Sea review 9/29-10/09 rt S.F.

[Whoo]

I'm sorry I have to disagree about the omelete station. Yes there were omeletes provided ready made and limited as to choice of what kind and you are correct that it was located next to the eggs. Requesting an omelete be made to order and the chef dissapears into the kitchen and returns 10 min later is not what I would consider an omelete station. The omelete chef would be stationed on site with an array of meat and veggie options to choose from and then your omelete would be cooked to order after handing over the ingredients to the chef. Now this is just my interpretation but it may differ from someone elses.:)

 

In June on the Sea Princess, there was an omelette station in the buffet where you could order an omelette made to order. You could watch it being prepared - the chef did not disappear into the kitchen. I did enjoy these omelettes!

[ramrax4]

Day 3 and 4 were sea days

 

On day 3, we decided to eat breakfast at the MDR. I ordered a ham and cheese omelete, potatoes, etc. about 1/2 thru my omelete I realized it was not cooked properly and did not finish eating it. Now before all of you Princess loyalists get offended you might want to turn away.

Later that night I became ill, stomach cramps, headache and nausea. This lasted for 2 days and I am conviced it was the undercooked omelete I ate. If you're wandering, did I report it, no. I'll tell you why: it would have been my word against Princess, I did not pay all that money just so Princess could qaurantine me to my room and I was pretty sure what had made me sick. Since I was not running a fever, vomiting or the other I did not feel it was necessary to draw attention to myself. Needless to say that was the last time we ate breakfast in the MDR. I know that some people will take offense and that is not my intention but I happen to know a little about proper cooking temp since I have owned my own cafe in the past and raw runny eggs in an omelete do not bode well for the digestive track:eek:

My DH on the other hand enjoyed his meal tremendously and had no complaints.

After looking over the patters we decided to just lay out by the pool and enjoy the sun, so we returned to our cabin to change and there it was in our mailbox the letter for the chefs table:D I was beyond excited, I quickly tore it open, we had been selected for the 2nd seating, they had decided to have 3 chefs tables on this cruise.

 

Some of the things we enjoyed were bingo, no we didn't win but not from lack of trying, Ice carving demonstration and the gym which my Dh said could get crowded at times but was still worth visiting.

 

For lunch we decided to eat at the pizza place, cafe Corniche, I think. This is not to be missed, absolutely great pizza, lasagne, caesar salad and tiramisu. We returned 3 more times during the cruise:D

We ate dinner in the MDR and it was pretty good, especially the desserts, my husband ate the princess dream thing almost every night. I had the cheesecake and it was very good.

We opted for the comedy show, "Lorenzo Clark" I thought he was good and really enjoyed him, my DH not so much. All in all a very enjoyable 2 days at sea even if I was feeling under the weather. Stuff happens and you have to be able to roll with it.

[2little time]

Ramrax4, you have made me reconsider anytime dining. It sounds as though they just don't care to provide quality service outside the MDR. I wonder how they would react to me bringing my own container of ice tea? Pretty sad. Nice steak and soggy fries are like a $1000 dress with $10 shoes. Such an easy thing to fix. Thanks for your reviews. I really enjoy them.

[RickEk]

Ramrax4, you have made me reconsider anytime dining. It sounds as though they just don't care to provide quality service outside the MDR. I wonder how they would react to me bringing my own container of ice tea? Pretty sad. Nice steak and soggy fries are like a $1000 dress with $10 shoes. Such an easy thing to fix. Thanks for your reviews. I really enjoy them.

 

Yeah, it does appear that the Anytime dining aboard Sea Princess seems to be lacking. We were second seating on our Alaskan voyage on Sea Princess and the food was terrific. Our service was a bit spotty, but I attribute that to the fact that we were a table of four surrounded by three tables for 8. But all in all, I thought it was some of the best food I've eaten on Princess in my nine voyages... And having a dedicated waiter team certainly helps. My second iced tea was always ready when I asked for it. :)

[ramrax4]

Mazatlan, PV and cabo up next.:)

[caribill]

So around 7pm we proceeded to the Rigoletto where we again recieved a pager, the wait was only about 30 min. and we were at a table for 2 as requested.

