Review of my Mexican Riviera Cruise Verrryyyy long

[AuzzieCruiser]

Better late than never.

Here is my review of my cruise on cruise M633 aboard Diamond Princess

 

Embarkation

 

The cruise left from San Pedro Harbor, about 30 minutes from LA. We were actually staying out at Anaheim after spending a week there. The trip from Anaheim took about 45 minutes and a $100 later.

We arrived at the terminal around 11am.There seemed to be a bit of confusion, with cars, taxi's and buses everywhere.

We were dropped off, and the Bellboy took our bags. We then proceeded to the entrance to the terminal. We were given a questionnaire about our health, which we filled in and signed. We proceeded upstairs to check-in for the cruise. Since we were Non-US citizens we had our own check-in counters. This place really reminded me of an airport.The woman that was checking us in was new. Considering that, she did quite a good job. It took about 15 minutes to completley check-in. She gave us boarding ticket number 6.

We then had to checkout of the US, and have our fingerprints and photo taken again. We then proceeded to the lounge. It wasn't full, with about 200 or so people there. We had about 30 minutes to wait before boarding would commence.

Boarding commenced with Priority passengers (Captains Circle Platnium and Elite members), for which there was quite a few.

We waited around 20 minutes for number 6 to be called. We joined the line, had our documents and passports checked again, and went through security, and then it came time to board the ship.

We had our picture taken with the ship's photographer, and boardered. We had our picture taken for our cruisecard at the entrance to the ship.

 

Cabin

We then proceeded directly up to our cabin, A718. We used the midships lifts up to deck 12 and walked back to the aft, where our cabin was located.

I had the honour of opening the door, and walked in. The cabin was already made up for us, but was in the Queen bed configuration. My first stop was the balcony. The balcony was smaller than what we have had in the past, but still it was great to have one.

The bathroom was a bit on the small side (aren't they all!!), especially the shower. The toilet sat on a weird angle, which made it uncomfotable if you had to sit there for a while:o .

There was the safe in the closet, and a huge area to hang your clothes. There wasn't much in the way of storage, but we made the best of what we had.

The cabin seemed very cramped compared to the past, but that was due to the bad design of the cabin.

 

Food

We only ate at the Buffet, and didn't eat in any of the dining rooms. We had the 'Anytime dining', which meant that we could eat in one of the 4 themed restaurants when we felt like it.

It was the best buffet I have ever seen. The selection was fantastic, with the food being replenished when required.

I was naughty at breakfast and had French toast every morning, as well as pancakes:o . There was the usual sausages, eggs, bacon, mushrooms, hash browns & pastries, which I stayed away from.

 

Entertaiment

The Entertainment was average. The production shows that I saw was average to say the best. The comedians were great, as always, but the Explorers Lounge was full 45 minutes before the show was due to start.

The Theatre was a bit on the small side, and only sat 600 on a 2,600 passenger ship. You really had to get there early to grab a seat.

There was plenty of activities going on around the ship, but none of which interested me.

 

Crew

The crew was great. Our room steward Gonzalo was great, with nothing being too much trouble. He made our rooms every day, and turned them down every night.

The rest of the crew were friendly as well, and would say hello.

The drinks service in the Theatre was the only downside. They were a bit on the slow side.

 

Sorry to bore you!!

More to come..........

[Star-Man]

Auzzie, thanks for the review. It's nice to hear what cruising from places other than Australia is like.

 

And I wouldnt call that review long at all. I have read much lengthier ones

[Druke I]

Just curious - why not eat in the dining rooms? Don't care for the regimentation?

 

While on Princess, we usually have breakfast and lunch in the Horizon Court (or whatever the Lido is called on that particular ship), and usually eat dinner in the Dining Room, 1st Traditional.

 

Alos curious why this is on the P&O forum, as opposed to the Princess forum?

 

Damn, I am a curious sort today! It might have something to do with the question from the Editor of Cruise Critic re P&O (UK) - "What Can Cruise Critic Do Better?"

[kaseyoz]

glad to hear you hd a great time too.

i look forward to reading more about your cruise. I am going to try and get mine also.

[strawberrypatch81]

Thank you for the review. Can't wait to hear more! :)

[AuzzieCruiser]

Just curious - why not eat in the dining rooms? Don't care for the regimentation?

 

While on Princess, we usually have breakfast and lunch in the Horizon Court (or whatever the Lido is called on that particular ship), and usually eat dinner in the Dining Room, 1st Traditional.

