****Live from the Grand Princess****

[T&J]

Hello everyone from the beautifull and exciting city of Barcelona.

We´ll we left Montreal yesterday late afternoon and caught our connection this morning in Frankfurt...what a mess that airport has turned into. Had to take a bus from the planes tarmac spot to the terminal and then another 5 km walk thru the terminal to catch our connection on Lufthansa to Barcelona and yet again the plane was parked so far away from the airport terminal. We all felt like between the bus rides and walking that we were already in Barcelona.

 

The weather is geourgeous here today and this evening 86F and no humidity and not a cloud in teh sky. We are staying one night at the Hotel Regina (http://www.reginahotel.com/) which is right off Las Ramblas and the Plaza Catalunya...very central to everything. I had stayed here 2 years ago when I did this same itinerary with my Mother doing the Gran Med on the Star Princess August 20th week. Many people about and we walked and walked some more all day today. We had a great dinner at a small tapas place with a pitcher of Sangria.

 

I would suggest people spend the little extra money and stay at a hotel that is very central as most things in Barcelona are within walking distance to each other.

 

Tomorrow we board the Grand Princess and I decided to post this one day in advance since our trip began last night officially. Officially we are on the ship as of tomrrow afternoon.

 

The weather is to be very hot again tomorrow and sunny with a forecast high of 88F...very nice and dry!

 

Javier and I are contemplating to go out in about 2 hours time to a couple of bars/clubs as most people go out very late here to begin. It is currently 10:15pm local time.

 

 

More to follow tomorrow afternoon from the Grand Princess....cruise number 30 for me!

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[lois1112]

Hi Tony!

I feel like we are good friends and so look foward to your post. hopefully we will cruise together one day (with the number of cruises you do its possible) I can't wait to hear all your comments on the meditarinan as that is a cruise I would love to do (have been to eupore many time)

I have one questions for you....I have been told that the beaches in Na Trang are beautiful...is it possible just to stay around where the ship docks?

Hope you have a wonderful cruise and I will be eagerly waiting for your posts!

Thanks in advance Lois

[T&J]

Hi Tony!

I feel like we are good friends and so look foward to your post. hopefully we will cruise together one day (with the number of cruises you do its possible) I can't wait to hear all your comments on the meditarinan as that is a cruise I would love to do (have been to eupore many time)

I have one questions for you....I have been told that the beaches in Na Trang are beautiful...is it possible just to stay around where the ship docks?

Hope you have a wonderful cruise and I will be eagerly waiting for your posts!

Thanks in advance Lois

 

Lois....

 

Where the Pacific Princess docks in Nha Trang you can take a taxi for $5 one way to the beach or right in front of the Sailing Club Yatch Club the beach in my opinion is the best in Nha Trang. Ther is some great snorkling and scuba diving to be had in Nha Trang. The water is very clear and clean as well. It is a completely public beach front.

 

Hope you will enjoy my postings from the Grand as of tomorrow.

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[Sandy R]

Hi Tony... looks like we didn't have to wait too long for your Grand posts to begin. Isn't Barcelona great. We love just walking around and seeing all the Gaudi buildings on the Ramblas. Can't wait to hear about the cruise!

 

You have such a talent for making your experiences come alive. I know someone mentioned before, that you should write a travelogue... I think that's a wonderful idea!

 

Sandy

[kftw]

Thank you in advance for posting from the Grand. I'm looking forward to your posts. Have a wonderful cruise.

[SilentTraveller]

Hi Tony,

 

I notice that you and Javier are doing a B2B and will continue on to Rome. I will be meeting the ship in Venice and joining the second half of your amazing wonderful voyage. Have a great time, I look forward to you comments on the cruise...

[meselibibob]

Thanks, Tony, for posting on your adventure. We are Lynne and Bob, from Maryland, and will be on the 8-20 sailing of the Grand. This will be our 16th cruise with Princess and 21st overall cruise. We leave on the 17th for two nights in Venice. Will be looking forward to reading your posts. Hope you meet you on board. Have a great cruise and enjoy your time in Barcelona. What a magical and fantastic city.

[T&J]

Hi Tony... looks like we didn't have to wait too long for your Grand posts to begin. Isn't Barcelona great. We love just walking around and seeing all the Gaudi buildings on the Ramblas. Can't wait to hear about the cruise!

 

You have such a talent for making your experiences come alive. I know someone mentioned before, that you should write a travelogue... I think that's a wonderful idea!

 

Sandy

 

Good Morning from Barcelona...

 

Sandy we will be going to the Gaudi Museum later this afternoon after we board the ship at 12 noon. As to my new career as a writer....hmmmm don´t know about that one...would take time away from the office!

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[T&J]

Hi Tony,

 

I notice that you and Javier are doing a B2B and will continue on to Rome. I will be meeting the ship in Venice and joining the second half of your amazing wonderful voyage. Have a great time, I look forward to you comments on the cruise...

