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Live from the Crown - Jan 22, 2016 - 3-day Baja Getaway from San Pedro

CanadianBurger

By CanadianBurger,
in Princess Cruises

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Lady Darci

Lady Darci

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Debarkation is a mess. Our meeting time was 8:35, it is now 9:53 and they just called group 7 about an hour after group 5. The crew is saying the hold up is due to customs, but who knows.

 

Needless to say the natives are getting restless. The back-up has resulted in multiple groups being crammed into too small a space with no room to sit. A lot of people are getting vocal about missed flights.

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CanadianBurger Great Review Rare

CanadianBurger

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Day 4: Los Angeles

I can't say I'm happy to see LA again... Three days is too short.

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I started the day by packing, and left the cabin around 8:15. You're supposed to vacate by 8:00, but I saw my cabin steward in the hallway and he said to take my time. I have a late afternoon flight out of LAX, so I'm the last group with a transfer to the airport, at 10:20. I went to the MDR for a leisurely last breakfast aboard, then headed up to Lido and hung out in the sun for a while. At 10:15 I headed down to the Platinum disembarkation lounge in the DaVinci dining room, where I'm writing this. I've heard some grumblings about walk-off times being later than expected. One of the crew told me disembarkation had to be halted because US Customs re-boarded the ship for some reason. Since I have a Princess transfer, he said when they finally call Orange 4, he'll escort us off the ship to the bus. I'm in no hurry; the longer I stay on board the happier I am. Da Vinci isn't crowded; it's quiet and relaxing.

Melissa, yes, you'll be dragging your luggage around with you from 8:00 until you get off. Just find a place to park yourself and relax. The MDR wasn't busy for breakfast, and people just put their bags against the wall. I'd recommend doing that instead of the buffet on the final morning.

Well, that was painless. A crew member called Orange 4 at about 10:30, and since we had the Princess transfer, we were escorted off the ship, bypassing the huge line of self-disembarking pax. I apologize if you were in that line and saw us walk by.

However, now that we're off the ship, the US Customs line is crazy!

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CanadianBurger Great Review Rare

CanadianBurger

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That line moved pretty fast. I was through customs by 11:00. No issues. On board the bus. It's a full motor coach, and there's only four people on board for trip.

 

Farewell, Crown Princess.

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Some final thoughts...

Had a fantastic time. The service was a little slower than normal, but that was to be expected under the code red. The entertainment was exemplary, and aside from the one Afternoon Tea, I have no complaints whatsoever about the ship or her crew. I also noticed that the ship's Internet speed has increased dramatically from the last time I was aboard her, in June 2014.

 

I hope everyone enjoyed reading my ramblings as much as I did writing them!

 

Bon Voyage to those cruising soon!

 

Steve.

 

 

 

 

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shredie

shredie

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I see things haven't improved in disembarkation since a couple of weeks ago. :( Things seem to be better when it's a long cruise back to San Pedro, but the short ones are a nightmare. I must get to Trident Grill for the BBQ one of these times. Have a safe journey home (to my home town :).)

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Lady Darci

Lady Darci

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Good news, they finally resolved whatever issue they were having. We made it off the ship and thru customs by 10:30, however we were in group 9. This is a good reminder not to book return flights too early. Thankfully, we had plenty of time to get to the airport. Others were not so lucky.

 

They were checking tags pretty closely at the door, but did give people the option to relocate to other spaces for a while. They checked the cabins around 8:00 am, so sleeping in wasn't an option. But you could stay in the cabin until 8:00 am, then go for a late breakfast.

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epaul78

epaul78

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Good news, they finally resolved whatever issue they were having. We made it off the ship and thru customs by 10:30, however we were in group 9. This is a good reminder not to book return flights too early. Thankfully, we had plenty of time to get to the airport. Others were not so lucky.

 

They were checking tags pretty closely at the door, but did give people the option to relocate to other spaces for a while. They checked the cabins around 8:00 am, so sleeping in wasn't an option. But you could stay in the cabin until 8:00 am, then go for a late breakfast.

 

Thanks for the tip! We almost switched to an earlier flight but this thread has convinced me not to!

 

So you have to have a tag even if you aren't "checking" any bags and you have to report to whatever the meeting area is for that tag in order to debark, do I have that right?

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victory2020

victory2020

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Thanks for the tip! We almost switched to an earlier flight but this thread has convinced me not to!

 

So you have to have a tag even if you aren't "checking" any bags and you have to report to whatever the meeting area is for that tag in order to debark, do I have that right?

 

We did not have any tags on previous cruise to this. All we had was the disembarkation instructions with you cabin number & group number printed on it.

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wblynch

wblynch

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Thanks for the great thread CanadianBurger. And thanks for all the great photos.

 

We were on this cruise also, but without internet or cell service throughout. It was a great getaway.

 

We went to Sabatini's on the first night and it was amazing. Great food and service, worth every bit of the extra charge (only $25/per). It's a shame Princess is eliminating it for that silly Share. Oh well...

 

We went to the Salty Dog gastro pub on the final night and I didn't like it at all. Very pretentious and just weird food. Not worth a penny. Waste of time and a waste of a meal.

 

We didn't attend the shows as they had the same on our Ruby cruise 10 weeks prior.

 

Hung out in the Addagio bar with my sister late the last night as both our spouses turned in early. The Addagio is very nice. Beautiful decor and there were only about 10 people in there the whole evening.

 

We all bought unlimited beverage packages but lost money on that deal as none of us could drink enough to break even. Although trying to do so was a learning experience :)

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SakeDad

SakeDad

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Doing my usual ship walkabout to work off the pizza. I love the outside deck forward of Lido above the bridge on the Grand Class. Great views ahead. Too bad the Royal and Regal don't have any public spaces at the front of the ship. Also love walking all the way around on Promenade and around the bow on Emerald.

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The ice carving demonstration was in full swing on Lido.

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Off to Afternoon Tea!

 

 

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Yep.....that's the look people have watching ice melt. I hope there were happier people in the bar! LOL I like the forward deck picture. Having worked on ships I love being able to be in front and watch the approaching seas. Thanks for all the pics and info as we have never been on Princess and the Crown will be our first in a month.

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