Grand Princess Dec 17-24 Review (LONG)

[TexasMom2]

This was my third cruise, first on Princess. Previous cruises were RCI Rhapsody from Galveston and Adventure from San Juan. There were things about the Grand that I liked less than the other ships, and things I like more. Within my review will be my personal opinions and some comparisons, some will be more favorable to Princess and some more favorable to RCI. I won't respond if things get nasty.

 

Embarkation - we learned from Lady Jag (not Princess or our TA) that check-in would be at the Hotel Galvez. On the way to the hotel, I got a call from my sister who had just pulled into the Galvez parking lot. She was told by a rent-a-cop directing traffic that she should go to the pier and drop her luggage then take a shuttle back to check in. I told her not to go to the pier, but to park and go inside and we would be there within 10 minutes, around 11:30 a.m. The line was long but we got checked in within 45 minutes and drove to the pier. She dropped us and the luggage off and parked the car. While we waited for her just inside the baggage drop area (cold and rainy outside), we saw several families come in with luggage to check-in who had never gotten the word about the Galvez. Needless to say, some were very upset about taking a shuttle to the hotel (with their luggage) and I have no doubt some of these folks were the latecomers. Once sis rejoined us, we were on the ship very quickly (1:15) and dropped our carryons in our cabins and left to explore the ship. We were aft in A719 (parents) and A723 (sis and I), a convenient location to the Horizon Court, spa and Vista Lounge. For everything else we had to use the midship and forward elevators. While we had cocktails in the Wheelhouse Bar, we watched as people were boarding the ship until late. Some were doing a victory dance as they boarded and some kissed the ground. I'm not sure what time we sailed away but it was after 6:30 p.m. I talked to a family later and learned they had landed at Hobby Airport at 10:30 a.m., used Princess transfers and didn't board until 5:30 p.m. A lot of people complained and as a result, every passenger received a $50 credit. Seas were a little rocky that night and the next day, but not enough to make any of us sick. For the rest of this review, I'll break things up into categories.

 

Cabin - I had requested egg crates and robes for both cabins through the Onboard Services fax line but they weren't provided. We met our cabin steward, Supatra from India, fairly quickly and she took care of it right away. She took really good care of us the entire week so we each gave her an extra $20 for the week for a total of $80. The TV was really nice, the fridge never got cold. Clothes storage was adequate but bathroom storage was not. The mirrored shelves in the bathroom and on either side of the desks on RCI ships hold a lot more. The shower curtain didn't keep the water in and we had a damp floor after the shower. My sister stepped into the bathroom once and slipped, hitting her head and got a nice little goose egg. After we left the cold temps in Galveston, the AC never quite did the trick. As a matter of fact, it was warm all over the ship (I'm a Texan and we like our AC!) The balcony was nice, but the partitions rattled incessantly in the wind. I laid awake almost every night wishing those things would stop rattling. We heard noise above us only once, Caribbean night after the party when they were cleaning up and moving things around. We were still awake so it wasn't any problem.

 

Dining - I'm not a picky eater, so the food to me was really good in the dining room. Some of my favorites were the tenderloin, Beef Wellington, Caesar salad and the desserts, especially the souffle's. Parents had lobster twice (once in Sabatini's) and loved it. We had PC dining which I would never do again. The first formal night we waited 1 hour for a table, but we didn't get there until 8:00 p.m. - got sidetracked by the Onlyne band in the Explorer's Lounge (wonderful!). After that our longest wait was 20 minutes. The service in the dining room was OK, sometimes you would ask for something and have to ask a 2nd time, or 3rd time, sometimes you never got it at all. I wonder if you would get better service in Traditional Dining? We ate at both Sabatini's and the Painted Desert steakhouse and both were excellent. Horizon Court was standard cafeteria food and we didn't eat there very much. The layout of the buffet is weird, much prefer the layout on RCI ships. We either had room service (Continental) breakfast or ate in the dining room. We had burgers by the pool twice and they are excellent.

