Suzanne Musashe

Age: 50
Occupation: Self-employed
Number of Cruises: 7
Cruise Line: Princess Cruises
Ship: Grand Princess
Sailing Date: Aptil 7th, 2002
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

Just got back from our cruise so thought I'd write while fresh in my mind. This is our 7th or 8th cruise. We have gone on Holland, Norwegian, Carnival and now Princess. I have to say, Princess is the leader so far. Our ship was the Grand Princess. I had read quite a few review before booking and some said...too big, hard to get around. We found quite the opposite. Yes the ship is large, and yes there are all sorts of hidden away areas, but this is what made this ship so much fun. It was a large ship which offers a lot of options but yet had a small ship feel because of all the small hidden away areas. Our room was Baha 319 with a balcony. I love balconies...don't ever get one if you don't want to pay extra from then on out. The baha deck has the smaller balconies but you can not look down on them. The two decks below us had larger decks but you could look down and see people sitting for they were only partially covered so it is a toss up. The room was average size, refrigerator and desk. Very clean and nice decor. Our cabin Steward was excellent. He made it a point to give us extra attention on small items.

Next, lets talk about the main areas. I would say they are not as spectacular as some other ships but then again not as big either...small areas I like. What we enjoyed most about common areas inside ship was the music....piano playing and strings. We sat, played cards and just listened. Not as many stores as with Carnival or Norwegian but then who really does major shopping on ship! There was not a shortage of chairs on the sun decks and once again, all these quaint areas to layout away from the main flow. Many pools and spas for those that love to swim, both adult areas and those with kids. It was just my husband and myself so we sat in adult areas to read and rest. Believe it or not, did not go in a pool for we have our own but never seemed crowded. The bar people did not drive you crazy as with some ships.

Normally we stay away from the buffet area up top for it is hard to watch people gorge themselves hour after hour but we did frequent a few times and the food was outstanding and much variety. Everything sparkled and tables cleaned immediately. Once evening I did feel good and my husband went up for jello. They were out and one of the servers went to main dining area 10 minutes away to get some for him. We thought this was exceptional and we never even asked for this to be done. We found many food items in this area that we hadn't seen on other ships.

We decided on late seating instead of anytime dining. We like the other too but just chose this for this cruise. Waiters were wonderful and once again went out of their way for us. We had a table for 4. Other couple had never been on a cruise and we told them they were spoiled. Did seem to have as large of a selection as Holland or Norwegian but always found something we liked.

We also tried the other two restaurants with cover charges. The Mexican restaurant there is an $8.00 charge but this includes a margarita, beer or wine. Hard to beat that! The food was delicious here too and service superb. The Italian restaurant was quite the place. It is a 17 course meal with $15 cover charge....worth every penny. Plan on spending at least 2 hrs of spoiling and waiting on you hand and foot! Food was fabulous and had a great time.

I wasn't feeling well a few nights so didn't take advantage of many shows but did go to a couple and they were quite entertaining. I did have someone tell me that one show they tried to get in to people just sat down at 5:00p.m. and never got up until 1:00a.m. show after show so seat were hard to come by. I would say they might want to clear the places out after each show to avoid this happening.

We scuba dive so we booked our own excursions but I heard people say they loved stingray city in the Caymans. There is not much to do in Costa Maya and the bus rides they said were long. We stayed on the boat that day. Cozumel has great shopping and diving which we enjoyed. I heard positive comments on the snorkeling trips.

The captain of the Grand Princess is a hoot. He loves to talk and tells you lots about the voyage, weather, ports and anything else. Really enjoyed his narratives! I think his name is Cap. Christy. He made the trip special for his comments.

The Head Chief loves his job. The special production he had on cooking and recipes was much fun. My husband even enjoyed his humor.

The art director and his wife were a lot of fun and very energetic. Enjoyed out time at the art auctions and bought some great stuff.

Last but not least.....boarding...the quickest ever!!! Disembarking, the quickest ever!! They make you want to come back.

Hope you enjoyed this and feel free to email me with any questions.

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