We booked this cruise on the first day it was available so that we could get a handicapped cabin with a balcony. It turns out there is only one on this ship, a mini-suite on Baja deck, and we got it.

We live in Southern California but decided to drive to SF rather than fly. It was very tiring and I think I will not repeat that again. We stayed at a hotel on Broadway for a couple of days before the cruise. It was horrible. Right next to Chinatown and North Beach. From our balcony we had a great view of peoples laundry hanging out to dry, as well as the porn shop and strip clubs. I will never trust reviews of hotels again.

On sailing day we drove to Pier 35 and I let my wife off with the luggage while I parked the car. A Princess rep was right there with a wheelchair to assist my wife, and he made sure our luggage got loaded. When I returned from the parking structure, he was waiting with my wife and our carry-ons. We were whisked through registration and security and went right to our cabin. Our luggage arrived about 10 minutes after we did. That was the fastest ever. Read more