Jenn

Age: 31
Occupation: Teacher
Number of Cruises: 6
Cruise Line: Princess
Ship: Grand Princess
Sailing Date: September 22nd, 2002
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

Background/personal info: Traveled with my mother in law (in her 60’s), her boyfriend (in his 60’s) and hubby (age 29). Had the guarantee cabin for category M, the lowest and ended up with one inside Caribe deck and one inside Aloha. Both were identical inside, but the Aloha location was a treat. We had a door to walk out to the adult pool area and only one deck to walk up to the buffet and main pools. The Caribe location was fine, but they ended up walking quite a bit to meet us. We have been on several cruises before (Celebrity, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean), they had not been on one in the US.

Precruise: We flew in Friday night late into FLL and picked up a car from Budget. Had reserved a midsize car, but with the 4 adults and our 4 suitcases ended up needing a premium car. We tried putting it into a midsize and full size, but no luck! Luckily the guy only charged us $10 a day more so we weren’t too bothered. Drove to the Westin Diplomat which was only 20 minutes away on Highway 1 which wasn’t a freeway, but a main road that parallels the beach. We got the Westin Diplomat for 50 a night through Priceline. You can Valet park or park across the street in the parking lot for 13 a day plus tax and a resort fee of 12 a night. The hotel was fabulous. Nice rooms with sunken tub with windows that open so you could watch TV and we really enjoyed the pool area, especially the pool with a glass bottom overlooking another pool, very novel! Of course, there were the heavenly beds : )

On Saturday we went out to the Everglades for an airboat ride and a trip to the Everglades park. We walked around a Seminole reservation where they had a fabulous Native American museum and lots of walkways so you could walk above the swamp and see the vegetation and wildlife. It was about 1 hour drive west from FLL and worth it.

Embarkation day: We drove to the airport to return the car and then took the shuttle from Budget to the cruise port. This was very convenient for us since we had expected to take a taxi. We unloaded our own luggage and there was a porter who told us to put our bags right next to his crate. We tried to place them in the crate and he said no we weren’t allowed, he needed to do it. We put them 2 feet from the front of the crate, his job was to put them into the cargo crate. As we were leaving he asked for a tip, which we felt was unwarranted. When our luggage didn’t arrive at our room until late, 6pm after we had already sailed, I was quite concerned. We arrived around 1pm to check in and spent less than 15 minutes waiting to board the boat. We had registered online so there was no need to fill out any info there. We went straight to our cabin, dropped off our hand luggage and then off to the buffet.

General boat observations: Our cabin was slightly larger than the ones we’ve had before and was well laid out. The small closet allowed us to shove the suitcases on the side and still hang clothes, enough shelves/drawers for 2 people. Room has a hair dryer although it would short out after a while. Very clean and well maintained overall. The whole boat seemed to be similar, very well laid out and well maintained. We really enjoyed Skywalkers, the nightclub on top of the boat, enjoyed the space theming and thought the views were amazing! Also, loved the Wheelhouse bar the most. They had 2 incredible bands who played almost every night in there, nice intimate jazz music with big comfy sofas, and dark wood paneling. Ended up there many nights. We were disappointed with the atrium, it was not as nice as others we have seen, but many have mentioned that so we weren’t too surprised.

Ports of Call:

Princess Cays: The fish weren’t very good at the island, but the scenery was lovely. The best fish were actually across the bridge to the mainland. I didn’t realize it, but I thought we were on a totally separate island, but I met a few locals who said we were actually on the island of Eleluthra and that Princess only owned part of it. If I had known we might have ventured out. When you walk over the bridge there is a little shallow pond with loads of fish. They were amazing to say the least! Also, there were locals selling their goods that didn’t work for the cruise boat. Didn’t buy anything, but my guess it that they would be cheaper. It you go to the right it is more quiet which is what we did. They had lots of watersports for rentals, but no windsurfing.

Grand Cayman: Didn’t get off the boat since it was too rough to tender. Looked perfectly fine to me, but I guess this is a common problem there that the waves are bigger close to the dock. We were right behind Hurricane Isidore and Tropical Storm Lily was behind us so wasn’t too surprised. One of the ladies on the boat had said she has tried 2 other times to go to Grand Cayman and not made it yet!

Costa Maya: This was our favorite port by far! I had read only a few reviews on this and had some input. Do not do the tours from the boat to the ruins! If you walk out and follow the signs to the taxis they have clearly marked signs for the rates, etc. Majahual $ 5.00, Kohunlich $ 65.00, Chacchoben $ 45.00, the boat wanted $72. All prices are round trip and do not include guides.

The only bummer was that the prices were per person, but still cheaper than the boat. We went to Chacchoben and left around 9am and when we arrived, the tour buses were starting to leave so we had the place to ourselves. The Chacchoben Ruins are situated in a secluded jungle setting. We chose not to have a tour guide, but there were some available if you liked. Our driver were very polite and was learning English, this seemed to be the case for most people so don’t expect much conversation. At the site you could buy water, a few trinkets, etc. There were portapotties and that was about it. Use bug spray for the walk. There weren’t any signs marking for the important sites, but if you follow the paths you will see them. After we went on the trip we went back for lunch at the boat and then went snorkeling to the right of the pier. We saw the most amazing fish we’ve ever seen. You need aquashoes since it is rocky, Weird note: the water got warmer in pockets as you went in so the shallow part was actually the coldest, who knows why! Don’t miss this! Avoid going to the private beaches since there is so much right at the port. We didn’t really look at the shops, but there were a few, but definitely not a big shopping place. The pool with the bar looked nice, but we liked the snorkeling. It ended up raining in the afternoon, but we stayed in the water. Also, there was a free trolley to take you up and down the pier. There were also free shows with colorful costumes to enjoy. This is the first port where so many services have been free, free pools, shows, trolleys, etc.

