Somebody sell me on the Grand Princess...

[jimbug]

Hi everyone,

I took my first cruise this past summer on the Sapphire to Alaska, had a fabulous time, and I am now officially addicted to cruising! :-)

 

Anyway, we are planning another trip to the Caribbean next spring and I need a little help deciding which ship to take. We are within driving distance to the port in Galveston and so our choices are limited to the NCL Sea, Grand Princess, RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas, or Carnival Elation.

 

Since I had such a wonderful time on the Sapphire, it would normally be a hands-down choice for the Grand, since they are quite similar ships. However, I am really kind of wanting to try something else out just to see what the other lines are like, and then eventually come back to Princess if I feel so inclined....but I'm leaning either way right now...so...

 

What I need is for some of you Princess faithfuls to give me some good reasons why I should sail with the Grand and not these other ships. Price is not really the deciding factor here, since they are all within a couple hundred bucks or so of each other.

 

Please help and thank you for your input!!

[srphnx]

Sorry, no selling here.. Rhapsody is a very nice ship and I think well rounded Princess fans should have background on other lines... so I DARE you to try RCI.

[sue d. miller]

She would sell herself. She is a beauty. A large ship with lots of intimate spots, thanks to the design. the dining rooms are smaller, so you have a quiet, elegant setting. Great entertainmet, Lots of lounges and bars and show rooms. Food s great, and 24/7 buffet, freshwater pools and hot tubs, and a view off the back of the ship to die for!!! :)

[HighRoller]

WE'll I love the Grand sailed her twice in the Meditteranean and is a very nice Grand Class Ship...last RCI was in 1991 on the Sovereign of the Seas and was my last time on RCCI.

[spongerob]

Sailed the Grand 3 times already, going back for a 4th in December. I had considered Rhapsody prior to the news that the Grand was coming to Galveston. Didn't take me long to make my mind up.

[Colo Cruiser]

We haved sailed her 5 times and loved it everytime. You should have a heads up after traveling on the Sapphire. Maybe the Rhapsody will come a little close but NCL and Elation will not.

[mom2three]

Hi everyone,

I took my first cruise this past summer on the Sapphire to Alaska, had a fabulous time, and I am now officially addicted to cruising! :-)

 

Anyway, we are planning another trip to the Caribbean next spring and I need a little help deciding which ship to take. We are within driving distance to the port in Galveston and so our choices are limited to the NCL Sea, Grand Princess, RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas, or Carnival Elation.

 

Since I had such a wonderful time on the Sapphire, it would normally be a hands-down choice for the Grand, since they are quite similar ships. However, I am really kind of wanting to try something else out just to see what the other lines are like, and then eventually come back to Princess if I feel so inclined....but I'm leaning either way right now...so...

 

What I need is for some of you Princess faithfuls to give me some good reasons why I should sail with the Grand and not these other ships. Price is not really the deciding factor here, since they are all within a couple hundred bucks or so of each other.

 

Please help and thank you for your input!!

Because I'll be on it :D :) :eek: :rolleyes:

[yancycruiser]

I agree with Srphnx. Give RCI a try. In my view, it is a great cruise line. We cruised on her sister ship Grandeur of the Seas and also on Grand Princess. Grand is larger, however, the RCI dining rooms are fantastic.

I give both very high marks in all area.

[Kallen]

We loved the Grand, but I agree with Srphnx and you should try all of them with no guilt whatsoever. A happy cruiser is one who is at sea, regardless of line (I hope).

[mrsjoey]

My husband and I have been on the Rhapsody of the Seas 3 times out of Galveston and went on the Splendor of the Seas April 04 from Galveston. We love RCCL. We have had an awesome time on all 4 cruises. But, we are going to check out the Grand April 2,2005. I do recomend the Rhapsody of the Seas I will sail on her again. We want to try something a little different. Being that we have only gone out on RCCL we are kind of parshall,but something new can be good too. Good luck on your choice!!!!!!!!!!

[Northender]

The Grand is a wonderful ship and we sailed her for our first cruise. Absolutely fantastic. Nice size, great atmosphere in the dining areas. Beautiful promade deck and the crew was the best. The lounges had wonderful entertainment and interacted with the passengers. Good excursions. Food was very good. Adult areas for relaxing but plenty to do for kids of all ages. We are doing the Star April 2005 - same class ship.

 

What ever you decide to do, enjoy :)

[Stevie17]

There is no comparision between the Grand and NCL Sea.....the Grand wins hands down. The Sea was built in 1988 and in my opinion, truly shows its years. This was the first cruise that we ever took, and we really had a pretty lousy time. We truly did not like this ship at all.

 

The Grand, on the other hand, was lovely. I can't comment on RCCL because I've never sailed with them. Good luck with your decision.

[geoherb]

We were on the Sea back when it was the Seaward in 1989. Once we tried RCI, we wouldn't go back to NCL. Perhaps things are different now with freestyle (but one of the things we like about Princess is that we traditionalists can still have traditional dining, while others can do PC).

 

I'd gladly take a cruise on RCI again. We haven't been on any of the newer ships. The ones we were on were the Sovereign and the Nordic Empress (now the Empress of the Seas).

 

We went on the Grand last December and had a great cruise. If the prices were the same, I'd choose it over the Rhapsody even though I like the Rhapsody's itinerary better.

 

Our past four cruises have been on Princess. But even though we have a deposit down on an open booking, I'm looking at cruises on Celebrity and HAL for our next cruise. We have until December 2007 to use that booking.

[AmyinGA]

We've been on the Grand twice and we love her. I'd go back on her in a second. Go variety of activities, entertainment and relaxation. We never felt crowded. It was a big ship but after a few days it felt more like I was in my own neighborhood.

[duckygirl]

We too considered those other lines out of Galveston and we ended up picking the Grand. I believe that the NCL ship does not have balconies, and RCL was more exspensive. We had a wonderful trip on the Island so we decided to stick with Princess.