Ringing in the New Year with a Princess

After much debating, which goes along with just about every trip in my house, we decided to go on Princess Cruises' Crown Princess over New Year's week, sailing her 7 night Mexican Rivera itinerary out of Los Angeles. The ports we would be visiting were Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán & Cabo San Lucas, along with three sea days.

This is not my first time on Princess, I have been sailing with them since 1980 and as a whole they did not disappoint me again. Even though it was a holiday sailing and the ship was at capacity the Crown Princess handled the crowds well. But if you are not used to sailing during busy holiday times, and dealing with a full ship with plenty of children it could be a shock to your system.

Embarkation: Princess Cruises is now doing "progressive check in" based on what deck your cabin is located. So no need to show up really early unless you like to sit and wait. Relatively smooth considering we were probably sailing with every extra berth filled. One of the "Princess Pluses" is when you get on the ship your stateroom is ready and you can drop off your carry on instead of lugging it around with you.

Staterooms: We had a balcony and an interior across the hall for the kids on the Caribe Deck(Deck 10) aft. Our stateroom steward, Jobert did a fine job, even dealing with a cabin of teenage boys that wanted to sleep in! Princess stateroom's are functional with enough storage space. Big thumbs up for the queen size pillows.

Food: Well this is a subjective subject, so take this for what it is worth and we only went to the main dining room for dinner. I enjoy Princess's dining room food, and was happy with what I ordered, usually taking our waiter's suggestions. Had traditional dining at 6 and Alberto & Noel took great care of us, poor Noel was kept busy keeping sodas coming for my sons and the 2 boys at the next table. We are fairly simple breakfast eaters, so the buffet worked well for us and lunch usually meant grabbing some of the best pizza at sea and a salad. The International Café in the Piazza is open 24 hours and has breakfast & light lunch/dinner items along with sweet treats.

Piazza

And other than the gelato, the food is included in your fare. We passed on the specialty restaurants on this sailing.

Entertainment: Princess gets some of the funniest family friendly comedians I have ever heard. Princess sticks with traditional production shows, the Motown tribute really showcased the talented singers. The solo shows, featuring a tribute to Billy Joel and a magician were worth going to see. The 2nd show of the evening is the best to go to as it isn't as crowded. New Years' Eve there were two main party areas, pool deck and the Piazza. We went to the pool deck party and the best thing was no one had to worry about driving home after midnight.

Ports & Excursions: Princess excursions were excellent. The snorkel trip to the Marieta Island, off Puerto Vallarta gave us bonus whale watching, excellent snorkeling, blue footed booby sightings and a chance to swim to the hidden beach

swimming to the hidden beach

. Great crew on the boat and a good lunch with adult drinks on the way back to the dock. Cabo San Lucas whale watching, that was the nicest whale watching boat I have ever been on (have done excursions in Alaska & Maine), unlimited drinks(hair of the dog on New Year's Day) and chips and salsa.

El Arco de Cabo San Lucas

The excursion we booked privately to Copala  was interesting, the town was founded in 1565 but was glad we did it with a smaller group in a van. I would definitely book something else next time in Mazatlan but it did give the kids a view of life outside the main tourist zone, which is more of the "real" Mexico.

Church of San Jose, Copala

Disembarkation: Since I made arrangements for a private transfer and we only had 3 bags, we signed up for express walk off. This is where you take your own bags off the ship and are the first ones off. I made this decision for several reasons, I like getting off asap, we can handle our own luggage and being a holiday cruise the airport would likely be crowded. Well, the express walk off, due to the number of locals on the ship was way more than was expected and with only 4 U.S. Customs officials working the line did get backed up. There are a few things that I noticed that Princess could have done to ease the congestion, but with a full ship and not enough Customs workers people would have still had to wait.

In conclusion, it was a successful New Year's trip, no problems with flights, weather was good in Mexico, and everyone had fun.

Christmas Vacation Planning - In June?

        The question of whether you should start planning for your Christmas/Holiday trip 6 to 7 months in advance depends on your destination, lodgings, and if you plan on flying or not.  Travel during the Winter Holidays has historically been one of the busiest travel periods.  According to AAA, based on travel trends so far for 2014, the Holiday travel season could set a record.  A little planning  now could save you some money and prevent some disappointment down the line.

       The projected record number of people traveling during the Christmas season means higher rates and possible room shortages at hotels and resorts at the most popular destinations over the holiday period.  According to Orbitz, the most popular destinations can be divided by cold and hot.  By this I mean the opposites in the weather during the season.  For the cold weather, the most popular destinations are:

* Colorado - for many people the Holiday season means snow and skiing.  The ski resorts in the state are expected to be full earlier than normal this year.

* New York, NY - for thousands of people the sites and sounds of New York during the holidays are what the season is all about.  Plus New Years eve in Time Square is something everyone should experience.

       On the other side of the spectrum, for many people, the Holiday season give them the opportunity to leave the cold and travel to a warmer location.  According to Obitz, the most popular warm weather locations are:

* Florida - the major tourist destinations of Fort Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, Tampa, and the most popular Holiday destination in the US, Orlando, all offer what many people want: warm weather and major tourist attractions.

* Cancun - the most popular foreign Holiday travel destination offers the right combination of warmth, beach, and exotic locale are a perfect match for Christmas.

* Puerto Rico - other love the islands for the holidays, and San Juan is the ninth most popular destination for the season.

* Arizona and Southern California - for many people, a better option for getting warmer weather means traveling to the Los Angeles or Phoenix areas.  Major regional attractions and activities like golf are reasons for the major holiday travel to the region.

In addition, the 2 week Holiday season, is  the highest demand period for taking a Caribbean cruise, with packed ships and pricing that are 3 to 5 times more than any other time during the winter season.

    Another reason to start planning early for your Holiday travel is the "sticker shock" at the cost of airline tickets.  In general, the price for tickets has risen by nearly 10% over the last several years, as the airlines has reduced capacity, and the increase in demand.  If you are planning on flying during the Holiday travel period, checking airline availability now may offer you a savings, in the price of the ticket, and being able to reserve before the flight you want is booked.

       So as the saying goes, sometimes "the early bird gets the worm".  If your traveling to a popular region, and you want the best rate at a resort, or special accommodations, now may be the best time to start planning and booking.  If you take a cruise, booking now will give you more options on cabin locations and types, and will in general cost less than if you waited, or you may get free upgrades.  If you plan to fly during the season, in general , the longer you wait the higher the costs and the less options you will have.  Some planning and action now, will allow you to take that Holiday vacation you want, and will leave you more money in your wallet.