Another Grand Princess Review - 12/4 - 12/11

[houstoncruisers2001]

Boy, I wish we were cruising this week.....it's COLD in Houston!!! Anyway, on to my review.

 

Background: We traveled in a group of 35 family & friends(from ages 3 to 70), most who were first time cruisers. My wife & I had cruised twice before, both times on the Rhapsody of the Seas and we were really excited about being onboard the Grand Princess.

 

Embarking: Having cruised out of Galveston before I knew of the madhouse that awaited us. I also drive a limo part-time and I have been stuck in the horrible traffic on Harborship Drive many times. We decided to arrive very early and atleast beat some of the traffic. We actually parked, were through security and had our sea cards by 10:45am. It was a piece of cake. We just took seats and waited for them to open the doors. I believe we were all on the ship and in our cabins by noon. Not bad, not bad at all.

 

Cabins: We were on the Aloha deck, rooms 320, 324 & 328. Others in our party were scattered around the ship on the Aloha, Lido & Dolphin decks. I was in A328, an inside quad cabin with my wife and two grandkids. I beg to differ with "want2know", I thought the cabin was bigger than the inside cabin we had on Rhapsody of the Seas. I know for a fact that the bathroom was bigger for sure. Maybe it was the way the limited space was utilized, but it felt roomier to me. Don't get me wrong, it's still small, but I guess I liked the floorplan better than the one on Rhapsody. We also had a problem with the hot water in the shower....it never got real hot, only sorta hot. Our steward, Agnes, did a great job and I have no complaints in that area. I also spent time in D215, a mini-suite. Nice room. In fact, next December we are cruising again on the GP and I'm thinking about upgrading our balcony room to a mini-suite. For this cruise, our inside quad served us well since we had the grandkids and besides, how much time do you really spend in your cabin?

 

Ship: It's a whopper, much bigger than Rhapsody. My comments will most likely mirror the comments that "want2know" made in reference to the public rooms. The atrium, though nice, was much nicer and bigger on the Rhapsody. Same goes for the showroom. I liked the main dining better on Rhapsody too. All that being said, the pool areas are great on the GP and we also never fought for a lounger. It's nice to have fresh water in the pools too. The MUTS thing was real cool. Monday Night Football off the coast of Belize? Wow. Too bad I had to watch the Cowboys. Go Texans. Anyway, the aft pool was the place to hang...for eating, for having a drink or watching the sunset. The indoor pool had its roof open on most days and the spa pool was a peaceful place to be. Although, I was only in the Snookers Bar once, I enjoyed it. I almost forgot I was on a cruise ship. The Skywalkers disco was fun, I liked the layout better than the disco on Rhapsody. I think elevators are slow on ALL cruise ships and I wish the GP had stairs in the middle of the ship. Oh...the hot tubs, not very hot if you ask me. Well, except for the one that was TOO hot. I enjoyed walking the ship, it's beautiful. I loved being outside on the deck 7, very quiet.

 

Dining: We had "anytime dining" and we ate dinner in the Da Vinci Dining Room. Next time, it's back to second seating for us. We prefer same table, same waiter. This was too hard to accomplish with such a large group. We liked the food in the Da Vinci and have no complaints. We had some very good waiters and some no so good ones, so I guess it's hit & miss. I thought the Horizon Court buffet food was decent enough, but the layout of the food lines left something to be desired. Much more efficient at the Rhapsody's Windjammer. Our grandkids LOVED the burgers & pizza by the way. Heard everything was quite tasty. Overall, we liked the food better than on Royal Caribbean, but we thought Royal Caribbean gave better service.

 

Entertainment: We only saw a couple of shows, but we really liked the thursday night production show. My wife enjoyed the wednesday night singing show(Singing Through the Years, I think), but I didn't see it. The comedian, Sarge, was kind of funny too. The band, Deep Blue, played all over the ship and were quite good. The sail away party from Grand Cayman was a GREAT time, but I think I filled my $12 glass beer boot(free refills) a few times too many. Atleast that's what my wife told me.

