Grand Princess Reviews

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We did back to back sailings on the Grand in April/May -- an 11 day Canary Islands and a 17 day Mediterranean & Adriatic. This review covers the Mediterranean & Adriatic cruise. This was our 56th cruise on Princess, and 13th on the Grand. Overall it was a very good cruise although it started with an "issue." Embarkation This was the second of our b2b sailings this time on the Grand so no embarkation was involved, we were just told to meet at Alfredo's at 9:45 am to get new pictures taken for our new cruise cards. So we were there at 9:45 am but nothing happened until about 10:30 am when they showed up to take our pictures. The Ship The Grand is an older ship and is showing her age -- even with the drydock facelift. But there seems to be much less rock and roll than on the newer ships. On the warm and sunny days on this cruise all the deck loungers were occupied early. Also, trying to find any place where you could sit and read in the inside public areas was almost impossible, seemed very common that passengers would get up and dress, find a chair in a public area, and then spend the rest of the day there. The bars had more card players and readers and snoozers than drinkers. Skywalkers used to be a good place to watch the sea and read -- the One5 is dark with few windows. Needless to say this ship can feel and actually be extremely crowded in public areas especially on sea days. While Princess seems to be extremely proud of the redecorated piazza it now looks to us more and more like a multi-story outlet mall with a food court and street vendors and street performers and photographers, in other words it has really lost its elegance and charm. The Itinerary and Ports We picked this itinerary because it went to some ports on our bucket list (as well as old favorites) and we could do a b2b with our Canary Islands cruise. Doing b2bs does help spread the cost of airfare over multiple cruises but sailing the Med out of Southampton does add two sea days each way where the weather can be questionable and the seas rocky. So next time we do the Med it will probably be sailing in and out of a Med port, especially if we are doing b2b sailings. But on the other hand, most of the Princess Med cruises just go back and forth between the same ports with the same itinerary so non-repeating b2b opportunities are limited. We've been to Cadiz, Venice, Split, Corfu and Gibraltar before but Malta and Dubrovnik were new for us. In Cadiz we had planned to walk through the old town -- had done the hop on hop off bus with beautiful sunny weather last time we were there -- but this time it was so cold and rainy that we never left the ship. The next port was Valletta Malta and we took a ship's tour to a fishing village, a stop at a vineyard for wine tasting, a stop at a glass blower shop, and scenic drives in between. Malta is beautiful and the tour was good, we will definitely come back to Malta. We have been to Venice before and done all the touristy things you must do in Venice like ride in a gondola so we strolled leisurely to St Marks (a very long circuitous route) and took the vapporetta boat almost the full length of the Grand Canal to the people mover and then back to the ship for a very enjoyable day. Last time in Split we did a ship's tour to a Roman historical site and a medieval village so this time we just walked around the Old Town and saw the major historical sites. Dubrovnik was a delight, even more so than we had anticipated. We did the ship's tour of the city walls with a very funny, knowledgeable and entertaining tour guide -- and the weather was beautiful. At the end of our tour the guide told us we had been up and down 600 steps! We've done a full day tour of Corfu before so have seen the major sights, so this time opted for a visit to the Koum Quat liqueur distillery and island tour. Again the weather was superb and the tour enjoyable. In Gibraltar we walked through town and the botanical gardens since we have already visited the caves and seen the apes. The Cabin We had booked a guarantee and received a cabin assignment a few months later. We were assigned P208 -- deck 5 forward, actually way forward and across from the laundry! So we anticipated that it might be very bouncy but it also might smell laundry fresh. Surprisingly we only had a few nights (in the Atlantic) when the waves were large enough to cause creaks and groans and bangs and booms when the waves hit the bow -- other than that it was rather smooth. It also proved to be a very convenient location with easy access to the International Cafe for morning coffee and we often saw the paintings we bought on board as we walked through the art gallery frequently. The cabin did seem a little smaller than others and had a very unusual floor with bumps and ridges, felt like there was a manhole cover or something under the carpet. There seemed to be very little going on in the laundry so that was not a problem at first -- but late in the cruise there was a strong sewer like odor in the hallway for a few days. Internet access in this cabin was not dependable as the signal quality was poor and the connection when possible was often dropped. But as usual on Princess our stateroom steward Bibiana was excellent! The Food and Service We had