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1st Mex Riviera Sapphire Cruisers Welcome Home

Moondawgie

By Moondawgie,
in Princess Cruises

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kayred

kayred

Posted
Posted

Yes, Welcome Home. I have enjoyed looking at the web cam and wishing you happy sails. It looked to me like the weather was pretty good, however I have never cruised so maybe the water was rougher than it looked. Either way welcome home and I hope your trip was a happy one...

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idcruisers

idcruisers

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Welcome Home. Now the withdrawl symptons begin. The only bad part of a cruise is coming home. Please list all the details!! We are leaving on the Sapphire on in two weeks and would love to hear all about it. Was there a dining room open on embarkation day? Also, Please give your impressions about he 4 PC dining rooms and the different entertainment. Did they have the chocolate bar by the pool at noon or was that only an Alaska thing? I hope not, it sounds like a great mid-day treat!:) How long did it take you to get through customs when you got off the ship? thanks for all the info. it is greatly appreciated.

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WHYTSHLDRZ

WHYTSHLDRZ

Posted
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Hope you all had a wonderful time....view from the web cam is leaving a lot to be desired!!!!

Please share all details about your cruise!! What nights was the menu not so hot, so that we should book the Sterling or Sabatinis????? Did they have souffles for desert?????How was the piano bar??? Karaoke??????????????? Was there a crew/passenger talent show??? Did they have shows more than one time a night, for the benefit of early and late diners????

How was the food??? Was the ship in good shape??? How was the buffet by the pool area/lido deck????????????

Please, please share...........I have to wait until the Sat after Thanksgiving to get on the Sapphire!!!!!!!!!!!!! At this time, that day seems like forever!!:D :D :D :D

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emmy

emmy

Posted
Posted
Welcome Home. Now the withdrawl symptons begin. The only bad part of a cruise is coming home. Please list all the details!! We are leaving on the Sapphire on in two weeks and would love to hear all about it. Was there a dining room open on embarkation day? Also, Please give your impressions about he 4 PC dining rooms and the different entertainment. Did they have the chocolate bar by the pool at noon or was that only an Alaska thing? I hope not, it sounds like a great mid-day treat!:) How long did it take you to get through customs when you got off the ship? thanks for all the info. it is greatly appreciated.

 

 

idcruisers~ we are also sailing on Sapphire in two weeks Oct 22...first Mexican Riviera itinerary for us....also waiting to hear first hand reports of Sapphire doing this itinerary...

 

We have a great roll call thread going :)

 

Emmy

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idcruisers

idcruisers

Posted
Posted

Emmy,

 

Time has gotten away from me. We are leaving NEXT week, the 15th!! OH MY!! I had better get packing. Sorry for the confusion and thanks for the invite to the roll call. Maybe we will pass each other at the port. I will be the one with the big frown because they made me leave the ship. ;) Have a great cruise.

 

Ilise

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emmy

emmy

Posted
Posted
Emmy,

 

Time has gotten away from me. We are leaving NEXT week, the 15th!! OH MY!! I had better get packing. Sorry for the confusion and thanks for the invite to the roll call. Maybe we will pass each other at the port. I will be the one with the big frown because they made me leave the ship. ;) Have a great cruise.

 

Ilise

 

Ilise ~ and I along with about 2000 others will have the big :) smiles on our faces.... have a great cruise!!!

 

Emmy

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Once Upon A Time

Once Upon A Time

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Yes... we made it home and it was great! The weather really wasn't a problem at all. The ship was amazingly stable. Our route took us a little more West than normal to miss any rough seas. No rain, a few white caps and one night a few swells for only a couple of hours. Mostly just blue skies and smooth seas. It was pretty hot in Puerto Vallarta and only a little cooler in Mazatlan, but by the time we go to Cabo, it was just perfect. No complaints on anything. Will write a review as soon as I get unpacked.:D

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jimbug

jimbug

Posted
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Hi guys,

I cruised this itinerary earlier this year on the Diamond and was just passing through the Princess boards this evening and saw this thread...for you upcoming Riviera cruisers, we had a BLAST on this itinerary, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat! Here's what we did in the ports, in case anyone still needs some ideas...

