Grand Princess Trip Report (9/21/03-9/28/03)

Background: Myself, age 48, 10+ cruises (Carnival, NCL, RCI,
Princess); my Mom, age 72, 5+ cruises (Carnival, NCL, Princess), my
sister, age 42, only other cruise Carnival Triumph 3 nighter from NYC
to Canada. My mom and sister had no knowledge until 2 months ago that
I was treating them to this cruise. Originally we were booked on
George Leppla's group on the Norway, but after that was cancelled, I
decided to rebook the Grand Princess.

Precruise: Despite Isabel's best efforts to deny us this much-needed
vacation, we all arrived and met at FLL as planned (my sister arrived
separately from Virginia). We left all the husbands and kids home,
but surely my BIL got the short-end of the stick. He was left with
3-year-old twins, no electricity, no phone service, and the yard was
surrounded by downed 60-80 ft. oak trees. My sister left the house
with nary a care, so that tells you how much SHE needed this
vacation!!! (When she spoke with him later in the week and heard the
desperation in his voice, she said "welcome to MY world." His reply?
"No, you're world at least includes electricity!" Touche!)

I had booked a prenight at the Ft. Lauderdale Marriott Marina (one of
my favorite hotels). Got a AAA rate of $99/night, and that included
the breakfast buffet, which normally costs $12.95 pp. It's a great
hotel location wise ($10 cab ride from the airport and across the
street from Port Everglades). The accommodations are lovely, and
sitting at the outdoor Tiki Bar sipping a pina colada is a nice way to
begin a cruise vacation. We took the water taxi (which stops at the
Marriott Marina) for $5 you can ride all day, and we went down to Los
Olas Riverfront for dinner (just had a casual bite to eat at the Ugly
Tuna Saloon). Went back to hotel later that evening, watched a little
of the Miss America pageant, and fell asleep.

Got up the next a.m., went to the gym at the hotel to work out, and
came back, showered and dressed, and had breakfast. We had signed up
for the free shuttle the hotel provides to head over to the ship at
11:30. The shuttle fills up fast, so it's best to book the time you
want the night before.

Arrived at the ship around 11:45 and had express check-in. It took us
about 30 minutes of standing in line before we reached the counter,
and once there, check-in took less than a minute for each of the three
of us. In no time at all, we were getting our embarkation photo (came
out awful, but I always buy them) taken, and walking into the lobby of
the Grand Princess.

I will now break down my review in sections:

First Impression: The ship is clean, beautiful, and very well
maintained. I thought the lobby of the Golden Princess was just a tad
prettier, but that's being very critical. There were plenty of staff
members pointing the way to our cabin, holding elevators for us, etc.
So far, so good.

Cabin: We had a mini-suite located on Dolphin Deck midship (Cabin
D422). Excellent location. The mini-suite is very nicely appointed,
and despite the fact that we were three women who had waaaaaaaaaay
overpacked, there was a place for everything. Since I would be
sleeping on the sofabed, I asked for extra padding. They were out of
egg crate mattresses, but did put an extra mattress on the existing
mattress each night. This turned out to be very comfortable, but
without it, I think sleeping on a 3 inch mattress might have been a
bit uncomfortable.

Misc: I had pre-ordered a tray of canapes and a bottle of wine as a
surprise for my Mom and sister, and here Princess let me down.
Neither were in the cabin when we arrived. No big deal. I figured
they'd be there in a bit. We walked around the ship a bit. Came back
to the cabin to find our bags had already arrived. No canapes or
wine. Called the cabin steward. All the while I'm trying to get this
resolved without my Mom and sister knowing what I was doin, since I
wanted this to be a surprise. Yes, he was aware we had ordered it and
he would bring it right over. He brought it promptly, but brought a
Merlot (red) instead of the Chardonnay (white) I had ordered. Still
no canapes. He said he would see if he could get me the correct wine.
We said we'd walk around a little more, and when he got the correct
wine, could he make sure it was placed in the room, chilling in a
bucket and the canapes be brought also? Came back a while later to
fine the correct bottle of wine, not chilled, and still no canapes.
It took a while, but we finally got it rectified. It was taken out of
the cabin steward's hands and handled by room service. They came by
and set it up very nicely on our balcony and we enjoyed a toast while
we sailed away. But it sure did take away from the surprise I had
planned.

