Captain - Giuseppe Romano
Cruise Director - Neil Roberts
Executive Chef - Joachim Grill
Maitre d'Hotel - Elia Toninin
We booked this back-to-back cruise because we
could sail both the routes that the Princess Grand-class ships sail in
the Caribbean back-to-back. This can normally only be accomplished
through sailing the Golden Princess Eastern Caribbean cruise, spending
a Saturday night in Ft. Lauderdale, then embarking the Grand Princess
for the Western Caribbean. Due to a very slow season in the
Mediterranean, the Grand Princess stayed in Ft. Lauderdale over the
summer alternating between eastern and western itineraries with Sunday
departures for both directions. We have cruised three times
previously, all with Princess. Our last cruise was also on the Grand
Princess.
EMBARKATION, CABIN, AND SHIP APPEARANCE
Embarkation was delayed about an hour for reasons that were never
explained. We arrived at the pier at about 10:30 AM, and there were
still passengers disembarking from the previous cruise. By the time
embarkation started at 11:30, there was a line that stretched the
length of the terminal, back upon itself, and once again for the
length of the terminal in the parking area. Porters relieved
passengers waiting in line of their baggage. Fortunately for us, we
were about third in line, and had all of our paperwork properly filled
in. We had our cruise cards in less than 5 minutes, and were the very
first people to board the ship. I spoke to others who said that the
line outside moved very quickly and heard no complaints about any
embarkation delays.
We had a mid-ship Category AA mini-suite for
the two weeks that we were to be on board. These cabins are quite well
appointed and have lots of storage space, especially in the huge
closet. There is a full-size tub in the bathroom. The vanity area is a
little small, and the bathroom gets quite hot with the door closed.
The bathroom lights generate a lot of heat and it is often necessary
to open the door to maintain a tolerable temperature. One change that
many will find nice is that the toiletries provided in the cabin are
Lotus Spa products, not the generic items provided on previous
cruises. These products all contain eucalyptus and might cause
reactions in those with allergies.
There are two television sets, one facing the
bed area and one facing the sitting area. There is no way to separate
these two areas, which is a bit of a disappointment. You can find a
spare electrical outlet behind the televisions, useful for a cell
phone, camera, or other devices that need to be recharged. The couch
folds out into a single bed. This cabin did not have an upper berth,
so if room for a fourth person is needed, be sure to check that an
upper berth is available. The balcony had two chairs, two
semi-loungers, and a small table that was large enough for two to
enjoy breakfast outdoors on port days. The balcony is completely
exposed, so everyone above you will see what you are eating and
wearing for breakfast. Dress accordingly! Noise from the passageway is
occasionally intrusive.
We were privileged to be invited to one of the
Grand Suites for cocktails. Unlike the Golden and Star, the two best
suites on the Grand are on the Lido deck. They are not quite as large,
but are nicely appointed and include a fireplace in the sitting room.
The balcony is disappointingly small and has little room with a table,
two chairs, and two loungers in place. The best balconies on the ship
are in the stern suites. I believe that a Vista suite in the stern is
a better value than the penthouse or Grand suites for those who want
better digs than a mini-suite provides.
The ship is very well maintained, and the
staff works continuously keeping things neat and clean. Our carpet was
replaced during the cruise on a port day with absolutely no
inconvenience to us. Our cabin steward, Ruben, made sure that we were
aware that this was planned and sought our permission before the work
started. I also saw that the teak railings were being replaced on
Aloha deck balconies. The only sign of wear is all the dents at the
base of the cabin entrances where cleaning carts have banged into the
doorway areas. Once I noticed them, it really detracted from the
appearance of the ship. That was the only thing I could find that was
amiss with the ship's appearance.
DINING
The biggest question that I had prior to this cruise was if there
would be any noticeable changes to the ship or service since the
merger between P&O Princess and Carnival. Our last cruise on the
Grand Princess took place just before the merger was approved. The
only perceptible change was in the dining room, where there appears to
have been some economization in the main course selections. The menu
items are the same, and quite well prepared, but portions are slightly
smaller than I remembered from our last voyage and the desert
selections were not quite as artfully presented. We also had a
different Executive Chef, so it is not clear if the changes are a
result of corporate policy or the style differences between the two
chefs.