Cozumel: I’ve been there before. My inlaws went on the Princess’ trip to Tulum and were disappointed. The main reason was that they only had 15 minutes on their own to look around for pictures without the group and for shopping. They got bitten by lots of mosquitoes, so put the spray on. As for my hubby and I we rented a car and drove around. Can’t remember which company, but it was right off the dock and had clearly marked signs for it. It was pretty easy to drive yourself as long as you observe all the one way roads.

Skip going to El Cedral, ruins are rather puny and instead focus on San Gervasio which is a Mayan ruin covering an area of about 10 acres and situated in beautiful & cool forest surroundings. The structures are mainly foundations of small temples and shrines. . Take Avenue Juarez until you intersect with the San Gervasio access road and head north for approximately five miles. Don’t expect a major site like Tulum, but it is very pretty anyway and has signs in several languages to explain its importance. This has flush toilets, water and quite a few shops, snack items, etc. use bug spray.

We drove along the east side and there is no reason to really stop, it’s beautiful but the swimming is a bit rough. We drove around the whole island except for the 4x4 roads and stopped at Playa Azul to try windsurfing, it was the only place to rent supposedly, but the conditions weren’t very good. Stayed at the beach and looked around for a while, good fish right from the little piers and good snorkeling. Next was the Museo de Cozumel that showcases Cozumel's history, people and natural geography. It was very enjoyable. We ran out of time since we had hoped to go to Chankanaab Park. I had been there before, but from what I heard it had changed drastically, everyone enjoyed it and I should have gotten my hubby to go there. I figure Cozumel is a common port so we will go again sometime.

We loved the duty free in Cozumel the best (although we didn’t see Grand Cayman’s), go into the shop where you have to show your room key. We bought alcohol from there reasonably. You can buy small plastic alcohol bottles that aren’t detected through their service. My hubby wanted to try it out just to see : )

Food: My hubby and I don’t care for seafood, so there weren’t as many options for us, but the ones they had were excellent. We enjoyed Beef Wellington, tenderloin, etc. I appreciated the variety at the buffets, my hubby loved the fresh sushi. I liked the pizza. The only disappointing food was at their private island which had somewhat tasteless burgers although the fruit made up for it. Staff at all the restaurants were fabulous and we were able to eat in a group or with just our group. Not much of a wait except formal night. Was quite happy with the food in all locations, but didn’t try the Painted Desert or Sabatini’s.

Entertainment: Didn’t do much of this, but will say that the singing/ dancing shows were the best we had seen, good variety. The live music was good for the most part and large selection of what to do. Didn’t like the cruise director and all the announcements for the events piped in throughout the boat.

Things we loved: The pools! My hubby loved the current pool so he could swim against the current. It is back by the gym and we didn’t even see it until our last day. The other pools were just as amazing, well-themed, well-maintained and beautifully done. Also, enjoyed the variety at the game room. We were traveling with family and we enjoyed playing games like Clue, Risk, etc. Also, loved playing paddle tennis, court was not as big as tennis, but lots of fun and shady. We also took quite a few photos and some of the prettiest were in the chapel and we were the only ones there. I loved how even though there were thousands of people on board you could find a quiet place to be by yourself, lots of places to go. We are expecting so I checked out the children’s facilities and they looked excellent. The children’s pool was a whale with water spouting out, was shallow so even little ones you go in. Also, the children’s room had lots of age appropriate toys which you could use with your child or if they were potty trained they would babysit for you for set hours. The activities looked good and everyone I asked said the children were enjoying it. They had a teenage only Jacuzzi and other facilities for that age group, but not many teenagers in Sept.

Hated: My hubby and I felt like we were “nickeled and dimed.” No lemonade or punch for free at the buffets. No free hot chocolate except at the restaurants. We would have preferred to tip the room steward ourselves, but the group tipping for the waiters seemed appropriate since we did alternative dining. You can go up to the Purser to change the amount. Service was fabulous with the restaurants, but the room steward was just adequate.

Disembarking: Very smooth. It was according to your luggage tags which corresponding to your cabin location or if you have a special circumstance. We were off the boat at 9ish which was right after breakfast for us. Everything went quickly and we were off. There were lots of taxis there if you needed to take you to the airport. We had a late flight so we met up with family and went on the water taxi around Fort Lauderdale, highly recommend that. Very pretty ride and even air conditioned.

Suggest items to bring on cruise: aquashoes, lots of $1 bills for tips, snorkeling gear, buy it at home, it’s expensive to rent, bottled water (there is a fridge in the room to use), bug spray, big plastic bags to carry wet snorkeling gear and big ziplock bags for wet clothes.

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