12/18 Grand Princess Review

[Velvet446]

Embarkation:

We live in Idaho so flew into Houston the day before embarkation. My DW and I are professionals in our early 50’s and we invited her Father to come along on the trip. He is a very active 83 year old who still plays tennis regularly. I had pre-arranged transportation to Galveston with Galveston Limo. They're on the web and did a great job for us. Nothing fancy, but they got us there and back. I paid up front with our card and they had us on the list both ways. We stayed at the Hilton and took a taxi over to the ship as we didn't want to wait for an available shuttle. We went over to the terminal at 10:00 a.m., and dropped off our luggage with the porters. They are the guys in the hawaiian shirts with the luggage carts. Just grab a guy, give him your luggage and a few bucks. We then spent the morning on the strand shopping and looking at the ship (drooling). The taxi was 26.00, and the driver said that this was a good time to come over as later in the morning the drop-off line is much longer. He said that one group sat in the taxi for quite a while and ended up with a much larger fee of over 50.00.

The terminal was very busy unloading the Grand and another ship that was in port so we didn't hang around there any longer than we had to. The strand was a good time, we got some last minute stuff for the ship and went back to board about 1:30.

The terminal was still very busy, but there was a lot of counter help and we signed documents, showed our passports and were in line for customs after about 10 minutes. The customs line took about 20 minutes and we were on the ship. Of course lunch was being served in the Horizon Court and our room was ready (Baja 609), and our luggage was already there. I really recommend dropping the luggage off early, and coming back later to board. The atmosphere of the strand and nearby shopping is a lot of fun with cruisers getting ready for the "big trip" We didn't leave port until almost dark which was a couple of hours later than the advertised departure. We watched them load luggage until the very end. I'm sure some didn't get their luggage until we were well out of port.

 

 

 

FirstSea Day

 

We spent a considerable amount of time re-acquainting ourselves with the Grand. This is our second time on her. We loved the first time so much, we booked the Grand again with the same exact room as our first trip. (B609) Baja balconies are completely covered and are some of the most private balconies on the ship. Lower level balconies, while larger, are exposed to those balconies above. The buffet, hamburger grill, pizza gill gave us a nice variety for lunch. We ordered continental breakfast for our balcony each morning. Talk about being pampered. Private breakfast on the balcony is a great treat.

 

 

 

Belize

The Grand has been arriving at Belize in the early afternoon. I would recommend doing a ship excursion at this port as the stop is short and it wouldn’t be a good idea to miss the ship here. I think flights to the next port might not be very fun to arrange. We went on the “Mangrove Tunnel and House of Culture Trip” sponsored by Princess. It was an excellent boat tour of a small river/swamp at the edge of Belize City. We saw a crocodile, king fisher, snowy egress, blue heron, bats, misquitos, and ignaunas. Following the boat tour, we were unloaded at a “convenience store”, Belize City style, and were told that the bathroom was inside the store. It was the con job of the day. Everyone lined up for the one bathroom and many bought things in the store, which I’m sure made some kind of a kick-back for the tour operator. They didn’t tell everyone that there was a bathroom on the bus, and there was also a very nice clean set of bathrooms at the House of Culture that was not advertised at all. The bus portion of the trip consisted of a tour through Belize City which was a typical Central American city, but the House of Culture was an interesting historical snapshot of British Honduras. All in all, this tour is a great way to get acquainted with Belize City.

 

 

 

Grand Cayman

 

We decided to not do an excursion at Grand Cayman as we just wanted to mess around town. At 12:30, we tendered into Grand Cayman. The devastation caused by Hurricane Ivan was substantial and could be seen easily from the ship. The trees were devoid of branches and many roofs were missing shingles and/or had plastic tarps over the roofs. There were four ships in town today, so it was quite the zoo. We didn’t stay a long time as it was pretty warm and we missed the “pampering” on the ship.

