New Cruisers

[Editor]

Hi All!!

 

My husband and I, along with our two girls (11 and 15) will be cruising to the Mexican Riviera on the Diamond Princess (March 31). This is are very first cruise! We've chosen a mini-suite on the Dolphin deck and plan on taking the late seating (traditional dining). I'm curious about the motion of the ship while at sea, cabin location, traditional dining, ship entertainment and amenities, and ports of call/excursions.

 

Any and all comments/suggestions about the ship/ports is most welcome.

 

Thanks!!

[spongerob]

I guess both of us are blessed by not being very sensitive to motion, and in fact rather enjoy a little rocking - we seem to both sleep so much better. Whether or not it will be a problem depends on sea and wind conditions, and your own sensitivity. I think most people get used to it after a couple of days, but if you have trouble you can take along some ginger capsules or purchase "sea bands", which you wear on both wrists and are available in the ship's shop. There are also prescription remedies, that can have significant side-effects, but might be necessary for those most severely afflicted. I still think the best remedy if you start feeling a little light-headed due to motion is to go outside and get some fresh air. It does wonders.

 

Most of the time, ships will avoid the worst weather if possible. We've encountered rough sailing on only 3 cruises, and then it's been something that has lasted only a matter of hours. Still, it can get rough, and even when sailing conditions are good you'll feel some sense of motion - but that's a good thing, it reminds you that this isn't just an ordinary vacation.

[ssbeagle]

Hi All!!

 

My husband and I, along with our two girls (11 and 15) will be cruising to the Mexican Riviera on the Diamond Princess (March 31). This is are very first cruise! We've chosen a mini-suite on the Dolphin deck and plan on taking the late seating (traditional dining). I'm curious about the motion of the ship while at sea, cabin location, traditional dining, ship entertainment and amenities, and ports of call/excursions.

 

Any and all comments/suggestions about the ship/ports is most welcome.

 

Thanks!!

 

You should have plenty of room in your mini. If you are midship you won't have any problem with motion. It may rock slightly but not enough to notice much. Late sitting doesn't begin until 8:00 pm. You won't see too many children at that sitting. They usually go to the first sitting. This way they can still take part in the kids' evening activities. With any-time dining you can go whenever you want to eat. Princess has a pretty decent program for the kids. The evening shows are good and there are also movies to see. There are trivia games and dancing, shopping on board, mini golf, basketball, table tennis, swimming pools and hot tubs, and lots of other activities, and you get thoroughly spoiled while on board.

 

A lot of people will do their own excursions/tours, but for the first time I recommend taking the ship's tours. This way if the tour is late back to the ship, it won't leave until all the tour passengers return. If you are on your own, however, it won't wait when it's time to leave port. If you don't want to take a tour you can just get off at your leisure as long as you are back on board 30 minutes before sailing. I liked Cabo San Lucas and the market there. We didn't do a tour at that port. You should have a great time.

[ssbeagle]

Accidental double post.

[christinelee]

Hi All!!

 

My husband and I, along with our two girls (11 and 15) will be cruising to the Mexican Riviera on the Diamond Princess (March 31). This is are very first cruise! We've chosen a mini-suite on the Dolphin deck and plan on taking the late seating (traditional dining). I'm curious about the motion of the ship while at sea, cabin location, traditional dining, ship entertainment and amenities, and ports of call/excursions.

 

Any and all comments/suggestions about the ship/ports is most welcome.

 

Thanks!!

Find it all at:

http://cruiseclues.com/shipstips/diamondprincess.htm

[grace5]

Hi Editor,

 

I found your post here also.

 

My granddaughter really enjoys the late Traditional although she did miss some of the youth activities that are held at the same time. But she was still able to make the special dinner party they had for the kids. Of course she is also a big fan of the production shows, so mainly went to those in the evening.

 

The minis are a nice size - at least for two. But should also be fine for four. The minis do have a large balcony, but it is not covered. I assume the girls are sharing the cabin with you. In that case they will like that there are two separate TVs in the cabin. My daughter has four in her cabin also.

 

I wouldn't worry about much motion unless you have a cabin near the bow. I have found the grand class ships to be quiet stable in most weather. I have never noticed any motion with cabins on Caribe or Dolphin.

