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

[aggieastrosfan]

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.

It's on its way! Let me know if that's him!

[edgars]

I think it is. I will get my wife to confirm.

[morganrp]

We will be on the Grand 1/22-29. Have been on the Star and Sapphire so will be used to the size. We are flying in from Las Vegas on Friday and staying at the Hyatt Airport - will take the shuttle back to the airport and take the transferrs to the pier. Does anyone know what time the transfer busses start running? We should be able to get there early!!

Thanks

Judy

[edgars]

I was wondering the same thing since our flight is coming in around 9:45am. Hopefully they will scoop us up and shuttle us over to Galveston without too much delay so we can get through the lines quickly.

[morganrp]

I called Princess last night. They said that the buses begin departing at 9:30 and it is an hour and a half ride from the airport. We plan to leave the hotel by 9 and head back to the baggage claim area of the airport.

Judy

[saltycaptn]

Hi Houstoncruisers2001,

 

We were on the Grand about a year and a half ago...almost 2. Anyway, I agree the Grand is a beautiful ship!

 

See you on the Grand on 12/3/05. We will be aboard that one! When do people normally set up roll calls?

 

Saltycaptn:cool:

 

 

 

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!!!!!!!!

[aggieastrosfan]

See you on the Grand on 12/3/05. We will be aboard that one! When do people normally set up roll calls?

We've already got one!! Come join us, there'll be a GREAT group on this one!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=111311

[SBBScruz]

I am looking for cheap transfers from Houston to Galveston. Since you have cruised out of Galveston so many times, I thought you might know how I could do that. Do you have any suggestions for me. I am coming into IAH a day early and leaving a day later, so my transfers would be from hotels. I thought about renting a car, but there are only 2 car companies to turn the car into in Galveston that I can find....Is that right? I would appreciate any help you could give me. I finally got a good deal on airfare and now don't want to spend a forture getting to the port. :)

Thanks so much!!