Grand Princess Dec 6, 2010

[RichC]

Anybody?

[esrosa]

Yes, we are on that sailing. Looks great!

[RichC]

Finally someone who's sailing on a trip I posted about. I was beginning to think no on ever read this board.

[esrosa]

This will be our 14th cruise overall, 9th on Princess and 3rd on Grand. Just wish we could cruise more! Our favourite ship is Coral, but we also enjoy Grand. Emerald and her sisters are a bit too crowded. We booked this cruise over a year ago and have been counting the days ever since.

[RichC]

We never book that far in advance. There's something about waiting a whole year for another cruise that doesn't sit well with me. Anyway, the Grand is OK. We were on it in Feb and it's a little tattered here & there, especially the balcony partitions but most of the ship is keep up fairly well. There's not much they can do with the partitions since they've rotted away & need total replacement.
One good thing about this trip is we're not going to Trinidad like we did in Feb.   

[obendus]

We never book that far in advance. There's something about waiting a whole year for another cruise that doesn't sit well with me. Anyway, the Grand is OK. We were on it in Feb and it's a little tattered here & there, especially the balcony partitions but most of the ship is keep up fairly well. There's not much they can do with the partitions since they've rotted away & need total replacement.
One good thing about this trip is we're not going to Trinidad like we did in Feb.   

Ooooh, isn't there something really disappointing about Trinidad? I thought it would be fabulous, but oh my, what a train-wreck of a port.
Add me to the 'pass-on Trinidad' list.

[RichC]

We only walked downtown & found it to be crime ridden, dirty, crowded and nothing worth seeing other than the Cathedral. I suppose if they did stop there we would either stay on the ship or sign up for some cheap tour to kill, time but like Jamaica, I wouldn't choose a trip based upon going to Trinidad. We can say we've been there & unless we go on another cruise line we've been to every island that Princess stops at. 

[esrosa]

Sure glad we are not going to Trinidad.
Not worried about a bit of rust here and there - how about the food and the service? It's almost 3 years since our last trip on Grand.

[RichC]

Good as usual although they still had the seafood buffet on embarkation night I believe they've stopped it on all the ships now. To bad since we really never liked the regular menu on the first night.
On our last trip the AC was broken in the anytime DR & they couldn't adjust it down to a normal setting & it was freezing. They must have gotten it fixed by now since I haven't heard anyone complaining lately. 

[obendus]

Good as usual although they still had the seafood buffet on embarkation night I believe they've stopped it on all the ships now. To bad since we really never liked the regular menu on the first night.

Oh please tell me this isn't true! The seafood buffet is one of Princess' high points!

[RichC]

We didn't have one on the Emerald in May but did have three on the Grand in Feb. From what I've been reading I haven't heard any ships that still have them. It was an experiment to try to get people from jamming the DR especially on the first night that failed since people would just go to the buffet for the lobster & crab legs for an appetizer (the most expensive items) and then head to the dining room for a regular meal.
There was some seafood in May on the Emerald- shrimp, mussels the first night & another night they had crab claws that were impossible to open & not worth the trouble. People were leaving plates of them unopened. My wife asked one of the waiters for a nut cracker & he came over with one but wouldn't leave it. He stood there opening each claw for me. Weird to say the least.
We've got some extra CC so I guess we'll go to the Specialty restaurant the first night as we aren't crazy about the menu on the first evening. I'll still check on the old seafood buffet layout with some hope they might return but as of last week on the Emerald there was none- I don't know about the Grand.

[RichC]

Sure glad we are not going to Trinidad.
Not worried about a bit of rust here and there - how about the food and the service? It's almost 3 years since our last trip on Grand.

Well now that you're home & settled in how did you like the Grand?
The only problem that we encountered & didn't like was the lack of reservations in the AT dining room which forced us to wait every evening from 5 PM to get a table for 2. Our balcony cabin was much less smoky than the Emerald in Oct with only a few items that needed attention during the trip- hair dryer died & the balcony door handle ripped off. Surprisingly we made the cut for the over 40 lunch on this cruise which we missed out on the Emerald last Oct. even though the ship was sailing full.

[esrosa]

It was a very enjoyable cruise. Grand was just as we expected. Warm and welcoming with a good atmosphere and a great friendly crew. Why other people complain about her I cannot understand. She is a great ship and very well maintained. The food was very good in the main dining rooms and buffet and exceptionally good in The Painted Desert where we had a wonderful evening. We had anytime dining and had no trouble getting a table for 2 between 7.30 and 8.30pm. Never had to wait once and were always given a good table with attentive servers. We had a balcony cabin fairly far forward to try and escape the balcony smokers. We failed with this and had 2 cigar smokers, one next door and one 4 cabins forward. Did our best to coordinate times, but our use of the balcony was curtailed. Cigarettes I can manage, but cigars make me sick! Our room steward, Edwin, was exceptional. It was the cleanest cabin we have ever had and he just never put a foot wrong. Amazing! With 19 cabins to look after we still don't know how he remembered names, times we were out, and all our preferences. All our shore activities went well and were greatly enjoyed with the exception of Barbados. It is a beautiful island but we got the impression that they would like to to leave all your money in a box on the pier and get back on the ship. They were not interested in showing off their island or in providing any kind of service. What a contrast in St Vincent and St Kitts.
Hope your cruise was as enjoyable as ours!

[RichC]

We had a cabin on Carib deck near the aft elevators & lucked out this cruise with the smoke problems. It actually wasn't to bad compared to our Emerald trip in Oct where we also had a cabin in the same vicinity but it was constant smoke- even at 4 in the morning. we ate early every evening & always had to buck the lines but it fits our eating schedule much better.
We always go to the local beach in Barbados near town but I didn't notice the box you referred to. Since we've see all the islands many times before we just get off the ship to stretch our legs & get back on to enjoy the empty ship as much as possible.
It's not Princesses fault but I don't think I've ever seen as many stupid movies during one cruise before.  I can see why they continue to repeat the older ones on the TV over & over.

[esrosa]

Happy New Year.
Yes I agree with you about the movies. Tried to watch two of them but gave up and headed back up on deck! We did enjoy the dance music of Epithani. Not on deck where it was too loud and seem to get a bit distorted, but in Explorers Lounge in the evening it was much better. Luna Light was OK but we preferred Epithani. We thought the comedian Kevin Hughes was excellent and went to both of his shows. We had breakfast with him on the last morning of the cruise and he is indeed a very interesting guy. Hope we meet up with him again on a future cruise.
Did you go to Skywalkers for the early evening cocktails and nibbles? We went quite a few times and enjoyed the experience. It is a pity so few people turned up. First time I have tried a mojito!