Service: With the exception of the cabin steward, our service was
outstanding the entire week. The cabin steward just could never seem
to get his act together. I asked him for extra pool towels daily, and
sometimes we got them, sometimes we didn't, sometimes he said he had
NONE to give us at all (huh???), and sometimes one or two of us got an
extra one, but not the third person. He always seemed confused. We
were three people, we want 6 pool towels every day. He could never
get it right. It wasn't a problem with language. He spoke and
understood English very well. He just didn't seem to care too much
about pleasing us. Oh well, his tip was standard; no more, no less.

Having said that, everybody else on the ship provided the most
outstanding service. One night we had a problem with awful looking
water suddenly starting to back up into the bathtub (thank goodness no
one was in the tub at the time, but we heard the glub-glub sound and
when we checked it out, it didn't look good). I called the Purser's
Desk. Within 3 minutes they were up there. They had the cabin
steward clean the gross stuff (I shudder to think what it was), and
said a plumber would be there promptly. He was. He worked on it the
entire time we were at dinner and was just finishing up when we
returned from dinner. It was quite a job, apparently. But the way
Princess handled it was quick and efficient. Everyone smiled, everyone
was efficient, personable. I can't say enough good things about the
staff. We ran into the Captain several times. He meandered around
the deck one day while we were in Cozumel, and I'm embarrassed to say,
I didn't realiz it was the Captain and was thisclose to asking him for
the drink special of the day! He was extremely friendly, and we had
our pictures taken with him many times. He was a real class act, but
related very well to all the passengers as well. His name is Guiseppe
Romano and I hope you have the pleasure of sailing with him sometime.

Dining: We did Personal Choice Dining and I LOVE IT!!! We tended to
go to the DaVinco Dining Room most meals, and we always requested a
table with others. We tended to show up around 7 to 7:30 p.m. We were
always seated immediately except for one night, and the wait that one
time was about 15 minutes (they gave us a beeper and we went to have a
drink while we waited...no big deal). They seated us at tables for 8
or 10, and we met some of the lovliest people I've ever had the
pleasure of meeting onboard a cruise. All walks of life; all ages;
all nationalities. Dining was truly a wonderful experience. We never
ran into a bad waiter the entire week. One night he was a bit
indifferent, but that's what's nice about PC Dining. We didn't have
him again the rest of the week. Everyone else was absolutely
outstanding. The food was excellent, always piping hot. One word of
warning. If you like your beef really rare (as my sister does), one
waiter told us to ask for it "blue." Otherwise, they do tend to
overcook their beef. I ordered one step rarer than I would normally
order, and it was perfect. The breads were outstanding. Desserts
were hit or miss, but the New York Style Cheesecake (offered every
night) was outstanding all the time. We ate breakfast in the dining
room every morning (a first for me), and I find it not only a nicer
way to start the morning, but I found I tended to eat less than I
would at the buffet. I think the fact that the dining rooms are one
level makes for a much more intimate feel than some ships that are two
and three levels.

We had dinner one night at Sabatini's and it was worth every penny.
BTW, my sister brought 14 bottles of wine with her (2 broke, so we
were left with 12), and it was no problem. But as we had been told
beforehand, there is a $10 corkage fee for every bottle they open.
They are very gracious about this. We did do the $7.50 wine tasting
one day; I'm not a wine connoissieur, but I did enjoy it. My sister
(who is a bit of a wine connoissieur) also did the $25 wine tasting
(it included more expensive wines and caviar) thought it was just
so-so. I think she had higher expectations.

