***LIVE*** onboard Grand Princess 12/18-28

[PhilipNTx]

Hi all,

I told myself I was going to try and do this daily, but that hasn’t worked. So this first post will be quite long. Hopefully I can post again very soon.

 

Embarkation:

Do not show up early! We had to wait for all to get off the previous cruise and then start checking in luggage. They have apparently never had 3 ships in port at the same time, so they had to set up a temporary check-in area. It was not pretty. No one policed the lines, so people were constantly on top of each other trying to shove their way to the front. No formal lines were designated. I’m glad we endured the wait outside because any later and we would have been crushed in the lines.

 

First impression of ship: nice décor, elegant and not kitschy, a la Carnival. Layout is better than Carnival Glory, but a severe lack of open indoor public areas like on most Royal Caribbean ships. For a class of ship that used to be introduced by saying they were taller than the Statue of Liberty, the atrium is a huge disappointment. Just 3 decks high. Skywalker’s is a must-see. Awesome place. Nice to see they were checking IDs at the door and not letting in the under-18 crowd.

 

The cabin is nice. We are in E708, Emerald Deck. The bathroom and “dressing area” are cordoned off from the rest of the room, which I think is a nice touch. The way the bathroom is situated on other lines means that anytime anyone goes into it, the light brightens the room – even in the middle of the night. This way is much nicer. Space is severely limited in the cabin. The closet is small and there’s only one of them. Not a whole lot of space in the bathroom, either. The cabin itself is roomy, though, and plenty of area around the vanity. Ours is a partially obstructed view, which means we have a view of the catwalk that connects the lifeboats outside.

 

Buffet food in the Horizon Court is not bad. It can get crowded, though, and that means the lines get jammed up. And if that happens you can’t get to the other side or line without going all the way around, exiting and re-entering the dining room. There is a variety of food. Again, most of it not bad. The drink selection, however, is pretty miserable: water and tea. The tea is that concentrate stuff that has been mixed with water. It’s awful. Juice has only been available at breakfast. It’s also from concentrate, but you can get fresh-squeezed: only $8.25 for a large!

 

For dinner we have Personal Choice. We ended up with this because we booked so late. I don’t think we’ll do it again. When I’m ready to eat, I want to go to the dining room and sit down right away. Every time we have had at least a 20-minute wait around 8:00pm.

 

The dining room food is good, if uninspiring. I don’t think it’s as good as Royal Caribbean, in my opinion. But it’s still edible, and far be it from me to pass it up! We eat at Sterling Steakhouse tonight. Looking forward to it.

 

LOTS of families on this cruise, as to be expected due to the holiday. I was hoping they wouldn’t be that noticeable, but I was wrong. There are plenty running around, out of control. I can only assume this means a kid’s program that is not good. I constantly hear how on RCI the kid’s program is so good the children never want to leave. That said, there are kids horsing around in places they’re not supposed to be, pushing all the elevator buttons, and swimming in the adults-only pools. Speaking of, there are two of them. Princess staff, however, seems to ignore the fact that there are always kids in these pools, unsupervised. We had to chase some kids out of one of the pools ourselves. We told them it was an adults-only pool and that they needed to leave. Surprisingly they did.

 

Ports have been good. In Belize you have to tender in, so this means getting tender tickets. It actually went very quickly. Our group just walked around the area at the pier, bought a few local items, and then just sat at a bar that overlooked the water. It was nice.

 

Costa Maya was appropriately nicknamed by a friend Costa Lotta. And he’s right. There’s really not much there, although a nice little area has been built up by the beach at the pier. We got off the ship and just walked over to said beach and just relaxed there for the day. Waiters would come around and take drink orders, but I stopped at one beer since they were $3.50. I would have thought they would be cheaper there, but I was wrong. Also, most of the wares that they were selling there were not exactly bargains. But not a bad port to just relax.

 

Grand Cayman was the usual. Some places are still recovering from the hurricane. One store had all its carpet still ripped up, and it smelled of mildew. Even Hard Rock Café was only serving a limited menu: 2 sandwiches, a salad, and a wrap. And beer. And only the first floor was open. I talked to a waitress who said the hurricane had ruined the kitchen, the speaker/sound system, and had destroyed most of the memorabilia on the walls. Luckily the AC worked. I didn’t ask how long until the full restaurant opened. Like most places it was expensive, too. A sandwich and a beer set me back $24.

