Back from the Grand March 12 - 19

[Baxter]

Well, we made it back, safe and sound. We love cruising; this was number 3 and we plan to sail many more times. We took my parents, who had never sailed before (55 and 57) and my stepson (10) who also was a first timer. It is interesting to compare notes.

 

Overall, we had a wonderful experience. I won't ever sail during the spring break months again, but it wasn't unbearable. 700+ kids on board. That in itself wasn't the problem. As usual, we can thank the parents and the bars in Mexico for the problems. On day 1, my husband and stepson were in the pool, and a little girl (probably no more than a year and a half) was wandering by herself near the pool and inadvertantly fell in. She was under the water for a bit, and the parents were no where to be found. It took another child to pull her out. So things like that, plus the drunken teenagers who couldn't walk back on board after stopping at the different ports of calls. To cope, we hung out at the back of the ship. Perfect...it was quiet.

 

From our experience, the service at dinner left something to be desired. I should mention that we had early traditional dining. My parents (again, who hadn't cruised before) thought it was absolutely outstanding. And it was the stupid little things that we noticed. Drinks were not ready for us when we arrived. My stepson had to continually show his soft drink card. I had to keep getting up for the pepper grinder. You hate to mention these things, because they certainly didn't a damper on anything, but these are differences from previous cruises. My parents thought they were treated like royalty. We brought 2 bottles of wine on board and were not charged corkage.

 

The port stops were decent...we hadn't sailed the Western route before, so it was all new. That said, been to one port, been to them all, it seems. There were 9 ships in Cozumel on Thursday, and actually it wasn't that bad.

 

MUTS...we went once. An interesting concept, but I'm not sure how popular it is. You could always get a chair. We enjoyed it, but I don't generally go on cruiseships to watch movies.

 

Overall, we had a fabulous time. We always do. I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have.

[Hondu]

We too were on your cruise. DW and sons(12 & 10). We have nothing to complain about. This was our 16th cruise since 1996 and 5th on Princess. It was our kids second cruise. They prefer the Grand over Grandeur of the Seas that we sailed on last December.

 

We had Anytime dining for the first time ever. Even with the wait, it was much better than traditional dining. I never believed that I would say that. What we found was that we no longer had to pay attention to the clock, to be dressed by a certain time to eat dining room. We swapped between the Da Vinci and the Michaelangelo nightly. We had one waiter that was kinda slow. But Simion from Romania and Sergio from Italy were great. All 4 of us had dinner together nightly except for the last night when we allowed the boys to do the farewell activities with with the other kids.

 

We saw many people enjoying MUTS and it seems be a great alternative for daily entertainment. Our kids did not care for it since they wanted more active entertainment.

They went to the kids' program and at other time we enjoyed several family activities: golf, paddle tennis, pool, pinpong, shuffleboard,

I won second place medals twice in ping pong tournaments, and another in shuffleboard. My boys got one first place medal in shuffleboard and a second. Great souvenirs. They brought home stuff animals, beaded crocs, and necklaces that made, and personally designed tees from the kids program.

 

The Grand does have a problem reaching Belize on time. Our tour was suppose to be 5 1/2 hrs. but we did not reach the tender dock until 3pm and got back at 6:30pm. Even with the shortened tour to Altun Ha and city streets, the tour guides were very talkative and informative. Our boys likedthe history lesson.

They had an even better time on the beach in Majahaul and at 7 Mile beach. We don't care for Cozumel, been there done that. So we just bought a few items from the duty free shopping mall and went back onboard.

 

We were on Aloha deck, aft, with easy access to the aft adult pool, Horizon Court one deck up and the ping pong table another deck up.

 

We are now considering doing Spring Break again on the Grand in 2006.

[cjml]

We just returned from the March 12-19 Grand Princess. We could not have had better service in dining. Alicia and Sakorn in the fixed dining anticipated our every need and were most attentive. We will sail the Grand again and again. However, our room stewart, Joao, was not always a happy camper but everyone has a bad day now and then. Overall, it was a great trip and I would do it again anytime.

[Northender]

"On day 1, my husband and stepson were in the pool, and a little girl (probably no more than a year and a half) was wandering by herself near the pool and inadvertantly fell in. She was under the water for a bit, and the parents were no where to be found. It took another child to pull her out. So things like that...."

 

Am I missing something here - why didn't your hubby or son grab her.

As I said, maybe I am missing something. I apologize if I am reading this incorrectly.

[CariBlue]

"On day 1, my husband and stepson were in the pool, and a little girl (probably no more than a year and a half) was wandering by herself near the pool and inadvertantly fell in. She was under the water for a bit, and the parents were no where to be found. It took another child to pull her out. So things like that...."

