GRAND
PRINCESS
Eastern Caribbean
July 21, 2002
By L. Shapiro
We just returned from the 7/21,
Grand Princess-Eastern Caribbean sailing. This was our 14th cruise
and the second on the Grand Princess. We cruised the Western
side last year. We were in Florida on other business and decided to
take a break. We originally planned a 5-day Carnival Cruise,
but discovered that the 7-day Princess Cruise was less expensive. We like
Carnival and still do. Last year my review met with
some hostility from Princess Zealots who couldn’t understand how
we could prefer Carnival. We like Princess, but still prefer
Carnival. From informal conversations, we find
that we are not alone. It is important to understand that these
reviews are very subjective. We have read reviews of other cruises
that we were on and couldn’t believe that we were on the same ships.
We are by nature a bit critical, but
become less so each cruise. We see little things that bother us
(they bother us less as the years go by). We will report these
things at the risk of someone saying “who cares about that,” or
“these people are mad.” We feel that since cruise ships are so
similar, it may be the little detail that will help someone make a
decision.
Princess does a great job with
check-in. For the most part it is fast and efficient.
We booked a JJ and were not upgraded. We like inside cabins because
they are so dark in the morning. We don’t care for a balcony and are not willing to pay for something we will probably not use. This
cabin was nice, standard fare.
The Ship is still very nice, a bit
worn in places but age does that. It is elegantly appointed with
much marble and wood.
Service: We have found that throughout
our cruising career, service has been about the same from ship to
ship. We have sailed all the major cruise lines including Cunard and
find that, with the exception of a waiter or cabin steward here and
there, they are all trying to do a good job. We don’t believe that
there is a cruise line that doesn’t tell its staff to give the
best possible service. Some people are better at what they do than
others and some people are nicer than others. So, we believe the
service is dependent on the individual and not the cruise line.
Entertainment: There was usually
something to do in the evening but, for the most part, we found the
entertainment mediocre at best. We only went to one production show,
since we had just seen the same show last year. It was entertaining
and not too dissimilar to the 20 or 30 other shows we have seen. The
comics were good, one better than the other. The comic Juggler was OK. We were always entertained, maybe not to the caliber of
Broadway but adequately. We have never seen and were bothered by the
use of movies as the main source of evening entertainment (We say
main because they were in the main theater). The movies were OK, but
not that new; all of them could have been rented. There was
always gambling, nightclubs and lounges etc. They have trivia twice
and even three times on some days, which is unusual. Since we are
big trivia fans, this made us very happy. We met some wonderful
people at Trivia, which greatly enhanced our trip. They should have
a Trivia Theme Cruise. The mandatory art auction was on, most
every day. Bingo about 10 times a day. What bothered me about
Bingo was the size of the progressive jackpot ($2,200), they must
have taken in 20 times that amount. I have seen Jackpots as high as $6,000. This was the first cruise for the new Cruise
Director. We felt that she was too gushy, perky and phony. Back to cruise director’s
school, Please.
Food: This, to us, is the main area of interest and comparison to
other cruises we have taken. We are not ashamed to admit that this
is one of the main reasons we like cruising, so here is where we
will get picky. First, we wanted traditional early seating and we
were put on a wait list (155) and never got past (119). If so
many people want Traditional, why don’t they rethink their dining
policy? We decided that if we did not get Traditional we would
try Personal Choice. We give Personal Choice mixed reviews. We
like to meet new people and feel that eating alone diminishes the
cruise experience. Since we ate before 7 and we were willing to
sit with others, we did not have to wait for a table. Only
once at 8:15 did we have to wait 20 min. Personal choice
is OK, but we are still not sure if we would do it again. The Dining
room food, in a nutshell, was just OK, the same menu as last year,
good but never outstanding. We ate beef 3 times for lack of something else to order. The lobster was good, as were the
escargots. Desserts were poor to average. We ate lunch in the dining
room once. It was adequate. We never had breakfast in the
dining room.
Horizon Court Buffet is still among the best we have ever seen on a
cruise ship. Very good selection for all meals and the food was
comparable to the dining room. There were, however, a number of
those picky details that we noted that bothered us last year and
have still not changed.
No Lemonade (never saw that). No half
and half for coffee (we did ask the headwaiter and he brought us
whipping cream each morning, so we made our own half and half. We did, however, have to ask every morning). It
wouldn’t be such a
big thing to serve half and half instead of non-dairy creamer. No
omelet station, all the eggs (and omelet, of their choice) were pre-made (I know, if you ask they will make it to order). If you
like French toast, wait until you get home. They brush the bread
with egg, but it never gets inside (check it out). This year we
mentioned the French Toast situation to a Waiter Captain. We
told him that it was no big deal, and I wasn’t doing to write a
letter about it, he told us that it was a big deal to him. He
later told us, after I asked, that “that’s the way they
make it.” When I said, “maybe I should write a letter”
he came over and told us that they would make it especially for us
the next day. Well, we tried and it looked just about the same
with a bit of raw egg in the middle. Since it was all kind of a joke
to me, we did without French Toast for the rest of the cruise. It wasn’t that there was a lack of food. On the plus side, great
selection of Fresh fruit. Fresh bread and rolls were plentiful.
Smoked salmon (Lox) was available on the Buffet 5 of the 7 days.
There were even Kippers one morning.
Ice Cream: Yes, more on the ice cream
controversy. A charge of $2-$4 for ice cream, even premium, is
outrageous! All the other ships we have been on had free soft ice
cream machines for all (RCCL had yogurt only and was not worth
eating). A new development this year, each day from 3:30-4:30 (don’t be late or it will be gone) they had FREE make your own
Sundae in the Horizon Court. Pizza was good; much better than RCCL,
no comparison to Carnival. The Hot Dog, Sausage and Hamburger bar
was good as well. Princess has stopped Midnight Buffets. They seem
to feel that since the Horizon Court Buffet is open 24 hours a day,
it is no longer necessary. We feel that at least a Grand Buffet,
with the ice carvings, fancy platters, bread figures etc. add to the
cruise experience and should be reinstated. A word on pool towels:
one per person is left in the cabin at night. No towels available by
the pools. A bit inconvenient and something that we have not seen on
any other Cruise Ship. The pools were very nice, fresh water, open all night. From what we saw there were many children in the pools
and hot tubs late at night. Speaking of children, there were many on
board and some who needed and did not get the proper supervision
from their parents or whoever was in charge. Gym facilities were
inadequate for a ship this size.
Tipping: A charge of $10.00 per day
(up from $6.50) is added to your cabin charge account for everyone,
not just personal choice diners. This bothers us. It’s true that
you can go the Purser to remove the charge, but now you have to do
something to stop a tip (something like implied consent). Next it will be added to your cruise fare as a service fee. Don’t
misunderstand, we believe in tipping. I worked my way through
college and Grad School waiting on tables, but we do believe that A
TIP (To Insure Promptness) should be earned.
Ports: We have been to the ports
countless times. We stayed on board and played Trivia.
OK, granted that these reviews are
very subjective. Some of the things we mention are not great
problems and this we admit. The review is only our opinion and
is meant to enlighten future travelers. Personally we like to read “picky” reviews.
For, by hearing the worse, we can
better understand the entire picture. We met some great people and had a
great time. As we get older, different things become more
important.
Enjoy your cruise…
Photo: Courtesy
of Princess Cruises
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