 

Ports: Belize. Unless you have a shore excursion or just feel a dire need to stand on land, I see no reason to get overly excited about Belize. The tenders haul butt though. Some in our group had a great time on the cave rafting excursion and the rest of us wondered if and when they'd make it back to the ship. Costa Maya. Some of us went into town via cab, some of us did a beach excursion(overbooked, by the way) and some of us stayed within the complex at the pier. Guess what? We ALL had fun. Everyone in our group, no matter what they did, liked Costa Maya. Everyone. Grand Cayman. It sure took a big hit from that hurricane. We went to the exact same spot on Seven Mile Beach that we'd had been to one year early and it looked totally different. We had a blast anyway. The town of George Town seemed to be back to normal though. Cozumel. This place never changes, thank goodness. I'm glad it's the last port. After a day of shopping, drinking and playing in the hot sun, it's alittle hard to make the last formal night though.

 

Disembarking: I HATE disembarking. Everyone just wants to get off the ship ASAP. We had gold #2 tags so we were near the top of the list. Unfortunately, we found out about two deaths in the family while we were in the Immigration line. My stepdaughter-in-law & her sister found out that their brother was killed in a car wreck and my step-daughter found out her grandfather had died. They both died on friday, 12/3. In other words, my wife's son lost a brother-in-law and his grandfather. Needly to say, there were plenty of tears and the wait to get off the ship was made worse by the news of these two deaths. We disembarked, collected our luggage and got to our cars by 9:30am or so. I was sitting on my couch in northwest Houston by 11am.

 

Final Thought: We totally enjoyed our cruise. Like I said, we are going on the GP on 12/3/2005. We feel that a cruiser can't go wrong booking either the Grand Princess OR Rhapsody of the Seas out of Galveston, Texas. Both ships have their pros & cons, but a cruise is what YOU make of it. I'd be more than happy to answer any or all questions concerning either ship.

 

Thanks for your time.

 

Tom & Ann

 

Rhapsody of the Seas - December, 2001

Rhapsody of the Seas - December, 2003

Grand Princess - December, 2004

Grand Princess - December, 2005!!!!!!!!

[cruzinj]

Thank you for your wonderful review;)

 

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise!

 

Happy cruising (and happy holidays),

 

cruzinj

[rsjc]

Glad to hear about your cruise, the only question I have is “ what time would you recommend to arrive on the first day? Will be traveling with my 8 yr old daughter. I would much rather set around an hour with my passes than sit in a line for hours waiting to get them. We live local to the area as well and will be getting dropped off. Our room is up on Lido deck. You had stated that some of your party was on Lido too. Did they have the same color tags as you did to get of the ship?

[soprano]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to post!

[aggieastrosfan]

Glad to hear about your cruise, the only question I have is “ what time would you recommend to arrive on the first day? Will be traveling with my 8 yr old daughter. I would much rather set around an hour with my passes than sit in a line for hours waiting to get them. We live local to the area as well and will be getting dropped off. Our room is up on Lido deck. You had stated that some of your party was on Lido too. Did they have the same color tags as you did to get of the ship?

You will love being on Lido deck! The location just can't be beat.

 

My mom and I were about the 6th and 7th people on the ship, and we started boarding just before 11:40. After 11, the security line started to build pretty heavily, but we showed up about 10:45-10:50 or so, and had no lines anywhere (well, except for the mess outside. :( ).

 

houstoncruisers, glad you enjoyed your trip! Sorry we never got to meet up! Not to scare you, but I think some of our roll call is planning a reunion cruise the first week of December...:eek:

[Paula_MacFan]

houstoncruisers2001 -- enjoyed your review! We were on the Grand in November, and immediately booked Dec '05 when we got home too!

Glad you and your family had a great time onboard...but sorry to hear about the tragic ending to your vacation.