 

Sea days have been good. Deck chairs are in abundance everywhere. If you can’t find one, you’re not looking very hard. The best area, I think, is the back pool area. Lots of chairs, a view of the wake, 2 hot tubs, and the pool. It’s usually quiet back there, and there were still plenty of chairs even at noon.

 

The screen used for Movies Under the Stars is just amazing. The picture can be seen at any time of the day. The sound system is great, too. They’re showing some first-run movies with a mix of other popular movies. It’s a Wonderful Life is playing today.

 

They have wireless access in certain areas of the ship. You buy an account for 10 minutes at $0.35 per minute. Not too bad.

 

I’ll try and post again in a day or two.

 

Philip

[spongerob]

Thanks for posting, Philip. We'll be anxiously awaiting your arrival next Tuesday, so we can get on board.

[bdjam]

For a class of ship that used to be introduced by saying they were taller than the Statue of Liberty, the atrium is a huge disappointment. Just 3 decks high.

Thanks for the review. Just to comment on the above, the original intent of Grand Princess was to create a large scale but intimate, sophisticated ship. The interior arrangement was supposed to belie the exterior dimensions. That “large ship choice, small ship feel.” Grand Princess isn’t being used in this manner today, hence some of the disappointment at her fittings.

[Coral]

LOTS of families on this cruise, as to be expected due to the holiday. I was hoping they wouldn’t be that noticeable, but I was wrong. There are plenty running around, out of control. I can only assume this means a kid’s program that is not good. I constantly hear how on RCI the kid’s program is so good the children never want to leave.

Philip

 

Thanks for reporting in.

 

I have been on a Thanksgiving cruise with lots of kids - so I definitely understand what you are saying. I vowed not to do a holiday sailing again (as much as I used to love them) We also experienced this same behavior on RCCL on non-holiday sailings. I think it is a matter of the kids that week as opposed to a statement about the kids program.

[GrammaZ]

Thanks Philip, enjoyed your review. Hopefully we will not have the problem you did with embarkation as we sail on Tuesday and we are the only ship in port. I think we will arrive early as planned and take our chances. Thanks again.

[PhilipNTx]

Yes, I’m thinking we won’t be doing another holiday cruise again anytime soon, either.

 

Maybe it’s because this is a holiday sailing, but I Princess just doesn’t seem to care to enforce its rules. Just a little while ago we were in the Conservatory pool (the pool with the retractable roof), which is supposedly an adults-only pool, and there were no fewer than 20 kids in the pool, most of them screaming at the tops of their collective lungs. As well, each of the hot tubs in there had only kids who were just splashing around.

 

To the poster who said Grand Princess was supposed to be about smaller, more intimate areas: I do remember reading that in researching this cruise. I just didn’t think it would be to this extreme. I thought there might be at least one or two large areas. I mean, this is GRAND Princess, right? Even then I’m not so sure the intimate areas work, as they are all along passenger thoroughfares with people walking through most of these areas. That is something I like, though. It’s fun to people watch in those areas.

 

One thing about the outdoor promenade: it’s not wide enough to accommodate lounge chairs. I miss that. It’s nice to be down on the lower outdoor promenade and just lounge, listening to the water go by. But there’s not any seating out there.

 

Tomorrow is Panama. We didn’t book an excursion, so it should be interesting. There are warnings on the excursion reservation sheets that warn of sub-standard living conditions, even going so far as to say “restroom facilities can be limited on all tours in Panama” and that they may be “rustic and not at a standard which you may be accustomed to.”

 

I forgot to mention that we left Galveston late on Saturday. A flight was late, which I assume was booked through Princess. So we left several hours after we were supposed to. As a result we got to Belize an hour late, and some excursions were canceled.

 

The sun has set. A day at sea gone by…. The best kind of day on a cruise. :-)

 

Philip

[Coral]

Yes, I’m thinking we won’t be doing another holiday cruise again anytime soon, either.

 

Maybe it’s because this is a holiday sailing, but I Princess just doesn’t seem to care to enforce its rules. Just a little while ago we were in the Conservatory pool (the pool with the retractable roof), which is supposedly an adults-only pool, and there were no fewer than 20 kids in the pool, most of them screaming at the tops of their collective lungs. As well, each of the hot tubs in there had only kids who were just splashing around.

 

I was on the Star Princess last week and I hung out at the aft pool (also adult only). I did see them kick a few kids out of that pool. I was surprised. It must vary depending on ship and crew.

