Grand Review 4-1-06

[kenspen2]

Just a few comments on our recent Grand cruise...This was our first Princess cruise, we have sailed on 4 RCCL and 2 Disney cruises. The Grand is a beautiful ship, lovely and intimate, staterooms are nice and adequate. We took Extreme Elegance from airport, prompt but drove 20 mph over the speed limit. We loved the itinerary: Costa Maya we took the bus($5 r/t) to the fishing village and shopped and played on the beaches, Belize we booked an indepentant tour to the zoo and city tour, just okay. Playa Del Carmen we took a taxi to Excaret, very nice facility, beaches and snorkling were fantastic, shopping was also nice. Cozumel we took a taxi to Paradise Beach, $12 each way,a minimum food/bar tab of $10.00, rented jet skis $55/30 min., clear water but lots of damage still visible from the hurricane. We rented from Enterprise to return to the airport after stopping at Johnson Space Center. Embarkation and Debarkation were a breeze, easy.

My kids ages 8 and 10 have been 6 cruises before and were completely disappointed with the Princess Pirateers program, I had researched the activities stated on the website before and we were prepared to have an organized itinerary. In stead it was basically supervised day care with games and only 2 PS2 stations for ALL the kids on board to share. The counselors were uninvolved and boring. I was looking forward to the California Research program stating that they advertise, it did not happen. They were left to interact amongst themselves most of the time. My kids much prefer RCCL and their staff over Disney and Princess.

MUTS was AWESOME! I loved the freshwater pools, our room steward was great, I did not like the anytime dining, we were waitlisted for traditional. I think the service just is not the same.

Loved the ports of call, loved Muts, but will sail RCCL next time due to the poor children's programs. Hope this review helps someone, I know I used the boards a ton prior to our departure.

[Coolcruise02]

Thanks for your review! What did you think of Paradise Beach? Is there much hurricane damage? Is it a big beach? Thanks :)

[kenspen2]

Paradise beach is a fairly large beach, but it is full of lounge chairs, it did get crowded around lunch time. There is a dock to walk out on, kayaks, water trampolines and an iceberg. The beach is clean and the staff is friendly. You can rent snorkle equipment there, but there is not a whole lot to look at. Some damaged coral and very few fish. Calm waters are nice to relax in. Iwould recommend it.

[ppeckham]

Kenspen2, I'm not sure where you live. I've lived in Texas for more than 20 years now. I have found people tend to drive a bit faster in this state. The speed limit on the interstates may be posted at 60 or 60 mph, but more often than not, people are driving at 75 and 80 mph. Whether that is right or wrong, it does happen. Most of the time the highway patrol and local law enforcement don't stop you unless you are 10 or more mph over the speed limit, except for school zones.

[kftw]

Thank you for posting a review. There haven't been many "Grand" reviews in the last couple of weeks so was very happy to see one from you.