We are elite cruisers with Princess and value the perks they provide us. This was a short cruise to celebrate our 45th Wedding Anniversary. We spent 2 nights in Long Beach at the Hilton before the cruise where Princess put us up. The first leg was to Catalina Island, 24 miles away from LA. So the ship sailed South during the night and then back North. We took the excursion on a bus up to Catalina Airport in the Sky. This was a beautiful, but bumpy, ride. We'd do this again. This excursion included a glass bottom boat ride in the harbor over a protected marine area. This we also enjoyed - but not for the glass bottom! For $5 you can buy a couple of tubes of fish food. The intent is to pour it down a shoot and hope it attracts fish to the glass area. The Captain recommended tossing food over the side and hanging out of the open window areas to watch. I don't usually bother with this kind of stuff, but I was one of the few people who bought the food. Throwing it over the side caused a feeding frenzy as fish fought at the surface for yummies. My wife put her phone on auto taking pictures per second to capture the event. I ended up giving some of the food to a couple with two young boys so that they could watch a frenzy. The next day was a day a sea. We were disappointed that there was no port talk or any other lecture. The last port was Ensenada, Mexico. Here we took an excursion to the La Bufadora, the largest marine geyser in the world.Interesting, but more interesting was the local tourist market, vibrant with colors and locals ready to deal. I'd recommend this excursion just for the market.

Our Suite Cabin was great- 2 sinks! One in the shower/tub room and one in the toilet room. My wife loved that. The Concierge Room which was just down the hall from us was super. Suite passengers could go there anytime for snacks and free cocktails and wine between 4:30 and 6 PM. We ate lunch there a couple times - finger sandwiches, cheese, and crackers plus other little snacks in a quiet place. It was great to avoid the buffet with 3600 other people. Our cabin also had a wrap around deck on the port side. This is the second wrap around we've had and they are great to give you just a little better view of some things. The Singer and the Comedian provided great entertainment in the Princess Theater- get there 30 minutes early to get a seat! We used Club Class Dining for dinner after cocktails in the Concierge Room. That's anytime dining with a great menu. I had crustacean meals every night. We dined by 6 PM or so and had plenty of time to go back to our cabin to relax a minute before hiking forward to the Theater. There was always one or two couples next to us in the dining room interested in talking and we like that. I don't like the Princess Show Productions. They all- across all ships- sound the same. Almost every song sounds the same. Only the soloists break up the monotony.

I don't have any idea how the ship's staff can always be so friendly. It is like they never have a bad day. Service on the ship was above par. We didn't see much of our cabin steward- but the room was refreshed the moment we left it! Read more