 

I spent 2 years ago on the Sun Princess over Christmas and it was wonderful though it was an early Christmas sailing (Dec 16-26). Last year I was on over Thanksgiving and your description of the kids is identical to our cruise.

 

Enjoy Panama and I also would be surprised at those warnings.

 

Atrium - they did improve the design of the atrium on the Golden and Star and it is more eye appealing than the Grand but it is still the same heigth. The atrium on the Grand needs to be spruced up.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise and thanks for checking in.

[PhilipNTx]

Hi all,

Merry Christmas Eve!

 

We just got back on the ship after walking around the shops in Panama. Someone at the Purser’s Desk, upon being asked what there is to do, told us that all the shops here at the pier are really all there is. They said that the city can be unsafe. It’s not the first time I had heard that. Every city in the world, including in the US can have its unsafe areas, but we decided to just explore the shops in the building right off the ship and then come back onboard. We’re only here from 7:00am – 3:15pm, and we got a late start. Late night last night for some. It’s hot and humid. It’s supposed to get up to 90 degrees today.

 

We ate at Sterling Steakhouse last night. A great experience. Two of us had the ribeye, I had a New York strip, and one person had the huge porterhouse. They were all very good. We have reservations at Sabatini’s for Christmas dinner tomorrow evening.

 

One thing I forgot to mention about our cabin: it must be the noisiest cabin I’ve ever been in. It’s weird. It creaks constantly. When we first were in the cabin, we thought someone was knocking on the door. That’s how loud and persistent it is. When we figured out it was just the cabin creaking we laughed. It’s actually a little settling. It makes you feel like you’re in an old, friendly house, as strange as that sounds.

 

And last night there was a lot of creaking because yesterday and last night the seas were a little rough. Lots of motion. It wasn’t really bad. I kind of like it, especially at night when it rocks you to sleep. But it was noticeable.

 

Philip

[txlimey]

Since your onboard, can you confirm the cost of soda cards and also are their other pricing options for wifi internet (more tiers for minutes at lower prices)? were is the wifi accessable, in rooms or just selected common areas?

[West Coast]

Since your onboard, can you confirm the cost of soda cards and also are their other pricing options for wifi internet (more tiers for minutes at lower prices)? were is the wifi accessable, in rooms or just selected common areas?

The cost of the soda card is dependant on the length of the cruise (the longer the cruise, the higher the cost!).

 

Since this is a special holiday cruise of 10 days, the cost of the soda card would be considerably more than the regular 7-day runs the Grand is normally scheduled for from Galveston.

 

Maybe someone from a recent 7-day cruise will chime in and tell us how much the cost of the soda card is on a regular 7-day sailing aboard the Grand?

[GrammaZ]

Philip, how many formal nights did you have on your cruise? Those of us on next week's cruise were wondering if with the special nights of Christmas and New Year's if they just made them the formal nights or were they in addition to the usual two. Thanks.

[sambaqueen]

Hi, Phil!

 

Thanks for your excellent review. We are sailing on the Grand next month and are very interested in feedback about shore excursions. Heard anything from other cruisers about excursions in Belize? Didn't you stop in Majahual (sp?) on the Mexican Riviera?Any news?

Thanks in advance for any tips--and have fun!

Sambaqueen;)

[Riviera Deck Randy]

Phillip buddy you missed to best port of call, Costa Maya as you didnt go in town. It really is cheap and a lot of fun.

[aggieastrosfan]

Maybe someone from a recent 7-day cruise will chime in and tell us how much the cost of the soda card is on a regular 7-day sailing aboard the Grand?

Soda card was $22.50, and that comes with the souvenir glass.

[PhilipNTx]

It’s our last day at sea, and our last full day onboard. :-( The end is near.

 

Our previous day at sea was Christmas Day. For Christmas Eve they had a Christmas dinner: turkey and dressing, ham, and a surf & turf. I had all three, but I can’t recommend the turkey. It was pretty dry. The other 2 entrees were quite good, though. The surf & turf was a filet mignon and shrimp.

 

In the atrium they had caroling. We took part in that, and it was nice. It at least brought a little bit of Christmas feel to things. Christmas Day was good. Got some sun and then explored the shops and sales for those last-minute items.

 

For dinner a group of 8 of us had dinner at Sabatini’s. Wow, what a feast! They just keep bringing you food non-stop. The whole experience was over 3 hours! I highly recommend the veal chop crusted in scallops. It was excellent. The $20 surcharge was well worth it.

