Fiona O'Donoghue

Age: 33
Occupation: Correctional Officer
Number of Cruises: First Cruise
Cruise Line: Princess Cruises
Ship: Grand Princess
Sailing Date: February 17th, 2002
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

Grand Princess, Western Caribbean:

This was my first cruise; went alone. I booked through the Princess 1-800# and did everything else online (forms, booking excursions, etc.). Too easy. I read through reviews, both on this web site and others, and wished I’d paid a little more attention, though I did follow some of the recommendations.

Getting there: Went through Princess for flights. Princess had me flying all over the place and that made for a long day. I have since learned if you tell Princess which flights you want, etc. they will book your itinerary for a small fee (I think $50?) and whatever the flights costs. Mental note for next time: Make own arrangements through Princess and pay the extra fee so I’m not flying all over the continent.

Transfer to pier went smoothly, so far as I could tell. Lines at the pier were long but went quickly. When I boarded the ship, there was a set up to have your picture taken by some ‘welcome aboard’ signage. They made it sound like this was your ‘cruise card’ picture until I saw another post up ahead where that was done. I refused the picture-taking and could see the miffed look on the photographers’ face. This was the first of 2 run-ins (?) with the photographer.

Grand Princess: As this was my first cruise, I have nothing to compare it to. On the first day, every 20 feet or so there was an employee standing against the wall to usher folks along so they don’t get lost. I LOVED that! Felt like there was always someone to help. Little did I know then they are ALWAYS around to help. Even in the elevator on the first day, a staff ran the buttons to make sure everyone got to where they were supposed to be. Saw the line-up at the Tour desk and sniggered. I booked mine online and the tickets were already in the room.

My luggage didn’t arrive at the room until after 3 p.m. so I was stuck wearing my casual pants and dress shirt until then. Meanwhile, folks were already splashing in the pools and bagging deck chairs. Mental note for next time: Pack shorts, bathing suit, t-shirt, lotion, etc. in carry-on for first day usage.

Cabin: C251, Caribe deck (10), outside double with balcony. According to the literature, balconies on the Caribe deck are 50% larger then other decks and about 40% covered. Looking down and around, this is very true. The room was very nice and surprisingly spacious. Even the bathroom had plenty of room (I’m not a small person).

Day 1: Took a tour of the Spa, read reviews of staff always trying to sell you stuff: True. A polite ‘no thank you’ was sufficient. Signed up for some ‘treatments’, had a free hair consultation which didn’t tell me much other then I needed to buy their hair products. Only time I resisted.

Day 2: At the Plantation Spa in the morning, Princess Cays in the p.m. I read a review insisting folks go RIGHT when leaving the tender. Went RIGHT and wasn’t WRONG. If you’re into water sports, loud music and crowds, then go left. Because of a recent hurricane, the deck chairs had to be brought from the ship and I was so late going (noon-ish), I didn’t get a chair at all. That’s OK, I brought a rather large towel from home and lay down on that. Didn’t matter though, as I spent most of the afternoon bobbing in the ocean. BBQ was excellent, same friendly Princess staff. Locals have booths set up so bring cash, there is a Princess store where the cruise card can be used.

Day 3: Sea day. Spa in the a.m., napped in the p.m. Jet lag? Sun burn? Fresh air? Puttered around the boat, met folks, etc. Kind of a boring ‘I’m on vacation to rest’ day. Discovered Spa pool and made it ‘mine’ for the rest of the trip (no kids, except once and folks - not staff - took care of that!). Kathryn, the Spa manager, called me by name from day 1, whether she really cared or not, always asked about my day and took excellent care of me. Giant Kudos’ to Kathryn!!

Day 4: Grand Cayman. Booked for ‘Island Highlights and Stingray City’ tour. Driver (a local) was pushy and rude, when questioned, he said he hoped to get in 4-5 tours that day as there were 6 ships anchored in the harbour. The whole tour was “OK folks, hurry up, you got 10-15 minutes to see the sight and shop.” I had to laugh when we went to Stingray City: Our driver had no control over how long we would be as the tour is taken over by the staff there. We were ferried out to the glass bottom (side) boat and given the tour spiel. Amazing to watch the diver perform with the Stingrays. We were told how to take good pictures through the glass and mine turn out beautifully, as though I was diving myself with an underwater camera! On the way back, I could see the tour driver pacing the dock, looking at his watch. Too funny!

Shopping on Grand Cayman was Hellish! With 6 ships, you gotta figure about 12, 000 people ashore, all wanting to get into the same stores. I’m not an engineer, but I expect a few foundations sunk that day! I was lucky, I researched online and contacted a store (for directions) I wanted to see beforehand. I printed off the email and reply, went right to the counter, showed the papers and got immediate and attentive service…helped that I had a list from their online catalogue with me so it was nothing for the girl helping me to stack stuff on the counter. $271 USD later, I was on my way back to the ship. I will say this much: I fell in love with Grand Cayman and am planning a trip back, outside of a one day stop over on a cruise.

Day 5: Costa Maya. No tenders made it easy to come and go. Here’s where I messed up. I read reviews about how pathetic this place is but signed up for the Jungle Beach Break anyway. Big Mistake. Shopped a bit, I think there were 14 stores or so, all stacked beside each other, like a strip mall. Seemed they were all selling the same stuff and prices were ‘fixed’ in most places, little to no bargaining. I got ripped off in one store (bought a white cotton shirt) and when I went to buy the same shirt, with a nicer design on it, in another, the guy gave me $10 off to make up for the competition over charging me, whether he thought I was stupid or whatever, it made me feel like I was getting a deal. Balanced out in the end.