an unusual surprise (the "issue") this trip using anytime dining. We have gotten very used to anytime dining and treasure it's flexibility to be able to eat at different times in the different dining rooms, to have a table for two or eat with new friends, and to be able to make a reservation for a specific time so we can plan our evening's entertainment knowing when we would be finished with dinner. But this time on the Grand we were informed that there would be no dinner reservations -- none would be taken! For each night we would have to stand in line and if we did not want to share a table with strangers and wanted to have a table for two we would probably be given a pager and have to wait until summoned. The first night we got in line at 8:15, got a pager and waited 20 minutes to be summoned, so since dinner took longer than expected we were late to the theatre and all the seats were taken -- so we missed the show we wanted to see. Since this was a huge change from what we had experienced since anytime dining started we asked for clarification -- was this policy change for just this cruise, or would it be permanent on the Grand, or was it yet another negative change in Princess service levels that would be implemented fleet wide? The only explanation we received was that too many people wanted tables for two so they decided not to take any reservations. Now at that time we had nine cruises booked with Princess for the future -- and the possibility of cruising under the new policy of "you can dine whenever it is convenient for us and we really don't care how it affects you" didn't sit well with us. We had already expressed our disappointment with the new policy of closing the dining room for lunch on port days, of the changes in menus to cheaper dishes (goodbye to the rack of lamb), and the greeting when you enter the dining room becoming "do you want to share?" -- or the short form which is just a blurted out "share?" If you listen to Princess marketing you would expect something more genteel like perhaps "Good evening, welcome to your personal choice dining experience, how can we as your "Consummate Hosts" serve you tonight and help you "escape completely?" As it turned out we were told the "no reservations" situation was for this cruise only so it wasn't another fleet wide change, but were also told it might happen again at any time. We did end up with a definite seating time but the experience has us thinking again about doing traditional dining since "personal choice" really isn't about your personal choice except for when you want to start standing in line. And it is yet another reason we are more seriously thinking about cruising other lines more often. For the most part the food in the dining room was very good and the service was as well. We also met up with some of the waiters we had sailed with before whom we were really glad to see again. We found the Michelangelo much more enjoyable than the DaVinci this cruise. The Horizon Court was good for breakfast (great omelets made to order) and OK for lunch but the lights over the food are so hot they can make some of the serving spoons almost too hot to handle, and they dry out the food as well -- it can get to look very unappetizing and not taste as well as it might when fresh. The Trident Grill still has great cheeseburgers and hot dogs, and if you like specialty pizzas Alfredo's was generally available. The Entertainment Entertainment was the usual you would expect on a cruise, varied and good. The production song and dance shows were enjoyable (even though they haven't changed for years) and the guest performers were supplemented by performances by ship staff members. Andrew (one of the production show singers) and Melissa (one of the cruise director's staff) did great solo performances. Ron Steta (a superb guitarist in the Grand Princess Orchestra) performed often in the piazza and even did a fantastic matinee in the Princess Theatre on the last day -- talk about saving the best for last! Siobhan Phillips has an unbelievable voice and was extremely funny as well. We also enjoyed the MacDonald Brothers and ventriloquist Jimmy Tamley -- probably the best ventriloquist we have ever seen. There were some British comedians we saw but we didn't quite get some of the jokes that most of the audience found extremely funny -- must have been the cultural difference... Disembarkation Disembarkation was quick and easy, and we took Princess transportation to Heathrow and arrived in plenty of time for our flight. Closing Thoughts Princess seems to be suffering from an organizational dysfunction -- marketing promises customers more and more at the same time that accounting is cutting costs and converting costs into revenue opportunities. The end result can be a huge expectation gap for the passengers -- fueled by exorbitant claims such as the current Princess "We Are The Consummate Host" advertising campaign at the same time that service levels are noticeably being reduced. We wish they would either actually be "The Consummate Host" they claim or adopt a more believable slogan. If you believe that everything on your cruise will be "perfect" you will probably be disappointed. The best cruising slogan we found is -- "It Is What It Is." So get past the "issues" quickly and get on to enjoying! Happy Cruising!