 

Ports - We were late to Costa Maya but still got in a full day. We took a taxi to the beach and hung out, drinking Dos Equis, margs and pina coladas. Had some wonderful nachos and quesadillas and a 30-min massage - a very nice (and cheap) day. For Belize, my sister and I did the Rendezvous Cay snorkel trip thru Princess. I was afraid to go local because of the short port time. It was raining when we got started and everyone was pretty quiet. When we tied on just offshore the Cay, experienced snorkelers got in the water from the right side and beginners from the left. Right side snorkelers followed a guide on a long trail and a guy paddled around in a kayak in case anyone needed help. The beginners got to knee-deep water and had some instruction then snorkeled to a styrofoam buoy, then another, before snorkeling back. By then the sun had come out and it was very nice. We waded to the beach and had a couple of rum punches and sunned on a mat. Got back on the boat and the rum punch and rum shots started flowing. We went up top where there was line dancing and had a great time. It sprinkled a little but no one seemed to mind! At Cayman, I got in line 45 minutes early for tender tickets and we were at 7-Mile Beach by noon. Our total bill at the Palm Beach Club was $164 for the day, included 4 hamburgers, numerous beers and a "dirty nutty banana" (we call them a banana monkey - rum, coconut, banana). The water is beautiful but I would recommend water shoes, there are some rocks when you first get in that are a little tricky to get past when a wave comes in. There was no line for a tender back about 3:30. For Cozumel, I got in line an hour early for tender tickets and we were on the first tender and at Paradise Beach by 11:30. The beach is in fine shape. We had some wonderful nachos and chips/salsa, beer, and a banana monkey that was the same price as Cayman but in a much bigger cup. Met some nice young men from the RCI Legend, one a dancer and one a drummer. They gave us tons of info on what it's like to work on a ship. Taxied back to the pier about 4:00 and did some shopping. The tender line was long but once it started moving, you got on a tender because they were huge. One nice thing that Princess does is cups of cold water while you are waiting in line. There were some very drunk people in line behind us, teenagers and their parents. We were careful not to sit near them on the tender because the swells were pretty high.:eek:

 

Entertainment - as noted before, Onlyne was wonderful. We saw Cinematastic and it was very good, the only problem was Snookers cigar bar was right outside and the whole theater smelled like stale cigars. We saw another good band the 1st night but I can't remember their name or the name of the lounge. Skywalkers is mostly young people (we are early 40s) so we didn't stay there long. We tried to go to the Caribbean party (leaving Cayman) but the wind was blowing about 30 mph and no one was out there. My sister and I are gamblers so we went to the casino almost every night. Tip to you gamblers out there...if you are a serious gambler, stick to table games where you aren't affected by the play of others, like 3-card poker. I play blackjack and it was frustrating to play with people who didn't have a clue. Blackjack players don't normally give advice unless asked, but we were asked for help by some people and when they started to learn, they had fun because they won money. I won $250 on Thurs night because we filled the table with people who knew how to play or had been learning how to play. I ended up about $500 in the hole. Rebekah (Romania) and J. Jean (Canada) were fun dealers, stay away from Wayne (Wales), rude, rude, rude.

 

Summary - we had a great time on this cruise and definitely were well-fed. I am a happy camper any time I don't have to cook, clean, make my bed or drive myself anywhere. We were afraid seas might be rocky on the last sea day but it was smooth as glass, and warm when we got back to Galveston. The ship is very nice but doesn't have the "wow" factor of RCI Voyager class ships. I missed the Promenade and the wonderful art on RCI ships, and the shower door instead of shower curtain. I learned that I prefer the Eastern and Southern routes over the Western, have a Western planned for September that I may change. I will sail Princess again in July 2007 on Tahitian Princess for my 25th wedding anniversary. I felt like I got a very good value for my money on this cruise and it is very convenient to Texans. A little planning if you want to do your own thing in tender ports will be necessary. Waiting in line isn't so bad because you will meet some nice people. I hope everyone booked on the Grand has a wonderful time.

[bjkTX]

We're on the Grand in Feb so all your information was appreciated. We have been on two previous Princess cruises, but not to the Caribbean, so we know some of the ground rules - but it was nice to hear about your experience!

[houstoncruisers2001]

AC never quite did the trick. As a matter of fact, it was warm all over the ship (I'm a Texan and we like our AC!)

 

We thought our cabin, A502, was a little warm too. Luckily, we brought a small box fan with us( actually, we don't leave home without it). It kept us cool at night and helped quiet all those rattles.

