Royal Princess Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Our daughter and son-in-law chose this as their first cruise and asked us to join them. We've been to Mexico several times with Princess, but never sailed on the Royal before. I was impressed that we never felt crowded despite the number of people onboard. She's a huge ship, so walking from one end to the other was a workout. (We were glad our cabin was almost midship). Our mini-suite was excellent, as always, and the staff members were outstanding all across the ship. It was some of the best food we've had on a cruise ship and the entertainment was top notch. The highlight of the trip was snorkeling with wild sea lions in Loreto on a private excursion for 4 people with Sea and Land Tours. I highly recommend them as they were waiting for us at the port, customized the day for us, and even fed us the best tamales we've ever eaten. Manzanillo is a rather unexciting port, but Cabo and Puerto Vallarta are always fun with a plethora of activities to enjoy.
Cabin Review
Mini-Suite with Balcony
Large mini-suite with super comfortable beds, a very long, comfortable sofa, plenty of storage, large bathroom with a tub, but smaller balcony than on other ships. Very quiet location, easy access to elevators midship. Spotless.
Port Reviews
Puerto Vallarta
In the past we've visited a lot of PV, including the old town, but strolling the Malecon is still our favorite thing to do. We taxi to the Beach of the Dead ($6 each), stroll the Malecon back towards the ship, and taxi back to the ship ($5) when we've finished seeing PV. Incidentally, the Malecon is the most expensive place for souvenirs (you'll find them more reasonably priced farther inland.)
Manzanillo
This was our second trip to Manzanillo, which is one of our least favorite ports. On a previous trip we spent a wonderful afternoon at beautiful Las Hadas, which we reached by taxi, and we walked around the downtown area a bit. It's a busy place without a lot to offer cruisers.