We chose traditional dining this trip, late
seating. On the second night, we found that we had a different waiter
and assistant. When we asked the head waiter for the section why the
staff had been changed, he replied that they sometimes shift people
from one dining room to another. I thought it was unusual that this
would be done after the cruise had departed. It therefore took an
extra night for our new waiter and assistant to get to know us, and by
the third night they still weren't in sync with us as normally would
be expected. We considered going to PC dining, but thankfully didn't
because the next night they were in tune with the group and took very
good care of us for the rest of the Eastern cruise.
We later found out that a lady seated in our
section, who has nearly 40 cruises on Princess, requested to be moved
to one of the other dining rooms, and had taken the waiter and
assistant, along with the rest of her table, with her. I thought that
this was improper, since it had affected in a small way our dining for
a couple of nights while we got to know the new staff. Honoring
passenger requests is one thing, but such requests should not
measurably affect other passengers. To be fair to the staff, it was a
difficult situation for them because this particular person apparently
has a lot of pull with Princess at the management level. It was by
chance that we met one of the other couples at her table on a shore
excursion and discovered the reason for the revolving waitstaff. Our
tablemates did not share our opinion that the change should not have
taken place, so we did not take our criticism to the head waiter or
maitre d'.
Food quality was good to excellent throughout
the ship. The Horizon Court buffet provides a good selection of
breakfast and lunch items. I particularly enjoyed the International
Buffet served in Horizon Court on the final sea day. The only items I
suggest avoiding are the sushi, which is very nicely presented but is
often dry and does not include any raw items. The tamago (egg) was
good and will serve those who desire a sushi fix quite well. Each
evening, the dining room menu has a different theme. The menus
repeated during the second week. The rotation was changed slightly
between the eastern and western legs. The only themed menu that I find
lacking is the Italian menu. There is no shrimp scampi, nor could we
could convince our waitress to see if such could be prepared in place
of the fradiavolo. On this night, the head waiters were preparing
pasta all'arabiatta, and we decided against interrupting their efforts
to press the issue. The French menu is very good, and features a
wonderful escargot appetizer and delicious onion soup. It's a shame
that so many decide to use this evening to visit Sabbatini's and
Painted Desert. The Maitre d'Hotel's wine selection was excellent.
Elia Toninin's recommendations were of high quality and reasonably
priced. Of particular interest is the Brunello de Montelcione and
Luce, two very good Italian reds. There is also a limited-production
Schioppetino that is worth trying, and is a bargain given its quality.
The additional charge to eat at Sabbatini's
has increased from 15 to 20 dollars. It is still a good price given
the high quality of the food and service. Painted Desert had not yet
been converted to a Sterling steakhouse.
ENTERTAINMENT
Entertainment is still first-class and does not appear to have
been subject to any cuts. The slate of comedians had some recognizable
performers and relative unknowns. It really isn't fair to judge
individual performances by name since it is possible that some had off
nights. Personally, I enjoyed all of the shows, but was not in the
majority for a couple of them that were geared towards younger and
hipper audiences. Neil Roberts is a very energetic and entertaining
cruise director, and works very well with his staff.
Over the course of the cruise, we spent a fair
amount of time in the casino. Although we cannot claim to be big
winners overall, there were some good nights, including hitting a
royal flush on a progressive jackpot video poker machine for over
2,000 dollars. The dealers were mostly very friendly, and coin fills
were taken care of quickly.
During the Eastern cruise, a group of us that
had gotten together via the internet pooled our resources and bought
two wooden horses during the auction. We had a decorating party, took
the horses to dinner, shows, the casino, and to the Captain's luncheon
where Captain Romano suffered to have his picture taken with our two
fillies. One horse came in second, so we got most of our investment
back, and the other was voted "best dressed" and won a large
prize pack of goodies and cheap sparkling wine. It was a really good
way for the group to get together and have some fun during the cruise
without taking too much of anyone's time.
CRUISE AND PORTS OF CALL
The first two days of the Eastern leg were sea
days. The seas were rough due to the effects of Fabian, so Captain
Romano changed course to take the ship south of Puerto Rico and into
much calmer waters. Even though the hurricane was never closer than
280 miles from the ship, its effects were quite pronounced. In rough
seas, the elevators sometimes stop well away from the deck, and
caution was needed to avoid a nasty first step at times.