[TexasMom2]

I'll have to remember the fan next time, that's a good idea. Forgot to mention that I went to the spa on the last sea day for the $89 two 25 minute service package and combined for a 50 minute deep tissue massage. It was heavenly and there was no pressure to buy afterwards, worlds different than the blah rub-a-dub on the Rhapsody and hard sell of products afterwards. Also, the massage on the beach at Costa Maya was wonderful, $1/minute.

[crazy4themouse]

We thought our cabin, A502, was a little warm too. Luckily, we brought a small box fan with us( actually, we don't leave home without it). It kept us cool at night and helped quiet all those rattles.

 

 

I learned this trick on the Magic -- I wonder if it would work on any or all of the Princess ships too? I always go and turn the thermostat down as soon as we first get into our cabin, but one cruise the room just wouldn't cool down enough. I had learned from the DIS boards to just call "maintenance" and ask them to please make it cooler.

 

Within 10 minutes, a very nice man was knocking on our stateroom door. He had this little handheld device with him, and he plugged a wire from it into a port at the bottom of the thermostat. He punched a few buttons, the digital readout of the temperature setting went down, and that was it. The cabin was wonderfully cool the rest of the time.

 

Has anyone tried this on Princess? I can't sleep if it's too hot!!

 

-gina-

[Cindy]

We thought our cabin, A502, was a little warm too. Luckily, we brought a small box fan with us( actually, we don't leave home without it). It kept us cool at night and helped quiet all those rattles.

 

This may be something that depends on where you're located on the ship. We were in D311 last March, and our room was always VERY cold. The cabin had 2 thermostats -- one for the bed area and one for the sitting area. I hate to be hot when I'm trying to sleep, and I didn't have any problems.

[TexasMom2]

Cindy, what is a "Mulligan" cruise?

[Coral]

Thanks for your review!

 

I heard embarkation was a mess in Galveston - sorry you had to experience it. My embaraktions in FLL have been excellent and something I think Princess does very well. Too bad you didn't get to experience that.

 

I have to agree with you about PC dining - I do both depending on where I am and who I am with. Service has always been top notch in Traditional dining and hit or miss in PC. Now, I seem to go into PC with lower standards and seem to be more satisified that way because PC service will probably never match Traditional Service.

 

Your review was very balanced with pros and cons of each - thank you for writing the review.

 

Out of curiosity - did you call your TA about the Hotel Galvez embarkation change once you found out about it? I am curious if Princess didn't notifity all the TAs or if TAs were notified and due to several being .coms now that the word didn't get out or what? Regardless if people had been notified - it is still not an ideal situation.

[Cindy]

Cindy, what is a "Mulligan" cruise?

 

In golf, a "mulligan" is a do-over. (We both play golf, and yes, we take more than our share of mulligans! :D )

We're calling our cruise on the Grand this March a Mulligan Cruise because we went on the same trip last March. Sadly, we had to leave the ship early because my dad unexpectedly passed away during the trip. Up until we got the news about my dad, we were having a great time, so we decided to "take a mulligan."

[TexasMom2]

Coral, I called my TA once I heard about the Galvez check-in and she hadn't heard from Princess. There were tons of people complaining that they weren't notified and that may have contributed to the delay leaving Galveston. (The thing about standing in lines is that you hear everyone's gripes....we had an easy time of it compared to others.)

 

Cindy, I play golf, too so I wondered if mulligan was a do-over, or maybe your family name. So sorry to hear about your Dad, that must have been devastating. Enjoy your mulligan in March!

[DrivesLikeMario]

We were on the same cruise as TexasMom in a Grand Suite. We had the easiest check-in I think we've ever had, but, we were in the minority. I think our check-in took a total of 25 mins. including all the paperwork, taking a taxi from the hotel to the port, and then waiting around for the ship to clear so we could board. It was eerily quiet onboard and the ship was delayed for sailing until around 7:30PM. We received a $50 per person credit for the embarkation problems and I think it was MORE than generous of Princess to do that.

 

We did hear of some people having horrible check-in problems, but since we knew ahead of time about the unusual check-in, we made different arrangements and stayed pre-cruise at the Hotel Galvez. I think that made ALL the difference in the world, in addition to paying for a taxi van to take us to the port instead of relying on those massive, slow Princess transfer busses.

 

Our cabin steward for our L-302 Grand Suite was great, and this seems to be typical for Princess. We gave him double what he would've received for the 4 of us and he was worth every penny. The dining staff for Anytime Dining was another thing! They had the worst maitre d's I've ever seen. It made our dining experience a tense, kind-of uncomfortable experience. Traditional dining is so much better with Princess and I wish we had done it.

