Live from the Grand

Live from the Grand… we have been enjoying our stay on the Grand Princess. Unfortunately, the wireless Internet access is still broken, but I am here in the Internet café on my personal laptop. The ship is great, our room guy is OUTSTANDING, the food is wonderful and entertainment is good.

We have been told that the thruster problem has been fixed on the Grand and we did not see any tub boats... so that is good news. :)

The Sanctuary looks awsome!

Here is a log of our cruise so far:

The day before the Cruise

Jan.1, 2009

We set off for Ft. Lauderdale around 8:30 am and arrived at the hotel around 12:30pm. We enjoyed our stay at the Spring Hill Suites Marriot in Dania Beach. We went for a walk on Keating beach where we found some interesting shells, many of which I have not ever seen before in Florida. We stayed at the hotel to take in the much needed R&R. We enjoyed some curbside TGIF and watched movies. Following this, we went for a dip in the nicely heated pool. The pool was spacious & heated to our liking; although there was something strange going on with the hot tub. It had a fully smell and color. Minus the minor disappointment form the hot tub, I would recommend this hotel - it was clean and the staff was very accommodating to our special requests. This hotel allows for parking and is only accessible via key pad.

Day One of the cruise

Jan.2, 2009

We awake at 6:30am after an excitement filled restless night. We both were bursting at the seams with anticipation. We had fresh waffles with blueberries on top. Then we were off to the port at 9:45am via shuttle. We arrived at the port shortly after and then went to our priority seating area where we met many nice people. Security was a breeze and we were on board around 11:30am.

Upon our boarding we enjoyed some fruity cocktails and a dip in the hot tub. Our luggage was delivered before we could leave our room for the second time. This was well before the life boat drill (all luggage was delivered say around 1:30-2pm) we then unpacked and enjoyed our balcony. I also made reservations to both Sabatini’s which is an upscale Italian restaurant for the last night of the cruise and the Sterling Steakhouse – which is exactly what it sounds for the middle of our cruise.

Today we did not explore much of this ship as we have been on it in the past. However, we did notice they put all new carpet throughout the ship. Instead of exploring we relaxed in the hot tub and pool area and met up with several Cruise Critics.

We enjoyed a quiet dinner in the dinning room at a table for two. We had prime rib for dinner – it was great! After a very funny comedian and welcome aboard show, we came back to enjoy our balcony. Did we mention it is on the Caribe deck? It is a very huge balcony cabin.

Day Two of the cruise (Sea Day)

Jan.3, 2009

This has been a nice start to our vacation and New Year. Today was partly cloudy and around 81F with very minimal waves and wind. Instead of doing the normal run, run, run and going to the art auction, shopping talk, and all the other crazy things – we decided to do something different. We started out the day with a trip to the hot tub and pools which we had all to our self. Today we decided we do not need much sun, so we stayed away from the Lido deck. Instead, we enjoyed a relaxing day on our balcony and watched a few movies as we moved into the evening. Tonight in the dinning room was formal night, but no lobster. We were told the lobster is on the second formal night. Since today was a more relaxing day, we decided to get dinner from the buffet which was exactly the same food on the menu in the dinning room. The roast beef was to die for.

After dinner, we saw a funny juggler / comedian who of course did most of the things you would generally see on a cruise ship. However, I have to admit he did some things that I have never seen or thought of before. Out of his mouth, he was able to spit and juggle two ping pong balls. Yes, I know this is strange and weird. To top it off, he brought out his glockenspiel and played “Mary Had a Little Lamb” by spitting ping pong balls out of his mouth. I know this is very weird, but at the same time, he was pretty amusing.

We did opt to skip the dancing show because we had seen it on our past cruise. Instead we enjoyed a wonderful relaxing evening on the balcony and some first run movies on in our cabin. Don’t forget about the NFL football playoff games that were on!

Day Three of the cruise (Sea Day)

Jan.4, 2009

Today we were awaken by the sound of knocking at our door. As I looked out at the beautiful ocean, I realized that our Champagne breakfast has arrived. It is amazing – they had to wheel a full cart through my room and onto the balcony to setup all the food. The amount of food is set and there is enough to feed at least 4 people – maybe 6. When everything we setup, I looked at the time and noticed it was almost 0800AM. Last night we changed our clocks 1 hour forward and lost an hour of sleep. Oh well, we will gain it back on the later part of our cruise. Anyways, the breakfast was awesome – Eggs Benedict and Champagne on the balcony – it is hard to beat that.

