Grand Princess Pacific Coastal Review; kind of long

[cali-croozer]

First time on Princess; previously cruised with Carnival and Celebrity. Had a great time on the Pacific Coastal; round trip from SF, April 24-May 1.

 

Embarkation: We walked from the Embarcadero BART station to the pier (took about 15 minutes) and arrived around 10:45am. No line for security or check-in. Lots of seats to wait to board ship. Water was provided and TVs were on during waiting period. We were on the ship by noon. Lunch was available in the dining room but we ate in the buffet. It wasn't crowded at all and the selection was excellent.

 

Cabin: inside cabin on lido deck (L257); everything clean and in working condition; no problems at all; old, but comfortable bed; asked for top sheet and robes. Toiletries included: lotion, bar soap, soft soap and shampoo/conditioner in shower.

 

Dining Room: We decided to experiment with anytime dining. It worked out just fine except for the 2nd formal night (everyone wanted to eat that night between 6:30 and 7:30 so we had about a 30 minute wait). Otherwise, we were either seated immediately or less than 5 minute wait. We shared a table several times and asked for a table for 2 a couple of times when we wanted to get out of there a little faster. We also ate 1 lunch in the dining room on the last sea day. Service in the dining room was very good and food was also very good. Did not see many Curtis Stone dishes. Chocolate Journey desserts looked very good (I cannot eat chocolate :( ). The only beef entree on the "always available" menu was a hamburger. They did offer beef medallions one night.

 

Other Dining: Pub lunch was offered on both sea days. The International Cafe sandwiches and desserts were tasty. There were no upcharges for the dessert selections. Alfredos pizza was much better than Lido Deck pizza (in my opinion, of course). My husband said the hot dogs on Lido Deck were really good. Soft serve ice cream available daily on Lido Deck as well. We were pleasantly suprised with the Horizon Buffet. The selection was excellent and the food very good. The desserts were mostly the same as the dining room and even some of the IC desserts. The belgian waffle station was open for a couple of hours in the morning (same location as soft serve ice cream); but more waffles were available in the afternoon at the Horizon court as a dessert offering.

 

Live Entertainment: We really enjoyed the Static Band (party/dance music). They are on break now but if they are on your ship in the future, you will have a great time. The balloon drop "party" was a blast! We also saw and enjoyed comedian Jeff Morris and comedy/magician Jeff Peterson and his dog. There was always other music going on around the ship to enjoy, from piano music to mariacchi.

 

Movies: It was really too cold to enjoy MUTS (we did brave it one night) but they also showed movies in the Princess Theater in the daytime. Movies on this cruise: Daddy's Home, Star Wars, Bridge of Spies, Spotlight, The Revenant, Brooklyn, The Martian

 

Sports/Warriors: There is really no sports bar, but there are TVs in Snookers and the Casino (smoking venues) and the One-5 (non-smoking). There may be others but I didn't notice. If your game is in ESPN you will be able to watch it. Unfortunately the Warriors were on ABC and TNT so we were not able to watch.

 

Cruise Director: Dan was great; we enjoyed his Wake Up Show and shout outs.

 

Gym: Free classes daily included: stretch at 7am, abs at 7:30am and total body conditioning at 6pm. Each class is about 20 minutes and a minumum of 3 participants is required. These classes are not advertised; if interested, visit the gym on the first day and get a schedule. There are also some fee classes like yoga and spinning ($12 per class or 3 for $30) as well as equipment to use (treadmills, cycles, weights, etc).

 

SPA: If you've cruised before you know the SPA is way overpriced. However, they offer deals almost daily that make it more reasonable. My husband and I took the spa tour the first day and both won the raffle. I won $75 and my husband, $150. They were both credits to be used on REGULAR PRICED spa treatments only. So, I ended up not using my $75 because I really didn't want to spend another $65 just to get a 50 minute massage (their least expensive treatment was $119, then add gratuity). And, no, they wouldn't let us combine our credit to get a couples massage. No big deal. My husband, however, was able to get a 70 minute massage for $15, plus gratuity. :D

 

Ports: We are local and have been to all the ports before so we mostly just walked around to get some exercise.

SANTA BARBARA: tender port; if you aren't on an excursion just wait until the crowd departs and you will be able to board a tender without waiting; there is a trolly for 50 cents that goes to downtown but the wait was long so we just walked to Stearn's Whart and then a little up State Street.

LONG BEACH: there is a free bus, called the PASSPORT, that makes a loop around the downtown/aquarium/shoreline village/queen mary area; we took that bus and walked along the beach and then took it into the downtown area to buy some bottled water and tums...lol.

SAN DIEGO: walked to seaport village in the morning then back to the ship for lunch; then we took public transportation (trolly; $5 round trip) to old town. On the way back, we stopped at the Little Italy area before walking back to the ship.