 

I was expecting a lot of tendering delays and problems thanks to BigTimeCruiser's wonderful reports on the 3 cruises before ours, but was pleasantly surprised. Tendering was a breeze in all the ports.

 

I must say that having the Grand Suite was nice - once. We paid about $2500 more for the Grand Suite than we would have if we had done the usual and got 2 mini-suites for our family. Thus, we paid more than anyone else on the ship, since there were 4 of us, and yet the perks didn't seem to be that great.

 

We've been on 4 different cruise lines in full suites. The only real perk Princess had that's different from the other 4 cruise lines is free internet service. Other than that, we weren't impressed at all. Even our dry cleaning wasn't done well - things were wrinkled and some looked like they hadn't even been ironed at all. The bed was the pits. Nothing at all like HAL's suites. The pillows seemed to be the cheapest we've ever slept on. The hot tub on the balcony and the fire place were nice touches and we enjoyed the extra space. But, for anyone who is considering this suite, I would recommend that they save their money or use it on another cruise line in a Grand Suite equivalent.

 

Like TexasMom said, we lost a little in the casino, but only about $125. If you didn't stay in the Grand Suite, the cruise was a good value for the money. The majority of our passengers were Texans. I couldn't believe how few people gambled, how little the Texans drank and how little they shopped! With the $150,000+ shipboard credit Princess paid out, I wonder how they made any money on our sailing. :confused:

 

All in all, we had a very good cruise with our friends. The ports were really great and we enjoyed not having to wake up at the crack of dawn to go ashore since we arrived later in the morning in most of our ports. Princess does some things really well, but we learned a couple things on this cruise:

1.) We get much more excited about a cruise if we're going on a ship we've never been on (this was our third time on the Grand) and,

2.) We miss RCI! We miss the Promenade, the decor and the beauty of their ships.

3.) Anytime you get away from the drudgery of home & work, you're gonna have a good time!

 

Thanks for your experience, TexasMom. Sorry we didn't cross paths! Maybe on RCI? ;)

[TexasMom2]

Lady Jag, the bar tab for my sister and I was a little over $900 and we spent plenty in the onboard shops and the casino. What makes you feel that the Texans didn't drink or shop?

[DrivesLikeMario]

Yikes! $900? :eek: Wow, at least they made money on you guys! lol

 

What made me say that is that in 12 cruises, I have never seen such empty bars and shops. Not just on one day, but over and over again we noticed how empty the bars & shops were. The casino was finally a little busy the last 2 nights of the cruise, but nothing like we've seen before at all.

 

My statement was meant to be funny; just a generalization, and nothing more. It was our observation that money just wasn't being spent. Oh - and the spa was pretty empty too. It was easy to get appointments, which is rare.

[TexasMom2]

I thought the bars were pretty empty, too (boring). We had wine with dinner every night and that added up, plus it seemed that the drinks in the casino were more expensive than elsewhere. When we sailed the Rhapsody, every bar was always hopping and full of friendly Texans.

 

Did you notice room service charges on your receipt? I had plenty of room service charges of $4-6 and room service gratuities of more than $6 each...we had coffee/Continental 6 mornings. I thought room service was free, but if it's not I'll know better next time.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I can't figure that out, TMom. I've never been charged for room service or gratuities for the room service. We ordered an entire dinner one night and weren't charged a thing. ??? Could you have ordered drinks or orange juice? If so, they do charge for that. Can't figure it out otherwise.

 

Was able to get some incredible sunset pictures. Can't wait to get them into a photo album. Now it's time to start thinking about the next one in less than 3 months! It's the only thing that helps me get over the post-cruise-blues! ;)

[Coral]

Did you notice room service charges on your receipt? I had plenty of room service charges of $4-6 and room service gratuities of more than $6 each...we had coffee/Continental 6 mornings. I thought room service was free, but if it's not I'll know better next time.

 

Did you drink any of the bottled water in your room? This shows up as a Room Service charge.

[TexasMom2]

We did drink a ton of water. Maybe some of the "gratuities" were meant to be entered as room service.