The buffet, open 24 hours a day, had excellent offerings.

The pizza was some of the best I've had, and plain and pepperoni were
offered everyday, and one specialty pizza changed every day.

The grill had the greatest french fries (but I swear I just had a
few!).

The Spa: For a ship this size, I do believe the gym should have been
built larger. There are about 8 treadmills, and you sign up each day
for the next day. We signed up every day at 7:30 a.m., and our
machine was always available to us. However, I must say there were a
few very rude Europeans on board who, almost every day, had signed up
for the 8 a.m. time slot and began at 7:55 to harrass us to get off
the treadmill. This was quite annoying. Despite our explaining we
still had 5 minutes left, they didn't want to hear it. Their watches
must have been 5 minutes fast, and we pointed to our watches and the
clock in the gym, and they still were insistent. It was embarrassing
at times. One day an elderly lady practically threw my sister off the
treadmill when my sister showed her she literally had 1 1/2 minutes
left. I truly don't understand people acting like this. You're on
vacation, for pete's sake. Chill out. I don't mean to sound
prejudiced against Europeans, it's just that every time this happened,
it was initiated by a European. My Mom likes the aerobics classes, so
she usually took one or two of them while my sister and I did the
treadmill and free weights. They do charge for a lot of the classes
(yoga, pilates), but my Mom took only the free classes. None of us
chose to partake in any spa services, so can't comment on those.

Public Areas: For as big a ship as the Grand Princess is, it never
seems overwhelming. Lots of private little nooks and crannies. Good
flow through the different public areas. Very easy to navigate. We
spent a lot of time at the Lap Pool on Spa Deck. Adults only (except
those under 17 are allowed from noon to 3 p.m. with parents). It was
a lovely area. Initially the pools (which are open 24 hours a day and
are freshwater) was waaaaaaaaay overheated. The temps in the pools
were close to 100 degrees. Many people complained, and soon after
they were cooled down to a more comfortable 80 degrees.

The lounges are all very nice. We took in a couple of comedians and
they were all very good.

Ports of Call: Princess Cays was lovely. It's Princess' private
island, and they seem to have thought of everything. There is some
very good snorkeling, and if you just want a nice beach day, you'll
find it here.

For the first time ever since I've begun cruising, we didn't get off
the ship for a couple of ports. We stayed on the ship in Grand Cayman
and Cozumel. I'd been there before, as had my Mom, and my sister was
just as happy to stay on the ship. I found I liked this a lot. Felt
like we had the ship to ourselves. We did get off in Costa Maya. The
cruiselines apparently have built a nice area at the end of the pier
for their guests. There is tram service along the pier for those who
have difficulty walking, or just the lazy!!! It's about a 5-10 minute
walk otherwise. There is a free pool and beach area. There is a nice
swim-up bar and some typical souvenir shops. There is a place to call
home and to make a call to the U.S., it is $.80/minute. We opted to
take a shore excursion I had prebooked through Princess. It was
called the Jungle Beach Break to Uvero Beach. I was skeptical because
I had heard so many negative things about Uvero Beach. Not to worry.
It cost $34 pp and you were provided bus transportation (nice shiny
new buses with A/C) to the beach and back (about a 25 minute ride each
way). It also included open bar all day (pretty much anything you
wanted to drink, including soft drinks, beer, alcohol, etc.). Food
was not included in the price, but was available for a nominal charge.
You got a lounge chair, and free use of the ocean kayaks and paddle
boats. There were jetskis for rent. You could get an outdoor massage
for $30 for half an hour, or for an extra $10, a full hour. We
totally enjoyed ourselves here. You arrive around 11 a.m., and the
bus continually takes people back to the ship every hour on the hour
til 5 p.m. We spent the entire day there and took the late bus.
Reviews I had previously read said the beach and water were dirty.
Well, yes, there is seaweed, or some sort of vegetation along the
beach and in the water. But heck, this is nature!!! It's not like
the beach is littered with cigarette butts and beer bottles! The
water is crystal clear, and although I didn't snorkel here, many
mentioned that it was great. The staff there raked the beaches
constantly, and I would certainly recommend this excursion. The
facility is new, they had nice clean bathrooms, and clean showers.
They are a little pushy about tipping at the end of the day, but we
had tipped along the way during the day anyway.