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GRAND PRINCESS Southern Caribbean Cruise March 17-24, 2012 By Mary & Vincent Finelli When the Grand Princess entered Venice, Italy in 1998 for the first time, it was said: That the only thing more brilliant than the sight of the Grand Princess on the Venetian Lagoon is the sunrise! She was truly innovative then and now; even though her spoiler has been removed, she still is a splendid sight. The spoiler once held the lively Skywalker Nightclub; suspended high above the ship and the sea, cruisers danced the night away among the stars. Reached only by elevator and escalator, it was a veritable gorgeous crow's nest. This was our third cruise aboard the Grand and she is just as lovely now as on our first trip during her inaugural year. This cruise is billed "Discover Old World Charm:" and there's plenty of it from the hub of the Piazza (Square) with "Vines" and its fine wine selection to the new "Alfredo's Pizzeria." The marvelous continuous entertainment in the Piazza was headlined every afternoon by guitarist Ron Steta. Then of course between 3:30 and 4:30pm, there is High Tea in the Da Vinci Dining Room. Fit for a queen, with the whole gamut: from water cress sandwiches to fresh hot scones --- all served with white gloves. Captain Anthony Herriot (England) and Hotel General Manager Richard Harry (England) are the two men on board who are the keepers of "Old World Charm." EMBARKATION Port Everglades, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida is easily accessed from I-95 after a short ride from Boca Raton. We arrived at 12:45pm and dropped off our luggage curbside. We were through check in and on board in less than ten minutes. This is an excellent use of deck by deck boarding and priority boarding for elite members. Our cabin was ready, and we left our hand luggage and were off to the Welcome Aboard Buffet. SHIP We wrote a review on the Grand during her inaugural year; wherein we described her deck by deck in detail, so this review will center on the general ambiance and the many on board possibilities. The Grand was built in 1998 and refurbished in 2011. She is 109,900 tons and registered in Bermuda. Her length is 951 ft. and beam is 118 ft.. She has a passenger capacity of 2,600 and a crew of 1,200 (an excellent passenger to crew ratio). There is a total of 372 inside cabins and 928 outside cabins of which 710 have verandas. There are 215 suites. There are three dinner seatings: 5:30pm, 6:00pm and 8:15pm. We were in the first seating and found 5:30pm a bit too early even for us to dine. Especially after tea at 4:00pm There are 12 Bars & Lounges, a Casino and Chapel and 12 elevators plus on board self service laundromats. There are a library, where tea is also served, a theater, a giant outdoor screen for "Movies under the Stars", on board shops, a health spa and a video arcade. The physical fitness facilities include basket ball, golf simulation, a jogging track, four swimming pools (one heated) and eight whirlpools. There are children's facilities including a playroom, kiddie pool, youth program and teen center. CABIN Our wheelchair accessible cabin #A304 was on Aloha Deck 12. When entering on the right is a triple armoire: two sections are for hanging clothes and the third has a personal safe and six shelves. Next, there is a TV and a refrigerator with a complimentary bar set up for Elite Members of the "Captain's Circle." Then, there is a long desk/vanity with lighted mirror and four drawers. When entering on the left, there is a huge bathroom with an extra large shower 4'X 4' with a folding seat. There is a single sink with mirror and several shelves for sundries. Next is the king size bed (at just the right height) flanked by night stands, each with a reading lamp a top shelf and four drawers. There is an upholstered barrel chair, a desk chair and a small wood and glass coffee table. The far wall has a sliding glass door to the balcony -- on which are two chairs, a table and a chaise which Dixon, our excellent steward, added for Vincent. Housekeeper Violetta Cecane was very courteous and helpful and made sure that the service remained excellent throughout the cruise. The interior of the stateroom is mostly beige trimmed nicely in walnut wood. The carpet is a diamond patterned burnished red. There is one huge picture of a small row boat with its reflection sharply delineated in the clear water of a bay. In the background, there is a small whitewashed town and a hill. The drapes and the headboard of the bed are a soft blue accented by a beige trellis pattern. All pleasant and comforting. FOOD & SERVICE We always say the quality of the service filters down from the top -- Capt. Herriott and Hotel General Manager Richard Harry set the very British