Before I begin the actual review, I need to give major props to Cruise Critic and all of you who support it. Using all of the excellent advice, we were able to book a great hotel room, find the honey-stung chicken, pick the perfect stateroom, and experience wonderful shore excursions. Thanks to all! Background: We had seven adults in our party, aged 24-61, helping to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We had cruised on the Mariner five years ago in the Western Caribbean and decided to try the Mexican Riviera this time. Embarkation: We flew in the day before and stayed in San Pedro at the Doubletree. They offer a very convenient free shuttle service to the dock in the morning. We left the hotel at 11:15 and flew through the embarkation process. We were enjoying honey-stung chicken by noon. By 1:00 the staterooms were ready and we were on our way! Stateroom: We were in stateroom 8618, which is a balcony room on the "hump". The room was nice and the location near the elevators and stairs was perfect. Our attendant was not very personable, yet he was efficient in every way. We never lacked for towels, ice, or towel animals. Dining: We had the second seating in the MDR and had a table just for our party of seven. Our servers were incredible. By the second night they knew all of our names, what we liked to drink, what rolls we wanted, etc. The MDR food was OK considering they are feeding hundreds of people at the same time. It's an opportunity to try some new things and the staff was always willing to satisfy. What we really enjoyed, however, was dining in the specialty restaurants. First my wife and I celebrated our anniversary by ourselves at Chops. The entire experience was well worth the extra fee. The filet was awesome, as were the appetizers and deserts. We enjoyed it so much that we returned with our entire party two nights later. Finally, our daughter planned yet another anniversary dinner for the whole group at Portofino's. Again, this was a wonderful dining experience, especially the seafood entrEe. The Windjammer was fine for breakfasts, lunches, and snacks, but nothing to write home about. Entertainment & Activities: There is certainly plenty to keep folks occupied on this ship. Ken, the cruise director, was full of energy and entertaining. The ice show was a highlight and most of the other acts were standard cruise ship fare. We did have incredible luck in the casino playing video poker. Three of the people in our groups hit royal flushes - two paying $1,300 and the other $4,000! So if people say you can't win on a cruise ship, we proved them wrong! Shore Excursions: Thanks to Cruise Critic, we picked three great excursions. We chartered a sailboat in Cabo, played golf in Mazatlan, and zip-lined in Puerto Vallarta. The sailboat was chartered through Cabosail.com and it was incredible. Gil and his crew sailed right up to the main dock in Cabo to pick us up. Once aboard the Synergy we sailed, snorkeled, ate, and drank for four hours of luxury. In Mazatlan we were met at the docks by King David tours who whisked us away on a 30 minute van ride to the Estrella del Mar golf course. This beautiful course is situated right on the Pacific Ocean and several holes follow the coastline. Nice course, nice people, good food. King David was punctual on returning us to the ship. Third port, Puerto Vallarta and the Los Veranos Canopy ziplines! What an adventure. This was definitely a highlight. The zipline crew was knowledgeable and entertaining. Some of them could have replaced the comedians on the boat. Highly recommended, even by a 61 year old! Disembark: A breeze, just walked off the ship. At LAX by 9:30. Overall: The entire cruise was memorable and totally enjoyable. Although the two sea days coming back to L.A. were windy and the seas rough, it was still much fun. I'm glad we were able to see this side of Mexico. Would we do this route again? Probably not. Next cruise will be back to the Caribbean. That being said, I would recommend that everyone try it at least once.