tonit964

While there are issues with the ship for sure that really are impacting some guests such as AC/toilet issues, which there is no excuse for, the staff/crew has been wonderful and I’m having a good time. The ship just wasn’t ready in my opinion. I think I’m going to take a break from Princess for a while. Really want to try Celebrity. I hope your cruise goes without any issues and you have a wonderful time.

When walking on the promenade deck this morning, on one side there was water everywhere, some of the pipes from deck 8 are leaking. There was a huge leak at the entrance to Wheelhouse bar and on deck 10 for the first few days of the cruise. They were replacing the carpet on deck 10 this morning. Was dining in Vivaldi last night and parts of the floor are very soft, I’ve never experienced that before.

I’m on the ship too and everything that baggr42 is saying is accurate. My brother and his wife had toilet issues/hot water issues as well. My neighbor next door had to shower in a nearby cabin because they couldn’t get hot water for a few days. Many restrooms around the ship are not working. Make sure to check your onboard account daily because there are many charges that are incorrect. Have to go to guest services every day to remove charges. The staff are all wonderful and the cruise is great but I don’t think the ship was ready for passengers.

Excellent & thorough explanation.

I’m not sure but I just boarded the Sapphire from LA for a 10 day Mexico cruise. I’m fully vaccinated as of April/May 2021 with my one booster in November of 2021 and had no problems boarding with that.

Exactly this. It turned out OK, it was very easy. We had our Uber driver take us to 46 and they handled everything there. We did und up just bringing our bags with us on the ship. Apparently there were no shuttles to take people that were leaving their cars and no one there knew anything about it is what I heard from someone in the roll call. They ended up taking a cab. It was actually a very easy embarkation but only because we got dropped off. Princess failed on this one though.

In all of my cruises out of San Pedro, I’ve never received an email explaining the process either but never needed one, knew exactly where to go and what to do. The ship is almost 3 miles away from the terminal. This is out of the ordinary and should be explained by Princess as a courtesy.

It would just be nice to know where we will need to check-in. If Princess can send multiple emails about booking your excursions and spa appointments before the cruise, is it too much to ask to send an email explaining the boarding process since this is different from most experience? SMH.

So, I’m boarding the Sapphire out of LA tomorrow and it leaves from Berth 46 which a couple of miles down the road from the main terminal and have received ZERO information about where we should go to drop luggage, check-in and getting to the ship. I’m planning on getting an Uber but don’t know where to have them drop me off. It’s a 50/50 chance of getting it right. There are huge white tents at Berth 46 so is everything happening there and I’ll just get dropped off or do I go to the main terminal for check-in? There is absolutely no excuse for Princess not to send an email explaining what we need to do. It’s going to be a total s@&t show and I feel bad for all of those that don’t even know the ship is not at berth 92 or 93 where they usually are. Princess really dropped the ball on this one.

I was on the Discovery last April and they did have the small glass bottles of Perrier, had a few everyday. They also had the regular 16oz plastic water bottles, which came in handy when going ashore.

I remember way back they would have huge BBQ grills out on the Lido deck cooking up all kinds of things, burgers, hot dogs, ribs, chicken, rice, etc. on embarkation day. They used real charcoal, it was so good and so much fun.

Can't answer about Alfredo's but I go to the buffet and make a plate of meats, cheeses, olives & crackers for a snack on the balcony. Very easy to do and it's fun.

I remember reading/finding out here on CC, I think it was one of Saint Greg's LIVE threads that the cruise leaving out of LA was canceled that same morning I think it was March 14th, as people were already checked in at the terminal and waiting to board.

When I was on the Discovery last April, I did walk off with my own luggage which was the first group to get off the ship and that was at 8:20am. I think your flight is too early.

Hopefully they won't start charging to use the jogging track or walk around promenade deck. That's how I get my exercise on the cruise.

That’s funny but very accurate. We’ll be arriving via a cruise ship. We’ll try not to look too touristy. 😁

Thank you so much for that information, very helpful. Sad to hear Cheeky Monkey is gone. Yeah, we’re going to do the ‘ touristy’ thing and hang out at the beach. Maybe we’ll give Sea Monkey another shot. Thanks again for taking the time to extensively answer.

Hi Hank We are going to be in Puerto Vallarta at the end of the month and are going to take a cab to the Malecon. I've done this a few times before but my DB & SIL have not. We were looking for a lunch spot on the beach. I've been to The Blue Shrimp a few times which was good but my brother is not a big fan of shrimp. I've also been to The Sea Monkey on the beach side, it was just OK. Any recommendations? TIA!!

No night light in the bathroom. I bring a small battery powered candle to keep in the bathroom. So much easier on the eyes in the middle of the night and no more being momentarily blind on the way back to bed.

I've been on two NYE cruises, both on Carnival. In the dining room, the tables had NYE decorations on them with hats & noisemakers. They had "snow" in the atrium early evening. There were two parties going on, one more formal in the atrium and one more casual on out on the Lido Deck. Free flowing champagne at both. They do the countdown and the crew were celebrating as well. It was so much fun. On my second NYE cruise, it was similar. When we boarded the ship, they were passing out champagne and walking around with trays for a good couple of hours. Muster drill was interesting. 🙂 Instead of the hats & noisemakers on the dining tables, they passed them out later in the evening. Still two parties, in the atrium & lido deck and free flowing champagne then too. Have fun!

If Cheers was not profitable for them, they would have discontinued it years ago. They don't offer it just because it's convenient and a money saver for passengers. They offer it to make a buck or two. 🙂

The Yucatán was my favorite of about three I tried. That was my go to drink.

Close! It was a double life.

My first cruise was in 1999 on the Elation, it was our honeymoon and they did in fact do this. I have a picture somewhere of my now ex husband with two of these ladies, one on either side of him dressed in elaborate Vegas style costumes.

When we were on the Freedom to the Caribbean a few years back, the waiters in the dining room were asking people if they wanted to stay on for the next sailing. It was for a ridiculously low price. We wished we could have taken advantage of that but we had work/school.