 

As said before there is a ton of stuff to do on the ship both in the day and evening. I have never found seven days to be adequate to see all the evening entertainment. There is just so much going on. I think you will fine the girls will spend most of their time hanging out at one of the pools. There will be plenty to eat as there food is available 24/7. However, I will miss the seafood buffet that they have on the Caribbean Princess and possibly MUTS.

 

I will keep you advised once I start planning and evaluating tours etc. I understand the canopy tour in Puerto Vallarta and the Sierra Madres tour in Mazatlan are good.

 

Be sure and fill out the Cruise Personalizer on the Princess web site.

 

Talk to you more on out thread.

[Cruisin' Chick]

We didn't take do any excursions on either of our two MR cruises, but that's just us. My hubby liked going into stores and practicing his Spanish on the employees. He also negotiated a city tour of Mazatlan with our taxi driver.

 

You may want to note that March is the tail end of what we consider the rain season in Los Angeles. Supposedly, there's talk of an El Nino this season which means a lot of rain here. So bring your umbrellas. It may be in the 50s to 70s here and maybe up to the 80s as you go south (around Mazatlan).

 

There may be a little motion as you leave San Pedro so be prepared with the motion sickness aids, just in case (you may be the type who doesn't need it). On my last cruise (LA to Hawaii which does have rough seas), I used candied ginger (available in grocery stores) and Ginger Altoids (Target and Cost Plus carry them).

[Twickenham]

Hi All!!

 

My husband and I, along with our two girls (11 and 15) will be cruising to the Mexican Riviera on the Diamond Princess (March 31). This is are very first cruise! We've chosen a mini-suite on the Dolphin deck and plan on taking the late seating (traditional dining). I'm curious about the motion of the ship while at sea, cabin location, traditional dining, ship entertainment and amenities, and ports of call/excursions.

 

Any and all comments/suggestions about the ship/ports is most welcome.

 

Thanks!!

 

We took this same cruise and ship last year. We were in a balcony cabin, which did sleep 4 (we were 3), but I think the mini-suite is a good call, as it would be tight! Our cabin was forward, which wasn't too bad, but I think mid or aft is probably better, especially if you're concerned about motion.

 

We were very fortunate to have extremely calm seas going down to PV. It stayed calm, in fact, until we left Cabo. But then... well, it felt like we changed cruises! The itinerary tells the story - 2 days down, 1 1/2 back. In order to make up that time, they boot it from Cabo to LA! On the plus side, the midship pools were transformed into bonafide wave pools...! There are many remedies out there for motion sickness, but I think the best advice I've received is this: don't fight the motion, go with it. We have a natural tendency to brace ourselves when the ship sways - if you learn to just literally 'go with the flow', you'll feel much better!

 

We also chose late traditional dining. The pluses - loved having the same wait staff & table every night, beautiful dining room, and a real sense of comraderie. Negatives - for us, it was that the 8:30 time was just a tad late. 8pm would have been perfect, and we'll probably end up with anytime dining next time as a result.

 

We didn't take any excursions, mostly just took taxis into town and walked around on our own. Likewise, with entertainment, we mostly just walked around on deck after dinner. Did catch some of a comedy show, which was actually pretty good. Lots of activities during the day, and I became seriously addicted to the daily trivia quiz!

 

Hope this helps, and have a great trip!

[katisdale]

The teen program on Princess begins around 7 PM. If your kids are interested in this and especially if they make friends while on the ship you may not have the pleasure of their company at the late seating dinner.

[Editor]

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions!!

 

The cabin we booked is a bit more toward the front of the ship. Would we be better off a bit more toward the back? Or does it not make much of a difference?

[ppeckham]

Be sure to get your children signed up for the kids' program the first day. The teen program is quite good. My son (15 at the time we last cruised) enjoyed the teen activities much more than he did on the Carnival cruises. He is not much of a joiner and had planned on hanging out with "old Mom". Amazingly enough he spent a lot more time with the teens than with me while we were not at port.

 

Pack post-it notes and highlighters with you. We would leave messages on the post-it notes for one another if we left the cabin on our own. The highlighters are used when reviewing the schedule in the Patters. We'd highlight what we were planning to do. You can pick up extra copies at the Purser's desk. We left the one with the highlights in the cabin for reference. You may want multiple colors of note pads and highlighters - one for each person.