods and beautiful black-and-white street scenes on the walls. And while we had 8:15pm reservations, which is on the later edge of the dining spectrum I’ll admit, we were still surprised to find the dining venue less than half occupied. Later in the cruise, we would get a note from the Grill expressing sincere hopes that we had enjoyed the Grill’s hospitality and asking us to return at some point in the future… with our cover charge funds in hand, of course.

 

Upon getting back to the cabin, we found the usual mail of Princess Patter, ads from the spa, and then this horrible little card!

 

 

Apparently, we would be sailing east through TWO time zones on our way to Puerto Vallarta, and Princess wanted us to move the clock ahead an hour TWICE over the next three days. Let me tell you, there is NOTHING worse than getting an hour’s less sleep on a cruise!! The first time adjustment really threw us for a loop… the second one was just criminal!

 

Coming up next: Life at Sea

 

Great Review! We were on the same cruise and had an Aft Suite on Caribe Deck just above you, but on the Starboard side; we just love the large balcony and the free dinner in the Crown is always nice.

[Tedferg]

Yes, we arrived around 11:30 am, the same day as you, and we weren't required to stop at the wine table either.

 

Barbie - we are driving down from Sacramento area on Sunday May 1st and wondered about best time to arrive to miss Embarcadero congestion. Plan to drop off DW with luggage and park at 55Frisco.

[rocklinmom]

Winks, you're killing me! Love your sarcasm and wit. Can't wait for the rest.

[partybarbie]

Barbie - we are driving down from Sacramento area on Sunday May 1st and wondered about best time to arrive to miss Embarcadero congestion. Plan to drop off DW with luggage and park at 55Frisco.

 

On a normal disembarkation day, the last group is off the ship by 10:30 am, the BVE passengers board at 11:00 am, and then they start calling Elite/Suite passengers at 11:30 am - 12:00 pm. If you need to park, anytime after 10:30 is good. I would allow about 2 hours to drive from Sacramento, so maybe leave around 8:30 - 9:00 am.

[wblynch]

i feel the same! We watch the walking dead ( never thought in my life i would be interested in a show like that), hilarious and good review

 

+1 :)

Edited January 29, 2016 by wblynch

[Tedferg]

On a normal disembarkation day, the last group is off the ship by 10:30 am, the BVE passengers board at 11:00 am, and then they start calling Elite/Suite passengers at 11:30 am - 12:00 pm. If you need to park, anytime after 10:30 is good. I would allow about 2 hours to drive from Sacramento, so maybe leave around 8:30 - 9:00 am.

 

Thank you - leisurely breakfast at home :-)

[DarkCrystal]

Fun review :). We did the Christmas cruise to Mexico and had a great time, other than finding out I'm allergic to the sun. Would do it again, I just won't get off the ship, and that's not a bad thing ;-)