Our fun 4/15-4/22 Discovery Princess Mexican Rivera Trip

[Jatluvsthesea]

     After many years of family/with the kids land vacations, we decided to go on a “just the two of us” cruise. We last cruised with Princess back in 2009(total of 4 cruises with them now) and one short cruise with Royal in 2016. 
     We have cruised Alaska and Caribbean in the past so this time was the Mexican Rivera. 
We had airport transfers with Princess. Lax is a pretty busy airport but as soon as we got to baggage claim there where the Princess transfer people -very noticeable and made for an easy transfer to the ship. It was nice that they took our bags at the airport, thus not having to mess with them until they appeared in our room later that early afternoon. 
        Once to the ship we had just a short wait to embark. We had gotten to the ship early due to an early/short flight from Arizona and got to the pier around 10:00. Embarkment area kinda like organized chaos, but being green lane, check in was pretty quick and painless. 
They had a waiting area for Elite/platinum etc etc. but once they started boarding them it was as if they yelled out “ALL ABOARD!!” And was pretty crazy. It was a weird smooth yet chaotic rush, but made it on board and headed straight to GiGi pizzeria for lunch(very yummy and went back a couple more times during the week). 
        Our cabin(d144 deluxe balcony)was ready pretty quickly. We had a great steward that kept it clean at all times. Working as a ninja with a quick in and out throughout the week. I was always amazed with cruise stewards Ninja skills in the past, always knowing when you are gone to do a cleanup, but now with the medallion it must be easier for them. Anytime we did see him in the hallway he was always busy yet whould take the second to stop and  say hi or ask how everything was and so forth. We had no cabin problems with noise, location or anything else during our week. It is next door to a premium deluxe with the extended balcony, so one side had a wall that stood out further, but did not impact our view. 
        We enjoyed our food while on board. Did see a difference in quality/choices verses last cruise, yet fully enjoyed some great dishes. Yea, some dishes were just ok, some really good, but also a lot  that were really wonderful! 

But honestly, as the main chief in the house, any dish that I do not have to shop/chop/cook/cleanup for is a winner in my book! Being on a ship is a great way to try different kinds of dishes! All the yummy bakery/dessert items were really great! Crown grill and Bistro Sur La Mer were great as well. All dining crew we came across were always kind and helpful- though some looked a little tired. 
      Entertainment/activities was good as always, but didn’t seem as much as the past. I remembered much busier sea days. Seemed more sales opportunities than before. Did enjoy the events what were available though. 
      Lotus spa- we enjoyed our couples massage-so much that we booked/enjoyed a second one the next day.  No hard sales pitch either. 
      Cabo - dry season-reminded me of Arizona but by the sea. We did the Cabo Pirate excursion- a very cheesy yet fun time. Even though it was past whale season we saw many whales and the Pirate boat should stop so we can see them. Even saw a momma whale and her baby do a perfect little side by side dive into the water with tail fins lined up! Cabo pirates worked hard with beverages, lunch and then after all that a cute little show. 

     Mazatlan- we did the speedboat and resort excursion. A very fun day with excitement and relaxation. Would do again!

     Puerto Vallarta- we did the speedboat, horseback and snorkel excursion. This was one of the best ship excursions/vacation tours we have been on. A little taste of everything, taking you back in time. Also the best meal of the entire week on a quiet and beautiful beach. Our favorite day!

      Despite all the news about the ports, we felt safe the entire time. We stayed with ship excursions for the peace of mind and had a great time. 

      Every crew member we came across was helpful and kind. Even guest services fixed a little problem for me in hardly no time(pre purchased obc not showing up). They were all very busy and working hard. Unfortunately, not every guest was as kind- saw quite a few impolite and impatient people being rude to crew or other guest. Luckily, we always shared/neighbored dining room tables with some lovely people. Even when the food  was just ok, we still had great conversations of where we were from, pasts cruises, and etc. 

      Disembarkation was the usual hurry up and wait. We were able to find our bags quickly. THEN unfortunately our record of smooth Princess transfers changed. The weekend we disembarked was the same weekend as Coachella. So they were short buses. Now, since this is an event known way way in advance you would think they should know to plan accordingly??? Anyway, we ended up waiting for quite awhile(over an hour)on the sidewalk in the sun for our transfer. They did bring out chairs and water bottles out. The transfer crew(very friendly) there seemed just as annoyed by the lack of buses and was on the phone to their people(bosses) on how we were having to wait. Anyway, we did get on a bus and transferred to LAX in plenty of time for our plane- though some were left with a very short window. Some actually ended up not waiting and left to get a taxi to make it in time for their international flight. Since all our past transfers went really well and so convenient I would give them another chance. Just seemed like this day fell thru the planning cracks somehow. 