Our first stop in St. Thomas included the
"Champagne Catamaran" to Honeymoon Beach on St. John. This
is an expensive excursion, and worth every penny. The boat used was
the Heavenly Days, owned by the Bolongo Beach resort. Captain Peter,
and mates Vic and Aaron did an outstanding job. The rum punch,
champagne, beer, sodas, and water were available from the time we left
until we returned to the dock 8 hours later. A simple but tasty lunch
was served after we snorkeled at the beach, with gear and lessons
available for those who want to try snorkeling for the first time.
Instruction and guiding were thorough. We had lots of time at the
beach. As a group, the twenty passengers threatened to try and drink
the boat dry on the return trip, which we were invited to attempt. We
were informed that many groups had tried, and failed, to complete the
task. Everyone had a lot of fun without getting stupid, and this ranks
as one of the very best excursions I have ever taken. It is not for
those who have extremely limited mobility since getting on and off the
boat at the beach can be difficult.
Our excursion in St. Maarten was cancelled due
to low participation. After a leisurely morning on board, we took the
water taxi to Phillipsburg and went shopping. Immediately upon
disembarkation, we were set upon by locals aggressively promoting
time-shares, hair-braiding, and car rentals. One local lady gave us
scratch cards, and informed my wife that she had won a shopping spree,
spa visit, or cash at a new resort. All we had to do was take the
"free taxi" to visit the resort and collect our prize. I had
visions of getting to the resort and being subjected to a time-share
sales presentation, and being held hostage by a high-pressure salesman
until we agreed to sign on the dotted line before a return cab would
be provided. We ran, not walked, from that encounter and into the
first jewelry store, where the first sparkly item of the day was
purchased. Overall, we enjoyed shopping in Phillipsburg, but it pays
to be persistent on price and shop around. I saved several hundred
dollars on a watch by refusing to succumb to heavy sales pressure at
one store, and found a better price at another. If you intend to shop
for luxury items, do some research beforehand so that you can be sure
that the price and quality of those items you intend to purchase are
acceptable.
The return trip to Princess Cays from St.
Maarten requires that the ship run at 22 knots to maintain the
schedule. There was noticeable engine noise and vibration in the
Botticelli (traditional) dining room during this part of the cruise.
Weather conditions deteriorated on the return trip, making for some
rough sailing again, though not nearly as bad as the outbound trip.
Conditions for tendering were marginal at Princess Cays, and many
people simply remained on the ship. The winds increased during the
day. It was not a good beach day though I found the trip in the
tenders to be quite fun. Captain Romano positioned the ship so that
boarding the tenders could be done with the ship protecting the
pontoons from the waves and wind. Most water activities at Princess
Cays were cancelled due to sea conditions. We used the afternoon to
get our laundry done for the Western leg.
On Saturday, prior to the completion of the
eastern leg of the cruise, we were provided with new cruise cards,
green "In Transit" cards so we could be easily identified by
the authorities on shore, and a thorough list of frequently asked
questions. The group that was remaining on board was gathered in the
casino, then lead through Immigration by one of the junior pursers.
All that was required was that we show our passports to the INS agents
and have our new cards activated at the gangway. Stewards took care of
moving those who had to change cabins.
Although we had the same table in the
Botticelli dining room, we had a new waiter and assistant for the
western cruise. Monica and Orsi were a very good team and took care of
all the little things like refilling water glasses, pouring wine, and
bringing more bread before anyone had need to ask. Monica's
recommendations were always spot on. As a group, the entire table
frustrated her by refusing to use the word "excellent" until
the very last evening. Those two were great servers, and as a group we
recommended that Orsi be promoted to waiter although we knew it would
break up a good team. Our group at table was quite diverse, with
varying cruise experience, and that made for wonderful conversation
and enjoyment. We all became very good friends during the cruise.
Our second stop at Princess Cays was much
nicer, at least in the morning. We were treated to some impressive
thunderstorms in the afternoon, which drenched those who tried to
maximize their beach time. The weather stayed clear long enough to do
some snorkeling and enjoy a barbeque lunch on the beach. The crew
really does a good job with lunch and drink service on shore.
We sailed to Grand Cayman on almost
mirror-smooth water. It was a perfect day to enjoy our balcony even
with the ship sailing at 19 knots. We avoided the pool areas during
the Western leg due to a higher degree of rowdiness than was evident
on the eastern sailing. One of our tablemates described the Western
leg as being more like a Carnival cruise than Princess, at least in
terms of passenger behavior. It was definitely a younger and more
boisterous group of passengers than had been on the Eastern cruise.
