Disembarkation - Vancouver and Recap of the Cruise

We are docked in Vancouver.  It is time to head home.  We decided to do self disembarkation as we only had one suitcase and we are just catching transit to head home.

We were assigned the first time of 7 am and the meeting lounge is Explorer's Lounge, but we are going to head to the Elite Lounge.

We head back to the lounge around 6:50 and right at 7 we are cleared to head ashore.  We are ushered out a door to the promenade and right to the gangway.

Cause we had already cleared Canadian Customs the day prior in Victoria we didn't have to do anything at all here. We just walked straight thru the terminal and out of the building right to the skytrain station and to the Canada Line towards the airport.  Our car was parked close to the airport and we were in it at 7:40 and home by 8:20!

I am now going to reflect on the cruise.

We originally booked this voyage as an inexpensive get away and to see so many crew that we knew.

We were not disappointed.  It was relaxing and fun and we loved seeing so many friends on board as well as in port. 


Ship in General:

• we had been concerned that the ship was going into dry dock after this voyage and was worried that we would notice work being done.  I am happy to report we noticed nothing to show that it was going into dry dock.  There were workers on board but they were mainly working on things below deck
• the ship is great condition and even though yes there are signs of wear and tear (many will be refurbished during dry dock, ie carpets, upholstery, etc) the ship is still beautiful
• MUTS was a pain to watch cause so many bulbs (or panels) were burnt out (but again this is being dealt with in dry dock)
• I love the public spaces on this ship.  The huge promenade deck, the big Skywalkers Lounge (great for sail aways), Vines and of course Explorer's Lounge (that was really missed on the Royal).  The aft pool with the views from there are another plus about this ship.  Oh and I can't forget Adagios and Sabatinis location for a quiet intimate evening, or quiet place to read during the day.

Cabin:

• We booked the lowest inside guarantee and were assigned the highest outside guarantee.  We loved the cabin location on Plaza deck so close to the main atrium.  It was very very quiet with little traffic.  
• Biggest down fall in this cabin is the docking lines (sorry don't know technical word) are right below and the winches deploying and bring up the lines make a lot of noise that actually makes the cabin vibrate.  This noise is heard upon arriving and departing for around an hour each time.  
• Everything in the cabin worked great.  Take note the cabin only has one larger night stand as the room is a little less wider than the standard cabin, but it is longer.  This really didn't affect us too much.  
• Our steward Qi was very very good.  Considering this was only her second voyage serving passengers she did an amazing job - even better than some stewards have been doing it for much longer.  She is a great asset to Princess.
• I am not sure why but Princess falls short in the bed department.  I would say that 50% of the time we get a sagging/hard bed that has seen better days.  Then the linen on Princess ships seems to really be low end.  I would love to see their bedding be more like we would find in a four star hotel, or what we have found on other cruise lines.  It is not uncommon to find holes, tears and thread bear linens.  Oh and don't get me started with the moldy shower curtains that need replacing more often.

Dining/Food:

• We normally do Anytime dining but this voyage we wanted to be served by Mark so we had to go to Traditional dining as this is where he was.  After dining with him three nights (note two nights were open seating cause we were in port and two nights we dined at a specialty restaurant) we know Traditional dining is not for us.  Way too noisy, service is long cause everyone gets served at the same time.  I much prefer the flow and staggered dining that Anytime brings.  Also was so disappointed in other passengers who felt that the time of 8 for dinner meant anytime after 8 and would show up when it suited them, which threw off the service of the entire table and the waiter had to deal with it.  Note we only had a table for two but found we would often wait long periods while our waiter had to deal with these late comers.
• Food in general we found to be only fair and certainly not the standard we are use to.  For us we found the food often overly salty (but this is a personal thing) but it was definately saltier than what we have found on other ships in the fleet.  Sometimes it was so salty we couldn't finish it.  We did encounter this once before and ironically it was the same ship on another voyage.  Often food was warm and not hot (staff quickly remedied this).  Twice in the Crown Grill our courses were not hot and had to be returned.
• Dishes were not presented the way they are on other ships.  For example the beet and spinach salad with heirloom tomatoes and goat cheese in Crown Grill.  Very very different than what we have had on other ships.
• Selection was amazing and never had an issue with finding something we like.  We especially like the 50th Anniversary items.
• We really enjoyed the lunches in the Horizon Court.  I find our experience on the Crown that they have one of the best salad bars.