 

There are only a certain number of tables for two, so if you arrive when all of them are occupied, there will be a wait which can be short or long.

 

This is no different than showing up at a restaurtant on land and finding that all tables of the size you want are occupied.

[pris993]

There was a fresh omelet station in the buffet where the fried eggs and prepared omelets were located - one of the cooks in the back made a fresh omelet for me each morning to my order. I agree that the orange juice was sub-par compared to what I've had on other Princess ships, but I didn't have any issues with the ice/water machines or with finding seating (albeit later in the morning). Grilled fish is great in the morning - some of the non-US citizens on board tend to like things we think are offputting.

While I thought the overall quality of the DVD excellent - especially the San Francisco sailaway - I was a little disappointed in the content. There was a lot of the ship board activity that was missing, instead a good deal of the running time was devoted to a folkloric show.

 

Ref your disappointment that the DVD did not include more shipboard activities, I can understand your perspective. My husband would agree on this point. I did find it refreshing there was more of an emphasis on Mexico and they other ports. Obviously there could have been a better balance between the two.

[Cruisin Sal]

I was also on this cruise. I agree with most of the comments. I had late traditional dining. I thought the menus are not as good as past years. My service was good.My complaints were: before lunch wine tasting, daytime MUTS was too loud.

I had the 3rd Chef's Table. I had done this 2 years ago. The experience didn't even come close to the 1st dinner.

Did anyone hear why there were only 2 lead singers instead of the usual 4?

 

Sally

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your review.

 

I am all Lorenzo Clarked out! :eek:

We have seen him so many times I could probably do his routine in my sleep. He never changes. Especially the pickle joke. :(

He seems to stick to the west coast cruises.

[Whoo]

I was also on this cruise. I agree with most of the comments. I had late traditional dining. I thought the menus are not as good as past years. My service was good.My complaints were: before lunch wine tasting, daytime MUTS was too loud.

I had the 3rd Chef's Table. I had done this 2 years ago. The experience didn't even come close to the 1st dinner.

Did anyone hear why there were only 2 lead singers instead of the usual 4?

 

Sally

 

Yes, I thought the wine-tasting at 10:30 am was bizarre.

[bdjam]

I'm sorry I have to disagree about the omelete station. Yes there were omeletes provided ready made and limited as to choice of what kind and you are correct that it was located next to the eggs. Requesting an omelete be made to order and the chef dissapears into the kitchen and returns 10 min later is not what I would consider an omelete station. The omelete chef would be stationed on site with an array of meat and veggie options to choose from and then your omelete would be cooked to order after handing over the ingredients to the chef. Now this is just my interpretation but it may differ from someone elses.:)

In June on the Sea Princess, there was an omelette station in the buffet where you could order an omelette made to order. You could watch it being prepared - the chef did not disappear into the kitchen. I did enjoy these omelettes!

This was my experience as well. The chef was standing behind the pre-made fried eggs and omelets, asked for your order including what meat, cheese and vegitables, and prepared it on the flat top behind him while you waited. I don't think I waited more than five minutes any morning for my omelet. I eat Egg Beaters or egg whites - they aren't available anywhere else so this is where I got them.

[bdjam]

I was also on this cruise. I agree with most of the comments. I had late traditional dining. I thought the menus are not as good as past years. My service was good.My complaints were: before lunch wine tasting, daytime MUTS was too loud.

I had the 3rd Chef's Table. I had done this 2 years ago. The experience didn't even come close to the 1st dinner.

Did anyone hear why there were only 2 lead singers instead of the usual 4?

 

Sally

I agree as well that the time for the wine tasting seemed strange. And I was at the pool one of the sea days with a MUTS fan having a nice afternoon and all of a sudden they put up "How to Train Your Dragon." Even he thought that was much and we headed toward the aft pool...it suddenly got very busy back there.

Sun Class ships have a reduced number of lead entertainers than do the larger ships...that's why there's only two instead of four. It definitely makes a difference in the production shows - to their detriment.

[morriscats]

This was my experience as well. The chef was standing behind the pre-made fried eggs and omelets, asked for your order including what meat, cheese and vegitables, and prepared it on the flat top behind him while you waited. I don't think I waited more than five minutes any morning for my omelet. I eat Egg Beaters or egg whites - they aren't available anywhere else so this is where I got them.

