Live From The Grand Princess

[CruisingCC]

Hi Big Time Cruiser. Thank you so much for taking so much time to keep us updated. We'll be on the Grand next week. I was distressed to see your post about the cool and rainy weather. Has it warmed up and the rain and clouds gone away since your post about the heavy, heavy, heavy rain? Thanks again.

[BigTimeCruiser]

Belize Tendering

Tendering today at Belize was outstanding. The normal 20 minutes from the GP to shore was cut down to 10 minutes.

Belize Passengers Missed Ship

Tonight when we got ready to depart, the Captain announced that 6 passengers were missing. He sent a tender back to the pier and located 2 of them. After approximately 40 minutes, we departed without the 4 missing passengers. Later, when we had traveled what appeared to be 10 or 12 miles, the Captain came back on and announced that the 4 missing passengers had been located and would be rejoining the Grand Princess by high speed boat. I'm sure they were happy to make it back!!!! Never did see how they got back on.

[Commodore Suzy]

It was a pleasure cruising with you last week... just a blip in the middle of your B2B2B. :D

 

I wrote a review of my cruise, about 14 pages or so, and submitted it to Cruise Critic. I'm not sure how long it takes for them to post them. It's also on my own Website (which I'm not allowed to list here) for those of you that might be able to figure it out and want to read it.

 

Hope your third week is super Curt!

[Cruise Gopher]

Does the ship time match the port time in Grand Cayman? Schedule says ship arrives at 12 noon in Grand Cayman, so is that 12 noon ship time or 12 noon Grand Cayman time?

 

We want to book an excursion with Captain Marvins and you have to check in with them by 1:30, Grand Cayman Time.

 

Any info would help.

 

Thanks!

[K8sMom]

Hi BTC - Have enjoyed reading your reports of your cruise on the Grand. We will be coming on board on Dec. 24.

 

Just a question about the change in the in-port times in Majahual and Belize that several have mentioned in another thread.

 

Has Costa Maya changed to 10 am - 5 pm instead of 7 pm? If so I will probably rethink a tour to the ruins with David and Ivan. I really would like to do this but the change would not leave time to enjoy the beach and shopping in Majahual (which we were looking forward to as we have done this before),

 

And the change in Belize from 6:30 am - 5 pm instead of 1:30 pm? This would give time for a tour in Belize which we had decided not to do because of the short time.

 

We are looking forward to our time on the Grand. Thanks for your good reports.

[cruisingpal]

Thanks for all the updates from the Grand. We'll be departing 1/7 and the posts have been most helpful. A couple of quick questions. Are there places to shop/explore near the tender area in Belize or does an excursion make more sense at this stop? What's the easiest way to get back to Houston after disembarking? Are taxis waiting at the pier?

 

This will be our 6th cruise but our 1st on Princess. It sounds like the Grand is a fabulous ship and I can't wait to get there!

[houstoncruisers2001]

I wrote a review of my cruise, about 14 pages or so, and submitted it to Cruise Critic. I'm not sure how long it takes for them to post them. It's also on my own Website (which I'm not allowed to list here) for those of you that might be able to figure it out and want to read it.

 

I just read your review of your Dec 3rd Grand Princess cruise on your website, which my wife & I were also on, and you hit it right on the money. It's almost as if I wrote it myself. I have come across some negative reviews and it was refreshing to see a good one. We had a fabulous time and plan to do the GP again. Great minds must think alike.

[BigTimeCruiser]

Hi BTC - Have enjoyed reading your reports of your cruise on the Grand. We will be coming on board on Dec. 24.

 

Just a question about the change in the in-port times in Majahual and Belize that several have mentioned in another thread.

 

Costa Maya was 7:00pm departure. Belize is still 1:30pm departure. The last tender leaves shore at 12:30pm. Tendering has not been an issue at Belize.:)

[BigTimeCruiser]

Does the ship time match the port time in Grand Cayman? Schedule says ship arrives at 12 noon in Grand Cayman, so is that 12 noon ship time or 12 noon Grand Cayman time?

 

We want to book an excursion with Captain Marvins and you have to check in with them by 1:30, Grand Cayman Time.

 

Any info would help.

 

Thanks!

We have stayed on Ship Time in Grand Cayman.:)

[BigTimeCruiser]

It was a pleasure cruising with you last week... just a blip in the middle of your B2B2B. :D

 

I wrote a review of my cruise, about 14 pages or so, and submitted it to Cruise Critic. I'm not sure how long it takes for them to post them. It's also on my own Website (which I'm not allowed to list here) for those of you that might be able to figure it out and want to read it.

 

Hope your third week is super Curt!

Suzy,

It was a pleasure cruising with you and Charles! Hope to see you on other cruises. We will check out your review on the website.

Curt:) :)

[AliceJ]

BTC:

 

I wanted to say "thank you" for taking time out of your cruise to keep us all filled in with the Grand. We're cruising on the Grand in Feb. and really appreciate the info and perspective. Enjoy the last part of your vacation!

[BigTimeCruiser]

Has it warmed up and the rain and clouds gone away since your post about the heavy, heavy, heavy rain? Thanks again.