Crew:

• This is really where this ship shines.  The crew on board are so friendly, kind and helpful.  They seem happy and it shows when they serve us and other passengers.  I love that they treat everyone with kindness and respect.  It doesn't matter if this is your first cruise or your 100th. We even noticed crew serving upset passengers with kindness that I know I as a person who works with the public would have a hard time doing.  But they do it, time and time again.
• The bar staff were a highlight this voyage for us.  We got to know many and rekindled friendships with a few others.  They were outgoing, friendly and full of tips and advice and recommendations.  I tried many of their recommendations and they always checked to see if I liked it and I am happy to say yes I did.
• We always connect with a shoppie and this time it was Henishia in the perfume shop.  What a dear and so kind and so very helpful.  But because of her I spent way more than I normally would in that shop.
• The Captain Circle Host Fleur was so lovely and helpful and patient.  Another great asset to the company in my opinion.

Itinerary:

• At first when we booked this itinerary we were like - ah who cares where it goes we just need to get away.  But after we completed the trip we were - wow I loved this itinerary and would love to do it again.  We especially liked the overnight in San Francisco and the full day in Victoria.
• We could of skipped Catalina, not because we don't want to go to Catalina, but a half day there with last tender at 1 pm meant it was hard to get off and really enjoy the island.  
• I think Princess should offer one way cruises LA to Vancouver 7 days and then 7 day return. This would meet the Jones Act and it would be a great way for people to see this side of the world.

Embarkation and Disembarkation:

• Both events were some of the smoothest and easiest embarkation and disembarkations we have every experienced.  
• Note that the port authorities in San Francisco really need to get their act together to make it a more fluid operation.  Read my blog about our visits to San Francisco here.  

Should I Be Worried About Princess' Product

I am finally getting around to publishing our review of the Golden Princess cruise we did in November.  I knew I needed to take some time to calm down after the cruise.  If I would of done the review right after it may of had more emotion reflected in the review.  So we decided to wait a few weeks and I am glad I did.

The cruise was actually a back to back three day itinerary that we did after doing ten days on the Grand.  

The itinerary for these three days was -- Los Angeles, day at sea, Ensenada, back in Los Angeles.  And we did it twice.

For those who don't know me let me explain that this isn't our first Princess Cruise.  In fact it was our 48 and 49th Princess Cruise and we have just over 400 days with Princess.

I am 49 and Bernie is 58.  We love to travel and we mainly travel on cruises and have been very loyal to Princess.   But I have done a few cruises with Carnival and one with Royal Caribbean.

These two trips on the Golden were a big disappointment and we left with some concerns.

I decided to do the review as a podcast cause I really wanted to get Bernie's point of view too and I knew writing it and how it was interpreted could be misconstrued.  

So take a listen and know that in the end we will still sail with Princess in the future.  But we may now look at other lines too.  

But if these issues we experienced are because of cut backs to save money, perhaps other lines are doing the same.

Second Leg Cruise Reflections – Buenos Aires to Valparaiso

Note:  These are my own personal views.  I have had many people make comments to me but I refuse to post anything that is second hand that I did not experience (good and bad) unless I viewed it myself.

Like the first leg I wanted to go back and comment on the voyage and what I thought of it and stated the Great, the Good and the Not So Good.

Great:

-          Once again the crew are amazing.  Since we have been on board for 30 days we recognize many and many recognize us and say hi to us by name.  When we show up in a bar they remember our favorite drink and ask how our day was.  Big shout out to Beth and Jasmin in Crooners, Anthony in Vines, Zoran, Thais, Beatriz, Natasha, and Jayne in International Café.

-          Our wait staff this leg have been some of the best we have ever experienced.  Our table with Mark and Lorelei in Da Vinci is one of our highlights every day.  Mark and Lorelei (table 514) remember our preferences and we share our day with them and we love hearing about their day too. 

-          Entertainment on board is still great…. Lots to do, great shows, wonderful trivia type games, Wake Show is fun to watch too.  Lisa and Dan are seen about the ship all the time and always approachable and are working very hard at accommodating many.

-          Movies are some of the best we have ever seen.  We rarely get to the movies at home but love that we can catch up with many when at sea.  This leg we have seen almost all the Oscar nominated movies with many being shown in a venue on board but then also repeated in the cabins too.

-          The Captain and his officers and how they have managed the poor weather we have encountered and often having to make difficult decisions (skipping the horn) to protect the vessel and the passengers on her.

-          Love the itinerary, lots of ports but lots more sea days to really relax and come back new as the ads say. 

-          Love the wine package which has enabled us to really try lots of different wines.  Many of the waiters, bartenders and even bar managers have introduced us to new wines and cocktails we have never tried but loved.

-          We really enjoy that Skywalkers is designated a quiet area and it is wonderful place to go and enjoy the view and read.

-          We started this voyage under Red Alert and I am impressed at how well the crew from the Captain, to the Medical Staff, to the waiters, cleaners, cabin steward dealt with it.  The level was able to return to normal after almost two weeks under the alert because of their dedication and hard work.