tone and it is terrific. As elite passengers (more than 15 cruises), many things are gratis: complimentary bar set up, laundry, shoe shines, afternoon tea in the cabin, etc.... Vincent took advantage of the the laundry service and was very satisfied. Mary took advantage of the afternoon tea served in the cabin and made a standing order for all week. Which she later modified, since on the first afternoon the Bell Box waiter arrived with a full High Tea for Two: Two pots of hot water, a sampling of 12 types of tea, two plates of dainty sandwiches, eight scones with whipped cream and raspberry preserves, eight pastries and eight fruit concoctions. This is as close to heaven as it gets! Needless to say, Mary modified the order to just tea and scones for the rest of the week: Excellent and only available on the Princess ships. The butler will also stay and serve if one desires. Next time we travel with friends, tea will be at the top of our agenda. Breakfast -- we always have in our stateroom. We complete the selections the night before and hang the menu on our door knob. The next morning at 7:00am promptly it arrives. There is an English muffin sandwich: fried egg, Canadian bacon and cheese, very nice. We also selected coffee, hot chocolate, orange juice and half of a grapefruit, cold cereal, yogurt, plain or fruited, rolls, toast, croissants and brioches are all available. Or just go up to the buffet or down to the Da Vinci Dining Room, from 7:30 to 9:30, for sit down service. Luncheon on the Princess has a full menu -- including pasta courses (Amatriciana, Carbonara, Puttanesca, etc...). Every day fried calamari are available. Some of the lunch items are usually dinner items on other lines: Vitello tonnato, mixed English grill (tiny lamb chops, bangers, veal kidney and beef medallions). Our favorite place for lunch was Alfredo's Pizzeria, where personal pizzas were created for each diner. Dinner was exceptional every evening. The courteous and friendly Maitre D' Fabio Marcotti assigned us an easily accessible table #01, near the entrance of the Michelangelo Dining Room, which was very much appreciated by Mary who could park her wheelchair within a few step from it. Head Waiter Antoine and Head Waiter Victor saw that service was snappy and courteous. Our waitress Elena was from Romania; she was fast and flawless. Her assistant was Franco from Mexico and he couldn't be nicer. Service and food on board are excellent. ENTERTAINMENT Cruise Director Billy London has things well in hand and the "Princess Patter" lists the myriad of activities available daily. From Trivia Games, Bingo, Movies, and live entertainment to Wine Tasting with the sommelier on board, there is much to do. The entertainment in the Piazza lends the atmosphere of "Old World Charm." Ship's musicians, comedians and variety entertainers performed throughout the day in the Piazza. Most of them were good, but our favorite was the guitarist Ron Steta, who had a lovely repertoire of old popular and classic melodies. He performed at least once a day throughout the week. Enchanted Evening entertainment is emphasized mainly in "Showtime" presented in the Princess Theater and/or the Vista Lounge, twice each night, at 8:15 and 10:15 to accommodate first and second dinner seatings. Showtime consisted of a couple of Las Vegas type shows, several comedy shows and concerts with the Moonlight String Quartet, with guitarist Ron Seta and the Grand Princess Orchestra and with a solo pianist entertainer Alan Shiels. In addition there are some variety shows with a hypnotist and two jugglers. "Movies under the Stars" is also a popular venue in the morning, afternoon and evening for those who enjoy open air entertainment. Concerts, documentaries and movies are usually shown in the morning; then in the afternoon there are Matinee movies; and in the evening, a main feature movie is projected along with the typical popcorn treat. There is fun for the whole family and everybody else. PORTS OF CALL Day 1. Ft. Lauderdale, FL Sail Away 4:15pm Day 2. At Sea Day 3. AT Sea Day 4. Oranjestad, Aruba Arrive 7:00am Depart 5:00pm Day 5. Willemstad, Curacao Arrive 7:00am Depart 1:00pm Day 6. At Sea Day 7. Princess Cays, Bahamas Arrive 8:30am Depart 3:30pm Day 8. Ft. Lauderdale, FL Arrive 7:00am DEBARKATION This was a snap. Those needing wheelchair assistance met in the Casino. There was a steward to accompany us to baggage pick up and from there a porter assisted us through customs and passport check. The whole procedure took 15 minutes. Excellent! CONCLUSION This was our seventeenth cruise on Princess ships and the third on the Grand, and again a wonderful one. It feels nice to be pampered and appreciated. We enjoy the freebies reserved for the Captain's Circle Elite members, thus we plan to