 

SilentTraveler...we have a roll call going on for the Augu 8th and Aug 20th cruises...you should check it out as there is some valuable port info and tour information. We are also having a CC gathering as well on these two cruises.

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[T&J]

Thanks, Tony, for posting on your adventure. We are Lynne and Bob, from Maryland, and will be on the 8-20 sailing of the Grand. This will be our 16th cruise with Princess and 21st overall cruise. We leave on the 17th for two nights in Venice. Will be looking forward to reading your posts. Hope you meet you on board. Have a great cruise and enjoy your time in Barcelona. What a magical and fantastic city.

 

Have a safe trip over to Europe and we will see you all on August 20th onboard!

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[pollyanno]

Good Morning from Barcelona...

 

Sandy we will be going to the Gaudi Museum later this afternoon after we board the ship at 12 noon. As to my new career as a writer....hmmmm don´t know about that one...would take time away from the office!

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

 

I just took a look at your upcoming trips and have decided I *really* want your job!

 

anno

[T&J]

Embarkation is usually one thing I loath about cruising.:mad: It was completely different today in Barcelona. We got up early this morning and had a feast for 10 no leastat our hotel which was included in our rate. Normally in Europe a continental breakfast is a bun with coffee or tea. Our breakfast had eggs, salmon, freh squeezed orange juice, pink grapefruit, champagne, croisants, cheeses galore, cold meats, scrambled eggs, sausage and on and on....Javier was stuffed by the time we left...they made no money off of him for sure!

 

We took a taxi from our hotel to the Port of Barcelona at 11:30am and arrived 10 minutes later. There was no traffic on a Tuesday morning. We arrived at the cruise terminal and it wa very structured and organized from the get go. Many counters were open from position 1 until position 40. They had an Elite check-in at counters 33 and 34 and no one was there at all. Check-in went very fast and had our cruise keys in hand and on the ship within 10 minutes flat.

 

We checked into our cabin and Jowie our cabin steward was already there making sure we had our feather pillows. There was a nice bottle of Veuve compliments of the ships company and hors d'oeuvres and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries. The ship is completely full however the Staff Purser has told us they will be moving us after we sail to a better cabin...(of course I said.."something nice?" to which he responded "yes").

 

The Maitre'D Francesco called and confirmed that he had blocked a table for four by the window each night for us during the next 24 nights in the Davinci Dinning Room which was a nice touch.

 

My first impression of the ships company is "superb" thus far actually surpassing that of the Pacific Princess in terms of service and especially rare on a Grand Class ship. The ships overall appearance is much better than I would have thought given her age of 8 years. Some passenger areas do look a little tired but overall in excellent shape. Passenger cabins need a little freshning up but again given her age, understandable no doubt.

 

Javier and our friend Sharon that is travelling with us have gone back into town this afternoon to do some sightseeing....for me this was my quality nap time!

 

At 6:00pm this evening there is a Tina Turner concert on the M.U.T.S. (Movie Under the Stars) which I want to see for sure. Gotta ru as I want to go to the gym for a quick pre dinner workout.

 

We set sail tonight at 10:00pm for Marseille, France tomorrow from 8:30am-6:00pm.

 

More to Follow from the Grand Princess later today.

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[T&J]

I just took a look at your upcoming trips and have decided I *really* want your job!

 

anno

 

Anno which job would that be?....a professional cruiser!:D

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[T&J]

Thank you in advance for posting from the Grand. I'm looking forward to your posts. Have a wonderful cruise.

 

I will try and post from the Grand Princess a couple of times a day depending on the satelite link if it's up or down.

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[LILynn]

Thanks for posting. I can't wait to read about your trip. I will be on the Grand leaving Rome on September 1. My tickets came yesterday and I can't wait.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

 

Lynn

[balanceok]

We will be on the November 1st Grand Princess cruise which will include a crossing of the Atlantic. I'm anxious to read your continued review of the cruise. Thanks for being so helpful.

 

Seeing your cruise history though, I'm wondering what has been your favorite itinerary. You've obviously been to some unusual places on what appears to be so many back-to-back cruises. As I take a few years off from work, I'm considering a longer and more exotice cruise destination.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks.

[pollyanno]

Anno which job would that be?....a professional cruiser!:D

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

 

that's the one! :-D

 

anno

[FLTXKS]

Hi Tony! David here....Glad to see that you made it to the Grand Princess safely. Alas, some of us have to work and I am back at the grindstone.

 

We still reflect often on our 16 days aboard the Pacific Princess and wonder how on Earth they are coping without you on board! I fear the entire ship's company is depressed!

 

Enjoy your cruise and eat an extra dessert for me!

 

Happy Sailing!

 

David

Kansas City

[T&J]

Hi Tony! David here....Glad to see that you made it to the Grand Princess safely. Alas, some of us have to work and I am back at the grindstone.

 

We still reflect often on our 16 days aboard the Pacific Princess and wonder how on Earth they are coping without you on board! I fear the entire ship's company is depressed!