 

Am I missing something here - why didn't your hubby or son grab her.

As I said, maybe I am missing something. I apologize if I am reading this incorrectly.

 

Maybe they were on their way to get her. They could have been on the other side of the pool when they saw it happen and yelled for someone to grab the kid.

[Baxter]

No apologies necessary. It wasn't until other people started screaming that my husband turned around to see the child under water. He saw her playing around the side of the pool, thought it odd that she was unattended but went back to playing with his son.

[Northender]

Thanks, Baxter.

[Dgius]

How were the seas? rough? we leave this saturday the 26th. =dgius=

[Baxter]

I thought it was smooth as silk. That said, Royal Caribbean was not able to dock in Costa Maya, and our snorkelling excursion was cancelled. I think the largest I saw on the info channel was 4 to 8 ft waves. For me, it was the first dramamine-free sailing!

[rsjc]

the week of the 5th the grand had 614 aged under 13 and 300 13 to 18. for a total of 2998 . the ship never felt crowded. all the kids were fine no problems.

 

one night heading over to Cayman we had 13 ft sea's, no big deal but made the daughter feel ill during diner.

 

by the way we missed cayman too. the waters were to rough. they said the wind was blowing 35 mph

[dog]

I posted a few comments on the March 12th Grand roll call.

We had a great time. Wasn't bothered by any unrully kids, but then we spent a lot of time on our aft balcony. :D

[Linkslady]

We too were on the 3/12 sailing. We had a PH Suite and had room service for all our meals.. ate out on our balcony when we could!

 

We had a great cruise! Although there were alot of kids / teens on board we never saw any misbehaving... but we didn't go to the disco either!

 

We snorkled in Belize - Rendevous Cay and wouldn't do that again. I would rather snorkle in Cayman or Cozumel!

 

Costa Maya we hit the beach and ate nachos at Tappas Bar. We had a few beers... and yes we did see some under age drinking going on, but nobody that was really out of control..

 

Grand Cayman we just walked around down-town and did some shopping. Ate at Hard Rock and walked to Eden's Rock.. I would visit there my next time. You can eat, drink and snorkle a stone's throw from the dock!

 

Cozumel we played golf until the front hit! Whew! Lots of wind and rain!! Then we headed to Fat Tuesdays until we boarded the ship.

 

I felt the seas were fine - a little motion the first couple of nights, but nothing worth mentioning!! Besides the rain in cozumel we had great weather!!

 

The "Youth Security" was doing a great job and they definitely check ID before letting anyone in skywalkers...

 

Met some people from our roll-call!! Great Cruise!!

[aggieastrosfan]

Alicia and Sakorn in the fixed dining anticipated our every need and were most attentive.

 

Oh, no! Sakorn was our asst. waiter in the Michaelangelo dining room in December. We ate with him and Karol every night, they were fantastic!

 

I was looking forward to seeing him again, I'm bummed to hear this, but glad you got to enjoy him. I really hope that doesn't mean that Karol has moved to traditional; I think I'll cry if that happened.

[hooked-on-travel]

Aggieastrosfan-

Your worst fear is true. We asked for Karol from Poland in the Michelangelo dining room and they seemed confused since he was in traditional. So we never got to meet him. But we could recommend Julian from Romania in DaVinci if you like perfection and efficiency. Or Leon from South Africa in DaVinci if you like that with fun humor.

 

As for the rest of the cruise, it beat being at work, but did not meet our expectations. The bulk of that was a lousy cabin steward. I expected one beach towel per person to come with the room. When we got there, we had two. The first evening I used one bathroom towel, but Oscar didn't make the room up while we were at dinner and a movie. (He might have known we were gone if the room came with a "do not disturb"/"please make up room" sign.) The next morning we both showered, so we used one beach towel and the other bathroom towel. When we left for breakfast he made up the room and took away both the used and unused beach towel. We were never given a beach towel without begging for it again. I left notes saying I wanted one for each of us every day but sometimes we still had to call to get one. I wasn't asking for an extra towel...just one per person.

 

I also expected used conditioner to be replaced. I left a note giving my expectation and still had to call sometimes. We weren't usuing more than two packets a day for the two of us and I didn't pack any away to bring home. If there's an empty packet in the trash, isn't that a good sign that the guest used it and might like a replacement?