cruise more frequently on Princess. The only difference we noticed between our first cruise on the Grand and this one was our difficulty accessing certain areas, such as the Promenade and the Pool, since now both of us have limited mobility; before, when at least one of us was able and strong, we could open the heavy doors, but now we have to wait for some other person to hold the doors for us. However, on the newer Princess ships, we have noticed the improvements toward making a more wheelchair friendly environment, with automatic door openers and smoother thresholds. Thanks, Princess for listening to our suggestion. We have already booked a future cruise on the Ruby Princess for November 4, 2012. Happy Cruising!

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Grand losing her luster? We did back to back sailings on the Grand in April/May -- an 11 day Canary Islands and a 17 day Mediterranean. This review covers the Canary Islands cruise. This was our 55th cruise on Princess, and 12th on the Grand. Overall it was a fairly good cruise but we sadly concluded the Grand isn't as grand as she used to be. Embarkation We used Princess Ezair because the rates were competitive and in the past they helped us reroute when we had a flight cancellation enroute due to an aircraft mechanical. This time there were no problems, we arrived on time and with Princess transportation arrived at the ship around 2:00 pm. Since we are Elite it was relatively quickly through registration but then joined the long long line to go through security -- that took a long time so overall it may have been the longest embarkation process we have experienced on Princess. The Ship We have always enjoyed the Grand, and there are both positives and negatives in the changes made during the major drydock. The One5 is a nice bar but can't replace the spectacular views and uniqueness of Skywalkers. The Piazza has become basically just another place to eat, and it is usually crowded with passengers snacking on food from the International Cafe. On a positive note the flow through Horizon Court seems much improved although it is hard to find a place to sit during mealtimes. The Ports We had never been to the Canary Islands before, and seeing them was the major reason we booked this cruise. While we enjoyed all the ports on this cruise, unfortunately the weather was cool to cold and cloudy so the experience was not as good as it might have been. April might not be a good time to take this cruise! We either took ship tours or ventured out on our own for those ports we knew. We did the hop on hop off yellow bus in Funchal -- and next time will do it again but start out earlier so we can explore the nearby fishing village in more depth. In Vigo we wandered around a bit and bought some wine, too cold and windy to really enjoy this port as we did on our last trip there. For the three Canary Islands ports we took Princess tours. All three were enjoyable and provided good value. If interested you can check out the details on the Princess website. Las Palmas LPA200A Columbus Museum & Bandama Caldera Santa Cruz TCI310A La Laguna & Taganana Arrecif e ACE225A Timanfaya National Park & Camel Ride The most memorable experience was the camel ride -- we had checked it out before sailing on youtube and you can get a good idea of the experience there. The Cabin We had booked a guarantee and received a cabin assignment a few months later. But three days before sailing we were reassigned to balcony cabin Caribe 608. We had always enjoyed Caribe balconies as the balconies are larger and had four chairs and a large table which made it ideal for having breakfast on the balcony or entertaining friends. But changes were made during the major drydock. There used to be a rubber type matting on the balcony floor but that is now gone so it is just painted metal (showing many rust spots) and usually water and dirt and salt spray. It is also very slippery. There are now only two chairs and one small cocktail table. But as it turned out it did not make much difference to us as we did not spend much time on the balcony anyhow as the temperatures were cool to cold during the entire cruise. When we first checked out our new room we found the refrigerator was not working and the shower drain did not drain well. Both problems were fixed the next day. Otherwise the stateroom was what we expected as far as "Princess standard" and our steward Maria was superb. Before retirement we always booked a Caribe balcony for our one cruise a year but now we are cruising more and have tried a variety of cabins. So since a Caribe balcony is no longer the premium experience it used to be we can be quite happy in other accommodations. We did learn something else about cabins on the Grand this cruise that will