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trip report first cruise: Princess Grand Caribbean Western

trip report first cruise: Princess Grand Caribbean Western

Old Oct 21st, 2003, 10:58 AM
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trip report first cruise: Princess Grand Caribbean Western

Part 1)
I?m just back from my very first cruise: Princess Grand seven day Western Caribbean itinerary.
This report is offered from the perspective of a person who never had a desire to go on a cruise and went only because my girlfriend wanted to celebrate our anniversary and asked me to join her. Although my personal preference is still land based adventure oriented vacations, I had a fantastic time and will definitely take more cruises in the future. The shortcomings were few and far between, the pleasant surprises were abundant, it was an exceptional value and may well be the most relaxing week I?ve ever enjoyed.

Arrival and Departure: early AM flight from central NY state to FLL ? five minute cab ride for $10.50 including trip to the pier. We went through embarkation from about 12:15 PM until 1:20 PM ? a lengthy process as many people seem to arrive early. It?s conceivable that arriving later would speed up this process. After boarding we showed the Purser?s desk a copy of our departure flight itinerary (leaving FLL at 10:42 AM) and were given red priority luggage tags. We disembarked at 8:40 AM, about ten minutes after the process began and were through customs and at the airport with our luggage by 10:00 - remarkably painless and efficient.

The Food: We switched to Personal Choice dining after starting out with Traditional Dining. Getting a grim faced waiter and a very poor table (above the ships engine and the floor below our chairs vibrated constantly) prompted our decision but the flexibility to eat when we chose and choose to sit with others or by ourselves was a blessing and we?d opt for that plan again.

We also ate twice at the Painted Desert. It?s one of the alternative dining choices and has an $8 per person surcharge ? this includes a Margarita or similar drink (with or without alcohol). The quiet and more intimate atmosphere of this bistro style restaurant was a welcome change from a large and busy dining room. The food is upscale Mexican ? it was better the first night than it was the second but still worth trying. Skip the marinated steak. The chicken fajitas were excellent as was the black bean with lobster soup and the tequila prawns entrée. Caesar salad was better than what the dining room serves but not stellar. The pumpkin cheesecake was the best dessert I had on the entire cruise ? excellent.
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Old Oct 21st, 2003, 10:58 AM
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Part 2)
Dining room dinners were good ? my GF says it?s about the same as Carnival (she has sailed with them three times) but she?s not too attuned to the nuances of food quality. Other experienced cruisers I spoke to on the ship think Princess has much better food. Overall I?d describe the quality as on a par with a decent hotel restaurant ? consistently acceptable, usually good and occasionally outstanding. With the exception of the Caesar salad (sub-par) and the steak, the salads and appetizers were good and the entrees decent. The sirloin steak certainly didn?t seem to be prime dry aged beef as advertised ? it was overcooked and mediocre. Some of my other entrees were very good and the rack of lamb Dijonais was among the best dishes I?ve ever had anywhere. Vegetable accompaniments were always expertly cooked and of high quality. Desserts were imaginative on occasion but generally average, the chocolate hazelnut soufflé with sabayon sauce being the exception. I?ve had better dessert soufflés in some high end restaurants but this was pretty darn good for a cruise ship dining room.

Dining room breakfasts were good and IMHO far superior to the Horizon Court buffet. We did enjoy the selection of fruits and pastries at the buffet but there?s no omelet station and the egg dishes in general were not so great. Apart from two breakfasts in the buffet and a cup of soup one afternoon, we didn?t eat there and aren?t in a position to comment on overall quality. The grill by the pool does have a tasty chicken breast sandwich and the pizza was decent ? about as good as you?d get from the average neighborhood pizzeria and a step above Domino?s and Pizza Hut.

Overall, the food was surprisingly good ? better than I expected and I looked forward to all of our meals.

Service: Princess really shines in this category. Our room steward was fantastic and very attentive yet unobtrusive. The dining room atmosphere and service was impeccable ? at the level one would expect in the best restaurants. I was greeted with a smile and a friendly attitude everywhere I went ? from Purser?s desk to the casino to the lounges. They pamper customers and truly go beyond the call of duty to ensure your comfort. It was the best and friendliest service I?ve ever received anywhere in any industry ? absolutely outstanding (by the way?. at various times in my career I?ve worked as a busboy, a waiter, a bartender, a customer service rep, a tech support person and a retail clerk - I?m quite familiar with how difficult it is to impart and maintain such a positive attitude in a service related industry ? Princess really gets it right!).

The Ship: It may be five years old but it?s impeccable and spotless. Décor is understated and in some cases elegant. Cleanliness was at the highest levels and the constant ongoing maintenance appears to take place mostly during the night when it doesn?t interfere with passengers. The supposed ?musty smell? that a few people have mentioned as being present on this ship was not in evidence ? I did detect it for one brief moment coming from an open doorway that led to some mechanical room on the ship but it was never present in any of the rooms or public areas that we frequented (I have a sensitive nose and would have noticed it).

The stateroom was a bit tight on storage space but large suitcases fit nicely under the bed and we had adequate space. We received an upgrade to a balcony cabin on the Caribe deck and I?m truly spoiled ? the 9 foot by 9 foot balcony had two chaises, two chairs and two small tables. It was partially covered and we sat out there for at least a short while nearly every day. The fridge was regularly restocked with a fresh ice bucket ? I refilled my water bottles from the bathroom sink and chilled them in the fridge overnight ? the water was good.