Good:

-          Food is good, certainly haven’t gone hungry.  But it is still way too salty for our taste and often we try something and it is so salty we can’t eat it.  We have noticed so much salt in the food that I have noticed swelling in the joints from water retention.  We are also not drinking as much water as we normally do at home (I drink normally minimum of 12 8oz glasses a day), which doesn’t help.  Still have not gotten hot French fries in buffet or Trident Grill.  Nor have we gotten hot pancakes or eggs, we have given up on this. 

-          Cabin Steward is good, he certainly does his job but he is rather shy and doesn’t do anything extra unless we ask.  We have been spoiled on other sailing with Stewards that anticipate our needs and we rarely have to ask for anything.  This time we find we often have to ask for extra laundry bags, soap, note paper cause we have run out.  Although we have really appreciated the sheets changed regularly and he is quick at cleaning the cabin.  We normally tip an average of $5 extra per day to our steward but so far in the 30 days we have maybe tipped him an extra $25 in total.

-          I have really enjoyed the Captain Circle Parties – currently there are four parties to accommodate all the Platinum/Elite Passengers.  The Captain has been hilarious and the waiters have been very efficient at providing drinks for us.  Sadly they have not been going around serving appetizer to us like they normally do, not sure if this is fleet wide or not.

-          The Glacier Alley after leaving Ushuaia should really go under Great!  But since we left Ushuaia early evening and only got to see the first three glaciers before nightfall it goes under Good.  I love this area, and it is beautiful.  We would love to see a change to the itinerary so that we could travel this area during daylight and really appreciate it.

Not So Good:

-          Lecturers John Maxtone Graham and Jeffrey Wolff have been a disappointment for us.  Don’t care for John’s political views being added to his lectures.  Jeffrey Wolff’s talks seems to be more like I am in a fourth grade class and I just don’t get the feeling he really knows his subject personally but more he gained the knowledge on line and is just repeating.  This is too bad cause we really like the subject matter and miss the excellent lecturers we have had in the past. 

-          Tender Service – now this leg tender service has really not been a good experience.  I should state though that in Punt Arenas Chile the weather with the high winds caused huge delays with tender service could not be helped.  But in Falklands and Puerto Montt tender service was slow and long waits to get back to the ship.  In Puerto Montt there must have been over a 1,000 people waiting to get back on board when we showed up at the pier at 4:30 pm (last tender was 5, but was much later).  They are down a tender due to mechanical issues but with the remaining tenders this causes long waits and many with mobility issues are having to line up for long periods, often in the elements.  Thankfully next leg there is only one tender port.

-          Downfall of this cruise is that it has a lot of demanding passengers who are experienced cruisers.  We keep encountering people who are upset about so much but we feel their complaints are not justified and wish they would look at the 95% great things instead of the 5% bad things.  The crew are encountering a lot of abuse from some of these people and I feel for them.  Also because this leg forced a lot of people inside due to the incumbent weather not only did it make many of the public venues busy it also cause many short tempers among passengers and also passengers to the crew.  I am quite impressed on how the crew have been able to defuse many incidents. 

-          Although we are only two weeks later in the season from the last time we did this voyage the weather has been poorer (although this could happen earlier too) and also a lot less wildlife viewings too.

-          The Captain Circle desk area is on Promenade Forward just outside the Wheelhouse and it is really a poor location.  Poor Cameron has his desk out in the middle of the hallway and often we encounter people using his desk and chairs when he is not there.  Not sure how Princess can rectify this but it really should be off limits and made a bit more private.

-          I have said this before on previous cruises but feel Princess should do something about the women’s uniforms.  They have to wear skirts even though they are exposed to the elements where the men get to wear pants.  In today’s day and age I would hope that they would be treated more equally. 

-          One thing I really really hate and wish Princess would do something about it has to do with the Waiters Bus Station/Food Serving Stations.  The cupboards/drawers bang so loudly when they are closed.  It scares the crap out of me all the time and certainly is not enjoyable to hear bang bang bang bang throughout a meal.  Why can't they install self closing, non slamming doors!  

So to wrap this up we have really enjoyed this voyage so far.  We have tried new things this voyage and look forward to trying new things next leg.  Bernie is tickled pink that he finally got to go golfing in Ushuaia and can’t wait to brag to all his golfing buddies.  We love this area of the world and we are so happy we are getting to experience it again.  We even can say that we would book this itinerary again but maybe not from Fort Lauderdale but instead maybe join the ship in Valparaiso or Buenos Aries and doing a back to back. 

Princess still is our line of choice and our Princess family keeps growing.