This was what I saw the only time I saw someone order a "made to order" omlet. It was made on the flat top right there where the others were made. Maybe they did it both ways?

[happy cruzer]

I thought that you can request a table for two in traditional dining. I've done it on Princess before. That should fix you iced tea problem. We always do traditional dining because we do wine each night, and after the first night the wait team will have the glasses ready and waiting. Just a little thing that makes it much easier.

 

I can't wait to read the rest of the OP's experience. thanks for posting.

[ramrax4]

Hi all,

just to answer a few questions/remarks:

Traditional vs anytime dining-We did traditional on our first 2 cruises and the experience was great. For instance you got to know your wait team and they you, your needs were anticipated and they knew what you liked to drink, etc, so there was never any guessing.

On the other hand anytime dining-different table, wait team, passengers(unless you were at a table for 2), etc. Of course the servers would not know what your preferences are, but rude behavior, no refills on beverages and an I don't care if you like me or not attitude is unacceptable. No matter what your dining choice is you should be met with the same courtesy and every effort should be made to be at least pleasant with your diners, afterall I paid the same amt to cruise as the next passenger. If I were going to dinner at a land resturaunt and was treated the way I was on this cruise I would have walked out and not returned. But on a ship the size of the Sea your dining options are limited and you can't exactly leave the ship to eat. There were several dishes we enjoyed and we just over looked the poor behavior because we chose not to let it ruin our cruise experience.

 

As far as requesting a table for 2-yes I realize they are limited and that's ok but it is the poor attitude not so much the waiting that bothered us. If you are doing anytime dining you can not reserve a table as I previously stated but I think you can with traditional.

 

RE: the Princess performers

It was my understanding that they had to replace the lead male and several of the dancers during the last 6 months and as a result they often struggled to learn the routines before the next show. We found the shows to be hit and miss. At the last show performed we thought Kenton Fridley's vocals were terrible where previously he had been enjoyable and the dancers were off, I also thought the show was boring.

 

MUTS

Since there were only 20 kids booked on this cruise I feel that the movie choices could have been better and geared more towards adults. The movies were hard to see during the day and I found this annoying.

 

CHEFS TABLE:

I will give a review later on this but I can say it was the highlight of our cruise:D

[partybarbie]

Thank you for the review. I am interested in how you liked the Chef's table as we did not attend it on this cruise.

 

We had second seating traditional dining and I have to say that our waiter, Willie, and asst. waiter, Chatchai, were two of the best servers that we have ever had on Princess. Our glasses were always full, our orders taken promptly, food delivered quickly, dirty plates whisked away. Even though we had a large table for eight, and ordered many courses, we were always out of the dining room by 9:45. This gave us plenty of time to get to our evening's entertainment.

 

I do agree with you about the "odd" fries with the steak and the before noon wine tasting. However that didn't stop me from attending and drinking my fair share.;) It's not like I was driving.:D

 

Overall I thought the ship was fairly nice. Our room steward was excellent and we always had plenty of ice. The Sea Princess is not my favorite ship, but it is really nice not having to fly and being able to leave out of San Francisco.

 

I had read so many mediocre reviews of the Sea Princess, that I must say I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed her and I did not have the complaints that some others have spoken of.

[ramrax4]

DAY 5 PUERTO VALLARTA

 

I had decided to order room service on port days for the duration of the cruise at this point. Partly because we had the balcony and it doesn't get much better than watching your ship come into port and enjoying coffee on your balcony and the other reason it beat fighting the crowds at the buffet. So juice, danish, cereal and fruit fit the bill perfectly. We did order the fresh fruit to be delivered to our room everyday but I found this was hit and miss, sometimes it was really hard and other times the apples and bananas were bruised and in my opinion not edible. My DH is a big fan of eggs,toast bacon, etc so he always ate breakfast at the buffet, sometimes he did bring it back to the room tho to enjoy on the balcony.

 

We arrived in PV around 10:00. Our excursion which we booked thru Princess: Hacienda, Mexican, Folkloric/city tour which included a buffet.