[Velvet446]

12/18 Grand Review continued:

 

Cristobal, Panama

 

The pier has a cruise ship terminal with vendors ready to sell. It seems like a pretty new building with lots of room. We were to go on the Gamboa Rainforest Tram at 7:15 a.m. The tours were late getting out as the ship docked about 30 minutes late. We loaded up on 2 air-conditioned buses and had a 1.5 hour drive to the resort. The drive and lecture was very nice both ways. The young lady doing the lecture was very knowledgeable and gave a very descriptive narrative throughout the trip. The Gamboa Resort is quite beautiful. It consists of a very upscale lobby area with bar, fountains, overlook to the Chagres River, gift shop and tour desks. At our arrival we received an iced fruit drink and time to have a look around. The resort consists of buildings previously used as housing for dredging operators and canal workers. It has all been upgraded inside and out for the resort. RCI operates here, and the resort is rated “Gold Crown”, so the quality is quite high. Following a tour of the butterfly display, the orchid display, fish display, and Embero Indian wares for sale, we were taken to the tram loading area. This was an outstanding ride up to the top of a mountain that took approximately 30 minutes up and 30 minutes back down. At the top, there was a tower that we climbed to the top and were able to see the Galliard Cut with ships moving through the canal. We were also able to see the dredging machinery that is always at work, or ready to go to work. The nice thing about the ride on the tram is that each gondola has its own interpreter. There are about 4-5 people per gondola. The private interpreter made it very special. We did see a monkey and tons of beautiful foliage. The ride back on the bus started with our snack. Two turkey sandwiches and a muffin. All people on the ship were notified that many excursions at Panama are not modern and restroom facilties may not be the best. The Gamboa Rainforest excursion was not the case. This is a very upscale tour with excellent facilities at all areas of the trip.

 

Once back to the ship terminal, it was time to buy some mola purses and Panama Hats for gifts and then back to the ship for a cool drink. It was very, very warm. As we sat down with our drinks on our balcony (B609), the Coral Princess surprised us by docking on the other side of the pier. It was a beautiful sight with the two incredible ships side by side. We were scheduled to leave the dock at 3:45 p.m., and as we did, the two ships sounded their horns to each other for a long period of time, probably five minutes or so. It was an emotional departure with passengers and crew waving from one ship to another while the horns kept sounding. It was obvious that many of the crew knew peers from the other ship, and the pride of Princess was pretty awesome. This departure was a very memorable part of the cruise. Princess owned Panama this day and the company has reason to be proud.

 

As we left the harbor, we again marveled at the many ships waiting to go through the canal. There were many waiting in the harbor and many more outside the breakwaters moving toward Panama. As we steamed north, we were reminded that we were on our way home and this trip would be over all too soon. We didn’t dwell on it, but got ready for Christmas Eve dinner. Our waiter, Alvero, and his assistant Emer once again made our dinner very special. Alvero let us keep the Christmas menu for our memory book. We didn’t do Sabbotini’s or the Painted Dessert during this cruise. Our experience in the dining room was perfect. Why mess with that?

 

After dinner, Christmas caroling was being held in the atrium. It was pretty amazing seeing people who didn’t even know one another lined up on all three floors singing together. The cruise directors gathered the children together with the rest of the crew that was assembled and showcased the children’s voices during the caroling. It made for an emotional end to what was already a very memorable day.

 

Cozumel

 

We were to do the Dolphin Swim and Snorkel at Channkannaab Park, but the weather was very blustery and cold. Almost all of the water excursions were cancelled at this stop, so we taxied into San Miguel and messed around for a few hours. This was the day that we heard it snowed in Houston. The Grand docks at the International Pier which is a couple miles out of town and requires a taxi. The taxi is $6.00 and is a worthwhile experience just for the cheap tour.

 

 

Final Sea Day

 

Dinner once again was memorable. Alvero suggested that the Love Boat Mousse was the best dessert, so he brought that for all three of us, but also brought one of each of the other desserts on tonight’s menu. The table was filled with desserts and we ate most of them. We also got a picture of Alvero with all of the desserts. His assistant Emer has also been an excellent waiter. They have made the week very special.

 

Disembarkation:

We had planned to meet with in the DaVinci dining room at 7:15 for breakfast. Calls for immigration had begun around 6:45 for early flights and excursions. We thought that it would be less of a zoo in the dining room and we were right. It was a very nice breakfast. We ordered ham and cheese omelets, breakfast meats, cereal, and rolls. We finished breakfast and enjoyed visiting over coffee/tea until our tag color (silver 5)was called at about 8:30. The Grand unloads from top decks down to bottom decks, so we were some of the first off. Our documentation noted that the ship would be completely unloaded by 10:00. I'm not sure that happened with the bottleneck at immigration.