ENSENADA: walked across to the old casino that is now a museum (free); beautiful gardens and interesting building to walk through; a few vendors in the courtyard. One of the ships excursions is to this museum and there is also a folklorico (sp?) demonstration but we didn't stay that long. After that, I went back to the ship and my husband and a friend took the $3 bus into "town" and had some beer/tequilla (bus driver hands out some great coupons).

 

Debarkation: we originally were assigned the last debarkation group (10:40am) but then noticed, on the ESPN "ticker", that the Warriors were playing at 12:30pm so we were able to change our time to 8:10am (carry off all luggage). We were actually off the ship and on BART by 8:10am!

 

I think that about covers everything. Any questions? I will try to answer, however, I am quite busy today, so just give me a little time.

[Californian]

Thanks very much for the review, especially liked the info on what you did at the various ports. Going in the fall and your review gave us some ideas for our trip. Much appreciated.

[cali-croozer]

Thanks very much for the review, especially liked the info on what you did at the various ports. Going in the fall and your review gave us some ideas for our trip. Much appreciated.

 

You're welcome. Some other "easy" ideas for the ports: in Long Beach, you can self tour the Queen Mary for free (just show your cruise card); in San Diego, the USS Midway is right next to the port; there is also a ferry to Coronado for less than $5 each way (the weather wasn't very good or we would have done that).

 

Forgot to mention: buy 1 drink, get one of the same for $1 offered twice daily (3-4pm at the Wheelhouse Bar and 10-11pm at the One 5 Bar); my husband was able to buy 3 beers/get 3 beers for $3 and put them in the cabin refrigerator for later...just tell bartender not to open them).

 

Also, the cooking demonstration/galley tour on the last day was entertaining. The galley tour was really just a walk through a portion of it where they were making cakes, but they had some fruit "carvings" and displays and creative cakes on display. It was still interesting as I had never done that on any of my former cruises.

[Iluvkds]

How/what was the entertainment in the Princess Thwarted (is Broadway like show)

Great review!

[cali-croozer]

How/what was the entertainment in the Princess Thwarted (is Broadway like show)

Great review!

 

The 2 "broadway" type shows were "Do You Wanna Dance?" and "British Invasion". We only went to the "Welcome Aboard Show" the first night, which gave a "taste" of the weeks entertainment. Wanted to go to "British Invasion" but dinner took a little longer so we missed the first show (8:15pm) and the 10pm show conflicted with the 10:30 balloon drop party that I wanted to attend. Next time................

 

There were previews of some of the shows in the Piazza so I enjoyed a little bit of the shows. :)

[brianlojeck]

There are two great things in Ensenada: Birriria Guadalajara, and an excellent tequila shop I cannot remember the name of that I always pass while walking back to the ship from the Birriria.

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[pris993]

First time on Princess; previously cruised with Carnival and Celebrity. Had a great time on the Pacific Coastal; round trip from SF, April 24-May 1.

 

Embarkation: We walked from the Embarcadero BART station to the pier (took about 15 minutes) and arrived around 10:45am. No line for security or check-in. Lots of seats to wait to board ship. Water was provided and TVs were on during waiting period. We were on the ship by noon. Lunch was available in the dining room but we ate in the buffet. It wasn't crowded at all and the selection was excellent.

 

Cabin: inside cabin on lido deck (L257); everything clean and in working condition; no problems at all; old, but comfortable bed; asked for top sheet and robes. Toiletries included: lotion, bar soap, soft soap and shampoo/conditioner in shower.

 

 

 

Dining Room: We decided to experiment with anytime dining. It worked out just fine except for the 2nd formal night (everyone wanted to eat that night between 6:30 and 7:30 so we had about a 30 minute wait). Otherwise, we were either seated immediately or less than 5 minute wait. We shared a table several times and asked for a table for 2 a couple of times when we wanted to get out of there a little faster. We also ate 1 lunch in the dining room on the last sea day. Service in the dining room was very good and food was also very good. Did not see many Curtis Stone dishes. Chocolate Journey desserts looked very good (I cannot eat chocolate :( ). The only beef entree on the "always available" menu was a hamburger. They did offer beef medallions one night.

 

Other Dining: Pub lunch was offered on both sea days. The International Cafe sandwiches and desserts were tasty. There were no upcharges for the dessert selections. Alfredos pizza was much better than Lido Deck pizza (in my opinion, of course). My husband said the hot dogs on Lido Deck were really good. Soft serve ice cream available daily on Lido Deck as well. We were pleasantly suprised with the Horizon Buffet. The selection was excellent and the food very good. The desserts were mostly the same as the dining room and even some of the IC desserts. The belgian waffle station was open for a couple of hours in the morning (same location as soft serve ice cream); but more waffles were available in the afternoon at the Horizon court as a dessert offering.