After breakfast we migrated up to the Lido deck to grab a deck chair and had no problems finding one. Yet again, it was very early and people were still sleeping. We sat in the hot tub for a while and also swam in the pool. The hot tub was hot, hot, hot, but the pool was cold. I decided to do 20 laps since I had to pool to myself and then I ended up treading water for 15 minutes. Tomorrow we have two dives scheduled so I decided to exercise a little bit. We ended up being at the hot tub / pool area until 12:30P since they were playing wonderful steel drums. We had enough sun by this time. When we got up to leave back to our room, we made it to the next pool over (the inside pool) and then we decided to put our stuff down and again take a tip in that hot tub and pool.

Now it is around 2PM and time for the Miami / Baltimore football game. After some quick lunch from the buffet, we sat and watched the football game on the huge movie screen on the ship. Miami is not looking like they are going to win, so we are not too happy about that.

Tonight for dinner sounds really nice – roast duck is what we are going to try.

Thanks for letting us live your cruise with you. Sounds great so far! We will board in March and will be all too ready for it.

Can't wait to hear about your excursions tomorrow!

Great review so far. Looking forward to more.

Marilyn

Thanks so much for the review - we board next:) Glad to hear the thrusters are fixed...I'll stay tuned for more info!

Donna

Thanks for the live from. :)

wow thanks for the play by play - I love it, and can't wait. Enjoy

I can hardly wait until Jan. 30th when I board the Grand. I love the idea of starting the cruise with two sea days. It will make me totally relaxed for the all the islands on the itinerary. If you are near the Sanctuary, can you find out whether you can book it for the entire cruise and how much $ it costs? Thanks.

We are just about to book either: the Grand P, the Coral P or the Island P. Difference is itinerary, and, of course, prices. Might not be able to afford a balcony on the Grand, but an outside would do. Have you been on these other ships and how do you think they compare as far as ammenities? We are used to RCCL and like the fact that the Grand seems to have more bells and whistles, yet she isn't getting as good of reviews as the other ships when doing a comparison. Still, it's a 14 day. sure why, other than maybe she's a bit older and getting sort of worn? The others are 10 day Panama Canal cruises, and we have never been there or to a couple of other ports on that itinerary. Please comment on the Island and Coral if you have been on these other ships. And glad you are having a wonderful time!

Oh! One more question: On the Grand, do the balconies up high overlook the balconies below them? Thanks for (I hope) a (quick?) reply! We are about to book and having a tough time deciding!

Hope you have a WONDERFUL cruise!

Thanks for posting. I'll be looking foward to reading more.:)

We're enjoying your thread. Please keep the updates coming. We board on the 16th.

We are just about to book either: the Grand P, the Coral P or the Island P. Difference is itinerary, and, of course, prices. Might not be able to afford a balcony on the Grand, but an outside would do. Have you been on these other ships and how do you think they compare as far as ammenities? We are used to RCCL and like the fact that the Grand seems to have more bells and whistles, yet she isn't getting as good of reviews as the other ships when doing a comparison. Still, it's a 14 day. sure why, other than maybe she's a bit older and getting sort of worn? The others are 10 day Panama Canal cruises, and we have never been there or to a couple of other ports on that itinerary. Please comment on the Island and Coral if you have been on these other ships. And glad you are having a wonderful time!

 

Oh! One more question: On the Grand, do the balconies up high overlook the balconies below them? Thanks for (I hope) a (quick?) reply! We are about to book and having a tough time deciding!

 

Hope you have a WONDERFUL cruise!

Just some quick answers. Yes, the upper decks can look down on the lower balconies on the Grand. The Aloha and Baja balconies are covered, the Caribe balconies are half covered and the Dolphin balconies are fully exposed. There are also some balconies on Emerald that are fully covered.

As for which ship to choose, I've been aboard the Island and Coral Princess on the Panama Canal 10-day cruise and if you've never been to the Canal, I wouldn't hesitate to book a cruise on one of those ships! The Canal is a wonderful destination, the current itinerary is a good one and you can't beat the Island/Coral ships IMHO.

And to the OP... thanks for the live account of your voyage. Have a great cruise!

Looking forward to our cruise which is next up on the Grand......................

Are the hot tubs and saunas all working properly now please as we like to use both late in the day? Is the water better too throughout the ship - I read of much chlorine in the water. I hope you can answer........................

I have enjoyed reading your day to day report. We will be on the Grand in July for the second time so will be interested to see the changes made.

Kodiac,

What's the story on the formal nights? Thanks for the information.

wow thanks for the play by play - I love it, and can't wait. Enjoy

I know you have enjoyed the Chef's Table, more than once I think? When you sail this month, can you see if the menu has changed? I board the CB for 14 days on Jan 25 and would enjoy seeing a new menu.