Weather: After dodging Isabel, we encountered the most beautiful
weather I've ever had on a cruise. We met so many people who said
they always cruise in September and always have great weather, so I
think I'm sold on September cruising. The rates are great and so is
the weather!

The seas were so calm, it was hard to remember you were on a ship. I
felt absolutely no movement the entire week.

Demographics: When I was onboard the Golden Princess this past
January, it tended to be an older crowd. Not so this cruise. I would
say the average age was 35-50, with a large contingent of newleyweds.
But certainly you didn't feel out of place if you didn't fit this age
group. Everyone was so nice. We met some really nice people.
Surprisingly, there were quite a few "all girls" groups. Seems I was
not unique when I thought of taking my Mom and my sister. Many others
had done the same. Many mothers/daughters/daughters-in-law and just a
bunch of girlfriends who say they cruise every year or every other
year with a bunch of girlfriends. Seems we all get our kids back to
school and take off!!!

To sum things up, this cruise was as near to perfect as a cruise can
get. Yes, there were a few shortcomings, but I don't sweat that
stuff. Overall, very few things could be improved upon, that's how
great it was. I find now after two Princess cruises, that I've found
a home with Princess. I think it's "where i belong." My sister
couldn't stop raving all week. In fact, myself, my Mom, and my sister
all did "open bookings" for a future cruise with Princess. Next time
we promised our husbands they could come!! It's a great deal.
Regardless of the length of the future cruise, you put down a $100 pp
deposit, when you decide when and where and on what Princess ship you
want to cruise, you just transfer the booking to any travel agent you
desire (I use George Leppla of Countryside Travel, the best in the
business in my experience) and your TA can further reduce the cruise
fare to whatever. You have 4 years from the time you make deposit to
book another cruise, and your deposit is fully refundable within those
4 years. When you do book your next cruise, you get anywhere from a
$50 pp to $200 pp shipboard credit, depending on the length of your
cruise and the accommodations you book. It's a "win-win" situation, I
think.

To make a perfect ending to a perfect cruise, all 3 of us were
upgraded to First Class when we arrived at the airport for our return
flight home on USAir. I think we had an angel looking over us this
cruise!

If anybody has any specific questions, I'd be happy to try and answer
them.

Jo-Ann--------totally decompressed

Thanks Jo-Ann for the blow by blow description. of your cruise. It was
great

SUNNY........is a Princess person too

S'nd I

Thanks for the review!!

--
Christy
Phil 4:13

Thanks for the review (and you comment about the piano bar person in another
thread). We will be on our third Grand Princess (our favorite ship) cruise
on October 12th.

BTW, George is also our TA and we couldn't be happier.

--
Greg
lid
(Remove the '.invalid' twice to send Email)


"Jo-Ann" wrote in message
m...

To make a perfect ending to a perfect cruise, all 3 of us were
upgraded to First Class when we arrived at the airport for our return
flight home on USAir. I think we had an angel looking over us this
cruise!

If anybody has any specific questions, I'd be happy to try and answer
them.

Jo-Ann--------totally decompressed

Jo-Ann,
Thanks for the full review. No I know I can not wait until Nov 30th.
Counting down the days!
Steve Hayes

(Jo-Ann) wrote in message om...
Background: Myself, age 48, 10+ cruises (Carnival, NCL, RCI,
Princess); my Mom, age 72, 5+ cruises (Carnival, NCL, Princess), my
sister, age 42, only other cruise Carnival Triumph 3 nighter from NYC
to Canada. My mom and sister had no knowledge until 2 months ago that
I was treating them to this cruise. Originally we were booked on
George Leppla's group on the Norway, but after that was cancelled, I
decided to rebook the Grand Princess.