We stood in the immigration line for about 30 minutes. The line wound through deck seven from the photo area into the Vista lounge where they split the lines into resident and non-resident lines. I only saw 3 immigration officials for everyone, even though Princess had several more tables set up for more officials. This is obviously not Princess’s fault, but it doesn’t make much sense for three officials to check 2800 passengers. Our tax dollars at work. We then waited in the Wheelhouse lounge for about 10 minutes until we were called for disembarkation. It took about 10 minutes to get off the ship, collect our luggage and line up for customs. We had marked our luggage with bright yellow duct tape and it was very easy to find in the sea of luggage. All luggage was placed in tag color areas which was quite organized, with lots of help available from the porters in hawaian shirts. The customs line was about 5 minutes long and we were out. We were pretty worried about disembarkation, but it is obvious that Princess has really cleaned up their disembarkation process since the Grand moved to Galveston.

Once we were out, we went to the Galveston Limo stand as we had pre-arranged travel with them back to the airport. They had our names all organized and helped move the luggage to the vans and we were out of there by 9:45 a.m. Galveston Limo is 50.00 round trip from Galveston to the airport. We were told that taxi was 60.00 to 80.00 one way if you can find one. The ship also has transportation at 33.00 one way. It must be pre-arranged as well.

 

This has been a fantastic trip. We’ve been happy with everything. Our room attendant, Romeo was great. He took care of everything we asked with a smile. There are no complaints about this ship, its itinerary, food, or entertainment. We especially enjoy the balcony room. Our jobs require constant interaction with other people, so the privacy and quiet times are what we enjoy the most. We like to dress up for dinner, and enjoy that Princess sets its standards high as well. We will always go back to Princess, and hope that they keep their standards high and their clientele respects the objective of an upscale cruise experience.

[Coral]

Sounds like a great cruise!

 

Thanks for the review.

[Kruizer]

Thanks Velvet. Every little bit of info is appreciated!

 

Kruizer :D

[NoNoNanette]

Great review. Many thanks for taking the time to post, Velvet.:)

 

How was the food? Did you do personal choice or traditional?

[BirmanCrazy]

Was this a 7 day cruise? Panama is on a 10 or 11 day right? Sounds like you had a great time. I'm looking forward to taking advantage of her being so close to home. I need to get with it and book a cruise! :)

[Velvet446]

Great review. Many thanks for taking the time to post, Velvet.:)

 

How was the food? Did you do personal choice or traditional?

 

Thanks for asking about the food. This is actually a story. We booked the trip a year in advance and requested traditional early seating for 3. The first night we went to our appointed dining room and we were placed at a table of eight. Our personal choice was to enjoy each other and our time together, and not have to visit with eight others each night. No offense. We went to the matre'D and asked for our request. He moved us to the DaVinci Dining room where we had traditional seating for the entire trip at the same table with the same wait staff. No questions asked. It worked out great. If we were going to be late, we let them know and they said, "no problem", the table is yours.

The food was great, not excellent. I can't imagine doing the number of meals that are served on a daily basis, but we felt that it could always be improved on. It seemed more like a banquet type meal than the gastronomic delight that you might expect. We would like to see Princess take some risks - maybe do some regional spicy type dishes along with their specialties.

The other thing we would like to see is have one of the many bars converted to an espresso bar similar in format to a "Starbucks" or other coffee shop variety. I think they would make a mint on this one. We put the idea on our comment card. We'll see what happens.

[Velvet446]

Was this a 7 day cruise? Panama is on a 10 or 11 day right? Sounds like you had a great time. I'm looking forward to taking advantage of her being so close to home. I need to get with it and book a cruise! :)

 

10 day cruise. We like 10 better than 7. I'll bet 12 is better than 10. Or, 20 would be better than 15. Get my drift?

[aamsinuak]

Thank you for the useful information for our trip starting January 15th!