MTdreaming

Thanks for a great review...it does sound like a very busy cruise.

I haven't cruised in a Celebrity SkySuite..but have done the mini suite on Princess. From the pictures (which can be deceptive) it appears they are fairly similar.. really just large balcony cabins. We really enjoyed the mini suite...the extra space was nice, I think the Stewards are slightly better trained etc and give more attention...that being said, it does sound like Celebrity might have more perks. I would choose based on other ship amenities, and specific port stops (and how long you are in port). It sounds like you might just want to try something different, so I think going with Princess would be the thing to do this time around.

We often travel with friends from other states.. so request a 4 top. We do anytime dining so sometimes they are unavailable.. and we take what we can get. My husband has hearing impairment so the large tables are really hard for him to converse with others. The 2 tops are so close together that I don't think we would choose those even if it was just the 2 of us traveling. As to making reservations in anytime dining.. we found that it varies wildly by ship. We have had no problem on some ships and then on others found that it was not possible. We don't like to dine too early but due to medication issues we I need to finish eating 4 hours before bedtime, so the 8:30 thing doesn't work for us. Anytime dining also means you don't have to rush back from an event or excursion if you have the earlier sitting. This really is almost as subjective as food choice :-)

We are considering this cruise, so this review is wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to give such detail. My concern was that there would be too many sea days.. we are older and won't be doing zumba etc.. but do love the various trivia games that Princess usually has. Sounds like traveling with another couple might be best...again loving this review.

We really enjoyed our Southern Caribbean out of San Juan.. I would recommend the Adventure of the Seas...enough activities on board. It will be a port intensive cruise, but we don't like a lot of sea days so thought it was great. I would also recommend staying on in San Juan or arriving an extra day or two early, Old San Juan is very interesting.

Of course you know that defeats the purpose of Anytime Dining. Set dining is the reason for having the Traditional dining area.

In the past we could arrange anytime dining reservations for the next day..based on what we were planning to do. This last cruise on the Ruby, 10 day Mexican Riveria.. you had to call the morning of.. and there never were any available until after 7:30 pm..and that was dialing them as soon as they stated they would take reservations. It left a bit of a sour taste frankly.. I know some folks don't show up.. so don't let them make future reservations. I have medical/medicine issues and can't eat after about 7 to 7:30 due to medications.. so it is always a bit tricky even at home. The traditional times are so early or too late. Not a huge deal, but it certainly has been a slight irritant. We do the uncharge restaurants a couple of times on each cruise.. but don't really want to have to buffet it the rest of the time. I will say that the lines weren't too long, we didn't have to wait too often. There were 4 of us and being it was trip to spend time together we did request tables for just the four of us.. that wasn't always possible, but frequently it worked out.

:rolleyes:

So, we decided to do a "cheap" get away, sailing out of New Orleans in August. My question for you, what is the most "rig-a-mo" you have ever done to do "cheap"? Right now, this is our plan...drive to Cincinnati (about an hour and a half away) and fly Allegient Air ($44.00 per ticket) to NO (there are 10 of us); rent two cars; drive to hotel in Gretna then to the ferry station and take the ferry over and walk into the French Quarter for the day; ferry back to cars; cars back to hotel. In the morning drive to cruise port drop off 8 people and drivers take the two rental cars to a drop off point near the ship (1/2 to 1 mile); drop off cars and drivers walk back to port. Following the cruise we will rent two cars to take us back to the airport; drivers will again walk to car rental pick up and drive back to port to pick up other 8 people; drop off cars and fly back to Dayton with points on Southwest. If we can't get drivers to take us to Cincinnati for the Allegient flights we will have to go back the next day to pick up the cars. We are experienced travelers and have done a lot of things to save a dime, but I am smiling as I type this because this is a lot even for us! So, can you beat this or do you just think we are crazy?

We have done things similar.. but it is tiring and there are possibilities of issues. Are you getting a particularly good deal on the car rental? what about parking charges? You could consider using two Uber XL cars for some of this?? Also are you staying in Gretna for a specific reason? Did you try priceline type things in the French Quarter. or even AirBnB for a whole house? ..so I think I might be complicating this more than helping :-( Whatever enjoy your trip!