I know you have enjoyed the Chef's Table, more than once I think? When you sail this month, can you see if the menu has changed? I board the CB for 14 days on Jan 25 and would enjoy seeing a new menu.

wow good memory, yes we have done it twice. and We did sign up for it on our Nov cruise on the Star and the menu was slightly different but many similarities.

I don't know if the Grand has Chef's Table. Not sure if we will do it - but will try and find out for you.

Wow! Quick answer. I would love to do it again and may anyway, but I think it is time to shake it up a bit if they want to continue it. They have made an impression, but frequent cruisers who have done it once of twice would do it again and again if the menu changed once in a while.

Wow! Quick answer. I would love to do it again and may anyway, but I think it is time to shake it up a bit if they want to continue it. They have made an impression, but frequent cruisers who have done it once of twice would do it again and again if the menu changed once in a while.

yes I agree - I guess we were lucky because we did it on both of our back to backs and they changed it completely (except for one or two apps).

I may just sign up the first week and ask if the menu will be different the second week. This cruise was offered as both a 7 and a 14 day cruise, so maybe they will change. Thanks for responding. I will look for your "live' posts.

Still Day 3...

The Eagles won!

The seas have been very rough today and through out the night. It would not have been a pleasurable evening for my Dad Don or my Uncle Tim as we rocked and rolled for at least 18 hours straight.

Day Four of the cruise (Curacao)

Jan.5, 2009

We woke up this morning as we pulled into Cuaraco and the seas were a lot more calm then last night, but it certainly was not flat either. After a quick breakfast and a few photo and video opportunities, we grabbed our dive gear and were the first in line to get off the ship. It was very interesting to see them hydraulically lower the gangway stairs to the ground – we have never seen that perspective before.

Besides the two crew in front of us, we were the first people to get off the ship. We waiting very shortly for a few other divers prior to catching a cab for our two tank dive with “The Dive Bus”. This was a private dive that we have scheduled prior to the cruise as Princess cruise line did not offer a dive at all. However, while waiting to catch a taxi, something happened to me that had never happened before. Apparently, my landyard which had my cruise card attached broke and I lost my cruise card. I noticed this but rather than it ruining our day, we proceeded to meet up with our other diver buddies and catch the taxi to our dive destination.

The dive was a convenient shore entry site. The shore entry was very rocky which made it tricky walking into the water, but once we were in water over our head and made our decent, it was all great.

The dive bus also sells dive gear at some what reasonable prices and has a restaurant attached.

Our first dive was great we saw a small sea turtle, spiny puffer fish, gar fish, angel’s, tangs, damsels, parrot fish, lots of giant coral formations, lobsters, lots of large and small eels, shrimps, and some large construction scaffolding which was covered with coral.

The second dive was equally as great Ryan saw a huge Sgt. Major fish. This was a great dive destination it was abundant with corals and sea life. After the dive, we enjoyed a local beer that tasted like a Yuengling. Its name was Polar and it is from Venezuela. All of the staff at The Dive Bus are amazing and very experienced. Cab rides are $5 per a person so this excursion was not badly priced at all.

We then headed back to the ship to freshen up, drop off our dive hear, and headed back out for some souvenir shopping. The shopping here is very reasonably priced. All of the staff at the dive bus are amazing and very experienced. Cab rides are $5 per a person so this excursion was not badly priced at all.

Oh, and if you were wondering, it was not too big of a pain to get back on the ship as I had my photo ID. After they cleared me by calling up to the pursers desk, I proceeded to the gangway where someone had turned in my room key. Hopefully, that person did not have too many foo foo drinks on me. Haha. :)

Tonight is Italian night in the dinning room and the show tonight is a funny comedian named Jim McDonald from the Late Show with David Letterman. We saw this comedian earlier in the cruise, and look forward to seeing him again tonight.

So far the cruise is only 4 days and it feels like we have been on for much longer. This of course is great. Tomorrow is another wonderful day in Aruba which we have two more scuba dives planned. These dives are booked through Princess cruise line.

Oh by the way... they were calibrating the thrusters as we pulled away from the port... just thought I would give an update on that.

Sounds like a great day. :)

I'm very happy to hear about your positive experience with the Dive Bus. I will be doing my certification dives 1 & 2 with them on Feb. 3. I'm glad you are having a wonderful time. Looking forward to more reports.

Sounds like a fun cruise. I hope you continue to have a great time, I am enjoying your enjoying it.:D

Great play by play so far. Keep it up. Im fascinated and can't wait for our turn in March

Thanks for all the up to the minute info, really appreciate it, as we are sailing her on feb. 27, and reading helps me get through the freeze we got going on here:eek: Also interested in knowing if there are still 3 formal nights (wish there were none!), can't wait to sail!