Anyone waiting to hear about Diamond

[mmsoko]

We cruised on Feb 10-17 and enjoyed our cruise.

Part I.

This year our group consisted of three 60’s couples. Our 7th cruise, 4th on Princess.

This was our first cruise to the Mexican Riviera.

 

 

Arrived in LA day before cruise. Arranged for exclusive shuttle through SuperShuttle to take our party of 6 to the Doubletree in San Pedro. The hotel worked out well. We arrived late and just had a sandwich at the hotel. We immediately went to sign up for complimentary shuttle to port the next morning. Because of our later arrival, our shuttle time wasn’t until 1pm on Saturday. On Saturday morning we took a walk to a nearby (several blocks but walkable) liquor store to purchase wine for the cruise.

Check-out time was noon, so we waited in lobby until the shuttle was ready.

 

We arrived at the pier about 1:30. Two members in our party were Platinum and they could each take two guests for preferred embarkment. This worked out very well for us because by the time we arrived Platinum and guests could board immediately. We saw many others waiting in holding area before boarding. The check-in lines were fairly long even at 1:30.

 

We arrived at 3 adjoining minisuites on Emerald deck and found what we’d expected. We had stayed in minisuites on Golden & Coral before. We request the doors between the balconies are unlocked. We then enjoy meeting for morning coffee, drinks before dinner or cards on the balcony. The deck chairs were upgraded from the previous ships (not plastic anymore). Never saw the “welcome champagne”. Our steward Leo took our requests but was not quick in responding to them. Leo was not the best steward we’ve ever had. Friendly and caring enough but….

 

Dining: We had early traditional dining at a table(#60) for six in the International Dining Room. Our servers, Andriana and Mauricio WERE the best servers. The food didn’t seem quite as good as our last cruises. Lobster was small and tough. The soufflés were as wonderful as ever and the beef tenderloins were done very well. We enjoyed the Baked Alaska parade. The dessert wine was quite delightful.

We ate breakfast in both the dining room and the buffet area…enjoyed both.

Had coffee and muffins on the balcony most mornings….it did get cool on our last days back.

Took advantage of the coffee card. The mochas were good.

[mmsoko]

Entertainment: We saw several of the shows. Enjoyed Piano Man. You need to arrive at least ½ before show especially if you have a group that would like to sit together.

Enjoyed the Princess Idol…many talented passengers.

Contributed at the casino. It seemed quieter than other ship’s casinos, never had a problem finding a seat at a table or a machine to play.

Played at the minigolf course..fun as always. The course is trickly to find…you can always ask. Go up the steps at the back of the open pool area (only access to course).

 

Bought the weekly pass for the Thermal Spa. It was very relaxing but not totally functional. Several days one or more of the steam rooms were out of order, one ceramic bed was out all week. The Spa manager was quick to make an adjustment on the cost for us. The Spa isn’t monitored at all; one elderly lady seemed to sleep on the ceramic bed all day( 15 minutes recommended) Not sure if that was good for her, also it was one less bed for other patrons to share.

 

Tour desk: Had made reservations for group of 6 for tour online before cruise. On previous ships never had a problem moving the billing to each couple. This seemed like an enormous problem for the tour desk on the Diamond. Just had our friends reimburse us, made it easier.

 

Ports:

Puerto Vallarta. As luck would have it my sister from Western Michigan was vacationing in PV the day we were in port. They met us for breakfast at the Krystal Vallarta. We had made massage reservations there before leaving home. DH and I both agreed these were the best massages we ever had. The massages for two were in a cabana on the beach, you could hear the waves splashing in the background. We had a 75 minute massage at a very reasonable rate. After took a cab into town and shopped for a while, while DH enjoyed the beach with BIL. Enjoyed the day…but didn’t really get a good feel for PV.

 

Mazatlan: At the terminal, found Jorge Sanchez (van #53) and hired his van for tour for the six of us. We enjoyed his tour. We got a good overview of the city. Saw the divers, the Cathedral, Marketplace, countryside. We stopped at a store that I’m sure Jorge was associated with but it wasn’t offensive; no hard sell, clean restroom. I’m sure he would have not stopped if we asked him not to. He was very accommodating, even made a stop at the wine shoppe for us.

 

Cabo: Went on ship’s Sail & Snorkel excursion. We expected a catamaran but the tour was on sailboat. The crew was pleasant. The water was “refreshing”. The snorkeling was ok, the boat ride was nice. The drinks flowed freely, but it wasn’t a booze cruise.

They served light snacks; fruit & cheese. Never saw any whales but a school of dolphins played with the boat. It was fun seeing them. Would recommend the tour.

Did a little souvenir shopping for the grandkids at the marketplace near the pier. Was able to bargain for the trinkets.

