Brennivan

Traveling Feb.10, 2002 Grand Princess. Wondered if anybody knows about the mini suites onboard. Also, this is my first cruise and would love suggestions regarding this ship.<BR><BR>Thanks !!!!!!!

Paul Therault

<BR>The only negative is that the passengers above can look down on your balcony. If this bothers you book category AD, Emerald Deck Aft.<BR><BR>Paul

susan

We returned from this cruise a week ago. You're in for a real treat. My recommendations are: The group 'Sil vous plait' in the Explorers lounge. The lead singer has a great voice and there is dancing. If 'Kimika' is still performing make sure you see their act.<BR>The middle pool on board is very busy and mostly surrounded by younger couples. They have a band called 'Calypso' play during several hours every day. The pools at the end and front of the ship are adults only. There are many hot tubs so you can always claim one. We were on the Personal Choice dining and enjoyed it very much. The DaVinci dining room was our favorite and we loved the food. Make sure you try the Pina Colada and Apple/Peach cold soups. Outstanding! On lobster night we ordered seconds because it was so delicious (and we're not people who eat a lot). At breakfast if you order an eggwhite or regular omelette with any fillings you want they taste better than what is at the buffet. I wasn't impressed with the breakfast buffet. The cruise director is a kick, he must be constantly on caffeine. Tropical night is great fun, don't miss it, and they make crepes in the Lido Buffet room around 10:00 only on this night. I could go on and on but won't, you will not want to end your cruise. Good luck. PS. we had an inside room and loved it. I'm sure the mini suites are great but also a lot more money.

Carl

How does personal dining work? We are thinking of trying it this time. Do you have to make reservations? Did you have any trouble getting seated when you wanted to dine?

susan

Carl, We loved PC on the Grand Princess. Two dining rooms, DaVinci and Michaelangelo. You can't make reservations for PC. If you're an early diner go at 6:00 when they open for no wait. Their busiest times are 7:00-8:15, maybe a 10-15 minute wait on certain nights. We enoyed this dining option because on shore days we would return to the ship late afternoon and have a late lunch at the buffet so we didn't eat dinner until 8:00. Other days we wanted to eat at 6:30. The waiters were all professional and attentive so we didn't care about having the same one every evening. On our 7 night cruise we were seated, by chance, at the same table for 4 nights with the same waiter who got to know us and was very pleasant. Just please don't be like some people we saw who because they weren't immediately seated, started yelling at everyone working on the ship. No matter how great the service we still saw some demanding, extremely boorish people. Have fun.