 

Enjoy your cruise and eat an extra dessert for me!

 

Happy Sailing!

 

David

Kansas City

 

 

Hello David....great to hear from you...

 

The crew probably threw a party as I was walking down the gangway and are marking there calendars with big X's everyday until the day I am back on Sept 16th in Bangkok.

 

Javier is just like a little kid here on this ship since it's been almost 10 months since he has cruised with me....he's eating all the desert for you and me tonight!

 

Take Care and say hi to Michael.

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[T&J]

Thanks for posting. I can't wait to read about your trip. I will be on the Grand leaving Rome on September 1. My tickets came yesterday and I can't wait.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

 

Lynn

 

Lynnn we get off the Grand on Sept 1st in Rome (Civitavecchia) when you get onboard since we are doing b2b cruises on this one, the Gran Med cruise and Greek Isles cruise.

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[T&J]

We will be on the November 1st Grand Princess cruise which will include a crossing of the Atlantic. I'm anxious to read your continued review of the cruise. Thanks for being so helpful.

 

Seeing your cruise history though, I'm wondering what has been your favorite itinerary. You've obviously been to some unusual places on what appears to be so many back-to-back cruises. As I take a few years off from work, I'm considering a longer and more exotice cruise destination.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks.

 

My all time favorites are cruising South America, Antartica and up the West coast of South America doing a repositioning cruise into Fort Lauderdale.

 

Also one of my favorite is my upcoming cruise on the Pacific Princess for 58 days from Bangkok to Cape Town and Cape Town to Sydney....this is an amazing cruise going to some very remote places in the world.

 

Tony

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[T&J]

Back again!

Went to Movie Under The Stars (MUTS) and watched Tina Turner live from Wimble Stadium which was pretty amazing until it started to rain all of a sudden for 15 minutes and cleared up...wet MUTS=No Fun!

 

The two musketers showed up late from being in Barcelona....and headed down to the cabin to learn of a message from the PSD saying that they had another cabin for Javier and I and to contact them...we'll of course we did and they moved us into a CAT BA balcony cabin on Caribe deck which was very nice and our friend gets to keep her cabin since they did not have another cabin that could accomodate the three of us all in one room again....was very nice of them considering this sailing is FULL.

 

We went to Dinner at 7:30pm in the DaVinci Dinnig Room and we have an excellent Head Waiter Franco, waiter Horacio and met Francesco the Maitre'D all within 5 minutes of sitting down. The service was excellent and the food was hot and tasty. I had the Spring Rolls and Filet of Zander and chocolate flourless cake with Vanilla Ice Cream and coffee.

 

Sailaway Dinner and Landfall Dinner never are my favorite dinners to begin with but it was good tonight.

 

Sailaway from Barcelona at 10:00pm at night is magnificent with all the lights from the city reflecting on the water. The air was warm tonight with a slight breeze as we left the cruise terminal...oddly enough no horn was souded as we left.

 

We then went back to our cabin and started unpacking again and will be an early night tonight as we are in Marseille, France tomorrow morning at 8:30am and it is currently 11:20pm here.

 

More to follow tomorrow from the Grand Princess....nite nite!

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[arlenemilt]

 

 

The two musketers showed up late from being in Barcelona....and headed down to the cabin to learn of a message from the PSD saying that they had another cabin for Javier and I and to contact them...we'll of course we did and they moved us into a CAT BA balcony cabin on Caribe deck which was very nice and our friend gets to keep her cabin since they did not have another cabin that could accomodate the three of us all in one room again....was very nice of them considering this sailing is FULL.

 

So, what I predicted when I spoke to you on Sunday came to fruition. You may now call me psychic. :D

 

I had the Spring Rolls and Filet of Zander and chocolate flourless cake with Vanilla Ice Cream and coffee.

 

Ah.........first night. Filet of Zander is always there. :)

 

 

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

 

 

Good to hear you had an "uneventful" flight across. HA!

Arlene

[T&J]

Good morning from Marseille, France:We are arriving currently along our berth in Marseille, France. Weather here today is sunny and hot at 8:10am it must be already 80F without a cloud in the sky. Javier last night decided to check out Skywalkers at 1:00am and also get a "snack" in the Horizon Court Buffet...me I was zzzzzzzzz at that point only to be woken up to a door slam at 1:30am. Big ambitions last night that I set the wake up call for 6:00am...that didn't happen either as we crawled out of bed at 7:00am instead.Was very quiet on the ship last night and very little movement as well.We all jut finished breakfast in the Horizon Court. The food was OK, but wasn't that warm which is usually teh case with any buffet. We are planning on going ashore at 9:00am as we are here until 6:00pm.More to follow from Marseille, France later today.Tony and Javier

[T&J]

Good to hear you had an "uneventful" flight across. HA!

 

Arlene

Yes A...."Everyone" made it across!Tony and Javier