Precruise: Despite Isabel's best efforts to deny us this much-needed
vacation, we all arrived and met at FLL as planned (my sister arrived
separately from Virginia). We left all the husbands and kids home,
but surely my BIL got the short-end of the stick. He was left with
3-year-old twins, no electricity, no phone service, and the yard was
surrounded by downed 60-80 ft. oak trees. My sister left the house
with nary a care, so that tells you how much SHE needed this
vacation!!! (When she spoke with him later in the week and heard the
desperation in his voice, she said "welcome to MY world." His reply?
"No, you're world at least includes electricity!" Touche!)

I had booked a prenight at the Ft. Lauderdale Marriott Marina (one of
my favorite hotels). Got a AAA rate of $99/night, and that included
the breakfast buffet, which normally costs $12.95 pp. It's a great
hotel location wise ($10 cab ride from the airport and across the
street from Port Everglades). The accommodations are lovely, and
sitting at the outdoor Tiki Bar sipping a pina colada is a nice way to
begin a cruise vacation. We took the water taxi (which stops at the
Marriott Marina) for $5 you can ride all day, and we went down to Los
Olas Riverfront for dinner (just had a casual bite to eat at the Ugly
Tuna Saloon). Went back to hotel later that evening, watched a little
of the Miss America pageant, and fell asleep.

Got up the next a.m., went to the gym at the hotel to work out, and
came back, showered and dressed, and had breakfast. We had signed up
for the free shuttle the hotel provides to head over to the ship at
11:30. The shuttle fills up fast, so it's best to book the time you
want the night before.

Arrived at the ship around 11:45 and had express check-in. It took us
about 30 minutes of standing in line before we reached the counter,
and once there, check-in took less than a minute for each of the three
of us. In no time at all, we were getting our embarkation photo (came
out awful, but I always buy them) taken, and walking into the lobby of
the Grand Princess.

I will now break down my review in sections:

First Impression: The ship is clean, beautiful, and very well
maintained. I thought the lobby of the Golden Princess was just a tad
prettier, but that's being very critical. There were plenty of staff
members pointing the way to our cabin, holding elevators for us, etc.
So far, so good.

Cabin: We had a mini-suite located on Dolphin Deck midship (Cabin
D422). Excellent location. The mini-suite is very nicely appointed,
and despite the fact that we were three women who had waaaaaaaaaay
overpacked, there was a place for everything. Since I would be
sleeping on the sofabed, I asked for extra padding. They were out of
egg crate mattresses, but did put an extra mattress on the existing
mattress each night. This turned out to be very comfortable, but
without it, I think sleeping on a 3 inch mattress might have been a
bit uncomfortable.

Misc: I had pre-ordered a tray of canapes and a bottle of wine as a
surprise for my Mom and sister, and here Princess let me down.
Neither were in the cabin when we arrived. No big deal. I figured
they'd be there in a bit. We walked around the ship a bit. Came back
to the cabin to find our bags had already arrived. No canapes or
wine. Called the cabin steward. All the while I'm trying to get this
resolved without my Mom and sister knowing what I was doin, since I
wanted this to be a surprise. Yes, he was aware we had ordered it and
he would bring it right over. He brought it promptly, but brought a
Merlot (red) instead of the Chardonnay (white) I had ordered. Still
no canapes. He said he would see if he could get me the correct wine.
We said we'd walk around a little more, and when he got the correct
wine, could he make sure it was placed in the room, chilling in a
bucket and the canapes be brought also? Came back a while later to
fine the correct bottle of wine, not chilled, and still no canapes.
It took a while, but we finally got it rectified. It was taken out of
the cabin steward's hands and handled by room service. They came by
and set it up very nicely on our balcony and we enjoyed a toast while
we sailed away. But it sure did take away from the surprise I had
planned.

