Five nice things about my Mexico cruise

[shepp]

Having returned home to the usual CC kvetching (Having to put my cruise card in the Regal's light switch! The horror!) I figured I'd just say some positive stuff about my Sea of Cortez cruise on the Star last week:

 

1) The CD, John Loney, was wonderful, friendly, and apparently well-loved by the mostly excellent staff.

 

2) The Chocolate Journeys cheesecake with white chocolate ganache was one of the yummiest desserts I've had in quite a while.

 

3) Swimming with whale sharks off La Paz was chilly but thrilling.

 

4) The trivia prizes are still lousy, so when our rather delightful team occasionally blew a game, it was no big deal.

 

and 5) I weighed exactly the same when I got home as I did before I left. (See #2)

 

See, life is good after all….

Edited March 4, 2015 by shepp

[Colo Cruiser]

Having returned home to the usual CC kvetching (Having to put my cruise card in the Regal's light switch! The horror!) I figured I'd just say some positive stuff about my Sea of Cortez cruise on the Star last week:

 

1) The CD, John Loney, was wonderful, friendly, and apparently well-loved by the mostly excellent staff.

 

2) The Chocolate Journeys cheesecake with white chocolate ganache was one of the yummiest desserts I've had in quite a while.

 

3) Swimming with whale sharks off La Paz was chilly but thrilling.

 

4) The trivia prizes are still lousy, so when our rather delightful team occasionally blew a game, it was no big deal.

 

and 5) I weighed exactly the same when I got home as I did before I left. (See #2)

 

See, life is good after all….

 

 

Lovely.

[OCruisers]

Sounds like a really great cruise! :D

Which of the five did you enjoy most?

Not being a "fun sponge" :o but were there any negatives?

LuLu

[shredie]

Sounds like a really great cruise! :D

 

Which of the five did you enjoy most?

 

Not being a "fun sponge" :o but were there any negatives?

 

LuLu

 

 

He really hated putting on his formal clothes for .... Oh wait! Shepp likes to look good (which I have no doubt he did.)

[JustinPlusLauren]

I love these kinds of posts that highlight the positive things! Glad you had an excellent time!

[shepp]

He really hated putting on his formal clothes for .... Oh wait! Shepp likes to look good (which I have no doubt he did.)

 

Well, thanks. I was going to list #6 - that when I surveyed about half the MDR on formal night, all but two men were wearing jackets, and those two were in dress shirts - but I figured "Why start trouble?" :D (Shot of dressed-up me and the CD below.)

 

No real negatives. Red tide and heavy plankton off Coronado Island made for lousy snorkeling. The Aussie crew member taught line dance well but talked about himself too much during trivia. The buffet food was, as usual, nothing special. But I disembarked thinking, "I really am satisfied with Princess cruises."

Edited March 4, 2015 by shepp

[joeyancho]

Nice! What was the itinerary?

[kelly94942]

2) The Chocolate Journeys cheesecake with white chocolate ganache was one of the yummiest desserts I've had in quite a while.

 

Fun list! Thanks for sharing! Was this dessert in the MDR? Do you happen to recall which evening it was?

[PathfinderEss]

Congratulations all the way around. Any body that comes back weighing the same, what an accomplishment.:D

[shepp]

Fun list! Thanks for sharing! Was this dessert in the MDR? Do you happen to recall which evening it was?

 

Yes: Chocolate Journeys desserts are only served in the MDR. They seem to always be offered on formal nights, but this one was, um, on another night. The pistachio mousse in a chocolate dome was no slouch, either.

[shepp]

Nice! What was the itinerary?

 

SFO-Cabo-Loreto-La Paz-Puerto Vallarta-SFO with a nice number of sea days. I'd been wanting to do this during whale season, and we saw a bunch of humpbacks, including mothers and offspring, and a huge blue whale, as well as the aforementioned whale sharks, dolphins, manta rays, and blue boobies, which I'd thought were pretty much restricted to the Galapagos. The same itinerary is sailed from LAX, with a day in San Diego thrown in.

[joeyancho]

SFO-Cabo-Loreto-La Paz-Puerto Vallarta-SFO with a nice number of sea days. I'd been wanting to do this during whale season, and we saw a bunch of humpbacks, including mothers and offspring, and a huge blue whale, as well as the aforementioned whale sharks, dolphins, manta rays, and blue boobies, which I'd thought were pretty much restricted to the Galapagos. The same itinerary is sailed from LAX, with a day in San Diego thrown in.

 

Thanks, someday I will get to Loreto and La Paz.

[Dezertbear]

We did this itetnerary out of LA for our honeymoon last March, had an wonderful time. We'll do this itetnerary again.

 

Which ship were you on?

[shepp]

We did this itetnerary out of LA for our honeymoon last March, had an wonderful time. We'll do this itetnerary again.

 

Which ship were you on?

 

The Star, which has been home-ported in San Francisco (but is, regrettably, leaving).

Edited March 4, 2015 by shepp

[iceleven]

The Star, which has been home-ported in San Francisco (but is, regrettably, leaving).

 

Leaving? Will it be replaced or is Princess leaving San Francisco?

[2 to cruise]

Nice to read some positive things for a change! Thanks!:)

[Woobstr112G]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Thrak]

WHAT??? No complaints? Are you sure you're feeling well? :rolleyes:

 

It's nice to see some positive comments. The people with complaints are often quite vocal but those who have a great cruise often don't post about it. My wife and I have only cruised 5 times (so far) so we don't have vast experience but we are still in the "extremely pleased with our cruises" category. So glad to hear you had a great cruise.

[srpilo]

Sounds like "you came back new" as promised

 

 

Good stuff, thanks

Srpilo

[oskidunker]

Doing this 4/19. How were the ships tours?

[shepp]

Leaving? Will it be replaced or is Princess leaving San Francisco?

 

It will be replaced by the Grand.

[shepp]

Doing this 4/19. How were the ships tours?

 

Sorry, but you're asking someone who's been on a total of 4 ship's tours, ever.

 

In Cabo, we booked a discount whale watch on EcoCat's catamaran. I've gone out with them before. Fun crew, free drinks, saw plenty of humpbacks.(You may be there after peak whale season, though.)

 

In Loreto, we booked with Baja Sea and Land to Coronado Island. Mixed experience due to bad guiding, bad underwater visibility, and red tide. Saw a blue whale and blue-footed boobies, though. Then walked to the Mission on our own.

 

Booked the whale shark tour with Espiritu Baja ($65 including wetsuits) instead of Princess ($149, w/o wetsuits). There was some confusion about being met at the dock, but once we got underway the tour was very well handled, though they don't warn you in advance that those big suckers swim fast. (I think you'll be there too late for whale sharks, though.)

 

In PV, we tried a zipline other than the one we did there before. It was really one of the most fun zip line thingies ever. El Indio Canopy Tours, right by the pier.

 

So our independent tours were, on the whole, highly satisfactory.

Edited March 5, 2015 by shepp