After making our way thru the port area our bus was easily located, it was very clean and comfortable. Our Tour guide Emma was Knowledgable and friendly. We visited a church and a young family had just finished baptising their daughter, what an awesome moment as we looked upon this family and were witnesses to such a spritual ceremony. Our next stop was a small shopping area where they sold opals, souvenirs and other items. The sales people were pushy and annoying and I found it hard to relax and enjoy the experience. I ended up not buying anything, I also felt the prices were way to high. Our next stop was the Hacienda tequila factory where we were shown how the agave was cooked and processed, very interesting. We then moved on to the tasting room where we got to taste a variety of tequila, my favorite being the peach flavored, all I can say is yum, yum, yum:D Next we were treated to a wonderful buffet of beans, chicken, rice and tortillas with chips and salsa, the food was great as well as the entertainment. There were several folkloric dances, followed by an arabian horse dancing to music. At one point the audience was invited to participate in some fun and games with prizes being given to the winners and finally two of the kids were picked to hit a pinata filed with mex sweets. Very enjoyable, a day well spent! It was time to head back so we boarded the bus for the return trip. It was a nice drive, not to long and we got to see some of the countryside.

 

Some of the things offered on board today were:

cards and games get together/unhosted

Sunday NFL Football on the MUTS screen(12 noon)

Basketball shootout

Golf chipping

Scrabble Play

Pictionary challenge

Sailaway Melodies with DJ Clinton

Casual Fun Island Portraits

The art of Alexandra Nechita

Alice in Wonderland on Princess TV

 

Classical Concert 2 shows

Tom Jones on Mutts(which I enjoyed while DH watched Sunday night FB in the Casino)

[ramrax4]

I know this review is long and I hope not too boring! I promise there is an end in sight, somewhere....LOL:D

We had a very long day so I will post more hopefully tomorrow. Thanks to all of you that have followed along so far and especially to those who have commented. It's always great to get a variety of viewpoints in my opinion.

[Whoo]

I know this review is long and I hope not too boring! I promise there is an end in sight, somewhere....LOL:D

We had a very long day so I will post more hopefully tomorrow. Thanks to all of you that have followed along so far and especially to those who have commented. It's always great to get a variety of viewpoints in my opinion.

 

It is not too long and not too boring! Thanks for sharing - I enjoy reading other cruisers' reviews.

[ramrax4]

PV cont'd.

 

After returning to port we broused through the little shops, the sales people were freindly and not too agressive so a much better experience but I am not one to linger. I prefer to be back on the ship at least an hr before the required time, We have read too many horror stories of people running for the ship as it pulls away. Princess does seem to make every effort to delay sailing if passengers are late, I don't know if this was just our cruise, I'm not talking about ship sponsored excursions I know that the ship has to wait if your tour is delayed but there were at least 2 incidents where they were paging passengers well after the scheduled sailaway. For those of you who think this is the norm that the ship will wait for you make no mistake they will leave without you on board if you are not back on time just read the posts on this board and you will find out. I'm just saying that this seemed to be the case this time.

 

We had decided to go to the "Party under The Stars" which started at 9pm and offered an "Island Night Buffet" starting at 10:30..... so instead of the MDR we opted for an early dinner at the Riviera Grill which is located by the pool and MUTS. The cheeseburgers, hotdogs and fries are really great and we topped it off with an ice cream cone. "Derringer" was playing that night at the party, the band is good but they need to find a new female singer, her voice is terrible, but we enjoyed the band and the party was great, lots of dancing, they played YMCA and had a conga line, at the end they popped streamers which covered the pool area! The buffet was really nice with some awesome carvings(ice and food) and the food was really good.

What a great day, but all good things must come to an end!

Tomorrow was Horseback riding in Mazatlan with Randi's Horse and the Chefs Table later that night so we finally called it a night and headed to our cabin.