Service: With the exception of the cabin steward, our service was
outstanding the entire week. The cabin steward just could never seem
to get his act together. I asked him for extra pool towels daily, and
sometimes we got them, sometimes we didn't, sometimes he said he had
NONE to give us at all (huh???), and sometimes one or two of us got an
extra one, but not the third person. He always seemed confused. We
were three people, we want 6 pool towels every day. He could never
get it right. It wasn't a problem with language. He spoke and
understood English very well. He just didn't seem to care too much
about pleasing us. Oh well, his tip was standard; no more, no less.

Having said that, everybody else on the ship provided the most
outstanding service. One night we had a problem with awful looking
water suddenly starting to back up into the bathtub (thank goodness no
one was in the tub at the time, but we heard the glub-glub sound and
when we checked it out, it didn't look good). I called the Purser's
Desk. Within 3 minutes they were up there. They had the cabin
steward clean the gross stuff (I shudder to think what it was), and
said a plumber would be there promptly. He was. He worked on it the
entire time we were at dinner and was just finishing up when we
returned from dinner. It was quite a job, apparently. But the way
Princess handled it was quick and efficient. Everyone smiled, everyone
was efficient, personable. I can't say enough good things about the
staff. We ran into the Captain several times. He meandered around
the deck one day while we were in Cozumel, and I'm embarrassed to say,
I didn't realiz it was the Captain and was thisclose to asking him for
the drink special of the day! He was extremely friendly, and we had
our pictures taken with him many times. He was a real class act, but
related very well to all the passengers as well. His name is Guiseppe
Romano and I hope you have the pleasure of sailing with him sometime.

Dining: We did Personal Choice Dining and I LOVE IT!!! We tended to
go to the DaVinco Dining Room most meals, and we always requested a
table with others. We tended to show up around 7 to 7:30 p.m. We were
always seated immediately except for one night, and the wait that one
time was about 15 minutes (they gave us a beeper and we went to have a
drink while we waited...no big deal). They seated us at tables for 8
or 10, and we met some of the lovliest people I've ever had the
pleasure of meeting onboard a cruise. All walks of life; all ages;
all nationalities. Dining was truly a wonderful experience. We never
ran into a bad waiter the entire week. One night he was a bit
indifferent, but that's what's nice about PC Dining. We didn't have
him again the rest of the week. Everyone else was absolutely
outstanding. The food was excellent, always piping hot. One word of
warning. If you like your beef really rare (as my sister does), one
waiter told us to ask for it "blue." Otherwise, they do tend to
overcook their beef. I ordered one step rarer than I would normally
order, and it was perfect. The breads were outstanding. Desserts
were hit or miss, but the New York Style Cheesecake (offered every
night) was outstanding all the time. We ate breakfast in the dining
room every morning (a first for me), and I find it not only a nicer
way to start the morning, but I found I tended to eat less than I
would at the buffet. I think the fact that the dining rooms are one
level makes for a much more intimate feel than some ships that are two
and three levels.

We had dinner one night at Sabatini's and it was worth every penny.
BTW, my sister brought 14 bottles of wine with her (2 broke, so we
were left with 12), and it was no problem. But as we had been told
beforehand, there is a $10 corkage fee for every bottle they open.
They are very gracious about this. We did do the $7.50 wine tasting
one day; I'm not a wine connoissieur, but I did enjoy it. My sister
(who is a bit of a wine connoissieur) also did the $25 wine tasting
(it included more expensive wines and caviar) thought it was just
so-so. I think she had higher expectations.

The buffet, open 24 hours a day, had excellent offerings.

The pizza was some of the best I've had, and plain and pepperoni were
offered everyday, and one specialty pizza changed every day.

The grill had the greatest french fries (but I swear I just had a
few!).

