Grand Review-Egypt & Aegean

[Chesie]

This was our first Princess cruise and in a nutshell, we were very satisfied with the ship. So much so we booked future cruise!

Will post ports/excursions on the appropiate ports of call sites.

So we had a Princess transfer to the ship. We stayed at the Hilton Airport the day before so we were able to just walk over from there. 10 minutes. Met the Princess rep outside baggage. Left at 9 am and was treated to a tour of Rome. We have been there several times before but it was really a nice "refresher" and for the newbies very exciting. Arrived at ship at noon. Over 30 reps to check you in. Bathrooms available. Got through line in about 10 minutes with no problems. EVERYONE on board was very nice throughout the entire trip. Went to our stateroom. E729. Minisuite on Emerald. Ahhhhh, that beautiful extra large fully covered balcony! 2 regular sling back chairs and 2 high back, fold down sling chairs. Everything was neat as a pin. First thing is flush the toilet to be sure it was ok. It was! and check out the rest of the bathroom. Yikes! mold in several places on the bathtube tile grout. Immediately located our Steward. He was very nice and withing 15 minutes had the bleach out scrubbing away.

We had our OBC's and a packet from Princess on the bed. We pre-reserved the eggcrate and they were on our bed and pull out for son. We found the beds very comfortable with them, don't know about without. Robes were hanging up in the closet. We were 3 adults and had plenty of room. Asked for extra hangers no problem. We also gave our steward a tip up front and on the last day besides the automatic. He was very pleased and accommodated us for whatever we wanted and then some. Extra patters etc

We investigated the ship a bit then went to horizon court for lunch. Didn't bother looking for diningroom. We were too excited to be cooped up in a diningroom.

They give you a pocketguide which was quite handy to get the lay of the ship.Quick ref guide for dining rooms decks and hours. Letter regarding Norovirus (will talk about this later on)Coupon booklet.

Our minisuite allowed us to order fresh fruit daily and you had a continental breakfast card also. I love oatmeal. It wasn't on there but took a chance and received it. Coffee was ok not my favorite cup but brought our own brew n' go for the first cup of the morning.

We also had a curise planner. On 1 sheet it gave you the entire itinerary for the cruise which was quite hand. Scotch taped that to the mirror.

Rented tux's for my DH and DS and our steward made sure they arrived. DH jacket was too large so our steward said not to worry. Next day he has a new jacket that fit perfect. Yes gents, many were in tux or at least a suit and tie. Some did not but they seemed to be the odd man out.

Lotus Spa. YIKES are they expensive. Aroma stone therapy 75 min for $195! Did they think their hands our gold? First cruise we didn't bother with a spa treatment.

You received your patter the night before while at dinner.They are very informative and as a first time Princess cruiser appreciated it.

In general the ship was in pretty good shape consider her age. Lots to do if you want

Disappointed we missed Mykonos but it was just too windy and choppy for the pilot to board so we could tender. We docked for all ports. Naples we had to leave the dock at 10:30 am due to dock congestion. Tenders were readily available.

Norovirus - Yep hit 120 people last we heard. It was originally reports the day after Egypt at a count of 13. Next day Captain reported 120. So not sure if it was the ship or what people should not have eaten while in Egypt. But Horizon buffet turned into a "served" area and throughout the cruise there were hand sanitizers available which, unfortunately, many did not use.

I will post our excursions on the Ports of Call section under the appropiate countries so take a look.

I know I probably missed alot but fire away with quetions and I'll do my best to answer. Can't say enough how we enjoyed the shipl, crew and ports!

[cdngrl]

chesie thank you so much. i've been waiting for your review.

2 more weeks and its my turn!

just one question and i'll head over to the ports of call board: does princess offer a shuttle in istanbul from the ship to the grand bazaar?

[wedon110808]

Thanks Chesie!

 

just a couple of questions for now:

what kind of scholarship @ sea programs were offered?

what movies were on MUTS?

 

thanks again and I'm glad you had a good time.

[Chesie]

chesie thank you so much. i've been waiting for your review.

2 more weeks and its my turn!

just one question and i'll head over to the ports of call board: does princess offer a shuttle in istanbul from the ship to the grand bazaar?

 

I didn't see one but we were off and running by 7:30 am

[Chesie]

Thanks Chesie!

