casavaha

We were just on two 4 day cruises on the Golden. The music in the Wheelhouse was

great, the Mariachis, Los Brillantes were the reason we cruised. We like to dance and

the music on this ship was fantastic.

We will be on the Ruby for 21 days in December, I hope the music is as good.

Greg

I left HAL a few years ago because of the terrible music on the ships. Dancing to decent

music was impossible. So I went over to Princess. More venues for dancing, better ships.

So now I see this new ship and I am wondering if HAL is going to put money into decent

bands. If so I will certainly be interested in cruising with HAL again.

Greg

We got off the Golden on the 7th of Nov. We were charged sales tax on a drink

we ordered in Skywalkers before we left port.

The Star Princess is bringing water and other relief supplies to Cabo San Lucas on

Sat. Oct. 4. This will be the first cruise ship to call in Cabo since the hurricane.

This is a great service to the people of Cabo and of course good pr for the cruiseline.

Greg

We stay at the CP whenever we leave from San Pedro, which is quite often. I like the

hotel. The staff is great, if you are a IHG rewards member, internet and breakfast is free.

The shuttle is great. The area around the hotel is fine.

Greg

In my opinion this is a big mistake for Princess. These ships can fit a niche market.

Fix them up, spend some money on them. Look at Azamara, Oceana etc. There is a

market. Look at HAL with their small ships, most of which are in terrible shape.

Princess could do some SA roundtrip cruises out of LA, do more rt cruises out of the

west coast to other places than Alaska and Hawaii.

I doubt these ships will bring much. Princess has the economy of scale in buying goods,

advertising, support.

My guess this is a Carnival Corp decision.

Greg

Go down to the Piazza and listen to the Los Brillantes. Tell Pedro high from GREG,

He is the one on the left as you are looking at the Trio from the front.

Greg

On past Crown cruises the embarkation lunch has always been in the Da Vinci dining room on deck #6.

It probably won't be listed in the Patter because they try to direct everyone to the buffet.

LuLu

You can always find it in the patter by looking at the hours open. One dining room will

have lunch 12 to 1:30. In the past I have had arguments with the employees about this,

I show them the patter and they go quiet. But I do believe they are under orders to

push the Horizon.

As soon as I arrive in my cabin, I call room service and ask that they switch out by bar service for coffee cards. When I do a b2b, I always inform room service a day before the

new cruise to just bring me coffee cards.

Greg

The best would be to stay overnight in Puerta Vallarta. A better port, with great

nightlife.

Greg

Your review was helpful. We will be on the Pacific, Dec., 2015. What about dancing

on board? We do not go to shows but love to dance.

Thanks,

Greg

I am not impressed with the Caribbean sale. I did better when I booked early. This is

for b2b2b beginning Dec. 13 on the Ruby.

Greg

Yes, there is a step up into the bathroom.

This was a fantastic deal. The deposit was $3. per person non refundable. The fare was

cut by 1/3, you received $100obc per cabin. I understood that it was only on the Alaska

Cruises. I had two short cruises which I rebooked with this promo. Some friends who

were on the cruise with me also booked.

Greg

I bought two bottles of wine in Ketchikan at Safeway. It was just a little more than

here in San Diego. Excellent selection and prices. Had no trouble bringing it onboard.

Did not try Juneau or Skagway.

Greg

Another difference with Grand Princess is that she does not have the Thermal Suite that was incorporated first with Star Princess' design.

 

That being said, I like Grand Princess and am puzzled why someone would discount her over her two original sisters. Yes, the closet is smaller, but I've done 10 day cruises on her with my cruising buddy and we had plenty of room. The refurbishment that was done to spruce her up makes her public areas look as new and fresh as the other ships in the fleet. One5 isn't spectacular as Skywalkers, but based on a passenger complement that doesn't seem to use the nightclub, it seems a more appropriate use of space.

 

I would be very surprised if many people thought the Grand was a better ship than the

Star or Golden, let alone the Sapphire. I was with a group of 40 persons who had never

sailed on Princess, they thought that the Grand looked very tired, especially the public

areas.

The Holiday Inn is gone, it is now called the Wyndam, much improved.

Besides Seaport Village the old Police station has been redone with a fine restaurant,

"Seasons 52" the same one from Ft. Lauderdale.

greg

This is one thing that I really disliked about the Grand, compared to her sisters, the Star and Golden. It wasn't even so much the size of the closet, but the different layout of the bathroom, closet and dressing area. It didn't ruin my cruise or anything like that, but it was annoying and I much prefer the updated layout on the newer ships.

I had forgotten about the central staircase. We were on deck 8 so we tried to walk up

but could not. The closet was small, ok for 7 days but longer?

I would probably not cruise the Grand again. I like the Golden and Star and of course

the Sapphire.

We will be on the Grand in two days. Your report is very timely, good info.

Thanks for taking the time.

Greg

The boarding pass does have the cabin number on it.

You gave up the boarding pass when you checked in. So the only card that was seen

by the attendants was your seapass card. Of course if you have a black card and your

children have a blue on, or gold, they will have to sit in the other areas.

We will be boarding the Grand next Sunday. We are Elite but many of our friends,

who are also with us are not. How has the boarding gone?

Enjoy the cruise.

Greg

Finally got into ITV. I had to use the Sudan Embassy postcode. From Mexico it is a lot

more difficult to get foreign tv on the internet.

I was on the maiden transatlantic when the film crew was aboard. The ship showed well,

but it was a terrible cruise. The ship is a disaster from a cruising point of view.

Small balconys, no promenade deck, no center staircase. The dancing venues were

horrible. The adtrium was so large that only one musical event could be on at any one

time. No Wheelhouse dancing. Just a short list of the disasters that wait on this ship.

However, I know there are many who were impressed with the size and beauty of the ship.

In my opinion, build two more Sapphire Princess ships for the cost of this one and

everyone would be happy.

I speak with my pocket book. I will hopefully never cruise on the Royal or the Regal.

Give me the Grand Class anytime.

Greg

I do this on every cruise. It is a great deal.

DO NOT ASK THE EMPLOYEES ANYTHING WHEN YOU BOARD, chances are they do not

know or will give you incorrect info. There is always a dining room open on embarcation

day. Check the Patter in your cabin or if you do not have time to pick one up in your cabin check

at reception or just go to the dining room on deck 6 (Grand Princess) and look for

whatever is open, 12-1:30pm.

I make it a habit to get to the ship as early as possible, that way I am close to the ship

and will be one of the first to board, drop my carryon in the cabin and head for lunch.

I am also one of the last to leave the ship when it arrives back in port.

Greg