 

Puerto Vallarta: we did the PV Beach Break through Princess, and it took us to the Paradise Village resort complex. The resort is a combination of traditional hotel, timeshare condos, and a golf club. The beach was beautiful with great waves and soft sandy bottom, and the palapas/chairs were aplenty. We got 2 "free" (included) alcoholic (or sodas, etc.) drinks, plus a full buffet lunch, as well as use of the entire resort complex. It was a beautiful place, very lush greenery, and HUGE dragon slide & pool area, esp. great for kids. There were also massages available, many hot tubs, snacks, etc. Couldn't beat it with a stick :-) Would definitely do this, especially since it was under $30/pp, transportation included.

 

Mazatlan--haha, this was an experience for us. (It turned out to be fabulous in the long run...) Anyhow, our initial "plan" was to just take a cab to the El Cid resort in the Golden Zone and pay their day use price ($15?) and hang out on the beach. However, when you first get off the tram from the ship, you are bombarded by a bunch of time share hawkers for the various resorts. We stopped by the El Cid booth just to inquire about how to get there, and the people were really nice and were ok with us declining the timeshare offer. (long story, in my CC review if you want it), but they did give us a bracelet that waives the day use fee, but lets us buy our own food/drink if we want. Okay, so we kept walking and got stopped by another resort and they conned us into going to their presentation. Fine. It would have been a good deal if it was what they advertised, but turned out not to be. We ended up walking down the street to El Cid, showing the bracelet, and having an absolute WONDERFUL day. The food was GREAT, and the water was just a gorgeous shade of blue. Very crowded, but we still found a palapa and some chairs. Some rocks in the most shallow water here (they disappear a little further out)...bring water shoes...my mom cut her foot when she crashed into one.

 

Cabo - We took another ship excursion here, the Chileno Bay Sail & Snorkel, or whatever it's called. It was really fun, and the large sailboat/catamaran we were on was gorgeous and the crew kept the party hopping. The water was very cold, but worth it seeing all the beautiful fish that we saw. I have not yet snorkeled in the Caribbean, and people say it's much better there, but we still saw tons of sea life, and thoroughly enjoyed the open bar on the way back! :-)

 

Hope you all had fun--I hope to return to the Mexican Riviera very soon!

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jimbug

jimbug

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Since you guys seemed to be interested in my port experiences, I thought I would add a little more so you might have a better idea of what to expect.

 

PV--As mentioned, we did the Puerto Vallarta Beach Break through Princess. The bus ride is about 30 minutes each way. The only thing(s) not included in the price are drinks beyond the 2 allotted, massages, or food from the beachside grill. Chairs, towels, palapas, etc., all included. The roaming beach vendors here are not pushy at all...I think they are regulated by the resort so they can't bug you very much. This was by far the most beautiful/clean beach we saw the whole trip (not that the others were bad, but this one was pristine). Otherwise, in PV, there is a restaurant and some small shops right at the pier....they have everything you will find anywhere else in the town, including a Diamonds International...haha...so if you want to shop, no need to venture out very far. The excursion returned us to the pier with about 2-3 hours left before we had to be back onboard.

 

Mazatlan--The cab ride to the Golden Zone is $10-12 each way and about a 25-minute ride in heavy traffic. Take a pulmonia (open-air cab) if you can...they are so much fun. The Inn at Mazatlan is the resort that "conned" us into their timeshare presentation...don't bother, but it is a gorgeous resort. El Cid is just down the street, about 2 blocks away. You don't have to pay anything to use the facility/beach/pool. Food & drink prices are very reasonable. The shops right at the pier in Mazatlan were great...very good prices to be found and lots to choose from.

 

Cabo--Our port time in Cabo was very short (only until 2 pm), so we only had 1 hr left after our snorkeling excursion. Did a tiny bit of shopping near the tender dock, but didn't see much. There's not a whole lot within walking distance from dock in Cabo...definitely consider taking a cab. Lots of beautiful resorts along the beach there...I don't know if they allow day use or not, but WOW, they are gorgeous. Back to the snorkeling excursion...very fun, very lively, and LOTS to drink if you want. (Cokes, cookies, sandwiches, also available) Cabo was definitely the cleanest city we were in, but you could tell it catered to the rich Americans...lol...huge yachts in the harbor, mostly from San Diego or LA.

 

Mazatlan was the biggest "party" town, crawling with spring breakers, probably not so much for your fall cruisers! PV was more rural.

 

Hope this helps a bit. Have fun!