The ship is large enough that it was easy to find a place where the
partying did not intrude upon our enjoyment of the cruise.
At Grand Cayman, I booked a Reef Snorkel and
Stingray City tour while my wife took a separate excursion. This is a
different tour than the usual Stingray City trip. It is a much smaller
boat that carries only about 30 people. The reef is a great place to
snorkel in crystal-clear water that is about 18 feet deep. The guide
showed us a green moray eel and a nurse shark, in addition to many
other fish. One guide carried a video camera and filmed the entire
excursion. VHS tapes and DVD's were delivered to the ship for those
who purchased them. When we went to the sandbar, there was already a
large number of boats there. We had a lot of fun, and after getting
over the first encounters with stingrays that literally had me jumping
out of the water, I enjoyed feeding and playing with these huge fish
that act like puppies. While we were there, some of the big double and
triple deck boats showed up, and conditions soon became overcrowded.
Some of the smaller boats that sold tickets at the tender dock were
dangerously overloaded in my opinion. There were three other ships in
Grand Cayman that day, so I can only imagine what Stingray City looks
like during high season when six or seven ships might be in port.
We then stopped at Costa Maya (Mahahual) on
the Yucatan peninsula. There is a small shopping area here with local
vendors and a few chain stores, a small beach, pool, and local
entertainment. There are Mayan ruins relatively nearby. Instead of
going to the ruins, we loaded up on four-wheel drive military style
trucks and drove down the coast to a beach resort at Uvero Beach. On
the way we passed through the village of Mahahual. They have just had
electricity run to the village, so it is still very primitive. Poverty
is a way of life here, so you might see some things that will make you
appreciate how much we take for granted here. The people who live
there are very friendly, and the village can be reached by taxi from
the pier for just a few dollars. The beach we went to was very nice,
and completely isolated. Signs of future development are everywhere,
and land prices have soared to incomprehensible values. The weather
turned rainy on us with afternoon showers, so we decided not to go
back to Mahahual although I regret this. The vendors at the pier were
very aggressive, but with the weather turning against them I think
they were just doing their best to make some sales in the time they
had remaining before the ship left. The military is the only law
enforcement in the area, and they are very visible. They looked well
disciplined and equipped.
The weather was sunny and hot in Cozumel the
next day. I was disappointed that we used the Puerto Maya pier instead
of the town pier. Its location requires a cab to get into the city.
All the usual shops have outposts there but there is less selection
and few local vendors. Our excursion for the day was a deep-sea
fishing trip. The fish weren't biting that morning, with the exception
of a couple of small tuna. Near the end of the trip, I landed a
35-pound wahoo that measured 47 inches long on a down-rigged line. A
second wahoo was landed a few minutes after I finished bring mine in.
These big fish require a lot of effort to bring in. It's not as easy
as it looks on ESPN Outdoors. After fishing, we decided against taking
a taxi downtown and decided to return to the ship. We amused ourselves
watching those who had consumed one or more drinks than reasonably
prudent struggling to return to the ship on time.
From Cozumel, we enjoyed our last sea day as
best we could. Somehow we had accumulated quite a pile of booty during
our shore stops and tested the capacity of our baggage getting it all
stowed away safely. Luggage was picked up very quickly once it had
been placed outside the cabin.
DISEMBARKATION AND FINAL COMMENTS
Disembarkation was very quick and efficient. There were some
complaints that the announcements could not be heard in the Vista
Lounge. For Platinum passengers, the Wheelhouse bar is set up with
coffee and juice. Our group was called at 9:00, and by 9:30 we were
off the ship, through Immigration and Customs, and headed to the
airport. Cruise passengers are directed downstairs to check in at Ft.
Lauderdale. I had forgotten to remove the tags after disembarking, and
was not permitted to use the curbside check-in. Any bag that contained
alcohol was later found to have been opened and inspected by the TSA
agents.
Spending 14 days aboard ship was something I
would gladly do again. As usual, the staff and crew were willing to do
whatever they could to make the cruise special. Our cabin steward was
one of the very best, and went out of his way at times to make sure
that we lacked for nothing. We also got to know Captain Romano a
little better, and look forward to sailing with him and Princess again
in the near future.
By Robert Downie