A couple of weeks ago I returned from a cruise from Los Angeles to Mexico. Cruises, in my opinion, are a rather specific thing. Everyone wants to go on them, but it is not easy to decide on them. I had a negative experience with cruises in Scandinavia, but at the same time I really wanted to see what it was like on other cruises. So my husband and I bought a week-long cruise to Mexico. And we have never regretted it!
I am sharing my experience, maybe it will be useful to someone.
We sailed on the Crown Princess liner, which has seventeen decks, eight restaurants, fifteen bars, six swimming pools, an open-air cinema, a spa, a beauty salon, a gym, a tennis court, a golf course, a library, a casino, two theaters, a church for weddings, three children's clubs. I could have missed something 🙂 But there was a party planned for 3,080 people and work for 1,200 crew members.
Our cruise started in the port of Los Angeles and, perhaps, was marred by only one thing. Two weeks before our trip on this liner, 180 people fell ill with intestinal flu, due to which a special disinfection system was introduced on the ship and our departure was delayed by six hours. Fortunately, we were warned about this in advance. But at least we did not have to wake up at five in the morning to get to the city of angels.
Our cruise was a week-long one with the following schedule:
November 22 – Departure from Los Angeles
November 23 – at sea
November 24 – at sea
November 25 – Mexico, Puerto Vallarta
November 26 – Mexico, city of Mazatlan
November 27 – Mexico, Cabo Sun Lucas
November 28 – at sea
November 29 – Arrival in Los Angeles
It all started with the fact that immediately after landing, all guests had to gather for training on actions in an emergency situation and trying on a life jacket 🙂
Every late evening we were brought a program for the next day, containing various useful information. Sunrises and sunsets, weather, daily schedule, a speech from one of the crew members, various promotions from bars and shops on board. It's very convenient!
I'll tell you honestly, we're not exactly skeptical about cruises, but our experience of traveling on ferries to Scandinavia can't be called successful. But Ruslan always says that you should give everyone a second chance. And we decided to try an American-style cruise.
But already on the very first day I caught myself thinking that I didn't like it. It seemed to me that I had walled myself up by my own free will in a rather large area, but I walled myself up. I just don't want to spend my vacation like that. I need movement, my brain needs new information, I need something special.
What's here? A bunch of pools? Well, we sat by one for an hour. We couldn't swim because it was freezing! We sunbathed. Another hour. We could go eat. Another hour passed. And what next? It seems that this is how they vacation in Turkey and Egypt on an all-inclusive system on the huge territory of one hotel, outside of which there is really nothing to do.
This is absolutely not my type of vacation, it is too boring for me. But I can’t go to the middle of the Pacific Ocean 🙂 There was only one thing left to do – relax and enjoy. And as soon as this thought was realized, the world sparkled with new colors.
I am actually telling you all this for what reason. Firstly, I am for honesty. Secondly, if you are a fanatic of active recreation, you should be prepared for this moment. Thirdly, the same fidgets as me, maybe should choose a cruise with fewer days at sea.
I'll get back to this point, but for now let me show you the liner. These kinds of decks are my favorite. I feel like I could walk on them all day long...
But not all decks are open to the public, as some of the cabins have balconies.
But we took a very simple cabin for ourselves, without a balcony and even without a window. It was clear that the time we would spend in the cabin would be minimal, and if so, then it would be possible without a window.
This is a bathroom. Very comfortable, by the way!
Let's get back to the decks. On the 14th, for example, there were two large areas, each with its own pool. But one with a balcony for live performances.
And the second one has a big screen. This zone is called “Movies under stars”. During the day, concerts and sports competitions were mainly broadcast here.
And in the evening they showed movies and served popcorn.
By the way, before the cruise it was impossible not to think about how all three thousand people would fit on the ship. But not only did we all fit, there was no feeling of a crowd! And you could find a sun lounger at all six pools.
There were sun loungers all over the open decks and there were more than enough of them. Clean towels were freely available and in unlimited quantities.