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quinceemom

quinceemom

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I also just got back from this sailing,,,actually did a redeye flight back on Sunday night,,,and would like to recommend to anyone who can still book it, the horseback riding with Randi's Happy Horses. She has her own website, and you can also check the forum for Matzalan for other reviews, but this was one of the best tours I've ever done. She only takes about 15 people on each excursion, so you do have to book early and also realize that there is probably at least one other ship in port that day. Anyway, she picks you up at the dock, go by open vehicle to a small dock area, take the water taxi to Stone Island (I thinks that's the name of the island), horseback ride on the beach for about an hour to an hour and a half and then to Victor's for lunch. The lunch was fabulous,,,I ordered Mahi Mahi and it must have been swimming just hours before, because it was the best I've ever had. Then you can play on the beach or just relax. Victor's does have a small open shower, so at least you can rinse the salt water off. It was the best and Randi is just one of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

I can only answer your question about Sabatini's - we actually did make reservations and then ended up cancelling them. We heard from at least two families that while the service and food are excellent, there is so much food that by the time you reach the main course, you can hardly eat anything. Since I'm not really heavy eater and beacuse we had the best table mates and servers, we elected to just stay with a good thing. Oh yes,the lobster tails were the best - supremely moist and well presented, do not miss. At least two nights, I ordered two appetizers and skipped the soup. The salads at dinner were just okay, but I went one day to the dining room for lunch and the salad was superb.

A little tip,,,,on the last day, get up a little early and go to the dining room for breakfast. It was only half full, while I heard the Horizon Court was jammed and you'll have one last relaxing chance to be pampered before you re-enter reality.

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quinceemom

quinceemom

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Yes, our tablemates did bring several bottle of their favorite red wine, which their server did handle. I'm not sure if there was a corkage fee. Take note - there is a small frig in the room and I did bring some "beverages" (wink,wink) - this is really a bonus.

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emmy

emmy

Posted
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I also just got back from this sailing,,,actually did a redeye flight back on Sunday night,,,and would like to recommend to anyone who can still book it, the horseback riding with Randi's Happy Horses. She has her own website, and you can also check the forum for Matzalan for other reviews, but this was one of the best tours I've ever done. She only takes about 15 people on each excursion, so you do have to book early and also realize that there is probably at least one other ship in port that day. Anyway, she picks you up at the dock, go by open vehicle to a small dock area, take the water taxi to Stone Island (I thinks that's the name of the island), horseback ride on the beach for about an hour to an hour and a half and then to Victor's for lunch. The lunch was fabulous,,,I ordered Mahi Mahi and it must have been swimming just hours before, because it was the best I've ever had. Then you can play on the beach or just relax. Victor's does have a small open shower, so at least you can rinse the salt water off. It was the best and Randi is just one of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

I can only answer your question about Sabatini's - we actually did make reservations and then ended up cancelling them. We heard from at least two families that while the service and food are excellent, there is so much food that by the time you reach the main course, you can hardly eat anything. Since I'm not really heavy eater and beacuse we had the best table mates and servers, we elected to just stay with a good thing. Oh yes,the lobster tails were the best - supremely moist and well presented, do not miss. At least two nights, I ordered two appetizers and skipped the soup. The salads at dinner were just okay, but I went one day to the dining room for lunch and the salad was superb.

A little tip,,,,on the last day, get up a little early and go to the dining room for breakfast. It was only half full, while I heard the Horizon Court was jammed and you'll have one last relaxing chance to be pampered before you re-enter reality.

 

 

Thanks for the positive review of Randi's Horses...we are sailing Sapphire OCt 22 and are booked on this excursion... can't wait....

 

Emmy

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quinceemom

quinceemom

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We were off ship pretty quickly,,,I think it was about 8 or so,,she does set up her meeting time for 8:30. When you disembark, you take a little tram to the "terminal" building. The dock in Matzalan is primarily a cargo dock, which you'll see when you land. Go past all the time share vendors, thru bldg and look for sign on table. Randi is about 5'4" or so, with short brunette hair and will probably have on bathing suit w/shorts. I think we got back between 1:30 and 2 or so, because I went straight to the Lotus for a little while. Tip, one of the riders brought wet washcloths from the ship, as you'll def feel the heat. I bought one the Princess water bottle carriers and if was great. Bring your camera with you on the horses, as they do stop and the guides will take pix. You'll really enjoy this,,,,I would def book this again and again and again!!!!!!

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