make us very wary of booking guarantees in the future. Some very good friends onboard were assigned a Baja balcony cabin that could accommodate four people -- those cabins are identified with red dots on the deck plan layout on the Princess website. On the website you can also click on a specific cabin to view its details. But when you click on a red dot cabin you see the usual diagram of a standard Princess balcony cabin. But be warned -- if you read the fine print you are advised that it is the diagram for a "typical" cabin. And let me advise you that unless you need to have four bunks stay away from those cabins as they look more like dormitory rooms or perhaps even jail cells -- and have a different layout! No wonder there can be widely different opinions expressed by reviewers. So no more guaranteed cabin categories for us on Princess! The Food and Service Food was basically good with some dishes superb and others not to be ordered again. Service was the same, basically all waiters were competent to take food orders and bring food and some did a much better job than others. What was very different on the Grand this time was the lack of involvement of the head waiters and the maitre'd. We only saw the maitre'd once in the dining room during the entire 11 day cruise, and he was just rushing through on his way elsewhere. On other ships the head waiters usually stop by and inquire about the food and service, and often even provide something a little special such as a different appetizer or pasta dish as a surprise -- just a little something to make you feel special. Not so on the Grand this time, more like their goal was to get you in a seat, feed you, then get you out. Also, there was no possibility of a standing reservation in either dining room for anytime dining. In January we had sailed on the Crown -- it was a very different and enjoyable dining experience, the kind we expected of Princess. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case on the Grand. We also did the Crown Grill and tried the new menu at Sabatini's. With the menu changes in the main dining room the rack of lamb we love is now only available in the Crown Grill so that was our choice -- and it was excellent as was the rest of the meal. But as far as Sabatini's opinions were a little mixed. The new menu offers more appetizer choices. While the service is very good (but fashionably slow) and performed with a flourish, the food wasn't as tasty as we expected -- and the lobster three ways was a disappointment. The Entertainment Entertainment was as usual on Princess, the same production shows that we have seen for years and an assortment of vocalists and comedians and such. Most are pretty good and some are really good and a few are not so good. The cruise staff do their best with game shows and trivia and theme parties. We have gotten into art with Princess and really enjoy the art auctions so that became our major entertainment "have to do" during the day. This was also a cruise where enjoying a book in the cabin (rather than on deck due to weather) became a frequent activity for us. Unfortunately the library selection has been reduced with the introduction of Leaves and it would be best to take a flashlight with you to help see what books are on the lower shelves. But in this age of Kindles et al the library itself may disappear soon anyhow. So if you have sailed with Princess before you know what the entertainment offerings are, and if you will be a first timer you will have more than enough options. Disembarkation For us turnaround day was the day we changed cabins (a quick and painless process) and learned that loud rock music was played both in the hallways and passenger cabins -- perhaps to get the staff to hurry up? It was so loud we could not stay in the cabin so we found some seats in the piazza and read. Closing Thoughts To answer my own question posed in the title of this review -- yes, the Grand is indeed losing her luster and we have lost the special feeling we have had in the past for this ship. It is ironic how Princess proclaims they are the "consummate host" while at the same time they reduce services provided. We can only guess that senior Princess management is either delusional or uninformed or hoping that mind control propaganda will make passengers happy. Unfortunately when the gap between what they say they are and what they actually provide is so blatantly obvious -- the "consummate host" claim is more like a cruel joke on themselves and we found it actually became irritating to have to listen to those false claims. In any event, a cruise is mostly what you make it -- and we were fortunate to be sailing with some of our best cruise buddies so we made the most of it in spite of the Princess problems... Happy Cruising!

