My wife and I and our 2 children, ages 14 and 17, just returned from our first cruise, a 7 day trip to Mexican Riviera on Sapphire Princess departing from Port of Los Angeles. We live in LA so we drove down Saturday AM and parked in the lot adjacent to the terminal ($12/d). There is a free shuttle from car to terminal. Check-in was fast and smooth, we waited in line about 5 minutes for tickets. Boarding went smoothly and rapidly.

We booked 2 adjacent mini-suites with balconies and the housekeeper opened the connecting door on the balconies allowing free passage back and forth.

We chose anytime dining and dined 2 nights in Sabatini's, well worth the cover charge. The service was spectacular, much better than in the other dining rooms. Our glasses were immediately refilled without asking, etc. We met a couple that ate there every night, which seemed excessive. We only ate there twice since we felt we needed some variety. There are 4 appetizers on the menu and each time you eat there, you get served all 4 appetizers (so no need to choose). There 4 pastas on the menu, you get all 4, no need to choose. But eating the same 4 appetizers and pastas each time does get old quickly. The only things you pick are your soup or salad dressing and your main course. I had the lobster tail one night which was excellent, the waiter removes the shell for you without asking. I had the tiger prawns the other night which was also good. We ate two nights at the Pacific Moon and the service was good. The food in the other dining rooms is the same each night although there is one special in each dining room that is unique to that room. The special stays the same the whole cruise for that dining room (I think) so both nights we dined at Pacific Moon the special was stir fried noodles with shrimp. We ate the last night at the Savoy but the service was terrible and we had a bad table behind a waiter's station. The advantage of the dining rooms is that the food seems more freshly prepared and does not sit out under heaters as it does at the buffet restaurant. The food at the Horizon Court buffet was plentiful and good but not great. Service is also mediocre unless they are trying to sell you something. You have to pay extra for fresh orange juice at breakfast but the canned OJ in the buffet is free. My teens liked the food due to variety (important for my picky eater daughter) and for quantity (important for my 17 yo son who ate 10 pancakes and a pound of bacon and sausage each morning but still lost 2 pounds during the trip). There is an omelette station each AM which lets you make your own fresh omelette with eggs, Egg Beaters, or egg whites. There is also a pool side pizza restaurant with thin crust cheese, pepperoni, or specialty (ie ham/pineapple) pizza that changes each day. Adjacent is a grill for pool side hamburgers/hot dogs, etc. On three days there was another pool side buffet for "California sushi" on 2 days and a taco bar on another day. Both had long lines the first day they were open. Dress in the dining rooms was resort casual 5 nights, formal 2 nights. I wore a navy blazer with khakis and button down shirt and felt comfortable to slightly over dressed on casual nights. However, on the 2 formal nights, this was definitely underdressed. I'd guess 90% of men wore dark suits or tuxes on formal nights. I've learned my lesson! Read more