What I Wish I Knew Before I Sailed a Princess Cruise

I made a big mistake you see I took my first cruise more than a decade ago and in that time I've sailed most major cruise lines but one of the few that I had yet to sail was Princess think about it I'm a guy in my 30s a cruise line named princess doesn't exactly sound like it's made for me and when I cruise I'm also a fan of going all out on the ship I want the water slides I want to raise go-karts I want to ride that roller coaster it's go go go for me I still like all of that but I've got to tell you after sailing princess for the first time last month I'm also rethinking some things what was it that I had so wrong and wish that I'd known about Princess before I sail for the first time for this cruise I booked a trip aboard Discovery princess it's the newest ship in the princess Fleet I wanted to be sure that if I was going to try the cruise line I was giving it their best shot with a modern ship the cruise was only four days heading from Los Angeles to San Diego followed by a day at Sea before Ensenada Mexico and I'll get to the ship and the cruise line itself in just a moment since that is the real focus of this video but I would be mistaken if I didn't tell you just how much fun these ports were in San Diego my brother-in-law who I was traveling with that's right just two guys taking a Princess Cruise we headed to Balboa Park to visit the San Diego Air and Space Museum that included seeing some really cool stuff from the Apollo program like the command module for Apollo 9. then we explored the park walking down the main drag known as El Prado the natural beauty the architecture the museums I'm telling you this park is absolutely world class that was followed with some fish tacos at a spot called Oscars then a trip to a bar brewery Downtown where I discovered the best wallpaper that I have ever seen in my life Ensenada Mexico it's a bit more rustic there's a Boardwalk by the ships and an open-air Fish Market lots of Street side vendors and restaurants it's amazing how close it is to San Diego but it really feels like a different planet altogether but to be honest I found it a bit boring until we came out of a restaurant for lunch to see people winding the streets for some reason without my realizing it our ship was there during Carnival and right when we were thinking about heading back to the ship a parade was starting let's just say you haven't lived until you've stumbled into a carnival parade in Mexico it was loud colorful and a ridiculous amount of fun there were flashy cars scandily clad ladies advertising the local internet provider because well why not lots of dancing music and just an amazing thing to experience so these ports despite being not that far from LA were worth the trip alone but as I said I was wrong about princess and what I was thinking would be like and what I would think about the experience was completely different from reality so what did I wish that I knew before sailing the cruise line for the first time first off I knew that princess was more adult-oriented but it wasn't until I was actually on the ship that I realized exactly what that meant all those built-in entertainment options comment on so many cruise lines like go-kart tracks roller coasters rock climbing walls and water slides they aren't there so if you or your kids are expecting to see a pool deck with tons of active things to do that's not the case this also extends to other areas as well for example the ship didn't have an arcade which is usually another staple on many ships that's not to say there isn't plenty to do or that kids aren't welcome to board there are still kids areas and there are a lot of options for entertainment that's put on by the staff just as with other cruise lines I just thought that having fewer of those built-in activities was going to be a big issue for me and maybe it would have been on a longer cruise with more time but on this trip I was personally never bored in fact I love that during the day at Sea during the trip it was much more chilled out than normal instead of water slides it was drinks watching karaoke with a crowd that was more into it than I have ever seen now are you the sort of person that likes to relax on a cruise if so then princess might be right up your alley I haven't sailed Every Princess Cruise but the atmosphere on the ship it was considerably calmer and more relaxing than what I found with other lines for instance out by the pool deck there wasn't a bunch of music blaring or those world's sexiest man competitions that you see on some other cruise lines and around the ship there were fewer announcements from the cruise director interrupting the day to tell you about sales on board or about shows coming up that evening meanwhile the crowd itself on this trip they were energetic but it didn't seem like they were looking for a wild party time but it was by far the most calm that I've been on especially given that this trip was short and over a holiday weekend that's not to say that it was boring or dead on board there was still that cruise vacation energy around the ship where everyone's in a good mood and enjoying themselves and there are lots of things to do that are put