My wife and I joined three other couples on Emerald Princess from Southern California to the Mexican Riviera the week after US Thanksgiving in 2017. For my wife and I this was our first time sailing with Princess. I would like to share some of our thoughts.
Pre Cruise
We drove to LA and spent the night at the Crowne Plaza before the cruise. Hotel was lovely as the room was spacious, furniture was comfortable, staff was friendly, and we could see the port from our room. Room was priced fairly (around $230 and that included covered parking for the week in their garage as well as complimentary shuttle to and from the port) We took a very short walk to Grinders restaurant and their food was outstanding (and surprisingly low cost). Tab for the four of us was less than $50. Food was kind of “elevated” diner food (wife and I both had a Chicken, mushroom, and veg angel hair pasta dish.