 

I wish I were cruising in 3 months! We have a trip to Cancun planned for May 27-June 3. Hope that Cancun is in good shape by then. I would LOVE to cruise every 3 months when I'm retired.

[CruisingCC]

Hi ladies. Thank you for your great review Texas Mom. We had a great time too. About the "room service" charges on your bill - it must have been for the bottled water. We had coffee + orange juice via room service every morning of the cruise Sunday through Friday with no charges showing up on our bill. Sounds like you and your sister had a great time! I sneaked in the casino a couple of times and won about $500 on quarter slot machines (spent about $70)! Only my second time gambling, the first being on the Grand last year one night where I spent and lost $20. What a thrill to come out on top this time!! What time did you and your sister come to the Caribbean night party?

[DrivesLikeMario]

If you drank the bottled water in your cabin, you would've been charged for it AND 15% gratuity - that's probably where your charges came from. Since they don't have a category called "room bar" or something like that, they probably had to put it under "room service". Does that make sense?

[TexasMom2]

CC&JC, I wish I had won in the casino, but I didn't even try the slot machines, they don't like me :)

 

We got to the Caribbean party right before the band started playing. The wind was howling, it was chilly, and no one was out there. We didn't think the party would actually happen because the band might have had trouble with the wind. Were you there later, and did more people show up?

[TexasMom2]

Some of the gratuities were more than the bottle of water, several were $6.84. It's of no matter, I was just curious so I'll know for next time.

 

Lady Jag, I meant to ask you this....we all booked so early, February for us, and Traditional Dining was waitlisted way back then so we were stuck with Anytime Dining. Is this common? I would definitely want traditional next time. I think the Tahitian Princess only has traditional so no worries there.

 

Well, we booked another cruise today. Rhapsody for Dec 17-24, 2006. I couldn't believe how reasonable the prices were through Continental.com. 1k/pp for Jr. Suite (2 ppl).

[texamel]

TexasMom2 - Every day on our bill we had two charges for each person:

 

RG ROOM GRATUITYD24 3.45

MG MEAL GRATUITY 6.55

 

When I first opened our bill I thought these were for Room Service gratuity also (even though we always tipped for room service in cash) but what I realized is that they are just the itemized automatic gratuity of $10 per person per day. Maybe these were the charges you were seeing on your bill?

[pearlandmom]

Hi there, fellow cruisers! I wanted to comment on the traditional dining, which my family was finally able to get. We booked in January and were told that we were waitlisted for all four of our cabins. Several months later (can't remember when), I checked our reservations online and 3 of our cabins were late seating traditional and 1 was still waitlisted. I called Princess and had to argue with the rep to get her to approve the last cabin. She kept telling me that she couldn't put my parents ahead of other people on the list and I kept telling her that we booked all four cabins at the same time and that our family wanted to sit together (duh). She finally caved and assigned us all traditional. We ate in the dining room all but one night and really enjoyed it. Our waiter was kind of odd (he rarely smiled) but he did a great job. Our assistant, Cosmin, was a real doll! We'd love to see him again sometime.

 

Lady Jag, I agree with your observation. I've been on 6 cruises out of Houston/Galveston and this was the quietest cruise yet. Usually, the Texans on board are whooping it up in the bar, casino and at the pool. One sea day, a cruise staffer had to beg people to volunteer to participate in the pool games!! He was going to cancel and finally several people gave in. It was very strange. The casino was pretty empty most nights too. I did notice a lot of really small children on the ship (several infants), so maybe that's why - parents not wanting to party too much since they were taking care of their kids.

[DrivesLikeMario]

TexasMom2 - Not quite sure, but I know traditional was available when we booked 14 months in advance. I've done Anytime Dining before - when it first came out - and it was fine. Just noticed a big difference this time. I think they really try to push people into the Anytime Dining, as the traditional slots do fill up quickly, especially if an agent has a large group cruising and they've blocked off a large section of seats. :(

 

Are the gratuities that Texamel brings up the ones you saw on your shipboard account? If so, that's the normal $10 per person, per day tip charges, just broken down.

 

PearlandMom - I kept wondering, "What in the heck are these people doing? Am I missing something?" It was such a quiet cruise considering it was Christmas break and there were 720ish kids onboard! Don't get me wrong - it was NICE! :D

[TexasMom2]

Texamel, I think you probably hit the nail on the head. Those numbers add up to $10 perfectly and they were there each day.