The Spa: For a ship this size, I do believe the gym should have been
built larger. There are about 8 treadmills, and you sign up each day
for the next day. We signed up every day at 7:30 a.m., and our
machine was always available to us. However, I must say there were a
few very rude Europeans on board who, almost every day, had signed up
for the 8 a.m. time slot and began at 7:55 to harrass us to get off
the treadmill. This was quite annoying. Despite our explaining we
still had 5 minutes left, they didn't want to hear it. Their watches
must have been 5 minutes fast, and we pointed to our watches and the
clock in the gym, and they still were insistent. It was embarrassing
at times. One day an elderly lady practically threw my sister off the
treadmill when my sister showed her she literally had 1 1/2 minutes
left. I truly don't understand people acting like this. You're on
vacation, for pete's sake. Chill out. I don't mean to sound
prejudiced against Europeans, it's just that every time this happened,
it was initiated by a European. My Mom likes the aerobics classes, so
she usually took one or two of them while my sister and I did the
treadmill and free weights. They do charge for a lot of the classes
(yoga, pilates), but my Mom took only the free classes. None of us
chose to partake in any spa services, so can't comment on those.

Public Areas: For as big a ship as the Grand Princess is, it never
seems overwhelming. Lots of private little nooks and crannies. Good
flow through the different public areas. Very easy to navigate. We
spent a lot of time at the Lap Pool on Spa Deck. Adults only (except
those under 17 are allowed from noon to 3 p.m. with parents). It was
a lovely area. Initially the pools (which are open 24 hours a day and
are freshwater) was waaaaaaaaay overheated. The temps in the pools
were close to 100 degrees. Many people complained, and soon after
they were cooled down to a more comfortable 80 degrees.

The lounges are all very nice. We took in a couple of comedians and
they were all very good.

Ports of Call: Princess Cays was lovely. It's Princess' private
island, and they seem to have thought of everything. There is some
very good snorkeling, and if you just want a nice beach day, you'll
find it here.

For the first time ever since I've begun cruising, we didn't get off
the ship for a couple of ports. We stayed on the ship in Grand Cayman
and Cozumel. I'd been there before, as had my Mom, and my sister was
just as happy to stay on the ship. I found I liked this a lot. Felt
like we had the ship to ourselves. We did get off in Costa Maya. The
cruiselines apparently have built a nice area at the end of the pier
for their guests. There is tram service along the pier for those who
have difficulty walking, or just the lazy!!! It's about a 5-10 minute
walk otherwise. There is a free pool and beach area. There is a nice
swim-up bar and some typical souvenir shops. There is a place to call
home and to make a call to the U.S., it is $.80/minute. We opted to
take a shore excursion I had prebooked through Princess. It was
called the Jungle Beach Break to Uvero Beach. I was skeptical because
I had heard so many negative things about Uvero Beach. Not to worry.
It cost $34 pp and you were provided bus transportation (nice shiny
new buses with A/C) to the beach and back (about a 25 minute ride each
way). It also included open bar all day (pretty much anything you
wanted to drink, including soft drinks, beer, alcohol, etc.). Food
was not included in the price, but was available for a nominal charge.
You got a lounge chair, and free use of the ocean kayaks and paddle
boats. There were jetskis for rent. You could get an outdoor massage
for $30 for half an hour, or for an extra $10, a full hour. We
totally enjoyed ourselves here. You arrive around 11 a.m., and the
bus continually takes people back to the ship every hour on the hour
til 5 p.m. We spent the entire day there and took the late bus.
Reviews I had previously read said the beach and water were dirty.
Well, yes, there is seaweed, or some sort of vegetation along the
beach and in the water. But heck, this is nature!!! It's not like
the beach is littered with cigarette butts and beer bottles! The
water is crystal clear, and although I didn't snorkel here, many
mentioned that it was great. The staff there raked the beaches
constantly, and I would certainly recommend this excursion. The
facility is new, they had nice clean bathrooms, and clean showers.
They are a little pushy about tipping at the end of the day, but we
had tipped along the way during the day anyway.