 

Yesterday was spent in Cozumel. We hadn’t been here in about a year and a half. The Puerta Maya pier has a whole new set of stores. This pier is operated by Carnival, so only those ships are allowed to dock here. The prices aren’t very good, though, so don’t expect to buy too much here. There were only 3 ships in port this day -- Grandeur of the Seas, MSC Opera, and Grand Princess – so bargaining was good. Having been here plenty of times, we just walked around downtown and then took a cab back to the pier. Here a group of us just hung out at Fat Tuesday’s and enjoyed the rest of the day.

 

It was very windy yesterday, and since before docking in Cozumel and through now it’s been a pretty rocky ride. Last night I thought I was going to fall out of my bed a couple of times. This morning it’s also quite cool. 68 degrees and windy. Don’t know if I’ll be getting much sun today.

 

One place onboard I hadn’t mentioned yet was the gym. It’s really way too small for a ship this size. I’ve only been able to use it one morning. All the other times I’ve gone it was already packed. They do have sign-up sheets for the treadmills. The other machines are first come/first served. And no time limits are observed on those. There are only a small set of weight machines. Most of the gym area is set aside for an aerobics room. The pool right outside the gym is supposed to be a current pool. You can switch on the current machine at anytime, but it’s not strong at all. Plus, this is another one of the supposed adults-only pools, but it’s always full of kids.

 

We got our debarkation information last night. It looks like we’ll be the last group off. No worries. We stayed at Harbor House, and we literally wheeled our luggage over for embarkation, so we’ll do the same when we get back. Then we will easily be able to leave from the Harbor House parking lot.

 

This has been a great cruise, and I don’t expect that to change before tomorrow morning. Sure, it has some drawbacks, but what vacation doesn’t? It’s what you make of it, and I think I’ve been able to enjoy it all.

 

I hope everyone had a GREAT Christmas, and Happy New Year to all.

 

Philip

[PhilipNTx]

Txlimey: the other poster is correct. $22.50. As for internet, I’m using my PowerBook, which has a wireless card in it. You buy 30 minute blocks of time for $10.50. That’s the same 35 cents a minute charged in the internet café. Wireless access, though, is only available in the atrium, and the signal doesn’t go too far beyond the Purser’s Desk.

 

GrammaZ: there were only 2 formal nights – the first sea day and Christmas.

 

Sambaqueen: we heard from some who did excursions in Belize (I can’t remember which ones, though), and they said they enjoyed them. Belize, Costa Maya (Majahual), and Cristobal all were places where it seemed that if you didn’t do an excursion there wasn’t much else to see. Not necessarily a bad thing as far as we were concerned. We still enjoyed the time in each port. I heard third-hand information that “not a lot of people” enjoyed the excursions in Cristobal. I’ll let you interpret that as you will. I did speak to a friend who took the train/motorcoach trip to the Pacific and back. He said it was ok. Nothing special. Then again, someone else I talked to who took the boat tour of the locks (they went through the locks on a small boat) said it was awesome.

 

Riviera Deck Randy: we also heard the same about Costa Maya. But we did enjoy our time on the beach.

 

Philip

[Hulagirl]

It is interesting reading about your cruise. We will be sailing on the Grand again next December for the cruise that is the week before Christmas. We will disembark on Christmas Eve, so hopefully it will be a good sailing.

 

First, I do have to make a comment about the adult only pools. The pool that is covered by the retractable roof is not an adult only pool. We have sailed on the Grand 4 times, with the most recent being this past summer, and this pool has never been an adult only pool. So there would definitely be kids at that pool. Only the pool at the back of the ship is for adults all the time. The pool off the spa, lap pool, does have a couple of hours designated for family time(at last it used to), but only for a short time period. I just want to clear this up for future cruisers.

 

I really do like this class of ship, and the Grand being the first built did have a few design flaws. Don't remember if the Golden's gym was larger or not. Now on the Island it was good sized as well as on the Diamond. They seem to be making the gym's larger on the newer ships. Yes, I should be visiting them on the cruises.

 

Our daughter is now a teen, but when she was younger she loved the kids programs on Princess. I do think it has a lot to do with the many family's on the cruise. As Coral said, when she was on the Thanksgiving cruise last year, many of the kids were pretty wild. I would hate for parents to think that Princess doesn't have a good kids program, since they really do.