[ramrax4]

DAY 6 MAZATLAN

 

We arrived in port as scheduled. Today we had reservations for "Randi's Happy Horses" which we had booked on line. We were off the ship by 8:30 and proceeded to the pre-arranged meeting area. We were met by Randi and her drivers and were escorted to the waiting trucks for transport to the boats that would take us across the bay to an Island(I can't remember the name). Once on the island we again boarded small trucks and after a short drive reached the area where the horses were tethered. Each of us were matched with the appropriate horse according to our size and skill level. The horses were very well taken care of and healthy. After a short ride we finally reached the beach, what a breathtaking site. The waves were quite large and the water was an unusual color at times, sort of a sulfer yellow mixed with blue green. We rode at a pace that was comfortable for each rider. Our guides were friendly and talked about their lives here on the island and their families, they were great. After a while we stopped to take pictures of the area and the guides moved us around and used our cameras to take pictures of each of us on the horses with the waves crashing behind us!

We were led back to a cafe on the beach where we could enjoy the water and order food and drinks. We decided the water was too dangerous to go in so opted to just enjoy the view and drink a margarita:D We were approached by a few vendors selling their wares: jewelry, hammocks, wood carvings, etc. They weren't too pushy which made for an enjoyable experience. I bought a beautiful turquoes(sp) and silver bracelet, pendant and earrings for about 1/2 the cost of what I had been seeing everywhere else, a great bargain. I highly recommend this excursion!

To be cont'd...........

[RickEk]

DAY 6 MAZATLAN

 

We arrived in port as scheduled. Today we had reservations for "Randi's Happy Horses" which we had booked on line. We were off the ship by 8:30 and proceeded to the pre-arranged meeting area. We were met by Randi and her drivers and were escorted to the waiting trucks for transport to the boats that would take us across the bay to an Island(I can't remember the name). Once on the island we again boarded small trucks and after a short drive reached the area where the horses were tethered. Each of us were matched with the appropriate horse according to our size and skill level. The horses were very well taken care of and healthy. After a short ride we finally reached the beach, what a breathtaking site. The waves were quite large and the water was an unusual color at times, sort of a sulfer yellow mixed with blue green. We rode at a pace that was comfortable for each rider. Our guides were friendly and talked about their lives here on the island and their families, they were great. After a while we stopped to take pictures of the area and the guides moved us around and used our cameras to take pictures of each of us on the horses with the waves crashing behind us!

We were led back to a cafe on the beach where we could enjoy the water and order food and drinks. We decided the water was too dangerous to go in so opted to just enjoy the view and drink a margarita:D We were approached by a few vendors selling their wares: jewelry, hammocks, wood carvings, etc. They weren't too pushy which made for an enjoyable experience. I bought a beautiful turquoes(sp) and silver bracelet, pendant and earrings for about 1/2 the cost of what I had been seeing everywhere else, a great bargain. I highly recommend this excursion!

To be cont'd...........

 

How is Randi?! We took her excursion a couple of years ago on Stone Island and had a great time. The ride was fun and the food at Victor's was extraordinary. A great time was had by all...

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review. :)

[ramrax4]

MAZATLAN CONT'D

 

We returned to port and walked thru some of the shops before getting back on the ship, nothing too exciting.

Once on board we decided to have pizza since we hadn't eaten lunch in Mazatlan and the Chef's Table wasn't till 7 pm. Some of the Activities on board today were:

 

Scattegories

Brunch time trivia

Princess Theater "Shutter Island"

Afternoon tea

Table tennis play

 

Evening activies:

"Moments to remember" Princess Theater

Comedy show "Lorenzo Clark and "Dan Bennett"

"60's music trivia" in the Vista Lounge with CD Kelvin

 

CHEF'S TABLE

We met the Maitre d'Hotel, Mr. Fabio Marcotti at the explorers Bar at

7 P.M.

When everyone arrived we were introduced to Executive Chef Christian Carbillet, from there we were escorted thru the dining room into the galley where we were given chefs coats to wear over our clothes. Then the Chef took us to an area were we could observe the kitchen in action. It was very interesting and we were allowed to ask questions and take pictures. During this time we were served champagne, caviar, cerviche & canapes. I enjoyed trying all the different things they brought out and I was really proud of my DH, he did try everything and some stuff he didn't care for, (he's a meat and potatoes guy) but at least he tasted all of the food.