Weather: After dodging Isabel, we encountered the most beautiful
weather I've ever had on a cruise. We met so many people who said
they always cruise in September and always have great weather, so I
think I'm sold on September cruising. The rates are great and so is
the weather!

The seas were so calm, it was hard to remember you were on a ship. I
felt absolutely no movement the entire week.

Demographics: When I was onboard the Golden Princess this past
January, it tended to be an older crowd. Not so this cruise. I would
say the average age was 35-50, with a large contingent of newleyweds.
But certainly you didn't feel out of place if you didn't fit this age
group. Everyone was so nice. We met some really nice people.
Surprisingly, there were quite a few "all girls" groups. Seems I was
not unique when I thought of taking my Mom and my sister. Many others
had done the same. Many mothers/daughters/daughters-in-law and just a
bunch of girlfriends who say they cruise every year or every other
year with a bunch of girlfriends. Seems we all get our kids back to
school and take off!!!

To sum things up, this cruise was as near to perfect as a cruise can
get. Yes, there were a few shortcomings, but I don't sweat that
stuff. Overall, very few things could be improved upon, that's how
great it was. I find now after two Princess cruises, that I've found
a home with Princess. I think it's "where i belong." My sister
couldn't stop raving all week. In fact, myself, my Mom, and my sister
all did "open bookings" for a future cruise with Princess. Next time
we promised our husbands they could come!! It's a great deal.
Regardless of the length of the future cruise, you put down a $100 pp
deposit, when you decide when and where and on what Princess ship you
want to cruise, you just transfer the booking to any travel agent you
desire (I use George Leppla of Countryside Travel, the best in the
business in my experience) and your TA can further reduce the cruise
fare to whatever. You have 4 years from the time you make deposit to
book another cruise, and your deposit is fully refundable within those
4 years. When you do book your next cruise, you get anywhere from a
$50 pp to $200 pp shipboard credit, depending on the length of your
cruise and the accommodations you book. It's a "win-win" situation, I
think.

To make a perfect ending to a perfect cruise, all 3 of us were
upgraded to First Class when we arrived at the airport for our return
flight home on USAir. I think we had an angel looking over us this
cruise!

If anybody has any specific questions, I'd be happy to try and answer
them.

Jo-Ann--------totally decompressed

BTW, my sister brought 14 bottles of wine with her (2 broke, so we
were left with 12), and it was no problem.


ROTFLOL!! Jo-Ann, ML brought 14 bottles of wine!? I guess she figured on two
per day for the 3 of you? Too funny! I hope the bottles didn't break in her
suitcase, wetting her things. :-D

Maria

If anybody has any specific questions, I'd be happy to try and answer
them.

Jo-Ann--------totally decompressed


No questions, sounds wonderful! I'm so glad you had this time with Mom and ML.
:-)
Maria

ocrap (Maria) wrote in message ...
BTW, my sister brought 14 bottles of wine with her (2 broke, so we
were left with 12), and it was no problem.


ROTFLOL!! Jo-Ann, ML brought 14 bottles of wine!? I guess she figured on two
per day for the 3 of you? Too funny! I hope the bottles didn't break in her
suitcase, wetting her things. :-D

Maria

Maria, you know my sister well enough to know that getting a week away
from her 3 year-old-twins, she was breaking lose!!!

She had a hard suitcase with just the wine in it, so nothing got
ruined (except a bottle of Chianti and Shiraz).

Jo-Ann

Thanks for the great review. I will be on the Grand at the end of the
month, and now I'm reeeally looking forward to it.

I agree this was a great review. I love the Grand Class ships (Grand,
Golden, Star) and am excited about Diamond & Sapphire. 1 month 20 days
til we get back on the Golden for a week.