I do Forteo injections daily. I just asked for a sharps container from the steward. My husband uses a cpap machine and we asked for distilled water through the site...they have never had it in the room, we always have to ask for it from the Steward anyway.

We watch and wait...but my understanding is that Royal Caribbean now has a policy that cruise fares will not drop further starting at 30 days out, so if you are looking specifically at that Cruise line..(TX residents ;-) ) last minute is slightly different.

I wasn't blown away by Magic To Do... maybe this one will be the trick.

We weren't either... it wasn't terrible, just not as good as hyped or expected. Princess is working on their entertainment - which they really really needed to do - but not quite there yet.

Thinking about doing this by UBER. Any comments from those who have done this? Appreciate advice. Thanks.

We used Uber for 4 adults with luggage in April. We did request UberXL. One was available at LAX quickly outside of luggage claim, traffic was very heavy, but driver was good, car was newer and clean. We then used them after the cruise to get over to Disneyland - had to wait a few minutes but not too long, maybe 10 minutes.. we were some of the last off the ship..great large SUV, again nice driver and good. A few days later used Uber again to get from the Disney area to Santa Ana Airport..again very quick and a good experience. Prices were better than shuttles or cabs. This was our first experience and I would use them again. Each car was able to handle the 4 adults (not small people) 4 large suitcases, and 4 carryons.

Alaska might be the one time I could skip a balcony. We always get a balcony and haven't done Alaska yet, so take this with a grain of salt. When talking with other balcony cruisers they have said that the Alaska cruise was the one they seldom used the balcony because the cold weather and the better views up on deck. What about a compromise of an ocean view? also if doing a balcony and that is your "view spot" make sure you have an idea what views are most important to you and that your side of the ship will be in alignment with that. Regardless, as with any decision, make it and then just enjoy the cruise. You can watch for price drops and do an upgrade as others have mentioned...but don't drive yourself crazy, life is short!

We often play the trivia games, do well, never have won. Really just enjoy it, it is lots of fun with friends and family. Also enjoy mad gab etc games. We like playing the pass out daily sheets together as well. The kids and their dad do the golf chipping and putting, have done well at that...but last cruise when my daughter tied in golf chipping, they both got prizes, however the other, older man, was really demanding a playoff - huh hitting a wiffle ball into a life preserver in the pool and it is that serious, the host of the game was not into it to begin with and wasn't going to do a playoff.. the guy walks off muttering under his breath how real tournaments always end with a playoff, no ties. Laugh out loud, really...

The four of us just used this app on the Ruby in April...we could leave messages for each other, but as others stated there is no notification, so you do have to check for a message. We did find it very helpful. We downloaded it in advance to our iphones, but it won't activate until you are on board the ship. I got it through the app store, Princess@Sea Messenger. We could text about meeting places, times etc. did have to close and reopen it upon occasion but still found it helpful

Looks just like home. :D

These awful critters are common through out the southern US...Texas to Florida..the first time I saw one was in Saudi Arabia...gave me the absolute creepies..all the Texans just rolled their eyes at my hysterics. I have never seen one on a cruise ship, but have seen more than I would like living in TX now :(

Perhaps they are referring to newer ships.

Princess has also let the Port know it wishes to return.

Where did you hear this.. I would love it if Princess would return, but my understanding was that both Princess and NCL were done with Houston sailings.

Agreed! BTW - when you say Los Angeles do you mean Long Beach? That is the worst embarkation IMO - long lines in the hot sun, not moving. It still wouldn't hinder me from going - it's just something we have to go through to get to the fun.

the most recent one was San Pedro...embark was awful. Still I would go back just with low expectations of the process, and maybe I would be pleasantly surprised.

have sailed out of Los Angeles, FLL, Galveston Puerto Rico and Houston... have had good and bad at all. Last trip was out of Los Angeles...embarkation was a disaster, longest lines ever, no porters, then disembark was a breeze and quickest ever. Things happen everywhere. We have had a mess in FLL, chaos. It is part of travel. I hopefully would not limit my cruise itineraries or choices based on a bad port experience. Usually the cruise lines do not control the port or it's workers. Glad you are on board and now can relax and enjoy your trip.