 

just a couple of questions for now:

what kind of scholarship @ sea programs were offered?

what movies were on MUTS?

 

thanks again and I'm glad you had a good time.

 

Many computer courses, ceramics, Origami Photo Culinary Arts, Dance and lecturers. They gave us a brochure when we arrived with the entire offering for the 2 weeks.

 

MUTS-Way too cold during the night to watch. I was disappointed because we are real movie goers. Here are some they had running during the day and evening: Italian Concerts, Ironman, Swing Vote, Kit Kitteridge, An American Girl, Maid of Honor, Chronicles of Narnia, Mad Money,Indiana Jones and the Kingdome of the Crystal Skull, The Incredible Hulk, Baby Mama National Treasurer, Book of Secrets and finally, Music Concerts with Elton John and Italian again.

 

Princess Theater did run some of these also and we managed one afternoon to pop in. Also some are on the TV

 

Like I said it was quite cold. Only saw maybe 3-4 people in the pools, more in the hottubs.

[syrena13]

This review is great - we are headed on the same cruise in November and this info really helps. Question - is there an indoor pool on the Grand? I've tried to find that out but all of the info I found has been unclear. Thanks!

[CRUZGAL53]

The Grand as well as most all other Princess ships do have a pool with a retractable roof..so when the weather is bad or cold it is an indoor pool.

[PERRYELLIS]

there is an indoor pool on the Grand. It has a retractable roof for the nice warm days.

[syrena13]

Thanks for the responses - we've been on the Golden and it had the roof, but wasn't sure if other ships followed suit. Thanks for clarifying and I'll be sure to pack my bathing suit just in case.

 

(BTW Joyce I'm on the same cruise - I'm matsie's wife, he's just been the one doing the postings. Look forward to meeting you at the get-together!)

[Chesie]

Yes, indoor covered pool. The Conservatory. However, didn't see only a handful of people in it. It truly was chilly.

[Times Prince]

chesie thank you so much. i've been waiting for your review.

2 more weeks and its my turn!

just one question and i'll head over to the ports of call board: does princess offer a shuttle in istanbul from the ship to the grand bazaar?

We were on the same cruise - Yes Princess offers a shuttle for a moderate fee (I think it was $15). The other option was that if you took a Princess excursion the last stop was at some carpet dealers just outside the Grand Bazaar - which also happened to be the pickup area for the shuttle. We then had the option of going back with our tour to the ship or picking up a shuttle, which ran at 15 minute intervals. With a Princess excursion sticker on, the return trip via shuttle was no charge. We were on the trip that included the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia's, and being able to visit the bazaar was a real experience, one of the highlights of the trip.

[Times Prince]

Many computer courses, ceramics, Origami Photo Culinary Arts, Dance and lecturers. They gave us a brochure when we arrived with the entire offering for the 2 weeks.

 

MUTS-Way too cold during the night to watch. I was disappointed because we are real movie goers. Here are some they had running during the day and evening: Italian Concerts, Ironman, Swing Vote, Kit Kitteridge, An American Girl, Maid of Honor, Chronicles of Narnia, Mad Money,Indiana Jones and the Kingdome of the Crystal Skull, The Incredible Hulk, Baby Mama National Treasurer, Book of Secrets and finally, Music Concerts with Elton John and Italian again.

 

Princess Theater did run some of these also and we managed one afternoon to pop in. Also some are on the TV

 

Like I said it was quite cold. Only saw maybe 3-4 people in the pools, more in the hottubs.

We saw three of the movies at MUTS - two were comfortable for us with the blankets they provide, and the third was OK with double blankets. We also wore our jackets, and I would recommend you bring one for this time of year. The milk and cookies they serve at MUTS are great ! :D

[wedon110808]

We saw three of the movies at MUTS - two were comfortable for us with the blankets they provide, and the third was OK with double blankets.

 

Do you happen to remember what kind of blankets they were? My fiance is allergic to wool.

Thanks!

[Times Prince]

Do you happen to remember what kind of blankets they were? My fiance is allergic to wool.

Thanks!

Definitely wool.

[paia40]

What time was your return flight. I would like to book a 1030 flight rome to ny and want to make sure there is enough time from the ship/customs.

[Coolmama_1]

Great review! Sounds like you had an awesome time!