Grand Princess 10-Day Mexican Riviera Cruise - Photo Review - Jan 9-19th, 2016

[RiahFly]

Enjoyed part 1 very much. Looking forward to more! We will be on the Grand in May, any suggestions on good places to be for Sailaway under the Golden Gate?

Thanks

 

 

I was on the Grand in December. When we sailed under the Golden Gate, I stood on deck 14, all the way forward in the outside area. It was a little drizzly, but so worth it! It seemed like you could reach up and touch the bridge! Hopefully the weather will be nicer in May :)

 

~Kate

[Shaggydoggy]

Your luggage rocks! A true Costco shopper possibly; Black Box wine, Jameson, fireworks! Every TSA dream or nightmare! Can't wait to read more

[riclop]

Loving your review.

[cvpends]

Looking forward to reading more, as we will be on the Grand in March. Love your writing style!

 

When on Crown in December heading down to Mexico, it was so hard to loose those two hours the first two days. But we were so happy to get one back on New Years Eve, and the other back the last night of the cruise. So I guess that was our silver lining, LOL. That cruise was our first time in Manzanillo; the town was small but the turtle sanctuary was fun, especially the part where I got to release a newly hatched baby sea turtle to the ocean. You should have seen my little guy race towards that water. That was some strong instinct at work! It will be interesting to hear what you did in Manzanillo, as that port is new to many of us.

[WinksCruises]

I don't enjoy viewing the Princess Patters and the Main Dining Room Menus ahead of time. For me, it spoils some of the surprise elements of my upcoming cruise.

 

But for others out there who enjoy reviewing this type of information as they prepare for their own voyages - - here you go.

 

These are the dining room selections and Patter pages from our first day at sea. Just bear in mind, your meals and activities lists are sure to differ.

 

We'll return to the review in just a bit...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 30, 2016 by WinksCruises

[shredie]

Thanks for the menu. It reminds me that I'll need to do a Crown Grill reservation for that night. This is one of my least favorite menus, even with the filet mignon. It's lamb for me in CG. I'm one who does like to plan these things.

[judyjudy56]

If you go to the Crown Grill on the Grand ask for Sherwin to be your waiter. He is a hoot. He also works the bar by the International Café in the mornings.

[raider23]

I was on the Grand in December. When we sailed under the Golden Gate, I stood on deck 14, all the way forward in the outside area. It was a little drizzly, but so worth it! It seemed like you could reach up and touch the bridge! Hopefully the weather will be nicer in May :)

 

~Kate

 

 

Kate,

Thank you for your advice, sounds like a good spot for photos and viewing! :)

[WinksCruises]

 

On our first sea day, we experienced sunny but cool weather. Not chilly - like San Francisco - but not exactly sun-bathing by the poolside weather either. The temperature was in the 50s and it was breezy out on the decks making it still too early to pack away the sweatshirts and jackets. Passengers whom we stumbled upon at the pool - mostly shocked Seattle Seahawk fans watching their team’s massacre on MUTS screen – were wrapped-up in blue striped beach towels or red-plaid blankets that the pool attendants were handing out to help them keep warm.

 

To her credit, despite losing an hour’s sleep the night before due to our crossing into the Mountain Time Zone (grumble, grumble), Mrs. Winks was up in time to make a 9 am Zumba class - along with about 50 other hearty dance souls. Skeptical at first, it took only a few dance moves from the Zumba instructor, Mikey, for Mrs. Winks to grant him her “real deal” seal of approval - and the morning Zumba sessions would prove popular throughout the cruise, for both young and old alike.

 

I thought holding the classes in the Vista Lounge seemed like an odd choice, though. The sound system was great, but the spill-over crowd was forced to dance in the showroom’s aisles, which was a little awkward. We were both surprised that the sessions weren’t held up on the sport or pool decks… or even in the Piazza, where the cruise director staff was always force-fitting some inappropriate activity or another (I mean, an egg drop challenge, really?? So classy).