 

Glad to hear you had such a good dinner at Sterlings! We are anxious to try it on the Star this April and on the Grand in December. It was still the Southwestern restaurant this past summer.

 

Yes, you must do something in Costa Maya to enjoy this port. First time there all we did was the shopping area and we didn't care for it at all. Last time we did the Uvero Beach Break and loved it. It seems that most people who do some tour or go to the town of Majahual enjoy this stop. You were wise to not leave the shopping area at our stop for Panama. We were on the Island Princess this past spring and did a tour there. It ended back at the shopping pier before the ship returned out of the canal (it was the partial canal cruise). We were advised not to leave this area and I had been in contact with previous cruisers who also advised this. It is just not a safe area outside this.

 

Hope the rest of your cruise is good. Your insights have been interesting about the cruise.

 

Hulagirl

[PhilipNTx]

We were back in Austin by 12:30pm. Debarkation was a breeze, thanks to the facts that we were in one of the first groups to get off and we had stayed at Harbor House. Also helping was the lack of any other ship in port today.

 

I'll try and write a review, but most of my comments are given above. Overall we had a really good time. "Bad" things can happen on any trip or vacation; it's what you make of the entire experience that helps it to be a fun time. We're definitely up for trying Princess, and in particular Grand Princess, again.

 

Happy New Year everyone!

 

Philip

[BJS]

We had a great time!

 

The nearly 600 children must have spent all their time at the pools as we rarely saw them (we never went to the pools). The only incident was the removal of names from the stateroom "mailboxes" one evening and a missing "do not disturb sign". Only once did we find multiple elevator buttons pushed. Much better than a spring break cruise.

 

We had a Princess transfer from IAH and that went well until we arrived at the port. It was the supervisors for porters that caused the problems. They had the majority standing around waiting for cars to drive up and drop off luggage while 6 buses sat for about 1 1/2 hours waiting to be unloaded (11:15 until 12:45). To compound the wait the A/C did not work on our bus and the majority demanded to be let out to wait curbside. By the time we got into the terminal lines moved swiftly if you had Platinum check -in - we just walked up to the counter and then waited for about 5 min. to pass through security.

 

We found the dining room food to be very good. There has been a Caribbean menu added plus several changes, for the better, on a couple of the other menus. Horizon Court has never been our favorite but they did appear to do a good job with the salad selections the two times we went there.

 

Movies Under the Stars - 7:30 pm showing of "Collateral" had very poor picture quality and was difficult to understand. With families eating around that area and others talking it was not the positive experience we had hoped for. In our opinion, that part of the deck should be roped off completely, pizza and grill shut down, and lights dimed if they are going to offer these types of movies for adults.

 

We had Personal Choice and opted to have a standing reservation for 6 pm with a great wait team so didn't experience any waiting. The dining room was rarely more than 20% filled during breakfast or lunch and except for the first night and the formal nights it did not fill until about 6:45.

We are sailing on the Grand next month and are very interested in feedback about shore excursions. Heard anything from other cruisers about excursions in Belize? Didn't you stop in Majahual (sp?) on the Mexican Riviera?Any news?

 

Costa Maya (Majahual) we really enjoyed our trip to the Mayan Ruins. Despite a 90 min. ride each way both Dzibanche and Kohunlich were worth the trip. In Belize we went on the Airboat Adventure and like previous cruises have posted saw no Manatee but an abundance of birds. Having been through the Panama Canal and to the Indian Village this time we opted to go to Panama City. We enjoyed the trip. I was very surprised that some took it expecting to see the canal - can't imagine any one going all this way and not seeing the canal - which you do not see. DH enjoyed snorkeling with the rays and on the reef in Grand Cayman. In Cozumel, a very chilly and windy day, we opted to visit the shops at the port. We found that even with the port & shopping advisor's VIP sticker you could get them to lower their prices on jewelry.

 

The Promenade deck does have seating. There are several benches with cushions on them rather than the wooden lougers found on the Sun Class ships. They are more of a short term seating arrangement. The observation we did have about this deck was that due to its height variations and the narrow areas it is not easily used for excercise. It works fine for walking but runners and joggers seem to be adverse to using the "jogging track" designed for that purpose and they are continually making it very difficult for the walkers to enjoy this area. One runner did tell me that they would have to go around that track 9 times to equal a mile vs. 3 times around the Promenade deck so it was not acceptable.

 

For some reason all of the water, even in the dining room, had a horrible taste and smell to it. In the past we found once the water was put in the refrigerator it was very drinkable but not this cruise. Funny also that, unlike our last cruise on the Dawn, we were not asked once if we wanted bottled water in the dining rooms.

