Jimmy and Sandra were just ahead of us in the winding line-up so that kept us entertained in the approximately 45 minute Blue line. Once we were checked in and had our medallions we did not even need to show our boarding pass after this. Boarding passes and passports were shown to enter the long line-up to begin with.
The April 13th sailing was completely full, approximately 4400 people boarded the ship to set sail for Los Cabos, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. It was chilly out and normally we are on the top deck to take in the views for the sail-away party but we barely noticed that we left port. We were in a large group of family and friends, we were touching base and visiting with everyone. Darren napped because we left Vegas at 3:30 in the morning and drove to LA to catch this cruise.
We met for dinner at the Juneau Lounge and then made our way to the Tribute to Adele night in the Princess Theater. She was really good and we enjoyed listening to her.
The 2nd day of the cruise we slept in due to lack of sleep the night before. I went to the International Cafe to get my delicious Americano Grande which was included in my Drink Package. It was beginning to get warmer as we sailed south, therefore, I put my shorts on and walked on the Deck 18 track to put in a good 50 minutes of power walking. I then went in search of friends and family to see what the day would bring. This was easy to find them because of the Medallion technology.
We ate in the Ketchikan Lounge at 5:00 and then took in The Bar a short Princess original Broadway production which had excellent dancing and acting. The singing was not my favorite but overall it was very entertaining. The cast from the The Bar left the next day and a new cast was flying in, yeh!!
The ship was to anchor in Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos at 2:00 pm which was unusually late, we were originally supposed to anchor at 9:00 am. We would have went to Medano Beach if we had the time. Cabo is a Boat Tender situation and by the time our ticket number came up it was already 3:30 by the time we got on our tender boats. We ended up walking around the Marina as we have been to Cabo several times. We caught a tender boat back and went up to the Buffet and I had an excellent salad from the salad bar. We went back to the room to grab our books and read up on deck. We then went and listened to the singer Tommy McPhee in the Princess Theater and he was excellent! We went up to the buffet and ate dinner and then went to hear Abba in the Piazza. I just sang along, I love Abba. We caught the 10 pm show of the comedian.
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| I had read that the famous Cabo Rock Arch had fallen down in a hurricane and this is proof that it did. |
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| On board the Boat Tender which takes about 5 minutes to dock. |
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| A cute Sea Lion was there to greet us. |
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| Walking down the many streets of Cabo. |
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| On the Tender. |
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| The Cabo Marina. |
We sailed into Mazatlan for another port day. Darren and I left the ship on our own and walked to the historic district. We followed this extremely helpful blue line which was painted on the street and sidewalks for Cruise passengers. This was unique. We walked around the historic district and then made our way to the beach and boardwalk/Malecon and walked up and down that. Mazatlan is prettier than I remember it. I first visited Mazatlan in my early 20s in 1986, I went with 3 other girlfriends and we had a blast. This time I took a lot of photos because I had never been in this area before.
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| On the beach just off the Malecon in Mazatlan. |
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| A pretty little house in the historic district. |
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| An interesting mural. |
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| A beautiful old facade of a building in the historic district. |
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| A Hacienda in the historic area. |
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| Numerous statues were on display on the Malecon. |
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| She was very pretty with the Mazatlan strip in the background. |
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| It was a beautiful day for walking. |
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| Rock Island off of the coast. |
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| This beach was pretty and nice for sun-tanning. |
We got back on the ship and we headed to the Buffet to indulge in another decadent salad. The freshly made buns on Cruise ships are always amazing and I always manage to have one or two of those with my salad. This salad bar had sun-dried tomatoes which tasted amazing in my salads. I would always have a cocktail or two while eating my salad since I had the drink package.
There was more entertainment that night but it does not stick out in my mind so much. Oh yah it was the Illusionist and this does not turn my crank so it was not that memorable. Guys seem to be more fascinated with magicians much more than women. Many nights we would continue to one of the lounges with everyone from our group and hang out some more or listen to a comedian or a pianist etc.
The next port was Puerto Vallarta and we had just spent two weeks in PV last winter. Darren and I left the boat and ran into Haley Rae, Adam and Linda and went shopping with them for a couple of hours and walked around and made our way back to the ship and the salad bar.
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| The PV Beach. |
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| Our Discovery Princess Ship. |
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| She looks like a hotel but she is a ship. |
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| I made some friends. |
The last two days on board were at sea. This night we went to the Rock Opera another original Princess production. The Discovery Princess had a different cast fly in and they were amazing singers and dancers. Two female and two male voices that harmonized tremendously together and they sang varied songs and I loved it!!! We continued to the comedian at the Vista Lounge and his first name was Tivi who was one of the funnier comedians that I have ever heard.
The next day at sea was a bit on the chilly side and we all managed to stay inside the ship and hung out or got together and got some steps in. We met 6 nights of the 7 in one of the dining rooms and had dinner together and then usually went to the entertainment. The last night was the Variety Night a showcase of talent from the crew and the cast. It was really entertaining. One of the dining room attendants hip-hopped danced and he was incredible.
Overall this was a beautiful new ship and there really wasn't much to complain about. The food was good and the drinks were amazing. Many cruise lines make their drinks way too sweet but not on this ship which I very much appreciated. The entertainment was really good and the crew were friendly and the ship and bathrooms were sparkling clean. I still don't understand why they don't make ships smoke-free, it is 2024 for goodness sakes. Walking through the Casino still makes me gag because they are allowed to smoke there and at the back of the boat on deck 17. Personally I could have thrown them all overboard.
It has been over 20 years that we have sailed with Princess and we will do it again soon.
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