Recent Grand Cruisers

[kool kruiser]

There seems to be an absence of reports on this summer's European sailings. Is there anybody out there who has returned from a trip this year who is happy to share their experiences with us.Any tips for those, like me, who are going this year would be most appreciated

[mountainhouse]

Was thinking the same thing. This was a good one:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=198064

[spongerob]

An absence of news is good news. The "great cruise" threads tend to move off the first page quickly. It's the "We'll never sail Princess again!" threads that have a life of their own.

[mountainhouse]

Maybe that's good....otherwise the ships would be more crowded. :D

[cruiseaway]

Those cruises are so port intensive it probably takes a while to recover! We are counting down until our sailing on the Grand next summer. Also looking forward to this year's reports.

[rwdtgb]

Hello all

 

Just returned from the June 7th Grand Venice to Rome. I am in the midst of moving so haven't posted a review yet but will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.

 

Tom

[kelleya]

If you check the roll call thread for the Grand Princess June 7th trip you'll see some reviews there. There is also one from that same trip posted on the Europe thread.

[Mrpuck]

Okay, in response to the original poster, I was on the May 14th Venice to Barcelona cruise and here is a brief recap. Venice was great! We spent three days there pre-cruise and I wouldn't hesitate to go back. It is somewhat expensive (not nearly as expensive as Florence), but not too bad. Just walking the streets is fun. The Grand is a beautiful ship and well cared for. We particularly enjoyed going to the Wheelhouse Lounge and listening to the Barnicles. The Grand has Texas Hold'em poker also. We had a Caribe deck balcony room, and it was just perfect. Nice sized room and a great balcony. I don't really have anything bad to say about it at all. I did notice that all of the arguements between passengers seemed to be about the coin-op laundries. Apparently, there just aren't enough facilities for a cruise that long. They wouldn't be an issue on a 7 day cruise. The food was fine and the service was at least adequate or better. Everyone seemed to really enjoy MUTS. The screen resolution was excellent.

 

This cruise was very port entensive. It was especially trying when it came to getting to areas far away from the actual port (Sorrento, Rome, Florence). The travel back and forth takes a good chunk of the day, and with so much to see, you're really rushed. It's just impossible to see all the things you need to see in a place like Rome in that little bit of time. We spent 10 days in Rome in '99, and there are still things there I haven't seen yet.

 

Athens was very smoggy and just a crowed big city. However, don't miss the changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace. Hiring a taxi guide (walk away from the port first....it's cheaper) is an efficient way to see the city.

 

Kusadasi was very nice. High pressure sales, but that's everywhere. Epheses was very interesting.

 

Istanbul is also unique. See the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sopia. They're right together. The Grand Bazaar is a must, just to experience such a place. I was disappointed not to make it to Topkapi Palace. We could have used more time there.

 

Mykonos was beautiful. It was very clean and picturesque. I could spend a week there just relaxing.

 

Naples was dirty and has some safety issues. I had my camera stolen on the bus from the train station, but I knew what was happening and I got it back. We went to Sorrento, which was quite nice. Check out the wood inlay work there. Pompeii was also very interesting. It's a "don't miss". We had been to Capri on a previous trip and it's quite a nice place to visit too.

 

Rome is just to vast to see in such a small amount of time. It does appear that they have cleaned it up quite a bit since my last visit. Pick out a few things you must see, then if you have any time left, take on some others. Allow plenty of time to get back to the ship. If you take the train, remember that it's a long way from the front of the Termini to the actual trains...a long way.

 

Florence has some beautiful architecture and artwork. Bring money. It's also about an hour and a half from the dock by train.

 

Marsailles looks good from the dock, but I hear it's like Naples. We took a tour to Aix-en-Provence. Nice little town, but nothing to scream about.

 

We really enjoyed Barcelona. We stayed there three days after the cruise and got to look around a little bit and finally got to rest a bit too. The Sagrada Familia was really impressive. It may or may not be finished in our lifetime, but it is certainly something you can't appreciate until you're there. Las Ramblas is very lively and should be seen at night, if possible. It's just a very beautiful, very European city.

 

Any other questions, just ask.