   Overall a great week and enjoyed it! So much fun and relaxation. Any negatives were definitely outshined by the many, many , many wonderful positive moments. So many beautiful memories! 
 

Now, why isn’t my bed made? I missed my fresh croissant this morning

and what am I going to fix for dinner?😊

        

Already so ready  to plan another Princess cruise! 

Edited May 1, 2023 by Jatluvsthesea
Missed spelled word

[Bemidji Ty]

Thanks.

 

[WAvoyager]

I didn’t realize Coachella would have an impact.  On the weekend the cruise was leaving, there was the Long Beach Gran Prix, so we were sandwiched by events.  
 

sorry to hear disembarkation wasn’t smooth for you.  We walked off first thing in the morning, so we could get to Disneyland early, and had a pretty smooth time getting there (using Lyft).

 

Good to hear you had a great time.  We must’ve seen you on the Pirate ship - we saw it as we headed back from the hotel we got a room at (for a resort day) and thought it looked like a lot of fun - next trip I think our daughter will be ready for it.

[Jatluvsthesea]

Yes this disembarkation was fine until the bus waiting- totally different than the past Princess transfers which always had a bus there and waiting. Oh well, not like we had a rush to get to the airport so we where going to wait somewhere. Would have been faster to drive home to Arizona but hubby did not want to have the hassles of LA driving and parking etc.    

 

We really enjoyed the Pirate Ship. The kids that where on it all seemed to have fun too(lots of smiles and laughter). 
 

I really like your idea of going to Disneyland after getting off the ship- what fun! 

 

[WAvoyager]

We’ve done Disneyland (or Universal) prior to the cruise before, but this was our first time doing it after.  Honestly, we probably won’t do it in that order again.  Having to get up early to get off the ship, and everyone was already a little worn out from the cruise, we didn’t really have the usual energy for theme parks.  And by “we”, I really mean my 6 YO daughter, which then dictates how much time the rest of us get to spend at the parks.  😕

[Sunwanabe]

We did same cruise in mid March. Absolutely loved the trip and excursions. Would definitely do the same cruise again as there were other excursions that we want to go on.

[PMGS247]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise!  DW and I were booked on this cruise but due to scheduling issues ended up going on the 4/1 sailing.  It was also our first Mexican Riviera, with previous experience entirely in the Caribbean/Bahamas.  We enjoyed the experience overall immensely, and I'm sure someday will do it again for the sake of variety if nothing else, plus we have friends in LA that we visited in conjunction with the cruise, but we also realized that our preferred destination is definitely the Caribbean.  All 3 ports were beautiful but if you're beach bums like us, the chilly pacific can't compete with the white sand & turquoise water of the Caribbean.  Sounds like you chose well in terms of excursions with varied activities.  DW and I tried a little too hard to make a Caribbean beach day happen at each stop, and it's not like you couldn't enjoy the beach, but it wasn't the optimal way to spend the whole day at any of those ports.  Still, first world problems, what a beautiful part of the world.  The ship is beautiful as well and still has that new ship smell.

[Jatluvsthesea]

 

1 hour ago, PMGS247 said:

Glad you enjoyed your cruise!  DW and I were booked on this cruise but due to scheduling issues ended up going on the 4/1 sailing.  It was also our first Mexican Riviera, with previous experience entirely in the Caribbean/Bahamas.  We enjoyed the experience overall immensely, and I'm sure someday will do it again for the sake of variety if nothing else, plus we have friends in LA that we visited in conjunction with the cruise, but we also realized that our preferred destination is definitely the Caribbean.  All 3 ports were beautiful but if you're beach bums like us, the chilly pacific can't compete with the white sand & turquoise water of the Caribbean.  Sounds like you chose well in terms of excursions with varied activities.  DW and I tried a little too hard to make a Caribbean beach day happen at each stop, and it's not like you couldn't enjoy the beach, but it wasn't the optimal way to spend the whole day at any of those ports.  Still, first world problems, what a beautiful part of the world.  The ship is beautiful as well and still has that new ship smell.

I love the the swirling blues,greens and turquoise waters of the Caribbean too! Having pretty much lived most of my life in the desert of New Mexico and Arizona, most of our trips have us near ocean/water/green. Our excursion in Puerto Vallarta actually took us south of the coastline via speedboat to some very pretty waters and beach area. It was a very relaxing time spent. Love the sounds of the ocean waves!