Just back from the Grand 2/5-2/11 #2 Post

[Reneek]

Continuing highlights from the Grand;

WEDNESDAY - DAY 5: Grand Cayman - 10:45-5:45 port time. We were once again tendering to port and I must say it was UNBELIEVABLY unorganized! You would have thought this was the first time the Grand had tendered passengers ashore. We had booked a ships tour for Sting Ray City. We were told to proceed to the gangplank to tender (using Grand's life boats). Went to gangplank and told needed a tender ticket. Went back upstairs for ticket, told to go to Princess theater, back down to gangplank to be told once again to go get tender ticket - HELLO, DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? Finally at 12 noon (tour at 12:15) assistant cruise director in Wheelhouse Bar says he has "straightened it out" - go get on the tender. People were absolutely balistic! Whew - I'm too tired to even do my tour by now. There are over 1000 people milling around/waiting in the Wheelhouse lounge to tender in, we finally get on the tender and the boat has atleast 20-30 empty seats!. ADVICE: go to lounge 1st thing get a tender ticket, don't mention you have a ships tour and just get on the 1st available tender. This tour though nice, was kinda disappointing in that the "snorkle part" was on the sandbar itself (3 feet deep - nothing but stingrays). Book an independent for this one- you'll have a smaller group, lower price, be able to feed the stingrays then snorkle off the nearby reef. There was a half bucket of squid for 100 people that lasted maybe 10 minutes. Going back to ship, had hired additional tenders, but it took over 45 minutes to off load.

THURSDAY - DAY 6 COZUMEL: Aside from the cave tubing, this was our most enjoyable day. This stop was the first time we did not feel "rushed" We disembarked shortly after 10AM, shopped for a short time at the pier area and headed for Paradise Beach. It was a $14 cab ride (for 4 people). Paradise Beach facilities were absolutely pristine-clean modern bathroom facilities, changing rooms, terrific beach service, great drinks, plenty of chairs, umbrellas, hammocks, etc. No admission cost. For $5/person you can also have access to water trampoline, iceberg climbing, kayaks, and snorkling(requires deposit for equipment). Serves great Guacamole with homemade chips (large serving). We had an awesome server, Keato...

Some coral formations when entering water, so take some water shoes.

Plenty of time to enjoy then catch last minute bargains at the shops on the pier. Those price tags mean little at the end of the day....

The 2nd seating dining allows time to relax and regroup at the end of the day, however it can also interfere with the Theater shows. We truly enjoyed the service provided in traditional dining, many said it was hit and miss in personal choice. Missed some shows I would have tried to see, but we were enjoying the company of our table mates. Saw the Broadway show this evening and it was pretty good, however each cruise seems to have same theme. Missed the comedian I had heard was really funny.

FRIDAY: Last Sea Day: ROCKING AND ROLLING since 10PM the night before. Seas 8-14 feet. Never felt ill - saw only a few who felt the effects.

Weather a little cooler and more windy as travel toward Gulf. Enjoyed a pedicure which was worth every penny. Relaxed by outdoor pool (away from the tidal waves in the pool) and watched a movie on MUTTs. Great clarity.

Participated in Jeopardy and Bingo for a change, fun but no wins. Had to pack - ugh. Had a very nice dinner with champagne to celebrate our and our tablemates anniversaries. Even our two teens enjoyed the company of our tablemates who were so entertaining and many common interests were discovered. Donated a twenty or two in the casino.. Teens off to participate in the youth program that was slow to draw them in but ended up really enjoying participating. Very few young people on this cruise (105 from infant to teen). The only person I saw misbehaving was a drunk adult who thought that popping people's celebratory balloons on their doors was really cute. There were a few other people who ran you over with their scooters or habitually used their walkers as battering rams as if those devices gave them more rights than the ambulatory person. Manners are manners whether you have a handicap or not. I am the first to give way, I just strongly object to being rear ended without atleast an "excuse me".

SATURDAY: Disembarkation - is it ever good? We had driven to the port, were not elite, platinum, etc had booked Emerald Mini Suite so were yes, dead last. Tell me why when you have provided everything but a blood sample that you must once again go thru Immigration to disembark. Do they think that you will find someone that actually looks that much like you in the middle of the ocean? We were up at 6:30, finished B'fast by 8, not called to Immigration till 10, disembarked at 11, finally to our car at 12. UGH, UGH and UGH. That 5 hour drive was endless. The Galveston port truly needs someone who knows how to direct traffic. Establishing separate lanes for Large Buses, Shuttle buses and private vehicles would go a long way in providing for orderly departures. The private vehicles were blocking all lanes of traffic as they loaded, took luggage out and reloaded over a 15-20 minute interval. THEN, the porters were blocking lanes of traffic as they went to collect new arrivals luggage or simply stood in the middle of the street chit-chatting. It was Chaos. The port needs to take measures to resolve this situation as it seems to be an ongoing complaint.

OVERALL: Absolutely fantastic cruise. Ship was very clean, however sometimes got whiff of garbage smell and of course the smokers stench. The food was plentiful and good. There were some dishes that were outstanding (Escargot), some good (prime rib), some average (baked potatos). Dining room service was excellent. Room steward was excellent. Deck service for coke card service was awful according to fellow passengers and teens. The servers avoided serving you assumably because no tip would be involved. No problem if you were ordering adult beverages :) DH says coffee was good until last morning. We got no pressure to "give outstanding" on evaluation, but other passengers mentioned being approached and preached to. Tim Donovan was cruise director - others have spoken about him, his staff directed the tendering operations and for the most part bungled this. DH thought many of the pool activites too silly, I love to laugh, see people make fools of themselves etc.. The cruiser population was more of an over 50 crowd and many activities geared toward them. Lots of trivia sessions held at 8 or 9AM. HEY, this is vacation - sleep late, brunch, bloody mary, then trivia. Embarkation was a breeze, disembarkation was long and chaotic. Many asked if I would be sailing on Princess again - absolutely, if they are going where I want to go, have a mini suite (or better) available, the price is right and the boss lets me off.