[rsjc]

You will love being on Lido deck! The location just can't be beat.

 

My mom and I were about the 6th and 7th people on the ship, and we started boarding just before 11:40. After 11, the security line started to build pretty heavily, but we showed up about 10:45-10:50 or so, and had no lines anywhere (well, except for the mess outside. :( ).

 

:

 

Did Princess have the check-in process up and going at 10:50 to 11am or did you have to wait a while. Also were you in Terminal 1 or 2 ? we will be leaving out of 1 because we will be the only ship in Galveston that day. Were there restrooms in the terminal to use while waiting to board? Traveling with the daughter & she may need to go if we have to wait a while.

[aggieastrosfan]

Did Princess have the check-in process up and going at 10:50 to 11am or did you have to wait a while. Also were you in Terminal 1 or 2 ? we will be leaving out of 1 because we will be the only ship in Galveston that day. Were there restrooms in the terminal to use while waiting to board? Traveling with the daughter & she may need to go if we have to wait a while.

Check-in was in full force when we got there before 11. They were practically fighting for people to check-in, because it was so slow and everyone was bored.

 

We embarked at 2, disembarked at 1. However, I do remember seeing restrooms available in terminal 1 when we used it in May on Carnival. I'm not sure how Princess uses T1, but it T2 seemed to have more room to hold passengers while waiting to open the ship.T1 was a little crowded, IMO. Again, though, I haven't seen Princess use T1 for check-in, so I can't really compare too much.

[houstoncruisers2001]

oh yea..the check-in process was well underway by 10am or so. The GP switches back & forth between the two terminals. We left out of 2 and came back to 1. I've seen it leave from both. There are bathrooms in AND outside the terminal.

 

I'd recommend being in Galveston by 10am. Geting dropped off IS the best way to go.

 

Lido tags were a different color than ours on Aloha. Our friends got off about 30 minutes later than us.

 

Aggies don't scare me, my brother is one, but I try not to hold it against him.

[rsjc]

You will love being on Lido deck! The location just can't be beat.

 

:

 

 

Being on Lido deck was planned because of traveling with the daughter. We have an inside room and it was around $40 more per person than the standard Plaza inside. We will spend most of our time up on the pool deck, and with the room right there it will make it real nice and convenient. A lot less elevator time.

[aggieastrosfan]

Aggies don't scare me, my brother is one, but I try not to hold it against him.

If you didn't hear this group, then the Grand really is a big ship that can make everyone happy! I thought for sure we were about to be escorted out of the horse race Friday, except two of us actually had a horse in the race...:rolleyes:

[cruisinqt]

Hey, we've booked the Grand for the Dec.3,2005 cruise also!:) I'm glad that you had such a good time. If you've turned around and booked the same cruise again, it's got to be pretty good!

 

BTW, we've booked cabin C419 on the Caribe deck (10). It's right beside the panoramic elevators. Will we hear lots of noise from these elevators? I figure the noise can't be that bad or they wouldn't put all of the suites in that same area. I've got plenty of time to change my cabin selection, so your input would be much appreciated.;)

[rsjc]

Check-in was in full force when we got there before 11. They were practically fighting for people to check-in, because it was so slow and everyone was bored.

 

We embarked at 2, disembarked at 1. However, I do remember seeing restrooms available in terminal 1 when we used it in May on Carnival. I'm not sure how Princess uses T1, but it T2 seemed to have more room to hold passengers while waiting to open the ship.T1 was a little crowded, IMO. Again, though, I haven't seen Princess use T1 for check-in, so I can't really compare too much.