 

The crew was very friendly and always smiled and greeted us when ever we saw them. Service was consistently good in the dining room, the pursers desk was helpful and polite, and our room steward went out of his way to please.

 

James Lay, cruise director, seemed to be more visable than others we have had and there was a very wide variety of things to do. We enjoyed two very good lecturers in addition to the "usual" activites.

 

A great cruise and something for those that have it booked to really look forward to. :)

[CarolynL4]

Dec. 18 - Embarkation

We had a pretty leisurely day -- I wasn't stressed since the boarding passes said show up after 2 for less crowded conditions. We got there at about 3, and if that was "less crowded", I'd hate to be there at 12!

But as was previously discussed, they'd never had 3 ships in, so it was pretty bad. The worst part had to be for the internationals -- the line for non-American citizens was on the far end where you couldn't really see it, so people stood in line for (what seemed like) forever, only to be told they had been in the wrong line.

However, the Grand's staff was very patient, and once we were on the ship, we were delighted with our inside cabin (Dolphin 123, category JJ). There were 3 of us, and we still got all our clothes (6 suitcases worth) unpacked. Raul was our steward, and he was wonderful. I couldn't possibly gush enough about him!

We met our roll call group which was fun, but it was absolutely freezing, so we headed in early.

Just a warning for those sensitive to medications -- I didn't think I was, so I waited until I was feeling a little queasy from the rocking to take the Dramamine. Big mistake...I spent 2 days exhausted, shivering, and cranky. I think it was side effects combined with a new environment. (My first cruise, but I've always gotten sick when I go overseas.)

So follow the good advice you see on the boards, and start taking it the day before!

 

Dec. 19 - Sea Day

A lot of lounging by the pool and getting to know the ship!

 

Dec. 20 - Belize

We did the tale of 2 cities tour in Belize, which was a lot of fun! Totally worth the $52. They showed you some ruins and let you climb one, and then they gave you a tour of "new Belize" which is the town which has 3 of the country's 4 traffic lights. The tour guides were fun and patient.

 

Costa Maya

Lots of fun, we found this port and Panama was the best shopping -- you just have to get away from the pier. We got hammocks for $15, and I'm pretty sure we could've bargained them down to $10. We went horseback riding with Costa Maya Excursions, and really enjoyed it, even though there wasn't as much beach riding as we thought there would be. Instead, we got a chance to see how the locals live, and some of the other pretty isolated beach areas. In addition, the food we had was excellent!

Just a warning, we were told to be at the meeting point at 9:45 -- and we showed up right on time. However, then they put us on a bus to get to the beach where we'd actually be meeting the horses. So once we got to that rendevous point, we were too late to make our 10AM ride. This almost happened again in Grand Cayman -- sometimes the trip vendors get a loose with their meeting times, so always show up early!

 

Grand Cayman

Stingrays were AWESOME! We used Sotos, and they were great, very professional. They took us on 2 snorkeling stops, each of 8-9 feet, and a stingray stop of 2-3 feet. The only thing I felt a little leery about was when the guide kept teasing out the moray eel. Yes, I'm a chicken, but when I've got my legs dangling in the water, I don't want anything with large teeth near me.

And the stingrays really reminded me of eager puppies, but I was terrified of accidently hitting their sting. I know it's silly since they wouldn't hurt you on purpose, but the waves were strong enough to almost knock me down at some points.

Oh, and although they have no teeth, my boyfriend somehow cut his thumb up when a stingray suctioned it in...bled for quite awhile. So don't let your kids feed them. (Obvious, but you never know what the kids might feel like doing.)

Just a note, I can't swim, and I had a BLAST...I just wore a lifejacket and mask. I didn't bother with the snorkeling pipe, I just held my breath as long as I could -- the pipe took too long to get used to.

Didn't buy anything but rum cakes in Grand Cayman. Some of the stores offer small discounts that the Tortuga store doesn't.

 

Panama

Panama, we didn't book a tour, and that was a HUGE mistake. We went to the free zone, and a lot of stores were closed -- because it was Christmas Eve, maybe? I guess Panamanians aren't procastinators like us Americans. We went back to the Pier where I bought some embroidered goods. Good bargaining, alcohol was cheapest here, I think. (Cheaper than Cozumel, anyway, where we ended up buying.)