on by the staff it's just much more chilled out so how chilled out was it I even went to this thermal spa for only the second time ever I've got to tell you I might be hooked for about the cost of a specialty restaurant meal you'll get the thermal lounge or the hot tub the showers and the steam room in about two hours I came out feeling like putty even before you board one of the first things that you'll notice is that princess unlike other Cruise Lines they don't use a key card instead princess uses what it calls The Medallion I knew about this but honestly I didn't really understand how it worked if you've cruised before The Medallion works very similar to your room key card with some important differences first The Medallion uses RF technology similar to what you see with a credit card that has tap to pay features when you need to use the Medallion you simply touch it to one of the readers such as when you're boarding or debarking the ship it can be used also to unlock your cabin door automatically as you approach and perhaps the biggest difference is that it can track your location around the ship so if you step up to the bar your account information is already pulled up and your identity is confirmed with the bartender with a photograph you can also see where your cabin mates are on the ship through the princess app they based on the location of their Medallion and the staff can even deliver items to you like food no matter where you are on the ship something that really raised my eyebrows about Princess is that while I would classify it as a more upscale cruise line that doesn't mean that you have to pay a lot more to sail in fact you can find seven day round-trip cruises starting at about four hundred dollars per person before those taxes and fees even once you were on the ship you may be surprised by some of the prices in particular I noticed that drinks on the ship seemed considerably less expensive than I found on other Cruise Lines one of my go-to drinks a Mojito it was priced at just 750 while they're often 10 to 12 bucks on other lines in fact across the board beverages seem to be less expensive the way you might find elsewhere and Wi-Fi for example was priced at 15 per day although my connection was extremely slow compared to upwards of forty dollars per day for some other Cruise Lines while some Cruise Lines offer extras included in your fare the norm is still for you to pay your cruise fare than anything else costs more once on the ship princess however they offer two packages that make the cruise much more all-inclusive this includes princess plus and Princess Premiere depending on which you choose or you can just book The Base fare you can have things like gratuities Wi-Fi and a drink package included along with other perks like specially dining and even reserved Theater seating the rates offered for these packages are considerably less than the cost booking the benefits individually and give passengers a chance to enjoy their Cruise without worrying about being nickeled and dimed now I actually booked one of these packages for my cruise and I've got to tell you it seems like a great deal that I definitely consider getting again makes the whole trip much more enjoyable now I don't claim to Exhale at every Princess Cruise maybe some ships are different than others but when I sailed one thing I noticed was that the crews had a much less crowded feel maybe it was the actual number of people on the ship maybe it's the layout and design I don't know no matter the amount of Elbow Room was definitely noticeable that's especially coming from my previous Cruise aboard Carnival celebration where by far my biggest complaint was how crowded the ship always was to the point that I couldn't even find a seat in the theater to me having more space made this cruise on princess much more enjoyable there is always Space by the pool in the restaurants and even for the shows if you did get there just a few minutes early as well the elevators were relatively quick and they weren't always packed like what's been seen on other ships so the bottom line here is if you're looking for a cruise experience that's higher end than many other lines without being stuffy princess might be ideal for you it offers a more upscale feel that's focused on adults with a still surprisingly affordable price tag but overall it's just more relaxing in my opinion it feels like a true vacation instead of a Sprint to see and do it all and I'll be honest when I booked this trip I wasn't quite sure what to expect I'm now officially a fan while I definitely pick another Cruise Line If I Was sailing with my whole family it was just me and my wife then princess would be near the top of the list I only wish that I'd realize this years ago thanks for watching and I'm interested in your thoughts on sailing princess if you've cruise with the line why don't you put your experience in the comments below let other people know what to expect on board as well be sure to like And subscribe and all those good things and until next time happy sailing

Channel: Cruzely.com

Views: 271,689

Keywords: cruise, travel

Id: tSepW7oJIBg

Length: 11min 4sec (664 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 12 2023