 

 

In the end, Mrs. Winks’ pre-cruise apprehension that there wouldn’t be enough to do on sea days was quickly mollified. We actually found there were TOO MANY fun things to do - often times running concurrently, which led to a lot of tough choice making. One drawback was that some activities required a cruise-long commitment and first day sign-up. Because I didn’t handle the forwarding of the clocks as seamlessly as Mrs. Winks did, I ended up sleeping-in that first day and missed sign-ups for activities like Ukulele lessons, the book club, an egg-drop design challenge and even Princess PopStar (sorry fellow passengers). So if you end up on this itinerary, don’t let the time change rob you of these sign-up opportunities! Be sure to forge through.

 

Scheduling these events became a bit easier thanks to the Princess at Sea app. But unfortunately, Mrs. Winks had accidentally left her mobile phone at home (a whole story in-and-of-itself that we chose to spare detailing you!), so we weren’t able to make full use of it. We couldn’t test the text messaging option, for example, but we did find having an electronic version of the Princess Patter on the phone really helpful. And we could also keep tabs on our spending, as the app also kept a running tally of our cruise balance, which, for us, was running healthily in the black - thanks to our generous onboard credit. The app was free to use (just download it before you go) and made complimentary use of the ship’s internal wi-fi system. As a side note, you can now find that blasted walkie-talkie set I once bought for a cruise now up on eBay, right next to everyone else’s hardly used sets!

 

 

As I mentioned above, curbing our onboard spending didn’t prove too big an issue on this cruise. Before embarking, we pre-paid our gratuities, choosing to lock-in at the cheaper daily rate before Princess’s January 2016 gratuity increase. And thanks to Mrs. Winks’ eagle-eye, we had managed to rack up a sizable onboard credit (OBC).

 

Here’s how it broke down. First off, during our last Princess cruise (The Regal in November, 2014 – you can read all about it using the link in my sig), they ran an attractive OBC incentive for leaving them a modest future cruise deposit… got $200 for doing that. Then, taking advantage of a subsequent Princess booking sale, we locked in our dates and secured an additional $300 OBC. And then we managed to squeeze an additional $200 from our TA (plus a bottle of champagne; did I mention Mrs. Winks is very g-o-o-o-d at what she does!) So, in total, we had a hefty $700 OBC to play with during the trip. (Spoiler alert; of course we burned through all of it!)

 

One sea day afternoon, walking through the Piazza, the ship’s central hub, we found the atrium draped with huge, colorful banners, featuring Mexican calaveras and sugar skull designs. Down at the International Café, servers adorned in serape ponchos and wide-brimmed sombreros were pedaling Dos Equis beer and salsa side dishes, getting everyone in the spirit for our upcoming ports of call. And later on, a mariachi band and traditional dance troupe performed.

 

 

While I had missed the sign-ups for Ukulele lessons, given by Cruise Director Dave Cole - who has expanded doing them beyond the Grand’s Hawaiian itineraries - I was still curious as to what they were like, so I ran up to the One Five lounge to check it out. Expecting to see a couple of lonely souls desperately trying to pick out a tune on this primitive string instrument, I was surprised to see a packed house, all passionately playing along with the chord sequence Dave Cole was guiding them through. It was amazing to see. Especially when Cole broke into a complex rendition of Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville... on ukulele! And I left the group, cursing the hour time-change that had left me sleeping through class sign-ups.

 

 

One of the multi-session activities I WAS able to attend was a series of fascinating seminars orated by a former Aer Lingus pilot, turned flight simulator trainer captain, Ted McCort. He gave an interesting Powerpoint presentation on aviation safety. While a bit long winded (he continually ran over his allotted time, having hardly touched upon the advertised topic!) his talks were as entertaining as they were intriguing. The sizable audience gathered in the Princess Theater was treated to a behind the scenes look at airline safety and the corporate politics that sometimes dictate policy.

