Review: Crown Princess Mexican Riviera

[wrongwaywatson]

Great review! We sail on 3/28. I'm really hoping it warms up in 3 weeks so that our sea days are warmer. I love to sunbath and I love sea days!

[DawnisDream]

I'll be on the Crown this time next week and you've whetted my proverbial appetite with your review and photos.

 

Looking forward to getting away from it all for a few days. Whether one can "come back new" in just 7 days remains to be seen, LOL, but I will certainly try! :D

 

We will also be on the 3/14 departure. Will see you there Seafun! Can't wait for some r e l a x a t i o n and c e l e b r a t i o n! :p

[niceguyneastbay]

Just curious about the muster drill. Did you have to bring your life preservers with you?

[Terre]

Just curious about the muster drill. Did you have to bring your life preservers with you?

 

Yes, you have to take your life preservers with you.

[Terre]

I have a correction to the sea lion photo caption. That was taken in Cabo at Land's End, not Mazatlan. I guess I had Mazatlan on the brain when I put that as the location.

[Terre]

You are so right, Senior Lady! We never saw him anywhere around the ship except to introduce an act. On Carnival they are always very visible and we had one come to our Cruise Critic meet & greet! He was a little boring, too.

 

To clarify...our CD on Carnival wasn't boring, the CD on Princess was boring...

[LabGuy64]

Any problem with Noro on the cruise?....I have not been hearing of problems in the last month or two.....

 

 

 

Wonderful! Good luck with the Regal Tournament! We only had two couples show for the first day M&G and only one at Sky Walkers. Sorry we missed any other activities, but didn't know about them. I didn't get back on the roll call the last month, had a lot of family issues going on and didn't have time to check it.

[senior lady]

no sign of Noro on the ship. They had sanitizer everywhere.

it was a great cruise:cool:

[Alexv500]

Loved your review! Will be doing this same exact cruise next week on the Ruby Princess (March 21st) sailing! First cruise and super excited! How was the boarding process in San Pedro? We will be driving to the port. What time would be a good time to arrive? On my boarding pass it says to arrive until 1PM, but can we go earlier? I would like to get on asap to start exploring the ship!

[Saffir]

Thanks for a great review! I'll be on this sailing next month (almost exactly one month from now!) and this has gotten me SO excited. It'll be my very first cruise, and I think I picked a good one. :)

 

Which cabin type did you stay in?

[PathfinderEss]

Very nice review and great photo's, thanks for posting them.

[trbarton]

Day Four, Mazatlán: Here we booked a city tour excursion with a private company, which I have to say, was better than the ship’s tour the day before. We drove through the city streets and headed downtown to the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. You can see the tall yellow towers above all the other buildings. It has several different styles of architecture, Moorish and Gothic, among others. It all blends together and is very beautiful. The stain glass windows at the top all have a Star of David, because when the money ran out at one point during the building process, a Jewish family donated money to help complete it. Mazatlan also has several old famous hotels, such as the Belmar.

 

From here Mike and I walked down to the market which has an array of meats, fish, and produce...very interesting, to say the least. As we headed back to the bus, we crossed over to Plazuel Republica which is somewhat like a park. It has a bandstand and a large old tree. It sits directly across the street from the Cathedral Basilica, so I was able to get some great shots of it from that angle.

 

The Cathedral Basicila of the Immaculate Conception:

 

 

 

Thanks for your review. What's the name of the private company that you used and what did they charge and how long was the tour?

 

Tom:)

[fairsky1984]

We were on this cruise and the one following (Feb 28-March 7). Agreed on the food in the MDR. We had a so-so dinner in the Crown Grill on the first segment, but an outstanding one on the second....and ordered nearly the same thing. Steak was okay the first time, but was one of the best ever the second time.

 

Pizza was bad on the first week, but we gave it a try on week two and it was better. Pizza has always been a Princess "specialty" and our go-to, but it really wasn't that great.

 

Personally, I'm not a fan of the Crown. Interior lighting makes the ship seem dark and somewhat dreary, compared to other ships. Ship is alsoa a bit big for our liking.

 

But overall, we enjoyed both weeks; accomplished what we wanted...a winter get-away.

 

Weather on both weeks was about the same, except on the second week day one heading from LA was cold, windy, showery. But the sixth day heading home was awesome, and it usually cools down by then.

Edited March 11, 2015 by fairsky1984
My post sounds negative and wasn't meant to. Enjoyable two weeks and already booked for more.

[HMSDingy]

Great review. We were on the same cruise and agree that the CD was indeed the invisible man. On our past cruises most CD's would be more involved. I also found the Maitre D' engaging and polite unlike some of the more boorish and arrogant ones. For most nights, we enjoyed the meals in the MDR but do concur with your description of the Crown Grill. We also found the service slow at the Crown. We had one of our best meals at Sabatini's.