It is a great and easy thing to do, just did the Midway in April. Agree about doing the Island Tour first, very interesting. Also take time to go down into the engine rooms. You will find throughout the ship several places where little talks are given.. usually by former Navy personnel, including pilots. It is a very worthwhile, interesting stop.

WE were four adults, each with a standard large suitcase and a carryon. We decided to give Uber a try. From LAX to the crowne Plaza in San Pedro we got a UberXL in about 7 minutes, it was a van. we arrived around 2:45, traffic on the 405 was really thick, took us almost an hour. The driver was polite, car was new, we could just sit back. The cost was $56 due to the extra time. We then used Uber again on disembark, as could be expected there was surge pricing in effect. We were one of the last groups off the ship.. it went really quickly! There were no Uber or UberXL available at that time, so we bumped up to a Uber SUV...the driver was there within 10 minutes, a new Suburban. We were headed to Disneyland. The ride was great, driver again very nice, car new. This was more expensive $160. On the morning we were leaving the Disney area we decided to give it a go again, we were headed to John Wayne Airport (SNA) this time. Got an UberXL in 3 minutes, again a new van, driver very helpful and polite. This ride was $32. So for 4 adults with luggage the total on our three legged trip was $248, much cheaper than renting a car and parking. Easier than a shuttle in my opinion, but it would have saved some $$ to use a pre-reserved Shuttle from the Port to Disney on disembark.

There were four of us so we used Uber XL. Just under $57. Traffic was heavy and it took an hour to get to the Crowne Plaza (near the pier). I will note that when I opened the app it did say no UberX available...so maybe those aren't common at LAX. The $57 figure covered the Lax charge and was total costs. Hope this is helpful

Used Uber XL today to get from LAX to the Crowne Plaza in San Pedro. First use of Uber, we used Uber XL as there were 4 adults. It worked well, picked us up outside of baggage claim lower level outside of terminal 5. Worked just as they said, traffic was very bad on the 405. Total costs was less than $57, as it took an hour, I thought this was reasonable. I did notice when requesting a ride that no uber x were available at that point, which was fine as we were too many with too much luggage for that option anyway. The driver took about 8 minutes to get to us. Hope that helped

We thought La Paz and Loreto were wonderful ports. Very laid back. La Paz is a much bigger city than Loreto. Both ports actually have a very similar layout. There's a beachfront Malecon, with a Plaza and church about 3 blocks inland. We just wandered around town in both ports.

 

In La Paz the ship docks way out of town. The Port of La Paz offers a free shuttle into downtown. I counted 14 shuttle buses lined up when we arrived. The bus ride takes 25 minutes and drops you off at the central bus station, right on the Malecon between Calle Independencia and Calle Cinco de Mayo. A walk along the Malecon is delightful. We walked 3 blocks up Calle Cinco de Maya to the main Plaza and Cathedral. Then we wandered back to the Malecon along Calle 16 de Septembre, which is the main downtown shopping street. (Check Google Maps to orient yourself.)

 

In Loreto we were tendered in to the Marina. From there we walked 3 blocks south along the Malecon to Avenida Salvatierra, which is a pedestrian only street that leads to the Plaza and historic Mission. Just follow the crowds, It seems like the entire ship was doing the same thing. If you're into history, the Mission Nuestro Senora de Loreto is a must. It is the first of the California Missions, the start of El Camino Real. Quite historic. Next to the mission is an excellent museum that gives a good history of the Missions and their impact on the area. It cost $3 to enter.

 

If you're interested, I have scanned the Port Guides to those ports that Princess provided. You'll find them in the "Patters" link in my signature below. Scroll down past the Patters and you'll find the Port Guides. Have a great cruise!

That sounds like a good plan for us.. we do enjoy strolling and seeing historical sites. As a former California, I always enjoy touring historic Missions as well. Thanks so much. I will look at your port guides as well.

I just hope they have more of a promenade deck!!! That is my biggest concern with these ships. I know they added a semi-promenade after the first one.. but more please!!

Thanks for the review.. we are doing this next week! What did you specifically do in La Paz and Loretto? We are having a hard time finding information on those two ports. We like history, walking tours, gardens and a bit of beach time (not a ton however).