 

Alos curious why this is on the P&O forum, as opposed to the Princess forum?

 

Damn, I am a curious sort today! It might have something to do with the question from the Editor of Cruise Critic re P&O (UK) - "What Can Cruise Critic Do Better?"

 

It is because I would like to share my experience with other cruisers, particularly those based here in Australia. I feel the P&O board is more of an 'Australian' board, than nessecarily a P & O board.

We found that the Dining Rooms were too formal for our liking, particularly at dinner time. We found the buffet to be fantastic, and met our needs.

I wasn't too upset that we missed out on dining in the dining rooms. I was very surprised how many people were up in the buffet every night.

[kaseyoz]

I wonder of the amount of people at the buffet is people who did not like their dining room times. On our cruise there was a huge line for changes (over an hour) the matre d' came out several times and said if you had booked within the last two months you had no chance of changing your dining booking. They did change mine. We went to buffet for formal night as we had planned and there were many people there

[campingman]

Better late than never.

Here is my review of my cruise on cruise M633 aboard Diamond Princess

 

Embarkation

 

The cruise left from San Pedro Harbor, about 30 minutes from LA. We were actually staying out at Anaheim after spending a week there. The trip from Anaheim took about 45 minutes and a $100 later.

We arrived at the terminal around 11am.There seemed to be a bit of confusion, with cars, taxi's and buses everywhere.

We were dropped off, and the Bellboy took our bags. We then proceeded to the entrance to the terminal. We were given a questionnaire about our health, which we filled in and signed. We proceeded upstairs to check-in for the cruise. Since we were Non-US citizens we had our own check-in counters. This place really reminded me of an airport.The woman that was checking us in was new. Considering that, she did quite a good job. It took about 15 minutes to completley check-in. She gave us boarding ticket number 6.

We then had to checkout of the US, and have our fingerprints and photo taken again. We then proceeded to the lounge. It wasn't full, with about 200 or so people there. We had about 30 minutes to wait before boarding would commence.

Boarding commenced with Priority passengers (Captains Circle Platnium and Elite members), for which there was quite a few.

We waited around 20 minutes for number 6 to be called. We joined the line, had our documents and passports checked again, and went through security, and then it came time to board the ship.

We had our picture taken with the ship's photographer, and boardered. We had our picture taken for our cruisecard at the entrance to the ship.

 

Cabin

We then proceeded directly up to our cabin, A718. We used the midships lifts up to deck 12 and walked back to the aft, where our cabin was located.

I had the honour of opening the door, and walked in. The cabin was already made up for us, but was in the Queen bed configuration. My first stop was the balcony. The balcony was smaller than what we have had in the past, but still it was great to have one.

The bathroom was a bit on the small side (aren't they all!!), especially the shower. The toilet sat on a weird angle, which made it uncomfotable if you had to sit there for a while:o .

There was the safe in the closet, and a huge area to hang your clothes. There wasn't much in the way of storage, but we made the best of what we had.

The cabin seemed very cramped compared to the past, but that was due to the bad design of the cabin.

 

Food

We only ate at the Buffet, and didn't eat in any of the dining rooms. We had the 'Anytime dining', which meant that we could eat in one of the 4 themed restaurants when we felt like it.

It was the best buffet I have ever seen. The selection was fantastic, with the food being replenished when required.

I was naughty at breakfast and had French toast every morning, as well as pancakes:o . There was the usual sausages, eggs, bacon, mushrooms, hash browns & pastries, which I stayed away from.

 

Entertaiment

The Entertainment was average. The production shows that I saw was average to say the best. The comedians were great, as always, but the Explorers Lounge was full 45 minutes before the show was due to start.

The Theatre was a bit on the small side, and only sat 600 on a 2,600 passenger ship. You really had to get there early to grab a seat.

There was plenty of activities going on around the ship, but none of which interested me.

 

Crew

The crew was great. Our room steward Gonzalo was great, with nothing being too much trouble. He made our rooms every day, and turned them down every night.

The rest of the crew were friendly as well, and would say hello.

The drinks service in the Theatre was the only downside. They were a bit on the slow side.

 

Sorry to bore you!!

More to come..........

 

AussieCruiser.Are you intending to cruise on the Pacific Princess this coming Australian Season?

Ive just be presented with a good deal if you or any of your friends are interested in.

Tony3801@bigpond.net.au