The weather has been much better since that previous Post. This morning as we are approaching Grand Cayman, the sky is clear and seas are slight. Temperatures have risen as we got south of the Yucatan. The temperature today is forecasted to be 80 degrees F.:)

[crazy4themouse]

What's the easiest way to get back to Houston after disembarking? Are taxis waiting at the pier?

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

I would arrange transportation back to Houston via a limo company or the Princess shuttle. If you're flying out of Hobby, a taxi would be astronomical -- if you're flying out of IAH, well, you could probably *buy* a taxi for what that fare would cost. ;) Seriously, it would be unbelievably expensive. It's about 45 minutes to Hobby, and about an hour and a half to IAH.

 

You can check at www.galvestoncruises.com for some transportation options, or search the posts here. I know it has come up a number of times.

 

Happy cruising!

 

-gina-

[Hulagirl]

Curt:

 

I also want to say thank you for all the information you have passed on to us. We leave in less than 24 hours now for the airport and then off to Houston to board the ship this Saturday. You have given us some excellent information concerning the ship and the cruise. It is always nice to be informed before leaving.

 

Have a great rest of your cruise and I'm sorry you aren't on again next week so we could have met you. Hopefully another time.

 

Hulagirl

[JimnKaren]

Curt,

 

So glad that you have taken the time to answer so many different questions posed by folks. Last time Karen and I were on Princess was October, 2002 sailing the Mexican Riviera on Star. At that time Princess was still offering a pasta course with the evening meal. What with the huge interest in low carb stuff, has Princess eliminated that portion of the meal or is it still available?

 

Jim

[Commodore Suzy]

Does the ship time match the port time in Grand Cayman? Schedule says ship arrives at 12 noon in Grand Cayman, so is that 12 noon ship time or 12 noon Grand Cayman time?

 

We want to book an excursion with Captain Marvins and you have to check in with them by 1:30, Grand Cayman Time.

 

Any info would help.

 

Thanks!

 

Ship Time was different than land time in Cayman by an hour. The ship never had us turn our watches from our original time in Texas. We were one of the Princess tours, off the ship first before any non-tour folks were invited off, and we didn't get to disembark until 12:30 ship time, arriving on pier around 1pm ship time. Other folks would have been after that.

 

I forget which direction Cayman time differed, but I would deem private excursions scary in either Cayman or Cozumel due to slow tendering in those ports. I discussed this issue at length in my review.

 

 

houstoncruisers2001 -- THANKS! Glad to hear there were some other happy folks like me after the cruise.

 

 

crazy4themouse -- I took the Princess transfers and hated them. I'd suggest Galveston Limo. I'm sure they're one of the choices in that link someone else gave.

 

Cheers!

[BigTimeCruiser]

Tendering Recap--December 14th Grand Cayman

Tender Tickets were issued in the Vista Lounge today. The line from the Vista Lounge ran down the starboard side of the ship through the Photo Department, began forming at 10:00am. On the door of the Vista Lounge was a sign which read.."Tickets available no earlier than 11:00am". However you are welcome to line up here." By 10:40am the line was past the Wheelhouse Bar. And, by 11:00am, the line was beyond midship. It was announced that one person could pickup tickets if you had a group.

Tours were assembling in the Princess Theater for tendering.

At 11:05am, we dropped anchor in the harbor at Grand Cayman. Five ships were already in port and tendering (Trimph, Jewel, Galaxy, Navigator of the Sea, and The World).

At 11:20am, the Cruise Director announced that tendering would begin in 25 minutes.

At 11:32am, they began calling the first ticket numbers, 1-70.

• 11:40am 70-170
  
• 11:45am Up to 320
  
• 11:55am Up to 420
  
• 12:01pm Up to 520
  
• 12:07pm Up to 620
  
• 12:15pm Up to 750
  
• 1:00pm Up to 1075
  
• 1:10pm Up to 1200
  
• 1:25pm Observed that 2 Grand Princess tenders were holding near the pier, unable to unload because of heavy tender traffic.
  
• 1:30pm Observed 3 Grand Princess tenders holding near the pier.
  
• 1:40pm Observed 4 Grand Princess tenders holding near the pier.
  
• 1:45pm Up to 1350
  
• 1:48pm Up to 1500
  
• 1:50pm Up to 1650
  
• 2:00pm Tender Tickets no longer required

In my opinion, it is nearly impossible to get the large amounts of passengers to shore much faster than today. Due to the large number of cruise ships and limited pier space, tender traffic jams did occur today and probably will occur in the future here at Grand Cayman. It should be noted, that by 1:30pm today, many passengers onboard that had high ticket numbers gave up on going ashore. Some were yelling from Deck 7 down to the tendering crew members to get things moving, not realizing that there wasn't adequate mooring space at the pier to handle all the tenders. :(

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thanks for that report. We've cancelled our Thriller Boat Ride because of the short port time in GC. Will spend the time shopping.

 

I wonder if the priority tender tickets (from being in a suite) help?

 

Thanks SO much for the info.!!

[Cruise Gopher]

Ship Time was different than land time in Cayman by an hour. The ship never had us turn our watches from our original time in Texas.