 

Cozumel

Cozumel was a huge disappointment, but only because of the weather. It never rained, but it was chilly, windy, and all water activities were canceled. We went to Paradise Beach, and the staff was terrific, and the food was great, it was just cold. It took forever for food to get out to us, and when it did, it had obviously been sitting there waiting for someone to bring it to us. (Congealed fat on the meat and re-solidified cheese). It took 20 minutes to get a Dos Equis. When we asked the staff about our food/drink, they were very apologetic but it didn't really seem to speed up the process. The pico de gallo and guacomole were fantastic, though. Drinks are also great -- get the pineapple! :D

Very few people were there (probably due to conditions), so we had our pick of seating.

 

Disembarkation

A breeze!

 

Extra Notes:

Phillip mentioned the ship sounding like an old house, and that's so true. The creaking didn't bother me so much as the loud slamming below us. It really sounded like a dumpster was sliding back and forth and hitting the walls. It occured to me that they were getting rid of trash down there, but it only occured on the middle 6 nights -- not the first 2 or last 2. Very strange, we never figured out what it was.

We were so exhausted from our activities on port days and from doing nothing on sea days; however, that we still fell soundly asleep.

I spent a lot of time in the library -- I read voraciously, and favor easy to carry paperbacks. I was really sad that all the books were hardbacks. I didn't realize until the 4th day that there's a lone shelf that serves as the paperback exchange. Once I saw that, I donated all 7 of the books I brought (bought for 10 cents at the Friends of the Library booksales), and picked up more. Next time, I'll bring a whole suitcase full of books! It would be so much fun if CC members participated and put some kind of CC donation notation in there. :D

I really disappointed Andy (boyfriend) because I told him that if he joined the Hurricane Club and got all the drinks of the day for the trip, he'd get a prize at the end. I could've SWORN I saw that somewhere, but it's not true. So sorry to anyone I spread the "news" to. :(

If you miss a movie on MUTS, have no fears, it shows on your in-room tv the next day.

All in all, great trip, and we can't wait for our next! :D

[CarolynL4]

It works fine for walking but runners and joggers seem to be adverse to using the "jogging track" designed for that purpose and they are continually making it very difficult for the walkers to enjoy this area. One runner did tell me that they would have to go around that track 9 times to equal a mile vs. 3 times around the Promenade deck so it was not acceptable.

The jogging track is only open 8-8. It says 8PM - 8AM on the signs, but I think we can safely assume that's an error. Personally, I do a lot of running at night, and the cruise literature never said anything about the promenade deck being for walkers as opposed to runners. (I could've sworn it said for both.) I never realized that walkers found runners interfered with their enjoyment...I wish I had known and apologize. :o

 

As for the kids...wow. Kids are loud. I'm pretty insulated from them, unless I'm babysitting, and I had no idea people would be okay with their kids engaging in some of the behavior I saw in the formal dining rooms. Nothing I couldn't tune out, but it was an eye opener. It's one thing to run around and play and shriek outside by the pools and while you watch Shrek on the MUTS, but it's annoying (and unsafe) to let your kids to yell and giggle maniacally while running up and down the stairs/hallways unsupervised.

I will admit that the entire cruise, there were these 2 little boys who I constantly saw unsupervised. They'd strike up loud conversations with total strangers, clearly annoying the piss out of some people, and throwing ship decorations around. Then, during one conversation I overheard, they said they were in the teenagers club, indicating that they were at least 13!!!!

I'm getting old. :eek:

[ENJINOK]

Is the surcharge for Sabitini's and the Steakhouse $20.00 a person, or is that for the group? How soon did you make a reservation upon boarding? Do you have to eat with a group or are there tables for two?

Looking forward to your replies!

[Colo Cruiser]

Hula Girl that is not true about the current pool. The current pool and the rear terrace pool is adults only. I believe Phillip was not talking about the pool under the retactable roof. :)

[chasingships]

Could you possibly give me info on the Harbor House. My family is staying there in Jan. How early did you arrive and what type of room view did you recieve was it a view of the cruise ships coming in? How were the rooms? Did you drive to the port to load and unload your luggage or did you walk there?:D

[Paula_MacFan]

Just a little while ago we were in the Conservatory pool (the pool with the retractable roof), which is supposedly an adults-only pool, and there were no fewer than 20 kids in the pool, most of them screaming at the tops of their collective lungs.

 

ColoCruiser --

 

I think this is what HulaGirl was referring to.