 

But the straw that broke the camels back was about pillows. On day one when he introduced himself we asked for three extra pillows. We explained that I was pregnant and it took quite an arrangement of pillows just for me to sleep. At home it takes 6 to be really comfortable, but I didn't want to be greedy on a full ship and so I thought I could make due with 5. Since two come already in the room, I asked for three extra. Oscar brought two that evening and promised to bring the third the next day (Sunday.) By Wednesday morning I was bawling (call it a mix of pregnancy hormones and sleep deprivation) that I was happy to be on vacation but I wanted the cruise to be over. I just wanted some sleep. With my four pillows I could sleep when exhausted, but not when merely tired. That was working out to 6 hours/night and none during the day. Six hours is enough for a teenager, but not me right now. Why did I let it go that far? I kept thinking he'd bring the pillow the next day (and see the comment above about the hormones and sleep deprivation.) My husband gave me both of his and slept on a towel once he discovered the state I was in, and that morning I left a note for Oscar reminding him that I was still waiting for the pillow he'd promised four days earlier. But to get to that point is inexcusable. Oscar's tip suffered and so did Princess' reputation with us.

 

That said, the time in ports was great. We did independent excursions (with info we got from these boards) and everything worked beautifully. Perhaps the best find was Ivan, who took us to the Mayan Ruins in Costa Maya. (See more on the Costa Maya board.)

 

In summary, we enjoyed our vacation, but Princess doesn't have to worry about pleasing us ever again.

[aggieastrosfan]

Aggieastrosfan-

Your worst fear is true. We asked for Karol from Poland in the Michelangelo dining room and they seemed confused since he was in traditional. So we never got to meet him. But we could recommend Julian from Romania in DaVinci if you like perfection and efficiency. Or Leon from South Africa in DaVinci if you like that with fun humor.

 

I had a feeling that was going to happen, but thanks so much for trying. At least I know where to look for him now. I'm sure it's a good thing for him, anyway, since he'll probably get more in tips this way. Hopefully I can sweet talk the Maitre'd of the traditional dining room to at least let me know when would be a good time to stop by and say hello to him, or find out when he's working lunch. Why did I have to be so generous on that comment card?? ;) Thanks for the recs on waiters, I'll look for them. :)

 

Sorry to hear you had such an awful time with your steward! I don't blame you one bit for reducing the tips. Now I'm a little anxious. The only reason I can't sleep is because of the 4-5 bathroom trips I have to make every night, but who knows what'll come up in the next two weeks? :confused:

 

Here's to hoping your next cruise is a better one, and best of luck to you in the rest of your pregnancy! :)

[Linkslady]

Hooked, that's terrible that your steward ignored your request. If it was me, I wouldn't have waited 4 days though... the 2nd night I'd be at the pursors desk complaining and waiting for my pillows!!!

 

We had a great cabin steward.. we even asked for and received theraputic pillows for my hubbys neck... our steward was very consious of when we were in and out of the cabin. He was always bringing us ice etc. and always did a great job... We always had fresh towels AND beach towels... We even tipped extra (even our teens had a great steward!!) I think you probably got the WORST cabin steward ever!!! Good thing you pulled your tips!

[dog]

We were on this cruise as well. As soon as we arrived in the room I placed a call to Nestor our cabin steward....left a message for him to contact us.

I then left a note by his name plaque and requested the 2 lounge chairs for the balcony.

We went to Horizon for lunch, came back, introduced ourselves to Nestor, gave him a tip, mentioned the chairs and he had just finished putting them on our balcony. :)

Anything else we requested was done right away. Guess we were lucky. Loved the spaciousness of the Grand. Hope to sail with Princess in Tahiti in 2006. Trying to get information about this.

[BakerLane]

We were also on this sailing. There were six of us in our group, all first timers. I had read lots of good info on cc and talked to friends who had cruised before and I thought I was as prepared as could be. Worst thing I did was book our rooms before I read, but...oh well. Location is everthing if

you are the least bit prone to motion sickness. Aloha deck, first 3 rooms forward was a huge mistake. We did enjoy the balcony, but the motion there on a couple of nights when the sea was rough was awful. We went to every activity just to keep from being in our room more than necessary. Motion was much less mid ship, lower decks. I had to use the patch, ginger capsules, sip

gingerale (which you could not use soda card for), and even ate some green apple as I had read on cc to do. Those who say we had smooth seas.....well I would hate to see what rough is. On the night before Grand Cayman we had up to 13 foot waves according to the princess channel on tv. I know it was not just me, as my husband and another couple we were with said they were on the verge of sea sick at times. At Costa Maya, another ship could not dock and missed this port due to rough seas. Also at Grand Cayman we did the New waves stingray snorkle trip and the waves kept knocking us off our feet at the sandbar, so I don't see how others can say it was "smooth as silk". Maybe it was to them if they have cruised a lot and had much worse seas, but I just want first timers like I was to know how it can be for a beginner and be prepared. We are not all veteran cruisers. Don't get me wrong, there was lots of times when the sea was very calm and I could hardly tell we were moving, but it is not always like that. We witnessed people who could not walk straight and even bumped into walls and each other at times. Our ship did have a lot of movement, even if it is huge. Unfortunatly, we missed the first formal night because we felt ill, but did attend the other.

