My parents would love to hear from anyone that has taken the Grand Princess to: <BR>Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Florence, Naples, Venice, Athens, Ephesus,Turkey and ending in Istanbul, Turkey. They have a choice to leave either Sept. 9th or Sept. 21st. There's only 1-1.5 days in each port...is this too hecktic? How's the food, entertainment or anything you could tell them about it. Thank you for your time.

Took the Grand Princess on a 7 day carribbean cruise in November. The ship is beautiful. We had a mini-suite and it was a very good size with good storage and roomy bathroom. People at our table had a standard room with balcony and said the same thing-you need to get a balcony. <BR> <BR>The food was very good and the service all around was excellent. You did feel crowded topside when it was sunny and everyone wanted deck chairs, but other than that, things were not as bad as expected with 2,500+ people. <BR> <BR>Hope they enjoy.

Just hoping someone out there has been on this exact cruise to help out my parents...thanks.

Just bringing this up to the top again...hoping someones taken this cruise!

Hi Sue! <BR>We took this exact trip 2 years ago and had a wonderful time.There are many excursions to pick from but some have climbing and long walks and we saw some older people have a hard time with these tours.However they do tell you before you book the tour the level of walking for each one.We found they alloted us enough time to see the main sites. <BR>Wonderful entertainment but since our trip was 2 years ago I doubt if it is the same. <BR>If you have any more questions drop me an email and I will try my best to answer them. <BR> <BR>

Hi Sue, <BR> <BR>We went on this cruise last year (Aug.30) and really enjoyed it. I would definitely rec. a room with a veranda. It was so pleasant to sit outside your room and enjoy the "ride" and the sites when in port. <BR> <BR>The port stops don't have to be hectic. If your parents don't like to do things on their own, I would rec. the 1/2 day tours. Usually older people get up early and have more energy in the morning (who doesn't), so they could take the A.M. tours and relax on board ship after lunch, or just walk around the town where the ship docks. <BR> <BR>The ship is very large, so if walking is a problem they may want to request a room near a dining room or close to the exit ramps. By the way, there were a number of people in wheelchairs and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. <BR>However, I don't recall seeing any wheelchairs on the tours. <BR> <BR>Elsa <BR>

Oops, I forgot to comment on the food and entertainment. <BR> <BR>I thought the food was quite good considering the number of people that are being fed at once. The buffet got boring after the same thing pretty much day after day. <BR> <BR>The entertainment was also quite good,although we didn't go to a lot of the shows, because we got up early the next morning(s). There was always something going on it seemed, so I doubt that one would get bored. <BR> <BR>Elsa

Hello Sue, <BR> <BR>I did the Grand med last August. It was fantastic!!! The Grand is worth every penny, I think it is one of the most beautiful ship ever built. She is very stable and I had to look outside to see if we are moving at all. The food is great and a lot to choose from. <BR> <BR>The most beautiful port is Venice. Like a dream, the entrance to Venice is was the highlight of the cruise. <BR> <BR>We were lucky with the weather, not hot 23-25C all the trip. Rare for August. <BR> <BR>You can find my review and pictures in: <BR>http://www.geocities.com/sima1111/ <BR> <BR>as well as pictures from the Grand Princess ports. <BR> <BR>If you can take early September, but it doesn't matter much because it is south Europe and the weather is good all season. <BR> <BR>You can make the shore excursions as hard or as easy as you wish, there are a lot of easy tours done mainly by bus. <BR> <BR>Sima

We took the identical cruise about 2 years ago and had a good time. Be sure to tell them to opt for early seating, a balcony, and all the side trips that they are interested in--you can cancel while on board, but when they are full, then you are locked out. Food is good...entertainment special. Lots of walking as ship is big, but we never felt crowded, as Princess does a good job of handling people. On the whole, it was wonderful. It is a very big ship, and the feeling of being on the sea is somewhat lost, as there is little or no sensation of movement..that is all to the good for some folks. It is a grand ship. We stayed an extra week in Istanbul, a great value and had a wonderufl time...prearranged, not thru Princess, but thru our own agent. Stayed near the Blus Mosque, and could walk to most things. Also had a guide for 5 days and an air conditioned van, all very reasonable.