We're an active couple in our early 30's with five cruises under our belt, three with Princess. This is the second time we've sailed out of SF, and have been to Mexico on multiple occasions.

Embarkation: The Embarcadero was backed up with traffic, as usual. On our last trip, the taxi driver used the side streets to get up to the terminal and dropped us off across the street. We wheeled our baggage (carry-on) right into the terminal. This time, our town car driver drove us up Embarcadero, and it was slow going.

When we arrived, Pier 35 was a hot mess. A line of cruisers snaked around the sidewalk. It took about 30-40 minutes just to get inside. Once inside, we filled out the requisite health form and stepped into yet another line for check-in. Unfortunately, we don't have Platinum/Elite or suite status, so we couldn't get into the special (shorter) line. One day. Read more