 

Hey, I hope with your cruise over now you decide to hang around to answer questions for us that have not sailed the Grand yet. You have always had nice, good, and useful information to share. I saw the pictures of your cruise from your link and you must have had a wonderful time. I have many questions about the Elation as well, but this is not the tread for that. We may do that this summer. Thanks a lot Robbie J

[aggieastrosfan]

Hey, I hope with your cruise over now you decide to hang around to answer questions for us that have not sailed the Grand yet. You have always had nice, good, and useful information to share. I saw the pictures of your cruise from your link and you must have had a wonderful time. I have many questions about the Elation as well, but this is not the tread for that. We may do that this summer. Thanks a lot Robbie J

Don't worry, I'll still be around! I have to live vicariously through everyone else's cruises until I get my next one booked.

 

As for the Elation, you can either e-mail me from my profile, or post your questions on the Carnival board, and I'll see them. It's still my favorite ship, though the Grand was quite impressive as well.:)

[ptptpt]

So even if they say boarding begins at 1pm, you can get on earlier?

[aggieastrosfan]

So even if they say boarding begins at 1pm, you can get on earlier?

As long as the prior sailing got in and cleared immigration on time, boarding usually starts between 11:30-12:00.

[danuber]

How was the motion of the ocean?

 

We cruised last year in Feb (panama canal - costa rica...) and found it to be a bit rough some days in that area.

 

Are the seas rough on the Grand?

re: belize, costa maya, cozumel, grand cayman

[aggieastrosfan]

How was the motion of the ocean?

 

We cruised last year in Feb (panama canal - costa rica...) and found it to be a bit rough some days in that area.

 

Are the seas rough on the Grand?

re: belize, costa maya, cozumel, grand cayman

I love the movement (gentle movement, not sailing through a storm or anything), so I was a bit disappointed to feel almost nothing. The seas weren't flat as glass by any means, but you'd never know it unless you were looking at the water. Either that or maybe I just didn't really feel it, because you could see some mild motion by looking at the water in the pool. In the evenings there was the occasional movement I could feel, but nothing that you couldn't walk normally through; well, before dinner and all that wine, anyway.:o Friday night was the worst we had, which you could really feel in the Vista Lounge.

 

Skywalkers, on the other hand, was a completely different story. That place was rocking in more ways than one every night!

[edgars]

May I ask who was the cruise director on the cruise. My wife and I (and friends) are going on the Grand 2/19/05 and are wondering if by chance it will be the same CD we had on our Dawn Princess cruise 4 years ago. Unfortunately i cannot remember his name except that he was English and maybe in his early to mid 40s. Any help is appreciated.

[aggieastrosfan]

May I ask who was the cruise director on the cruise. My wife and I (and friends) are going on the Grand 2/19/05 and are wondering if by chance it will be the same CD we had on our Dawn Princess cruise 4 years ago. Unfortunately i cannot remember his name except that he was English and maybe in his early to mid 40s. Any help is appreciated.

It was Tim Donovan on 12/4. He's on vacation at the moment (left at the end of our cruise), but I hear he's coming back in February. Here's the only halfway decent picture I was able to capture (I had major camera problems after I dropped it in Belize.). http://community.webshots.com/photo/231435152/232427300clVgYB

[edgars]

Was he English by any chance? Of course I cannot view the picture at this point because I am at my day job and do not have access for some reason.

[aggieastrosfan]

Was he English by any chance? Of course I cannot view the picture at this point because I am at my day job and do not have access for some reason.

Yep! He had blond hair.

[edgars]

You heard he's coming back in Feb? Is he coming back to the Grand? If it turns out to be the same CD we had on the Dawn, my wife will be very happy. She loved him. I did too actually. Something about the british accent. Can't wait to get home and check out the pic. Thanks a bunch.

[aggieastrosfan]

You heard he's coming back in Feb? Is he coming back to the Grand? If it turns out to be the same CD we had on the Dawn, my wife will be very happy. She loved him. I did too actually. Something about the british accent. Can't wait to get home and check out the pic. Thanks a bunch.

That was just what I heard from another passenger who talked to him the week of 11/27 (about him returning to the Grand after his vacation).

[edgars]

Anyway that you can send me the pic via email. The link isn't working. My wife tried to access it. My email is edgars@frontiernet.net

Thanks.