 

 

Disembarkment: Procedure ran about an hour behind schedule. There were four walk-off groups. We had not seen the notice to request any deviance from the disembarkment schedule before Tuesday. If your flights are at noon, make sure you request earlier tags from the purser before Tuesday. Our SuperShuttle (pre-reserved) was available when we reached the pier.

 

All in all, cruising is once again wonderful. If someone’s cooking for me and making my bed, I’m happy. The Mexican Riviera Cruise, in February, isn’t as warm onboard as the Caribbean. Do bring warmer clothes.

[CrusinAgain]

Thanks for the great review. 24 more days to go for us and scheduled for Krystals also :)

 

We are flying thru Princess Air and they have us scheduled to leave LA on a 12:30 p.m. flight. After reading your review, I am thinking we should do the self disembark? What are your thoughts?

 

Also, what are the current movies playing and did the use the Princess theater for them or not? I know someones sailing in December they didn't due to rehearsing for a new show.

[Colo Cruiser]

Great review thanks, we are leaving in 18 days. ;)

 

What was the problem with the 6 of you on the tour? Did you make them seperatly on the cruise personalizer for each person or did you book them all under one name?

[lhall85917]

Thanks for the review, especially enjoyed reading about what you did at each port. We have Mazatlan figured out, but not the others yet!:eek:

[mmsoko]

CruisinAgain: Would stick with your Princess arrangements...you'll be scheduled just after walk offs since you have Princess air...and if you happen to be late it's Princess liability.

Didn't take in the movies, but I believe they were scheduled in Princess Theater...will check in Patters and get back to you.

 

Colo Cruiser: We booked all 6 reservations for the tour under one name. In the past on the Golden and the Coral, once we were onboard they transferred the amount due from that person's onboard account to each couple. The Diamond's tour desk staff needed to return the tickets, have all parties there to sign and make new arrangements...just a little annoyance we decided to handle privately. Worked out fine.

 

 

Need to decide on next cruise so this withdrawal goes away!;) Forgot to mention we once again purchase a future cruise credit onboard. Has worked so well for us in the past.

[Joy_K]

Thanks for the review. We are departing this weekend and can't wait for the massages we have booked at the Krystal.

[CrusinAgain]

Did you bring the Patters back with you? What movies were playing?

 

Yeah, we are going to hate seeing the last day come off the cruise. That cruise withdrawal is horrible!

[olson99]

What was the cost for the van tour?

[mmsoko]

What was the cost for the van tour?

 

 

We paid $30pp+tip. We could have paid $25pp if we didn't want to book the van exclusively for us.

[azsunshine]

Thanks for the review. We are departing this weekend and can't wait for the massages we have booked at the Krystal.

 

 

You will love the krystal massages! it was certainly one of the best ever. enjoy!!

[mmsoko]

Yes, I brought home the patters just for this reason....

 

Saturday's Welcome Patter

" Movies this Cruise"

Invincible.The Illusionist.Superman Returns.The Inside Man. Mission Impossible III.Firewall.The Da Vinci Code.The Sentinel.Failure to Launch.X-Men:The Last Stand.Rumor Has It. RV. Over the Hedge.The Break-Up.Click. The Devil Wears Prada.Pirates of the Caribbean.Dead Man's Chest

 

These movies will be presented when possible either in the Princess Theater or the Explorer' Lounge. They will also be shown on channel 40 of your Stateroom TV throughout the voyage.

 

 

A quick look at the daily patters shows 11pm movies in Explorer's Lounge and some midnight movies at Princess Theater. Seems like I also remember seeing afternoon movie on Sunday & Monday at PT.

 

Hope this helps.

[CrusinAgain]

Thanks so much for posting the movies. Thats our vegetating time. :)

[KikiKruiser]

We are flying thru Princess Air and they have us scheduled to leave LA on a 12:30 p.m. flight. After reading your review, I am thinking we should do the self disembark? What are your thoughts?

 

 

If your air and transfers are booked thru Princess, no worries, they know when to disembark you and you will be with others in the same boat, so to speak !!! :)

[arizonaperson]

MMSOKO- I hope you also posted your cruise on the review board, that is where it is suppose to go. Good review though.:)

[sdlindsay]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=26089

 

mmsoko, glad you enjoyed your trip.:D But that's the whole point right?

[CrusinAgain]

If your air and transfers are booked thru Princess, no worries, they know when to disembark you and you will be with others in the same boat, so to speak !!! :)

 

Thanks so much. That helps alot. :)

[mmsoko]

MMSOKO- I hope you also posted your cruise on the review board, that is where it is suppose to go. Good review though.:)

 

Yes, I posted it there.

In the past it has taken so long to post on the review board and I know from experience, I was dying for new, fresh info. That's why I also posted it here.