General Grand Questions...

[bevo]

Just booked the Grand for Spring Break 06...first time to sail Princess...so many questions!

1. DO the balcony doors connect if you so desire? We are next door to some friends and wonder if we can connect via the balcony?

2. Do they have the Laundry deal where you fit as much as you can in a bag for a set price on this ship? They did that on the Conquest and it was a nice perk.

3. Anyone know where I can find a room service menu? Can you order from the Dining Room for room service?

4. What time can you board in Galveston. On Carnival and RCI, the docs said 2pm, but we were always on by 11. That was at the New Orleans, Fort Lauderdale, and Port Canaveral ports. Is this true in Galveston also?

5. We booked the Holiday Inn in Galveston, on the seawall. Says shuttle is available, but wonder if a taxi would just be easier and quicker?

6. No "thermal spa" on Grand? Read some mighty nice reviews on it but it doesn't seem to be on this ship?

7. Anyone done the Ultimate Balcony Dinner? This sounds awesome...wondering if it is hard to book.

8. Is the card that you use for ship charges also the room key?

9.What is your FAVORITE thing about this ship????

I will have lots more questions, so I hope you feel like sharing the knowledge with me! I am so excited to be doing a different cruise line...we have had good experiences with Carnival and RCI, but love to try new things...this ship sounds great to me!

[Toto2Kansas]

1. DO the balcony doors connect if you so desire? We are next door to some friends and wonder if we can connect via the balcony? The balcony doors have always been able to be opened for access to the adjoining balcony when we have sailed on the Grand. Just ask your room steward, he/she will be able to do that for you.

2. Do they have the Laundry deal where you fit as much as you can in a bag for a set price on this ship? They did that on the Conquest and it was a nice perk. Princess has self service laundry rooms $1 to wash and $1 to dry, including irons and ironing boards for your use in the self service laundry rooms. I have never seen them offer the bag of laundry for a set price on the Grand Class ships before.

3. Anyone know where I can find a room service menu? Can you order from the Dining Room for room service? If you do a search on this site, it should bring up a room service menu for you. Unless you have booked a suite, I would not count on ordering from the dining room menu, they have pretty much stopped that this past year or so. You can try, but I doubt they will allow you to do it.

4. What time can you board in Galveston. On Carnival and RCI, the docs said 2pm, but we were always on by 11. That was at the New Orleans, Fort Lauderdale, and Port Canaveral ports. Is this true in Galveston also? Sorry, have never sailed from Galveston before, so I have no idea about this answer.

5. We booked the Holiday Inn in Galveston, on the seawall. Says shuttle is available, but wonder if a taxi would just be easier and quicker?

6. No "thermal spa" on Grand? Read some mighty nice reviews on it but it doesn't seem to be on this ship? Never looked into it while sailing on the Grand so I have no idea here either.

7. Anyone done the Ultimate Balcony Dinner? This sounds awesome...wondering if it is hard to book. Again, if you do a search, it should bring up all the info you would want on this subject.

8. Is the card that you use for ship charges also the room key?

Yes

9.What is your FAVORITE thing about this ship????

If you have never sailed on a Grand Class ship before, you will definitely be impressed with the size, layout and pool areas onboard. The anytime dining makes it nice also as there is a wide variety of places to dine, some free and some that charge extra. Try the Steakhouse if you love a good steak, it is wonderful.

Just a hint here. You may get a lot more reponses if you break your questions down so there are not so many listed on one post. Try asking two or three at a time, I think you might get a lot more responses.

Enjoy your sailing!

[mikesteg]

4. What time can you board in Galveston. On Carnival and RCI, the docs said 2pm, but we were always on by 11. That was at the New Orleans, Fort Lauderdale, and Port Canaveral ports. Is this true in Galveston also?

5. We booked the Holiday Inn in Galveston, on the seawall. Says shuttle is available, but wonder if a taxi would just be easier and quicker?

 

4) No different from any other port: you can board earlier if the ship is ready. Usually between 11 and noon. No guarantees, and of course the rooms won't be ready that early.

 

5) Cab will be a little quicker on the way to the ship, assuming it shows up on time. With the shuttle you'll have to wait for everyone to show up, but it will probably be there on time. The ride itself is about 5 mins.

Afterwards, a cab will tend to be much faster if they are available. Due to the traffic (mis)management in Galveston, it takes a vehicle 15-30 minutes to get through the loop at the port (plus 10-15 minutes round trip to the hotel). A cab is well worth the $12 or $15 since they are at the exit end so you jump in and you're out of there.