[Cali_Mum]

Day Five, Sea Day: Sadly we are on our way home. Again this sea day was warm, but cloudy so I didn’t even try to layout

 

Would I take this itinerary again? Probably, but next time, we would do different things and I would spend more time at the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta.

 

Thanks for the great review! We'll be there next month and didn't know what to do in PV, will check out the Malecon.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Loved your review! Will be doing this same exact cruise next week on the Ruby Princess (March 21st) sailing! First cruise and super excited! How was the boarding process in San Pedro? We will be driving to the port. What time would be a good time to arrive? On my boarding pass it says to arrive until 1PM, but can we go earlier? I would like to get on asap to start exploring the ship!

 

On our last few cruises, we were told not to arrive before 1pm, but we ignored that and never were asked what time we were given. Last time we were on the ship with carry ons unpacked way before that time, and ready to go have lunch. We didn't have but one party in front of us in the check-in line at about 11am. Next cruise we'll be Platinum and it'll probably be even less of a wait.

[Terre]

Loved your review! Will be doing this same exact cruise next week on the Ruby Princess (March 21st) sailing! First cruise and super excited! How was the boarding process in San Pedro? We will be driving to the port. What time would be a good time to arrive? On my boarding pass it says to arrive until 1PM, but can we go earlier? I would like to get on asap to start exploring the ship!

 

Alex, we arrived late because of our flight and we had no problems with boarding. I think all boarding passes, no matter what cruise line, say to board at 1:00, but 98% of the time we are there early and can board by 10:30 or 11:00. Sometimes the cabins are not ready until 1:00 so that's probably why they say that.

[Terre]

Thanks for your review. What's the name of the private company that you used and what did they charge and how long was the tour?

 

Tom:)

 

I believe it was Mazatlan Tours and it was pretty much most of the day. I'll check my confirmations and let you know the price.

[jamesnnb]

Enjoyed your review. We will be on her next month. What type of cabin did you have and where was it located? I didn't see that posted (but excuse me if it was and I missed it). We have been to PV a lot -- on our own and on cruises -- and enjoy taking the City Bus into town and walking about. We have some old friends there (at shops and a hotel we use to stay in) that we pop in to say hello. Love PV.

[Alexv500]

On our last few cruises' date=' we were told not to arrive before 1pm, but we ignored that and never were asked what time we were given. Last time we were on the ship with carry ons unpacked way before that time, and ready to go have lunch. We didn't have but one party in front of us in the check-in line at about 11am. Next cruise we'll be Platinum and it'll probably be even less of a wait.[/quote']

 

 

Thank you so much for your advice! I'll probably arrive around 12-12:30ish! As long as I get on the ship I'm happy LOL!

[Alexv500]

Alex, we arrived late because of our flight and we had no problems with boarding. I think all boarding passes, no matter what cruise line, say to board at 1:00, but 98% of the time we are there early and can board by 10:30 or 11:00. Sometimes the cabins are not ready until 1:00 so that's probably why they say that.

 

Thank you!! Our ship will be arriving from a South America cruise so our boarding might be a bit delayed because of customs! And the Crown Princess will also be in port the same day, so two giant ships there is going to make things crazy! I'm super nervous, but hoping everything goes smoothly!

[laughing husky]

Have been to both specialty restaurants on the Crown...several times, and while I never saw dishes piled up on a table, I thought the food was superb in Sabatini's. Ask for the waiter, Francesco....He is amazing.....Just a wonderful man who had restaurants in Italy....now works for Princess...

[Terre]

I believe it was Mazatlan Tours and it was pretty much most of the day. I'll check my confirmations and let you know the price.

 

It was Mazatlan City Tours. Our total was $54 and our guide was Chilly. He was really great. My husband found them on Trip Adviser.

[Terre]

Have been to both specialty restaurants on the Crown...several times, and while I never saw dishes piled up on a table, I thought the food was superb in Sabatini's. Ask for the waiter, Francesco....He is amazing.....Just a wonderful man who had restaurants in Italy....now works for Princess...

 

They had reserved us in Sabatini's, but my husband is not big on Italian so we switched it for the Crown Grill. I was surprised about the dishes piled on the trays, not tables. There were two different ones that we saw, both were beside and across from our table.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Terre

[Terre]

Enjoyed your review. We will be on her next month. What type of cabin did you have and where was it located? I didn't see that posted (but excuse me if it was and I missed it). We have been to PV a lot -- on our own and on cruises -- and enjoy taking the City Bus into town and walking about. We have some old friends there (at shops and a hotel we use to stay in) that we pop in to say hello. Love PV.

 

We had an inside Category 1A. The only thing I didn't like about it was the lighting over the desk area was rather dark. Other than that, it was a decent cabin. Sorry I don't remember the deck. Nice to have friends there!