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After taking my last three cruises on The Star Princess I was immediately disappointed. I had heard that the Grand was charming and elegant and had undergone a huge refurbishment. I just didn't see anything Grand compared to the other Princess ships. We boarded at Ft.Lauderdale and our embarkment was completed in less than 5 minutes. I was shocked since I heard the ship was full. We didn't need to enter through the Platinum Line. We had received a huge upgrade from a guaranteed oceanview to a balcony. Our room was wonderful and we enjoyed it thoroughly. We immediately went to the Lido deck to meet friends who were already on the ship from the previous cruise to have lunch. The Princess buffet is always very nicely displayed and this time the cheese and desserts were covered and in a different area. It looked so nice and fresh with a glass cover to elimate germs. We quickly found out that the group we were dining with was a party of 8 and our friends asked the Maitre'd if they could move to accomodate us to a table of 10. We ate in the DaVinci room table 105 and each night was a fabulous dining experience. Our waiters quickly poured our drinks to our liking never having to ask after the first night. The waiters took special care of me because I am vegetarian and showed me the next days lunch menu in case I didn't like the choices on the dinner menu. In my five cruises with Princess that was the first time I ever was shown that choice. Excursions: We took The MiDushi at the Aruba port. It was an all day snorkeling adventure and it's not to be missed. The guys on the boat were absolutely wonderful. I didn't snorkel but my partner loved all three stops. We had a delicious meal aboard the boat and made to order drinks were available. The best part of the excursion was riding the fun bus there and back. It was the highlight of my trip. The driver turned the music up and we were all singing and swaying to the music. Curacao-I took the city tour through a private company at the dock. It was very nice for $20. It was so disappointing to have such a little time there. It wasn't worth the stop. I would of prefered to stay overnight in Aruba. Everyone I spoke to agreed. I have to say that with so much time on the ship with a 7 day cruise I was actually bored. I spent time in the casino where I lost a lot of money. I was disappointed with two nights having the same productions as Star Princess the year before. You wouldn't think going on three cruises you would have the same entertainment. The first shows are always so packed. The guitar player who had played in all these famous bands looked like he just crawled out of bed. We quietly go out of there. One night at one of the shows 3 of us fell asleep. I have to say out of all my cruises this was the most boring. I hate to go to bed early but everything is so dead in the evening. We really look for things to do Piano Bar, Wheelhouse Bar etc. I do have to say the band in The Wheelhouse bar was the best on the ship and we did dance away the night on one occasion. They were there a couple of times on the itinerary. Embarkment was a little slow on this ship and our friends found out they had to carry all their luggage themselves because they had a 7:30 a.m. flight. I love Princess's itineraries and I am already booked on another cruise. I just wish I hadn't of chosen this particular itinerary. It is my fault though because I knew the itinerary. One thing we did was the Balcony Breakfast, They served us 7 plates of food. It was a wonderful experience for the money. We would definitely do it again.