 

McCort’s presentation was surprisingly candid and didn’t go far in instilling confidence for those of us facing cross-country flights home after the cruise! - but it was thought-provoking and insightful. My favorite segment was when he dispelled the mythic heroism of Captain “Sully” Sullenberger, the US Airways pilot who had successfully landed his aircraft on the Hudson River after a bird strike took out its jet engines. McCort explained he wouldn’t have given Cpt. Sully’s performance a passing grade had they been re-enacting it as a flight simulator exercise, detailing several major procedural mistakes Sully made, despite his all’s well that ends well outcome. This seminar was filled with great stuff… that it ran over the course of the sea days.

 

 

Next up:

We don’t know… what do you guys want to see? More coverage of ship amenities like the buffet, casino, activities and shows? Or dive right into Puerto Vallarta? Or maybe we should just cut to Disembarkation and call it a day? Let us know in your comments below - and thanks again for your continued readership and feedback.

Edited January 31, 2016 by WinksCruises

[cr8tiv1]

Your direction is fine, any which way you go. I, personally, do not need the patters, menus, foodie photos. Love your style and your photos.

 

By the way, You could have probably joined Dave's class at any time (if he still had ukuleles available).

 

Lucky you, on my 7 day coastal, there was not a one Scholarship at Sea lecture. Thank your cruise director for that.

[bmench]

Everything!

[snow bunny]

I would love more insight as to the activities on the ship! Also would love to know what you did is each port as we have never been to this side of Mexico!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[jwattle]

Keep it coming please, this is wonderful!!!😃😃😃

[partybarbie]

Thanks again for doing the review. One thing that I loved about this cruise was the made to order Belgium waffles. They were outside at the ice cream stand every morning until about 10:30 am.

[illiniwahoo]

Thinking about trying Princess for the first time, so I appreciate the menus, dailies, and your comments. We are looking at the Grand out of San Fran in March. I think there will be some cool days, so I'm interested in hearing about the covered pool? Was it warm enough to swim in? Was the air warm in the covered area, or jus protected from the wind?

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Luvmyrotti]

I'm loving your review. Love that you're posting the menus and patters as well as all of your pictures and commentary. It's awesome!

[west coast cruiser]

Would love to hear about your port experiences. We were on the 12/30 cruise and it is fun to hear your remarks. More comments on the ship also.

Your review is the Best. Thanks.

WCC

[WinksCruises]

Menus and Patters from Day 3 - Monday, January 11th - At Sea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look for another entry later on today....

[cvpends]

Thanks again for doing the review. One thing that I loved about this cruise was the made to order Belgium waffles. They were outside at the ice cream stand every morning until about 10:30 am.

 

This is good to know! Thanks :)

[trystran72]

LOL The living dead!! Too funny. Loving your review!

[cvpends]

This is such a great review. Many thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Winks!

 

I notice from the Patters that the Lido pizzeria closes at 10. I found this to be true on the Star in November, but on Crown in December/January it was open until midnight each day. My husband enjoys his 11:30 slice of pizza, and he doesn't like Alfredos (which I see is open until 11.) This 2-hour differential between Grand/Star and Crown makes me wonder: Who makes these decisions, and why?

[Tedferg]

Looks like the Curtis Stone items have not been added to the MDR menu.

[crzy4cruises]

Loving your review. Keep 'em coming!:)

[SeasideMemories]

I know these reviews must take a tremendous amount of your time and am so happy that you are willing to review your experience for the rest of us to enjoy and learn from! Loved your previous reviews and really looking forward to hearing more of your adventures!

 

Looking at this itinerary for next year, and having never sailed Princess or cruised the west coast, am looking forward to hearing about the ship, the food, what went right and what you would do differently and ports of call. Pretty much anything you are willing to share...lol!

[Silent Penguin]

Thanks again for doing the review. One thing that I loved about this cruise was the made to order Belgium waffles. They were outside at the ice cream stand every morning until about 10:30 am.

 

Oooooh! I hope this is offered on our upcoming Hawaii cruise!