[San10s]

I thought I would just tell you a little about the balconies connecting. Unlike the balconies on the newer Carnival ships, the partion between the balconies only have a small doorway that opens unlike the full partition opening up. We loved having the balcony partitions opened up on the Victory last April. Some of our most enjoyable times were shared with our friends out there.....morning coffee, the guys having a cigar, an afternoon cocktail or two, sunrises and sunsets, room service 'snacks' and more! :)

 

We will be on the Grand for the first time on February 18th. We cruised last February on her sister ship, the Golden Princess. One of the great features on these ships is the disco suspended over the aft of the ship. It was a great place for dancing and enjoying a fun evening of course but it was also a terrific 'quiet' spot during the daytime while at sea. I liked sitting at one of the windows and reading but spending lots of time looking down at the sea. :D

 

Have a wonderful cruise! :D

 

 

Judy

Grand Princess 02/18/2006

[bevo]

Thanks to each of you for taking the time to answer!

I have tried using the search engine on this site, but it is sooooo slow, my computer "times out". I have a pretty good computer so I don't know if it is just me or what. Does anyone else notice this besides me? I do much better to do in a search in Google, it seems.

I will post questions in smaller bundles next time. For some reason, I hate taking up so much "post" space and thought it would be better to do it in one lump post....but you are right, more people would see each question and be more apt to answer, I suppose.

Again, thanks for all your answers! I can't WAIT! :)

[mikesteg]

Its not just you, the site is very slow. Apparently there was some kind of upgrade last week, and things do seem better (and functional) now.

 

With the search, the best thing to try is 'advanced search' and searchtitles only with just one or two words. It may take a couple of tries to find the right thread, but the search return is relatively quick and you could find an answer to something you didn't even think of along the way. :D

 

You are right about not posting 5 or 6 separate threads. You could either post one every few days, or just lurk for a couple of months. Chances are the questions will pop up and be answered (and again you might find some asswers for questions that you had never even though about.) If you get closer to your cruise and nothing has come up, you might actually have one of those very elusive new questions... in which case you'll get a great response because so many people here are starved for something new to talk about. :D

[DannyMac]

Bevo,

Take a 3' bungie cord to hold the partition door open. You can begin checking in around 11:00am, boarding starts between 11:30 and 12:00. Our room last spring break was ready at 12:30. Take a cab to the terminal, Galveston has a traffic flow problem at the terminals, early in the day it is crazy but thins out later in the afternoon. We enjoyed the entire ship and so will you.

 

Log on to Princess roll calls and look for you cruise roll call. A friend of mine will be on your cruise her name is "Cindy" and she can provide you with detailed info. She and her husband were on the 3-5-05 cruise last spring but had to cut it short due to a death in her family,

[crazy4themouse]

Hi Bevo ~ (WOW, it's hard for an Aggie to call someone that.. LOL)

 

I just wanted to invite you to our 3/11/06 thread! Several of us already rarin' to go, and having fun planning and anticipating. Please, come join us! :)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=194755&page=1&pp=25

 

 

-gina-

[camreesmom]

Hi Bevo ~ (WOW, it's hard for an Aggie to call someone that.. LOL)

 

I just wanted to invite you to our 3/11/06 thread! Several of us already rarin' to go, and having fun planning and anticipating. Please, come join us! :)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=194755&page=1&pp=25

 

 

-gina-

 

too funny, Gina.....I am also an Ag and had the same thought but then I looked at the OP's signature and saw that she signed her post Bev so maybe her name is Bev O???? I guess it's just an Aggie thing because the first thing that I thought of was bevo also! :eek:

 

Anyway, I'm reading everything I can about the Grand because DH and I are looking for a cruise during Spring Break and we're trying to decide between the Conquest, the Grand Princess and the Rhapsody. We haven't sailed on Princess yet so that is looking like it may be our choice.

 

Julie

[bevo]

Hi Gina and Julie-

My name IS BEV :) and I have no idea what you girls are referring to! What is a BEVO to Y'all? Clue me in!!!

I am REALLY excited about this cruise, MAINLY b/c this will be our first Princess cruise. This ship has some great things going for it.

And thanks for the invite, Gina. ... I will pop on over. :)

[spongerob]

BEVO is the University of Texas mascot. I'm not sure if BEVO is a steer or a bull. All I know is that if Texas loses to Oklahoma in the annual grudge football game, he gets turned into burgers (according to legend, anyway). Bevo is quite safe this year.

[camreesmom]

Bev, hopefully DH and I will be on this same cruise and I'll get to explain this in person :D but anyway, in Texas, BEVO is the name of the University of Texas's (known to Aggies as tu) mascot. The BIG rivalry in Texas college football is between the Texas A & M Aggies and the tu teasippers. Of course this is the maroon point of view. I'm sure that a Longhorn fan will give their opinion.

[Snoozeman]

We just had our annual neighborhood gathering which we serve bevo stew. Usually the 2nd Saturday of October in conjuction with THE game. OU vs. Texas. Most our neighbors are Aggies though-should have been Buff stew this year.

 

Looking forward to Grand answers--I'll be on her for the 1st time in January.