We took this cruise because it was a quick, easy getaway and the price was reasonable (plus it stopped in San Francisco, Catalina Island and Victoria) . Also, we had not cruised on Princess before and thought it was a good opportunity to give them a try. We have cruised on NCL, Azamara and RCL....mostly NCL. Our preference is for a casual cruise, and so NCL and Azamara worked well for us. We are in our early 50's and cruised without children. We went with another couple from Victoria.

Since we live in Victoria it is very quick (and cheap) to fly down to LAX. We decided to spend a night in Long Beach so that made it very relaxed. We got into LAX around 2:30 and were in the Hyatt Long Beach by around 4pm. We took a private van (Prime Time) for $80 which was very nice and the driver was pleasant and professional. The hotel was very nice and quiet, and we enjoyed walking around the shops etc in Long Beach. It is surprisingly nice place with a nice shopping district and an Albertsons with a good wine selection!

We arrived at the ship the next day around 1pm and were quickly on board. Boarding was a snap! We brought a few bottles of wine on in our carry-on and there were no problems. We really like the relaxed liquor policy on Princess which put all other cruise lines we have been on to shame. We still bought a bottle of wine with dinner each day and a few drinks in the lounges etc. Since the cruise lines have to make money somehow. Their wine prices are very reasonable (good wines from $25), and other drinks are not too bad (they also had drink specials). Read more