[heyheypaula]

You mentioned that you had a balcony room on the Caribe deck...Which room? My DH and I will be on the Grand in December and are in a balcony room on the Caribe--C641...I enjoyed your post very much! My DH and I have considered a cruise similar to the one you took.

[AliceS]

Do check out the June 7 Grand Princess Greek Islands thread. I wish that I knew how to connect you there, I don't. It's in Roll Calls. You will love the information there.

 

 

We just got back and it was GRAND!

[Mrpuck]

You mentioned that you had a balcony room on the Caribe deck...Which room? My DH and I will be on the Grand in December and are in a balcony room on the Caribe--C641...I enjoyed your post very much! My DH and I have considered a cruise similar to the one you took.

 

We had C738 (next to last on the port side). Really nice and quiet.

[kerrydee]

we were on the 5/2/05 sailing. i couldn't figure out why the roll call had so few people when the ship was sold out. there were very few americans, that's why. the announcements were only in english so they didn't cater to the europeans, i still cannot figure that out. the weather was just great. early may is really the time to go.we had a wonderful time and loved everything. i had been on the ship in 1998, when it was new, and it still looks the same. it had just been refurbished but many areas looked tired.

[kool kruiser]

Thank you all so much for your contributions thus far. Has anybody any further details on on-board entertainment, CD, etc e

[momofkipper]

We just got back Saturday from a 12 day Grand Princess Mediterranean voyage. Most importantly, the ports were fabulous and we had a wonderful, wonderful time. Looking back, its hard to decide which port we liked best. Here are some high and low lights:

 

We took tours in Naples, Ephasus, Santorini, Korfu and Olympus, and would highly recommend all but Korfu which was a bit of a yawn. Ephasus is phenomonal but so is, of course, Pompeii and Akritiri in Santorini. If we had it to do over again, we'd do Akritiri without a guide, and just rent a car in Santorini. That's what our friends did -- they just followed the tour bus-- and they got into the Akritiri ruins with just a regular ticket. We rented a car in Monoco and drove through Nice and on to St. Paul du Vens--wonderful day, but spoke with people who took the train down to Cannes. They raved about their experience. Not so for the people who took the train into Florence. They almost missed the ship! Word to the wise: if you're not doing the (costly) ship tour to Florence, go online early if you want tickets to the Acadameia and Uffizzi. We waited until three weeks ahead and couldn't get tickets to the Uffizi.

 

Another highlight was sailing into Venice-- was a once in a lifetime thrill -- absolutely beautiful way to arrive in this great city.

 

Someone I met by the pool canceled her Ephaseus tour to go in on a private tour there. She raved about that decision.

 

This was our fifth Princess cruise (Star--old, Dawn, Golden, Regal). Last year, we did a shorter but similar itinerary on Celebrity. We found the food on Grand was great both at dinner and the Horizon Court. We had anytime dining, and waited for a table for 5 for about 15 - 20 minutes every night. (7:30 - 8:00). We dined one night at Bottacelli -- too much food --although Lobster was excellent-- and wait staff was uneven. Same true for dining room -- maybe it was a new wait crew. Polite but uneven.

 

Good news: We arrived via ship transfer at 11:00 am and thankfully they let us on the ship, very efficiently. We watched as they loaded our luggage on the truck, so we knew it had made it out of the airport. Bad News: Our luggage wasn't fully delivered until 8PM. That wouldn't have been so bad had we not been practically mugged at sailing for all the staff soliciting drinks on deck. Left a feeling that they could have reallocated staff a bit to make sure luggage was delivered, first things first.

 

Our Aloha deck balcony room was very small. Our friends on Dolphin had a much larger room, and dollar for dollar paid less than we did. The advantage to Aloha was the privacy, as anyone on the lower decks could be seen from all the above balconies. The bathroom door never did lock, reflective of the ship's age. It's a grand ship, but is starting to show wear.

 

I hate to say this, because I guess we're spoiled, but the quality of service on this ship wasn't bad, but it was tired. Pursers were a little snarly; wait staff not very polished. In any other setting we'd probably be happy, but having only experience one other non excellent crusing experience (12 years ago) I can say I'd think twice before recommneding this specific ship.