I would also like to say that none of our group was impressed with most of the food. We ate at the buffet for breakfast and lunch and we only found a few things that we considered good. Fried eggs were good and I liked the sausage links, but I could always rely on frosted flakes and fresh fruit. The bacon was always greasy and not the best. For lunch I always got mashed

potatoes and gravy because it was one of the few things that tasted like "normal" food. Hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza was a good alternative. The

ice tea was better if I added water to it. The dinning room food was also not very good, but I realize everyone has different tastes. I do like to try new things, but found that I liked the more ordinary dishes, such as the herb baked chicken breast, ceasar salad, and fetticini alfredo. Every time we had a baked potato, it was always cold. I hated to order something, not like it, and leave it on my plate, so I mostly stuck to more ordinary foods. I did order a soup of pureed asparagas with pearl tapioca and crutons and thought

it was good, and we all thought the deserts were very good. The coffee was much better in the dinning rooms. I forgot to say that we had any time dining and worked out great for me, since if I wasn't feeling well at times, I could wait until I felt like eating to go to dinner. At one sitting, we were seated with two other couples and a few had ordered an appetizer that looked like two slices of spam on a peice of lettace with a lemon slice on the plate. Of course it was not spam, but was some sort of seafood patty thing. Some were attempting to eat it and one lady at our table laughed that if you squeeze the lemon on it, it helped cut the awful after-taste. Another time a lady in our group ordered a seafood mix served in a clam shell. She took one bite and said it tasted like a minnow. She then shoved the rest of it into the hollowed out middle of her bread roll, and positioned the roll on her plate so that you could not see the stuff inside, so that the waiter would think she ate it (He had recommened the dish to her).

We could not help but laugh, cause we all felt the same way about our food. Maybe I am just not a gormet kind of person, but I just prefer more normal type food. We did eat at the sterling steak house one night and it was very good. Well worth the cover charge for a great meal, and a hot baked potato.

We had fun at all our ports except Belize. All the excursions I thought we would enjoy were already booked up, or internet said were cancelled, so we just shopped a litttle and went back to the ship.

Costa Maya, we went to the fishing villiage for a while, then went back to the area at the pier and shopped and hung out. We ate at mamasita's and it was good.

Grand cayman we went to stingray city, as I already mentioned. That was really neat. It did not leave much time for anything else, though.

Cozumel we shopped at the pier then went to playa mia for our excursion we booked with the ship. We purchased the buffet and it was decent. We swam and had fun and had just gotten into our cab to go back to the ship when the

down pour started.

We also had Oscar as our room steward and we never ever got pool towels. We would just catch him in our hallway and ask for them and he would give us two off his cart. My son's room did not have a garbage can in it and he asked Oscar for one several times and never did get one. Also we asked for robes and never received any. He did keep our room clean, and always greeted us in the hallway.

All negative aside, We will probably cruise again and get cabins mid ship and lowest deck possible. The Grand was beautiful, and we had plenty of good times. We thought Sarge was funny and enjoyed the hypnotist and Johnny

Thunder and Shake rattle and roll, dicey horse racing and many other shows and activities. I enjoyed playing nickle jackpot party in the casino when I could find a machine that wasn't being used. They also had some penny slots for those who want to know, but beware, max coins is something like $3.00 per spin and adds up quick. I found out the hard way.:eek:

 

I hope to not get bashed too bad for my post, but I felt the need to express my experience of being a first time cruiser. I really have mixed feelings about it, although it was really awsome overall. (Please excuse all my misspellings.)

[cjml]

I, too, was a first time cruiser and did not know about cabin selection. We selected an oceanview and luckily were placed on the fifth floor beside the art gallery. Being extremely sensitive to motion sickness, I took dramamine and generic antivert as advised by my physician. I felt the motion but suffered no sea sickness. We felt the movement less on the plaza deck. We had friends in the middle on emerald deck and they were new cruisers and also did not feel much motion. Dramamine and antivert makes you feel a little sleepy but I did not mind that side effect if it kept me from becoming sick. Hopefully, this will help should you decide to sail again.