 

Live Entertainment: We really enjoyed the Static Band (party/dance music). They are on break now but if they are on your ship in the future, you will have a great time. The balloon drop "party" was a blast! We also saw and enjoyed comedian Jeff Morris and comedy/magician Jeff Peterson and his dog. There was always other music going on around the ship to enjoy, from piano music to mariacchi.

 

Movies: It was really too cold to enjoy MUTS (we did brave it one night) but they also showed movies in the Princess Theater in the daytime. Movies on this cruise: Daddy's Home, Star Wars, Bridge of Spies, Spotlight, The Revenant, Brooklyn, The Martian

 

Sports/Warriors: There is really no sports bar, but there are TVs in Snookers and the Casino (smoking venues) and the One-5 (non-smoking). There may be others but I didn't notice. If your game is in ESPN you will be able to watch it. Unfortunately the Warriors were on ABC and TNT so we were not able to watch.

 

Cruise Director: Dan was great; we enjoyed his Wake Up Show and shout outs.

 

Gym: Free classes daily included: stretch at 7am, abs at 7:30am and total body conditioning at 6pm. Each class is about 20 minutes and a minumum of 3 participants is required. These classes are not advertised; if interested, visit the gym on the first day and get a schedule. There are also some fee classes like yoga and spinning ($12 per class or 3 for $30) as well as equipment to use (treadmills, cycles, weights, etc).

 

SPA: If you've cruised before you know the SPA is way overpriced. However, they offer deals almost daily that make it more reasonable. My husband and I took the spa tour the first day and both won the raffle. I won $75 and my husband, $150. They were both credits to be used on REGULAR PRICED spa treatments only. So, I ended up not using my $75 because I really didn't want to spend another $65 just to get a 50 minute massage (their least expensive treatment was $119, then add gratuity). And, no, they wouldn't let us combine our credit to get a couples massage. No big deal. My husband, however, was able to get a 70 minute massage for $15, plus gratuity. :D

 

Ports: We are local and have been to all the ports before so we mostly just walked around to get some exercise.

SANTA BARBARA: tender port; if you aren't on an excursion just wait until the crowd departs and you will be able to board a tender without waiting; there is a trolly for 50 cents that goes to downtown but the wait was long so we just walked to Stearn's Whart and then a little up State Street.

LONG BEACH: there is a free bus, called the PASSPORT, that makes a loop around the downtown/aquarium/shoreline village/queen mary area; we took that bus and walked along the beach and then took it into the downtown area to buy some bottled water and tums...lol.

SAN DIEGO: walked to seaport village in the morning then back to the ship for lunch; then we took public transportation (trolly; $5 round trip) to old town. On the way back, we stopped at the Little Italy area before walking back to the ship.

ENSENADA: walked across to the old casino that is now a museum (free); beautiful gardens and interesting building to walk through; a few vendors in the courtyard. One of the ships excursions is to this museum and there is also a folklorico (sp?) demonstration but we didn't stay that long. After that, I went back to the ship and my husband and a friend took the $3 bus into "town" and had some beer/tequilla (bus driver hands out some great coupons).

 

Debarkation: we originally were assigned the last debarkation group (10:40am) but then noticed, on the ESPN "ticker", that the Warriors were playing at 12:30pm so we were able to change our time to 8:10am (carry off all luggage). We were actually off the ship and on BART by 8:10am!

 

I think that about covers everything. Any questions? I will try to answer, however, I am quite busy today, so just give me a little time.

 

Nice review... we did this trip a few years back did about the same. We did the New Years cruise last year and are booked again this year... fun easy way for locals to celebrate New Years.

[easyboy]

Thanks for sharing. Looks like you really made the most out of your trip!

[emmak8]

Thank you for sharing. We're doing this cruise in October and I'm saving your details about the ports. Thanks again.:)

[jsiegel]

Thanks for the great review. I just booked this cruise for October. I did not know that about the Queen Mary. I think I'll be touring her in Long Beach.

 

Jackie

[SadieN]

There are two great things in Ensenada: Birriria Guadalajara, and an excellent tequila shop I cannot remember the name of that I always pass while walking back to the ship from the Birriria.

 

 

Completely agree about Guadalajara. Another place we like is Portrero Viejo on Riveroll and Segundo.

 

The tourist area is a 10 minute walk from the ship.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[SenorBruce]

Thanks for the comprehensive review and comments. Planning a California Coastal and the information provided will be extremely helpful.

[Sacto Rick]

We were on the Grand in Feb and the CD was Kelvin Joy. I'm surprised he isn't still there as he just came aboard on our cruise. Maybe he was a temp replacement, does anybody know what happened to Kelvin? He is a great CD.