We arrived at the San Pedro terminal around 11 am and only waited about 30 minutes to board. Our cabin was ready when we arrived and our cabin steward Rex came and introduced himself. He turned out to be one of the best stewards we've had on 12 cruises.We were in a mini-suite on Dolphin deck, with the open balconies. Although it was chilly sometimes, I found I could sit in a deck chair and be very comfortable without a jacket. In both Santa Barbara and Ensenada it was foggy when we arrived. San Diego was beautiful and the best weather was in San Francisco. Since we had been in San Diego several times, we stayed on the ship and enjoyed the view. The M/S Ryndam was docked next to us. It got pretty crowded in the common terminal.

Although the seas were choppy coming south from San Francisco, the ship was quite smooth. I took the Ultimate Ship Tour and found it was worth every penny of what I paid. I was amazed at what was below the passenger decks that you don't normally see. We even went up into the funnel of the Sapphire Princess and saw the gas turbine engine. It was a lot of walking but thoroughly enjoyable.

The food I found to be better than our last Princess cruise. The portions were smaller, but there was plenty to eat, and you could always ask for more. The service in the dining room was excellent. Our dining room captain was very helpful in taking care of any special requests we had. Read more