Princess Cruises Discovery Princess
Mexican Riviera
March 8-15, 2025
I was very excited for our first Princess Cruise. Having grown up watching The Love Boat I wanted our first sailing to be to the same ports as the first seasons of the show. Mexican Riviera Itinerary covered that wish.
The medallions provided access to everything we needed including our stateroom and putting drinks on our tab. I wore mine on my Apple watch band so I didn’t have to worry about keeping up with the provided lanyard.
Highlight of this Cruise
Mexican Folkloric Festival was a cultural show featuring local performers. It was held in the Princess Theater. I loved that the cruise line brought local culture onboard. The mariachi band sounded amazing. The dancers in their colorful costumes performed their traditional dances. We really enjoyed this performance.
Food
I absolutely loved the food. The World Fresh Marketplace which was the buffet had so many exciting choices. My favorite breakfast options were eggs, Canadian bacon, potatoes, baked beans, and tomatoes with black tea.
We dined in the Ketchikan main dining room on several nights of the cruise. Soups and steaks were delicious but I fell in love with the Princess Love Boat Dream dessert. We had the Premier Package so we made reservations at each specialty restaurant.
Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria featured Italian Cuisine. We started with Arancini al Tartufo (fried rice balls), Ribollita, and Salumi e Formaggi Misti (meat, cheese, and olives). Fresh Pasta entrees ordered were Spaghetti Polpette and Linguine alla Carbonara. My all time favorite Italian dish is Chicken Marsala so I had the Scaloppine di Vitello al Marsala. The protein was veal with the most delicious marsala sauce served on mashed potatoes. Robert had the Scaloppine di Pollo al Limone e Rosmarino for his entrée. Sadly, we were too full for dessert.
Crown Grill was their steakhouse. We both had the filet as that is our favorite steak. The steaks were cooked perfectly and very tender.
The Catch by Rudi had the most delicious seafood. Our meal started with the signature spread board followed by scallops and crabcake. I had the halibut for my main course and Robert had the catch of the day. We shared potatoes and greens. The desserts were a work of art and as delicious as they were beautiful. I chose Rudi’s Artistic Face to Face and Robert chose Delight in the Air.
Alfredo’s Pizzeria was where we started our cruise. It is our tradition to look for a restaurant for our first meal instead of heading to a crowded buffet. This pizzeria was delightful. We shared my husband’s favorite pizza, margherita.
O’Malley’s was a great pub experience. We loved the live music and the traditional Irish food. Bangers and Mash for me. Fish and chips for Robert. Great place to hang out, eat, and have a pint while listening to live music.
Other dining options we enjoyed included sushi at Ocean Terrace and a burger at The Salty Dog. Gelateria was a must when in the mood for an amazing sundae.
The food onboard exceeded my expectations. Service was great everywhere we dined.
Entertainment
Princess Theater had entertainment every night. We attended Rock Opera and Spotlight Bar shows. They were broadway style musicals and very entertaining performances. We also really enjoyed the Farewell Variety show on our last evening. It featured several talented crew members. There was also a Culinary Demonstration with Executive Chef Enrique and Director of Restaurant Operations Carlos that was more comedic than cooking lesson. It was hilarious.
The Piazza was always lively. It was a great place to listen to music and have a drink. We spent a lot of time hanging out in this area.
Activities
We attended several events at Princess Live. We really enjoyed the trivia. I don’t know many of the answers but I always have fun playing. They also had what I would call game shows. They get audience volunteers to compete and that is always fun.
Cabin
Our stateroom was balcony aft cabin A736. Although the view was amazing as we sailed away I would not recommend it or book an aft cabin again. There was so much soot on the balcony chairs that we had to clean them before we could sit outside. We would up using towels to cover the chairs but some soot still got on our clothes.
Ports of Call
Our ports of call were the same ports on the beginning seasons of The Love Boat. Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta were all very walkable. We did not book any excursions for this cruise. We did what I call Terri excursions where I put together a list of must see things and go exploring.
We look forward to cruising with Princess Cruise lines again. I feel it will be a must for our future Alaska cruise.