After this we were led into the MDR where a special table was set up and given more champagne, DH doesn't drink so he had ice tea instead. Each course was paired with special wines, for the main course we were served:

Double Impact Surf and Turf-

Lobster Tail, Diver Scallops, Beef fillet Mignon & Lamb Rib Chops served with mustard hollandaise sauce, Rosemary Jus, and Lemon Butter Fondue along with warm artichoke salad and roasted chateau potatoes.

For dessert we had Soft center chocolate fallen cake, whiskey soaked raisin chocolate ice cream. After that they brought out choc dipped strawberries, petit fours and some other small sweets some filled with caramel. I didn't list everything so needless to say you are quite full by the end of the night.

We also recieved a group picture taken with the chef, an autograghed cookbook and all the ladies were handed roses. It was a special night, one I will never forget!

 

Next stop CABO

[ramrax4]

DAY 7 CABO SAN LUCAS

Tender Port

 

We did not book an excursion at this port because we wanted to just relax at the beach, have a bite to eat and just enjoy the sites. So as usual I ordered room service early enough to enjoy the balcony as we approached Cabo. The rock formations are awesome and we were able to take some great pictures since we were on Port side for arrival. This time I didn't want to be late getting off the ship so we made arrangements to meet at the Rigoletto which is where they were handing out tender tickets and rushed my DH off to the buffet. It turns out there was no need to worry, there were no lines and we were able to leave right away.......no waiting:D

Cabo is beautiful but very touristy. The first thing we did was look for a tour that would take us out to Los Arcos Rock formations. We located a tour giude and the cost was $12 pp. After a short wait the captain of the boat came over and said he was ready so we took a short walk to where tha boat was docked and as it turns out we were his only customers! There was a small window in the bottom of the boat and we were able to look into the water and see schools of fish but the best part was checking out the rock formations. The guide took his time as he made his way around all the bigger boats jam packed with tourists. He pointed out seal rock, the window to the pacific, lovers beach, 2 fingers and the last rock on the pacific.

When we returned my DH decided we could just walk to the beach, I tried to get him to take a water taxi but he had asked a local how far it was and they told him only a 10 min walk:eek: It looked farther to me but what do I know:(So we headed off.......... about an hr later we arrived. By then it was 10:30 coupled with the heat and humidity all I wanted to do was find a nice cafe and have something cold to drink. It took us about another 15 min to walk down the beach and locate a cafe, we decided to eat at a Place called the Office. The chairs and tables are on the beach and covered by umbrellas, there's a nice bar and some great roving musicians walking around playing music. We ordered a couple of cokes, black bean nachos topped with flank steak and fish tacos. One of the best meals we have ever had, the service was top notch and I would highly recommend this cafe:D

With my beach bag in hand we headed for the water, the vendors are obnoxious and aggressive we had to fend them off as we were walking. We found a nice spot on the edge of the activities and taxi boats hoping the vendors wouldn't follow.....now I hate to be rude to people but the vendors were so aggressive at one point we were surrounded by 5 or 6 and couldn't even see the beach, they don't take no for an answer so the best solution was to totally ignore them and not make eye contact. We did decide to buy 4 t-shirts from what we thought was a nice lady. I picked out the shirts I wanted for my SIL and my boys, gave her the money and watched as she folded them and placed them in a small bag. As she walked away I headed for the water, it was beautiful and warm, almost to warm but very relaxing. After awhile it was time to go back so I gathered up our things and decided to check out the shirts again, to my shock we found that the t-shirt lady had only given us 3 shirts. I guess I am naive and too trusting, some how she made it look like she was folding 4 shirts when she only put 3 in the bag:mad:. Things like this give all vendors a bad name...... Lesson well learned.

This time we took a water taxi back to port and I needed to replace the missing souvenir for my DS so I checked out this shop by Cabo Wabo, they had a little bit of everything and we bought tequila for $5 a bottle and some other small things for the grandkids. A great place for cheap souvenirs(sp).

Tendering was easy, again no wait. As we were coming back a huge stingray jumped out of the water and sailed thru the air, twice, how great was that! The end to an almost perfect day:)

 

Next up: a Sea Day and San Diego

[willyguy]

Hi their enjoy the review very much.