Our favorite pool was the one at the stern. It was even colder than all the others, but the view around it made my heart beat faster! And on the last day we finally swam in it!
Just look at this ocean trail! It's so tempting!!!
Another thing I especially liked about the liner was that you could carry food all over the ship. And we often ate here.
And here we admired the sunset.
The sunset, by the way, was very nice :)
As for food. You could eat in several places. First, in restaurants. In which you could book in advance or not book at all. You could book either for an early dinner at 5:30 or for 8 pm. As one experienced cruise traveler told me, booking guarantees a seat at a table, since there are many more people wanting to have lunch at an early time, for example, than there are free tables. We never had dinner that early, and at eight or nine in the evening we had no problems with seating in any of the restaurants.
In addition to restaurants, there is also a buffet. A more familiar name for it is a Swedish table. The only difference from the usual format is that the food is served to you by waiters, not by you yourself.
I really liked going to the buffet. Firstly, I liked its wider selection of food, because looking at it made it easier for me to decide what exactly I wanted to eat. And, secondly, the fact that you could take food and go eat anywhere on the ship was priceless.
The quality of the food was superb.
Are you still reading this post? Then let's go and show you the rest of the ship. For example, these are the fifth, sixth, seventh decks. The most photogenic staircase on the ship is located here.
We took photos with it too 🙂
Various activities usually took place on these same decks.
For example, the performance of a fearless girl.
Or a master class on folding napkins.
Which I joined with great pleasure and created unprecedented beauty.
But with this photo I would like to especially note the simplicity that reigned on the liner. And which is generally very typical for the States. There were more people for the master class than there were seats. But no one was upset and simply sat down on the floor and began to study. Let's skip the consequences of a cold floor for the body, but in general this happens everywhere - people sit where they want and do not worry about anything. And now I do the same. And it's such a thrill!
We continue walking. Of the interesting places that I would like to show you, there is still the theater. We came here a couple of times to see performances. The first time, there was a mentalist guy who read minds. Has anyone watched the series “The Mentalist”? Well, this same guy was a consultant in this series 🙂 The second time, there was a concert that was organized by the crew members. It was very interesting to watch how the waiters and croupiers sing songs and dance.
We also visited the fitness room. It was well equipped and had magnificent views. Here you could not only work out on the machines, but also sign up for group classes. I really wanted to get to yoga, but I couldn’t.
For children there was a whole children's club, which was closed to access. But we managed to at least look at the basketball court.
There was also a golf course there.
It turns out that golf is an indecently boring game 🙂
But the choice of books in the library was incredibly pleasing. There you could also borrow board games to play, of which there was also a sea.
We never visited the casino or some other places on the ship. But that's not for us at all. By the way, returning to the impressions of the ship and this type of vacation, my negative feelings from the first day are a thing of the past.
In general, after the stops in cities began, I really appreciated the liner as a means of transportation between cities. Early in the morning you are there, you spend the whole day exploring the city until sunset and return back. You take a shower and you have the whole evening of entertainment - concerts until midnight, pianists, singers, and open-air discos. You have fun all evening without thinking about anything, the bed is two steps away, and tomorrow is a new day, a new city and a lot of impressions.
And regarding the days at sea, I understood the breakdown of the first day very well. Usually we start our vacation with activities and throughout the vacation, depending on our available strength, we allocate a couple of days for a relaxed rest. But here we started with a relaxed rest, illogical and unusual. But the brain accepted it, realized it and began to relax.
And finally, I'll tell you about the prices. We bought the cruise in August. The cost of the cruise for two was $1660. In addition, every day $11.50 is automatically debited per person for tips. And that's another $161. We also spent $43.54 for the Internet on board the liner. Another $62 - on drinks that were not included in the cost of food. And about $150 for three days in Mexico, including taxis, food, cocktails, and renting sun loungers. In total, the entire cruise for two cost us $2100.
I don't think I forgot anything. Ask whatever you want :)
Source: travel.ru