 

I forget which direction Cayman time differed.

 

Does anyone know for sure what this time difference is?

 

We need to be on shore by 1:20pm CAYMAN TIME and we would need to be able to get on a tender back to the ship at the latest 5:45 CAYMAN TIME.

 

What time also is the last tender? In CAYMAN TIME please.

 

Thank You

[budaman]

Cayman time right now is one hour ahead of Central/Galveston/Grand time. When the US resumes Daylight Savings Time next Spring, it will be the same because GC does not observe Daylight savings Time.

 

Mike

 

http://www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[Cruise Gopher]

Cayman time right now is one hour ahead of Central/Galveston/Grand time. When the US resumes Daylight Savings Time next Spring, it will be the same because GC does not observe Daylight savings Time.

 

Crap, there is no way we will be able to make the excursion then, since we would have to be on shore by 1:20 Cayman time, 12:20 ship time.

 

I guess we are going to have to pay twice as much to book the same excursion through Princess. :mad:

[dnunan]

Well I agree SkierRob about having to pay the inflated prices for the ships shore excursions. So I called Princess today and spoke with a supervisor at their call center, even though I had initially asked to speak with Customer Assistance. I guess they screen all the calls even though you ask directly for them.:mad:

 

Anyway, after 5-10 minutes explaining the situation to this so called supervisor as it has been told on this outlet of information, Cruise Critic website, and being told by her very bluntly and straight forward by her that "there are NO PROBLEMS with tendering at any of the ports Princess serves and that I should not believe everything I read." After a few more go rounds with her I finally ended up hanging up, cause it was worse than talking to a brick wall. I could have had a better conversation with my dog, he would at least listen.

 

Even asking her to contact the ship to attempt to get some first hand information from them and see if the information I've been reading is for real, that answer was also a big "NO", and that it was not possible to do. I mentioned to her that if so many people have expierenced and spoke to the exact same issue, that maybe there is a problem, and if they are choosing to ignore it, then their customers will take their Cruising elsewhere. She had no comment.

 

Myself, I would have preferred Celebrity this time around, but they did not have an itinerary that fit our wants. This is my first cruise with Princess and maybe our last if things go as they have been. Especially if we are not able to do shore excursions on our own and waste our precious vacation time standing in a line to get on and off the damn boat! If I wanted to stand in lines, I'd go to Disneyland.

 

Well enough of my rant, I really am going into this vacation with a positive attitude and really want to be able to explore Grand Cayman and Cozumel without having to do it from binoculars from the ship!

 

Thanks all for listening.

[Coral]

Myself, I would have preferred Celebrity this time around, but they did not have an itinerary that fit our wants. This is my first cruise with Princess and maybe our last if things go as they have been. Especially if we are not able to do shore excursions on our own and waste our precious vacation time standing in a line to get on and off the damn boat! If I wanted to stand in lines, I'd go to Disneyland.

 

While I am not a rocket scientist - I would assume that if there are 8 ships in Grand Caymen or if Cozumel is a tender only port for all lines, this is not just a Princess problem but a port problem. A friend recently returned from another line's Western Caribbean cruise and had the same problems that Princess is having.

[stephenandrew]

While I am not a rocket scientist - I would assume that if there are 8 ships in Grand Caymen or if Cozumel is a tender only port for all lines, this is not just a Princess problem but a port problem. A friend recently returned from another line's Western Caribbean cruise and had the same problems that Princess is having.

 

 

I kind of wondered the same thing---if this were unique to Princess---sounds like it may not be. Can the cruiselines not consider alternate schedules under these circumstances---I am sure they know there will be 8 ships in a given port and that tendering will be a problem for their guests. I wonder if folks would be happier with an additional day at sea than having long tenders and relatively short amounts of time in port. We are on the 1/21/06 sailing of the Grand and have pretty much decided that we will be staying on the ship instead of heading into port. I really have no interest in lining up at 10AM to get a tender ticket by 11AM, so I can get off the ship at 11:30AM, etc.

[houstoncruisers2001]

I kind of wondered the same thing---if this were unique to Princess---sounds like it may not be. Can the cruiselines not consider alternate schedules under these circumstances---I am sure they know there will be 8 ships in a given port and that tendering will be a problem for their guests. I wonder if folks would be happier with an additional day at sea than having long tenders and relatively short amounts of time in port. We are on the 1/21/06 sailing of the Grand and have pretty much decided that we will be staying on the ship instead of heading into port. I really have no interest in lining up at 10AM to get a tender ticket by 11AM, so I can get off the ship at 11:30AM, etc.

 

On our 12/3 Grand cruise I picked up a tender ticket without waiting in line and received number 951 & 952. Sure we had to wait, but we were still ON Seven Mile Beach by 1:20pm ship's time....we stayed for 90 minutes...then took a taxi back to town where my wife shopped for about an hour...and we caught a tender back to the Grand about 4pm. Didn't even have to wait for a tender going back.

 

To be honest....we LOVE the sea days, ports are fun, but to us a cruise is all about being on the ship. We vote LESS ports, MORE sea days.