Went to the Jungle Beach at 11:30 or so, 30 minute bus ride and arrived and the most dismal, pathetic set-up I have ever seen. The beach itself was about 20-25 feet from the path to the water and sloped down so much when you were lying down, you ‘rolled’ towards the water. The only word I can think of to describe this place is “disgusting.” I’ve been to better beaches in the Sub-Arctic regions of Canada!! I guess they think with the free booze, folks will get so drunk they won’t notice it’s the beach that slopes! Avoid, Avoid, Avoid!!!! Here’s the kicker: There is a small beach to the right of the entrance to Costa Maya, except for warnings about the current, it looked by far better then the ‘developed’ beach I went to. Costa Maya also has a salt water pool that winds part way through the complex. Wish I had stayed there.

Day 6: Cozumel. Second ‘run-in’ with the ships’ photographer. Said I had to stop on the gangway to have my picture taken with a Mexican blanket draped over the rails and some ‘I’m in Mexico!” signage. Again, said “no thank you” and was ‘snubbed.’

Maybe it’s because I’m not used to it, but I really, REALLY hated the people standing on the sidewalk insisting you go into their store to shop, (“Lady, lady, go to my store! You get good deals!”)…every 7-10 feet! At one point one of these folks grabbed at my backpack. I flipped out. I have a small luggage lock on it so I wasn’t worried, I just couldn’t take it anymore and headed for the beach. Oh, make sure you go ashore with $1’s and $5’s, about $40-50 worth. If they see larger bills in your wallet when you go to buy something, you can bet you will be charged more. Also, no one will break money down for you, not even the currency exchange place! They want you to buy something to break it down.

The ship’s Shopping Director (Steve?) gave a seminar 2 days before about the shopping do’s and don’ts. Very helpful and well worth it. The seminar is broadcast on the Princess TV station (ch. 22?) over the next few days so even if you don’t go the actual seminar, you can still catch it.

Playa Sol beach: Don’t know if it’s worth the $25. I learned you only have to pay $6 at the gate if all you want to do is suntan and swim. The $25 package had a lot more included, except food, but I realized I didn’t want the ‘extras’ and could have saved some money. Had to take a taxi ($24 round trip), but could hook up with others as the taxi is a flat rate for up to four people. Because I was by myself, I couldn’t find anyone to go with me, but looked for ‘ship towels’ and asked some people if I could share coming back. No problem.

Day 7: Sea day. Bad weather rolled in so most folks were encouraged to go inside to various events. I had a brutal sunburn on my face by this time, eyes were swollen shut, so I figured, as a last resort, I’d better go the medical centre. Went to the spa first to see if they had anything to help and they did. Yup, got rooked for $67 eye cream, but it worked! So I didn’t care. Saved me going to the medical centre. Mental note: Sunscreen doesn’t last more then 15 minutes in salt water, even the waterproof kind.

Disembarkation: Again, nothing to compare it to but agree with most it went smoothly. Horizon court was open for breakfast then sat in the lounge, waiting for my colour tag to be called. By 9:30 a.m. was off the ship and on the way to the airport.

Dining rooms: Only went once, excellent food (hey, *I* wasn’t cooking so that’s all that mattered to me!).

Horizon Court buffet: I rather enjoyed it! Like the idea of ‘stations’ instead of traditional lines, folks could duck around one another to get their preference. I never had a problem finding what I liked and then a place to sit. Note: Don’t look away from your plate once seated: “poof” staff is right there to clean your place! And they don’t care if you make a few trips to the buffet, you never have dirty dishes, cups, or cutlery stacked up on your table! I wanted to take one of ‘em home with me just for that service alone!

Pizza/burgers poolside: Dry and tasteless. Went once for each and never again; they are closed by 7:30 p.m. I read reviews the pizza was supposed to be excellent, but I was disappointed.

Shops on board: Expensive. Got tired of dragging my backpack around the ship so I bought a Princess Cruise canvas bag: $20!! Special sales on various nights got some good deals on t-shirts ($6 ea.) and a designer watch. Note: Some stuff is only available on THAT DAY, bathrobes, for example, are only sold on the last day. Yeah, I bought one.

Shows: Only went to 2. Both good and quite funny.

I have issues with….:

1. Folks bagging chairs/hogging them. Saw one couple bag 4 deck chairs so no one would sit beside them! Staff won’t/can’t enforce the 30 minute rule, I don’t blame them, imagine all the fights they would have!

2. No kids means No Kids! Parents who figure no one knows them and they won’t see anyone of us again are just plain ignorant. Adults Only Terrace Pool doesn’t mean “water is off limits but the deck is fair game for running around, etc.” One woman brought her 7/8 year old to an advertised “Adults Only” comedy show. Throughout the whole show the kid kept asking Mom “What’s_____?” Remember, it was an Adult show, YOU do the math.

3. The “Time Share Weekend” feel of the cruise on the last 2 days and the constant ‘flyers’ delivered to the room: Everyday there were flyers delivered, advertising Spa treatments, shop sales, and the inevitable “book your next cruise and save…” I would get at least 3-4 flyers every day, sometimes twice a day. I admit there were one or two I paid attention to but over a 7 day cruise, that was it.

Will I go on another cruise? Yes. I’m trying to muscle my best friend into coming with me next time (already have her husbands’ blessing!) Will I go with Princess? In a heartbeat. Met folks who’ve gone with other lines and they swear Princess is the best.

My negative comments are mostly about the shore excursions, while organized from the ships perspective, were really not worth the cost. Research the ports beforehand and make private arrangements, you’ll get the same thing as the ship tours but will save lots of money. I’m easily ‘rooked’ into buying stuff so I was easy prey all along, on board.

All in all, a wonderful, relaxing vacation. As one cruiser told me “The only thing I have to think about is ‘what am I going to wear today?’ everything else is taken care of for me.” That sums up my entire vacation and I enjoyed it!

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