Elevator service was often spotty. There are sometimes interminable waits for an elevator and it appears that none of them are moving ? at other times they?re quick. We took to using the stairs more often than not.

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Old Oct 21st, 2003, 10:59 AM
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Part 3)
Entertainment: We saw three comedy shows ? one mediocre, one passable but not great and one that was outrageously funny. The gala dance and music shows in the Princess Theater were sort of Vegas style revues of a very high caliber ? the singers and dancers were as good as I?ve seen in many Broadway shows and the lighting, sound and staging were highly professional. Be sure to arrive in the Vista Lounge or the Princess Theater a good twenty minutes early for any show ? the seats fill fasts and some seats in the Vista Lounge have obscured view.

Musical entertainment in the lounges left much to be desired for my tastes. I found most of it to be a bit schlocky and middle if the road. There were no live music acts that we found very danceable (we prefer Motown or R ?n B style music for dancing rather) and none that really rocked but we had fun dancing in the Skywalker disco one night until it got too smoky.

The passengers: The cruise director implied that it was a full ship but I think there were some empty cabins. It was a large group (at least 2500 I?d guess) yet never felt congested except when a large show had just let out and the halls were full of pedestrians. Roughly 1/3 appeared to be in the late 30?s to early 50?s age range, about 1/3 were older folks (late 60?s to 80?s) and lastly a mix of younger couples and families. We were advised that June ? August sailings and Christmas season have as many as 700 ? 800 children per cruise ? be forewarned!

We are an interracial couple (my GF is African-American) and were surprised to see so few people of color on board. This is apparently a marked contrast to Carnival, which has a broader representation of people but may be partly due to different marketing and advertising approaches. Regardless, we had a great time and enjoyed meeting many new people throughout the cruise.

Shore Excursions: My GF did all the Caribbean shore excursions on previous cruises and had no interest in doing more. I shared her feelings and apart from a scuba trip that I took in Grand Cayman, we did no excursions. We did have lunch in both Georgetown and Cozumel and wandered around a bit. At Costa Maya we took the twenty minute walk down the beach to Mahahual ? very aggressive crafts vendors were in abundance but we had some outrageously good conch seviche at a beachfront restaurant there ? only $10 for a huge plate full!

In summation: apart from some minor nitpicking in the food department and the slow elevators, this was an outstanding experience in all possible ways and a great value for the money. I will definitely cruise again and may try some other lines for variation but Princess will unquestionably get my repeat business.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2003, 04:56 AM
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Enjoyed your comments and observations. Which ship was it? We are looking at the Dawn Princess for a winter cruise. My husband and I do like to dance and prefer quiet type music - piano bar, etc. Did you see any of those or slow type dancing lounges? Also, in the brochure I only saw one outside large pool - as we like to sit on deck by the pool, I wondered if there is adequate seating and places to just lie in the sun. Thanks.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2003, 08:45 AM
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We were on the Princess Grand - the Dawn is a smaller ship (about 1800 - 2000 passengers vs. 2600 - 2700 on the Grand). The Grand has four pools - two are reserved for adults only and two are for kids and adults. I looked at the Princess web site and it appears that there are either two or three pools on the Dawn - if it's three I think that one is just a "splash" pool - not big enough to really swim in. We noticed that the open pools (where all ages could swim) had the deck chaises just adjacent to the pool generally filled but chairs further out were always open. The adults only pools were never crowded on our cruise.

There was always at least one lounge with live music that was suitable for slow/couples dancing (vs. dance club or disco type dancing which was confinied to the disco). There was also a very good house band that played for the major theatre and lounge shows.

In the Vista Lounge (sort of a lounge/theatre where smaller productions or comedy shows were staged), the house band usually played a 45 minutes set most evenings prior to the stage show. the stage itself was open for couple dancing and a fair number of people took advantage of it.

You can get very specific answers by going to Princess section of the Cruise Addicts forum - you'll need to register (free) in order to post but it's worth the trouble - I got loads of very helpful in the process of planning our trip.

http://www.cruise-addicts.com/forums/index.php
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Old Oct 22nd, 2003, 01:20 PM
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Owen,
Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise. Which pools are adults only on the Grand? That was my biggest gripe about the Star Princess last year, four pools and not a single one was designated adults only!

Meadowbrook,
There are 3 pool areas on the Dawn. The main Riviera pool(s) midship, the splash pool on the forward deck, and the Oasis pool near the spa on the aft deck. I think the Oasis pool is adults only and it's quieter back here. Your best bet for some slow dancing music is in the Wheelhouse bar.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2003, 01:47 PM
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On the grand there are two adult only pools. One is in the very stern of the ship - it's recessed below the rear lounging deck and bar area just afte of the Horizon Court buffet and right below the Skywalkers night club. It's a moderate sized square pool with a great view out the pool right over the stern and was never crowded. The other adult pool is up above deck 14 inside of the jogging track and behind the deck area that is for teens only (the teens area is completely separated by a wall - there's no spill-over to the pool area). This pool is rectangular, a bit larger, is surrounded by exterior ship walls and offers plenty of shade in the surrounding lounging area. It also sports a current machine that when turned on allows you to swim in place against the resisting current (the swimmers just push a button to turn it on).
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