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This has been my 4th cruise with Princess and second on Grand. I don't have much for a frame of reference since all my cruises have been with Princess. I have always enjoyed the level of service and the comfort of the ships with them. My first cruise was in 2006 and I have noticed a change in level of service since then. We flew to Ft. Lauderdale and stayed a day before our cruise. We stayed at the Marriott North which was an ok hotel about 30 minutes from the port. They had a nice pool and rooms were comfortable. Hotel desk service was great and they drove us to a shopping center so we could buy wine for our cruise. The food there was only so-so but across the street were many restaurants to pick from. The day of our cruise we had a full lobby of people going out on 3 different ships (we saw 5 in port that morning.) We arrive and quickly got through security and checked in. We were in our room in no time. After dropping off our "stuff" we headed to the dining room for lunch. Best kept secret on ships I think: that the dining rooms are open for lunch! There were only about 20 or so of us in there and I had a fantastic lunch to start the cruise. No crowds and great service. We always choose to do traditional dining and we, for the first time, did a table just for the two of us. It was a table NOT in the traditional dining rooms but rather in the any-time dining room. There were plusses and minuses to that. Plus - always had different people around and yet we had the same table and same wait staff everynight... minus... lots of movement since people are coming and going all evening. I thought the food was delicious and our service was incredible! Our cabin... well we had A703 which is in the back of the ship on the same level as the terrace pool. We booked late on a special and didn't expect to get our regular place on Caribe. The room was a little smaller, mostly noticed in bathroom and in closet space as well as the smaller balcony. I did notice the removal of the mats on the balconies and because of that you hear a constant moving of the deck chairs which can be annoying. The new furniture is not as comfortable as the old and sure doesn't recline any! Bad change as far as I am concerned. Did notice, and was thankful for the lack of people smoking on the balconies now which gives a better experience for non smokers. I notice they created little seating areas for smoking around the back pool and up one level. Did not have as much noise in the cabin as I expected being in the back of the ship but did notice a lot of rumbling when the ship was parking. Not too bad really. Ports of call: San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Princess Cays. San Juan: Due to the late time of arrival, we chose not to leave the ship and was able to enjoy the ship without all the crowds. Liked that alot!!! St. Maarten: Went to Orient beach on the French Side. Beach was lovely. If I were to go there again I would take a taxi and not a tour and stay longer! Water was clear and warm and beach was nice. There are notices given on the ship etc that it is a clothing optional beach and we did encounter some but not much of that. I was not bothered one way or another but clearly some Americans were and some did not prepare their children for those encounters. St. Thomas - We chose to do the catamaran sail to Turtle Cove and then to Honeymoon beach. This was through Princess and was contracted with blongobay.com. Excellent day of sailing, snorkeling, an beach with BBQ. Their crew was fantastic offering snorkeling lessons, a snorkel tour and lots of free drinks including a killer rum punch! Recommend them highly! Princess Cays - we rented a bungalow. I would do this again. They said they are only for a max of 4 people but people certainly had more. We had a group of people who camped on between our bungalow and the next and I told the bungalow caretaker about it and he immediately had them removed. We decided to add the gourmet lunch which was delicious but way too much food! The lobster mango salad was excellent. I like the area which was quiet but not very close to the swimming beaches. I am not a huge fan of the swimming beaches there.... very rocky which does require use of water shoes and then you still can get your foot caught when the waves carry you around. I didn't spend a lot of time in water at all. But any day at the beach is a good day in my book. The bungalows did have outdoor showers and spigots for getting the sand off one's feet and I liked having that. The air conditioning in the bungalow was nice to cool off and nice to have a cool space to eat all the food! We didn't use the casino because of all the smoke in there. Hated to even have to walk through it to get somewhere. We never tried any of the other dining venues because I just don't pay more to eat with all the free food already offered. We did do two days in the sanctuary. THAT I LOVED!! It was so quiet and peaceful there and one cannot help but take a nap in those comfy chairs. I thought the service in there was okay and sometimes non -existent but maybe that is because they want to not disturb. Every time I got up to ask for something, however, they were very attentive. Can get spots in the sun or shade. We went there at around 8 each day and were the first ones in to choose a spot. It was full by afternoon both days. I did the all day and it was nice to leave and come back to your own chair without being label and chair hog!!! This was a cruise during school Easter break so we did see a few more children than we have on other cruises but it was not ever out of hand. The main pools areas were certainly crowded on sea days but that is on every cruise. We certainly did notice a lot more ships in every port than we have on other cruises. All in all I think it was a great time. We never had any real issues. Disembarkation - I think this one was the fastest. I was surprised that we even found a seat in the waiting area at our time to meet. We went there and waited maybe 10 -15 minutes before we were allowed to leave. We got right off and got our luggage - ok, the porters there are AWFUL and pushy, standing between people and their luggage almost forcing you to use them... but we did Not. Got off and to the bus in no time!

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